And so here's 25 as I said it would be. Redemption is next…ugh

Warnings: It's shonen ai. Yaoi, Slash, Tom Riddle/ Harry Potter

Notes: (X) is pov and or time jump

Chapter, 25: Another Form

Harry couldn't ignore the numerous, not to mention continuous looks of contempt coming from those around them. It had been bad enough when they'd first gotten together, but Aderes sitting besides Harry with the ball only weeks away had added an underlying blood lust to it. Hermione's warning to be careful would need to be followed excruciatingly well if he meant to make it to the ball itself alive.

"And which infraction would you like to discuss?" Aderes's eyes danced with sheer amusement, his tone a hint of taunting. He seemed to be daring Harry to cause any kind of argument within the hall.

"Can you not…" Harry tried to find the best way to explain it. He couldn't exactly say what Aderes had done without someone over hearing. He wanted to stay with Aderes, but could he really be with someone who hurt others, even if it was for him?

Okay, I got mad, but I didn't actually break up with him… He could feel his stomach knotting up as his thoughts processed. It was wrong, horribly wrong, but he couldn't find it within himself to even consider leaving Aderes over the attack. What kind of person am I? Sure he 'thadn't encouraged the behavior and he'd gotten angry about it, but that didn't seem like enough. Rita may not have been seriously hurt, just enough to scare her, but that still didn't justify his own reaction. Was he that corrupted already with his emotions to want to be with Aderes that he didn't care what happened to others?

"Not what," Aderes pressed. He seemed genuinely interested in what Harry had to say, his attention fully on the Gryffindor.

"...don't hurt others."

Aderes raised an eyebrow.

"Are we still on that?"

"It might be easy for you, but I'm having a moral breakdown here."

"And people call me strange. You didn't do anything."

"I should have stopped you. I should have ended our relationship. I shouldn't feel such little remorse—"

"Harry, you're making this into a bigger issue than it is. All I did was cause some discomfort. It's not like her hands melted off or I cooked her. Did you hear her screaming in agony?"

"Well, no…"

"If I wanted to cause her any real harm, she would not have walked away." He bent forward moving some of Harry's bangs from his eyes. Smirking he kissed Harry's scar.

What should have been a normal kiss had Harry's entire body flooding with emotions. He wanted to push Aderes down on the seat and snog him until he couldn't think straight. At the same time that feeling of safeness returned.

"What did you do," he demanded.

"I just felt like kissing you there. Maybe if I kiss your scar enough, it'll go away."

"Don't be stupid," Harry snapped. He looked away, his face still burning.

Suddenly there were arms wrapped tightly around Harry.

"The last thing I am is stupid," Aderes whispered into his ear.

Any resistance Harry had forged fell. He leaned into the embrace, his eyes closing, his consciousness slipping into an abyss. Nothing else mattered, even if it did, Harry couldn't rouse the energy to bother. The only thing he could focus on was Aderes' scent and his arms. The sound of his heart beating. His breath. If he could just sleep the rest of his life away like this…

"Harry?" The Gryffindor stirred, his eyes protesting when he forced them open. Aderes was still holding onto him. "You weren't waking up…"

"Huh?" To Harry's surprise the Great Hall was just about empty. A few sixth and seventh years were around, but all the other years had left. How long had he been asleep? "I guess I did fall asleep," he said yawning.

"Are you not sleeping well at night?"

No, he hadn't had any real sleep in weeks, but what could Aderes do about that? He might offer some kind of potion to help him sleep, but that wouldn't solve the actual problem causing him to lie awake at night. Not that Harry exactly knew what it was. Part of it was him trying to figure out his relationship with Aderes, but that hadn't been all of it.

"Sometimes," he offered. Aderes's arms tightened and Harry felt another wave of darkness threaten to pull him back into sleep. "Stop doing that!"

"You're exhausted."

"I am?" He turned to face the Slytherin. Aderes didn't look like he was teasing Harry. He actually did look worried.

"...But you can sleep if I'm holding you." His gaze moved from Harry to the nearby wall.

"I'm not going to waste my days or yours sleeping," Harry said. He'd been managing to function well enough. Perhaps not as great as he could, but he was getting through his classes.

"I can…" He let out a long breath. "How much do you trust me?"

"Hardly," Harry said getting a shocked look from Aderes. "You aren't trustworthy at all. I don't know how I relax around you."

"It seems your body understands I'm not threat before you brain does," Aderes snorted. Harry thought he detected a hint of sadness in Aderes' voice. "If you promise not to tell anyone, I can help you."

"And what exactly do you plan on doing? You can't just sneak into the Gryffindor Tower."

"Not quite…" One of his hands began stroking Harry's arm. "As much as you piss me off, I find myself wanting to be around you more and more. I don't want you falling asleep during classes….I want you awake to spend time with you."

"Fine, what do you have in mind? I'm not sleeping in the Slytherin Dungeon."

"Of course not."

"No one will get hurt?"

"No."

"Than do whatever you want."

"I thought you didn't trust me," Aderes said a laugh escaping his lips.

"I don't, but you're going to do whatever it is anyway, right? As long as no one gets hurt, why should I care?"

"Harry, if you keep talking to me like that, I might fall in love with you." He started laughing harder, Harry refusing to meet his gaze, his heart beating rapidly.

Am I falling for him too? Would he have given consent to anyone else to mess with his sleep? His life? Would he not be angry at anyone else for burning someone, even if it was minor? He couldn't imagine feeling like this with anyone, but Aderes. He grabbed Aderes' robes and dropped his head onto the Slytherin's shoulders.

"Harry?"

"Just let me have this for a minute," he said quietly.

"You could do this whenever you want if you simply asked."

"You'd just break up with me." The words tasted acidic as they left his mouth. Wrong somehow. This protection he couldn't ever remember having before and to lose it...no. It wasn't just the protection. Somehow, somewhere along the way, he had realized he didn't want to lose Aderes.

"Why do you always think I'm going to break it off? If you didn't physically react to me the way you do, I'd think you wanted to end this relationship."

"I don't want to end this. Why do you think I tiptoe around you?"

Aderes looked at Harry hard before he burst into laughter.

"You've been tiptoeing around me? I can't even imagine what you'd be like if you weren't being careful," he said his eyes actually tearing up.

Harry glared at him. He deserved Aderes' words. He could hardly imagine what their relationship would be if he didn't have to play hard to get every few minutes. Granted it was fun to some extent, but being able to relax in Aderes' arms, snogging, just being next to him was even better.

Oh well. There was nothing he could do. He pushed Aderes' arms off and got to his feet, his mind still a little fuzzy.

"Harry—"

"I'll see you tomorrow." He offered Aderes a hint of a smile and started off. Aderes was beside him.

"I'm not done with you yet," he hissed to him softly. He pulled Harry next to him, his arm going around his waist before he laced his fingers through Harry's own.

"Aderes—"

"I enjoyed tonight...You can deny your trust in me all you want, but I haven't seen you drop your defenses for anyone, but you did for me."

"I guess…" That was true enough, but he didn't want to admit it. What if… e let out a small growl and shook his head. There were too many what if's in this relationship. He needed concrete, not guessing.

Aderes gave Harry's hand a tight squeeze.

"I'll walk you to the tower."

"You don't have to."

"I know."

They didn't talk as they went up the stairs, but the closer they got to the tower, the worse Harry felt. He wanted to surrender to Aderes. Not to let him win this stupid game they'd gotten entangled in, but because he really did want to have a normal relationship with him if that was possible. He wanted to be able to talk with Aderes as if he were a friend, someone he could rely on, care for. Maybe he was in love…

"Aderes." Harry stopped causing Aderes to do the same. They'd made it to the top of the stairs just before the hall that held the Gryffindor Tower entrance. He had to or he was going to lose it. He let go of Aderes' hand when he noticed he was squeezing it harder than he'd intended to be. He let out a slow breath trying to get his thoughts in order. If Aderes cared about him even a fraction of what he claimed this wouldn't be such a big deal. "I do like you."

Aderes looked amused.

"I know. I like you to. It's why we're dating."

Harry rolled his eyes at that, his back leaning against the wall.

"I might like you more than I thought I did."

"Isn't that a good thing?" He took a spot beside Harry, his arms folding across his chest.

"I want to say something without you getting angry or deciding I'm weak, or unworthy of your time, because of it."

Aderes's looked intrigued. He dropped his arms and nodded.

"Say whatever you want."

Now that Harry had Aderes to himself, alone, with an agreement not to lash out at his words, he wasn't sure how to explain it. Or maybe on some level he did, he was just too scared to do so.

"Aderes, I...I'm kind of sick of playing this game. At least all the time. I want to have a normal relationship."

"I don't think either of us can offer up a normal relationship," Aderes said.

"I want to hold hands and snog and spend time with you, without you thinking I've given up my free will. I want to be next to you."

Aderes tilted his head slightly and started to say something, but Harry wasn't ready to hear it.

"Just think about it. I'm not saying I won't harass you or drive you mad at times, but I want to know whenever I do need to just be near you, I can, without you taking it for granted that I've turned into one of your followers, because I'm not one of them. I will voice my thoughts against you when you do something stupid, like burning people, but I can't stand looking at you from afar for weeks at a time."

"I haven't been ignoring you! And—"

"Just give it some thought," Harry said. "Please? If we can't find some sort of balance, I don't think I can be in a relationship with you." Harry waited for Aderes to lash out, instead he dropped a hand on Harry's thigh and kissed him. Harry wasn't sure what to do with his arms. He was enjoying the kiss, but was Aderes doing it to prove a point or to distract him?

"Harry, I'll let you know something I've never told anyone." He pulled Harry so close every inch of their bodies were touching. "I'm pretty sure I love you," he hissed in the snake language. "So do whatever you want, because I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't lie to me."

"I promise you, I'm not." He kissed Harry again, the Gryffindor unsure of what to believe. Maybe Aderes thought he loved him, or was just saying that as part of the game, to make Harry complacent. To make him drop his guard. If that turned out to be the case, Harry would never forgive him.

"If I find out you're lying to me, I'll make your life miserable."

Aderes chuckled at that.

"Go to the tower and get ready for bed. I'll make sure you get some sleep tonight. We can talk more tomorrow. We have potions together after lunch, sit with me."

Harry didn't want to let go. He doubted he could get any more sleep than he'd managed the past few weeks, because while it turned out he'd really wanted to hear Aderes say those words, he was terrified if Aderes was lying.

"I...might too you know," he offered hestitantly. "I've never dated anyone, so I don't know how strong your feelings get, but.."

"I know," Aderes said surprising Harry this time. "I see the way you look at me Harry. I know I frustrate you as much as you drive me mad. We'll figure this out together, but not right now. You need sleep." He kissed the top of Harry's head. "Remember, this will be our secret what I do tonight."

"Okay…"

He led Harry to the portrait of the fat lady and kissed him once again.

"Have a good night." He released Harry's hands smiling and left.

Harry watched him him wanting to go with.

I'll see him tomorrow if he hasn't lost all faith in me, he told him.

"You two seem happy," the fat lady said.

Harry shot the portrait a glare and said the password. Annoyed she swung open the door and Harry went through. The common room was loud and filled with students from every year. It wasn't as late as Harry had thought, but a long night's rest sounded far better than watching some students play wizard's chest or doing homework.

Hermione was off in one of the many overstuffed chairs reading a book. Ron at a table near the fireplace playing cards with Dean and Seamus. He envied them for how simple their lives were. Even through Ron had to deal with Harry and the problems he brought to the friendship, his friend had proved he had no issues cutting his loses when he had had enough. Hermione at least stayed with him, but she seemed more capable of handling bad situations than Ron.

He started up the stairs, surprised when a hand fell onto one shoulder, than another hand on the other. He turned, his eyes narrowing, and ready to pull out his wand when he saw Fred's grin.

"Great job on getting Aderes to go to the dance with you. And on the first request too," Fred said cheerfully.

"Yeah, we both expected at least four times before he gave in. You know, just to screw with you," George added. "And the way those girls acted!" The twins both started laughing, even Harry managing a smile. The girls had been completely ridiculous. Aderes was not some famous movie star or celebrity. He just happened to be a good looking git with brains. Granted, that made him a much better catch than half the school, but if they actually knew, Aderes' true self they'd want nothing to do with him.

"I think the looks of horror afterwards were better," Fred said.

"Did you see the Hufflepuff girl who choked on her glass of water when Aderes said he'd go with Harry?"

"I preferred the Slytherin who actually started crying when Aderes put his arms around Harry. You'd think they were all taking love potions," Fred laughed.

Harry was almost ashamed to be in the same school as the other students anymore. Had they really gotten so worked up, because Harry and Aderes were dating? They'd had to have known Aderes would eventually pick someone, especially for the ball. At least they had time now to look for other dates to go with instead of hoping they'd had a chance with Aderes.

"He really isn't worth the problems he causes," Harry sighed. He gave each twin a weary look. "You two have dated a few people, right?"

The twins's laughter died down as they nodded.

"We have," George said, Fred still grinning beside him. "Why?"

"Well, I've never dated anyone before," Harry said. "What's it supposed to feel like? Or be like?"

"Feel like," Fred echoed. "You mean like, enjoying yourself?" He gave Harry a questioning look.

"…You know a lot of the things he's done," Harry started.

"We do," they both said, their expressions of humor turning serious.

"I shouldn't like him. He's a Slytherin. He lies; he goes out of his way to drive everyone mad. He does whatever he wants and everyone falls for his act of being perfect." He shifted uncomfortably while he let his words sink in. "But I don't even dislike him a little. Even though there are things he's done that shouldn't be forgiven, let alone tolerated, I can't get myself to even consider breaking it off. Is that normal?"

The twins looked at each other, shook their heads, and tutted. Fred started rubbing his chin.

"Everyone's different. It sounds like you're loyal enough to him without being blind," Fred offered. "Some people remain blind and don't want to see what's actually going on. His fan club for instance. It's not that they don't necessarily know he's capable of bad things, just that they refuse to believe it."

"If he crosses a line, I'll leave him," Harry said firmly.

"You sure," George asked.

"Of course," Harry said. Fred and George had hurt others during their pranks. People forgave them. While the circumstances were different, the results were the same. Didn't that mean Aderes deserved the benefit of the doubt? No one had died. And while Rita had been burned, and as much as he hated to admit it, she had deserved some pay back for all the hell she'd caused Harry, she hadn't been so badly hurt she'd needed a healer, probably just some healing ointment.

"Are you really being honest with yourself," Fred asked.

"I don't know," Harry admitted.

Fred gave George a look and rolled his eyes.

"He's hopeless," George said.

"Agreed," Fred sighed. "Harry, you're the brother we've always actually wanted—"

"Well, except for whole dark lord issues—"

"But we like you anyway. So just, be honest with us. What are you worried about?"

"I'm afraid I might be actually falling in love with him," Harry blurted out. "The only thing I have to compare this to is Cho. I like her, she makes me feel happy, but Aderes…It's that same feeling, but a lot stronger."

"That's up to you," Fred said, but both twins were grinning. "Like I said, everyone is different. What I may think of as a crush may seem like love to you, but…" He stopped and seemed to consider something. George nodded and he continued, his voice holding none of its usual underlying hints of humor. "Harry, you look at him like he's the only thing you need and Aderes…all he does is stare at you when you aren't paying attention. The way you two were this evening, the snogging we saw in the hallway awhile back. I don't know. I've never felt like that about a girl. So maybe you are."

"That doesn't help," Harry said letting out sigh.

"We can't tell you if you're in love or not, we're not you," George said. "But even if you are, sometimes it doesn't last. People fall in and out of love all the time."

"But you don't seem to be like that," Fred added. "You've never chased after girls, even though you could have had anyone with your reputation."

"Not this year," Harry said grinning.

"Not this year," Fred agreed. "I wouldn't worry about it. Love, like, whatever. Just let your relationship take the course it's going to. You can't force it to be one way or another."

"That's true," Harry said some of the tension he'd been feeling beginning to ebb. If he were meant to be with Aderes they'd manage somehow. If not, Aderes would find someone else and dump him, or. If he hurt someone, Harry would have to turn him over to Dumbledore. "Thanks guys."

"Glad to be of help," Fred said giving Harry's shoulder a tight squeeze.

"Anything else just ask. We aren't experts, but we know a lot more than little Ronikins," George said proudly.

"Ronikins," Harry asked laughing.

"Don't tell him yet, that's our nickname for next week. Just wanted to test it out," Fred said. The twins walked around Harry heading to their own dorm. Harry wondered what they might possibly be doing before thinking better of it. Aderes had promised him a good night's rest. That wasn't something he could just turn down.

When he walked into the dorm the first thing he noticed was all the lights were off. Frowning he went in, the door slamming shut behind him.

"You took long enough coming up here."

Harry could feel his blood freezing. Aderes was in the dorm. How had he gotten there before Harry? He'd left before Harry yes, but down the stairs, away from the tower.

"How do you plan on hiding from the others in here," Harry demanded. "Someone will turn the lights on!" The candles flicked back to life at his words. Standing in front of him though was not Aderes, but a tall and slender shadow with brilliant red eyes. The same one he'd seen at the Burrow. "You…" He took a step back towards the door.

"What's with that reaction?" He titled his head and motioned with his hand to the bed. "You wanted a good night's rest, didn't you?"

"You were at the Burrow," Harry yelled. He looked around the room making sure no one was in there and had heard him. No one. Aderes had broken into the Burrow. "My scar was bleeding after I saw you!"

"I didn't make your scar bleed," he said rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to see you. Dumbledore had been going on about you for so long and I wanted to meet you alone." He sat down on Harry's bed. The shadow form was actually solid enough not to go through it and Harry couldn't see through it either.

"How…?" He started towards the bed. "This isn't illegal, is it?"

"This form? No," Aderes said sounding amused. "It's a long story. Maybe I'll explain it to you one day, but for now, it has its uses." He held his arms out and despite a few warnings in his head, Harry went into his embrace. The smell of roses and dusk filled Harry's senses relaxing him. It was definitely Aderes. "I put a silence charm around your bed and a glamor. If anyone looks in, they'll think you're alone."

"…What if someone sits on you," Harry asked trying not to laugh and failing.

Aderes stared at Harry.

"How many people climb into your bed?"

"Not many," Harry snickered.

Aderes shook his head rearranging the blankets and pillows. He pushed the duvet down and got under. While Aderes was occupied with that, Harry quickly changed into his pajamas. When the Slytherin seemed satisfied with the layout of the bed, Harry climbed into it. Aderes pulled the duvet up around both of them, his arms going securely around Harry. Harry's entire body melted onto the bed, every muscle relaxing. Harry felt completely weightless.

"What if someone looks for you," Harry asked his eyes already closing.

"No one is stupid enough to bother me and I already told Draco what I was doing."

Harry nodded burying his face the crook Aderes's neck.

"Promise me you won't get in trouble…."

"Are you worried?"

"I'm always worried…I don't want to lose you…"

(X)

Harry sat down on the edge of his bed, Tom lying on it. So far his fourth year had been…interesting to say the least. Many things were starting to make sense, but he had so many more questions now, none of them that Tom could actually answer for him just yet.

So he'd known about the shadow form, and Tom could talk with ease in it. So why hadn't he at the beginning of the fifth year? Did he not realize how much simpler their relationship would have gone? Granted…even without his knowledge of who Tom was or what he was to Harry, he'd trusted him enough to stay with him. He'd still somehow known to stay with him. His trust had been ingrained, perhaps because of the bond?

I never stood a chance. In less than half a year, I met and fell in love with you. He grabbed Tom's hand and held onto it. Despite all the craziness, the problems, their dysfunctions…Even when they first gotten together; Harry seemed to have understood that he could not go on without Tom in his life.

Tom looked up at him curiously, Harry's heart doing a dance in his chest. He'd chosen Harry. Despite everyone else, that had tried to get Tom's attention or those that had tried to keep them separated, they had ended up together. They had not drifted apart, at least not completely.

He lied down next to Tom. The Slytherin wrapped his arms around him.

The storm had died down, it was no longer thundering, only the tap of rain hitting his window continuously, but in a soothing and hypnotic way.

As long as you didn't count the dragon attack, Harry could not figure out what Tom had been so scared of. They were almost halfway through the school year in the memories and nothing seemed exactly wrong to Harry. Rita had been burned, actually, Harry wished Tom had left her in a pile of ashes, but his fourth year self would not have tolerated such a thing, so that could not be it. There was a lot of strain on the relationship, but they seemed to be making things work one way or another. The way the female student body was, was just plain stupid. Here Harry had been making a big deal out of Tom's study group and every girl at Hogwarts had been his enemy once.

They'd been drawn together so fast, so easily…

He closed his eyes, his hand now on Tom's back. He wondered how long it would be until they could actually talk to each other again. If Tom would ever talk again. He had his moments of clarity when he seemed to fully understand Harry and everything was alright, but still he wouldn't directly communicate, or for some reason, couldn't.

And, while he was glad to hear Tom's voice in the memories, he wanted to hear him as he was now. To have a conversation, to find out how he was actually handling everything. He wanted to be able to poke fun at him a little, to find out if he really wanted to be with Sirius and Lupin or Hermione instead of here, trapped in this stupid claustrophobic room.

"If you need a break from here," Harry started his words dying as soon as he did. He didn't want Tom to go anywhere, but that was selfish. He wasn't confined to this place like Harry was. In a few weeks, he'd be free though. "If you want to visit Hermione or Lupin you can, you know. I'm not going to keep you here." At least I'm going to tell myself that, he thought.

Tom responded in no way, but Harry knew he was awake. He took that as a good sign that Tom wanted to stay with him. Of course, they'd be seeing all those people once Harry's confinement was over. If only Harry's birthday could come sooner. On the other hand, would they really have a chance at finishing up viewing the memories for Harry's fourth year once they left? There was no telling what was going to happen after they left the Dursley's.

There was also the rather large issue that Harry was debating. According to Ron and Sirius, things were getting worse in the wizarding world. He didn't know what Tom's choice would be, but Harry and Ron had already decided they weren't returning to Hogwarts for their last year. There was no point. Voldemort needed to be dealt with. The school was not safe and of all people, Dumbledore had been murdered. They would just be walking into a trap if they went back.

Harry sighed gripping Tom tighter. He knew Tom wouldn't choose school over going with him to fight Voldemort, but he almost wished he would. Tom deserved the revenge, there was no doubt in his mind about that, but he didn't deserve the pain Voldemort might cause during that time. And, if Harry did have to die for Voldemort to die as well? What would Tom do then? He couldn't even talk right now, because he'd lost his father, what would he do if he lost Harry next? There was nothing Harry could do to change that either. If he had to die in order to get rid of Voldemort, he had no choice. He would have to sacrifice himself. Voldemort could not be allowed to live.

All the same, it felt extremely cruel to make his boyfriend watch that. Perhaps he could get Hermione to go with Tom back to school somehow.

Yeah, right. Tom would be standing next to him until the very end. Again, this did wonders for him, not so much for Tom. If Asclepius had removed Tom's memories of them dating when he could have…We'd have probably ended up back together anyway.

He kissed the top of Tom's head and closed his eyes.

(TBC)

Alright, updated. Yay. Now I have to suck it up and work on Redemption again…sorry. Still a bit hard. Getting better, but meh. Not exactly my favorite thing to do right now all things considered. Even so, I will, because I'm not shying away from my stories. Please enjoy and thank you everyone who wished me well and acknowledged that I'm not trying to brush the story off, I'm just really sad.