Only snow was visible through the immense darkness, falling in light twists and curls as Harry walked alongside Tom. Unseen clouds spread across the entire sky, forcing the flakes to fall at a markedly slow pace, as if careful not to disturb the vital events that were to occur. All was silent beyond the sound of Harry and Tom's footsteps, but Harry knew that they couldn't be far now from the gathering crowd keen upon watching Dumbledore and Grindelwald duel.
Harry and Tom were dressed in black cloaks, their hoods drawn, shielding them from both the weather and any onlookers who might be lurking in the shadows. The Invisibility cloak rested securely in Harry's pocket, but he knew that even with this Tom didn't feel at all safe wandering so close to Grindelwald. His eyes never left the horizon as they strode on, and Harry knew he had his wand in hand, hidden beneath a sleeve of his cloak. Neither of them spoke, even as the crowd of witches and wizards they were looking for finally came into view.
There were perhaps hundreds of visible onlookers waiting for the duel. They formed a spacious ring, as if fearing the idea of Grindelwald's followers being near. Harry and Tom were given plenty of room to stand, for at the sight of their hidden faces, numerous groups stepped away from them with haste. Harry saw a few people eerie in appearance standing within his sight, but he doubted many of Grindelwald's followers were around. Most of the sinister people here were more likely interested in what great dark magic Grindelwald might know – and show.
Tom stood close by Harry, his left arm nearly resting against Harry's right. Their breath caused smoke against the freezing air as Harry scanned the witches and wizards standing together in the snow. No one was speaking, but by the expressions he could see, Harry could tell there were few people keener than himself to see the end of this duel. He was sickeningly apprehensive and nervous as the wait dragged on, and he couldn't imagine how Tom might be feeling.
It was a few minutes before Harry realized that Dumbledore was already here. He was standing to Harry and Tom's far left, previously blocked by a group of foreign reporters who had only spoken to each other in hushed voices when noticing Harry and Tom. When they scurried away, the view of Dumbledore was clear. Harry turned to mention this to Tom, but Tom's eyes were already fixed on the elderly wizard. His expression was impassive even when he glanced at Harry.
Dumbledore appeared tranquil, and Harry could barely believe it this time. All of the onlookers stared at him tensely on and off through the minutes that passed, and still Dumbledore remained unfazed. He stared at the falling snow, his eyes rarely resting upon the crowd. His hands were clasped behind his back, and Harry knew he wasn't even holding his wand yet. How Dumbledore expected to defend himself if Grindelwald made one of his signature quick attacks, Harry didn't know.
"He's going to lose," Tom said quietly at Harry's side. Harry didn't turn to look at him. "He isn't even bracing himself."
"He knows what he's up against," Harry replied in a low voice. "He's just trying to be intimidating."
"I fear the fate of this country if that's him trying to be intimidating," Tom claimed. "Taking a walk through a park would make one more prepared than Dumbledore is now. He's standing there as if he believes he can talk Grindelwald out of taking over England."
Harry made no reply to this, secretly agreeing with Tom. He had to say that if Dumbledore was faking calmness, he was doing it rather well. Shouldn't he feel nervous about seeing Grindelwald again, and even more so about having to fight him to the death, supposedly? If Dumbledore had no desire to do more than put Grindelwald in prison, he should at least know that Grindelwald would murder him without a moment of hesitation…
Grindelwald had murdered his sister, and broken up his relationship with his brother, his last relative. Yet here Dumbledore was, as humble as always. Harry wondered again in fear whether he had messed up something in time. Perhaps Dumbledore had forgiven Grindelwald thanks to Harry? He doubted this quite strongly, yet his sense of fear for what might happen didn't leave him. He could barely believe that this was a preparation for a duel. What was Dumbledore's plan, exactly?
Before Harry could get carried away with ideas, he felt Tom nudge him lightly. When he tore his gaze away from Dumbledore, he saw that Tom was looking out into the darkness to their right. Harry wondered why he was doing this, because he couldn't see anything. But a few people were looking that way now, and moving away from that general section of the circle. Harry felt more nervous as he stared into the darkness with everyone else – some of them seeing or hearing something, like Tom, and some of them not.
Grindelwald did not arrive at the scene in a large explosion, or in a way quite as dramatic as Harry had expected. His entrance was instead very quiet, and thus greatly uncanny. The silhouettes of Grindelwald and his innumerable followers arriving from the darkness was a great scare to all who saw it first, and an even greater one to all who felt and saw the rest of the crowd stirring. The very wind picked up, ruffled and keen upon moving away as tens of figures emerged from the shadows beyond falling snow.
Grindelwald glided smoothly towards where everyone stood. His followers were close behind him, all hidden beneath dark cloaks as they formed a neat finish on to their half of the circle – or oval now. Harry couldn't count how many of them there were, for most of them were hidden in the dark, or behind snow and icy fog, yet there had to be over fifty followers present.
Grindelwald was the only one who wasn't wearing his hood up, as he encouraged the crowd to embrace the sight of the new leader of England. He had a long mane of curling blond hair, kept untidy now in contradiction to the pictures that Harry had seen of him in the papers once or twice, from his recently paused days of working at the German Ministry of Magic. The wild, gleeful countenance that Harry had seen in both Gregorovitch's memory and Bathilda Bagshot's photographs was not at all gone, yet Grindelwald was more deranged now, and much older than before.
His smile at the sight of Dumbledore was one that Harry recognised, from seeing some of it upon Tom's face. Yet Tom had never yet smiled at Harry in particular this way. Grindelwald showed signs of the mad grin that Tom wore when he had a brilliant and twisted idea, or when he finally got something that he had worked very hard for – such as information about Horcruxes from Slughorn, or recognition for having powers beyond what was normal and Muggle-like at his orphanage.
Then there was another underlining sight within Grindelwald's grin. A psychotic level of hate, untouched by fear and uncertainty, but guided by what could only be memories of the past, and perhaps the effects of recently remembered emotional scars. Yet Grindelwald seemed like a complete psychopath to Harry, as he looked at him, so perhaps he wasn't at all scarred from his past with Dumbledore. There was an air about him that made him appear ominous, despite his continuously handsome appearance, and Harry was sure he wasn't the only one who felt it.
Harry moved back subconsciously, pressing himself closer to Tom. He was tempted to withdraw his wand, like Tom had, as he looked back at Dumbledore. Regardless of Grindelwald's despising grin, Dumbledore was smiling pleasantly, as though nothing in the world could be better than him standing before his old lover again. The only giveaway to this otherwise perfect act was Dumbledore's eyes. Harry felt relief to see those piercing blue irises burn with what could either be called great dislike, or pure hate. He stared with more hate than even Voldemort had received in Harry's memory.
The audience was mute as Dumbledore and Grindelwald stared at each other, not breaking eye contact. After a moment of dead silence, Dumbledore stood up straighter than before, almost proudly, with no wand in hand yet. Grindelwald was wandless too, Harry noticed, so this was perhaps to display signs of strength and confidence. It was a short time after standing up more formally when Dumbledore spoke, his voice loud enough for Harry and Tom to hear.
"Good evening, Gellert."
Grindelwald seemed just as displeased as Voldemort had always been with being addressed by his first name. Dumbledore smiled a little at the sight of the Dark Wizard's obvious annoyance, Harry noticed.
"Good evening, Dumbledore," Grindelwald replied in a loathsome tone. He had a notable German accent, having never quite lost it fully even through all the years of speaking English, and visiting English-speaking countries.
"You seem to have brought quite a few of your friends here tonight," Dumbledore commented, as though none of this were more exciting or unpleasant than a report of the day's weather. "A potentially wise idea, should you fail to defeat me on your own."
Tom moved by Harry's side, but Harry was too transfixed by the conversation being held to spare a thought for Tom's discomfort at the idea of so many followers being around. Harry wondered whether there were any Aurors present, to help Dumbledore if needed…
"Should I – against all odds – fail to kill you tonight, Dumbledore, there will always be a second chance to. You never could refrain from second chances, after all."
"Ah, but I believe you are quite the exception to the rule, Gellert," Dumbledore stated. "You are simply too far-gone."
"So you believe that I will fall tonight?" Grindelwald inquired. "You believe that no one will take my place should I die? That thousands won't join my army to rise against the British Ministry and beyond, no matter if I am dead or imprisoned? No prison walls can restrain my power, Dumbledore, and I will never die. I am too strongly inculcated into the hearts of wizards who believe in all that I believe. I am too well understood."
"I'm glad to see that you have found one way, at least, to tell yourself that you are immortal," Dumbledore remarked. "However, I think you are sadly mistaken in your belief that your followers alone can continue what you've sought to complete. I doubt whether even you can complete it, as a solitary leader. A panicked group, fighting to choose a new leader, will fall to pieces. The German Muggles have been defeated, and the Muggle World Wars have ended–"
"The German Muggles?" Grindelwald repeated. "The Muggle World Wars? You dare to suggest that I began those Wars, Dumbledore?"
"I must admit that I believe you had a fair hand in them, Gellert," Dumbledore replied. "Perhaps it was only chance, soon after used to your advantage. But your sudden publicised rise to power in the Wizarding World suggests an alarm at the Muggle wars stopping. Was your ploy perhaps sabotaged when the Muggles ceased fighting? As so many other plans have been sabotaged before?"
Something in Dumbledore's words seemed to annoy Grindelwald greatly, for in a movement so quick that Harry barely saw it, Grindelwald withdrew his wand. There was a flash of green light. Grindelwald sent a killing curse towards Dumbledore, and it appeared to hit him, as it was inches away from his cloak before he span on the spot, and Disapparated. He was ten meters to the left and forwards soon after a loud crack sounded out. Perfectly alive, his wand rested in his hand now.
"You were always one for quick attacks when panicked," Dumbledore said, causing a pause in the beginning of their duel. "What is it you fear I might say?"
"I fear nothing concerning you," Grindelwald spat, his expression livid, his followers tense. Dumbledore was about to say something more, before Grindelwald began another attack.
There was a flash of black light mixed with orange sparks as Grindelwald threw a nonverbal spell at Dumbledore, but Dumbledore was too quick again. With a swish of his wand, he conjured what looked like a plain sheet of metal. This seemed to be the weakness of the spell, for it smashed into it with a shockingly loud sound, and exploded instead of going through the other side. Harry knew this was a very rare weakness for a spell, and he was amazed that Dumbledore had thought of it so quickly.
"You're showing off your Muggle-related tricks, I see," Grindelwald laughed, his face contorted in anger. His next words were barely audible, as he moved sideways, trying to get a better aim at Dumbledore. "What humorous irony! What shameful hypocrisy!"
What looked like electricity was crackling at the end of Grindelwald's wand. Dumbledore seemed to know what is was the moment he saw it, for he threw a yellow spiralling spell at Grindelwald with no delay, blatantly trying to stop him from using the magic. Grindelwald Disapparated, and appeared twenty meters forwards, smiling in a maddened cross between enjoyment and rage. From his wand shot a bluish stream of powerful electricity, which he pointed towards the sky. The main stream of it went up towards the heavens as little offshoots plunged towards the earth in a millisecond.
Touching the earth and sky at once, the electricity caused thunder to roar in the clouds, and lightning to crash to the floor behind some of the onlookers of the duel. Dumbledore threw more spells at Grindelwald, most of them hitting the earth and causing sizable craters rather than touching the constantly Disapparating opponent. But after a tiring minute of Disapparating non-stop, Grindelwald was finally hit by one of Dumbledore's spells.
It was no longer snowing as lightning formed in the clouds above them all. Even before Dumbledore could catch Grindelwald, thunder was sounding and lightning was crashing towards the earth. It seemed that Dumbledore was the main target for this electric charge, and it was harder for him to dodge the electricity as he caught Grindelwald in a cage made of red light that was apparently hard to get out of.
By waving his wand in a complex movement, Grindelwald commanded lightning to hit the connection between Dumbledore and the cage, and the spell was immediately broken. Grindelwald shot a hex at Dumbledore, another killing curse, just as Dumbledore shot a spell back, a clear blue stream of light Harry didn't recognise. Their spells met for a moment, pushing against each other with equal force before they left the casters' wands and merely exploded in mid air.
There was a whirl of dark purple light streaming from nowhere to Grindelwald's wand on the next spell he cast, building up a form of magic. Dumbledore threw more spells, but Grindelwald deflected them between charging the purple light. Dumbledore then raised his wand above his head, and lightning struck it. Although he seemed to have planned this, because the lightning remained only on his wand as it twisted and crackled downwards.
"He's talking the energy," Tom said quietly by Harry's side. Grindelwald continued to charge his spell as Dumbledore stole the lightning. "I wonder only how strong Grindelwald's next spell will be if he doesn't care about the lightning…"
Harry could make no reply to this before Grindelwald's build up was complete, and he threw a stream of bright violet light towards Dumbledore. It might have even been ultraviolet in some degree, Harry thought as he stared, transfixed. The whole scene around them was lit up better than daylight would manage when the spell was released, and when it met Dumbledore's. Harry closed his eyes to avoid being blinded. This seemed to be the point of Grindelwald's spell – to blind people, perhaps only temporarily.
Dumbledore was losing, and he Disapparated, severing the connection of releasing spells. Dumbledore raised his wand when he reappeared twenty meters away, doing a quick incantation followed by a series of complex wand movements. What appeared to be a shield formed, blocking off the purple light that was now streaming towards him again. The shield made everything past it distorted, but also dulling the light a considerable amount. When Harry opened his eyes fully, he saw that Grindelwald was trapped inside a force field with his own spell.
The walls of the shield were closing in on Grindelwald, and he tried to Disapparate. Yet Dumbledore has blocked the ability to. Grindelwald caught onto this quickly, and with another series of wand flourishes, the light retracted behind the dark screen, and formed into around seven groups. It seemed that if Grindelwald couldn't affect Dumbledore with the power of this magic, he might as well use it in a different way – one that wouldn't kill him in this shield. The seven sections of light were getting duller and duller behind the screen, and soon no one could see what Grindelwald was doing.
There was a silence as everyone stared at the round dome Dumbledore had created. Then with a bang, and something shook the floor beyond and shield. The crowd gasped in fear. There was another booming noise, and the ground shook again. Dumbledore used more magic to make the shield smaller as yet another boom followed, causing the floor to crack under the shield. Four more earth trembling crashes, and all seven sections of light were in the ground, Harry knew. Dumbledore waved his wand, and the shield hit the floor. There was nothing underneath it. Only seven deep holes in the ground.
Dumbledore span on the spot to Apparate away, perhaps in fear. He was right to do so, for beyond the crowd Grindelwald had resurfaced. His next killing curse was very close to hitting Dumbledore, but when it missed, Grindelwald remained out of the circle of watchers, doing nothing else. There was a silence as Grindelwald smiled psychotically at Dumbledore, and Dumbledore stared back, frozen in fear. The crowd was confused, and they began talking quietly in panicked voices. A low rumbling noise could be heard.
At the sight of Dumbledore listening, and staying where he was, Harry suddenly realised with a jolt that the seven sections of magic were about to come crashing up through the soil, and there was nothing Dumbledore could do about it. It was no surprise that Grindelwald would attempt to win this battle by seeing what Dumbledore would do if a well-announced explosion were to wipe out the entire crowd. Harry felt Tom move besides him, but before he could even turn to look at him, the spells resurfaced.
Harry knew that Tom had been right in thinking that the crowd would be attacked, and he closed his eyes, unable to think as he heard the explosion happen. But he didn't feel anything hit him, despite seeing light blinding his vision. The noise was soon dulled, and he didn't know how. He opened his eyes only when he knew the light was gone, and he looked up. Roughly ten meters in front of him there was now what appeared to be a pure glass sphere, full of smoke. With a shock, Harry realised that Grindelwald must have trapped Dumbledore with the explosion.
Harry felt Tom grabbing his arm, and he looked up into Tom's dark grey eyes. After a moment of them gazing at each other, Harry realised that the view of the snow and other people behind Tom was oddly distorted. It took him a minute to catch onto the fact that Tom had also concealed them in a dome, to protect them from the explosion. Harry was about to say something, before they heard Grindelwald's cage around Dumbledore break.
With an indescribable sound, vaguely like a large sword being drawn slowly, the sphere faded away, and smoke began rising into the air. Harry soon saw that all that remained of where Dumbledore once stood was a large crater in the ground, caused by the explosion, and by Grindelwald trapping Dumbledore in with it. The smoke travelled up into the clouds that yielded neither snow nor lightning now. Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen.
Witches and Wizards began speaking to each other again in worried voices. Harry felt his heart beat sickeningly, as he scanned the scene to try and find Dumbledore. He wouldn't allow himself to believe that he was no longer here. That he was in pieces, in the ground. Harry didn't even take into account that he was actually worrying about the aged wizard as he searched desperately. Dumbledore had to be waiting somewhere, ready to fool the crowd and Grindelwald with his convincing death scene…
But Dumbledore did not show up again.
Grindelwald was walking back towards the circle of onlookers. His pace was slow, almost careful, as people moved out of his way. His wand was still drawn as he scanned the horizon, and then looked down at the hole in the ground. A smile formed on lips when he was convinced that Dumbledore had died. The deranged smile again. He was in the centre of the circle, standing close to the explosion site, when he finally did something. He began laughing.
His laugh was as wild as his appearance, and just as eerie as it reached the ears of everyone watching. The British witches and wizards present stared in shock as the followers of Gellert hardly dared to believe what they were seeing beyond their cloaks. Grindelwald's laugh continued, as Aurors and Reporters looked ready to warn the rest of the country, and those interested in the Dark Arts seemed ready to join Grindelwald now, minus Harry and Tom. Yet no one dared move.
"Oh, what a continuous fool Dumbledore turned out to be!" Grindelwald exclaimed after what felt like minutes of laughter. "He wouldn't even trade less than two hundred of you for his entire country! What did he expect to happen, I wonder? What did he expect to achieve?"
These words were puzzling to Harry. Grindelwald was talking about trading this crowd for the whole country… and slowly, Harry realised that the sphere to trap Dumbledore might not have been made by Grindelwald at all. It was more likely made by Dumbledore himself, to spare the crowd. Harry was too numb to contemplate this fully as fear washed over him. This explained why it might have broken…
Grindelwald's laugh continued, and he appeared almost unable to breath as he found so much humour in the result of this duel. His followers were laughing too, as everyone else remained motionless. Harry felt Tom pulling on his arm, but he didn't look at him. Dumbledore had to be around here somewhere, waiting to jump out of that crater, or waiting emerging from behind the crowd…
"Harry," Tom almost hissed from behind him. "We have to get out of here."
Harry turned to face Tom, his mind frozen. "No…"
Tom looked at Harry in disbelief. "We cannot stay here."
But the battle couldn't be over with yet, Harry thought. He turned away from Tom as Grindelwald began speaking again. "What ever did you want, Dumbledore?" Grindelwald asked aloud, still laughing madly. "What is it that you hoped to gain?"
"Listen to me," Tom hissed, and Harry turned back to him, the use of Parseltongue having more effect than English.
"What ever could be worth such a death?" Grindelwald exclaimed in the distance.
"Your wand, I believe," replied a soft voice.
Harry turned around quickly upon hearing Dumbledore's words, his anxiety lessoning at a swift rate, and his heart leaping. With one swish from Dumbledore's wand, Grindelwald's wand flew out of his hand. Harry stared, still unable to think, as Grindelwald turned around to face Dumbledore. His expression was of pure shock, as his wand hit the floor with a clatter, and a silence fell.
Then the crowd started cheering. Harry realised that Dumbledore must have been invisible before, waiting for the perfect time to attack Grindelwald. Reporters and general witches and wizards roared and shouted in happiness and relief, some of them looking so shocked that they were close to tears. The Dark Arts fans were trying to Disapparate, but it seemed as though they were all unable to, as were the actual followers of Grindelwald. Upon noticing this, the Aurors moved in.
Grindelwald was still trying to fight even as over fifty wands were pointed at him, from the Aurors who weren't dealing with the followers. Many Dark witches and wizards tried to run away from the Aurors on foot, but it seemed they were unable to outrun them. Dumbledore stood in front of Grindelwald, a sea of people separating them. He didn't say a word as Grindelwald swore and said things in more than one language, threatening the Aurors when he wasn't shouting at Dumbledore, telling him how this wasn't the end. Dumbledore gazed at him for a time, before simply turning to walk away.
Reporters ran up to Dumbledore, and began swarming around him. It seemed that people could Apparate to this destination, even if they couldn't Disapparate, as more witches and wizards popped into view. Harry and Tom stood still for a minute, the only two wizards who didn't belong to some sort of group. When Harry looked at Tom, the latter was impassive. They heard some people Disapparating as soon as all of Grindelwald's followers were caught. Someone had brought down the enchantment stopping it.
Without a word, Harry took Tom's arm, and they Apparated together. After the short but unpleasant experience of moving across the entirely country in a matter of seconds, Harry and Tom were back in Diagon Alley. Harry wanted to smile at Tom, to have a moment of celebration, but Tom was already walking ahead, without taking Harry's arm. Harry was a little confused by this, but he followed Tom anyway. It was snowing in London.
Harry didn't ask what was wrong as they walked towards Knockturn Alley. Maybe Tom just didn't want to be noticed, or seen at all, when Grindelwald's followers could potentially be all over the country? Harry doubted that, in some slight way, as they headed towards their house. They would be stronger than those followers, anyway.
Into their tall apartment building, up a few flights of stairs, and past their door, Harry and Tom arrived back in their flat. Harry closed the door behind them, and followed Tom in taking off his travelling cloak. When they were both done, Harry stared at Tom, and Tom stared back. There was a silence that Harry didn't break.
"We were nearly killed," Tom began.
"We had Dumbledore's protection," Harry remarked, "as well as yours."
"Dumbledore could have saved himself more obviously, instead of saving the onlookers of the duel, and I was a second away from failing with that shield. I might have even made it a second after the explosion…" At this Tom looked away from Harry, appearing concerned.
"But that didn't happen," Harry responded.
Tom shook his head, appearing almost lost in reflection. "We were fortunate…"
"Grindelwald wasn't truly aiming for the crowd," Harry observed. He wondered why Tom was worrying about this so much. "He was just fucking with Dumbledore's head, and moral senses."
"He would have killed us all without blinking en eye, even as a mistake," Tom stated. As he looked at Harry, he didn't appear to have any emotion of his face… but Harry knew there was something wrong.
"Aren't you even glad that Grindelwald lost?" Harry asked, confused.
"Of course I am," Tom replied quickly.
"Then what's the problem?"
"The problem is that Dumbledore won."
Harry waited for a minute; sure that Tom was going to say more than this, to make his words less nonsensical. "Well… what else was supposed to happen?"
There was a pause, as Tom struggled for an answer. "I don't know."
They looked at each other for a moment before he carried on.
"As you are aware, I did not expect Dumbledore to succeed… In fact, I didn't expect him to stand half a chance against Grindelwald."
"So… you're impressed?" Harry suggested.
Tom gazed at Harry, apparently questioning this suggestion in his mind. His eyes dropped away from Harry's as a silence fell, and he stared into space. "I'm not impressed, exactly," he said very quietly.
"Then what do you feel?" Harry asked almost as quietly, a crease forming between his eyebrows in concern.
"Grindelwald told Dumbledore he could never die… He might have been smart enough to create a Horcrux, despite not being smart enough to defeat Dumbledore."
"Grindelwald is going to be put in prison," Harry said. "Even if he made a Horcrux, it will be years until he actually dies. People will make sure of that, so he can suffer in the walls he built."
"This isn't what is concerning me now," Tom said.
"Then please tell me what is," Harry urged. "I can't guess what you're thinking all the time."
Tom stared at Harry, apparently hesitant to tell him something. Harry couldn't imagine why, and he waited for Tom to speak patiently. "Dumbledore knows quite a bit about me," Tom said slowly. "More than I would like him to know… If he is so strong that he can defeat Grindelwald, I don't know what he might do, or might be doing, to stop me from achieving all the things I want to achieve in life."
"You mean your research in the Dark Arts?" Harry asked. He was bewildered, not because Dumbledore knew things about Tom – for he was well aware of that – but because Tom seemed to be cautious about the idea of Dumbledore now. He seemed almost scared.
"Yes," Tom confirmed. As opposed to being blank and emotionless, some annoyance suddenly appeared on his face. Harry noticed this from his eyes, which winced at his own words. "Dumbledore would simply love to stop me learning and practicing the Dark Arts… How could he resist, when he is now famous for catching great Dark Wizards? He would get the Ministry involved, if he were too cowardly to stop me himself… But he could stop me himself…"
Tom was suddenly pacing the room. He looked as though he wanted to sit down, but he refrained from doing so as he worried. Harry followed him towards the living room, sitting down on their couch after a moment. "Dumbledore isn't our teacher anymore, Tom. He can't stop you from doing anything."
Tom didn't seem confident in this as he continued walking; appearing visibly more convinced that Dumbledore was out to get him. All Harry could do was watch him, and try to convince him that they were safe. "He can report me for doing illegal things…"
"He doesn't know where we are," Harry said firmly, "and even if he does, it isn't as though we have Avery, Lestrange, Dolohov, or anyone else knocking at our door every day. We aren't doing anything illegal at the moment, unless you count reading, and Dumbledore is the only person who suspects you of doing anything bad. Minus him, you're respected by every teacher at Hogwarts."
"The other teachers don't have as much power, as much influence, as Dumbledore does now," Tom said. He looked even more concerned at this, if that was possible. Harry even felt as though he looked a little sick. "They could tell him something," Tom suddenly muttered, "The Slytherins."
"Yeah, if they wanted us to tear them limb from limb and send them in pieces to their mothers," Harry responded. "They're petrified of you, Tom, and are pretty devoted to keeping you happy, even by this point."
Tom might have agreed with this, but he made no sign of it. He merely stopped walking to look at Harry. There was still something wrong with him, and Harry could see it past his sudden frustration. He still appeared sick. The frustration was probably there merely because Tom couldn't understand what he was feeling.
"Why are you worrying about Dumbledore?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Tom replied.
"That's not a good answer," Harry replied. "You must know why."
Tom struggled with thought for a moment, before he began pacing the room once more. "Tell me you won't start thinking about him as some sort of hero. Dumbledore only defeated Grindelwald because he was there first… had he failed, we would have done it ourselves."
"I'm never going to think about him as a hero," Harry assured Tom. After a moment, he decided to add, "He didn't even kill Grindelwald."
Tom made no reply to this as he continued walking. Harry had the strangest feeling that Dumbledore being his hero wasn't what Tom cared about either. There was something else in his mind now as he paced restlessly. After Harry dwelt upon how confident Tom had been before the duel compared to now, believing that Dumbledore would fail, a thought struck him.
"Are you scared of Dumbledore?" he asked.
Tom stopped dead, to stare at Harry. Both of them contemplated this. It would certainly make sense to Harry if watching the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald had altered Tom's assumptions about Dumbledore's strength. Tom seemed to be thinking something along the same lines, but he wasn't happy with it. He stood for a moment, apparently unsure what to reply to this.
"It's fine if you're scared," Harry said quietly.
Tom didn't seem pleased with Harry's reassurance, and he looked very close to protesting against his assumption. But he couldn't find the words. Seeing his chance, Harry continued.
"It is not everyday that you see a shockingly strong wizard defeat another wizard who everyone thought was close to unstoppable. Especially when you know Dumbledore, and despise him."
"Do you fear Dumbledore?" Tom asked, forgetting to comment on anything else Harry said.
Harry wondered whether Tom would feel safer admitting his fear if Harry shared the feeling. Harry didn't want to lie to Tom, but… it would give him an excuse to distance himself from Dumbledore more, mentally. Tom already despised the old Transfiguration Professor, and this was more reason for them to bond upon their feelings towards Dumbledore. What was more, Dumbledore had scared Harry greatly when talking about Tom…
"Yes," Harry said. "There are too many things to be careful about around him."
"Amongst other thing," Tom added. He stood where he was for a minute, thinking, before he sat down on the couch next to Harry. He sat still for a moment, staring into space again. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever had to fight him."
"Just run away until you're strong enough," Harry advised. He moved over so sit closer to Tom. "I wouldn't let you fight him alone, anyway."
Harry took Tom's hand in his own, and Tom examined their interlinked fingers. He now appeared impassive again. "I'm glad that Grindelwald has fallen," he said very quietly. "I only wish I could be more optimistic about it with you…"
"Don't worry about it," Harry replied, knowing this was as good as an apology from Tom. "I don't exactly want to celebrate, even if his downfall makes me happy."
Tom's eyes met Harry again, and he smiled slightly. "At least this means less worrying for you."
"For you too," Harry replied.
"Yes, for me too," Tom repeated softly. "I'm also relived that we're both still alive…"
"We were bound to survive," Harry said. "I wouldn't have gone there if I didn't think we had more of a change to getting out than being trapped."
"I wouldn't have gone there if I didn't know we'd be separated otherwise," Tom responded, his tone light-hearted. Harry smiled a little, and Tom examined his lips for a time. They were silent, lost in each other's gaze.
"I'm glad you came with me," Harry said.
"As am I," Tom replied. He reached up a hand to caress Harry's jaw, smiling lightly as he did so. He gazed into Harry's eyes, watching his reaction to his touch.
Harry kissed Tom, unable to resist any longer. He relished in the feeling of Tom's soft lips against his own again, as Tom's hand fell away from his face to slide along his neck. Harry found himself leaning into the kiss, moving his body closer to Tom's without much provoking. Tom's breath became rougher as Harry positioned himself in a way that pressed Tom closer to the couch behind them, Tom still sitting up. Harry was nearly on his lap, as Tom held his back, sliding his hands along Harry's waist. Harry wanted to pause for a second, to tell Tom he needn't worry about Dumbledore or anything else, but a greater need overpowered this as Tom's hands continued to travel his body.
They were safe at home now, at any rate, and Tom didn't seem at all keen upon stopping to evaluate the situation again. Harry was sure he had forgotten about his worries concerning Dumbledore as he kissed Tom passionately, wanting nothing more than to continue what he had started.