(A/N: Hey guys I'm back again. I don't have much to say before we kick things off other than I hope you enjoy this chapter. So, without further ado, on with the show!)

A Cold Sleep

Part 26

Harry was propped up in his and Tom's bed, reading yet another book on pureblood society and etiquette. After two hours of discussions with his Uncles he had finished his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay and promptly decided that History of Magic could wait another hour. He needed to take a break and refresh his brain or else he was going to scream. Of course he didn't know why taking a break from learning was just more learning, it sounded more like Hermione than Harry, but he didn't question things too harshly when they worked.

The door to the room had been left open so that anyone who needed him knew that he was available. If anyone found it strange that Tom and Harry had made themselves so accessible, they had done a rather good job of keeping it to themselves. Of course it wouldn't be long before both men were once again in the public eye, which was why Harry had spent so much time cramming every social skill he could into his mental library. The last thing Harry wanted to do was embarrass himself or Tom in front of an audience. They were supposed to be the Dark Lord and Light Lord; there was a certain level of decorum that the public would expect from them.

"Harry? Do you have a minute?" a quiet voice asked from the doorway. Harry instantly closed his book and looked up, not at all surprised to see Ron standing there. It had been a long time since the two of them had sat down and talked. Not that they had been avoiding one another, both had just been busy with all that was going on in the house.

"Yeah, sure. Come in and have a seat," Harry said and gestured to the couch in the corner of the room. He scrambled out of bed, glad that he hadn't yet changed into his pajamas.

Ron took a seat, looking around the room in wonder. It was mostly Tom's décor, what with the case of artifacts and the various shelves of books. But some of Harry's personality had already crept in with Quidditch supplies sitting out atop the dresser and his robes hanging in the closet. Harry quickly took up the seat across from the couch just as he had a few hours ago when his Uncles visited. At this point though he was considerably more relaxed than he had been earlier in the day.

"So what's up?" Harry asked of his oldest friend and Ron sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck as he searched for the words to say what he wanted to say.

"It's just, all very strange. You getting married to Tom, Hermione getting married to Draco. I'm happy for you guys, but I guess it feels…a little off. I expected all of us to be further into adulthood before we even decided to get married. You know? I guess what I'm trying to say is that life feels like it is moving too fast and I don't quite know how to handle it," Ron said plainly if in a slight rush.

"I know what you mean. Tom and I are rushing because of Dumbledore. Apparently he wasn't even going to ask me until my birthday. So like, that's way sooner than we thought. But Hermione and Draco aren't getting married until after we're out of school, so there's time there," Harry said and Ron nodded.

"Yeah, I know this is the way it has to be, but I wish it didn't have to be. You shouldn't be having to be the Light Lord yet. I've done some reading on previous Light Lords and they haven't taken the title until well into their 50's or 60's and even then it was only really a title. There haven't been enough Dark Lords at the same time that there was always a war," Ron said and shook his head at the absurdity of it all.

"You're worried that I'm not ready for it?" Harry questioned softly, suddenly understanding where his friend was coming from.

"Well yeah, we haven't even had our NEWTs yet. I know we've all been cramming, but Dumbledore is ancient! He has had more time to learn stuff, to pick up tricks that will make him more powerful. He's been siphoning from a Nexus for decades. It's frankly terrifying," Ron admitted and looked absolutely like he was on the verge of a panic attack.

"It is pretty damn scary. But you've got to remember that I have Tom by my side. He and I will be working together. And I'm not Light Lord for nothing. I have the power inside of me. I just have to be able to use it when the time comes," Harry said in an attempt at reassurance.

"I know. And I can't believe life led me to a point where I'm saying this, but I trust Tom to keep you safe," Ron acknowledged and Harry blushed fiercely. It was strange. They had thought that Tom would be their greatest enemy. He and his friends had fought Tom in some form twice. Of course they hadn't known that that form was corrupted at the time, but they had still fought him.

"Thanks Ron. But you've got to trust me to keep myself safe too. I've survived this long haven't I?" Harry said and laughed nervously.

"Of course I trust you Harry! But you're my best friend, what kind of person would I be if I didn't worry?" Ron asked and Harry sighed, it was a good point and he had to accept that fact.

"That's fair. Just don't forget that Tom isn't my only backup. I have a whole group of people that are going to stand behind me and protect me. It's yourself that you should be worried about, you'll be in the vanguard," Harry said and was proud of himself for not bursting into tears once again at the knowledge that his friends would be risking their lives to protect him.

"Well yeah, I suppose. But for some reason that doesn't really bother me. If you think about it strategically at least, we're at the least risk. There's very little chance of a frontal assault by the Order of the Phoenix. If Dumbledore is tied into the Nexus just like you and Tom then he'll be able to use the magic there to attack you both directly. He might not even send ground troops. And if he does they still have to get through Ministry security to get at you both. No matter what way you slice it, you two are at the most risk here," Ron said and Harry nodded, there wasn't a mind around that rivaled Ron's when it came to strategy.

"You might be right. But we'll figure it out. Now, back to the wedding stuff we were talking about earlier. How do you feel about being my Best Man?" Harry said, switching subjects as rapidly as he dared, knowing that he would have to have yet another conversation with Tom about their plans to fight Dumbledore.

(A/N: Well that's it for right now. I hope that you enjoyed it and will leave me a review or a comment to let me know what you thought of it. As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see you again soon!)