Chapter 37

Harry fumed as he stormed through Hogwarts' halls. It was Thursday just after dinner, so he couldn't go to the Slytherin common room or dormitories, since they'd be crowded around this time. He briefly considered the Club House, but that wasn't a good idea either, since some of the Culture Club members had taken to using it to socialize in the early evenings, which was fine, Harry didn't mind. He'd only asked that they keep the password to themselves and not share it with anyone not a part of the Culture Club, which so far everyone had done.

So Room of Requirement it was.

When pacing in front of the blank wall Harry asked for the room full of junk, so that he could work off some steam by going through all the many piles of stuff to see what he could use or sell.

But first things first. Harry slammed the door shut behind himself and asked the room to gather all the chairs in one nearby corner. The room did so and at once chairs piled up out of nowhere, only to tumble down again with much clattering. Harry selected a reasonably clean and whole armchair with soft, blue fabric and levitated it to the side where he promptly threw himself in it while he flipped open his mirror.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Tom asked the moment he answered his mirror. The background betrayed that he was still in his hotel room in Rome and Harry recalled Tom had his final two NEWTs the next day before being able to go home just in time for the start of Harry's holidays.

"Fucking Dumbledore," Harry said with feeling while he gritted his teeth, brow furrowed in his deepest frown. "Snape just told me the headmaster has decided that I'm to stay at Hogwarts for the upcoming holidays."

Tom gave Harry a severely unimpressed look, eyes glinting with defiance. "That is not up to the headmaster to decide."

"I know!" Harry turned in the chair, throwing both legs over one armrest while leaning his head back and holding the mirror up over his face. "Snape said I should write him an official letter and send it to the board and ministry and prophet and stuff."

"Hm." Tom briefly pursed his lips while glancing down, which Harry had come to recognize as Tom's plotting and planning face. "I think it would be better to do nothing. You don't owe him an explanation since he's only the headmaster of your school. It's not up to him to decide where you spend time away from school since he's not your legal guardian."

Harry considered that for a second, briefly shutting his eyes. "Okay, but Dumbledore might be able to pull something since Petunia didn't exactly give me official permission to do what I want for the holidays. I just tell everyone she did."

"So we get her permission." Tom held up a hand to ward off Harry's obvious question of how they were going to accomplish that. "I'll write her a short letter and have Dobby deliver it to her with a permission form for her to sign. You'll be spending your holidays with the Notts, so you'll be under the constant supervision of an adult, and Theodore is a good friend of yours so it makes sense to spend your holidays with his family."

"So I'm not going to go back to the Dursleys and spend the nights there and just go where ever I want during the day, like we had planned earlier," Harry concluded. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, because he had hoped to spend most of his free time with Tom and how would he be able to do that while stuck at the Notts.

"We were always going to spend Yule at the Notts, Harry," Tom said in a reassuring tone, perhaps reading some of Harry's disappointment on his face. "I was merely keeping it a secret to surprise you with it later. But with Dumbledore determined to keep you at Hogwarts, it would be better for you not to spend time at the location the Order can easily get to you. And we'll still spend most of our time together, since I know for a fact Dorus has lots of plans for socializing with his son, so you'll have plenty of alone time."

"Ah, that's good," Harry said while exhaling deeply in relief. "And I do like the idea of staying at the Notts, I just also want to spend time with you."

"I know, my dear," Tom replied with an amused little smile. "So do nothing, say nothing, Dobby will bring you the signed permission slip and Saturday you board the train with everyone else and Dorus will be waiting for you and Theodore and take you to Nott Manor with a portkey where I'll be waiting."

"Got it. Good plan." Harry was immensely relieved he wouldn't have to confront Dumbledore in any way, shape or form before the holidays. He'd enjoyed his time at Hogwarts over the last four months or so, but he was ready for some time away from the castle. Strange how that feeling had changed since his first life. Back then, Harry dreaded having to leave Hogwarts for the holidays, and now Harry wanted nothing more than to leave, at least for a few weeks. Was this how normal kids felt, who had loving families waiting for them at home? Harry supposed it must be, though in his first life he'd never really experienced this feeling of anticipation before, not even when spending time at Grimmauld Place or the Burrow for the holidays. Back then, Hogwarts had been home, but now, that was slowly changing.

Harry knew he hadn't found a place to call home yet, but he did know that he had a person who represented that for him, and that of course was Tom.

"So just relax and before you know it you'll be at Nott Manor and we'll see each other again." Tom tilted his head from one side to the other and back, clearly trying to loosen some muscles. "Now, if you don't mind, I have yet to eat and I want to shower and spend some time going over some notes for tomorrow."

"Which NEWTs are you taking tomorrow?" Harry sat up in the chair, only a little disappointed at having to cut their conversation short.

"Charms and arithmancy. And right after those I'm taking a portkey back." Tom did look slightly tired, his skin a little paler than usual and there were faint dark circles around his eyes. Which was no surprise, since he'd been taking OWLs and NEWTs for ten days straight. Even for a genius like Tom that had to be exhausting.

"Good luck," Harry said and gave Tom his most sincere smile. "And thank you. I'm feeling much better already."

"Good. Should Dumbledore really try to resort to attempted kidnapping, which I doubt, then ask for Dorus or Sybil Post. She's officially your solicitor as well, even if you haven't personally met her yet." Tom grinned at Harry while giving him a sly wink. "I'll see you Saturday. Goodbye, Harry."

"Bye!" And with that Harry flipped the mirror shut and dropped back in the chair again, releasing a deep breath while he stared up at the ceiling. He really was relieved this problem had been tackled, for now at least. The past three weeks had shown Harry that having some quiet time between all the exciting things happening in his life was really important and necessary.

Glancing around the room, Harry decided he might as well sort through some more books and other items. He hadn't yet spent anymore time doing so since the first time. He'd been busy with so many other things, both important and utterly mundane, that it had simply slipped his mind.

"Kreacher!" Harry called as he got up with a small groan.

"Little Master be calling Kreacher?" At once, Kreacher offered Harry a bunch of homemade Jaffa cakes in a tea towel and Harry accepted them with a huge smile.

"Thanks!" Harry stuffed one in his mouth immediately. Kreacher had made these for him before and they were absolutely amazing. Harry chewed and swallowed while Kreacher waited patiently. "Yeah, I called you to see if you want to help with sorting through some stuff here. Help me scan items for curses and such."

"Kreacher will help."

"Awesome." And with that, they went to work. Harry asked the room to place items from different categories together so both he and Kreacher could cast detection charms on the piles of stuff before Harry sorted through it. The last thing he wanted was to end up in the hospital wing so soon before the holidays because he got careless and touched a cursed item. Harry could remember Katie Bell's scream perfectly that time she'd accidentally touched the cursed necklace Malfoy had been trying to send to Dumbledore. Or Dumbledore's blackened hand from where he'd touched the Gaunt ring that Voldemort had cursed personally.

It was a miracle, really, that more wizards and witches weren't absolutely paranoid about every little thing they touched, seeing how easy it was to curse something and get it in front of an enemy.

Harry found plenty of money bags and loose coins, not a fortune but still a nice bit of pocket money, which he all piled into his own money bag. That would save him a trip to Gringotts for the next few years.

There were lots of every day items Harry knew he might one day need, after finishing Hogwarts, so he asked Kreacher to store them in Grimmauld Place's attic for now. Sirius wasn't using the house, hadn't even set foot in it since his release from the hospital according to Kreacher, so Harry was confident no one would notice his secret stash of cauldrons and candlesticks and bedpans and inkwells and much, much more. Once he got a place of his own, Harry could go through it all and select what he wanted to keep before selling the rest. He did the same with the nicest pieces of furniture, any recreational items he found like Quidditch balls and chess sets and with clothes.

So many clothes.

Kreacher simply had to flick his fingers to transport it all to Grimmauld Place, much to Harry's relief.

Harry also took most of the broomsticks he found. Most, but not all. He left two functioning ones in the room, because he still sometimes woke up covered in sweat with images of roaring dragons and basilisks made of cursed flames bearing down on him fresh on his mind. And this way, with the brooms still there, whoever might get caught in the room at one point in the future surrounded by fiendfyre would have a way to escape.

Finally, there were the books. So many books. They had already placed the textbooks to the side during Harry's first expedition into the room, and now Kreacher made sure all those were transported to Grimmauld Place while Harry sorted through the rest.

He was going to keep most of those books, he already knew, even titles that seemed boring or useless. It would be nice to one day have a large library of his own, and this way he'd have tons of books to stock it with.

While digging through the many books and setting aside interesting titles for himself, Harry came across a few books he might give his friends for Yule.

To simplify things Harry had ordered a bunch of gift baskets from Honeydukes to be delivered to his friends. At eleven or twelve, all of them still appreciated getting sweets and chocolate as a gift, Harry was sure.

Still, the herbology diary he found from a turn of the century NEWT student would make a nice extra little gift for Neville, as did the book on healing charms for Theo. Blaise would appreciate some vintage Quidditch magazines, probably.

Finally, when Harry was done with the cursory selection of all the books and he told Kreacher to get them all out of there, he glanced at his watch and realized it was almost eleven and thus well after curfew.

Time to call it a night. While finishing the amazing Jaffa cakes, Harry strolled back to the dungeons, hidden beneath his invisibility cloak.

The next day they only had potions in the morning with the afternoon free, and they'd decided to have a sort of Christmas lunch with the Culture Club in the Club House, provided by a few of their own house-elves, Kreacher included. That evening everyone would be busy with last minute packing so they were having their meeting that afternoon instead.

The house-elves had outdone themselves and there was a varied buffet waiting for them in the Club House, with many traditional Christmas food like turkey and gravy, roast potatoes and Brussel sprouts, and pigs in blankets, mince pies and Christmas pudding. There was pumpkin juice and hot chocolate to wash it all down with.

Harry had made it clear no one was expected to exchange gifts within the Culture Club. He knew from personal experience how humiliating it could be if you were expected to give gifts but couldn't afford it during his primary school years, when Harry was always excluded from any small gift exchanges between students because the Dursleys wouldn't give him so much as a pound to spend. And he knew that for plenty of their club members it would be financially impossible to buy presents for twenty plus other students. But Harry had suggested perhaps they could exchange cards, at which point some of the students had taken it upon themselves to provide piles of craft items, all sent in from home, and they'd spent their previous Culture Club meeting making Christmas and Yule cards which they exchanged after their excellent lunch.

And as Harry was tucking away the small pile of cards he'd received in his trunk, Dobby popped in briefly and handed him the signed permission slip in which Petunia gave Harry the official go ahead to spend the holidays with Theo Nott and his family. Harry folded it carefully and tucked it in his bag so he wouldn't lose it, wondering if Tom had put a compulsion charm on his letter to Petunia to get her to sign it without any problems.

The rest of the afternoon was spent packing and enjoying the farewell feast in the great hall. After dinner the weekly house meeting in the common room transformed into a holiday reception of sorts with butterbeer and lots of sweets and chocolates for everyone. Harry chatted with his friends and even some of the member of the Quidditch team, which he knew pretty well at that point.

By the time Harry went to bed that night he was utterly stuffed and convinced he didn't need to eat again for at least a week. Still, it had been a wonderful start of the holiday season, the best Harry could remember ever having.

The next morning every student at Hogwarts woke up to find a book with a letter from the Board of Governors on top of it. There were many loud exclamations of surprise and joy to be heard all over the castle. A lot of wizard-raised students had heard from parents and other family members that the Hogwarts book of rules and regulations was one of the most sought after items at the school and to now be handed it as an early Yule gift was a very welcome surprise indeed.

Harry and his friends enjoyed a quick breakfast, in which Harry gave nothing away about his plans to just leave the castle with the other students, and yet that is exactly what he did. Dumbledore wasn't seated at the head table anyway, probably too busy trying to figure out how on earth the Board of Governors got their hands on the book in the first place and how they'd managed to get it delivered to each and every Hogwarts student right under Dumbledore's nose. The chaos Dumbledore must be experiencing at that moment was only beneficial for Harry and his plan to simply walk out of the castle with everyone else.

They went down to the dungeons to pick up their cloaks and trunks, and as one group the first-years made their way to the Hogwarts express, Harry tucked in the middle of the loudly chatting group.

No one stopped him.

The carriage ride proved interesting in that Harry could see the thestrals, but he wasn't the only one.

"Freaky things," Blaise muttered, side-eying the creatures with disdain as they boarded the carriage.

Theo was also staring at them, until Harry gave him a gentle nudge with his elbow. "They're thestrals. They're quite friendly, even if they look creepy as anything."

"All right," Theo said, but didn't sound entirely convinced. He got into the carriage anyway.

Boarding the Hogwarts Express wasn't a problem either, and Harry got a compartment with his friends easily enough, even though it was a tight squeeze with ten of them but thankfully they were all still fairly small so they made it work. The ride was spent with lots of conversation, excited monologues about what everyone was planning to do during the holidays, and games of exploding snap. Harry enjoyed it all immensely, since he hadn't taken the train back to London for the holidays more than once in his previous life. It was something new, and of course it meant he'd be seeing Tom later that day.

No, trouble didn't start until they made it to King's Cross station in London. Harry got off the train right after Theo, calling out goodbyes to his friends as everyone darted off to find their families. The station was packed, and Harry had trouble keeping up with Theo.

"Potter!" Moody came clunking across the platform straight at Harry, Arthur Weasley following him closely. "Come here!"

Harry booked it in the opposite direction and he was fast, too, since his trunk was miniaturized and tucked in his pocket, and he'd sent Hedwig ahead so she wouldn't be stuck in a cage all day. "Help!" Harry yelled as loudly as he could while he ducked between students and their parents until he saw a few familiar figures.

The Malfoys stood greeting Draco and Harry ran towards them at once. "Help, please, Draco, these strange men are trying to hurt me!"

"What is this?" Lucius Malfoy said, whipping his wand out of his cane while reaching out an arm, urging Harry to step closer to Narcissa.

"Potter!" Moody was surprisingly quick for someone with a prosthetic leg. "Get back here!"

"I have no idea who these men are," Harry breathed, looking up at Narcissa with wide, fearful eyes.

"Harry," Dorus, with Theo in tow, had found him, thankfully. "Hello, Lucius. What's going on?"

"I was about to find out," Lucius said, keeping his wand to the side as Moody and Arthur reached them.

"Step away from the boy," Moody snarled, his wand pointed straight at Lucius. Arthur seemed a little more hesitant, looking from one person to the next but wand no where to be seen.

"These men are trying to kidnap me! I don't know who they are!" Harry said urgently to Dorus, playing up his youth and vulnerability.

"Explain yourself," Lucius demanded, not budging an inch even in the face of an enraged Moody.

"Dumbledore's orders," Moody barked. "Now step aside or I'll curse you, Malfoy, don't think I won't."

"I'd like to see you try," Lucius said with the faintest of sneers.

"Can we just go?" Harry asked Dorus pleadingly. "Those strangers scare me."

"Harry," Arthur Weasley said with what he probably meant to be a kind smile but which came out more as a grimace. He, at least, seemed to understand how awkward their situation was. "Professor Dumbledore asked us to escort you back to Hogwarts. You're to stay there for the holidays."

"No, I'm not," Harry said, voice filled with conviction. "Dumbledore is not my legal guardian, so he has no say where I spend my holidays, and my aunt has given me permission to spend it with Mr Nott and Theo."

"You're not staying with Death Eater scum, Potter," Moody said with an enormous scowl. "So stop your yapping and come here."

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Robards asked, with Shacklebolt by his side. They had apparently been making enough of a scene to draw the attention of the Aurors that were always stationed on the platform whenever the train arrived or departed with students aboard.

"Yes," Harry said at once and pointed his finger at Moody and Arthur. "These two men are trying to kidnap me. I don't know who they are but they're insisting I come with them anyway while I'm supposed to go with Mr Nott here."

"I'm an Auror, so you do as I say," Moody growled.

"Not right now you're not," Robards said with a vicious little smile. "You're still suspended and under investigation." It seemed Robards was still pissed at Moody for having been dragged into that whole fiasco with Tom and the Wizengamot.

Shacklebolt was peering down at Harry. He wasn't a member of the Order of the Phoenix yet, Harry knew. In his previous life Dumbledore hadn't recruited him until Voldemort had returned after Harry's fourth year, and in this life no one believed Dumbledore's claims about Voldemort having returned, except perhaps a handful of Order members. Even the article in the Prophet that announced Dumbledore's dismissal from the Wizengamot hadn't mentioned anything about Dumbledore's claims that Voldemort had returned in the form of a young man who liked finding lost treasure. Therefore, most people weren't even aware of Dumbledore's claims, since he hadn't made them publicly again after most of the Order urged him to find evidence for Tom's real identity first. As far as Harry knew, Dumbledore was still busy doing just that.

"Harry, think about what you're doing," Arthur pleaded with wide eyes. "You Know Who is back and you're not safe with these people." Apparently Arthur was one of those few people that simply took Dumbledore's word as truth without a shred of evidence.

"These people are my friends," Harry said with his nose up in the air, as though he was deeply insulted by Arthur's words. "And you're clearly insane." Harry rummaged around in his bag and pulled out the permission slip, handing it to Shacklebolt. "My aunt Petunia, who is my legal guardian, has given me permission to stay with Mr Nott and Theo for the holidays. Can I press charges against these two kidnappers?"

"Yes, you can." Surprisingly, that was Augusta Longbottom who said that. She stepped closer with Neville in tow, who was watching the whole scene unfold with a disbelieving look on his face. "Arthur, can you really afford to lose your job over a kidnapping charge from Harry Potter himself?"

Arthur ducked his head, cheeks colouring red, only now apparently realizing how badly this would look for him at the ministry.

"Stay out of this," Moody snarled, magical eye whizzing in its socket in sheer agitation.

"Enough," Shacklebolt said, folding the permission slip and handing it back to Harry. "You're free to leave with your temporary guardian, Mr Potter. As for you, Moody, I suggest you return to the ministry with us so you can explain to Amelia why you were trying to kidnap Harry Potter."

"Come," Dorus said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Lucius, Narcissa, a pleasure as always."

Lucius returned Dorus' nod while Narcissa offered him a polite little smile. "Theodorus, we'll see you for Yule, I'm sure."

"Naturally." And with that, Dorus led Harry and Theo away from the whole mess and presented them with an old, rusty teakettle. Harry and Theo touched it without any prompting and one violent pull later they stood in front of an old but well-kept Manor house surrounded by elaborate gardens, which were rather bare at that time but Harry imagined that in the summer they'd be truly beautiful.

"Welcome to Nott Manor," Dorus said as he gestured the kids inside. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, Harry. Theo has mentioned you often in our correspondence. Call me Dorus."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Dorus," Harry said, smiling up at the man, who looked a great deal like a much older version of Theo, save that Theo's features were a little more rounded, not quite as sharp as Dorus' face. "And thank you so much for having me for the holidays. I really appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure." Dorus wrapped his arm around Theo's shoulders and pulled him a little closer. "Nestor will take you to your guest suite now, Harry."

"Now?" Theo asked, looking up at his father with a frown.

"Harry has a little something waiting for him in his room," Dorus said with a very knowing smile. "You can give him a tour later. For now, I want to spend some time with my only child."

Nestor the house-elf popped into the hallway right beside Harry. "Master Dorus' guest be following Nestor now."

Harry did, trailing after the elf as they made their way up the wide staircase, his stomach coiling with anticipation. Was Tom waiting for him in his room? Was that what Dorus was getting at? Harry had no clue what else could be waiting for him.

"This is being your room for the duration of your stay," Nestor said with a short bow as he gestured to a blue door on the left of the wide hallway full of doors.

"Thank you," Harry said politely and pushed the door open.

There, looking out the windows into the gardens, stood Tom, back turned towards the door. Still ridiculously tall, and still ridiculously handsome once he turned to look over his shoulder at Harry.

"Hi," Harry said, a little breathlessly, as he closed the door behind himself.

"Hello, my dear," Tom said with a warm smile as he stepped closer to Harry. "How was your trip?"

Harry hesitated for a second. Should they hug again? Was that something they did now? Harry had really liked that one hug they'd shared and he thought about it often, but Tom didn't take any initiative so Harry merely smiled back at him. "Splendid. I almost got kidnapped by Moody and everything."

"Do tell." Tom gestured to a small seating area beside the fireplace with a sofa and two armchairs and a coffee table holding a tea service. Through an open archway was the bedroom with a huge, four poster bed and several dressers and wardrobes, and a door that led to a opulent bathroom.

"Nice rooms," Harry said as he glanced around while Tom served them both tea. Harry sat across from Tom on the sofa, while Tom occupied one of the armchairs. "Anyway, I was able to leave Hogwarts no problem, but apparently Dumbledore noticed my absence at some point and he got Moody and Arthur Weasley to wait for me at the platform where they pretty much tried to make me leave with them even though I don't know who they are. Well, I've seen Arthur Weasley once in the hospital wing, but we've never been introduced."

"So what did you do?" Tom sipped his tea while raising his eyebrows in question as he looked at Harry.

"Ran like hell and yelled for help. Found the Malfoys eventually, and Lucius kept Moody at bay for a moment until Dorus found me. The platform was so full, it was hard to find anyone. There was some yelling and then the Aurors got involved and they told me I was free to leave so we went. No clue what happened to Moody or Arthur Weasley."

Tom shook his head in obvious disdain for the whole situation. "I swear, that orchid-spiked batch of tea ran out weeks ago. This is all Dumbledore's own absurd plan."

"Maybe he really is going senile," Harry muttered before taking a few sips of his tea. Only now did he notice a wrapped present, the size of a brick, sitting on the coffee table.

Tom noticed him staring and leaned over to pick up the gift, holding it out for Harry. "This is your Yule gift, but you're getting it early since it will benefit you immensely if you can use it right away."

"All right," Harry whispered, accepting the package while his cheeks heated. Even now, after having received plenty of gifts in his first life, Harry still felt weird about getting them, since he'd spent years being denied any as a child. But receiving a gift from Tom, now that was a few degrees more important than any gift he'd ever gotten from his friends, and Harry's whole body felt like it was about to go up in flames.

Harry carefully peeled back the silver paper, revealing a simple wooden box, and once he flipped open the lid he saw at least ten potions vials inside, five with a dark blue potion and five with a whitish one. Harry looked up at Tom in anticipation. "I don't recognize these potions. What are they?"

"You wouldn't," Tom said, smile turning utterly smug while he leaned back in his chair, slowly crossing one leg over the other. "I created these especially for you. The blue one is an aging potion. One vial will age you ten years. What is new about this potion compared to standard aging potions is that once consumed, you'll remain the older age until you take the antidote, which is the white potion. You'll de-age ten years when you take that."

"That is bloody brilliant!" Harry looked from the potions to Tom's satisfied smile and back a few times. "That is…wow, I can be my own age! For the whole holidays!"

"That was the idea, yes. You won't have to constantly take doses of potion this way. Once, and you're set for however long you wish to remain your true age." Tom picked up his teacup again and took a sip while giving Harry an almost challenging look. "There are adult-sized clothes in the wardrobe, so you can go use the potion in the bathroom if you wish."

"Yes! Thank you!" Harry jumped up at once, clutching the box close to his chest while Tom chuckled at his enthusiasm.

There were indeed quite a few new clothes in adult sizes waiting for him, and Harry selected simple black trousers and a white button-down shirt, with some briefs and socks to complete the outfit. He quickly got undressed in the bathroom and picked up one of the blue vials. Would the potion hurt? Would it feel like Polyjuice potion? Well, only one way to find out. Harry uncorked the vial and swallowed the potion in one big gulp. It tasted slightly sour, but not too strongly.

At once Harry felt his body grow and move and extend. He held onto the counter while his entire centre of balance shifted. It was a strange feeling. It didn't hurt exactly, but it wasn't entirely comfortable either, probably comparable to taking Polyjuice potion.

Harry was slightly out of breath as the process was finished and he slowly let go of the counter and stood on trembling legs while he found his balance again. There was a full-sized mirror to the right and Harry slowly stepped in front of it.

Holy cow, his dick was huge!

Mouth slowly falling open, Harry stared at his own cock in amazement. Had it always been that big in his previous life? It must have been. Harry had just gotten used to having a tiny, child-sized penis again over the last few months. But this was an adult version and Harry had forgotten how big of a size that actually was.

Grinning like fool, Harry examined the rest of himself. He was pretty sure he was actually taller now than he'd ever been before, and he wondered if that had to do with the nutrient potions he'd taken over the summer, just as Tom had suggested that one time. But no matter the reason, Harry was happy to see he was pretty tall. Not as tall as Tom, but then again few people were, but still a decent size for a man.

His face, though. It had lost all its childish roundness and his jaw looked angular and his nose much sharper than before.

All in all, Harry was pretty happy with what he was seeing. Until he realized that he'd have to start shaving again, which was always such a hassle. That was one positive thing about being a kid, Harry had found. No need to worry about facial hair just yet.

Still grinning, Harry got dressed in the new clothes and once back in the bedroom he went looking for some shoes that would fit and he found a pair of simple, black leather ones in the bottom of the wardrobe.

Tom, meanwhile, had risen from the sofa and was staring at Harry as though he'd never seen him before.

"This is amazing," Harry called as he sat on the edge of the bed to put on his shoes. "You have no idea how much I've missed being a grown-up. It's weird, though. I constantly feel like I'm going to fall over when I'm walking."

"I'm glad you like it," Tom said in a voice that sounded much to quiet, and he quickly cleared his throat.

"I love it. Best present ever." Harry got up from the bed and walked towards Tom who was standing under the archway, staring at him. "And I mean that. Thank you, Tom." And before he could second-guess himself, Harry did what he had wanted to do since finding Tom in his room.

Harry stepped right up to Tom and wrapped his arms around Tom's neck. Tom still had a good six inches on him, but Harry easily made the hug work.

"We're doing this now? I thought we weren't," Tom asked even as he wound his arms around Harry's waist and returned the embrace.

"Shut up," Harry muttered against Tom's shoulder. "We're hugging, we just don't have to talk about it."

"All right," Tom sighed, the side of his face pressed against Harry's head. "I think I'd forgotten what you looked like all grown up."

"Yeah, I won't always be a tiny little shrimp." Harry pulled his face away from Tom's shoulder but kept his arms firmly lodged around Tom's neck, which put their faces close enough that Harry felt Tom's breath against his lips. For a moment they both froze as they stared into each other's eyes.

There was a short noise behind them, and at once they turned their heads to see what it was, arms still wrapped tightly around the other.

Theo stood in the opened doorway staring at them with wide eyes, hand still holding onto the doorknob. "What the hell?"