He stared at the variety of food laden on the table and while, the sight and aroma of it would have been enough to rouse anyone's appetite, it did nothing for him. Tom was seated at the head of the table, immersed deeply in a conversation with Lucius. Harry was trying so hard not to look at him but every few seconds, he felt his gaze just wander towards where Tom was seated, and he felt helpless to prevent it.
After an eventless dinner, Tom simply departed without a word and Harry felt himself missing him already. He stared at the large Christmas tree in the Malfoy's living room and wondered if Tom even cared about him anymore. Somehow Tom's words kept playing on repeat inside his head,
"You belong to me, Harry… You should never forget that."
Maybe it didn't mean, what he thought it meant. Maybe it was just Tom telling him that he was just a death eater now…
NO!
It just couldn't mean that. The heat and possessiveness in Tom's voice when he'd said those words was unmistakeable. Tom still wanted him…
He buried his face in his hands as he stifled a groan. At this rate, he was certainly going to lose his mind. If only he could get some time alone with Tom… get the opportunity to talk to him alone and get the answers to all the questions swirling around his brain.
He felt the couch dip as someone sat beside him. He pulled his face out of his hands and looked up to meet Bella's gaze laser focused on him,
"What's bothering you, Sugar?"
Harry stared blankly at her for a moment, trying to process the nickname that she'd just used. She laughed softly and cooed,
"I can find another name for you if you don't like that."
Harry shook his head to get rid of the momentary blankness and spoke,
"No…Its fine…Its completely fine… you just caught me off guard."
Bella's painted red lips pulled back into a grin as she spoke,
"Good… So now tell me what's bothering you."
Harry sighed as he stared down at his hands,
"It's nothing."
Bella's tipped his head back up with a long pointed fingernail,
"Are you bothered by being one of us?"
Harry held her gaze,
"No. That's not what's bothering me."
Bella looked away from him and Harry followed her gaze towards where Sirius sat in a corner of the room with a dark expression on his face,
"Is this because of him?"
Harry closed his eyes. He knew Bella wouldn't leave him alone until he gave her a satisfactory answer. And the truth was that he really was worried about Sirius. He knew Sirius would never accept the death eaters. He would never support their actions. He could never be one of them and Harry was worried that despite everything that he had with Tom, it wouldn't save Sirius from the man's rage.
He wouldn't be able to protect Sirius from Tom.
"Yes."
Bella patted him on the back,
"Don't worry about him, Sugar. He'll have to fall in line if he truly loves you as your Godfather."
Harry shook his head,
"I know him. He won't… He's too stubborn. He's still too blinded by Dumbledore and his messed up morals to see how right the Dark Lord is. He just won't let go of the past…And I'm afraid that I won't be able to protect him from The Dark Lord's wrath."
Bella wrapped an around his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek that left him momentarily breathless,
"I'll handle him for you, Sugar. Don't worry your pretty little head."
He turned to face Bella,
"How?"
Bella winked coyly,
"Just leave it to me."
He grabbed Bella's hands,
"You won't hurt him, right?"
Bella pursed her lips,
"No, I won't. You have my word on that."
Bella got up and left as swiftly as she'd appeared, and Harry was once again left staring at the brightly lit tree. He hoped Bella would be able to make Sirius behave just good enough to be safe from Tom.
He grabbed a cookie from the plate that was set in front of him on the coffee table and began munching on it as he contemplated what Tom's plan for him were. They would involve Hogwarts. He was certain of that. Tom wanted to take over the world and Harry knew he would do anything in his power to help him with that. He just wished he'd do it soon so that he wouldn't have to pretend to be something he wasn't anymore.
He was sick and tired of acting. He was just exhausted of trying to appear normal to everyone at Hogwarts. So many times, he'd contemplated death as a means of permanent escape, but he'd quashed that thought every single time because he wanted to be with Tom again... That hope just kept him hanging from a thread.
A house elf came to stand in front of him and spoke,
"Master has instructed Figgy to show Master Potter to his room."
Harry looked at the house elf wrapped up in a dirty towel and spoke,
"You're Figgy?"
Figgy nodded before bowing her head. Harry ran his fingers through his hair. He really needed to get some sleep. He rose to his feet and followed Figgy out of the living room, up several flights of stairs and through a labyrinth of corridors until they were standing outside a large oak door. Figgy vanished into thin air and Harry was just about to push open the door when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist and before he knew it, he was feeling the sensation of side along apparition again.