Going back home for Christmas proved to be a slight complication for Harry and Tom for the simple reason that they could not keep their hands off each other.
Tom had an arm around her for the entire train ride to London, knowing that as soon as they got off and their parents saw them it would raise too many eyebrows and too many questions.
To his great disappointment, and Harry's enthusiasm, Molly Weasley stopped them all at the station before they headed to the Potters' Manor for dinner. Lily and Molly were acquaintances but not so close as to ever make plans. But every year that passed by, the more Molly adored Harry and wished their families could be closer. This year, her and her husband, Arthur, invited the Potters for dinner on Christmas Day.
At once, both James and Lily's expressions froze. For years they celebrated Christmas with no one else except Sirius, Remus and Peter. Lily's sister didn't like to stay in contact with her and James' parents had died so he had no one but his own little family. And if they had dinner somewhere else, that would leave Sirius, Remus and Tom alone. Unless Sirius' family found out and forced them to celebrate Christmas at Grimmauld Place which Sirius was always vehemently against.
"Oh, erm," James stammered, eyes wide.
Lily rushed to add, "Thank you so much for the invite! I know Harry would certainly love that," she motioned to her daughter who was practically bouncing in excitement at the thought of going to the Weasleys.
Molly smiled warmly and took that as acceptance. Lily blinked and nervously said, "I'm not sure if we'll be able to make it, though."
"Oh, why not?" Arthur asked sadly.
Lily looked to James who looked back at her just as unsurely. Sirius and Remus were beginning to catch on to their thoughts and about to step in when James said, "We always celebrate Sirius, Remus and Tom. They're family to me and—"
"Oh well if it's just that, they can come along, too!" Molly insisted, turning to Sirius and Remus.
"We don't want to impose," Remus interjected. "James, it's honestly fine, don't worry about it."
"Not a chance," Arthur said firmly. "You're all invited for Christmas at the Weasleys! We've all known each other for many years and our kids are close, we should be too."
Tom glowered at Arthur but Harry nudged him before anyone could notice.
"Well," Sirius said slowly. "I mean if it's no trouble…"
"None at all," Molly and Arthur assured him.
"Then, great! Sounds fun to me," he grinned, slapping a hand on Tom's back who was struggling to hide his dismay.
"Wonderful!" Harry squealed.
"Should we have offered to host it at our house?" James asked his wife when they were home.
"Why? It's their event. We can't steal their event and do it at our house, that would be rude."
"But wouldn't it be more practical? There's going to be a lot of people and we have more than enough room to accommodate."
"I see where you're coming from," Lily said, "but no. That would also be rude. I'm sure they have enough space for all of us, or they wouldn't have invited us all. And if they don't, we'll just make it work. Sirius is certainly excited to see their house. He's been talking to Arthur about fixing up his old motorbike."
Sirius was really excited for Christmas. Any excuse to not see his own family was good news to him and he was always happy making new friends. Plus when he found out Arthur likes to tinker with old Muggle junk, he just had to bring up his broken motorbike.
Tom, on the other hand, had gotten quite reliant on the Blacks to provide him with books, insight, and knowledge on all things Dark Arts related. Since he was fourteen, his parents allowed him to visit them on his own because he wanted to go and they didn't. They couldn't exactly ban him from seeing them either, as it would be detrimental to their plan to get Tom on the Blacks' good side in hopes of getting a share of the inheritance.
Still, Tom persevered. Having Harry with him would be some consolation, but he knew she would barely be present, with all her friends in the Weasley household.
Molly Weasley adored Harry, that much was evident from how she greeted them. Tom could only recall a few instances in which Harry visited the Burrow (all without him, thankfully) and he didn't know how it was enough for Molly to like Harry. When he realized all her kids acted like worse barbarians at home than they did at Hogwarts, and that him and Harry were likely the only two properly mannered children, he understood.
"So Tom, I hear you're really close with Harry?" were Molly's first words to him as she led him to the living room after the rest of his family.
"Yes, we've been best friends since we were five," he said politely, trying not to cringe at the mismatched furniture and general interior design of the house. Sure, Sirius hated uniformity and preferred their home to be more cozy than proper, but at least their home didn't resemble the inside of a junkyard. Once again, Tom was reminded of the missed opportunity to see his grandparents. Now their house was one he could fit into.
"How come you never came over to the Burrow with her?"
The fact that they would even call their house "The Burrow" was reason enough to not ever want to come.
"Oh, hey, Tom," Ron greeted him, saving him from finding an excuse for his mother's question. For once, Tom was happy to see him.
"Tom is very studious, Mum," Fred said, popping out of nowhere much to Tom's displeasure. It was precisely this type of behaviour of theirs that annoyed him.
"He was probably too busy doing homework before it got assigned to come here," George added.
"Hey, you should meet Percy, Tom—"
"I know Percy," Tom muttered. He was there when that idiot was made Head Boy and he did not like him.
"Oh, leave him alone, you lot," Molly scolded, shooing her sons away. Tom liked her a little better.
From that moment on, Molly would not leave him alone. She liked how polite and charming he was, as did a lot of parents when meeting him for the first time. It didn't help that Remus retold the story of when they first brought Tom home and how well-mannered he was. Or when Lily vouched for his academic prowess. Or when James shared the bet he had going on with McMillan that Tom would be Head Boy of their year and not his son, Ernie.
Or when Sirius told the story of the time when Tom was young and got lost in London and was able to find his way around the tube despite never using Muggle transportation past the age of five and Flooing home from the Leaky Cauldron. When Sirius and Remus came home to begin making Missing Child posters, they found Tom sitting on the couch with a step-by-step plan of what course of action to take the next time any of them got lost and he also had dinner ready.
Tom was one forced laugh away from killing everyone in the room, starting with Sirius, so he excused himself to find Harry.
They only had a few days near the end of the Christmas holidays where they didn't need to be with their parents. Either Tom's parents were busy or Harry's and never at the same time so the two had to make up a signal to let the other know when their house was empty.
Harry heard the fireplace roar to life when she was coming down the stairs and rushed towards it. There, between the ashes was a single white feather.
"Mum! Dad!" she shouted through the manor and followed their voices to the garden. "I'm going to pop over to Tom's for a bit."
"What for?" Lily asked immediately. Between her parents, her mother pushed for more distance between her and Tom than her father did. He didn't particularly have a problem with them hanging out too much because he liked Tom. So did Lily, but she was more cautious since that conversation Harry had with her in Greece. Harry now wished she never said anything because she didn't know how meddlesome and insistent her mother could be.
"I'm fairly certain our Transfiguration essay isn't due the first week back but Tom told me it is so I finish it faster. But now I can't finish it without him because he has a book I want to use."
"If it's Transfiguration, I can help you with it," her dad said.
"Thanks, but I think Tom can get me to focus better than you can," Harry admitted.
"Well, I can't argue with that," James shrugged and grinned. "Just be back before dinner."
"You got it!" she answered, running off before her mother could stop her.
Harry grabbed her school bag and Flooed to Tom's.
"What took you so long?" Tom said, greeting her on the other end. His hands were on her at once, running down her sides and slipping under her shirt. "They're going to be back any minute now."
"I had to make an excuse. I think my mum is getting suspicious," she replied, kissing his neck. Her mum wasn't getting suspicious of this but Harry couldn't very well tell him that Lily didn't approve of how close they were in case he started to antagonize her. He did that a lot with people who tried to keep them apart.
"Let's go to my room," he grabbed her hand and they hurried up the steps, clambering into his bedroom in a mess of limbs and exposed skin.
It was a relief to be back at Hogwarts and away from their parents. At Hogwarts it was so much easier to sneak around and be alone for hours without telling anyone of their whereabouts or getting approval.
Tom and Harry re-entered the honeymoon stage of their relationship with this newfound intimacy. Harry had to regularly take a contraceptive potion that Tom was able to brew in private because as a favourite student, he had access to the Potions storage cupboard. She was shocked with herself and how clouded her mind can get with her attention on Tom when she woke up the day after their first night together and Tom informed her that she would have to take a potion before the day ended so she doesn't end up pregnant. This was something she was taught and warned against her whole life and it all slipped her mind when it was most important to remember. Thank God for Tom.
Harry awoke to the feel of soft lips pressing kisses up and down her body. Smiling gently, she carded her fingers through Tom's hair and opened her eyes. He was looking up at her, now between her legs, and circling his tongue over her clit.
"Tom," she breathed. "Don't stop," she added when he pulled away to greet her. Tom chuckled and dove back in, not stopping until he unraveled her and she was moaning from her climax.
"Good morning," he said, coming up to lay next to her.
"Morning," she mumbled happily. Harry arched her back and stretched like a cat before settling her gaze on him and smiling adoringly. "I love you."
Moments like this were when she realized how truly lucky she was to have Tom. Some people don't find their Toms until late in life, and she was lucky enough to get to grow up with him. Even though they spent their whole lives together, and likely would continue to until they die, Harry always felt like they didn't have enough time together. She was addicted to the feelings he gave her, she was addicted to him and she had no intent to moderate herself.
"I know," Tom grinned. "I love you too."
Harry flipped herself over him and crawled down his body until she was facing his boxers. "How much time do we have?"
"About fifteen minutes before we should shower and get dressed," he answered.
Harry pulled his boxers down.
Her dormmates started to piece together what was happening when they noticed Harry didn't sleep in her bed sometimes.
Lavender was excited to hear the details while Parvati was a little bummed knowing Tom was taken.
Hermione caught her several times when she snuck in to change in the morning. She was shocked and surprised that Harry would do something so scandalizing but quickly let it in drop in favour of learning how sex works and what it feels like. And Harry had a lot of nice things to say about it. So nice that she thinks Hermione's opinion of Tom has changed. She was often staring at Tom with her eyes slightly narrowed and a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Why is Granger staring at me like that?" Tom asked Harry one day when they were sitting at the Slytherin table.
Harry dipped the chips on his plate into ketchup and popped it into her mouth. "Like what?" she asked, her eyes searching for Hermione over at the Gryffindor table who was conversing with Ron now.
"She was just looking at me like I'm a new person. Merlin, don't tell me she likes me too," he grumbled. "I don't think I could stand it if Granger was in love with me too."
"Well someone certainly thinks very highly of themselves," Harry teased. "She's definitely not in love with you, I can confirm that."
"Then what's with her face?" he huffed as he cut his chicken into small pieces. Harry looked up again to see Hermione looking at Tom thoughtfully again. Catching her, Harry widened her eyes and wordlessly told her to cut it out, discreetly motioning to Tom who had a scowl on his face. Hermione blushed and looked down.
"Hang on," Tom said suddenly, lifting his head up. Harry conveniently looked away nonchalantly. Her gaze landed on Daphne Greengrass, who stopped being nice to her after the Hufflepuff party. Instead she glared up at Harry every once in a while. "You didn't tell her, did you?"
"Tell her what?" Harry asked, innocently looking at Tom.
"Oh my God, you told her!" Tom glared. "Harry!"
"What? I don't know what you're talking about!" She tried to keep her voice down because she knew Daphne liked to listen to what they were saying, and she still always sat near Tom at the table.
Tom still glared at her as he grabbed her hand and walked her out of the Great Hall to speak more privately. "You told her about what we do, haven't you? In detail? Harry—"
"Well, I'm sorry, but girls talk!" Harry whispered.
"About sex, too?!" he hissed back.
"Especially that!"
"What did you tell her?"
"Nothing crazy. I didn't tell them what you look like or how long—"
Tom dropped his face in his hands.
"I only told them about how things are done, that's it!"
"Wait, them?"
Harry's eyes widened.
"Who's 'them'?"
"Just my dorm mates that's all!" she said quickly. "And it was only because they noticed I was gone. But I swear I didn't tell them anything specific! They just wanted to know how things are done and if it really does feel good and I'm only informing them! Besides, when you think about it, this makes you look good! Because my experiences have all been good now you sound like a sex god," she smiled trying to lighten the mood but Tom was unimpressed.
"You realize now it's only fair that I tell my friends, too," he stated. Her heart dropped.
"You're going to tell your friends?"
"What, you can talk about it and I can't?"
"But my friends are girls and they're nicer than your friends. You don't even have any friends, you hate all your 'friends'."
"And this is exactly the kind of thing that is going to get them to respect me more. Once I tell them how wonderful it feels to have a cunt to drive into any time I want—"
"Tom!" Harry exclaimed, backing away in hurt. "You're not actually going to say that, are you?"
Tom's lips pursed. "Of course I will. I told you it's only fair I get to do it too. How come you're allowed to talk to other people and I can't?"
"Because it's different for girls and they were curious so I told them some things. They're all people I trust! You're doing it with malicious intent to get back at me! I don't want some boys who don't know me to know what it's like to be in bed with me!"
"And I don't want any girls to know what it's like to be in bed with me!"
"Fine, I'm sorry!" Harry shouted. "And if you want to talk about me to your friends then by all means—tell them everything in intricate detail so you can relive the experience yourself! Merlin knows you won't get the real thing anymore."
She turned on her heel and headed up the main staircase, ignoring his calls.
Harry really meant it when she said he won't get the real thing anymore. Tom slipped her notes telling her where to meet him after curfew but she ignored them all. After standing him up twice, he confronted her about it.
"I told you you're not getting the real thing anymore," she muttered, pulling her arm out of his grasp as she walked to her next class.
"I thought you were just saying that in anger. You actually mean it?"
Harry stopped and turned to face him. "Yes, I actually mean it! I want you to know what it's like to not have a cunt to fuck any time you want."
She continued down the empty hall as he caught up to her.
"Harry, don't tell me you're upset about that! Obviously I don't mean that!"
"Of course I'm upset about it! I know I shouldn't have told my friends about you, I get that now, but what I did tell them was how wonderful and sweet you were! How you always make sure I feel comfortable and that I'm satisfied and how lucky I was to have someone like you who actually cares about me! Meanwhile, you want to make me sound like a two-Knut whore who's going to open her legs any time she sees you because you're just that irresistible!"
Tom was speechless. He stared as Harry walked away at a brisk pace and turned the corner, leaving him alone.
He didn't seek her out again, but he was angry at her just as much as she was angry at him. Tom believed it was obvious their relationship was deeper than her just being 'a cunt for him to fuck'. He was clearly exaggerating when he said that to make a point. Not to mention, how was he coming off as the bad guy when she was the one who talked about him to her friends?!
He was going to wait for Harry to come to her senses and apologize to him, acknowledge that he sees her as more than his fuck toy, and set things right.
Days passed and she didn't.
That's fine, Tom thought, he was going to see just how long she was willing to drag this out before she couldn't take it anymore and needed him. Harry was always the more emotional and needier one of the two of them.
The first blow to his chest was when he walked into their first Potions class after their fight and she sat with Padma Patil rather than him. Distance for them was sitting at the same table and not talking to each other. But to sit at a whole other table so she wouldn't have to be near him? She might as well have moved countries!
No matter, he was stronger than her. Tom masked his expression and sat next to one of the Slytherin boys.
The next blow was when she received a box of fudge from her mother and didn't share it with him, instead she passed it around to her Weasley friends. Lily had several dishes that Tom loved more than anything else in the world. He thinks it's because, while Sirius and Remus were great parents, she was a mother and that was something he didn't have. Her food tasted better because she was a mother. And her fudge was the best damn treat in this world, even better than her strawberry lemonade.
Tom was pissed. He was annoyed enough to write to Lily and lie about Harry scarfing the entire tin herself without sharing it with him and could he have some of his own, please? Lily graciously sent him over his own tin of homemade fudge—which he noted was more than Harry's.
Weeks passed by and they were still not talking.
Tom was miserable.
It was hard for him to sleep at night knowing there were no nights to look forward to with her. He was crankier than usual, snapping at his friends so much that even the boys were keeping their distance from him. Thankfully, exams were rolling around so he had a lot to do to keep himself busy—whenever he wasn't going over material he knew Harry would need help with. (And imagining scenarios where she comes to him for help and pictures how he would explain concepts and theories to her.)
(She would give him a kiss on the cheek as thanks and he would hold her before she pulled away.)
But when he wasn't busy with schoolwork, like when he was eating, he realized how lonely he was. His friends didn't talk much around him in fear of angering him because he got a deadly look in his eyes when he was annoyed. Harry never came to sit with him at the Slytherin table anymore. Tom put some chips on his plate in a pathetic attempt to pretend like Harry was eating with him.
He looked up across the Great Hall and felt his blood boiling.
Here he was, dying, and there she was talking and laughing with her friends. It was a facade, it must be, Tom told himself. She's miserable without me too.
Harry was eating her chips and listening to Ron tell a story attentively. Hermione cut in to say something before Ron said something else that made all of them laugh heartily. Ginny walked past them and stopped behind Harry, putting a hand on her shoulder as she bent to confirm something with her. Probably about Quidditch practise. Harry chugged her water, said goodbye to her friends and trotted over to the Ravenclaw table to ask Padma Patil a quick question before smiling at her and with a wave walked out of the Great Hall. Tom's eyes followed her every move and interaction while she didn't glance his way even once.
He dropped his gaze to his plate and brought a lonely chip up to his mouth before he noticed Daphne. She was bored listening to Tracy ramble and let her gaze wander. When she locked eyes with Tom, she blinked in surprise and offered him a small smile. He looked back at his plate.
Harry hated Daphne, Daphne loved Tom. He saw a potential plan there—a dangerous one, but a plan nonetheless. If Harry wanted to act like she didn't care about him, then he would too. It was only fair.
How well did "it's only fair" work out for you last time?
Tom crushed the chip in hand and let it fall on his plate. He couldn't do anything with Daphne, that would open a whole new box of worms. Worse than worms, that would be like purposely tangling himself in Devil's Snare. Besides, he was still Harry's boyfriend whether she wanted to acknowledge him or not. He knew this because if she kissed some other boy, if she so much as flirted with another boy while they were like this, he was going to lose his mind. She must know they're still together.
But sometimes Harry thinks of things differently than him. She's a freer spirit—what if to her it's obvious they are not together anymore? After all, they haven't spoken in weeks.
Tom wiped his hands on a napkin and abruptly stood from his seat, exiting the Great Hall. Just as he turned a corner so he was alone, he pulled out the Marauder's Map to find Harry and tell her he was stupid and he regrets what he said and that he loves her a lot and can't live without her and so she can't move on with someone else unless she wanted to see him literally die.
Tom's eyes scanned the Map until he finally found Harry's name. She was walking through the seventh floor corridor… with Dean Thomas.
Fury blasted through him. He shoved the Map in his pocket and practically flew up the stairs. By the time he got to the seventh floor, he was out of breath. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he tried to be rational and tell himself that Harry wasn't cheating on him.
Then he remembered that Dean Thomas had a huge crush on Harry and even tried to kiss her in third year. He didn't care then because he knew Harry was his but now he was worried Harry didn't consider herself his anymore. And what if Dean noticed that Tom wasn't around Harry anymore, what if he thought they were over? What if he only stayed away before because of Tom and now he saw this as his opportunity to take advantage of her?
Fuming, Tom turned a corner and saw Dean presenting Harry with jewelry in a box, to which Harry's jaw dropped and she smiled widely at him.
Tom stalked towards them, conjuring several snakes. "Oppugno!" he shouted, pointing his wand at Dean and causing the snakes to launch themselves at him.
Harry's eyes widened and at breakneck speed she slashed her wand through the air and vanished the snakes before they could touch them.
"Tom, what the fuck?!" she shouted, pointing her wand at him. "What the hell was that for?"
Tom was disappointed he didn't get to see Dean hurt. "They weren't for you, they were for him," he stated, turning his glare to the boy who now tried to stand protectively in front of Harry.
"Dean, I'm sorry, we're going to have to finish this conversation later," Harry said, without taking her heated gaze or wand off Tom. "It seems Tom has lost his mind, I need to make sure he won't go around killing other students."
The two of them didn't take their eyes off each other until Dean was long gone.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Harry spat.
"Stop pointing your wand at me," Tom snapped. He was never on the receiving end of her wand unless it was for practise duels. He didn't like this.
Harry pointed her wand down and then heaved a sigh, clutching his sleeve and tugging him to an empty classroom. This talk was long overdue.
"Care to explain why you tried to kill Dean just now?" she asked when the door snapped shut, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Care to tell me what you were doing talking to him?" his eyes flashed in anger.
"I'm allowed to talk to people."
"Not him."
"Says who?"
"Me! Just now."
Harry sighed again. "Tom, what's this about?"
"What's this about? What's this about?" he repeated, feeling anger course through him again. Harry's eyes widened as she looked around. Belatedly, Tom realized he may have unintentionally knocked several desks and chairs back. "You really don't know what this is about?"
"No."
"This is about you!" he pointed an accusatory finger at her. "This is about you and your damn distance and I hate it and you're off traipsing along with your little friends and I can't sleep and he—he likes you! He tried to kiss you, don't you remember? I hate him, I hate him so much I want to kill him! And he gets to talk to you but I can't? I hate him! He's going to pay for this—"
"He's not at fault, Tom! It's not Dean's fault there's distance between us."
"It's his fault he tried to pull a move on you! He thinks just because I'm not around you anymore that I'm not your boyfriend? Well I am and I don't care what you say because I didn't agree to end this relationship and I can't stand the thought of you having another boyfriend because you're mine! And I'm sorry about what I said, okay? I regret it, I wish I never said it because I hate this, I just want you back and you don't even care. You don't even realize how awful this is—"
"Tom, stop it!" Harry said, putting a hand on his shoulder. The moment she touched him he froze and then let out a soft sigh. She put another hand on his cheek and her thumb ghosted over his skin. Tom closed his eyes and covered her hand with his, holding it there. His other arm pulled her close, not even caring if they were still fighting or not, he just wanted her close. "You have got… so many things wrong," she let out a soft laugh.
It was music to his ears. He opened his sad eyes and looked down at her adoringly.
"Tom, Dean was only talking to me about Ginny. He really likes her and wanted to get her something special for her birthday. He was showing his present to me because I helped him pick it out. I've not moved on with anyone else, you great idiot. You are still my boyfriend and you always will be because I don't want anyone else but you," she said earnestly.
He tightened his grip on her and dropped his head to rest on her shoulder. "Then why weren't you talking to me?"
"Because I was angry. And I was waiting for you to talk to me first. I forgot you're just as stubborn as me."
"We can't ever do that again, okay? I was miserable without you. Please tell me you'll be my Potions partner again."
Harry giggled. "Okay, I'll be your Potions partner again. Padma was a little annoying anyway."
"Yeah, fuck her."
Harry pulled his face back and looked at him closely.
"I'm sorry, too."
"For what?" he asked quietly, one hand over hers that was cupping his cheek and the other tangling in her hair.
"For talking to my friends about our sex life without you knowing, and for leaving you alone. I didn't know it made you so upset."
"I think I'm more angry that it barely affected you."
"Barely affected me?" Harry asked, surprised. "Tom, do you think it's been sunshines and rainbows for me?"
"Yes."
"You should see what I look like under all the makeup and beauty charms I have on."
"You put beauty charms on your face?"
"Yeah, or else you'd mistake me for a panda. I really have not been coping as well as you thought I was. It took everything in me to not look at you during meal times."
The words were barely out of her mouth before Tom pressed their lips together. They didn't pull away for several moments and when they did, both were annoyed it was because they needed air.
Tom's hands roamed her back and front, unbuttoning her shirt while she did the same to him. Once her top was open enough, he slipped his hands under her skirt.
"Here?" Harry asked breathlessly.
"I can't wait any longer," he replied, unzipping his trousers.
Harry searched his pockets for his wand, pulling it out to mutter a quick locking spell on the door as Tom backed her up into a desk. He plunged into her with barely a warning, silencing her moans with fervent kisses.
A week later they were back on their way home for the summer holidays. A week was barely enough time to make up for the time they spent apart, but it was something. While they waited for the line of students to exit the train from inside, Harry pressed a long and hard kiss to Tom, knowing it would be harder to do so once they were in their homes.
When they were younger it was fine to spend days at each other's houses. They even had sleepovers together to which Tom would bring a book of scary stories and Harry would bring games.
Now, it was frowned upon. Despite their parents not even being aware that they were dating. It would draw too much suspicion if they wanted to spend time alone in their rooms at their age, and certainly no sleepovers were allowed.
Lily was surprised when she saw Tom and Harry were both in good spirits around each other, something that Harry picked up on instantly with the way she looked at him.
"Everything alright with you and Tom?" she asked Harry that night after they put away dinner.
"Yeah, why?" Harry asked suspiciously. How did mothers know everything? Did Lily have a sixth sense?
"Did you guys have a fight?"
Harry slammed the ice cream tub down a little too hard in shock.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"Tom wrote to me."
"Tom wrote to you about our fight?!" Harry exclaimed, feeling all kinds of fury.
"No, he said you didn't share any of the fudge I sent you and asked if I could send him over some as well. I was quite shocked. You two always share it, no?"
"Oh. That. Yeah, Ron ate it all," Harry lied. "Did you send some to Tom?"
"Of course. Now, what did you two fight about?"
"Nothing, just had a disagreement."
"He sounded pretty miffed with you. If I'm honest, his letter sounded like you did more than forget to share your fudge with him."
Harry rolled her eyes. "He was quite the drama king about it. But it's over now, it's not a big deal. You know how we're both really stubborn? Neither of us wanted to be the first to say anything."
Lily nodded in understanding and dropped the issue.
The trusty signal came in handy several times over the next few weeks. Harry started to talk about nice places to visit in an effort to get her parents to leave the house so Tom could pop over. Tom was dropping subtle clues about a group trip but was hoping their parents would go on it after Harry's seventeenth birthday. That way both could stay back and their parents would have no reason to force them to come.
A few times they made trips to Diagon Alley together to go shopping, but never got any shopping done. Instead, they would book a room at the Leaky Cauldron and fuck like rabbits for hours to satisfy their insatiable desire for each other.
Everything went wrong the day after one such trip.
"I caught up with Elias yesterday," Harry told her father when she came down for a late breakfast in the morning. "He said he's going on vacation for a couple months and his son is going to take care of the shop."
"His son is the worst person ever," James complained. Elias owned Quality Quidditch Supplies at Diagon Alley, a store that James and Harry frequented so much that they were considered regulars and good friends of the owner now.
"I know, we should pop over and get a tub or two of the good wax finish before he leaves. His son jacks the prices up, even though I've told him I know his father."
"Wanna go today? I'm not doing anything," James offered.
"I can't, I have to sort through my closet and figure out what I'm keeping. I don't fit in half those clothes anymore," Harry said. Then she added, "But you should go."
James returned his attention to the blueberry jam he was making. "Without you? You're not gonna get jealous that I bought something for myself and not you?"
Harry was known to throw tantrums as a child everytime her father returned with a Quality Quidditch Supplies bag and didn't take her.
"Yes, I'm not five anymore," Harry rolled her eyes. "Besides, you should talk to Elias. He was telling me about a new broom that is going to come into the market in September."
"Then it's decided, I'm going," James declared at once, turning the heat down on the jam to let it simmer.
"Going where?" Lily asked, emerging from the basement and wiping sweat off her brows.
"Diagon Alley. Quality Quidditch Supplies," James answered.
"Oh good, we need to get Harry new clothes."
"I'm not going, I have to clean out my closet," Harry said.
"Okay, then I will get you the clothes. You make sure there's space in your closet by the time we get back."
Ugh, now that meant Harry actually had to clean her closet.
"Sounds great," she smiled.
Her parents took a long time getting ready but when they finally left, Harry sent Tom the signal. A minute later, he stepped out of her fireplace and they went upstairs to her room.
"Mum's shopping for clothes, Dad's going to Quality Quidditch Supplies," she told Tom.
"So basically we have the whole day to ourselves."
"Basically," she agreed, laughing. Tom leaned over on the bed, pressing soft kisses around her face. "Maybe we should tell them," Harry said suddenly.
"Tell them what?" Tom asked, reaching her neck.
"That we're together."
"They'll never let us hang out together."
Harry snorted. "Like that's ever stopped us."
"True," Tom grinned. "It would just become a big deal, you know dramatic each of them can get. There's a reason Peter stopped bringing his girlfriends over. Now imagine how much worse it's going to be since they're our parents."
"I don't have the energy for all this secrecy and sneaking around anymore," Harry complained, running her hands down his sides. Her legs wrapped around the backs of his, holding him closer to her.
"Just hang on for a little longer. When we go back to Hogwarts it'll be so much easier. And then we can tell them at the end of the year when we graduate. We'll be grown enough to—"
Harry's door opened. "Harry, which brand of wax finish do you—what the hell. Get the fuck off my daughter!"
James' wand was pointed at Tom, sending him hurling across the room.
"Dad!" Harry gasped and covered her mouth in horror. She rushed to cover her neck and chest, where Tom had left marks. They usually never left hickeys on each other when they were home but today they thought they had more time to vanish them. Regardless of how clothed she was and what she looked liked, the position her father found them in was too compromising to play it off as something else. Not to mention Tom's unbuttoned shirt.
"Dad, stop it! Daddy, please stop!" Harry screamed as James threw spell after spell at Tom, who either dodged them skillfully or blocked with a spell of his own. His inability to get a good hit made James angrier. Harry ran to put herself between her father and Tom, shouting, "Expelliarmus!"
She didn't get to disarm her dad but her mum came in yelling and managed to get his wand out of his hand before he could do any damage, other than the singed walls and broken furniture in Harry's room.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lily hissed at James. He looked down at her, his face getting redder and redder.
"He was all over her—he was, he was—"
Lily looked at the two teenagers, taking in their appearance and connected the dots. Harry stood protectively in front of Tom with her arms outstretched, refusing to move away from him.
"What the hell were you two doing here?" she asked in her scary mum voice.
"Nothing!" Harry exclaimed, but her voice was shaky and there were a couple tears running down her face.
"Harry, you didn't me Tom was coming over."
"It—I… it was…"
"Move away from my daughter," James growled at Tom.
"No!" Harry shouted, clutching his arms.
"Harry, it'll be fine, let me go," Tom muttered quietly.
She ignored him. "It's not what it looks like!"
Tom sighed.
"Tom, please wait downstairs for us," Lily said, much more calmly but still with a hint of anger.
Tom wordlessly moved past Harry and ducked out of her room, going downstairs. Without him, Harry started to get even more anxious.
"James, go call Sirius and Remus, ask them if they can come over," Lily said. James stood unmoving, looking at Harry in disappointment.
"Daddy," Harry whimpered, suddenly feeling horrible for everything she's done to betray his trust. He would know that she only sent him to Diagon Alley and her mother as well to be alone with Tom, seeing as they hadn't been gone ten minutes before they found them.
James didn't say a word to her, he turned and walked out of the room as well, leaving mother and daughter alone.
Lily crossed her arms over her chest and pinned Harry with the same disappointed look while Harry struggled to contain her tears.
"I'm sorry, okay, I'm sorry!" she cried.
"Did you sleep with him?"
"We only—nothing—well, yes, but that's what we were doing right now!"
"Oh my God, Harry," Lily stressed, rubbing her temples. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I—"
"Please tell me you've been using some sort of protection."
"We have! A contraceptive potion. I promise we've been safe!"
This was some reassurance, but Lily was still tense.
"You should have told me, I can't believe you didn't tell me," she muttered. The fireplace roared downstairs and Harry dreaded the conversation that was to come. "Let's go. Sounds like Sirius and Remus are here."
Tom was sitting on the couch (with his shirt fully buttoned) hands clasped in his lap, the picture of ease. When she came closer, Harry could detect some signs of unease on his face. Probably because James was sitting on the couch across from him with his arms crossed and a death glare on his face. He looked ready to pounce.
Sirius and Remus walked in the living room looking startled and confused. Remus stood while Sirius took the seat next to James and examined Tom. Tom, annoyed, huffed and turned his head. Harry didn't meet anyone's eye as she dropped to sit next to him. She wanted to hold his hand, curl around his arm, be closer to him, but now was not the time to do that. She worried her father might actually kill him.
They got a stern talking down. It lasted about ten minutes and was evidently way more embarrassing for Harry than it was for Tom.
James was not taking it well and the fact that Tom wasn't as nervous or apologetic as he ought to have been, resulted in a hex thrown his way, which promptly got his wand taken away from him. He tried to ban Tom from coming over again and Harry from going over to his house but Harry had a lot to say about that.
Tom was already seventeen and Harry was just a week shy of coming of age too. They really had no right to ban them from dating and seeing each other. Sirius and Remus especially knew that forcing Tom to give up something he doesn't want is only going to make him work that much harder to achieve it. They didn't want to push him to making rash decisions like moving out the way Sirius did. Especially when Sirius' family loves and accepts him so much that they'd welcome him with open arms.
"I was going to end up with a boyfriend someday anyway!" Harry argued, annoyed that her father was being so childish about this.
"Yes, and it's Tom," Lily added to James, "we already know and love him. He's very responsible. More than you."
Tom averted his eyes. Lily praising him always made him feel some type of way inside he wasn't used to.
In the end, they instilled some new ground rules for around the house and gave a lot of warnings about being safe. It was not that big of a surprise for them that Harry and Tom were together, they were just caught off guard with the realization the two were already intimate together. No matter their age, these were their kids and it was strange realizing how grown they were.
The men left to get drinks while Lily hung back to talk more.
"Mum, please, no more," Harry whined, completely drained from the whole ordeal.
Lily ignored her. "James is probably going to be annoyed for a while, he's very dramatic that way. Tom, I want you to know that I'm very happy about this. You're a good boy and I can't imagine anyone better for Harry than you."
Harry narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She knew her mum loved Tom, but she also knew of all the warnings she gave her.
"I just want to know if you two understand just how important what you're doing here is," she said.
Harry sighed deeply. "Yes yes yes, we know! We already said we're going to be safe—"
"Not that," Lily interjected. "You two obvious care about each other very much, you've been doing everything together since you were very little. This isn't an ordinary relationship where you can break up and move on, I hope you understand that and take it very seriously. Because not only will it affect the two of you a lot, but also our family interactions."
Her implications hit Harry like a truck. Never had she thought that her and Tom could break up. They did have that one fight where they didn't talk to each other for a long time, but an actual break up?
It would be very messy, Harry believes she wouldn't even want to see anything related to Tom. Would that include Sirius and Remus? How would they celebrate holidays together? Birthdays? What if Tom broke her heart so terribly and made her father so angry that he wouldn't even want to talk to his best friends anymore?
"That's not going to happen," Tom said firmly.
"You can never know," Lily said.
"I know. Harry and I are different than whatever you're imagining. We know how severe the consequences are and we are responsible enough to deal with our problems in a mature way."
Harry kept her expression clear to not give any hints about Tom's blatant lie. Mature? They barely even dealt with their problems, much less in a mature way.
"Good, I'm glad," Lily said quietly. "That's all I wanted to hear."
Harry had a special party for her seventeenth birthday where she invited several of her friends from school. It was probably the biggest birthday she's had since she turned ten. Her parents gifted her with a jewelry set that belonged to her grandmother. It was pureblood tradition to pass down family jewelry when a child became of age. For witches it was jewelry, for wizards it was watches. Tom got two watches for his birthday, a brand new one from Sirius and Remus, and then Orion's watch from the Blacks. It was kind of a big deal because not even Regulus got Orion's watch.
Tom made himself scarce like he usually did in big gatherings like this. He was also making himself as scarce as possible in the Potter's household because James was still cold towards him. Harry was definitely a daddy's girl and because she was his only child, she had James' full attention and affection. Regardless, Harry thought that if her dad didn't think any boy was good enough for her, that Tom would be an exception to this rule. Clearly fathers didn't think like mothers.
Mrs. Weasley was delighted to find out that Harry and Tom were officially dating and like Lily was thrilled that Harry ended up with such a sweet boy.
If only they knew what lied under his charming smile.
Harry didn't think Tom was bad—far from it. She got firsthand experience from how sweet and caring he was. To her.
Tom was sweet to her, but he could also be dangerous. This was an underlying trait she always knew he had, and spent her whole life tempering. She imagined she'd spend the rest of her existence doing so as well. Tom was a wonderful man and brilliant wizard, but a lot of their close friends and loved ones didn't realize just how much power Tom could wield if he chose to. How cunning he was. He was the true embodiment of what it meant to be Slytherin.
A couple weeks later, their supply lists came from Hogwarts along with a Gryffindor Quidditch Captain badge for Harry and a Head Boy badge for Tom.
Both their families were happy and of course, had to do something special. Tom insisted they go someplace nice for dinner rather than throwing another party, no matter how small. At the end of the night, after a few Firewhiskeys, James clapped a hand on Tom's back and told him he was proud of him and knew that Tom would pull through and win him that bet with McMillan. The ice between them melted and all of them were relieved James was finally accepting that his daughter had a boyfriend.
Harry hopped on the Hogwarts Express on September first for the last time with confidence and a touch of nostalgia. Her Quidditch Captain badge lived in her pocket the whole summer and she was eager to show it to her friends.
"Harry, this is brilliant!" Hermione gushed as they put their things in an empty compartment. She, of course, was made Head Girl which was both a blessing and a curse for Tom. On the one hand, Granger was the most competent in their year aside from himself, on the other, he couldn't stand her. "This means you get the same privileges as Prefects! You can use the Prefects' bathroom."
Harry smiled sweetly at her and decided to not share the fact that she's been using that bathroom for years now.
"Where's Tom?" Hermione asked, straightening her Head Girl badge on her sweater.
"He went to talk with some friends before meeting with the Prefects. Speaking of, shouldn't you two be going?"
The train started to move which meant they should head to the Prefects compartment now.
"I thought he would be with you?" Hermione said, freezing.
"Oh no, Tom has probably been in the Prefects compartment for a while now. He's always early to everything."
"Shit!" Hermione bolted out of the compartment and ran down the train. Ron followed in a half-hearted jog, leaving Harry with Ginny and Dean. The three of them talked excitedly about Quidditch.
Thirty minutes later, Hermione slammed the compartment door open and angrily sat in her seat, Ron entering right after her. "That prick!" she spat. "All he did the whole time was make me look like an idiot!"
"Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry," Harry said. The compartment door opened again and Tom popped in. He was dressed in his brand-new Hogwarts robes already. Harry could see why Hermione felt like he was trying to appear better than her.
"Love, I'm going to be in the other compartment with the Slytherins, okay? Come by if you need me," he said, looking into her eyes adoringly and bringing her hand up to press a kiss to it.
Harry swooned. And she wasn't the only one. Both Ginny, despite sitting next to her boyfriend, and Hermione's, who was livid because of Tom, expressions softened. Tom glanced to Hermione and chuckled as if remembering something funny before he left and shut the door behind him, ending the spell the girls were under.
Ron shook his head at Dean. "Seven years I've been around that guy and I have no idea how he does it." Dean shrugged and shook his head back.
"That is so unfair," Hermione grumbled. "Why can't he be that nice with everyone?!"
Harry gave her a funny look. "I don't know if I would like that."
"No I don't mean kissing girls' hands all the time. Just kinder. Would it kill him to see me as an equal?"
"He already does," Harry informed her, pulling out her deck of Exploding Snap cards. "He gives you a hard time because he can't accept the fact that you're better than him. That's why he's trying to make himself look better."
Hermione blushed lightly and smiled. "Thanks."
It was no surprise that seventh year was so much busier than sixth year. They had their NEWT exams this year and on top of that, Harry had her Captain duties while Tom had his Head duties. They weren't able to meet up or hang out as much as they did last year but they hardly noticed from how much work they had.
Harry exited the Great Hall one afternoon in October and waited for Tom. Time was of the essence so while she stood, she reviewed her notes for their Transfiguration test. On the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall, there was a group of Slytherin boys. Harry momentarily glanced up and noticed them staring at her. Looking back down at her notes, she tried to ignore them and turned a bit to the side. She could hear them whispering amongst themselves, but not what they were saying.
"Hey," a hand looped around her waist and Tom pressed a kiss to her cheek.
Harry turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his waist, smiling tightly. He immediately frowned.
"What's the matter?"
She blinked in surprise. "Nothing," she shook her head, bringing her hands up to fiddle with his tie and adjust it. Tom watched her suspiciously then his eyes flitted around their surroundings, landing on the group of Slytherin boys. Harry noticed him stiffen and she looked that way too. A single hard look from Tom and they were on their feet and hurrying away. Harry turned back to her boyfriend in confusion.
"How did you do that?" she asked in awe.
"Were they bothering you?"
"No."
"Did they say anything to you? What did they say?" he asked with murder in his eyes.
"Tom, it's alright," she rubbed a hand over his chest to calm him down. "They didn't say or do anything."
"Harry," he pressed.
"I'm serious! They were just looking and I heard them whispering and I thought they were talking about me so I felt a little uncomfortable. But nothing happened."
He nodded, accepting her answer but Harry could see him thinking fast, planning.
"Not that I don't appreciate you swooping in like my knight in shining armour," she grinned, attracting his attention once again, "but where is this coming from? You don't usually get like this."
Tom shrugged it off and dragged her outside where they could sit by the lake. The issue was dropped, seeing as Harry had a bigger thing to worry about: her Transfiguration test.
"I was thinking," Harry said, toying with his collar as she leaned against the wall with his body pressed to hers, "why don't we meet at the Room tonight?"
Tom sighed. "I really wish I could, but I have the patrol schedule to figure out. Granger made the first one but it's not working for a lot of people so I have to change it."
Harry pouted. "Okay," she sighed softly, nodding.
"How about Friday night?" Tom suggested, squeezing her hips.
"I don't even want to think about Friday. Or the weekend," Harry mumbled, dropping her head on his shoulder. "The new Beaters need more training so I'm with them tomorrow night, and then on Saturday I have the whole team except Ron because he got himself in detention so I'm subbing for Keeper. So I had to book Sunday as well to get us all to practise together one last time before the game."
"Three days in a row?" Tom raised his eyebrows.
"Three nights in a row. They were last minute bookings so of course the only available time slot was in the evenings. I'm going to be too tired after Quidditch for sex."
"We don't have to have sex," Tom said right away.
"That's what you always say and we always end up having sex," Harry smirked.
"Well regular sex is healthy."
"I don't fancy getting railed then having to sit on a broom the next day. Let's just wait until after the game then."
Tom sighed again. "Okay."
Harry pulled him in for another deep kiss before slipping out from behind the tapestry and heading to Gryffindor Tower. Hours later, she was in the common room with Ron working on her Potions essay but her mind wouldn't let her rest.
How come it was so difficult for her and Tom to make time for each other this year? Sure they had more responsibilities but it never hindered their need to be around each other before. Tom was a Prefect last year with a lot of duties, and Harry still had regular Quidditch practices even if she wasn't the captain.
Couldn't Harry at least hang out with Tom as he made the patrol schedule? She was always interfering with everything else in his life anyway.
Well, everything except… whatever the big secret he was keeping from her was.
Harry set her quill down and leaned back in her seat, pondering this new thought that came into her mind. Did she ever end up finding out what he was keeping from her? No, she went to Greece and found out her mum was best friends with Snape and thought she shared the same fate with Tom but he assured her they would always be together and that he loved her.
Well, if he loved her why didn't he trust her?
He knows all of her secrets.
Hermione sighed deeply and dropped her bag on Harry's table rambling about the latest meeting with the Prefects. Harry hated this feeling that surfaced every once in a while. The feeling that Tom was up to something not good and not in the quirky way their fathers were.
"Did you happen to see where Tom was going after the meeting?" Harry asked Hermione nonchalantly. "I was hoping to have a word with him."
Hermione flipped through several detention slips, occasionally pulling one out to keep it to the side. "No, he went off with the other Slytherins. I assume it's to the dungeons."
The first red flag fired up in Harry's mind. Still, she tried not to overreact or overthink. Sure, the Head Girl and Boy had their own office in the Prefect's lounge to do work. And sure, Tom preferred to do all his work in there (which was the reason why Hermione always came back to the common room). But that didn't mean he couldn't make his patrol schedule in his dorm. He was probably more comfortable there.
"I see," Harry said. "Right, well, I just remembered he said something about needing to work on the patrol schedule because it needs changing?" Harry hoped Hermione wouldn't pick up on her subtle interrogation.
Hermione didn't, but Ron looked up at her. His eyes narrowed. Harry looked up at Hermione to avoid his gaze.
"The patrol schedule?" Hermione asked distractly. "Yeah, he's supposed to redo it for next week. I thought he had the revised schedule with him already but he refused to let me look at it, saying it wasn't ready. I mean I thought I was a perfectionist but your Tom is something else." And on she went ranting about Tom again while Harry's mind whirled.
Of course he would already have it done! Especially if it was for next week. He likely had it done days ago because that's just how Tom worked. But then why lie to Hermione?
Because he knows you talk to her.
Harry's heart rate sped up and her skin felt hot all over. This was not good, something was not right about this at all.
"No! No Fanged Frisbees and you know this!" Hermione shouted at a third year student in the common room. She summoned his Frisbee and shoved it in her bag before running a hand through her hair. "Sorry, guys, I think I'm going to take this upstairs. I can't work down here."
Hermione packed her belongings and grabbed her detention slips, going up to her dorm and leaving Harry alone with Ron.
"What is it?" Ron asked right away.
"What is what?" Harry replied, slowly packing her things too.
"It's something with Tom, isn't it? You sounded suspicious and now you're really white."
"Look Ron, I'm sure it's nothing," Harry said, rising.
"Did he lie to you?"
So much.
"I… " Harry sighed. "He said he had to do something but now I think he doesn't so I don't know what to think. Maybe he just needs some time away from me."
"Yeah," Ron said right away. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it. You two do spend a lot of time together. It's not bad if he wanted to do something alone."
"Exactly," Harry agreed with him, smiling. Ron smiled back warmly. "I'm gonna go upstairs too, I think. Get an early night in. Probably the last until our first game next week."
As soon as she turned away from him, her smile dropped. There was no way Tom wanted distance from her intentionally. He never initiated distance and he was strongly against it. In fact, Harry would go as far as to say he wanted her as close to him as possible at all times. She was really concerned back when her father found out about them and was making it seem like they could never see each other again. That type of restriction would push Tom to sneak into her room at night, pack her bags, and insist they need to run away together.
Harry dropped her bag on her bed and quickly searched for her Invisibility Cloak. Hermione was in the shower and it was past curfew so the other girls were going to come up any second now. She covered herself with the Cloak and tiptoed back downstairs. The common room was still noisy but several people were heading up to their dorms now. The portrait opened just as she neared it, Lavender and Parvati walked in and Harry slipped out before it could close.
Walking first towards the Room of Requirements, Harry ensured it was empty. Then she walked down to the fifth floor where the Prefects lounge was and checked the Heads' office. It was empty. Continuing down the castle, which was steadily getting darker and creepier the closer they got to midnight, Harry's next stop was the Slytherin common room.
"Aterna," she said outside the common room. The door opened and let her in. There were a couple upper year students still in the common room who glanced up at the door, saw no one, and returned to their work. Harry soundlessly walked up the staircase and to the boys' dorms, finding Tom's. Here she paused.
Harry rapped her knuckles on the door, hoping someone inside was awake to open it. Zabini opened the door revealing all the boys in their pyjamas.
"Who is it?" Malfoy asked. Harry moved back as Zabini poked his head out to look down the hall.
"No one," he answered and shut the door. But not before Harry saw that Tom was not in the room.
Now her mission was much more difficult. Tom could essentially be anywhere. There were hundreds of classrooms in the castle and that didn't count the dungeons or other rooms. He could be conducting his secret business anywhere.
She walked past dungeon number two, where they have their Potions class but it was empty. She tried the knobs on several doors on her way up, and found each room empty.
On the first floor, she heard some noise coming in from an abandoned classroom and peeked in only to find two Hufflepuffs getting to know each other really well.
As she ascended the stairs to the second floor, her mind told her this was ridiculous and she'd never catch Tom redhanded in whatever he was doing. Her gut told her to keep looking. In the end, she listened to her feet which were really sore from all the walking. Sore muscles were not what she needed for the brutal training she was going to put her teammates through.
Harry headed back up to her dorm.
Harry leaned her head on Tom's arm with a soft smile on her face as his fingers lazily played her folds. He didn't work to build her up to a climax, just played with her to give his fingers something to do.
"You were wonderful up there, did I tell you?" Tom murmured in her ear.
"Yes," Harry smiled. She was in post-Gryffindor-victory bliss and post-sex bliss. Her hands tangled in his hair and she tugged his head down for a long kiss.
"What do you want to do after Hogwarts?" Harry asked quietly. It was a topic that was beginning to make her nervous. Everyone had plans and she had some ideas but nothing concrete.
"This," Tom replied, slipping a long finger inside her. "Everyday. All the time. In our own place where we don't have to worry about anyone walking in."
"For once we'd be in a place where it's allowed," Harry giggled. "We could even be naked all day and no one could complain or get mad because it would be just us."
"Exactly," Tom grinned.
"Okay, but for real… are you still going to work in the Ministry?"
"That's the plan," Tom replied. "What about you? Do you have any more ideas of what you want?"
In her Career Advice interview two years ago, Harry showed interest in being an Auror. Her father was an Auror and she always thought it was the coolest job, but she never had a moment in her life where she felt like she needed to be an Auror. What if there were better suited jobs out there for her? She didn't know.
"No," she responded, still in her own mind.
"I still think you should be a Healer. You're in all the required classes."
"Maybe. I just don't know if it's for me.
"You're a very nurturing and caring person. It's the perfect job for you."
"It's a lot of work and I think I would get sad seeing patients who can't get better." They were silent for a moment. Then Harry turned to face him. "How about I wait for you to become the Head of a department and then you can hire me as your assistant. I can be the sexy secretary who lies about you being in meetings and we can fuck in your office."
Tom chuckled. "I would never get any work done with you on the other side of the door."
"Sure you can. It'll be great. And all the other people in our department are going to know about it because we'll think we're being discreet but we're not and they'll all be jealous of me but I won't care because at the end of the day, I'm the one going home with the boss."
He flipped himself over on her body, grinning as he pressed kisses on her neck. "Yeah, I would never get any work done. They'll fire the both of us. Then what would we do?"
"We can open our own shop in Diagon Alley."
"Open a shop?" Tom quirked an eyebrow, believing himself to be too good to work in a shop. "What would we sell?"
"Sweets."
"Sweets?"
"Everyone likes sweets. Think of all the sales we'll make when all the kids come to do their school shopping."
"What if we collect antique objects instead?"
"What? Tom, that's the boringest thing we could possibly do. No, you're not thinking about this right. We should have a bake shoppe. We can sell pastries and sweets."
"And who's going to make these pastries? You?" he asked skeptically. "Or your house elf?"
"I can learn," Harry said over-confidently.
Tom went back to kissing all over her body. Harry knew their night was coming to an end because it always ended this way.
"Hey, I have a question," she said suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"Can I borrow the Map for a few days?"
Tom stilled for a moment, then continued kissing her chest. "How long?"
"Just a few days."
He lifted his head and pulled his body up so he was directly above her. "What do you need it for?"
"I can't tell you, it's a secret," Harry said with a mischievous smile. Tom smiled back but it didn't reach his eyes. He raised his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for a response. She sighed, "It's not for me. I'm helping a friend with something and they've asked me not to say anything about it to anyone."
Tom stared at her long and hard, thinking of a way to reply to that.
"Okay," he said.
"Okay?" Harry repeated, a little surprised.
"Sure. Just get it back to me as soon as you can."
"You got it. Thanks," she pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and then pulled the blanket over them. Tom kept his arms wrapped around her as they slept.
"Hey," Tom stopped behind her at the Gryffindor table and put a hand on her shoulder. Harry looked up from her food and smiled at him. He bent down and muttered in her ear, "Are you done with the Map? I need it back."
Harry's heart dropped. She had the Map for only a week. Naturally, Tom didn't get up to anything suspicious. But she had more faith in his intelligence to think he would go to wherever it was he went while he knew she had the Map. Harry was hoping that with them meeting less at night and only ever in the Room of Requirement now, that he wouldn't have any need for the Map. And she can keep it until he forgot she had it or something. It was a long shot.
"Yeah," she said quickly, digging through her bag to retrieve it. "Actually I was just going to get it back to you today."
"Thanks, darling," he grinned, kissing her cheek as he plucked the Map out of her hands and left. Harry watched him go, wondering how even after all these years he could make the butterflies in her stomach go off by simply calling her 'darling'.
She turned back to the table to see Lavender and Parvati watching with dreamy looks on their faces. Parvati sighed heavily. "Harry, you are so lucky you got that one."
Harry chuckled lightly and didn't respond as she stared intensely into her soup about what to do next.
There was nothing else to do but go on nightly walks and hope to stumble across him. It had been a few weeks since Harry started to get suspicious of Tom and in this time she tried to gather as much information out of him as possible and in the most subtle way. So far she's made note of the days he won't meet up with her when he doesn't have any other obligations but usually excuses regarding Head duties or homework. All of his Head excuses check out when she subtly hints them to Hermione but it doesn't make sense why every Thursday night he's busy with something or another. Aside from that, there was usually a weekend night he wouldn't meet up with her.
There was one weekend where neither of them could meet up and Harry noted that Tom didn't seem to mind. Right away she knew he had plans so once it was past curfew, she slipped out of her dorm again and wandered the castle from top to bottom, looking for any sign of suspicious activity. She went out each night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but returned with no new information.
Now she was beginning to lose hope of ever finding out what he was hiding. What was worse (or possibly better) was that Ron was picking up on all of this. Her tired state, her strange questions to Hermione, her focus on this thing that he only knew involved Tom. She evaded his concerns and inquiries until she couldn't anymore, which was when he was the Prefect that caught her roaming the castle, dead on her feet and barely awake.
Harry wasn't stupid, she knew she couldn't tell him everything. But there was also no point in pretending or hiding anymore. Ron thought Tom was cheating on her, which resulted in him being really cold towards the Head Boy. Harry let him think this because she was sure it was more innocent than whatever Tom was really up to.
"Harry, I'm telling you, use me!" Ron insisted quietly when they were in the library one evening.
"Ron, I'm not getting you involved in this!" Harry hissed back. If Tom found out she was spying on him, he was going to be livid. If Tom found Ron spying on him, he was going to be livid and murderous.
"He won't know, I promise! Look, I grew up learning from Fred and George, alright? If there's anyone who knows more about stealth than me, it's Ginny. But since I already know, I might as well do it."
"Okay, fine," Harry conceded. "But if Tom catches you and kills you, don't expect me to help out. Just remember I warned you."
The next Saturday she had the Quidditch Pitch booked for their weekly practise around noon. Harry made sure to mention to Tom how it was going to be an extra long session because her team needed it to come back stronger after the Christmas holidays for when they would be facing Ravenclaw.
Ron didn't show up to practise on account of having detention again when in reality Harry had him in the library under her Cloak, watching to see what Tom did and who he met up with.
After Quidditch practise Harry took a shower and went straight to the library where she found Tom in the same section they had a fight in once. It was where she told Ron to hide.
"How was practise?" Tom asked, smiling at her.
"Terrible," she responded, pulling his face down for a deep kiss. She kept her eyes open to look behind him where Ron gave her a signal meaning he was there and now leaving. Harry closed her eyes and let herself get immersed in the kiss for real. "Wanna go to the kitchens? I'm famished."
"I can't, I'm sorry, I haven't even touched my Arithmancy homework with how busy I've been," he replied.
"Oh," Harry said, disappointed. "It's alright. I'll catch up with you later, then."
She pressed another kiss to his lips before leaving the library. Her feet automatically took her up to the Gryffindor common room. There were several other places she would rather meet up with Ron but she couldn't risk Tom checking the Map and seeing her enter the Room of Requirement with another boy. And she was certain he regularly checked on her because there were a couple times he hinted with things like "What was going on in the Ravenclaw common room yesterday?" in reference to a time she ended up there to meet Padma and stayed to chat with Luna.
It just started to snow a lot so majority of the Gryffindors were outside playing with it. Despite this, Ron and Harry chose a quiet corner in the common room and put up privacy charms.
"Why can't we just do this in my dorm? I know none of the boys are in there and they won't be for hours," Ron said.
"I can't," Harry replied. "Tom is going to lose his shit if she sees me in the boys' dorm."
"Well, it would serve him right," he grumbled. "He's not exactly innocent either now, is he?"
"I don't know that yet, so tell me what you found out."
"Nothing much," Ron said quietly, unfolding a piece of parchment where he recorded Tom's activity.
11:09 Arrives at table with books
11:26 Gets a couple more books
11:50 Reading
12:00 still fucking reading
12:04 Malfoy arrives, Tom is mean to him
M- "What do you want me(?) to do about the (?)"
T- "I don't care, just (?)"
M- "Do we really need to"
T- "Stop asking so many questions and just get on with it. I'm busy"
12:32 Malfoy leaves looking pissed
12:35 Tom is doing homework I think
1:12 Goes to the Restricted Section
1:46 Comes out with four books
1:47 Charms each of the Restricted Section books so they show different covers
1:48 Back to reading
1:57 Checks watch and looks around library
2:13 Harry arrives
"The only person he interacted with was Malfoy," Ron said. "Sorry it's not much."
"No Ron, this is great. This is good enough. Thank you. He didn't see you or get suspicious at all?"
"No."
"Perfect."
Harry read over the sheet again, hungrily, trying to decipher what Tom could have been up to.
"Why do you think he would glamour the book covers?"
To hide them from me, Harry thought.
"Probably to hide them from Professors. I wonder what he's reading."
"Can't you find out?"
"Nah, it's not that easy for me to look through his things. And if I did he'd probably be very pissed."
Harry was beginning to realize how private Tom was. It wasn't something they shared between them at all. There was barely any privacy between them. Except for that time Harry tried to snatch the book Malfoy gave him and Tom got really angry. Now that she thought about it, she never really knew what he carried in his book bag because she never had any reason to care. He could have carried every book in the Restricted Section in there—which he would be allowed to check out without needing permission because he was Head Boy—and she wouldn't know.
Harry was going to lose her mind.
It got so bad that she wrote to her mother. But this time she knew better than to tell the truth and say she was suspicious of Tom. She told her mum that the pressure of their last year was getting to her, there was too much work and too many responsibilities, and she was worried about after graduation and didn't know what to do.
Lily responded with a long letter of reassurances and tips on how to destress and stated about fifty times that everything she was worried about now would not matter in a few months and that she would be fine. If Sirius could graduate and get a good job, then Harry definitely could.
One of the destressing tips in her mum's letter was actually to go flying and not for Quidditch. She stated that in their seventh year her dad was going through similar troubles with having responsibilities for the first time, and he liked to go out flying at night on his own.
Harry didn't even hesitate in grabbing her broom and going outside. It was dark and slightly chilly so she cast a Heating Charm on herself. Her clothes were black which would make her blend in with the night, perfect for flying undetected because this would surely get her detention.
A couple hours later, she was really happy she did that. Her mind was a little clearer, problems a little farther away and she could relax. She will certainly sleep better tonight.
Harry tiptoed back into the castle quietly and threw her Cloak over her head. Her tired limbs carried her up the stairs until she got the sudden urge to pee. Looking up, Harry knew there was no way she'd make it back to Gryffindor Tower without wetting her pants, so she decided to bite the bullet and use one of the closest bathrooms on the second floor.
The door to the girls' bathroom creaked open loudly and when she entered the dark and creepy room, Harry had half a mind to just pee in her pants just so she didn't have to stay in this room any longer.
Deciding to just be quick about it, she hurried into a stall, did her business and aggressively scrubbed her hands with soap and freezing cold water. Harry was determined to not look into the mirror because mirrors at night gave her the creeps. Harry used a spell to dry her hands and was ready to leave when she realized something was missing.
It took a full minute of standing there and staring at her hands for her tired mind to realize she didn't have her broom. Harry sighed and walked back to the last stall to get her broom when she heard the door creak open again. Gasping softly, her mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was some demon. The loud creak of the door masked her gasp and the sound of her shutting her stall door.
Harry didn't dare to breathe. It was past midnight, no student would be out of bed at this time and if they were, they definitely wouldn't be using the toilet on the second floor. Who the hell was in here?
She heard light footsteps walk into the bathroom and the door shut. There was silence for a few moments before a smooth male voice hissed.
Now Harry was really scared. She clapped a hand over her mouth, wondering if she was hallucinating when something in her brain clicked.
The fact that she knew that voice and she knew what the hissing sounds they were making were.
It was Tom.