Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—————————————————————
Tom carried Harriet's luggage along with his own as they walked through the dismal street to the shabby apartment building that contained his childhood home.
The concrete was cracked and the staircase was stained, but Harriet wore a bright smile as she chatted with Tom while they journeyed to the building's third floor.
When they made it to the landing, he opened the door to the flat he and Merope shared as he felt his chest tighten with anxiousness.
Tom stepped to the side and let Harriet enter as she glanced around silently.
"Welcome home, Harriet Potter~." Tom cooed to her in a purr, "It's not extravagant, but it is where I've been raised."
Harriet smiled over at Tom politely as she received her first glimpse of his life beyond Hogwarts.
The kitchen, dining area, and living room were all crammed together.
Down the hallway, three small bedrooms and a single bathroom stood with closed doors.
The furniture was tattered, the lights were dim, and the walls themselves held an aged sort of greyness, but Merope had done her best to clean everything from top to bottom.
She had understood how important Harriet's visit was to her son.
"I think it's lovely." Harriet nodded at Tom with a kind smile, "It's loads better than where I was raised."
"Don't you think it's too cramped?" Tom asked.
He purposely goaded Harriet to see if she would criticize his modest home.
"No, I think it's cozy." Harriet honestly replied, "The Burrow's lovely too, but sometimes it's a bit overwhelming."
Her answer greatly pleased Tom as he stepped towards her with a satisfied grin on his lips.
Harriet watched him sit their trunks down on the brown carpeting before she gently placed Hedwig's cage next to her feet.
Tom slipped his hands onto her hips, looked into her emerald eyes, and promised her, "One day, Harriet Potter, you and I will have much better……..and Mother will, too. One day we'll live in a palace with grand rooms and beautiful furnishings."
"I don't need grand rooms or beautiful furnishings, Tom." Harriet chuckled.
"You'll have them anyway." He insisted as he leaned down.
As soon as Harriet sensed that he would kiss her, she backed up with a smirk and asked, "...Won't your mum be home soon?"
"Not for some time yet." Tom replied as the hint of an irritated scowl marred his handsome face as he continued his pursuit.
Harriet titled her face towards him and granted his silent wish by giving him a sweet, meaningful kiss.
They stood there for some time in the middle of the flat's main room, kissing and holding each other, until Tom pulled away at last.
"You taste nervous." He whispered in his eerily calm voice as he grinned down at her.
Harriet frowned as she looked up at him.
The sad concern in her expression forced Tom to frown back in response.
"...What if your mum doesn't like me?" Harriet asked worriedly.
"Sweetling," Tom chuckled, "That's a silly notion, isn't it?"
He reached down and took Harriet's trunk into his hand.
She picked up Hedwig's cage before he began to walk down the hallway and show her to her room while he went on, "...Mother will adore you, you needn't worry about that."
After Tom had placed Harriet's things in the bedroom she would be sleeping in during her stay, he walked across the hallway to his own room under the pretense of letting her get settled.
The ghost of a scowl whispered across his handsome features as he sat down on his bed and listened to Harriet rummage around.
In Tom's eyes, that was the only thing amiss with his darling's visit.
Merope had assigned Harriet Potter to the wrong bed.
—————————————————————
Tom listened to every sound that came from Harriet's room as he tried to imagine her actions while she unpacked.
He quickly opened a book and frowned at its pages in concentration when he heard her walk across the hallway an hour later.
"Sorry! I didn't realize you were reading." Harriet quickly apologized after she appeared in his doorway.
Tom glanced up from his book as he pretended to be surprised.
"Oh no, I was only looking at this while you finished! I……" His smooth voice trailed off as he stared at Harriet.
Her school uniform was gone.
The casual clothes of muggle denim jeans and a cotton tee shirt that she usually preferred in its place were gone as well.
Tom's eyes darkened as he stared at Harriet while she stood there in the doorway, clad in the simple, blue dress that Hermione had helped her select from a Hogsmeade shop the previous weekend.
"...What are you wearing, sweetling?" Tom asked with a huskiness in his voice that he failed to hide.
Harriet's dress was anything but obscene, with an honest neckline, delicate sleeves that fluttered around her upper arms, and a modest hem that came to her knee, yet the dress's innocence made it more intriguing to Tom.
As he gaped at the way Harriet's outfit flirted with her slight figure, he felt his trousers tighten.
Tom hastily curled forward and pulled his legs up to hide his growing arousal.
Harriet's messy, dark hair had been combed neatly to trail down over her shoulders.
Tom felt certain that her lips seemed a little redder.
As he stared at Harriet's fair face, he lost his words as he mused over the raging desire he felt to kiss her again…...
"I…..I wanted to look nice for your mum." Harriet said with a nervous nod, "I've never been able to look nice when I've met anyone before……..do you think she'll like me in this?"
Tom controlled himself as he allowed his emotions to smooth out his primal response.
He rose from the bed in one swift motion, glided over to Harriet, and raised his hand to take hers as he answered, "Forget what Mother thinks or will think, I like you in this, sweetling~."
Harriet smiled softly at his warm words of approval.
"How beautiful……" Tom mused as he raised his other hand to gently touch her face.
Harriet blushed as he stared down at her with a look in his dark eyes that made her unsure of whether he intended to kiss her or eat her until they both heard the lock on the flat's front door shift.
Tom grit his teeth as they stepped into the hallway and looked in the direction of the sound.
As much as he loved his mother, he sincerely regretted her poor timing.
Could she not have come home ten minutes later?
Harriet felt her throat tighten as the door opened, but Tom accepted the annoying tragedy of the moment.
He led Harriet down the hallway while Merope stepped into the flat.
Harriet blinked as her eyes fell on Tom's beloved mother.
Merope's dark hair was as dirty as her clothes from long hours of work. Her black eyes seemed tired, and a long sigh of exhaustion escaped her lips as she clutched the day's mail in her hands, which mostly consisted of various bills.
"Mother!" Tom called as he and Harriet rushed into the flat's main room.
Harriet watched the fatigue fall away from Merope's face as she glanced over, saw her son, and traded her frown for a bright smile while she called, "Tom! You're home! So good to see you, love!"
Tom let go of Harriet's hand to embrace his mother for a moment.
Harriet smiled while she watched mother and son exchange a warm hug that conveyed the close bond they shared.
Harriet's worry that Tom may forget her was quickly abolished as he stepped back from Merope, took Harriet by the hand again, and proudly announced, "Mother, this is Harriet Potter….Harriet, this is my mother, Merope Gaunt."
"It's lovely to meet you, Ms. Gaunt." Harriet nodded with a smile as she reached out to shake Merope's hand, "Thank you for having me as a guest in your home."
"Oh, darling girl!" Merope cried. Harriet's eyes widened as Merope grabbed her hand and pulled her into a tight embrace as if she were her last hope in the world, "Thank you for visiting us! It's delightful to meet you at last! You've made my Tom so very, very happy! I'm certain I'll cherish you as he does!"
"Mother……" Tom whispered with a frown.
Harriet recovered from her shock as she blinked while Merope squeezed her tight.
Although she hadn't expected such a warm welcome, beyond Molly Weasley, Harriet had few maternal figures in her life.
She wasn't eager to shun any such affection.
Merope and Harriet smiled at each other when their hug finally ended.
Tom wisely stood back and let the two women interact for a moment.
"What a darling dress!" Merope complimented her guest with a smile.
"Thank you." Harriet nodded politely, "You must be very tired after working all day……..If you'd prefer, I can help with dinner? I've cooked for my aunt and uncle loads of times."
Behind them, a smug smirk danced across Tom's lips.
—————————————————————
That smirk stayed there as Tom sat in the living area and pretended to read his book again while he listened to Merope and Harriet chat as they bustled around the flat's small kitchen.
Tom wanted to shout with satisfaction at the air of domestic bliss that filled his humble home that night.
His perfect love caring for him with his perfect mother, he could think of no better way to spend that December evening.
An hour later, after the meal had been served, Tom let Merope and Harriet chat while he sipped the delicious soup they had made.
He basked in his victory as he listened to their pleasant conversation.
It had been Tom's great hope that Merope and Harriet would get along.
However, as he watched his mother and his love speak with each other, the smiles on their faces were brighter than he had imagined.
In the brief hour she had known her, Harriet decided that she liked Tom's mother.
Merope was genuinely enthralled with the girl who brought her precious boy so much happiness.
As she sat there at the table and listened to Harriet, she was more than ready for Tom to move forward and keep the girl as his own.
If Tom received what he wanted, then Merope knew she would gain a daughter.
Then perhaps one day, she would have grandchildren, dark-haired boys and adorable little girls with large, green eyes.
Merope felt a warm hope glow in her heart as she imagined her son's little ones.
There were times when Merope wished that Tom was a few years older.
—————————————————————
After dinner, the hours passed by until everyone finally retired for the night.
As Harriet readied for bed in her room with the door closed, Tom's evening began.
He lingered by his cracked door until he heard the soft sound of his mother's snoring coming from her bedroom.
Determined not to miss Harriet changing clothes again, he silently swept through his open door, padded across the hallway, and bent down to stare into Harriet's room through the doorknob's keyhole.
He resisted the urge to palm at his groin while he watched his darling turn her back to the door and slowly pull her dress up over her head.
Tom swallowed dryly as he stared at the hooks of Harriet's bra, the seams of her panties where the cotton hugged her round bottom, and the smooth, creamy skin he could see from the bits of her that were exposed.
His dark eyes widened as he heard Harriet sigh softly while she lifted a hand and ran it through the thickness of her hair.
More than anything else in the world at that moment, Tom wanted her to turn around…….
His mouth fell open as he peered through the keyhole and watched as Harriet lifted a hand behind her back and guided it towards the hooks of her bra……
Unconsciously, his hand graced his groin and then…….his heart sank.
Harriet stepped to the side and disappeared from his view.
He swallowed again, despite his parched throat, as his mind tried to understand where she had-
Tom's dark eyes widened as the door flung open without warning to reveal Harriet staring down at him.
It was a bold move to confront him clad only in her bra and knickers.
Taken by surprise, arousal, and vexation, Tom stared up at Harriet blankly for a moment as she scowled at him angrily.
"Sorry, I don't remember agreeing to a private show?" Harriet asked.
Her vivaciousness made him smirk.
Tom had admired the bright, fearless spark of life in Harriet Potter since the day he had met her.
Although he arrogantly assumed he would one day become her alpha, the thought of being on his knees before her, while she glared down at him, covered in only a few scraps of fabric, made him want to growl at the reversal of roles.
"I…...I was on my way to the lavatory." Tom reasoned with a smile as he stood up and smirked at Harriet, "...My shoe came untied."
"Well…….see that you knot it better, please." Harriet nodded.
Tom could hardly wait to put his hands on Harriet's bare hips as he took a step forward and opened his mouth to speak, "Sweetling, I-"
"Goodnight, Tom." Harriet murmured as she closed her door in his face.
He scowled when he heard the distinct click of the lock being fastened on the other side.
He could have easily gained entry to her room with magic, but that would have gotten him in trouble.
Instead, Tom chose to return to his room, open his trousers, and spend the next hour using his hand to ease his own primal urges.
His thoughts were unusually scattered as he oscillated between logical reasoning and wild fantasies about his darling.
Tom wondered what it would feel like to hold the fabric of her underthings in his hands while he ripped them off…..
He knew that Harriet's irritation with his actions had been feigned.
Why had he caught the hint of a smirk on her face before she shut the door if she had been angry with him?
He recognized that she could have chosen to pull on a robe before their confrontation if she had any interest in hiding herself from his eyes.
Tom arrived at the conclusion that Harriet Potter had cruelly teased him.
Later, he fell back on his pillows in bed and gasped for breath, spent, but still frustrated.
His dark eyes narrowed as he scowled up at his bedroom's yellowed ceiling.
Tom Riddle didn't waste time on wounded feelings or dissatisfaction, Tom Riddle plotted revenge.