As Harry slowly released the wizard beneath him, he quickly took stock of the mess he currently found himself in. And he was forced to admit, at least privately, that he'd made one crucial mistake.

Harry had quite forgotten that Tom Riddle was an excellent duellist for his age. But Tom was only fifteen years old, even if he was incredibly powerful and mature for his age. This Tom had not yet been tested in battle before that day. Harry doubted he'd ever before found himself in a duel to the death. Sure, some Slytherins might have cast some painful curses at Tom when they still believed him to be a meaningless little mudblood, but that was probably the worst kind of adversary Tom had faced so far.

Aside from Harry, Tom was the best duellist among the fifth year students, perhaps even among all students currently attending Hogwarts. But Tom was not yet the amazing, undefeatable opponent he'd one day become, capable of duelling Albus Dumbledore to a standstill. Tom was still just a teenager learning magic, no matter how talented he was for his age.

And Harry also had to admit that he'd underestimated the two wizards Grindelwald had sent after him. Harry had thought Grindelwald might have sent his versions of Crabbe and Goyle to deliver a message to a teenage girl. But in reality Grindelwald had sent his versions of Snape and Bellatrix, two individuals who were fast and ruthless duellers, willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. Which included casting a killing curse at a fifteen-year-old boy.

Fuck, Harry hoped Tom was all right. Because seeing that killing curse fly in Tom's direction had almost sent Harry into a fit of panic. It had certainly turned Harry into his usual self-sacrificing self. He'd given Tom his wand because Tom needed a wand to duel, plain and simple. And he'd shifted into a lion and hurled himself at one of their enemies to give Tom a fighting chance against the other wizard, knowing full well that close contact like that might give his enemy an opportunity to abduct him.

Worth it, if it meant Tom was safe. Harry had to believe that Tom was safe. Harry had to convince himself that Tom Riddle, even at fifteen, was powerful, talented and ruthless enough to do away with one experienced duellist.

Because Harry had no time to waste thinking about Tom. Harry was now faced with a Dark Lord he knew frightfully little about, as ridiculous as that sounded. Harry knew the basics, that Grindelwald had wanted to do away with all the Muggles and had conquered large swaths of Europe until Dumbledore defeated him in a duel. And of course, Harry knew all the sordid details about Dumbledore's friendship with the man. But other than that, Harry had never been interested to learn more about Gellert Grindelwald, since that particular Dark Lord had been ancient history by the time Harry was old enough to understand what a Dark Lord even was. Besides, Harry had Voldemort to worry about and after his defeat he hadn't ever felt like studying more Dark Lords. He'd instead tried to never think about Dark Lords again.

He quite regretted that oversight now that Gellert Grindelwald stood there staring down at him in clear confusion. Harry had landed in a large reception room filled with classic dark furniture and leather armchairs. There was nothing that immediately gave away their location, so Harry didn't even bother trying to guess.

The wizard beneath Harry had stopped screaming. Harry glanced down and noticed that the man had passed out. His chest was still rising and falling, though in a rather shallow manner. A large pool of blood was spreading out around the wizard's torso, so he probably needed medical attention soon or he'd bleed out completely.

A burst of magic hit Harry and he managed to release one aggravated roar before his body forcibly shifted back into his usual female form.

"Fascinating," Grindelwald whispered, his head tilted as he took his time studying Harry. "This is probably the first time I've met a witch who had such an obviously male Animagus form."

Harry remained on all fours, leaning over the unconscious wizard beneath him as he looked up at the Dark Lord in front of him. Warm, sticky blood dripped down his chin but Harry hardly noticed it, because there, resting casually in Grindelwald's hand, was the Elder wand.

Heart skipping a few beats, Harry's mind raced with possibilities and opportunities to get that wand away from Grindelwald. In his previous life, Harry had died the master of the Elder wand, but he had no idea if in this life he could still be counted as such since he had travelled back in time. His soul was the same, but his body was completely different. Who was the Elder wand bonded to? Harry understood that the situation was far too precarious to risk finding out at that moment because if he got it wrong the consequences would be dire.

Up until that moment, Grindelwald still seemed to only want to convince Harriet Hubble to join him. If Harry engaged him in some kind of duel, Grindelwald's plans for him would probably change at once, and not for the better. Besides, Harry didn't even have a wand of his own, since he'd given his to Tom.

Wait a moment. The blond wizard beneath Harry had disarmed Tom! Harry lowered his head, pretending to stretch his body while he glanced around the wizard's body. There, in his slack left hand, lay Tom's yew wand. And Harry was convinced that wand would work perfectly for him, at least well enough to help get him out of there.

"I must confess," Grindelwald said, sounding like he was making pleasant conversation with someone he'd met during a leisurely stroll through the park, "that I have not seen you, Miss Hubble. You are a complete surprise to me, and that in itself is an utterly unexpected occurrence."

Harry didn't say anything as he slowly raised his body up so he could sit in a crouch, legs still on either side of the wizard beneath him. He gave Grindelwald a small, amused smile but otherwise he kept his mouth shut. One of the things he'd learned during his days as an Auror was to not ramble on when faced with an enemy, but to keep your tongue to yourself lest you give too much away.

And no matter that Harry was a reckless Gryffindor at heart with an uncontrollable desire to sacrifice himself at the drop of a hat, even Harry wasn't stupid enough to challenge someone like Gellert Grindelwald to any kind of duel.

Harry might not know much about Grindelwald, but he did remember that the Dark Lord was an expert in all kinds of dark magic and that he was considered one of the best duellists of his time. Even Dumbledore had a tough time defeating him and he'd known Grindelwald's tactics intimately. Harry, meanwhile, knew nothing about the man's specific talents with a wand.

No, Harry's only goal was to get out of there in one piece so he could go back to Tom, who was probably worrying himself sick about what had happened to Harry. If Tom was even still alive that was.

Squeezing his eyes shut for just a moment, Harry banished those thoughts from his mind at once. He could not let those kind of speculations distract him at that time.

Grindelwald seemed amused that Harry refused to talk to him, perhaps writing it off as Harry being terrified of him or something like that. Harry leaned into that particular impression by staring at Grindelwald with wide eyes, meanwhile keeping his Occlumency shields locked down as tightly as he could. He let his right hand dangle beside his body, right above the wizard's left hand. And then he raised his other hand up to his face as though to wipe away some of the blood that covered his mouth and chin.

Shaking his head, as though disappointed by Harry's lack of communication, Grindelwald loosely crossed his arms, the Elder wand carelessly dangling from between a few fingers.

Accio wands! Harry thought with all his might, keeping both his hands in position. Tom's wand shot up and smacked in Harry's waiting hand and the Elder wand slipped from Grindelwald's fingers and sailed through the air towards Harry's outstretched hand.

Eyes widening, Grindelwald released an impotent sound of fury as he stretched out his arm in a futile attempt to get his wand back, but the second Harry felt the Elder wand land in his hand he whispered, "Eta rho." They were his initials, H and P in the Greek alphabet and they activated the emergency portkey Harry kept around his neck.

It was required of all Aurors to always keep a voice-activated emergency portkey on their persons, and Harry had stuck with that particular bit of wisdom when he'd charmed a bunch of jewellery with shield charms over the summer. The thin, silver necklace he kept around his neck had been turned into a portkey.

A violent yank at his belly told him that the portkey had activated correctly and after a few dizzying tumbles through space and time, Harry landed on his arse somewhere deep inside the forest of Dean. It was always best to have emergency portkeys take you to a completely neutral location, because if you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed to activate it, your home might very well also be compromised.

Harry stumbled to get to his feet, not wanting to linger any longer than he had to. It was difficult, if not impossible, to track portkeys, but Harry didn't want to take the chance.

Because Harry realized that he'd just painted a target the size of a Hungarian Horntail on his back by stealing one of the Deathly Hallows from Gellert Grindelwald. The Elder wand, even. The unbeatable wand that had definitely helped Grindelwald in his rise to power.

And now Harry, a fifteen-year-old Hogwarts student, had stolen it from him. Summoned it straight from his hand in his own hideout.

Yeah, now that the adrenaline started to wear off, Harry realized that he'd just made his own life that much more complicated.

Fuck his impulsivity. Seriously, fuck that shit.

Still, Harry couldn't be too upset because he'd just taken one of Grindelwald's most important tools for world domination away from him, so there was that. Whatever happened next, Harry would deal with it. Besides, Harry spent most of the year at Hogwarts, and Grindelwald would never even contemplate attacking the castle, what with Dumbledore living there.

Harry inhaled a few deep breaths and closed his eyes, concentrating on apparating back to Hogwarts. While it felt like hours had passed, Harry was sure that in reality no more than ten minutes had gone by, if even that. Tom might still even be duelling the other wizard and desperately need Harry's help. So without further ado, Harry apparated back to the exact spot from where he'd been abducted earlier.

There was no one there. No Tom cursing his enemy into little bits and pieces. And no wizard with a black beard standing triumphantly over Tom's dead body. Harry slowly turned around, a wand in each hand as he tried to figure out what had happened and where Tom might be. Had he run back to the castle to alert the authorities? Harry doubted it, since Tom was the kind of guy who much preferred to solve his own problems instead of expecting others to do the dirty work.

An arm shot out of nowhere, a hand grabbing Harry's forearm and giving him an almighty yank. In seconds, Harry was pulled through some impressive wards that shielded Tom and the other wizard from view. Before Harry could see what was going on exactly, Tom pulled Harry close and crushed his lips to Harry's in a desperate, sloppy kiss.

It was by far the worst kiss Harry had ever had. Even his first ever kiss with Cho, which had been drowned in Cho's tears, had been a better experience than Tom attaching his mouth to Harry's in a way that made it clear he was trying to devour Harry.

Harry pulled back and only now noticed that Tom was shaking where he stood, his face pale and his eyes full of burning fury. "Hey, I'm fine," Harry whispered, raising one blood-stained hand up to Tom's head, almost poking Tom in the eye with his own yew wand. "I'm fine. Calm down." And then Harry stood on his tiptoes and caressed his sticky lips across Tom's in a gentle kiss. When Tom inhaled a deep breath and parted his lips, Harry slowly slid his tongue inside Tom's mouth and coaxed Tom's tongue into responding with even, careful strokes.

Oh yeah, that was much better.

Letting his eyes fall shut, Harry only now noticed the metallic taste in both their mouths. It was perhaps telling of the kind of relationship he could expect to have with someone like Tom Riddle that their first kiss was baptized with the blood of their dying enemy.

They stood there kissing for a long time, in the middle of a small field at the edge of Hogsmeade, surrounded by wildflowers and bramblebushes and one squirming wizards who looked like he'd been tortured excessively with the cruciatus curse.

Harry finally pulled back and inhaled a deep breath. All the adrenaline that had fuelled the last half hour was gone now and his body trembled as the shock wore off.

Tom licked the blood off his lips carelessly, and looked Harry over top to bottom as he took a step back.

"Got your wand," Harry said with a bright smile, face still smeared with blood. He proudly held up Tom's wand and offered it to him handle first.

"Thank you," Tom said with genuine gratitude. "Yours worked very well for me." And Tom exchanged Harry's wand for his own.

"Oh, and I stole Grindelwald's wand," Harry said, almost as an afterthought as he slid his own wand back in its holster. He didn't want to know what kind of spells Tom had just cast with it, aside from the very obvious cruciatus curse.

"You did what?" Tom asked, eyes wide as he stared at the Elder wand in Harry's hand. The handle was smeared with blood, but that didn't stop Tom from gently plucking it from Harry's fingers so he could examine it a bit better. "This is Grindelwald's wand? It looks old."

Harry shrugged, since he wasn't yet ready to divulge that particular secret to Tom, especially not with an enemy laying on the ground nearby. "Might be a heirloom. But it's definitely his, since I summoned it right from his hand just before I activated my emergency portkey."

"So that is how you got back," Tom mused with a curious look as he handed the Elder wand back to Harry. "I had wondered if you could apparate, and if not, how you were going to find your way back." Tom kicked against the wizard's hip, drawing a small groan from him but the man still seemed mostly out of it. "I tried getting your location from this useless tosser, but he kept mum even under the cruciatus curse." Tom seemed entirely oblivious that he'd just confessed to using an unforgivable curse, but that could perhaps be explained by the shock he'd been through.

"Yeah, I have no clue where I ended up. Somewhere in mainland Europe, though it can't have been too far away," Harry said with a shrug, running the Elder wand absently through his sticky fingers. "That bastard was able to apparate me to Grindelwald's hideout even as he was bleeding out."

Tom gave Harry a disbelieving look. "Are you sure he didn't use a portkey instead? It seems impossible that one could apparate while a full-grown lion is gnawing on their neck."

Harry released a dry chuckle. "You'd be surprised what desperate people can accomplish while the adrenaline is the only thing still keeping them in the land of the living. I'm guessing he desperately hoped Grindelwald would be able to save his life, but I'm not sure any help for him came in time in the end."

Tom nodded in understanding and then frowned while he gave Harry a sideways glance. "How long have you been an Animagus? Because that is what that transformation was, right?"

"Yeah, I became one this summer. This was only my second time transforming," Harry said with a small sigh. There was no denying it now, but perhaps it was for the best that he'd revealed his Animagus form instead of engaging those two wizards in an advanced duel with spells and curses he couldn't so easily explain away. It wasn't impossible for a fifteen-year-old to become an Animagus, but it was a lot less likely that a fifth year student knew Auror level duelling tactics. Yeah, in hindsight, Harry had made the right decision, even in the heat of the moment. "The process wasn't even that difficult," Harry continued since Tom kept looking at him with a dubious frown. "It's just complicated and requires careful timing of just about every step. But you could easily learn it as well."

"Really?" Tom blinked and straightened up a bit as he contemplated that idea. "Perhaps I'll try it, then. You can give me some pointers."

"Gladly," Harry said with a smile, because he really hoped Tom would become an Animagus as well. Harry couldn't wait to see what he'd turn into. Hopefully not something predictable like a snake of some sort.

"What should we do with him?" Tom asked, kicking the squirming wizard again.

Harry stepped up to the man and leaned over him, using a bit of Legilimency to take a look into the man's mind. Yeah, Tom's cruciatus curses had done a lot of damage, most of it probably permanent. Tom must have been blind with rage to cast such strong curses that completely shredded the wizard's mind. "He's useless," Harry said, because any information they might still be able to get from him wasn't to be trusted since the man's mind was in tatters. "Best to give him a clean end." And without pause, Harry aimed the Elder wand at the man's neck and whispered, "Sectumsempra."

Blood spurted from the gaping wound, coating both their robes and shoes as the wizard gurgled a few times before his body went limp.

"I find it curious," Tom said, voice oddly without emotion while his expression was completely blank. "That you all but blackmailed me into never even attempting murder for the rest of my Hogwarts days, yet here you are executing that man without a second thought."

"You threw an innocent student down the stairs, Tom, almost breaking his neck," Harry said as he glared up at Tom with narrowed eyes. "This fucking bastard cast a killing curse at you. He deserved it and much worse." And Harry meant that. Once upon a time he might have been in innocent little swot opposed to killing of any kind, but he'd since grown up and realized the world wasn't black and white. It was better the kill an enemy like this than to let him live and give Grindelwald an opportunity to learn things about Harry and Tom. Like their willingness to use unforgivable curses. Such information could easily be used against them. No, it was much safer in the long run to simply get rid of a dead body than to return a living enemy to their Dark Lord.

Harry swished the Elder wand around and transfigured the corpse into a rotting log. Then he levitated a small rock, turned it into a portkey and dropped it onto the log, sending it straight into the North Sea.

"That's certainly an efficient way of dealing with an enemy," Tom said in a rather dry tone, though his brown eyes burned with desire as he stepped closer to Harry.

"Glad you approve," Harry whispered, raising himself up on his tiptoes again. He'd absolutely deserved a kiss or two. Or ten. Their lips met halfway as they leaned closer and Harry sighed into their kiss. Tom certainly was a fast learner and the way he swirled his tongue around Harry's slowly drove Harry to utterly arousing heights. A small moan escaped Harry as he pressed his body against Tom's, eager for more contact.

It was only then that Harry remembered that they were standing in public, both covered in blood, though they were still protected by Tom's excellent wards. But wards could be broken and Harry had no idea if Myrtle had perhaps alerted any staff at Hogwarts or if someone had witnessed their duel with Grindelwald's henchmen. Their priority now was to clean up the crime scene and do away with any other evidence.

Harry pulled back from the kiss with no small amount of regret. He wanted to keep kissing Tom for at least the rest of the afternoon, and perhaps even well beyond that. But he also didn't want him and Tom to end up in Azkaban anytime soon, so cleaning up it was.

"Let's get rid of all the blood," Harry said as he pulled his Cyprus wand out of its holster. Casting a bunch of cleaning charms would help to clear away any traces of the curses Tom had cast using Harry's wand. Together they cast cleaning charms across the patch of grass, getting rid of all traces of blood, no matter how small. Afterwards, Harry waved his wand over Tom, cleaning his clothes and hands and face, because kissing Harry had smeared streaks of red all over Tom's chin and cheeks.

Then Tom did the same for Harry, taking his time to gently scrub away any of the blood that coated most of Harry's clothes. The magic left a fresh tingle behind on Harry's face and hands and he was happy to feel clean again.

"I'm going to kiss you," Harry said, grabbing hold of Tom's robes and pulling him closer. "Because I think I deserve a kiss after stealing a Dark Lord's wand."

Tom's mouth quirked up in a one-sided grin before he pressed his lips against Harry's in an eager kiss. Yeah, kissing Tom was much better without the taste of blood in both their mouths. Harry wound his hands in Tom's hair and Tom wound his arm around Harry's back and they stood in a tight embrace while they explored each other's mouths.

It was hard to believe, Harry mused, that this amazing young man had the potential to become a soulless monster like Voldemort. Tom was so warm and alive against Harry's willing body. So eager to find pleasure in someone else's embrace. Tom really was so very well suited for Harry, more than willing to put up with all of Harry's little idiosyncrasies. And, more importantly, Tom was pragmatic enough that he didn't even blink an eye when Harry killed a man right in front of him.

Yeah, whatever kind of crush Harry had on his former enemy was definitely morphing into more than that.

More students started emerging from Hogsmeade, all turning into the narrow path that led back to Hogwarts, which swerved right beside the small field where Harry and Tom stood snogging.

"We should probably head back," Harry said as he pulled away, his lips tingling as he licked them. "We can always find a nice, private spot somewhere on the grounds to continue this."

Tom nodded and only now did Harry noticed that his cheeks were flushed, which made him look rather adorable. It only took a few moments for Tom to dismantle the wards, revealing them to the world, though there was no one to see them appear again.

As they started walking up the path, Harry reached for Tom's hand and wound their fingers together. Tom frowned for a moment, as though he wasn't sure what Harry was trying to accomplish, but then he gave Harry's hand a soft squeeze and held on with steady fingers.

"I'm not sure what we should do," Harry said quietly, even though there was no one near to overhear them. "Should we alert the authorities that Grindelwald had agents roaming around in Hogsmeade?"

Tom squeezed Harry's hand again, a little harder this time. "I don't think that's a very smart idea."

"Why not?" Harry glanced up at Tom in confusion. Surely they should at least let Dippet know there were enemies circling the castle, as it were.

"Harriet," Tom said with a patient look, though he sounded completely serious. "It would draw far too much attention to you from our own government. Your own politics might convince the British government that you already are an agent working for Grindelwald."

"Huh." Harry honestly hadn't considered that option, but perhaps he should have. After all, Harry was intimately familiar with the British Ministry's ability to jump to the complete wrong conclusions and lock away innocent people all in the name of security. And the Ministry was filled with purebloods who might enjoy nothing more than getting rid of one mudblood nuisance by painting her as a willing spy for Grindelwald. "Yeah, okay, I can see why it might be best to pretend we're clueless about anything Grindelwald."

"Good. If anyone asks, we heard rumours there were men looking for you, but we didn't stick around long enough to find out who they were," Tom said as they strolled on, still holding hands.

Harry considered the whole messy situation for a while. "Grindelwald is not going to accept this defeat, though," Harry finally whispered, knowing only too well how important the Elder wand was to Grindelwald. Not to mention that Harry had managed to kill one, perhaps two, of Grindelwald's followers. Yeah, Harry could only imagine how genuinely pissed off Grindelwald was at that very moment. "We should practice duelling," Harry suggested, because it never hurt to practice and this way Harry could teach Tom how to properly duel. And Tom's innate power and talent would do the rest, so that soon enough Tom truly would be a force to be reckoned with.

"I would love that," Tom said at once, giving Harry a bright little smile. "We can use that very useful room for that."

Harry's cheeks flushed at once, since Harry's mind was suddenly full of enticing images of the many things he wanted to do with Tom in the Room of Requirement. Yeah, those had to wait until a bit later. They'd only just kissed and they weren't even officially dating. Though Harry doubted that Tom would not want to officially date him at this point. "How about we meet there tomorrow, so we can work on the map there and do a bit of duelling."

"It's a date." Tom leaned over and sealed their promise with a quick kiss. Yeah, Tom was such a possessive man that he'd never let Harry go again now that they had physically confessed their interest in each other. Not that Harry minded. It really was rather astonishing how quickly Harry had forgotten about his previous life in many way.

Harry still frequently remembered that once upon a time a version of Tom had turned into Voldemort. But that hadn't been this version of Tom. No, Harry's Tom as he was now was a young man with unlimited potential now that he'd been spared a number of pitfalls thanks to Harry's anonymous interventions.

Harry also still remembered his old friends. He missed Ron and Hermione and Ginny and Luna and Neville and all his Auror colleagues. But they were in the past. Harry had new friends now, that fit into his new life. Because there was no going back, Harry knew that. There was only going forward in this world and this time. And that meant new friends and a new love interest and Tom was best suited for the job.

There was no one else who could understand Harry like Tom could, and vice versa. They'd just duelled enemy wizards, and tortured and killed and did away with a pile of evidence that would see them both sentenced to Azkaban for a very long time. And they hadn't passed judgement on each other for any of it. They accepted what needed to be done to keep each other safe. And that was what Harry truly needed in a partner.

"You're my boyfriend, just so you know," Harry said out of the blue, because he wanted Tom to know that this thing between them was much more than a silly little fling. "And I'm your girlfriend. If you have any objections, now is the time to speak up."

Tom chuckled and shook his head. He stopped walking and pulled Harry closer so he could smile down at him. "You are mine now, Harriet Hubble. And I protect what is mine. Grindelwald will have to go through me to get to you."

Big words spoken by a fifteen-year-old, Harry thought with a sappy smile. It was all in all a rather naïve statement, but Harry appreciated the sentiment, because he knew that whatever happened, Tom would at least try to take care of him now. And Harry would do the exact same thing for Tom, including letting himself be kidnapped by dark wizards, as the afternoon had proven. Yeah, it was rather amazing how dedicated to each other they'd already become in such a short period of time. Because Harry was certain that Tom would not easily give up on Harry now. Tom had always been a very possessive type of person, even as Voldemort. As a hormonal teenager, he probably was even worse.

Harry pulled his boyfriend in for another good snog right there and then in the middle of the narrow path and they didn't pull back until they heard giggling behind them. A couple of third year Ravenclaws stood there, flushed with satisfaction after their first time visiting Hogsmeade. They stared between Tom and Harry with wide eyes and then giggled some more.

"Please, don't let us stop you," Tom said, stepping to the side to let the other students pass them.

"So the whole school will know by dinner time that we're dating," Harry whispered, though he felt more amused than anything else. In a boarding school it was inevitable that others quickly discovered any knew young couples.

"Good," Tom whispered back, his face set in a pleasant expression as he stared after the other students. "That will probably help to keep others from trying to poach you."

"I'm not a bloody rabbit, Tom," Harry said with a laugh. "Nobody is poaching me anytime soon."

"No, you're a lion instead." Tom leaned down and grinned against Harry's curls before brushing his lips across Harry's temple. "You eat those that try to hunt you."

For some reason, that statement sent delicious shivers down Harry's back. He quickly pulled back from Tom, lest he push his boyfriend down into the grass right there and then to have his wicked way with him. "I wonder what that makes you."

"Either very brave or very foolish, to get so close to someone who could eat me whole." Tom's eyes gleamed with mischief as he gave Harry an almost daring grin.

"I don't want to eat you whole," Harry said, because he was a Gryffindor at heart and couldn't deny a challenge when he saw one. "Perhaps swallow down certain parts of you at some point in the future, but that's about it."

Tom inhaled a sharp breath, clearly shocked that Harry would say something so obviously sexual in nature. Then his face broke out in a wide grin full of gleaming teeth. "It is a pity that we have to attend the Slug Club tonight, or else I might have to take you to the Room of Requirement right after dinner to put those words to the test."

Tom might as well have poured a bucket of cold water over Harry, because Harry sobered up at once, his arousal instantly ebbing away. "Fucking hell, I'd completely forgotten about that."