Chapter Five -- Pristine Condition
1996
Harry sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, occasionally glancing over at Tom who had taken up residence next to Severus Snape. Severus kept his eyes locked on the fruit platter, never looking up at the Heir of Slytherin. "You'd never guess that they'd been together," Harry thought to himself fleetingly. Severus tended to be stiff around Tom Riddle -- Cordial enough so that his Lord and Master wouldn't become annoyed with him yet indifferent enough to leave Tom cold. They made a fairly attractive couple, Harry thought to himself, absently twirling his fork around in a heap of mashed potatoes -- The chilled Potions Master and the haughty Dark Lord. He was surprised when he didn't feel the expected pang of jealously.
"Would you pass the soup, Parvati?" Harry asked, prying his eyes away from Tom for a second. Parvati flinched when he called her name and quickly shoved the bowl down to Harry's end of the table. "Lavender, would you mind passing the water?" A rock-hard stare and the jug of water found itself in Harry's lap. The young Gryffindor bolted up from his seat, looking at the damp spot in his lap. The entire Slytherin house burst into peals of laughter.
"What's your problem, Lavender?" Harry asked, close to losing his temper.
Lavender shrugged meekly and went back to her dinner. Harry would have probably interrogated her further if he hadn't felt something rubbing against the side of his leg. Glancing down, he saw the familiar black dog staring up at him.
"Hey boy," Harry said, bending down and scratching the dog's ears. "How are you doing?"
The dog whimpered a little and licked Harry's hand. Harry sat back down at the dinner table and the canine curled up in a ball at his feet. Harry proceeded to feed the dog about five servings throughout the dinner, attracting quite a bit of attention from the other students at the table.
"I think it's time we left, boy," Harry smiled, patting the dog on the head. Harry got to his feet and left the Great Hall, Padfoot fast on his heels.
The moment they were safely concealed in Harry's chambers, Padfoot transformed, leaving a tattered and ragged Sirius in his place. The convict automatically drew his godson into a tight embrace.
"Hey," Sirius laughed, nuzzling into Harry's muss of hair. "Miss me?"
"Did I ever!" Harry beamed. "You've been away too long! You should have written me."
"I know," Sirius said, flopping down onto Harry's bed . . . the bed.
"Can I get you anything?" Harry asked, nervously picking at a loose thread on his robes. "Coffee? Tea? Anything?"
"No but you can tell me what's wrong," Sirius replied, reading his godson like a book. "By the way, last time I checked up on you, you were still living in the Gryffindor Dorms like all of the other students. What's up with the change of address?"
"Oh nothing really," Harry shrugged. "Just met someone and, well, you know . . ."
"No, I don't," Sirius smiled. "But this sounds pretty interesting." Sirius tapped the bed, signaling for Harry to sit down next to him. "Sit a spell and tell me all about her."
Harry groaned inwardly. "Well, it's funny actually . . ." Harry didn't know where to begin -- Telling Sirius he might be gay, telling Sirius he was bound, or telling Sirius he was bound to the Dark Lord himself . . . Or maybe telling Sirius that he was beginning to have second thoughts on whether Tom Riddle was quite as bad as he made himself out to be.
"Well, it's funny actually. We sort of met by fate . . ." Harry slumped down next to his godfather who was grinning knowingly.
"And things progressed from there," Sirius finished with a devilish arch of his eyebrow. "I know how this kind of story goes."
"Well," Harry said, kneading the duvet with his fists. "It did progress from there but . . ." Harry took a deep breath -- Now or never, Potter. "But . . ."
And this was the choice moment that Tom Riddle decided to come barging into the chambers, a very definite scowl contorting his features.
"Oh that's it!" Harry sighed, falling backwards in defeat. "You're an absolute curse! Can't you just get out of my life for five minutes?"
"Sorry," Tom sneered. "But these are my chambers too. And what the hell do you think I feel when I see you taking off with some huge mutt . . ." A growl from Sirius forced Tom to look at the ruffian. "That explains it then," Tom murmured. "Sirius Black."
"And may I have the pleasure of inquiring . . ." Sirius suddenly faded off into silence, giving Harry a puzzled look. "You two share chambers?"
"Yes, Sirius," Harry sighed. "We share chambers." Harry turned his attention to Tom, rising to his feet. "Now I'd like to talk to my godfather for a moment, if you don't mind."
"I don't see why you can't do that with me here," Tom hissed, sounding dangerously possessive. Harry took in a sharp breath, stiffening.
"Just leave for five minutes."
Tom closed in on Harry, backing him up against one of the bedposts. Harry noticed that Tom's hand was gripping his wand, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"Try to remember exactly who you're dealing with here, Potter," Tom said, his voice low and threatening. "You can choose to forget at night when you're curled up next to me but don't you ever think that you can command me."
"I wasn't commanding you," Harry sputtered out. "I was just . . ."
"Just think twice before doing it again, Potter. I allow you to treat me as your equal because I realize that I'm bound to you but don't you ever treat me as your inferior, especially in the presence of others."
"So that's what this is all about," Harry thought to himself. "The great Lord Voldemort doesn't want to be belittled in front of Sirius Black."
"Could you please leave us alone for a few minutes?" Harry asked, without looking the Slytherin in the eyes. After a moment of hesitation, Tom nodded and swept out of the room without another word. Harry turned to Sirius whose eyes were filled with a mix of bewilderment, disapproval, and outright rage.
"You room with that . . . thing?" Sirius sniffed. "How can you stand it? He's absolutely horrible!"
"I know," Harry sighed, sitting back down next to Sirius. "That's what I thought too. He's not always like that though. Sometimes he's helpful, other times he's humorous . . . He can even be downright amiable when he wants to be."
"He certainly wasn't showing it," Sirius replied. "Why are you sharing rooms with him? And who is he? A transfer student or something?"
"Not quite," Harry said, returning his attentions to that loose thread. "He's . . . You see . . ." Now or never, Potter. "I think I'm gay."
The silence was absolutely suffocating. Sirius' eyes became like two saucers of coagulated milk and his jaw hung slack. Harry kept fidgeting uncomfortably.
"You think you're gay," Sirius repeated, locking his eyes on the floor. "I mean . . . I just can't believe it . . ." A small sniff from Harry and Sirius looked up, surprised. The boy was beginning to shake with the strain of holding back sobs. "It's no big deal!" Sirius exclaimed, pulling the boy against his chest. "It's no big deal. I just never thought . . . But it doesn't matter, not at all. I tend to swing that way myself sometimes." Harry pulled away quickly, questioning what he'd just heard but the validity of the statement was affirmed by a sharp wink from his godfather. A wide smile broke out over Harry's lips.
"As long as your okay with it," the young boy said, wiping the salt trails from his cheeks. "I was just afraid that you were going to disown me or something."
"Never," Sirius frowned. "There's nothing -- nothing -- that you could say to me that would make me disown you or hate you or anything like that." Sirius rethought that last statement and added: "Unless you told me that you were sleeping with Snape. Then I might have to reconsider." Harry stifled a giggle at the thought.
"So I take it that the walking ball of gloom happens to be your boyfriend," Sirius concluded with some measure of distaste.
"Yeah," Harry shrugged. "It wasn't really up to me though."
"Harry, it's always up to you and . . ."
"No. It wasn't," Harry said firmly. "I'm bound to him."
And Sirius suddenly blanched ten shades paler.
"Bound?"
1996
Harry sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, occasionally glancing over at Tom who had taken up residence next to Severus Snape. Severus kept his eyes locked on the fruit platter, never looking up at the Heir of Slytherin. "You'd never guess that they'd been together," Harry thought to himself fleetingly. Severus tended to be stiff around Tom Riddle -- Cordial enough so that his Lord and Master wouldn't become annoyed with him yet indifferent enough to leave Tom cold. They made a fairly attractive couple, Harry thought to himself, absently twirling his fork around in a heap of mashed potatoes -- The chilled Potions Master and the haughty Dark Lord. He was surprised when he didn't feel the expected pang of jealously.
"Would you pass the soup, Parvati?" Harry asked, prying his eyes away from Tom for a second. Parvati flinched when he called her name and quickly shoved the bowl down to Harry's end of the table. "Lavender, would you mind passing the water?" A rock-hard stare and the jug of water found itself in Harry's lap. The young Gryffindor bolted up from his seat, looking at the damp spot in his lap. The entire Slytherin house burst into peals of laughter.
"What's your problem, Lavender?" Harry asked, close to losing his temper.
Lavender shrugged meekly and went back to her dinner. Harry would have probably interrogated her further if he hadn't felt something rubbing against the side of his leg. Glancing down, he saw the familiar black dog staring up at him.
"Hey boy," Harry said, bending down and scratching the dog's ears. "How are you doing?"
The dog whimpered a little and licked Harry's hand. Harry sat back down at the dinner table and the canine curled up in a ball at his feet. Harry proceeded to feed the dog about five servings throughout the dinner, attracting quite a bit of attention from the other students at the table.
"I think it's time we left, boy," Harry smiled, patting the dog on the head. Harry got to his feet and left the Great Hall, Padfoot fast on his heels.
The moment they were safely concealed in Harry's chambers, Padfoot transformed, leaving a tattered and ragged Sirius in his place. The convict automatically drew his godson into a tight embrace.
"Hey," Sirius laughed, nuzzling into Harry's muss of hair. "Miss me?"
"Did I ever!" Harry beamed. "You've been away too long! You should have written me."
"I know," Sirius said, flopping down onto Harry's bed . . . the bed.
"Can I get you anything?" Harry asked, nervously picking at a loose thread on his robes. "Coffee? Tea? Anything?"
"No but you can tell me what's wrong," Sirius replied, reading his godson like a book. "By the way, last time I checked up on you, you were still living in the Gryffindor Dorms like all of the other students. What's up with the change of address?"
"Oh nothing really," Harry shrugged. "Just met someone and, well, you know . . ."
"No, I don't," Sirius smiled. "But this sounds pretty interesting." Sirius tapped the bed, signaling for Harry to sit down next to him. "Sit a spell and tell me all about her."
Harry groaned inwardly. "Well, it's funny actually . . ." Harry didn't know where to begin -- Telling Sirius he might be gay, telling Sirius he was bound, or telling Sirius he was bound to the Dark Lord himself . . . Or maybe telling Sirius that he was beginning to have second thoughts on whether Tom Riddle was quite as bad as he made himself out to be.
"Well, it's funny actually. We sort of met by fate . . ." Harry slumped down next to his godfather who was grinning knowingly.
"And things progressed from there," Sirius finished with a devilish arch of his eyebrow. "I know how this kind of story goes."
"Well," Harry said, kneading the duvet with his fists. "It did progress from there but . . ." Harry took a deep breath -- Now or never, Potter. "But . . ."
And this was the choice moment that Tom Riddle decided to come barging into the chambers, a very definite scowl contorting his features.
"Oh that's it!" Harry sighed, falling backwards in defeat. "You're an absolute curse! Can't you just get out of my life for five minutes?"
"Sorry," Tom sneered. "But these are my chambers too. And what the hell do you think I feel when I see you taking off with some huge mutt . . ." A growl from Sirius forced Tom to look at the ruffian. "That explains it then," Tom murmured. "Sirius Black."
"And may I have the pleasure of inquiring . . ." Sirius suddenly faded off into silence, giving Harry a puzzled look. "You two share chambers?"
"Yes, Sirius," Harry sighed. "We share chambers." Harry turned his attention to Tom, rising to his feet. "Now I'd like to talk to my godfather for a moment, if you don't mind."
"I don't see why you can't do that with me here," Tom hissed, sounding dangerously possessive. Harry took in a sharp breath, stiffening.
"Just leave for five minutes."
Tom closed in on Harry, backing him up against one of the bedposts. Harry noticed that Tom's hand was gripping his wand, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"Try to remember exactly who you're dealing with here, Potter," Tom said, his voice low and threatening. "You can choose to forget at night when you're curled up next to me but don't you ever think that you can command me."
"I wasn't commanding you," Harry sputtered out. "I was just . . ."
"Just think twice before doing it again, Potter. I allow you to treat me as your equal because I realize that I'm bound to you but don't you ever treat me as your inferior, especially in the presence of others."
"So that's what this is all about," Harry thought to himself. "The great Lord Voldemort doesn't want to be belittled in front of Sirius Black."
"Could you please leave us alone for a few minutes?" Harry asked, without looking the Slytherin in the eyes. After a moment of hesitation, Tom nodded and swept out of the room without another word. Harry turned to Sirius whose eyes were filled with a mix of bewilderment, disapproval, and outright rage.
"You room with that . . . thing?" Sirius sniffed. "How can you stand it? He's absolutely horrible!"
"I know," Harry sighed, sitting back down next to Sirius. "That's what I thought too. He's not always like that though. Sometimes he's helpful, other times he's humorous . . . He can even be downright amiable when he wants to be."
"He certainly wasn't showing it," Sirius replied. "Why are you sharing rooms with him? And who is he? A transfer student or something?"
"Not quite," Harry said, returning his attentions to that loose thread. "He's . . . You see . . ." Now or never, Potter. "I think I'm gay."
The silence was absolutely suffocating. Sirius' eyes became like two saucers of coagulated milk and his jaw hung slack. Harry kept fidgeting uncomfortably.
"You think you're gay," Sirius repeated, locking his eyes on the floor. "I mean . . . I just can't believe it . . ." A small sniff from Harry and Sirius looked up, surprised. The boy was beginning to shake with the strain of holding back sobs. "It's no big deal!" Sirius exclaimed, pulling the boy against his chest. "It's no big deal. I just never thought . . . But it doesn't matter, not at all. I tend to swing that way myself sometimes." Harry pulled away quickly, questioning what he'd just heard but the validity of the statement was affirmed by a sharp wink from his godfather. A wide smile broke out over Harry's lips.
"As long as your okay with it," the young boy said, wiping the salt trails from his cheeks. "I was just afraid that you were going to disown me or something."
"Never," Sirius frowned. "There's nothing -- nothing -- that you could say to me that would make me disown you or hate you or anything like that." Sirius rethought that last statement and added: "Unless you told me that you were sleeping with Snape. Then I might have to reconsider." Harry stifled a giggle at the thought.
"So I take it that the walking ball of gloom happens to be your boyfriend," Sirius concluded with some measure of distaste.
"Yeah," Harry shrugged. "It wasn't really up to me though."
"Harry, it's always up to you and . . ."
"No. It wasn't," Harry said firmly. "I'm bound to him."
And Sirius suddenly blanched ten shades paler.
"Bound?"