Author's Note: Yes (sigh) -- It was my goal to make everyone hate me so
much that I had to continue this for the sake of making everyone hate me
even more (He's MY Tom and if I feel like making him into a complete
bastard for posterity's sake, so be it)
Also, this is Severus' last appearance as a major influence so everyone mourn his passing (I can practically hear the cheers in the background)
Chapter Seventeen -- An Offer to Accept
Tom lay awake in bed, after Harry had long since fallen asleep -- His cheeks splashed with tears. The Heir of Slytherin put an arm around his companion in a pointlessly comforting gesture. In a way, Tom seemed to be almost protective of the young boy by his side.
"It's hard, you know," Tom muttered. The words were directed towards the sleeping boy but he spoke more for the benefit of hearing his own voice. "It's hard to give up everything and wander into someplace where you have to carefully re-carve your entire identity. It's hard to jar yourself from routine and it's hard to break old habits and emotions." Tom absently twirled a wisp of the boy's hair around his fingers. "It's hard to become half of a partnership again. God, did I love him though. I loved every essence of his being. I loved his bouts of melancholy and I loved his sparks of genius at two o'clock in the morning. I used to love to sit by his desk and watch him scratch out notes -- recipes -- that I never quite understood. I used to love to lean against his worktable and watch him, bent over that cauldron in almost pious contemplation. I used to love . . ."
Tom let the strand of hair fall into Harry's face and just stared at him -- Clear adoration in his eyes.
"Let the past be the past," Tom sighed. "We went our separate ways long ago. Now, I have you and I don't know what to do with you . . . We're so much alike -- You and I. We have the same courage, the same cut-and-dry ambition, the same unprecedented power . . ."
Tom leaned over and kissed Harry. The sleeping boy kicked off the covers, mewing softly in his sleep.
"I suppose I love you."
That finally said, Tom Riddle curled up next to Harry and closed his eyes for the night.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------
Harry bolted out of bed at around two o'clock that morning. Tom Riddle was still lying there, soundly asleep with a smile planted on his face. Harry felt himself fuming. Something had to be done about this right then and there. Something had to be done to put this indecisive behavior and this unnecessary cruelty to rest. "'Do you really think it matters what you want?' Of course it matters what I want," Harry murmured to himself as he pulled on a robe and tied it tightly. Something needed to be done -- Tom Riddle needed to be hurt. Not a physical hurt, but the kind that embeds its roots in the heart and blossoms forth into every aspect of life until one can barely think nor breath from the relentless pain. That was what Tom Riddle needed to feel.
Harry quietly closed the door behind him and made his way down the various stairwells and corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry until he reached his destination.
One . . . two . . . three knocks on the door.
"Who is it? What do you . . ." The door jarred open and Severus looked faintly surprised to see the young boy before him. "What do you want at three in the morning, Potter?" he asked, with a blasé sort of tone.
"I wanted to know if that offer still stands," Harry said, gathering himself up and bracing himself for either acceptance or rejection. A barely noticeable flush came to Severus' cheeks.
"What exactly did Tom Riddle do wrong this time?" he asked, an annoyance clear in his voice.
"Nothing," Harry said matter-of-factly, not wanting to have to discuss his latest exploits with Severus Snape of all people. "I just think that . . ."
"You're doing this for revenge, aren't you," Severus said, the realization dawning on him. "You said 'nothing' perhaps a bit too adamantly." Severus waited for a moment for a response but, when it was clear that he wasn't going to receive one, he continued. "You wouldn't tell Dumbledore about this?" Harry shook his head -- "No."
Severus sighed half-heartedly, "I'll do this for . . . with you but you will regret it in the morning, I have no doubt of that."
"Don't tell me what I will and will not regret," Harry said, shaking off the haunting suspicion that Severus was probably right. "This is something that needs to be done."
"If you believe that then step inside," Severus said, cordially inviting his guest in.
Harry stood in the doorway, considering it for a second. This was blatant disloyalty but . . . No, this was something that needed to be done. Harry confidently stepped inside the room.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -----------------------------------------
Harry didn't wake up until four hours later, at six o'clock in the morning. Severus was already awake and reading from a large volume, jotting down notes in the margins.
"Oh God," Harry said, tumbling out of bed. "What did we do last night?"
"Nothing you didn't want to do, I can assure you that," Severus said, flicking the tip of the quill across the page. "You seemed all too enthusiastic."
"Did I?" Harry asked, rubbing his head. The memory was still foggy but, piece by piece, it began coming back to him in an inane blur. Severus kissing up his collarbone, rubbing himself against Harry's thigh, dipping his mouth down to swirl his tongue around the tip of . . . "Oh god," Harry groaned, smacking his head against the foot of the bed a couple of times. "What am I going to do?"
"Why don't you come over here, sit down, and we can talk about it?" Severus suggested, his lips held in a stern frown. He looked quite the professor at the moment and Harry felt duly uncomfortable sitting down and having a nice heart-to-heart with him. Whatever the case though, Harry skidded over to the couch.
"Now do you want to tell me what Tom did to you?" Severus asked, putting down the quill and leaning back in his chair nonchalantly.
"Well, I said 'no' and he still . . ."
"I see," Severus said, putting up a hand to signal Harry to stop. From this reaction, Harry supposed that Tom did this on a regular basis. Severus pursed his lips together in quiet contemplation. "Did he stay the night?"
"What?" Harry asked, his nose squinching up in distaste. "What do you mean? Of course he stayed the night! Where else would he go?"
Severus looked out the window for a moment, a sense of nostalgia playing about his features. He finally smiled and turned his attention back to Harry. "Tom can always find a place to go. You have my blessing."
Severus picked up his quill and went back to scribbling notes. Harry looked at the Potions Master as if he'd grown another two heads à la Fluffy.
"What do you mean 'You have my blessing?' He just . . . performed indecent actions with me against my will!" For some reason, saying that drawn out phrase sounded so much better than using the word "raped."
Severus sighed and put his quill down again. "Tom is a rash, irresponsible child who believes in taking what he wants without thought to the feelings of others. The fact that he spent the night means that he felt somewhat sorry for his actions. He obviously wanted to offer you some comfort. Tom honestly does love you." They sat there for a moment in silence -- Severus thinking of what to say, Harry dazed. "Tom has issues in any relationship, Harry. He needs to sort them out. Tell him everything that happened tonight and maybe it'll knock some sense into him."
"Aren't you . . . jealous or anything?" Harry asked meekly. "I mean, Tom was yours first and you seemed so . . . hostile last night when I . . ."
"I know when to let someone go," Severus smiled, his eyes suddenly looking so much older. "Tom doesn't need me anymore. He needs you. Holding on to him won't do any good. I need to let him go . . ." Severus poured himself a glass of liquor and swirled it around thoughtlessly in the glass. "Maybe I'll move on to that dashing godfather or yours now . . ."
Harry began to say something in protest but Severus cut him off with a sharp laugh --
"I was only kidding."
Author's Note: That's the next chapter -- Please don't maim me, disembowel me, hang-draw-and-quarter me . . .
Also, this is Severus' last appearance as a major influence so everyone mourn his passing (I can practically hear the cheers in the background)
Chapter Seventeen -- An Offer to Accept
Tom lay awake in bed, after Harry had long since fallen asleep -- His cheeks splashed with tears. The Heir of Slytherin put an arm around his companion in a pointlessly comforting gesture. In a way, Tom seemed to be almost protective of the young boy by his side.
"It's hard, you know," Tom muttered. The words were directed towards the sleeping boy but he spoke more for the benefit of hearing his own voice. "It's hard to give up everything and wander into someplace where you have to carefully re-carve your entire identity. It's hard to jar yourself from routine and it's hard to break old habits and emotions." Tom absently twirled a wisp of the boy's hair around his fingers. "It's hard to become half of a partnership again. God, did I love him though. I loved every essence of his being. I loved his bouts of melancholy and I loved his sparks of genius at two o'clock in the morning. I used to love to sit by his desk and watch him scratch out notes -- recipes -- that I never quite understood. I used to love to lean against his worktable and watch him, bent over that cauldron in almost pious contemplation. I used to love . . ."
Tom let the strand of hair fall into Harry's face and just stared at him -- Clear adoration in his eyes.
"Let the past be the past," Tom sighed. "We went our separate ways long ago. Now, I have you and I don't know what to do with you . . . We're so much alike -- You and I. We have the same courage, the same cut-and-dry ambition, the same unprecedented power . . ."
Tom leaned over and kissed Harry. The sleeping boy kicked off the covers, mewing softly in his sleep.
"I suppose I love you."
That finally said, Tom Riddle curled up next to Harry and closed his eyes for the night.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------
Harry bolted out of bed at around two o'clock that morning. Tom Riddle was still lying there, soundly asleep with a smile planted on his face. Harry felt himself fuming. Something had to be done about this right then and there. Something had to be done to put this indecisive behavior and this unnecessary cruelty to rest. "'Do you really think it matters what you want?' Of course it matters what I want," Harry murmured to himself as he pulled on a robe and tied it tightly. Something needed to be done -- Tom Riddle needed to be hurt. Not a physical hurt, but the kind that embeds its roots in the heart and blossoms forth into every aspect of life until one can barely think nor breath from the relentless pain. That was what Tom Riddle needed to feel.
Harry quietly closed the door behind him and made his way down the various stairwells and corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry until he reached his destination.
One . . . two . . . three knocks on the door.
"Who is it? What do you . . ." The door jarred open and Severus looked faintly surprised to see the young boy before him. "What do you want at three in the morning, Potter?" he asked, with a blasé sort of tone.
"I wanted to know if that offer still stands," Harry said, gathering himself up and bracing himself for either acceptance or rejection. A barely noticeable flush came to Severus' cheeks.
"What exactly did Tom Riddle do wrong this time?" he asked, an annoyance clear in his voice.
"Nothing," Harry said matter-of-factly, not wanting to have to discuss his latest exploits with Severus Snape of all people. "I just think that . . ."
"You're doing this for revenge, aren't you," Severus said, the realization dawning on him. "You said 'nothing' perhaps a bit too adamantly." Severus waited for a moment for a response but, when it was clear that he wasn't going to receive one, he continued. "You wouldn't tell Dumbledore about this?" Harry shook his head -- "No."
Severus sighed half-heartedly, "I'll do this for . . . with you but you will regret it in the morning, I have no doubt of that."
"Don't tell me what I will and will not regret," Harry said, shaking off the haunting suspicion that Severus was probably right. "This is something that needs to be done."
"If you believe that then step inside," Severus said, cordially inviting his guest in.
Harry stood in the doorway, considering it for a second. This was blatant disloyalty but . . . No, this was something that needed to be done. Harry confidently stepped inside the room.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -----------------------------------------
Harry didn't wake up until four hours later, at six o'clock in the morning. Severus was already awake and reading from a large volume, jotting down notes in the margins.
"Oh God," Harry said, tumbling out of bed. "What did we do last night?"
"Nothing you didn't want to do, I can assure you that," Severus said, flicking the tip of the quill across the page. "You seemed all too enthusiastic."
"Did I?" Harry asked, rubbing his head. The memory was still foggy but, piece by piece, it began coming back to him in an inane blur. Severus kissing up his collarbone, rubbing himself against Harry's thigh, dipping his mouth down to swirl his tongue around the tip of . . . "Oh god," Harry groaned, smacking his head against the foot of the bed a couple of times. "What am I going to do?"
"Why don't you come over here, sit down, and we can talk about it?" Severus suggested, his lips held in a stern frown. He looked quite the professor at the moment and Harry felt duly uncomfortable sitting down and having a nice heart-to-heart with him. Whatever the case though, Harry skidded over to the couch.
"Now do you want to tell me what Tom did to you?" Severus asked, putting down the quill and leaning back in his chair nonchalantly.
"Well, I said 'no' and he still . . ."
"I see," Severus said, putting up a hand to signal Harry to stop. From this reaction, Harry supposed that Tom did this on a regular basis. Severus pursed his lips together in quiet contemplation. "Did he stay the night?"
"What?" Harry asked, his nose squinching up in distaste. "What do you mean? Of course he stayed the night! Where else would he go?"
Severus looked out the window for a moment, a sense of nostalgia playing about his features. He finally smiled and turned his attention back to Harry. "Tom can always find a place to go. You have my blessing."
Severus picked up his quill and went back to scribbling notes. Harry looked at the Potions Master as if he'd grown another two heads à la Fluffy.
"What do you mean 'You have my blessing?' He just . . . performed indecent actions with me against my will!" For some reason, saying that drawn out phrase sounded so much better than using the word "raped."
Severus sighed and put his quill down again. "Tom is a rash, irresponsible child who believes in taking what he wants without thought to the feelings of others. The fact that he spent the night means that he felt somewhat sorry for his actions. He obviously wanted to offer you some comfort. Tom honestly does love you." They sat there for a moment in silence -- Severus thinking of what to say, Harry dazed. "Tom has issues in any relationship, Harry. He needs to sort them out. Tell him everything that happened tonight and maybe it'll knock some sense into him."
"Aren't you . . . jealous or anything?" Harry asked meekly. "I mean, Tom was yours first and you seemed so . . . hostile last night when I . . ."
"I know when to let someone go," Severus smiled, his eyes suddenly looking so much older. "Tom doesn't need me anymore. He needs you. Holding on to him won't do any good. I need to let him go . . ." Severus poured himself a glass of liquor and swirled it around thoughtlessly in the glass. "Maybe I'll move on to that dashing godfather or yours now . . ."
Harry began to say something in protest but Severus cut him off with a sharp laugh --
"I was only kidding."
Author's Note: That's the next chapter -- Please don't maim me, disembowel me, hang-draw-and-quarter me . . .