* This part has been edited to stay within the R-rating rules of ff.net. To read the unedited version copy and remove the excess spaces for the following link to my livejournal: www . livejournal . com / users / ntamara / 76891 . html (And of course, don't forget to review ;)
Betrayal 1/4
Life was good.
Harry smiled as he shifted in bed and watched Tom sleep. Nagini grumbled at the disturbance and slithered further down the bed. She'd been gaining weight lately and become quite moody, wanting to sleep a lot more than usual. Tom had told him not to worry, that it would pass within a couple of months.
"Sorry, Nagini," Harry whispered, careful not to disturb the bed's third occupant. Tom was usually awake before him and always went to bed later than he did. Harry was savouring this rare opportunity to watch Tom relaxed and completely unguarded.
The other boy seemed only a few years older than he, not the nearly seventy years Tom had finally admitted to being. They could have been siblings, Harry thought, and then blushed. He had to admit that some of the thoughts he'd recently been having about Tom were decidedly unbrotherly.
But Tom was, well, Tom. He was handsome and funny and intelligent and caring and powerful and ruthless, and he was Harry's best friend; Harry loved Tom and he knew that Tom loved him. No matter blood ties, although Harry guessed they did have that as well after a fashion, they were family. Him, Tom, Nagini, and Severus.
Harry's smile became broader: he had friends; he had a family. The early morning sun was shining through the windows; Severus' absence in bed was the only thing preventing a truly perfect morning.
It was a weekday morning so Severus couldn't stay the night. He had recently begun doing this on the nights he didn't have a class to teach at Hogwarts the following day. Harry blushed and shifted, careful not to disturb Nagini again, as he remembered the time he'd walked in on Tom and Severus.
He'd been working on an essay Severus had assigned him and had not been able to find one of the books he needed, one of Salazar's tomes on dark magic. So he'd left the library and Nagini coiled near the fire to find Tom and ask him whether he'd seen the book. He could of course have cast the simple finding spell Tom had been teaching him, but Harry had wanted a short break and this seemed the perfect excuse.
Harry found Tom and Severus in the kitchen. While they had obviously put up silencing charms, they'd forgotten to make sure the door was locked. Severus had been standing in front of the table, leaning forward and gripping the edge with both hands. Tom stood behind him, his body draped over Severus' back as he thrust into the other man. Harry had stood transfixed in the doorway, and it seemed half the blood in his body rushed to his face, while the other half, embarrassingly, rushed southward.
It had only taken a moment for the two men to notice him. Tom must have sensed his presence, or heard his gasp, for he looked aside and stopped moving, which effectively gained Severus' attention. Severus had been entirely naked, and whatever it was he did when he saw Harry, it made Tom gasp and close his eyes a moment. In the position he was standing, leaning against the table for support, Severus couldn't move to cover himself lest both men lose their balance and topple forward. Harry's eyes had been irresistibly pulled to the Potions master's naked body. When Severus noticed that Harry was staring his body flushed an even deeper red in embarrassment.
Then Tom had cleared his throat and moved slightly, causing Severus' breath to hitch.
"Yes, Harry?"
Harry had to tear his eyes away, and his face burned as he looked up at Tom. Tom was still wearing his robe, but Harry could see that he was naked underneath; his trousers were slung over a nearby chair. There was an amused look on his face and he shifted, causing for Severus to moan involuntarily; Tom quirked an eyebrow.
"Was there something you wanted?"
Harry snapped his mouth shut. He swallowed, blinked, and tried to gather his thoughts.
"I was – Blood and Hexes?" his voice broke halfway, his question turning into an undignified squeak. Harry fought to keep his eyes fixed on Tom's face, but his gaze kept wandering to Severus' naked and exposed body, trying to see where the two men were joined.
Tom's amused smirk turned into a grin and he shifted again, rested his chin on Severus' shoulder as one of the hands that had previously been holding the Potion Master's hips trailed up and down one of Severus' arms. The other hand slowly moved up Severus' side and then toward a nipple.
"Ah." He started drawing circles around the small pink nub with the tip of a finger. Severus' eyes were closed and Harry could see he was having trouble controlling his breathing; minor tremors travelled through the Potions master's body.
"Harry," Tom's amused voice sounded again and Harry wrenched his eyes away. "It's on the table."
Harry looked at the table and indeed saw the stack of books, Salazar's tome among them.
"Oh."
Tom laughed and Harry blushed even deeper. He hurried to the table and tried desperately not to look at the two men. From the corner of his eyes he saw Tom move both hands down along Severus' now trembling arms; he saw Tom mouth kisses against Severus' shoulders as he picked up a slow rolling rhythm with his hips. He kept his upper body pressed against Severus' back. Severus' eyes were clenched shut, his face averted, and Harry could see that his teacher was biting his lip in a desperate attempt to not make a sound.
Harry looked up and met Tom's eyes. Tom, who was watching Harry watch them with an amused and indulgent look.
"I – I'll just be going then," Harry stammered, face burning, whether from embarrassment or arousal he didn't know, though he suspected it was probably a good deal of both. He hurried out of the room, making sure to close the door behind him, and rushed up the stairs and back to the library where he buried his head in the book and ignored Nagini's questions. Images of Tom and Severus flashed before his eyes and he had to adjust himself to sit comfortably.
It was a while later that the two men in question joined Harry and Nagini in the library. There was no sign of what they had just been doing, although Severus avoided Harry's eyes and seemed slightly uncomfortable. Tom sat down next to Harry, ruffled his hair affectionately and then asked about what Harry was writing. They discussed the use of blood as a spell component in certain mind controlling spells and potions until Tom announced he had some business to attend to, and that he would return later in the evening.
"Severus will keep you company; I promise I won't make it too late."
He pressed a kiss to Harry's scar, and there was a mischievous grin on his face when he left. Harry soon found out why, when Severus finally approached him and hesitantly asked whether Harry had any questions about what he had accidentally witnessed. Harry stared at the obviously embarrassed and uncomfortable man as he realised that Tom had told Severus to give him 'The Talk'. He nearly laughed out loud, but didn't want to hurt Severus' feelings. For a moment he considered playing ignorant, but in the end he decided against teasing Severus like that. It was obvious the Potions master was unhappy enough with the situation as it was and Harry did not want to be cruel.
"It's all right, Severus," he said with a gentle smile, "Tom's already told me about the birds and the bees." Or rather, the snake and the animagus to be more precise: it wasn't an uncommon occurrence to wake up in the middle of the night to find Nagini and a black and green patterned snake curled around, and moving against, each other.
"And, well," Harry coughed and blushed fiercely again, "there are some books here…"
Severus must have been aware of, and probably familiar with, Tom's rather extensive collection of books on magical erotica and sex magic, for he reddened as well, and they both sat in silence for a while.
"I'm sorry I walked in on you two, I'll make sure to knock in the future."
Severus sighed. "It's all right. We should have locked the door."
Harry couldn't help teasing his teacher just a little and he looked at the dark haired man earnestly. "Now that I've seen yours, it would probably only be fair that you saw mine."
The Potions master reeled as if he had been struck and stared at Harry in shock, his mouth dropping open to gape. Then he saw the mischievous grin trying to break through Harry's innocent expression. He threw up his hands in disgust and left the room muttering about incorrigible boys with bad role models.
Harry had laughed, but hurried to follow Severus down into the dungeons where they worked amiably on some experimental potions until Tom returned later in the evening.
Tom had laughed when Harry told him what had happened, later when they lay in bed together with Nagini, and he had teased Harry about his preoccupation with the Potion Master's body. That had been in February.
Severus joining them in what Harry was coming to think of as 'the family bed' hadn't happened until May.
Harry had gone to bed late and tired, he'd been working on an invisibility potion all day, and only gradually awoken to the sound of whispers and then the depression in the mattress that indicated somebody was joining him in bed.
"But Master, Harry –"
"Shhh, Severus, if you don't want him to notice you'll just have to be very, very quiet."
It had taken a moment for Harry to fully wake up and realise he wasn't dreaming. For a long time he simply watched the two figures undress each other and then get into bed. In the darkness he could just make out the two silhouettes, flashes of pale skin in the moonlight, and the glittering of a pair of dark ebony eyes and a pair of crimson flecked green eyes.
With fascination Harry listened to the small sounds Severus and Tom made. He watched them move against each other. Severus had clutched the bedsheets with one hand, was biting on his fist to stay silent as Tom's tongue played with Severus' nipples. He'd heard the whispered lubrication spell, recognized it from his clandestine reading, and then Severus had spread his legs, wrapped them around Tom's waist as he whispered for Tom to fuck him. Tom had muffled Severus' cry with his mouth, swallowed it when he entered Severus in one swift thrust.
The bed rocked gently with their movement and Harry vaguely realised he was very much aroused. But it was a minor thought, all his attention was focused on the beautiful pair next to him. For they were beautiful, and Harry had smiled and without thinking reached out to touch Tom's shoulder.
Tom had looked aside, their eyes had met and Harry knew Tom had known he was awake the entire time. Then Severus gasped and the scent of sex, already present, had become heavy in the air. Tom had stilled and whispered something Harry couldn't hear.
Harry watched the two of them lie there, Tom still atop Severus, and probably still inside him, as they both caught their breath. He saw the exact moment Severus remembered his surroundings and company; Severus went rigid, but Tom was whispering in his ear and Harry heard him tell Severus to relax and sleep. It must have been a spell for the Potions master's breathing had deepened nearly immediately and those dark eyes had closed.
Tom had carefully freed himself from Severus embrace and rolled off the man, coming to lie between him and Harry. Another whispered spell, probably a cleaning spell, and then Tom was lying next to Harry facing him. With a smile on his face Tom reached out and gently caressed Harry's face, stroking his cheek. Then he leaned forward and very gently, very carefully, pressed his lips to Harry's. Only for a short moment, and when he retreated Harry smiled back at him. Harry's tongue darted out to taste his lips; he imagined he could taste both Tom and Severus.
"Go to sleep, Harry," Tom whispered, still smiling. Harry's lids grew heavy and he reached out, grasped Tom's hand and fell asleep as Tom squeezed it reassuringly. It had all been very unreal, and if not for the fact that Severus was still in the bed when Harry woke up, he might have dismissed it as a dream. Although this time when a half awake Tom pushed a still-sleeping Severus onto his stomach, Harry and Nagini discretely left the room to search for breakfast.
Harry liked waking up in bed with Tom, Nagini, and Severus best. It filled him with warmth; he knew he was loved and that all the people he loved were with him. Harry was aware Severus wasn't entirely comfortable with these new sleeping arrangements, so the times that he did wake up when Tom and Severus joined Nagini and him in bed Harry made sure to pretend he was still sleeping. Although he was certain Tom knew he was awake and faking sleep.
God, just thinking about Tom and Severus together made him hard and Harry laughed softly to himself; he was glad Tom never let on he noticed, it was embarrassing enough as it was.
"What are you laughing at?" he heard a sleep roughened voice speak beside him. Harry looked aside to see Tom was awake and watching him with that indulgent, amused look on his face.
"Nothing, just happy."
Tom smiled and reached out to caress his cheek. Harry leant into the touch and then blushed as he felt himself become even more aroused. Damned hormones! The slightest touch or thought of Tom and Severus had him standing up straight so to speak. Ah well, it was clear Tom had the same problem, poor Severus. Harry giggled out loud at that thought which earned him another amused look from Tom.
"You're extremely cheerful this morning."
"I know, just slept well, I guess."
"I'm glad." Tom pulled him closer, into his embrace. Harry went willingly, he snuggled into Tom's arms and sighed, content.
He remembered the first time he'd woken up with Tom in bed. It had been after Tom had taken the restorative potion; Harry had been completely out of it, only vaguely aware of being carried up the stairs and put to bed. And then the next morning he'd woken up snuggled next to Tom, Nagini half wrapped around the both of them, and Harry had known he'd made the right choice. Tom was his friend, he trusted Tom, Tom would never harm him.
Harry drifted off to sleep again, and when Tom tried to get up Harry held on tight and protested.
"Come on, sleepy head, time to get up. We've stayed in bed long enough."
"But Tom –" Harry pouted and he wriggled against the other boy. Tom stilled and then very carefully extracted himself from Harry's arms.
"It's late," was all he said, although he did press a kiss against Harry's scar before retreating into the bathroom.
Harry knew Tom loved him, and he was certain Tom was interested in him that way too. There was no mistaking Tom's reaction last week when Harry had climbed onto Tom's lap and kissed him. But Tom had said he was too young, told him there was no rush, and that if they did do it, they'd do it when Harry was really ready, when Harry was old enough to make that choice.
Harry's pout turned into a more mischievous grin, one that very much resembled Tom Riddle's habitual smirk. Locked in Riddle Mansion for nearly two years without real human contact had taught Harry patience, and he was sure that if he worked at it long enough, he'd be able to make Tom see he wasn't a little kid anymore. Harry could be patient; Tom was his best friend, he loved Tom and he knew Tom loved him.
*~*
Harry was dreaming.
The dream was a disjointed jumble of images and feelings. An enormous black dog, growling and attacking him. Ron and Hermione turning away from him in disgust. Overwhelming fear. Despair that his second life was being ripped away from him.
He needed to see Albus, he needed to speak to Albus. Albus would help him; Albus would stop them; Albus had promised he could keep his second chance.
A tunnel, a tree, the full-moon.
And then he was running, running away as he always did.
A sudden rush of cold went through him and Harry halted. He was surrounded by Dementors and they slowly closed in on him. Fighting not to give into the despair Harry gripped his wand and shouted 'Expecto Patronum!'
He concentrated on happy memories, thought of his time with James, Sirius, and Remus when they were boys. But he had betrayed them. James was dead, Sirius and Remus wanted to kill him. A faint wisp of silvery smoke dissipated harmlessly in the cold night air; the Dementors ignoring it as they came closer.
Hermione and Ron and Ginny! His best friends, playing tricks on Malfoy, visiting Hagrid, doing homework, laughing together! His girlfriend, the first time they'd made love during the Christmas holiday! But Ron and Hermione had turned away from him in disgust when they discovered the truth. And Ginny would too when they told her. They'd loved Harry, not him, not him, not the real him.
"Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum!' he whispered it over and over again, even though it was useless. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground. The Dementors were close; one of them was hovering above him as he weakly moved his wand and kept whispering the words.
He could see its face beneath the hood. It was hideous, skin where eyes should have been, no nose, but a gaping hole for a mouth that was coming closer and closer.
There was a rushing sound in Harry's ears, like water, like waves. Then from faraway he heard screaming. The screaming got closer; it became louder, and he could hear a man and a woman's voice even as he watched that mouth move to his.
'Lily, take Harry … I'll try and hold him off…'
'Not Harry… Please …'
'…silly girl … Stand aside…'
'Not … Take me… Harry … Kill me instead…'
The screaming stopped, familiar laughter filled the air.
'Avada Kedavra!'
Green light rushing toward him, just like the Dementor's mouth that closed over his. Then pain, immeasurable pain as he felt his soul being ripped away.
*~*
The first thing Harry realised was that he was screaming, screaming for parents he'd never known. Then he became aware of his name being repeated over and over again and he focused his eyes on Tom.
Tom was gripping his shoulders, shaking him and calling Harry's name. At once Harry stopped screaming, instead called Tom's name. He threw himself into Tom's arms and buried his face in Tom's chest.
"Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom." It was an unsteady mantra as he sobbed, and he was grateful for the arms that held him tightly. Tom whispered his name reassuringly, promised he was safe, that Tom would protect him, he was safe, Tom was here, he'd never let Harry come to harm.
Harry tried to calm down, tried to stop crying, but he could still feel his soul being ripped from his chest, sucked from his mouth. That malevolent laughter, that had sounded so familiar but that he just couldn't place, still echoed in his ears; and when he closed his eyes green lightning filled his vision.
"Harry, you're safe now. It was just a dream; you're safe; I'm here. Tell me what happened."
The nightmare spilled from his lips; he was hardly making sense but Harry wasn't really aware of what he was saying. He held onto Tom as tightly as he could, concentrated on the present, tried to convince himself that it had indeed been nothing but a dream. He was safe now. Tom was holding him, Tom would protect him.
During Harry's story Tom went very still, and when Harry was finally finished and he moved back just enough to see Tom's face it was more serious than Harry had ever seen it. There was a haunted look in Tom's green eyes, and when he noticed Harry watching him he quickly pulled Harry close again. He pressed small kisses to Harry's face, kissed away the tears as he whispered softly.
"I'm so sorry, Harry; I'm so sorry."
Harry realised Tom's face was wet as well. He realised that Tom was crying too. He didn't know what Tom was apologising for, but he found himself crying again. He was only remotely aware of Tom grabbing his wand from beneath his pillow and summoning Severus.
"Morsmordre Severus Snape."
He didn't know how long he sat there rocking in Tom's arms as he cried and Tom whispered comforting words in his ears, touched and kissed his face, held him tightly in his arms. He drifted off to sleep a few times, only to startle awake screaming again. But Tom was always there; Tom never left him alone, never tried to leave, just calmed him down and rocked Harry back to sleep. He did realise on some level that it was taking Severus a long time to join them, and he was aware of Tom's growing agitation at this delay as he cast the summoning spell again.
Soft pre-dawn light filled the room when Harry woke again, this time to hushed and angry voices.
"…should have come immediately."
"I'm sorry, my Lord, Dumbledore…"
"… when I call…"
Harry blinked and tried to focus on his surroundings. His vision was blurry, but then became sharp as Tom gently put his glasses on.
"Feeling a little better now?" Tom asked, searching his face.
Harry nodded, but was glad that Tom didn't let go, instead hugged him tight. For some reason his teeth started chattering, and Harry realised he was shivering. Tom stroked his hair and told Severus to get some chocolate.
"I d-don't know-w why I-I c-c-can't st-stop shiv-v-ering."
"It's all right, Harry, just a delayed reaction to the Dementors. Severus is getting you some chocolate. Do you remember your lessons on Dementors? It'll help. And I'm here, you're not alone, Harry, I'm here. I'll always be here for you."
When Severus returned with the chocolate Tom fed it to him in small pieces, all the while keeping up a low and comforting murmur of words. After Harry had relaxed slightly, Tom pulled back a little so that they could see each other's faces.
"Harry, I need to go now, but only for a short while," he quickly added when he saw the rising panic in Harry's eyes. "I need to speak to my Death Eaters: with Wormtail dead there are things that have to be done, precautions that need to be taken. Severus will stay with you, and I'll be back as soon as I can. All right?"
Harry nodded and managed a weak smile.
"I'll be okay."
"That's my boy," Tom squeezed Harry's hand and then extracted himself from Harry's embrace. Harry was unwilling to let Tom go but Severus was on the bed and quick to take Tom's place. Severus had shed his robes and was only in pants and shirt. Harry was grateful for the Potion Master's embrace.
"Severus, your arm."
Obediently Severus held out his left arm so that Voldemort could press the tip of his wand against the Dark Mark.
"Morsmordre."
Tom leaned over and pressed a last quick kiss to Harry's scar.
"I'll be back before you know it."
Nagini moved back up the bed and pressed her long body against Harry's back as Harry rested his head against Severus' chest and they just lay there silently for a while.
"He's dead, isn't he?" he said after a while, Severus didn't need to ask who Harry meant.
"As good as. The Dementors destroyed his soul. His body is still alive but it's nothing more than an… empty husk."
Harry shivered at that thought, shuddered at the memory of Pettigrew's soul being sucked from his chest. He knew he ought to feel sorry for him, but couldn't really find it in himself to care that much. After all, the man had stolen his life, and now he'd paid the price. Harry found now that he had calmed down he was more worried what this would mean for him.
"I'm sorry you had to experience that."
"S'okay, not your fault."
They were silent again for a while.
"So they know he was a fake. Do they know where I am?"
Severus didn't answer right away, instead gently stroked Harry's back and shifted them into a more comfortable position.
"Pettigrew revealed that you were with the Dark Lord, yes."
Harry looked up at Severus and gently brushed away the strands of black hair in the older man's face.
"What's going to happen to me now?"
Severus pulled him closer again, tucking Harry's head beneath his chin.
"I don't know, but trust me, you'll be fine. It will all work out all right."
With a sigh Harry left it at that. He closed his eyes and concentrated on Severus' heartbeat against his ear. There was nothing he could do anyway, and Severus was right. It would be all right: Tom would protect him, Tom would keep him safe.
* This part has been edited to stay within the R-rating rules of ff.net. To read the unedited version copy and remove the excess spaces for the following link to my livejournal: www . livejournal . com / users / ntamara / 76891 . html (And of course, don't forget to review ;)