They were in one of the empty training rooms. A spacious place with boxes stacked neatly in the corner, some containing boggerts, others with things he hadn't seen yet. Tom glanced around with interest.

Harry, meanwhile, was having an internal crisis.

It would have made much more sense for him to lie. Hodges would likely not go so far as to personally confirm that Harry had indeed obliviated Tom. Not when that would mean tracking him down in the muggle world to know. And yet, he responded like an idiot and now the man was going to be in a foul mood, worse than usual. All aimed towards Harry. This was great. This was just bloody fantastic. As if the man wasn't already out for his blood.

"I'm an idiot," Harry banged his head lightly against the wall. He rested his forehead there, groaning.

"If you're waiting for me to disagree, you'll be waiting quite some time," Came Tom's voice.

Harry glared at him. "I wasn't."

"Ah, so you do have some common sense."

"Oh, shut up," Harry snapped, feeling the last of his nerves rip. "Look, I know you don't actually care so just give me a second and I'll take you back to your bloody office."

"I'm late by two hours so I hardly see a point," Tom rolled his eyes.

Harry mumbled unintelligibly.

"What's gotten you so worked up?" Tom raised his eyebrows. 'Are you that torn up over a small lie? Honestly, I didn't peg you as some kind of golden boy."

Harry couldn't help it. He knew he wasn't supposed to use magic on muggles but Tom had plucked at his nerves and so he sent a mild stinging hex at him. The bastard wasn't so smug now. His eyes had gone wide and he yelped, staring down at his hand and then back at Harry in shock.

Harry fought to keep a straight face.

"What did you do?" He demanded. "What have you done to me?"

"Nothing."

"It didn't feel like nothing!"

Harry shrugged. He could practically feel the man's anger radiating off him. It gave him some satisfaction, considering how Tom had purposefully riled him up earlier that afternoon. "Just a stinging hex, that's all. Nothing harmful or permanent."

"It hurt ." Oh, Godric, Tom was actually whining. Harry almost snorted. And he was supposed to be older than him?

"It's supposed to, you dolt. Hence stinging ." Tom was still visibly pouting, not pleased with his explanation. Harry rolled his eyes. "It'll go away in a minute."

"This has to be illegal," Tom was muttering.

"Technically it is."

"And you're abusing your power," Tom said with an accusatory tone.

"It's your fault," Harry shot back.

" How ?"

"You-" And then Harry faltered. He couldn't very well expose his anger about Tom referring to him as a golden boy without some further elaboration as to why it bothered him. And he wasn't about to spill his life's problems. His mouth went into a thin line and he looked away, mumbling, "Forget it."

"Forget it," Tom repeated slowly, looking at him like he was mad. He probably was to him. Then to himself, he muttered, "He has more mood swings than a pregnant woman."

Harry didn't dignify him with a retort.

Tom sighed at the silence. "Alright, I see I've offended you somehow. What have I done?"

"Nothing," Harry shook his head.

This only brought forth exasperation from Tom. "Obviously it isn't and I'm not stupid enough to think otherwise. Is this all because you didn't have enough backbone to lie to your boss about me? Because if it is, just grow up and deal with it instead of sulking."

Harry could only gape at his audacity. "Are you bloody serious right now?" He didn't give Tom a chance to answer. "You don't know me so don't pretend."

"I don't need to know you ," Tom snapped. "I just know you're acting like a child right now and quite frankly, I'm sick of listening to it."

"You haven't even been here that long!"

"Exactly my point."

Harry breathed out through his nose, beyond fed up with the man and how terrible this conversation-if it could even be counted as such-had gone. Yet he and his mood were somehow like a pregnant woman. Oh, no. Tom Riddle's surely were because one minute the man flirted with him and the other he was scolding him.

He's probably just reacting to your mood , a voice that sounded suspiciously like Hermione said. Just because you're upset doesn't give you the right to take it out on him. Especially after you brought him here. It isn't his fault.

Great. Hermione's lectures had now been firmly implanted into Harry's brain. But technically it-she?-was right. It wasn't Tom's fault and if it were Harry, he would probably be annoyed with hearing all this as well.

He ran a hand through his hair, eyes shifting from left and down to the floor, finally lifting up to meet Tom's icy blue ones. "You're right," he said at last after a moment of silence. "I'm sorry."

"I hope you are," Tom said smoothly. Harry glared. "Oh, calm down. I'm merely joking," he waved his hand dismissively. "Thank you. Apology accepted."

Harry nodded, suddenly feeling a great deal of awkwardness come over him. Perhaps it had to do with getting scolded by a bloke that wasn't much older than himself and getting called out for less than stellar behavior that he would probably feel mortified by later.

Luckily, Tom spoke up again so he didn't have to think about what to say next. "What's going to happen now? I assume you're going to obliviate me like that one bloke said."

Err-

He really ought to. Especially after Hodges finding out he hadn't yet. But truthfully, Harry didn't know if it was necessary at this point. They might end up needing him again, seeing how that the Death Eater had gotten away and they couldn't very well do that if he had no recollection of the event.

Besides, what harm would it really do? If need be, he'd tell Percy about it. Percy would be much more understanding than Hodges. Harry imagined he might be a little skeptical but ultimately he would trust his judgement.

"I should," Harry admitted. Tom nodded with a peculiar look to him. Was it...a hint of disappointment? Well, Harry could sympathize. He remembered learning about magic and would have been devastated if this were to happen to him. "But if you promise not to tell, I could just let you go."

Tom looked at him with surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, who knows. We might end up needing you again anyway, Harry shrugged. "Just don't go telling your friends about it, alright?"

Tom's mouth went in a tight smile like Harry had earlier. "I assure you that won't be a problem."

"Great," Harry smiled genuinely. "Err, so I should probably get you back to your office, I suppose."

"Yes, you probably should," Tom agreed.

/

Harry apparated them to the back of the building where Tom could go inside from there without anyone seeing them. No need to further break the Statue of Secrecy. When they got there, he rubbed his hands on his thighs. He had a sudden thought. "Oh!"

"What?" Tom was curious.

"I almost forgot," Harry conjured up the man's phone, handing it over to him with a sheepish smile. "Here you go. All intact."

"Thank you," Tom placed it inside his trouser pocket.

Harry apparated away just as Tom was walking inside.

/

Harry had picked up Teddy from Mrs. Weasley after the fact, thanking her profusely for doing it without question on such short notice. Of course, she waved it off, insisting she didn't mind at all and told him about the peasant afternoon they'd had. In the baby bag he'd grabbed which contained all of Teddy's necessities including items intended to entertain him, Mrs. Weasley had taken out a couple small jars of paint and together they had painted some pictures. Or, in Teddy's case, he'd slammed his hands down on the table, giggling. The parchment felt sticky and had dozens upon dozens of blue and red coated handprints. Harry was presented with the picture as solemn as he arrived at the Burrow. Teddy beamed up at him with a toothy smile. Mrs. Weasley thought it was adorable.

Unsurprisingly, the one year old had gotten paint elsewhere besides the parchment. Mrs. Weasley had taken care of the majority of it but some of the ruminants hadn't come off Teddy's hands no matter how many household spells she used. Harry didn't really mind. He remembered using paint in primary school. It would come off eventually.

"Hello," Percy's voice was heard as he apparated inside the home with a crack . Teddy was used to hearing them by now and didn't burst out in tears anymore. Harry was greatly relieved of that. The older red-head came into the kitchen where they were with a friendly smile. His gaze flickered to Teddy and Harry saw that soft look come to him like many people seemed to do in the one year old's presence.

"Hi there," Percy cooed, lifting Teddy out of his height chair, holding him on his hip. "I heard you had fun today." He gently turned over Teddy's hand to reveal a faint blue on his palm.

Teddy giggled. He pointed to the wall where Harry had pinned his painting. "Mine," he declared.

"Very good," Percy nodded seriously. "You're very talented. Ah, ah. Don't even think about it-" He stopped Teddy just as he was about to yank on one of Percy's curls. He had a fondness for pulling hair which Harry didn't understand in the slightest. Hermione said that was normal at his age so he'd take her word for it. Percy tickled Teddy to which the one year old laughed and kicked his legs.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Percy broke through Harry's thoughts and he looked up at the red-head, shaking his head, watching idly as Teddy was put back in his height chair. "I wanted to have a word, if you don't mind."

Harry didn't have to guess what this was about.

"Harry-" Percy rubbed at his face tiredly, "did you take our witness away?"

"I had a good reason for it," Harry said defensively even though technically he most likely did not.

" Harry ," Percy groaned. "Are you trying to get dismissed from the program? Hodges will be furious."

"He already is," Harry said with a scowl, remembering what occurred that afternoon.

"He knows?"

"Err, no. Not about that ."

"What else have you done?" Percy gave him a look. "Tell me you at least obliviated him?"

Should he lie to Percy or not?

Percy looked like he was asking Merlin for some more strength. "And prey tell, why didn't you do it?"

"We might need him," Harry said. "Hodges said the suspect got away."

"Wouldn't it be more practical to get his memories instead? The Statue of Secrecy is already in danger enough with today's stunt," Percy frowned.

"I don't think he'd be alright with that," Harry muttered. Louder, he said, "Does it matter? He promised he wouldn't say anything."

"And you believe him?" Percy raised his eyebrows. Harry could understand why. After everything they'd all been through, he'd learned not to be naive and trustworthy so just anyone . And alright, maybe it wasn't so much that he trusted Tom at this very moment but he thought he could. He was giving him the benefit of the doubt, at least.

Plus, from the little time Harry had spent with the man, he understood that he wasn't the type to just comply. Getting his memories would be more difficult than need be. It was just easier to let him have his way and hope to every deity out there Tom didn't screw things up.

Or Harry would dearly pay for it.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I suppose I do."

Percy regarded him with a sharp look. "You'd better hope you're right about him. It won't end well if you aren't."

Harry's hands dove for the inside of his pockets. "I know."

Percy dropped the subject regarding Tom, circling back to a slightly more important detail. "Hodge isn't pleased our suspect got away. He's been insisting we've got to do a revamp to avoid this happening again."

Harry scoffed. "Doesn't he do anything other than complain?"

"Since you've narrowed it down-no," Percy said dryly. "He went to Kingsley about it. And you."

"Me?" Harry wondered if this was about him not obliviating Tom.

"It was of no importance," Percy told him with an eye roll, which was what Harry would have thought of as non Percy like behavior, especially in reference to an authority figure. "He said you took your time coming and I told Kingsley you probably had to drop Teddy off beforehand."

"Thanks," Harry said. "Suppose Kingsley wasn't upset, then?"

"No. He did tell Hodges off a bit for it."

"Small mercies," Harry said, catching a glimpse of Teddy waving his arms around before he slammed his hands on the table of his height chair in a repeated motion. "Alright, alright. I'll get it."

"Oh," Percy must have realized he'd come just seconds before Harry would sit down and eat. "I didn't-you didn't tell me."

Harry shrugged. "S'fine."

Teddy tried to grab Percy's hand, or more accurately, his finger. "Stay?" he said excitedly. "You stay?"

Percy chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair. "I wish I could. I must be off, actually. George wants to impress Angelina with a nice supper but he's rubbish at cooking."

"Angelina Johnson?" Harry blinked. He thought he recalled her being Fred's girlfriend...?

"Do you know any other?" Percy retorted. He then added, "I know. It was strange to me as well."

"But why is he-" It didn't make sense to Harry. If the rumors at Hogwarts were true, Angelina and Fred had come close to shagging. Lusting after his dead twin's girlfriend seemed to be going a bit too far.

"I think he's coping," Percy said quietly. "Her as well."

"With each other?"

"Think about it," Percy prompted gently. "Minus the missing ear, George is Fred. At least to Angelina." He took a seat. "She can pretend it's him she's with and George can feel secure knowing he has a part of Fred with him."

Harry was starting to feel some discomfort now that they'd wandered into this touchy feely territory. He rubbed the back of his neck. "So you're going to help him, then?"

Percy must have felt it too. "Yeah. I'll see if I can rub off some skills on him. He certainly needs it."

"He can't be that bad, can he? Your mum's great at it."

"And yet he didn't inherit that skill," Percy snickered. "He hasn't tried in ages either because Mum banned him from cooking."

"What?" Harry stared.

"The incident of '88," Percy said.

"What incident?"

"Fred and George blew up the kitchen," Percy shook his head at the memory. "They actually blew it up. There was a gaping hole by the back door after they mixed up the seasonings and Mum's potion ingredients."

Harry laughed. "Ron never told me."

"I don't think he remembers," Percy remarked. "He was never very attentive as a child." He stood back up. "Are you coming tonight for supper?"

"I dunno," Harry muttered. "Maybe."

"Ginny's not going to be there," Percy said quietly. "She's busy for the evening."

"With a date," Harry guessed. But he wasn't bitter or anything, truly. Contrary, he was happy she was moving on and didn't dwell on things or what could have been.

Percy nodded. "With Dean Thomas. I believe he was one of your dormmates?"

"Yeah." He didn't know she and Dean were talking again. Last Harry heard, Dean had been upset with Ginny over her feelings for Harry and how he always felt like he was second best in her eyes. "I didn't know they were talking again."

"Evidently, neither did Ron. He wasn't pleased when he found out. He wanted to go find Dean himself and would have if Hermione had not held him back."

Yeah, that sounded like Ron.

"You should come," Percy said again. He was gazing at Harry with sympathy. Harry wished he wouldn't. "Mum misses you. So does Dad. They'll enjoy seeing you again."

"They saw me earlier," Harry felt like he needed to say something in his defense. So that awful feeling as if he were slowly drifting away from the only people he'd thought of as his real family would subside.

"That doesn't count," Percy said pointedly. He sighed. "I'm not very good at this, I'm sorry. It's...you can't hide yourself away like this. You know you're basically family, whether you're married in or not. Doesn't matter. Mum's probably thought of you as an eighth son ever since she met you at the station."

Silence descended over the kitchen.

Harry silently watched as Teddy grabbed Percy's hand again, pulling on it in delight. He recalled that day so clearly, the day he made his first friend and everything changed. He just had no idea how it would all change.

"Alright," Harry said. "I'll come."

/

"We're all so glad you came, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said happily as she scooped him a small mound of buttery, creamy mashed potatoes. Teddy was beside him in his height chair, gnawing on some finely cut up chicken. "It's been much too long." He watched warily as she plopped down a hearty piece of chicken on his plate.

"Yeah," Harry ignored the snickering that came from Ron. "I know. I'm sorry, Mrs- Molly ."

"No need to apologize," She assured him. "It's quite alright. You've been dealing with a lot haven't you?"

"Especially with that prick, Hodges," Ron added.

"Language, young man!" Mrs. Weasley wagged a finger at her son, disapprovingly.

"It's the truth," Ron insisted. "He hates Harry. For no reason!"

"I must agree with Ron," Percy said, drawing everyone's attention towards him. "He tried to get Harry in trouble with Kingsley today, telling him that Harry took his time coming."

"But he was dropping Teddy off?" Mrs. Weasley was scandalized that anyone would have the audacity to say such a thing.

"Exactly," Percy nodded.

Mr. Weasley sighed heavily. "I've never liked that man. He's not a good fit for an auror, much less an instructor."

"Agreed," Harry muttered, taking a bite of potatoes under Mrs. Weasley's watchful eye.

"But why is he still there in the first place?" Hermione frowned. "Kngsley said he was going to ensure everything would be different this time around."

"Because despite everything, Hodges is a good auror," Percy admitted. "He can accomplish a lot and it's what made Kingsley assign him the position. We had no idea at the time he hated Harry so much."

Ron snorted.

"Perhaps you ought to speak to Kingsley, Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley frowned. "It isn't right how this man treats you."

Harry immediately shook his head. That would be a horrible idea. "It's fine, Molly. I can handle it. It's not much different than dealing with Snape."

"That's not reassuring," Hermione pointed out.

He shrugged. "Maybe not. But it's the truth. What's the worst he can do?"

"Kick you out of the program," Hermione shot back. Her tone softened. "You've wanted this forever, Harry. You can't let him ruin this for you."

"He's not ruining it. Besides, training will be done soon enough."

"You should still say something, mate," Ron said. "It's like he's out for blood whenever you're around."

"So like Snape," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Harry-" His eyes flickered over to Mr. Weasley. "You'll tell us if it gets worse, yes? I can always give Kingsley a subtle hint to watch in on your class."

He smiled at the man he considered to be a fatherly figure. "I will, Mr. Weasley."