Harry couldn't move. His chest was tight and his breathing uneven.

Harry twisted back, fingers curling tight around the metal mesh which enclosed him. It was hard from his cramped position but it allowed Harry to kick as hard as he could.

The door didn't budge, the lock unyielding against his weight.

Harry cursed as he threw himself forwards, knowing that with every frantic heart beat, time was running out. The occupant of the second cage was still, curled tight in the centre as her small chest rose and fell sharply.

"Lyra," Harry whispered.

The small pine marten spun around to stare at Harry, eyes wide and terrified. But there was no way to escape, not when their captor had their wand drawn. Harry desperately wanted to ignore them, but it was all the more difficult as their eyes burned with a horrible hunger.

Harry kicked once more but his cage remained solid and undamaged.

He had no other option.

"Tom-" Harry said, "Let us out."

Tom was grinning at him, but there was no amount of warmth in his expression. Instead, only cruel eyes watched in amusement.

"Now where would be the fun in that?" Tom asked, eyes drifting up to look above Harry's head.

Harry glanced up, and immediately wished he hadn't. The ominous silver blade remained still, balanced precariously, waiting to give itself to gravity. Lyra snarled, back arched as she threw herself at Tom, teeth snapping as if she would be able to tear her way through the mesh.

Tom tutted, but his eyes gleamed.

"Now, there's no need to be so savage, Harry."

Harry glared at him, glad that Lyra was able to express what he could not.

"If you don't want us anymore, why don't you get in the cage?" Harry said. It would be a clean cut and then he would be empty, just like Tom intended.

Tom's sickening grin widened.

"Why? Don't you want me anymore?"

Tom looked horribly eager to hear Harry's answer. And this only aided Harry's decision.

"I don't want you," Harry said. But Tom's smile remained as ruthless as before, as if he knew there was no truth to it. Even Lyra had quietened now, tail wrapping back around her small body as if it would make her less of a target.

"Such lies, Harry," Tom said, and he stepped away from Harry's cage to move closer to Lyra.

"Don't touch her," Harry said, scrabbling forwards, but he could do nothing as her cage clicked open.

Tom reached his hand forward, not flinching as the pine marten bared her sharp teeth. Tom had no right, Lyra was Harry's alone, not just any creature that they would share.

"There is a difference between me and Lyra," Tom said as he held his hand steady.

Lyra approached Tom's hand cautiously, hesitated only briefly before she pushed her face against it. Harry's stomach twisted, hating how much comfort this gave him.

"She is your soul," Tom continued as Lyra settled on his shoulder. She wrapped her tail around his neck.

The nausea was rising in Harry's throat but he held his voice steady.

"And you are Voldemort's."

Tom nodded as he stroked Lyra. He looked very content as his gaze once again flicked back up to the guillotine. This time Harry caught himself as he refused to look up. Tom wouldn't scare him.

"And yet we are bound together," Tom said as he tilted his head back to look Harry. "And you are so helplessly dependent on me, Harry."

"I'm not helpless-" Harry started.

"You are, stop lying to yourself," Tom interrupted and if to make his point he only stroked Lyra again, clearly aware of the affect it was having on Harry. "You have no choice, Harry. We shall always be together. You have to trust me."

It was so brutally true. Tom would always be his and Harry could do nothing but depend completely on their connection to survive.

Harry couldn't breathe and the cage only added in his claustrophobia. The bars were closing in, pressing back against Harry's grip. Blood started to seep down his fingers.

"Let me out."

Tom smiled again, but it wasn't this that made Harry despair. Lyra remained obediently on Tom's shoulder. She didn't even flinch, only watched with wide curious eyes.

Harry's prison started to shake. Tom raised his wand up, staring in confusion at the interruption.

But Harry couldn't take his eyes away, he just wished Lyra would act, retaliate against Tom instead of watch their exchange in silence.

The cage rattled violently and Harry was sure the blade would fall.

Tom's chilling smile however, suddenly slipped off his face, only to be replaced with a sudden look of deep concern.

"Harry-"

Harry ignored him, but in that split second, in one blink, Lyra was gone. The other cage was empty, with no sign that his dæmon had been trapped at all.

Tom's voice was sharper now, his face flooded with terror.

"Harry, wake up."

Tom lunged forwards, wand clattering to the floor, as the cage shook one final time.

Harry jerked up, cold sweat covering him. Tom was shadowed in darkness and both hands gripped tight around Harry's shoulders.

They were both sitting up on a large four poster bed and it took Harry a moment to realise that the bars he had been gripping were in fact Tom's wrists.

"Harry-" Tom sounded relieved although his own brow was furrowed.

Harry let go slowly, his eyes coming to look at their blurry room in Malfoy Manor.

"Are you okay-" Tom started as he handed Harry his glasses.

But Harry wasn't listening as he untangled himself from his covers, snatching his glasses from Tom's hand.

"Harry, wait-"

But the nightmare was too fresh, too real. Harry pushed past Tom and stumbled into the en-suite, his hands shaking as he clicked the lock shut, chest rising and falling as he shut his eyes tight.

"Harry, open the door. I can help," Tom's voice started from the other side of the door.

Taking a deep breath, Harry approached the sink which had a large ornate mirror hanging above it.

His own haunted face peered back at him. It was the same every night. Harry hadn't had a peaceful nights sleep since Hogwarts. Placing his glasses down on the side, Harry lent over and twisted the brass tap to run some water.

Tom knocked on the door again.

"Harry, just let me in."

Harry took another deep breath. In his dream he'd wanted out and now he was the one locking himself away.

It shouldn't be this hard. He knew Tom. Tom would never. But he had, and Tom's chilling grin was still imprinted clearly in Harry's mind.

Harry ignored Tom's continued knocks, faint memories shooting back to Lyra as he tried to get his thoughts straight. Would Tom ever be his again? Or was he always to remain tainted by Voldemort.

"Harry?" Tom said again.

Harry took a deep breath, green eyes peering back at him.

"I'm fine," Harry said as he stepped out of the bathroom.

Tom was still standing outside the door, but Harry only pushed past him. He didn't care for Tom's crestfallen face, or the brief soothing contact that their connection offered.

"Harry-" Tom started.

Harry turned to look at him.

"What?"

Tom looked uncertain at Harry's abruptness and it took him a moment before his hand fell to his side.

"Never mind," Tom said.

Harry moved back onto the large bed, sinking into the mattress as his head fell onto the pillow.

As expected, Tom didn't make any effort to move or acknowledge that Harry was lying awake. Instead the bed only dipped slightly as Tom moved beside him.

It was the same every night, with Harry trapped in this endless cycle. They had only been at the Manor for a couple of weeks, and Harry was already wishing for term to start and to seek a distraction from the long hours where it was just him and Tom.

Breakfast wouldn't be served for another hour, but as the minutes ticked by, and from Tom's complete lack of communication, there was no point feigning sleep any longer.

Tom watched as Harry pulled himself away to grab some clothes. Mrs Malfoy had sniffed at his overlarge muggle clothing and so she'd arranged for their house elf to provide Harry with some plain shirts and trousers. It wasn't much, but at least Harry didn't look like he was drowning in Dudley's oversized t-shirts anymore.

Tom only followed Harry silently, out into the darker corridors of the mansion. It was a common thing for them to do, go for a walk before breakfast. Malfoy Manor was similar to Hogwarts in that respect, with multiple rooms and expansive grounds, and even now when Harry thought he knew where everything was, he had the distinct impression they had barely scratched the surface.

The sky was beautifully clear as they stepped out of the front door. It had been raining in the night, and Harry's footprints left wet indentations on the lawn.

Tom had gotten used to Harry's bouts of silence over the past weeks and Harry had no doubt that Tom knew what Harry was thinking.

As if to confirm this, Tom finally spoke.

"Was Lyra there again?"

Harry nodded, his chest tight.

"Did I hurt her this time?" Tom asked.

Harry's mind flashed back to the first night they'd been at the manor.

"No," he said.

Tom smiled slightly, but he still didn't look very happy.

"Good."

Whatever reconciliation Harry and Tom had come to after the guillotine was already splintering. Harry couldn't just forget and move on. Not when his nightmares were lingering, waiting for him to fall into sleep every night.

Tom's actions since then had only been confusing. He'd acknowledged everything, and Harry's word was as good as law. But this had only annoyed Harry further.

"Maybe you could try-" Tom started.

"No," Harry said turning away sharply.

"It will help, you wouldn't have any nightmares anymore," Tom said.

"You just want me to forget," Harry said. "So you can stop feeling so guilty."

Tom's mouth snapped shut, eyes narrowing.

"Occulumency will help you clear your mind, Harry," Tom said. "You'll be able to sleep without nightmares again."

"I don't care," Harry said. "Plus maybe I want to have my nightmares, at least then I still get to see Lyra."

Tom grabbed Harry's arms at this, tugging him round so they came to a halt on the huge lawn.

"At what expense?" Tom said.

Harry laughed.

"You're just jealous that I have her, that I won't need you."

"Lyra is you," Tom said, his hands clenching slightly on Harry's arm. "She completes you, you are broken without her. I want you to have her back, Harry. Do you not think I miss her too?"

Harry's laugh stopped almost as abruptly as he'd started as he gave Tom a very hard stare. If only it would be easy to believe him.

"I don't want you anywhere near her," Harry spat, and he gripped Tom's own wrist, making to push him away.

Tom winched, and Harry would have believed it was from his sharp words if he hadn't felt that sudden jolt of pain.

Tom reacted as quickly as Harry. His face relaxing instantly as his brow creased in an apparent reaction to Harry's words. But Harry's grip only tightened, holding Tom close to him.

Tom made to pull away, but Harry grabbed his sleeve, twisting it up.

"Let go," Tom hissed, eyes bearing into Harry's.

Tom was trying to sound malicious, but the crack in his voice and the desperation coursing into Harry gave the game away so clearly.

"Tom," Harry said sharply.

Tom remained deadly still as Harry pulled Tom's arm forwards, his own hands turning Tom's wrists upwards.

Deep nail marks cut into Tom's skin and there was evidence enough of bruising and the withdrawal of blood.

Harry stared, head pounding as his throat tightened.

"I hurt you," Harry said. His voice sounded numb, but Tom only pulled his sleeve back down.

"It's my own fault, I couldn't wake you up," Tom said with a shrug.

Harry's mind flashed back to the bars, the blood running down his fingers.

"Sorry," Harry muttered, looking down at the wet lawn.

"Don't be," Tom said as he slipped his own hand quickly into Harry's. "Come on, let's go find some breakfast."

Harry let Tom lead him back across the grass, his own head spinning.

Draco was already sitting at the large dinning table with Adara curled up on his lap when Harry and Tom entered.

"Morning," Draco yawned as Adara lifted her head.

Narcissa Malfoy was also present with her dæmon, Arren. Her dæmon was an Arctic fox who had short dark coarse fur. Draco had assured Harry when he looked confused, that Arren looked a lot more impressive in winter when he had his full coat on. Nevertheless, Harry Harry sat down, stomach churning as Arren's small eyes scanned over Harry and Tom. When Harry made no move to reach for anything, Tom pushed some toast in front of him.

"Your owl delivered a letter this morning," Narcissa said. "I had Dobby take it up to your room."

Harry sat up at this. Hermione had been writing every other day and Ron, every time his parents owl looked up for the journey. Hedwig unfortunately, wasn't allowed in the house. Instead she had been spending most of her time resting in a small outhouse that the Malfoy's owned at the edge of their grounds.

"Dobby could have just bought it to me, we were only in the garden," Harry said.

In fact Harry had been quite eager to speak to the Malfoy's house elf, but he'd barely seen the creature. Every time he tried to get a word in, the elf only bowed low and disappeared with a loud crack.

"He's not meant to get in the way," Draco said as he helped himself to some porridge.

"Does everyone have a house elf?" Harry asked.

"Usually," Draco said. "Everyone I know does."

Harry wondered why Ron hadn't mentioned it. But at least Harry understood where his clean clothes appeared from and the meals at dinner time. Harry couldn't imagine Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy doing the house work.

"Your father left early this morning," Narcissa said when Adara looked towards the one empty chair at the large table. "He had urgent business at the Ministry."

If the last few weeks were anything to go by, Lucius Malfoy was hardly at home. Even Narcissa often looked busy and so Harry and Draco were relatively free to find their own entertainment.

However, this it seemed, was about to change.

"Lucius was asking what you would like to do for your birthday?" Narcissa Malfoy said.

Harry nearly chocked on his toast.

"Sorry?"

He'd never celebrated his birthday before, not unless he counted Hagrid taking them both to Diagon Alley last year. Fortunately, Tom was at hand to save him any further embarrassment.

"Dinner would be fine," Tom said with a smile.

This was oddly acceptable as Narcissa nodded, but Draco rolled his eyes.

"That's boring. We should go and see Falmouth Falcons play," Draco said.

"I don't want to cause a fuss," Harry said, although the prospect of seeing a professional quidditch match did sound exciting.

When Tom didn't comment further, Arren dipped his small head down and looked towards Narcissa. Narcissa smiled and placed a careful hand to stroke Arren on his head.

"I will speak to Lucius about getting tickets," she said.

Draco beamed and even Adara seemed to perk up, her ears twitching as she jumped up onto the table to grab some toast. Arren growled at her as Draco quickly scooped her up.

Harry couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach when he and Tom left breakfast.

And it seemed like he wasn't the only one still thinking about Quidditch as Draco and Adara caught up with them on the staircase.

"For the last time, no." Harry said.

"Just try it," Draco said, and he fell into pace beside them. Adara scurried along in front, weaving through the legs of a suit of armour. "You won't regret it."

Harry pulled his gaze away from her to glare at Draco. They came to a halt on the stairs.

Draco leaned against the bottom banister.

"Oh, sorry. I must be getting confused. I thought Gryffindor's were a house full of the brave idiots, not stubborn cowards," Draco said.

Harry flushed, stepping back towards Draco with fury.

"You have no idea what it was like," Harry said.

Draco reached his hand out to steady Harry's shoulder, but he froze at Tom's icy cold stare. Draco's hand fell back to his side as Adara seemed to shift into submissiveness as she crouched herself small.

Draco cleared his throat.

"You're a decent flyer, Harry. Even I could tell that."

"I was only in the air for 20 seconds," Harry retorted.

"Still," Draco continued, cautiously now as his eyes slipped to Tom and back. "Your dæmon isn't here at the moment, flying should be safe."

Since his fall, Harry hadn't been back on a broom and he wasn't about to change that now.

At Harry and Tom's continued silence Draco sighed.

"Look, isn't this what friends do? Make fun of them until they give in? You're better getting back in the air sooner rather than later, otherwise it's just going to be harder."

Harry couldn't help but grin.

"Why, when did you fall off your broom?"

Draco turned red, as he grumbled.

"Does it matter, just trust me, alright? Otherwise summer is going to be so dull if I always have to fly by myself," Draco said.

Harry shrugged. "Well tough, I've got homework I need to do." And he really wanted to read his letter.

Draco looked unconvinced.

"Still? I know Tom's done all of it all ready-"

"Harry said no," Tom said coldly.

Draco immediately shut up as Adara dipped her head hurriedly.

Harry froze, watching as Draco changed tact at once, eyes flicking between Harry and Tom.

"Fine, well if you change your mind-" Draco trailed off.

Tom's word shouldn't have that affect on the Slytherin. It just wasn't right.

"You're so helplessly dependent on me."

Tom's words from Harry's nightmare flashed in his mind.

He didn't need Tom to tell Draco to back off. It was stupid really, it was just Draco. It wasn't like it was a life or death situation, but still Draco's submission at Tom's words really grated on Harry.

"Okay," Harry said automatically.

Draco's gaze shot to him, brow creasing.

"I'll do it, I'll fly," Harry said.

Draco looked delighted, while Tom on the other hand didn't look impressed at all. Harry stepped back down beside Draco automatically, knowing that Tom would not argue it.

"But just this once," Harry added.

But this didn't seem to deter Draco as Adara actually skipped down Draco's arms and onto the staircase, ready to lead the way.

Draco immediately took to the air in a roll.

Harry turned to his broom, wishing he'd just stuck to his word and refused.

"Up," Harry instructed. Unlike last time, the broom didn't shoot into his hand. Instead it sort of rolled over pathetically on the wet grass.

Tom gripped Harry's wrist gently and gave it a small squeeze.

"You don't have to do this, Harry," he said.

Harry glared at him and yanked his arm away.

"I'm not afraid."

"I never said you were," Tom said softly.

Harry held out his hand again and almost shouted the word. The broom reacted perfectly, fitting securely into Harry's grip.

Harry turned to give Tom a smirk, before his expression fell. He'd forgotten he needed Tom's cooperation. Harry's initial bout of defiance was dissipating fast.

"Tom-" Harry started. He certainly wasn't getting on the broom alone. Not after what had happened with Lyra.

Harry was sure Tom was going to refuse, so he was surprised when Tom complied.

"Just keep it steady and don't do anything reckless," Tom whispered in his ear as he gripped Harry's waist tightly.

Harry gently tilted the broom up, his stomach twisting as his feet slowly edged off the grass.

Really he had nothing to fear. So why was this difficult when Lyra was no where close. Even Tom's arms wrapped around him offered little comfort.

Harry knew Draco was watching him with an eager smile, as Adara perched expertly on his shoulder. There was no going back now. Harry tilted the broom back suddenly, slamming his eyes closed as he held his breath.

He could feel the wind rushing through his hair, Tom's grip tightening as the broom rose fast.

Nothing happened.

Harry's eyes shot open, almost surprised to find himself hovering high in the sky just above the top of Malfoy Manor. Sure enough though, he was at least forty feet in the air.

And this time there was no separation, no strain on his soul. Only the usual distressing hum of Lyra's continued absence.

Harry titled the broom sideways, happy when it turned perfectly. It was almost like he'd left all his worries on the ground. Harry leant forward on the broom, letting it dip slightly into a swallow dive, Harry then responded by angling it sharply up, twisting back high into the sky.

Tom pinched him slightly in warning, but Harry didn't care. He positioned the broom into another dive, this time steeper as Harry swerved around Draco.

Finally, this was something which was easy, something which Harry could do instinctively.

After a few more spins and loops, Harry touched down gently on the grass.

"What?" he asked innocently as Tom promptly got off the broom.

Tom look distinctly pale as he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder to steady himself.

"Don't do that again."

Draco landed beside him with a stupid satisfied smirk on his face.

Harry couldn't help but grin back at him as he ran his hand through his hair.

"You should try out for your house team next year, Father tells me I should try out for Slytherin," Draco said as Adara jumped off his shoulder to run around Harry's feet.

Harry shrugged, still smiling. Now he had done it, it seemed odd that he hadn't been back on a broomstick earlier. The feeling of flying had been similar, but it had been shadowed by his fall.

"You seriously can't be thinking of trying out for the Quidditch team?" Tom started, expression cold.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Harry said smiling. He hadn't even given it any thought yet, and already Tom was overreacting.

"It's dangerous, you could get yourself hurt. Like last time," Tom added stiffly.

Harry crossed his arms and glared at Tom. He was about to snap something back, but the genuine concern from Tom was screaming across their connection.

Harry took a deep breath.

"I'll be fine. I'll even let you have a go."

Harry couldn't help but laugh as Tom hit him.