AN: Thank you to everyone that helped with the names of the death eaters. Some have informed me that Abraxas wouldn't be a death eater, and if I remember correctly hadn't even been born yet. But I have made the decision to keep him in the story based on spoiler related reasons. I hope this doesn't detract from my readers' enjoyment. Thank you.


"Tom. Tom, where's Harry? He's not in his bed- oh..." Dark green eyes slowly opened to turn a bleary glare at whoever was foolish enough to rouse their owner by shaking his shoulder. The met surprised watery blue ones, and Tom suddenly remembered that he was not, in fact, in the orphanage.

"Uh..." came the sleepy groan as the boy laying at Tom's side was roused. Harry slowly sat up, his hair sticking up all over the place more than usual, and rubbed his eyes. "Glasses..." Harry mumbled, draping his legs over his side of the bed at a sloth's pace. Tom sighed, doing the same, much quicker to wake up.

"Malfoy, could you hand Harry his glasses? They're on the bedside table. He'll run into something otherwise."

"Oh, um..." Abraxas looked over at the old pair of round glasses, and blinked, "sure." He walked over, picking them up as Harry reached out in front of him to feel for the wall as he stood up. However, Abraxas was staring at the glasses in his hand, a piece of tape holding the ridge together. Tom sighed again, putting on his socks and robes.

"Malfoy."

"Huh? Oh, ah, yes," the blond walked over to Harry, holding out the glasses, "here." Letting out yet another sigh, Tom walked around the bed, and grabbed the glasses from Abraxas' hand.

"Give it here."

"Tom?" Harry questioned as Tom carefully slide the pair of glasses behind his ears to rest on the bridge of his nose, his vision immediately clearing to see the dark eyed boy smiling slightly at him.

"Yes yes, now you can stop groping around like a blind man and wake up."

"Okay..." As soon as Harry answered with a smile, Tom turned to Abraxas, the barely there smile falling off his expression in a heartbeat.

"So? What did you wake us for?" The blond jumped slightly, stuttering before managing to get the answer out.

"O-oh, well, everyone else has gone to get breakfast, and I noticed you weren't getting up, so..." Abraxas trailed off when the full force of Tom's smile hit him, the boy unable to know that the agreeable mask held no true emotion.

"I see. Thank you for waking us. Would you mind waiting outside the room while Harry gets dressed? If you would like to, we can all go down to the Great Hall together." The blond beamed, happy to be getting along so well with the two mysterious roommates of his.

"I'd be happy to! Don't take long, though!" The pureblood practically danced out of the room, calling over his shoulder before closing the door, "I'll be waiting in the common room!"

After the quiet click of the door, the room fell into silence for several long moments before being broken by the sound of Tom's socks brushing against stone floor as he turned to face Harry.

"God, even the people in this house are gullible fools."

"Everyone in the world are like that, Tom. Especially compared to you."

"I know. That doesn't make it any less irritating."

"Maybe it'll help if you change your outlook."

"Like how? Think positively? You must be joking, Harry."

"Maybe you could try to find humor in it?" Tom eyed Harry skeptically, but chose not to respond, instead stepping closer, starting to unbutton the other boy's pajama shirt. Harry for the most part stood still, vaguely reminiscing about a time when he would complain about Tom's insistence to dress him in the mornings. He used to use every excuse and reasoning tactic he could think of. But Tom would always say that it made him happy to take care of him in such ways, so eventually Harry gave up.

"What are you thinking about?"

Snapped out of his reverie, Harry looked up into Tom's eyes, and gave him a small smile.

"Nothing very important."

"Oh?" Tom hummed as he secured Harry's robe on his shoulders, finishing the job. "About what?"

"It was back when I still knew how to dress myself," Harry replied with a mischievous grin. Tom scoffed, and lifted his foot up off the floor. Immediately, the messy haired boy fetched his companion's shoes, knelt before him, and put them on. Only then was Harry able to put on his own footwear.

This was their morning routine. It had been this way for a long time, and neither saw a reason to stop, even with their new setting. So it would remain the same forever in their eyes.


The walk down to the Great Hall was uneventful for the most part. Tom walked in between Abraxas and Harry, mostly letting the blond talk about whatever he wanted wile whispering things to Harry in Parseltongue.

When the three boys came and sat with Orion, Harry immediately started silently digging into his food. Preferring to let Tom exchange pleasantries. If anyone tried to talk to him, the emerald eyed boy would freeze, and resume eating when Tome came to his rescue- interjecting with something distracting and putting a hand on Harry's shoulder or even an arm around his waist if someone got too close.

It quickly became apparent to even the thickest of fools that whatever the relationship between Tom Marvello Riddle and Harry Potter was, Harry was off limits.

That didn't mean that people payed much heed to the silent warnings. Why should they? The other houses aside, the majority of Slytherin felt Tom hadn't proven himself to them. Riddle was not a known pureblood name, and even if there had been some mix up that left Tom raised by muggles, how were they to know if he was truly fit to so much as breathe the same air as them? It seemed that only the handful of people that knew Tom was a Parseltongue- whether from accident or Abraxas' loose mouth- had accepted the dark eyed boy. Some less than others.

Honestly, it worried Harry a little. They were the only ones from Wool's Orphanage at this school, so it was a fresh start. No one knew anything about them, didn't know to be fearful of Tom's honeyed voice, didn't know the things Tom was capable of. Ignorance could cause so much damage in Harry's experience.

So focused was Harry on Tom, that he barely payed any attention to his own situation. He was aware of the suspicious stares from his housemates, even if he didn't meet them. Long accustomed to being stared at, it was slightly surprising how unnerved the unfriendly eyes were making him. Maybe it was because no one here supposed to know anything about him. So the feeling that he was being accused of something was starting to rattle him. It was starting to make him recall memories he had always pushed down with work and Tom.

Surrounded by glaring, angry faces- a crowd of silent spectators without an ounce of pity. A darkness that creeped up from the floorboards of a cuboard and crawled up his body like grasping hands. A slot of light closing with a metallic snap, drowning him in shadow. A hulking silhouette standing in the doorway, meaty fingers balled into fists. A snake laying dead on the ground of a browning lot, beaten with the broom that was tossed down beside it. The white of a demon's smile in the dark, the eyes that almost melded with the shadows...

"Harry! Harry!"

Startled, the bright eyed boy blinked, then blinked again when he realized that the world looked different since he last payed attention to it. Several moments passed before the mild haired boy realized that he was laying with his back on the Great Hall's floor, staring up at a very worried Tom.

"Harry, say something!" It was rather fascinating, how beautiful Tom could be sometimes. Even with a furrowed brow and lips pulled down in concern, the usually controlled boy was entrancing. "I demand you speak this instant!"

"What..." Harry shook off his stupor as he slowly sat up, "what happened?"

"You suddenly started struggling to breathe and fainted!" Abraxas shouted out, and that's when Harry noticed Tom's small circle of "friends" crowded around.

"What's wrong?" Tom interjected, his question more of a demand as usual. The clear concern that had been coloring his expression earlier pushed aside to seriousness.

"I-I don't know... I was just thinking, and... zoned out."

"Zoned out?"

"Yeah..." There was silence as Tom studied Harry, determining his next course of action.

"We're going to the infirmary." Harry's eyes widened, and he hurried to his feet, looking down at Tom as he burst out before he properly thought his words through.

"What?! No! It's our first day, Tom! We can't be late- besides, I'm... fine..." Harry trailed off as he registered Tom's expression. He had just raised his voice at Tom... and he was mad. "I... I just... I'm out of sorts, Tom, I'm sorry..."

Harry stood there as silence dragged on, wringing his hand and shifting his weight. Tom was just sitting there, expression as hard and cold as stone, staring at Harry. Neither boy payed any attention to the people watching the scene the two mysterious Slytherins were making. Finally, Tom spoke, soft and firm. And with Tom, soft was never a good sign.

"You're going to the infirmary Harry." Harry only met Tom's eyes a moment more before he dropped his gaze and shoulder.

"Yes, Tom..."


Oddly enough, no one was in the infirmary; not even the nurse. Maybe it wasn't that surprising, considering classes hadn't even begun.

The lack of company didn't alarm Tom. He simply pulled Harry by the hand to a bed and had him sit down. The wild haired boy didn't even try to disobey. After all, he was in big enough trouble as it was.

After a considering pause, Tom sat down next to Harry, who tensed up a little. Emerald eyes stayed locked on his knees.

"Sit up straight, Harry." Tom's absent minded order cut through the silence and Harry's thoughts like a finely sharpened blade. Immediately, Harry's spine bent inwards and his shoulders pushed back. Bright green eyes blinked when he felt gentle fingers running through his hair, and the orbs turned towards Tom when he spoke quietly. "I'll postpone your punishment for now. But do you know what you did wrong?"

"I spoke out against you..." Harry answered meekly, leaning into Tom's cold touch.

"At least you know. Your health is important, Harry. Which is why I'm holding your punishment off. I can easily catch up on whatever classes we miss."

Harry only nodded to show his understanding, and closed his eyes. He couldn't explain to Tom what had happened, but one thing was clear. He needed to stop thinking about his own time. At least, for now.

Deep, deep down though, Harry was afraid. Afraid that the Sorting Hat was right. Afraid that when he did start thinking about going back to the Dursleys', his non-committal resolve would fade to dust. Afraid that he'd decide to stay with Tom all his life, even when something screamed at him that it wasn't right. Afraid because he was afraid of the Dursleys. But afraid most of all, that sometimes Harry was afraid of Tom.

That, was the most frightening thing of all.


AN: I'd firstly like to apologize for how long it took for this to be posted, for how short it is, and for any mistakes.

I was trying to make sure I'd graduate high school, and something came up regarding my mental health due to that. Various other things unfortunately got in the way as well, (like a bad timed writers block) so I've been struggling with this chapter.

On the other side of the coin, I'd like to thank each and every one of my readers for all of the support I've received since the last posting. It meant a lot to me, and receiving notices of favorites, followers, and reviews everyday reminded me that it was worth pushing forward.

I'll be busy with life for, well, my life, but I can promise you that no matter how long it takes, Lightning will reach its finish. I've already devoted 3 years of my life to it, what's another 15 to infinity? And beyond.