Sorry everyone, yes. I pulled the chapter and deleted it about fifteen minutes after posting. I realized it was just too weak of a chapter to justify keeping it up.

Warnings: It's shounen-ai, yaoi, slash, gay, Tom/Harry and Remus/ Sirius

Notes: (X) is pov and or time jump.

Chapter 21: The First Detention

"That didn't take long."

Harry dropped his bag next to his bed and fell onto it next to Aderes.

"McGonagall took pity on me once she found out Ron and I weren't fighting anymore." He rolled onto his back and looked up at his boyfriend. Aderes was in his shadow form, reclining on Harry's pillows, book in hand. If Harry didn't know any better, he'd think this scene had played out hundreds of times before. It felt familiar, comforting somehow. "All I had to do was put a few books away and promise not to fight with him anymore." It was one of the easiest detentions he'd ever had.

Aderes snorted. "What if he starts it?" Harry shrugged. He hadn't asked, his focus on doing whatever McGonagall had wanted so he could run back to his dorm, or rather, to Aderes. They'd agreed on leaving the bond partially opened, enough so they could sense each other, but not so much that their every thought and emotion began mingling. Even so, it didn't stop a constant dull throb of loneliness whenever they weren't close to each other. He wondered if Aderes had the same problem. Aderes never seemed to give off any feelings of distress, and it was too embarrassing to ask, so he didn't think so. And asking straight out felt stupid, he already seemed, was, far too dependent on Aderes.

Sighing, Aderes set the book he was reading down. "You have two assignments you need to finish tonight. Transfiguration and Herbology."

An essay for both classes, and he had to practice the vanishing spell McGonagall had reviewed with them. Nothing too hard, but that wasn't the problem. That Harry was far more interested in talking with Aderes than doing his homework was. If there was a way to guarantee no one else would enter the dorm right now, Harry wouldn't even mind taking some time to snog him before starting anything.

Aderes looked down at him, his eyes slightly narrowed, Harry grinning at him in return. "As much as I enjoy kissing you, your homework comes first." He ran his hand through Harry's hair. "The faster you finish one task, the sooner I'll allow you to interact with me."

"You're interacting with me now," he said, smirking.

Aderes rolled his eyes, shifted his weight, and shoved Harry off the bed with one quick move of his foot.

Harry hit the floor before he even realized Aderes had pushed him off the bed. "Hey!" He got onto his knees and gripped the side of the bed, glaring at him.

"Do your homework." He leaned back into Harry's pillows and reopened his book.

"A few hours ago, we were fighting because you wanted to help me."

"I suppose I need to remind you of my rules, all things considered." His eyes flickered to Harry. "I do not date fools, nor will I tolerate failure. I will not be embarrassed because of your inability to focus or your lack of regard for your studies. And if you get anything below an A for any of your O.W.L.S. I will not only disown you; I will act like I never knew you."

Harry felt his mouth falling open. "You're the one who barged into my life," he screamed, climbing to his feet. How could Aderes demand such things?

"Yes, and you should be grateful. You'd be dead otherwise." He turned a page.

"Do you know anything about me, besides what the papers write, what everyone assumes they know," he demanded. It seemed even with the bond, Aderes was lacking information in that department. Even if he studied every day nonstop, he couldn't achieve what his boyfriend was asking of him. He wasn't nearly that bright.

"I know you better than anyone," Aderes said. He dropped the book onto the bedside table. "Better than that useless thing you call a friend, than Hermione, Draco." He reached out and grabbed Harry by the wrist, pulling him back onto the bed and into his lap. "And that is exactly why I have to make sure you understand the terms. I will help when you need it, but first see what you can do on your own."

Hadn't that been Harry's exact argument before Herbology?! "There shouldn't be terms to dating," Harry muttered, his body relaxing in the embrace despite his annoyance at the threat.

"Ignoring your studies is basically giving up against Voldemort. If you don't want to live, I'd rather not waste my time being with you."

"Then leave! Even if I pass every subject with an O, there's no guarantee I'll survive against Voldemort!" How could Aderes just throw this at him? He hadn't even hinted at something like this. Not that he could have done much if Aderes had explained the rules when they first met. No one had been in any kind of functioning state to study. Well, Hermione probably could have, but Hermione was always ready to learn.

"No, but it will give you a higher chance at survival." He leaned in and kissed Harry.

'You're mad!'

'So, you made clear during Care of Magical Creatures.'

Harry felt his face flush. 'Well, you are.'

Aderes snickered and pushed Harry onto his back. "Now that you know my conditions—"

"Yeah, I get you chose the wrong guy to date. Lucky for me, I'm used to being alone," he said. When he felt Aderes's surprise he sat up, threw his arms around his neck, and pulled him down.

"Liar," Aderes hissed, their faces inches apart.

"Not really."

"You have me, of all people, on top of you, in your bed, willingly. You are not allowed to feel lonely."

"Your level of arrogance astounds me."

"I deserve every bit of it."

Harry doubted that, but he was happy and didn't want to risk losing this happiness. "Fine." It was already too late for him to break it off, anyway. Losing Aderes was not an option. Not if he wanted to keep even a small fraction of his sanity. He didn't know if it was the bond or what, but he knew, giving Aderes up would mean losing a part of himself.

"Good." He leaned forward and kissed Harry. "Let's practice vanishing spells."

"Wait." He grabbed Aderes's arm as the teen began to straighten up, the Slytherin's eyes narrowing slightly.

"What?"

"I'll try. I'll study and get my homework done. I won't goof off on assignments unless it's Divination, but…"

"Potions," Aderes finished for him and Harry nodded.

"I've never had any luck with that class. Even when Hermione checks my essays, Snape will write on the paper that I didn't do it by myself or anything to make sure I get a bad mark."

Aderes seemed to consider this, his free hand absently going through Harry's hair. "I will speak with him," he said after a moment. "And I will work with you."

"Okay…."

"I know my terms seem unreasonable. Just trust me, you are capable of far more than you believe. You simply need to apply yourself." He sat up, Harry smiling when he noticed Aderes was fighting the urge to make out instead of helping Harry with his homework.

(X)

"Not bad." Aderes scanned the rest of Harry's essay, nodding. "There are a few sentences that could be worded better, but this is a good start." He kissed Harry on the cheek, his face heating up. "I'm glad you didn't waste your free period today."

"I told you I'd try." Yes, it'd been tempting to mope throughout his free period because of his detention with Umbridge, but after a lot of mental yelling, he'd gotten himself to focus. Surprisingly, he'd finished his essays for Potions, History of magic, and Charms. It had been boring, but easy enough. All the answers for these particular essays had been in the class required books.

"So, you did." He pushed Harry against the wall, kissing him again.

If this was Harry's reward for finishing his homework, he would be asking all his professors for extra credit soon.

A small cough had Harry trying to pull away, annoyance flashing across Aderes's face. "What," he demanded, turning.

"I need a word with you," Dumbledore said. Harry nearly died when he noticed how red Dumbledore's own face was. He'd caught them kissing, which wasn't against the rules, but still embarrassing.

"And you couldn't wait until we'd finished?"

"I believe Harry has a detention to attend."

Scowling, Aderes turned back to Harry. He kissed him again, roughly this time, his hands gripping Harry's sides.

'Aderes!' He couldn't deny how much he was enjoying himself, but the thought of Dumbledore watching as they made out horrified him. He brought his hands up and placed them on Aderes's chest to push him away and froze. It wasn't their fault Dumbledore had decided to pick this very moment to interrupt them. He could have asked Aderes while they were still in the Great Hall eating dinner. But the headmaster was watching right now, and that made it awkward, like being caught by a parent.

Aderes mentally chuckled and slowly pulled away. 'I love driving him mad.' A flicker of satisfaction that Harry was enjoying himself, that he wanted to continue, to hell with anyone else, and much stronger, that he was stealing Harry from Dumbledore.

Harry blinked as surprise ran through the bond at the leak. "What was that?" He knew exactly what he'd felt, or rather what Aderes had been feeling, but didn't want to believe it. Was this all a game to Aderes? He was a Slytherin, after all.

"Harry—"

"I have detention," Harry growled, having no problems shoving him away this time. 'Is that all this is? A way to make Dumbledore mad?'

'No,' Aderes protested. 'Not Exactly…'

"Not exactly," he repeated out loud, his voice strained. He was mad at Aderes, betrayed even. Despite the Slytherin's fast work to shut the bond, Harry had already felt the guilt radiating from him. "I'm leaving."

"Harry, it's not what you're thinking—"

"Our minds are linked," Harry screamed, both Aderes and Dumbledore paling and giving quick looks around the room. Right, that was a secret, but right now he didn't care. "You can't lie to me like you do everyone else!" He started for the steps, a whirlwind of emotions flaring up inside of him.

"I hope you're happy," Aderes snapped.

He didn't hear the rest and with the bond shut he couldn't ease drop on the conversation between them.

How could I be so stupid? Of course, Aderes was using him! Why would someone as perfect as Aderes give him a second glance? And if he was intent on driving Dumbledore mad, who else, who better, to use than Harry? Right because I'm special to Dumbledore, he thought, snorting. It made sense that from an outside view, he was, but the events over the summer had shown just how wrong everyone, himself included, had been. Dumbledore had left his life to chance when he stopped all incoming communication to Harry after the Gytrash had attacked him. Aderes was smart. If Harry had noticed Dumbledore's lack of concern for him, then his boyfriend had to know.

It brought everything into a horrible, but understandable answer. Why Aderes had suddenly decided to become a part of his life despite them never having met before. The necklace, the bond, all his actions over the summer had just been a manipulation to build trust, to pull Harry closer to him until he couldn't survive without him. All with the hopes of driving Dumbledore mad. He frowned as he turned the corner. Were the terms Aderes's solution to getting rid of Harry now that he'd found out he was dating the wrong person to mess with Dumbledore? Why even let it go so far?

Well, the joke was on Aderes. Dumbledore no longer seemed too worried about Harry, and he'd had survived on his own just fine before Aderes had shown up. It wasn't ideal, but it was doable. Somehow, he'd find a way to break this stupid mental bond, and he'd give Dumbledore the necklace.

Who am I kidding? He was angry because it was easier to be mad than to admit he didn't want to give Aderes up or that his boyfriend using him hurt. That he was dependent on him and he wanted, needed him by his side. Aderes made anything seem possible. After yesterday, he'd even began to think he had a slight chance at defeating Voldemort and coming out alive.

And even if it was a ruse to ruin Dumbledore's mental state, Aderes enjoyed kissing him. Just last night, Aderes had had to fight with himself to not abandon Harry's homework and just snog. They had a relationship, he'd felt Aderes's feelings. They couldn't lie to each other, not with their minds linked. But it only made his current discovery hurt a little less. Even if Aderes did like him, if Harry was just a means to an end, it wouldn't make any difference.

I need to put some distance between us. If for no other reason than to keep himself going when Aderes was through with him.

Harry glared at the door; his fist clenched. As soon as he walked through it, he'd have to deal with Umbridge, and he really wasn't in the mood. Not that he'd been in the mood before, but now he just felt like telling Umbridge to jump out a window. Or maybe he could jump out the window. It was only the second floor. He'd break an arm or leg and spend another night in the infirmary, he'd endured worse from Quidditch.

Just go in and get it over with. He gave the pendant around his neck a tight squeeze, took a calming breath, and released it, mentally screaming at himself for the stupid ritual he'd developed. I'm taking it off once I'm back in the dorm!

He felt somewhat better having decided that and knocked on the door. I've handled tons of Snape's detentions. And what were the chances that Umbridge could come up with a worse detention than Snape? If he was being honest, what could possibly be worse than what he'd just found out about Aderes?

"Come in," Umbridge's poisonous voice sang from the other side of the door. The high pitch call made him flinch.

He took another breath and entered the room, freezing as he stepped over the threshold. His eyes crept from one side of the room to the other, any breath he'd just taken outside of the room, gone. The Defense Against the Dark Art's room no longer existed. Instead was a room that looked like a witch's boutique for nine-year-olds. The walls were no longer stone, but pink and covered in plates with kittens on them. Most of them wore large bright pink bows around their necks, some meowing, others purring as they dashed from plate to plate, tagging and wrestling each other. Lace hung from every available spot, along the bottom of the kitten plates, along the teacher's desk's edges, the student's desks, along the windowsills, and wrapped around the candle holders. Dried flowers sat in numerous vases around the room. They, too, had lace at their bases. To think just two days prior the room had looked normal.

How was anyone supposed to read in a room with over fifty kittens playing around?

Where is this freak? He started towards the teacher's desk, mentally cursing when he noticed Snape. Of all the people, Umbridge could ask for help to plan his detention. Or knowing Snape, he'd volunteered. He stopped in front of the desk.

"I thought I was serving detention with Professor Umbridge."

"You are," Umbridge said.

Harry jumped, his eyes widening slightly as he realized that Umbridge was present and in the ugliest pink plush chair that he'd ever seen, wearing a matching pink robe covered in flowers and once again, lace. There had to be a law against having so much pink and lace in a single room. "Good evening Mr. Potter." She smiled at him, one that held no warmth, not that he'd expected any. Snape's own look was no better. He had no allies here. "I said good evening, Mr. Potter."

"Evening."

"Manners, Mr. Potter," Snape said.

Harry had to fight not to roll his eyes and even harder not to ram his wand down Snape's throat. His Aunt Petunia had more manners and deserved his respect more than these two. At least she'd believed him when he'd told her about Voldemort's return, and her interior decorating skills were five stars compared to this. What was worse, Snape knew the truth!

Lashing out would only result in more detentions though, and he couldn't afford that. No, he needed to finish the detention so he could try to fix his dented relationship and the others later on, to make it to Quidditch practices. It was bad enough he had to miss the tryouts.

It was still tempting. I told Aderes I would try to avoid getting thrown into Azkaban; he reminded himself. He bit the inside of his cheek so he wouldn't snicker. Even when they were bickering, Aderes was a source of focus for him. He really would be lost without him. Is this the bond or…? He couldn't let his mind travel that road right now. First, he needed to deal with this detention.

Umbridge cleared her throat with her little 'hem, hem'. "Now then Mr. Potter." She stood up and removed a black piece of paper from the top desk drawer. She proceeded to the nearest student desk and set it down.

Harry took the hint and sat down at the desk.

"I believe you shall have the proper punishment for the crime."

Right, because telling the truth is a crime.

"You're quite lucky you're Dumbledore's favorite. To think you only received a week of detention for spreading lies and trying to attack a teacher!" She let out a shrill laugh. "But we'll make sure to correct that behavior."

Who's going to correct yours?

"For tonight, you'll be writing lines," she said, sweetly.

"Lines," Snape repeated, his face falling. "Don't you think that's a little lenient for what he's done?"

"Oh no. I believe this will be the best punishment for Mr. Potter." She took a black quill from her robe pocket and handed it to Harry. He took it without comment. "Now. I want you to write 'I must not tell lies.' Understood?"

The irony of this was not lost on Harry. Still, he'd had much worse detentions. He placed the quill's tip onto the piece of paper.

"You were told to write lines," Snape growled.

He wrote the sentence 'I must not tell lies' and felt a paper cut like pain on the back of his right hand. He stopped to examine it. The words had been engraved into his hand in thin red lines, only to heal over just as fast. His eyes darted to the paper and he could feel himself paling. The quill had used his blood as ink.

Snape was grinning now.

"Continue," Umbridge said. She looked satisfied with the way things were playing out.

Harry refused to give the two monsters in front of him the satisfaction of knowing how stunned he was, and he would never let them know the amount discomfort it brought him, no matter how small or large it might be.

Gritting his teeth, he began writing again. He'd show them. By the time he started the tenth sentence, his hand had begun to go numb, making it easier to press on.

The fact that this was happening seemed impossible. This had to be considered torture and illegal. Why am I doing this? It hadn't occurred to him that even if this was a detention; he didn't have to do something like this. Other students might not have a way out, but Harry could get Aderes's attention. He was mad at his boyfriend, but this was a strange situation. Aderes could tell Dumbledore what was going on. His hope began deflating as he gave a mental poke to bond, it was still closed.

"If you cannot handle writing lines, I can always give you a different punishment, if this one is too difficult for you."

Right. He didn't want to know what else she had in mind and began to finish the sentence, wincing as he did so. With no choice, he began writing the next line. He couldn't stop a small shudder at seeing the bright red blood flow onto the paper. This was more than just a physical punishment, but there was nothing he could do right now. What good would telling anyone do, anyway? The only one that possibly had any power over Umbridge was Dumbledore, and what would he do if the headmaster brushed him off? It was one thing to suspect the headmaster no longer cared for him much, another thing completely to know for sure. His friends couldn't do anything, and it was unlikely that the other teachers could either. And telling Aderes would only result in more stress because he'd then have to worry about how the Slytherin might retaliate. He was on his own with this.

Harry had no idea how much time had passed when Umbridge stalked up beside him and grabbed his hand roughly. He refused to show any signs of pain as she examined the cuts. "I expect to see you back here tomorrow."

"Good night." He grabbed his bag and turned his back on the two professors, only making it out of the room without gasping by sheer force of will. He walked fast down the hall and when he made it to the steps, finally allowed himself to stop and sit down. He rested his head against the stone wall, his eyes lingering on the back of his right hand. The words were light scratches, but if anyone got a good look, they would be able to read the sentence. Should I wrap my hand? It would probably only attract more attention if he wrapped it, even if he claimed it was just a scratch.

Sighing, he pushed himself to his feet and started for the dorm. Walking down the halls this late at night only made his loneliness intensify. Some part of him had hoped that Aderes would be waiting for him outside of the Defense room or at the stairs, but given the time, his boyfriend was probably fast asleep. It was better that way. He needed sleep himself and time to think about how he wanted to handle things with Aderes. It still hurt to think that the Slytherin was using him. And he still didn't understand why Aderes had decided to use him in the first place. Maybe it wouldn't seem so bad once they talked tomorrow. They had Potions together first period, even if Aderes didn't sit with them for breakfast and Defense later in the day.

Worry about it later. He knew if he allowed his thoughts to obsess over when he'd talk to Aderes and what he would say to him, he'd never get any sleep.

He stumbled into the Gryffindor tower after giving the password and somehow made it up the steps without killing himself. He debated over whether to change or take a bath, decided it wasn't worth it and stepped into the dorm. He collapsed onto his bed, a growl meeting his ears. Before he could scramble up, but two arms wrapped around him and held him in place.

No way…

"You're late."

"Aderes?"

"Why do you always question who's in your bed?" He yawned and suddenly his chin was on Harry's head. "And why does your goal in life seem to be to make sure I am sleep deprived?"

"I-I didn't—"

Aderes dropped a hand over his mouth. "I need as much rest as possible to keep an eye on you and my own potion tomorrow morning." Harry nodded, his face burning. "Good." He removed his hand from his mouth and rested it on Harry's hip.

"Night." It was the only thing he could think of to say. There was so much more he wanted to talk to Aderes about, but that could wait. He placed his own hand over Aderes's, his eyes closing. He had not expected to find Aderes in his bed or in the Gryffindor tower at all. The amount of relief and joy flowing through him at this simple embrace was beyond anything he'd ever felt before.

This has to be from the bond. He'd never felt such a strong pull to be with someone. The only experience he had to go by was his… comparing his feelings for Aderes as to what he'd once felt for Cho was like asking what was better, living with the Dursleys or Hogwarts. He really needed to ask Hermione about the bond or even risk asking Dumbledore. Someone had to know something. Would Lupin know?

"Why are you so irritated?"

"Sorry, I didn't know I was moving…"

"You're not, you keep tensing up… Is this about earlier?"

Earlier? With everything else he'd been thinking, it'd taken him a moment to remember they'd been fighting. "No."

"Good."

Harry waited for Aderes to follow up with, 'I'll explain later' or some variation. When none came, he started laughing.

Aderes sighed, propping himself up with his elbow. "What?"

"My thoughts are a mess right now."

"Jeez." Aderes bent over and kissed him. The bond slid open just enough for the usual warmth to fill Harry. His body began to relax, and he could no longer focus onto any of his thoughts trying to take over his mind. "We'll talk in the morning. For now, rest."

(X)

I feel warm. Harry had to dig his way to wakefulness, his mind desperately trying to keep him asleep. He could hear his dorm mates moving about though and knew it was time to get out of bed or would be soon enough. With a grunt he forced his eyes open as he sat up or tried to. He tried again, until his common sense kicked in and he realized to his horror, Aderes, as himself, was sprawled out on top of him. He managed to move one arm and grab the duvet, pulling it up to Aderes's head just in case someone stuck their head beyond the four posters.

"Aderes," he hissed quietly, knowing no one else could hear him, but not wanting to take the chance. When his boyfriend didn't move, he dared to give him a gentle shake. "Get up."

"No," he mumbled.

"No?" What did he mean no? He had to get up. They needed to get up. They had classes and breakfast, and Harry had things he needed to try and get done before his next detention with Umbridge. "Then let me up."

"Later."

Harry blinked. "Aderes, everyone else is awake and getting dressed." He hoped his tone conveyed the seriousness of this situation, given that the bond was closed and that Aderes seemed to have temporarily lost his sanity. He'd never stayed this long into the morning. "Someone could—"

"If someone besides me gets into your bed, I will happily murder them," he snarled, his eyes flashing from underneath the blanket.

He's in a bad mood. He closed his eyes. What was he supposed to do? This was his fault. Aderes had used his magic to lull him to sleep and now he was tired and cranky, and would Hogwarts even be able to withstand a cranky Aderes? "Can I help?" Hadn't he managed to help him before back at number twelve after he'd used too much magic? It was a blur, but he swore he'd done something. "Can't I give you energy or something?"

Aderes stared up at him, a hint of frown on his face. "You have another detention tonight. You'll end up with another one if you fall asleep during tonight's."

Harry doubted that. Even during his most exhausted moments, he didn't think he could fall asleep while his blood was getting siphoned from his hand. Not that Aderes knew that. "I'm used to functioning without much sleep."

"Yes, but it's not healthy." He sighed and sat up. "I'll make a deal with you."

"Okay?"

"I'll borrow just enough energy to get out of bed and secure us two pepper up potions."

"Deal."

"Good." He brought his hand up to Harry's cheek, the bond opening without warning. Harry did his best to keep Umbridge's detention hidden. He saw and felt a rush of energy coursing from him and going to Aderes. The Slytherin didn't give any reactions of surprise or worry. "Alright." He kissed Harry. "I'll see you at breakfast."

He was gone a second later, leaving Harry alone in his bed, drowsier than he'd been minutes before and his hand hurting. He glanced down, frowning when he saw that some of the healing to his hand from the night before had been undone. Luckily, his hand had been under the duvet. It'd probably helped that Aderes had been so tired.

Why was he so tired? Aderes had been fast asleep when he'd gotten back, so at the least he'd gotten more sleep than Harry had. What had he been doing before that?

TBC