Chapter Summary: Tom becomes a Peverell and Yule passes by.
Author's Note: I originally posted this on my birthday and from being on AO3, a few sentences have been tweaked as I reread through it while putting it on FF. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
"Welcome home Tom, welcome to the Sheffield House." Harry introduced the young wizard, sending a lopsided grin his way as she walked to the iron-wrought gates of the property. It spanned across the cobblestone driveway that lead up to the house and to the right of them rested a small stone pedestal, with the top cut just large enough to rest a hand. Harry made her way over to it with Tom following a few steps behind her, his eyes taking in every detail.
Raising her wand in her left hand and opening her right hand to show her palm, Harry sliced her wand down and muttered out, "Sectumbrevis." She watched as a thin, narrow cut was slashed across her open palm. It began to bleed freely and she quickly placed her palm on the stone, watching as it glowed around her hand print. Seeing the startled look on the young man's face, Harry laughed, "Sorry but it's the only way to activate the wards to change them. I push my intent through my magic and blood to alert them. After I'm done, you'll have to cut your palm as well so that the wards will key you in. We will have to do this one more time for the Peverell Manor which will update the other properties as it is the main home for every Peverell. Only reason why we are staying here instead of there, is that the manor is huge. It's massive and I get lost. So it's a lot easier just having a somewhat smaller house."
"Ah," Tom answered, blinking as he watched the light fade under her hand. "Would you mind telling me the incantation for the spell you used?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he drew his wand.
"Sectumbrevis." She answered after raising her hand and healing it with an Episkey and then clearing the blood with a Terego. "It's translation is 'to cut, small or narrow'. We typically use it for when we need blood to verify something or change something. Or in rituals." She gave a small half-hearted shrug, "It's one of those silly spells that they only teach purebloods, something the families pass down. Stupid to withhold from the rest of the population, but what can you do, you know?"
He watched as the spell cut thinly and controlled. He had seen some curses that caused blood to spray uncontrollable everywhere and yet this one had done something so simple. It definitely needed checking out, perhaps he could use it as torture. Something that refined could definitely be used better for his more⦠personal pursuits. He paused, raising an eyebrow at her, "Will the trace affect me?"
"No, we are under wards that change any underage magic to seem that of legal age. Other Wizarding family homes are similar. Once you leave the property lines, then you'll have to be careful but otherwise," She winked at him, "Have fun."
He hummed in reply, too focused on casting the unknown spell. With no small amount of satisfaction, the spell worked on the first try, slicing a thin cut along his palm. The wizard copied her motions, placing his hand on the stone and feeling a sudden rush of foreign magic come pulsing through his hand before it spread throughout every part of his body. With a small click he heard mentally, his hand was pushed off and the magic dissipated. Tom glanced up at the witch, who was smiling at him fondly. Seeing that she was waiting for him to say something first, he swallowed his pride in exchange for some information. "What was that?"
"That was you being keyed into the wards here. Now, should we come under attack, the house and all of its inhabitants and protections will come to your aid. Once you learn to apparate, you will be able to arrive whenever you want without having to be escorted." The witch explained as she walked to the gate and placed her hand on the giant lock formed in the middle. It unlocked upon her touch and swung inwards, allowing them entry. "Come, I want to introduce you to your new home."
The duo walked up the road, with Tom trailing slightly behind the witch who had changed his life. "This field is connected to the barn, where we have the horses and everything else living in." She waved her hand to point to her left, where a white rail fence outlined the side of the road all the way up to the barn. "If you would like, you will be more than welcome to go horseback riding. If you haven't learned yet, just ask, I will get an instructor for you." She mentioned as an afterthought. Harry highly doubted that the orphanage had done anything of the sort but perhaps one of his friends that he stayed with during the holidays had.
"That would be much appreciated, Lady Hariel." Tom answered, solving her dilemma.
"You are of course, welcome anywhere on the property or in the house, except for the ritual room. It will be closed off at all times so I ask that you please leave the room alone. I have placed wards on it that will alert me should you choose not to listen. Other than that, every room will be available to you, oh! Though I ask that you knock before entering my chambers." She turned her head and winked at him, enjoying the slight look of embarrassment on his face.
They walked up to the front of the home, and Harry turned slightly right, "The gardens are in this direction, and there is an area for meditation if you wish to use it." Harry led him in the house, pushing the doors open and the witch and wizard were immediately greeted with several of the House Elves.
"Welcome home, Mistress Harry!" They chorused together, eliciting a soft, loving smile on the woman's face.
"Thank you sweeties, allow me to introduce Tom, who will become my Heir." Harry reached out with her hand, placing it on the young Slytherins shoulder. "Dimpsy, would you mind coming forward?"
The House Elf immediately jumped to the front of the group and gave a deep bow to the witch. "Yeses, Misses Harry?"
"Dimpsy, this is Tom, he will be your wizard to care for. I've already told him the rules but try to keep him out of trouble." The Lady laughed, winking at the House Elf who nodded eagerly.
"Yes misses! Hellos young sir, I is Dimpsy and I is being taking good care of you!" The house elf bowed deep towards the young Slytherin who simply blinked once in response before turning to the woman next to him.
"Dimpsy, would you mind showing Tom where his quarters and mine are located should he need to find me? I need to finish preparing the ritual room for later tonight." Harry asked, watching as the house elf eagerly nodded.
"Dimpsy be a good elf, Dimpsy be taking young master to his rooms now." With that said, the house elf turned promptly to Tom, "Follow me, young master, Dimpsy be showing you to your rooms like a good house elf!"
Harry waited a moment for the duo to disappear down the hall before turning to the others who were still waiting. "Tully, would you mind making sure that Peverell Manor will be ready for a Welcoming Celebration after Yule? We will be having plenty of guests and I want to make sure everything will be top notch."
"Of course, Tully will see it done." The Head Elf bowed once before disappearing to begin preparing the large manor for the party.
The witch turned towards her two cooks, "Forry and Homby, will you please make sure that dinner tonight is something more rare than usual. Tom will be understandably hungry when the ritual is over and I want to ensure that he is looked after properly." She paused for a moment before deciding to drop a small hint, knowing that every elf would make it their purpose to ensure he was well cared for. "I'm afraid the home he was staying in often didn't have enough food for him and he wasn't looked after. So it's only right that we have to fix that."
Frantic whispers broke out among the group and Forry puffed her chest out, "We be making sure meal is yummy and good! Young master will never go hungry with Forry and Homby to care for him!" The sentiment was echoed by Homby who was rapidly nodding his head in agreement.
"Tilly, I will need all of his robe measurements taken when you get a chance for new ones and ceremonial ones. I also wish for his current ones to include the Peverell coat of arms when you get a chance, please." Harry asked.
Tilly beamed with pride, bowing as much as her pregnant belly would allow. "Tilly be using Toppy's help, if Missus says okay." The time spent under a master who didn't beat them or berate them and made sure that the magic flowing through their bond was positive had boosted each elf in turn and Tilly was proud to be one of the very few Elves who would be gifted with a second elfling.
"If Toppy doesn't mind helping out, that doesn't bother me in the slightest. Just remember to go easy, he doesn't need the robes immediately so take your time. I really would hate for something to happen because you were too eager to help out."
Tully smiled, showing just how different the relationship between elf and human was with the Peverell's. "Guffy be making sure Tully is careful, Missus Harry. Guffy be making her rest and sleep."
"Mental note to give Guffy a bonus for Yule." Harry mused aloud, pleased at how loving all of her Elves were. Clearing her throat, she smiled and clapped her hands together, "Now, I just want to say, thank you for all of your hard work in caring for everything here to make it look stunning for Tom's arrival, I appreciate it."
The House Elves collectively blushed and shyly nodded, pleased to have helped make their Missus Harry proud. After seeing the elves pop back to whatever they were doing before, Harry made her way to the ritual room, which was located in the very back of the house in a section that out in the back, simply to protect the rest of the house should a ritual go wrong. After activating the engraved rune on the door, it swung open, allowing her entrance before shutting close behind her. A safety feature she had had paid extra for and installed so no one could just wander in and get into mischief or complete a ritual without her knowing. Something she had given a lot of thought for in an effort to stop her young ward from making the ritual to create Horcruxes.
The room was bare of windows but candles were scattered around the room, providing plenty of light. Something she had learned the hard way, was that ritual rooms could not be cleaned magically but instead had to be cleaned by hand to ensure that all the magic was impartial when the ritual was completed. Any magic casted in the room could easily change the ritual from something benign to something malicious with no time to react. It was, unfortunately, one of the leading causes on why rituals were slowly being pushed in the Wizengamot by muggle-raised folk simply because they did not understand the levels of precaution that went into each one. Instead of doing the proper research, they instead would just jump into something and then complain and get upset when it would go wrong because they didn't know what they were doing.
It was something that had frustrated her to no end when she had briefly held her seats in the Wizengamot before declaring Hermione to be her proxy and wiping her hands free of the entire mess. Much easier to let Hermione, who loved to argue, take care of the idiots. It had certainly freed up some of her time to focus on learning magic and knowledge that Kreacher had been willing to teach her after the war, once he realized that she was actually interested in making something of the name Black. To bring the family back to it's former glory, especially because she had named Teddy the Black Heir and had blood-adopted Hugo and Rose, making Rose the official Potter heir as she was older. It had been something she had discussed at length with Hermione and Ron, as she had never had any plans to marry anyone after the war, and it would help her niece and nephew and godson advance farther in life, having a title and prestige that came with being apart of the family. Now, now she was certainly glad that she had done so simply because Death had taken her far from her family and she wasn't sure when she would return, if she even could given how Death kept whisking her away to new worlds.
Here, in the winter of 1944, she would have Tom as her Heir, and her entire purpose of this timeline was to ensure the future, health and well-being of Tom. One of the many ways she could accomplish this was by making powerful allies, something she had already begun to do, especially before, during, and after Wizengamot meetings. A potential marriage, something she had never seriously considered an option for herself, was something she did need to think about. She, of course, would have a few stipulations that her potential suitor - and spouse - would have to follow.
The witch knelt down on the ground, picking up a spare chalk piece laying around and began carving out the runes they would need for the ritual while she thought over her plans for the future. Her spouse would have to deal with separate finances, the fact that he would claim nothing of the Peverell fortune and resources and that while she would like to marry for love, she was being realistic in the thought that it was unlikely to happen.
Something that she knew would come to light soon, would be her apprenticeship with the Daimyo Matsudaia Motoyasu, a wizard who by the time she was twenty-three, had already been six hundred and something years old and still had many years to go. He had been gifted by Death, when he was younger and foolish and arrogant, to stay alive and to teach the one that would bear his mark. Under his tutelage, Harry had learned magic that had died out, that hadn't been passed on from witch to wizard.
She had learned necromancy and demonology. Harry had learned how the demons in Japanese culture had mated with humans until their magic became almost indistinguishable with wizarding magic, how only families who descended from them were able to pass on secret abilities and spells and knowledge. The Daimyo had taught her as he had with his children and their children and their children. She had gained her mastery under him, one that was coveted by many around the world. It had merely taken a letter and a visit from Death before he had agreed to do as the entity wished, willing to tell any who asked - and there would be witches and wizards knocking on his door soon to verify - that he had finally trained someone who had actually completed it and received their mastery. The wizard was known for failing and dismissing every student he ever taught.
Harry thought that it was only fitting that Death's Mistress would study necromancy. Not for the art of raising Inferius - as that was simply Black magic, not death magic - but for honoring Death, for celebrating life, for communing with the dead and exorcising ghosts. Something that no one ever seemed to remember, that dealing with ghosts was considered a job under necromancy. It was partially a reason why so many ghost congregated around Hogwarts, because that had been the last location for an exorcising - the peaceful act of allowing the ghosts to cross over the the other side. They couldn't do so unless they received helped from a necromancer.
She knew that rare knowledge she carried with her, would inevitably result in many proposals coming her way for the simple thought of having that tied to their family. It was an unfortunate consequence but one she would have to live with as it only elevated her status in their society and inevitably raised Tom's as well. The witch pondered for a moment on whether he would be magically changing his name to when it came time for the oath sworn to Magic herself. She would mention it to make sure he knew that it was an option. It had been mentioned in one of the books she had sent to him while he was at Hogwarts to read over about the process but was unsure if he had noticed that part or not.
Harry sat up, kneeling on the edge and glancing over the circle of runes before nodding once in approval and stood up, brushing dust off of her robes. Perhaps as a gift, she and Tom would visit Diagon Alley and she would let him pick a familiar to have, it would certainly - hopefully - teach him caring and nurturing towards another creature, even if it was just an animal. Nagini and Voldemort had been very close, perhaps having a familiar would help him feel more comfortable. She nodded tersely at the thought, yes, perhaps as a gift from Lord to Heir, it would show her approval of him accepting the family Magics. Another thing she would have to mention before the ritual, was how exactly he would feel when pure Magic would flow through his body like a vessel, shaping his very being.
She pursed her lips and gave a small sigh, heading out of the room to go find her ward and have a talk with him. Might as well get everything out in the open.
"And when the father Hippogriff loves the mother Hippogriff very much, they do a special dance and then eleven months later, a baby Hippogriff is born - or hatched, I could never remember. Anyways, that's how babies are made." Harry finished her long, very heavily awkward and anecdotal talk, feeling proud of herself.
The young man sat across from her on his new bed, his expression an interesting cross of disbelief and horror. It had stayed that way from the moment she had begun talking - and then talking louder and over him whenever he tried making her stop - and it seemed to be permanently stuck on his face.
A large, immature part of her couldn't help but rejoice at the thought of brutally mentally scarring the man who in another lifetime, had ruined her world. The adult part of her had decided that while she was explaining some things, she might as well explain everything. She could remember distinctly Remus and Sirius sitting her down and giving her the exact same talk and how horribly embarrassed she had been afterwards, especially because she had happened to have a crush on Charlie Weasley at the time and had turned into a pre-pubescent Ginny, blushing anytime she had glanced in his direction.
Another part of her was happy that she had managed to get him to react to something, even if it had meant embarrassing him. The cold, indifference he displayed at everything other than when he was learning, which then turned towards calculating, was finally gone and he, for once, actually looked like a normal teenage boy being embarrassed by his family.
"Harry," He started, only to pause, startled, as she cheered as loudly as she could, "That's the first time you've called me by my first name!"
"Harry," he started again, firmly, staring at her straight in the eyes, "if you promise to never, ever give me a talk similar to this again, I will call you by your first name for however long you want."
"I can't make any promises on that front, but I will try." She grinned, looking far too happy with herself. "And on that note, let's head down to the ritual room so that we can begin." The witch stood up from her chair by the desk that she had borrowed when she had come in an hour before to talk to her charge.
Harry led the way, chattering on as usual as the Slytherin trailed behind her. "You might feel physically and magically exhausted afterward, it's completely normal. If you feel that you cannot make it up to your room afterward, I'll have Dimpsy put you to bed. You'll definitely sleep deep tonight, and when you wake up, you'll find that some physical features may alter or change altogether. That is completely normal, you will also find that magically, you may have a bit of a power boost, so we will be having strict lessons for the next week on control. I'll have to ask that you please do not perform any magic until I say so, not even a tempus or lumos. Any magic you perform before your magic is stable can damage your magical core." She stopped walking and turned towards him, her tone serious. "By damage, I mean, it could cause irreparable harm, to the point that you would probably only be able to cast first year spells for the rest of your life. So please, listen to me."
A long moment passed where Tom stared at her, his expression unreadable before the gave the slightest of nods. A soft smile grew on her face and she resumed walking. It was only moments later that the duo made their way into the ritual room. Harry stood outside of the rune circle and allowed her formal robes to slide off and pool to the ground, revealing the comfortable trousers and shirt she had changed into sometime earlier. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Tom copying her movements.
Harry stepped over the chalk lines before kneeling in a smaller circle within the larger one. Without uttering a word, Harry motioned for Tom to sit down in front of her. She reached out of the circle where several items lay and gathered them to rest in between the two of them. Silent, the witch held the small basin steady as she grinded nettle and the wood of betony together. Once it was sufficiently mixed, she added anemone, knotweed and yucca together and pulverized the remaining items into the mixture.
The Mistress of Death reached to her right, picking up a ritual dagger. She stared at Tom, her eyes seemingly staring into his soul. The witch cocked an eyebrow, silently asking if he wished to proceed. Tom nodded once and she smiled softly before she sliced the palm of her right hand and let the blood drip freely into the basin with the plant mixture. "In hoc sanguinem, libenter dedisset, peto a te, domine Magia, quia vis accipere unum mea fiet. Peto ab te, et sanguis ipsius mutare, ut Magia et anima illius de familia, qui glorificat me tibi. Interrogabo vos et ego, volens de hac magica data est suscipe illum sicut suum." Her eyes fluttered closed as a sudden rush of powerful magic swept through her entire body. She silently shuddered as the feeling was intoxicating and very rare even among rituals that asked Magic for something directly.
A moment passed as the magic left her body just as quickly as it had arrived, leaving her gasping for a moment at the sudden feeling of being empty. It was another minute before she could open her eyes and look at the boy across from her, whose hand had reached out as if to make sure she was okay. It was only when he realized that she was staring at him, her eyes unknowingly glowing that unnatural Death green, that his arm dropped down but kept his hand open. Harry couldn't muster up the energy to smile reassuringly at him and instead placed the dagger in his hand.
He licked his lips nervously before chanting as he had memorized the first night he had read the ritual incantations, "In hoc sanguinem, libenter dedisset, peto a te, domine Magia, accipere mihi. Peto a vobis ut Magia et sanguis et anima mea mutata est ut familiae de me honorat, quod amplectitur te. Interrogabo vos et ego, volens de hac magica data est mihi quasi unus ex accipere sua." He sliced his hand and let the his hand bleed into the bowl as he chanted.
Harry watched with heavy-lidded eyes as Tom had an even stronger reaction to the sudden flow of foreign magic. His back suddenly arched as his hands dropped down to his sides, the knife clattering on the floor. The candlelight flickered in response as a wave of magic suddenly flooded the entire room. Harry tried to take a deep breath from the sudden pressure, watching with wide eyes as her own magic, a very familiar deathly green color, not under her own control, slowly emerged from her chest and weaved similar to a snake towards the young wizard. His own magic tendril, a brilliant blood red color, met hers before intertwining and with a sudden lurch, the little piece of magic that had escaped her suddenly detached from her magical core, mixing with his before receding into his body. A moment later he fell to the side, his body unconscious.
The magic left the room the moment his body loosened from its rigid state and Harry hadn't realized that she had stopped breathing until she suddenly could again. Her tongue flicked out of her mouth to wet her lips before she hoarsely called out for Sipsy and Dipsy. Her legs were numb under her and she knew she would need the aid of Sipsy to get back to her room.
The House Elves appeared immediately and while they both had been warned about what could happen, it didn't stop their sudden worry. Dipsy reached a hand out to her ward before disappearing, presumably back to his room where he could rest. Sipsy's ears drooped as she stared at her Mistress. "Does Mistress need Sipsy to take her to her room?"
Harry could only nod, feeling utterly exhausted from the ritual, despite having not moved much. In a matter of a blink she found herself laying in her bed and with another blink Sipsy had her clothing changed into a set of pajamas. Harry sent a grateful and tired smile in her direction as her eyes fluttered and she fell asleep without even realizing it.
His body ached uncontrollably. Tom knew he was only half-awake and yet, he knew instinctively that his body had changed in ways he didn't know yet. His eyelids felt far too heavy to open yet and without meaning to, he drifted back to sleep.
Time passed oddly, as he was half aware and half delirious. He thought at one point that he heard a woman singing. It was so beautiful and peaceful and calming that he could feel the tears run down his cheeks before he fell into the dream world again. Random images and scenes from his childhood played out in his dreams. Odd images passed too that he was unsure of what to make of them. A pale, snake-influenced man stood in a graveyard and a young girl, who looked just a bit younger than him, with features similar to Harry, faced off in a duel. The scene changed to the duo but with the girl slighter older as they duelled in marbled building. Rage flowed through his mind before something light and airy and pure magic counteracted it and he was suddenly free of the mind-consuming rage. More images flashed too quickly for him to see before he was once again watching a duel between the girl and creature. He watched as the killing curse struck her and several moments passed before she rose up again from the dead and then defeated him.
The images faded and he found himself slowly waking up. His eyes felt gritty and crusty and his throat felt parched and dry. Tom turned his head to the side, feeling exhausted despite how deep of a sleep he had had. The soft, calming sound of a song had him staring at Harry, who sat in a chair by his bedside. The woman sat with a book in her hands, reading while singing under her breath. Tom croaked in an effort to talk, gathering her attention swiftly.
A smile graced her face as Harry leaned forward, placing the book on the bedside table. "Hello Tom, I hope you have rested well." He grunted in answer and her eyes light up in understanding. "Dipsy, a glass of water for Tom please. Sipsy, will you please get me the sunshine potion from the pantry."
The glass of water appeared on the table and Harry was quick to help Tom sit up and once he was settled against the headboard, handed him the water. Sipsy appeared with the potion, bowed once and then disappeared again. Once Tom had drunk the last of the water, Harry was quick to take the glass and give him the potions vial. "This will help clear the grogginess and help you think without the fuzziness."
Tom glanced at the potion, noting it's yellow color before quickly downing it in one go. He couldn't help to gag at the awful taste of sweaty feet and rotten apples. Almost immediately, once he could prevent himself from retching, his head felt clear and he noticed that his eyesight had cleared. The wizard turned to stare at the witch, who offered him a mirror silently.
He waited a beat before accepting it and turning it so he could look at himself. For a moment, he almost didn't recognize himself. His cheekbones had changed to something more aristocratic than sharp. His jawbone had changed from round to oval, and it was obviously a Peverell trait considering Harry had it as well. His eyes had stayed the same piercing and frigid blue that often attracted so many to him. His hair had darkened from brown to inky black and his ear now featured an odd little birthmark.
He blinked, taking in the subtle changes that had both enhanced his natural good looks and made him go from attractive to aristocratic and noble. Tom raised an eyebrow, feeling very interested in exploring his new looks on his unsuspecting schoolmates. Harry chuckled softly, having apparently recognized his expression. "Hold your horses, Romeo. We still have a lot to do before you are ready to face the masses, Heir Peverell." She teased, reaching forward to poke his forehead with a finger.
"How long has passed?" He asked, glancing out the window and noting the full sunshine that lit up the room.
"About two days, which is normal with all of the physical changes that happen. Much less painful that you sleep through it." Harry answered.
Tom took a moment to glance down at the blankets in his lap, thoughts swirling around his head before he turned to stare at the witch who held so much knowledge that he didn't yet know. "Can I start my lessons now?"
Harry chuckled, "Sure Tom. Get dressed and meet me in the library. I'll go let your tutor know you are ready." She left the room, giving him privacy to change before meeting her in the large library that he couldn't wait to explore.
His days passed slowly and quickly all at the same time. A tailor had come by at some point during his etiquette lessons, which never seemed to stop. He now had an entire wardrobe befitting of a young Heir to a Royal line - which Harry seemed to deliberately distracting him from researching for the moment - and he had several robes to wear to social functions like the Malfoy Yule party and his own New Year's welcoming party.
His tutor, Mrs. Teague, was a demanding Professor who expected the best of him and despite his hardest attempts, he hadn't been able to manipulate her once. It was an interesting and welcoming challenge as she knew that he tried but she would simply work his attempt into their lesson and it taught him new ideas to take with higher status Wizards and Witches, ones with more experience in that particular aspect than himself.
He enjoyed himself, learning about different ways to bow, speak, hold himself. What topics were safe for different conversations, what he must never do unless he wanted to purposefully insult someone, what he could do to snub someone without appearing rude, and so many techniques.
There were rare moments when he was given a break, as he had limited time before Yule and going to the party, that he was allowed to study and read in the library without interruption as the Lady of the House was doing something or other. He strived for those moments.
Harry, as she continually demanded that he call her, had even gathered several different owl order forms so he could get Yuletide gifts for his friends now that money was no longer an issue. He almost couldn't believe the ease that she spent the money on him. He had noticed an interesting trait, that she rarely splurged on herself except for something that would make her presentable in company but other than that, she spent all of the money she had on him. Whatever caught his fancy, if there was a book he wanted, or anything in particular. She had even special ordered a box of different types of Wizarding Candy for him to try without him asking
As the days passed and Yule approached , Tom watched with increased curiosity as Harry had fun decorating the entire home. She had even come back at one shopping trip with a tree which was promptly placed directly in the family room. Harry had forced him to help her decorate the tree the muggle way. It had been an illuminating experience to witness and it had almost felt like being apart of a family.
Yule was a quiet affair for the most part, except Harry throwing open the doors to his room and jumping onto his bed, somehow knocking him off and onto the floor. He had found two piles of wrapped gifts, one slightly smaller than the other. The larger pile was from those trying to curry his favor or friendly acquaintances he had made. The smaller but bulkier pile, interestingly enough, were all from Harry and had a wide assortment of different gifts. There was multiple books of obscure magic that she gave him to start his own personal library, an engraved school trunk with his newer initials: T.M.P (Tom Marvolo Peverell) - there was three separate sections as well as the main storage in it, one for robes and clothing, one for books, and one for potions ingredients - and a personal grimoire that she had custom made to him with the ability to set his own protections on it. The most surprising gift of the many was a beautiful little magical snakeling that had pitch black scales and white eyes. Tom had immediately began hissing to the snake, surprised at the thought that Harry would give him something that would compliment his parseltongue abilities. Some kind of instinct had him affectionately dubbing her Nagini and the duo had been inseparable since.
Several hours before they were due at the Malfoy Estate, Tom was looking over himself in the magical mirror in his personal sitting rooms that were attached to his chamber. Dipsy had helped him pick out the most flattering he had for his first real appearance before pureblood society. His robes were dark grey with green lining with the Peverell family logo stitched on the front.
He gathered himself mentally, clearing his mind with quick, efficient steps as Harry had taught him before he joined her in the foyer. She stood, staring out of the window, her hair immaculately done in an updo that consisted of braids and a bun. Her robes matched his and she looked every bit of a pureblooded Lady of a Royal House.
Harry turned towards him with a smile, "Ready to go?"
"Yes."
Author's Note: Let me know what you guys think, the next two chapters are already written and posted on AO3, I'm hoping to post them on here within the next few days. Happy Halloween!
