Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Once the plans were solidified and announced, things happened incredibly quickly. On the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, Severus left the castle and came to the mansion. Harry was just finishing putting on the baby blue robes that Tom had made for him when Severus was knocking at his door.
"Come in."
"Harry, are you ready? Our meeting with the goblins is in ten minutes."
"Yes, I'm ready." Tucking his necklace into his shirt, he followed Severus to just outside the wards. He took the extended arm and tried to focus on his breathing. Once he was firmly planted on the ground once more, he opened his eyes to see Diagon Alley. It wasn't as busy as he was used to seeing it, but it was in the middle of the week after the school year had started.
The goblins were pleased to see the two walk through the doors exactly two minutes early.
"Severus Snape, Harry Potter. Come with me." A rather small goblin stood at the entrance to a door Harry hadn't noticed before and he found himself inside a private office. "Now, it is my understanding that you two think that Harry Potter is the son of Severus Snape and Lily Potter?" Severus nodded.
"All right. It's about time you bloody wizards came to your senses to come and talk to me. The name is Kalo, by the way." Kalo started rifling through some filing cabinets behind her and she emerged with a sizable stack of parchment. "Now, I'll just start by reading her will." She cleared her throat.
"I, Lily Evans, of sound mind and body, am here to write out my last wishes. To my son, Harry James Potter, I leave the entirety of my personal vault 647. This vault is not to be relinquished to any guardians and only to Harry James Potter himself upon his coming of age. Also, to my son, Harry James Potter, I leave this advice: find the letter in the vault and read that first. It will explain so much to you.
"To Severus Tobias Snape, I leave you the contents of the safety vault 246A. I hope that you will forgive me in the lies I had to tell so long ago.
"Should my passing come before Harry James Potter's coming of age, he should be placed under the guardianship of the following persons listed in order:
Severus Tobias Snape
Remus John Lupin
Sirius Orion Black
Lucius Abraxas Malfoy
"Under NO circumstances is Harry James Potter to be put under the guardianship or watch of Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley or Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
"Signed Lily Potter née Evans."
Harry sat in shock. He couldn't believe that his mother would want him to go with Lucius of all people! And she had put Severus first...did that mean that she knew Harry's real father was Severus all along?
"Would you like to be taken to your new vaults, gentlemen?" Harry barely heard Severus's answer and felt an arm pulling him to his feet.
"Harry, you need to focus right now. Come, there is much to do still." He nodded and let himself be led to a cart that zoomed off to a large room full of different sized doors. Most of them were drawer sized, but some were larger.
"Safety vault 246A." Kalo passed a small key to Severus who took it and opened a small box. He quickly emptied the space into an inside robe pocket and returned the key.
"I will no longer be needing this safety vault. Thank you." Kalo nodded and led them back to the cart before zooming off to vault 647.
"Vault 647." She walked up to the door and inserted the key before waving her hand in complicated patterns to open the door. Harry stepped inside and gasped.
Mountains of gold were piled everywhere, as were countless treasures. He did manage to remember about the letter and his eyes rested on a pedestal in the corner with a letter on it.
"Take your time, Mr. Potter." The goblin went back to her cart and started talking to another goblin that had come to seek her out.
Harry made his way to the letter and looked at Severus. He didn't know if he wanted to read it just then or if he should read it later.
"You can read it now or later but if you read it now you will have less time to process it." He pocketed the letter and glanced around once more.
"What do I even do with all this?"
"Well that is for you to decide. Personally, I'm intrigued by this. It seems your mother made good use of her charming nature and managed to build up her own vault of goodies that she hid away from James." They turned to leave the vault.
On the way back to the main level of the bank, Harry started to ask a question before Severus quickly shushed him. "Not here," was his reasoning. Once they were back in Kalo's office, Harry couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"So what happens now? Dumbledore isn't even supposed to have guardianship over me."
"Now, we will take this case up with the Ministry. When we receive notice of the proof hearing, we will let you two know." Severus thanked her and led them out of Gringotts before apparating them back to Tom's manor. Upon reentering the building, Nagini slithered by.
"Hello New Hatchling. Master Hatchling has asked me to tell you that he is in his room should you want to talk about what happened with the gold hoarders."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Anything else I should know?"
"What makes you think that?" Her head whipped around to face him.
"Well, you sound like there's more to the story. I was simply curious."
"You are wise for being a New Hatchling. Maybe Master Hatchling was wrong about you being...new. He has been pacing since you left. He...what is the word...he worries for you. I don't know what that means, but that is how he said it."
"Thank you Nagini. You're very kind for telling me this."
"Master Hatchling wouldn't dare to harm me, no matter the circumstances. Go to him." She slithered away and Harry barely managed to catch something about 'maybe getting really new hatchlings this time.'
Severus and Harry parted ways, Severus going back to the school and Harry back to his room. He did want to see Tom, but he also wanted some alone time with the letter he had gotten from his mum first. He broke the seal and settled into his chair to read.
"Harry,
"My dear baby boy. You won't be reading this until you're older, but you're only a few days old right now. First, let me start this by saying I'm sorry. I lied to everyone around me about who your father is. You're probably under the assumption that James is your father. That's not the truth.
"Severus Snape is your father. I know, that's a hard pill to swallow. He can be quite harsh at times. Deep down under all the bitterness of how unfair his life is, he is a good man. Please give him an opportunity to make things right with you. I'm sure he hasn't been kind to you, especially because I went and married James so soon after he and I had...well I'm sure you know how infants are conceived by now so you can do the math there.
"I'm assuming you just took this letter home with you, so the next time you are at the bank in the back left hand corner of that vault you will find a large trunk under a few piles of gold. I had a painting of myself commissioned not too long ago and that is where I have hidden my painting. In case you ever wanted to talk to me, you know. Severus may also want to talk to me too, perhaps you should bring him along, or at the very least offer for him to come and see me. I have many lies to answer for with him.
"Do not trust Albus Dumbledore. He is a danger to those who cannot see beyond his kind eyes. That mind of his is twisted and is calculating everyone's worth all the time. He does not care for individuals, only the end result of the game he is playing.
"As for me, I've never left you. Even in death I am watching over you and watching you grow. I can't fathom that just yet, as you're still so little and helpless but I'm sure as time goes on I will grow accustomed to the idea rather quickly. You are a beautiful person Harry, and I only wish I had been there to guide you.
"So much love, Mum"
Harry felt tears sliding down his face, but he couldn't be bothered to wipe them away. His mum had the forethought to put all of this into plan...and only because she wanted to keep him safe during war. She had gathered treasures and gold before she had holed herself away for him and had gone through the trouble of submitting a will to the goblins in case she died. He almost didn't notice the gentle prodding in his mind and didn't think twice when he realized he told Tom he could come in.
Warm arms wrapped around him and he cried into the chest he was pulled against.
When his sobs slowed, he clung tighter to the shirt in front of him. It felt different being in someone's arms like this...it felt...safe? Was that the word he was looking for? This is what he imagined feeling safe would feel like. It was warm and closeness and feeling like someone cared. Yes, this must be what safe feels like. I feel safe here. But why would I feel like this about someone who is so much older than me? Severus had a point in the library, Tom is considerably older than me. So why would I feel like this with him? The thoughts only brought more tears.
"Harry, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But I am here for you if you wish to talk to someone." Harry nodded and felt his shoulders sag with exhaustion. "You're tired. Here, take your robes off. There's a lad. Now lie down." Harry grabbed Tom's robes before he could leave. He didn't want to be alone right now. He just wanted to relax while he breathed the calming scent of honey and sandalwood. "All right, I'll stay but you have to let me take my robes off." He loosened his grip and wiped his face as Tom laid down next to him and pulled him close once more. He curled up into Tom's side.
"Th-Thank you Tom. For staying. I just...I can't be…" He tried to continue his sentence, but his throat wouldn't allow the words to emerge.
"You're tired of being alone and wanted to have someone care for you?" Harry nodded. "I understand. Do you want to talk about your trip to the bank?"
"They're going to tell us when they have to do some sort of proof hearing. Mum...she left behind a will that no one asked about. At least, no one obeyed it anyways."
"What did it say?"
"She left Severus some things in a safety vault and left me a vault as well. She left me a letter too. Says that Severus is my dad and that she loves me and that she left a painting of herself in the vault for me to be able to talk to her if I want to." Wiping his eyes one last time, he allowed himself to relax more into Tom. "I was supposed to be put into the custody of Severus. After him were two of their friends and then Lucious Malfoy of all people. But never Dumbledore and never the Dursleys."
"I can understand how this can be overwhelming. Are you okay with everything you've learned so far?"
"I think so. I have to be, right? I'll be okay. Just...just hold me for now." Tom nodded and happily obliged while Harry fell asleep.
Tom watched Harry drift off to sleep and gently moved his hair from his face. The worry and anxiety had disappeared from his face and a peaceful expression was all that remained. He let his mind wander.
He imagined the two of them like this often. He also imagined them doing much more than snuggling but that's besides the point. He thought about how he wanted Harry to grow comfortable with him, how he wanted to know what Harry's small little quirks were and how he liked his eggs. Things that you could only learn of someone by living with them for a long period of time.
He wondered if Harry would ever feel the same, or if he was doomed to a life of solitude after all.
Harry stirred and rolled over so his back was to Tom's chest. He couldn't help but notice that Harry had somehow managed to grab Tom's hand and was cradling it to his chest. Suddenly, Tom felt Harry's mind wrap around his and pull him into Harry's dreams.
They were standing in the dining room after all the death eaters had left the meeting. Once the last one was outside the wards, Tom leaned over and grabbed Harry in a fierce hug...Harry was out in the garden, pruning the roses when Tom lightly grabbed his chin to lift his face for a gentle kiss...Harry was lying in bed and watching Tom undress for the night...Harry finding out in a meeting that Dumbledore had been given the dementor's Kiss and flinging his arms around Tom before kissing him...Severus asked Harry if his relationship with Tom was serious or if it was just fueled by the thrill of experimenting. Harry confirmed it was serious and even admitted to loving Tom...Arms wrapped tightly around each other as they kissed…
Tom abruptly woke up, his eyes flying open. At some point he had drifted off to sleep with Harry, letting himself succumb to Harry's mind. He tightened his arms around the teen who, at some point, had rolled over to face him. Their foreheads were touching and Harry slowly opened his eyes.
Seeing how close they were must have startled him if the slight gasp was anything to go by. Tom simply smiled and closed his eyes once more. He could feel the tension in the teen next to him. It was the tension of apprehensive anticipation.
"Harry, I promised you once already that I would not make you do anything. You have my explicit permission to do anything you want to me." At this reminder, he felt a tentative hand on his stomach under his shirt. The hand felt nice, although he could feel it shaking a little. After a few minutes, the other hand joined it and they slowly felt their way up his chest.
"Would you like me to lay on my back or stay like this?" His voice was quiet, and held only curiosity.
"You're fine this way." Tom couldn't help but notice the small amount of hesitation.
The hands continued their journey, never straying too far down. Suddenly, Tom found that he was nervous about whether or not Harry would like what he was feeling.
The feeling of Tom's chest under Harry's hands was a heady one. He wanted to touch Tom's whole body, but any time he thought about maybe going just a little farther down his hands would practically recoil at the idea. He was nervous, that was painfully evident in the shakiness of his movements. Never before had he been the one to do the touching. To be the one in control of what happened. After several minutes, Harry realized he was okay with this.
He was okay with being the one to initiate the touching like this. He could control where he was touching and how fast or slow things were. It was his choice. Harry's eyes wandered to Tom's chest and he found himself slowly sitting up to kneel by Tom's side. He could hear Tom gasp quietly when he lifted the shirt up to look at the stomach he was touching.
It was pale and slim, with a small dusting of hair running between the very faint outline of abs. He hadn't pulled the shirt up very high, so he couldn't see the chest hair that he knew was there. Watching his fingers trace random patterns into the skin, Harry found himself relaxing.
"Thank you, Tom. For letting me do this."
"No worries, Harry." He could hear the irregularity of Tom's breath plainly when he talked.
"You sound like you're out of breath, are you okay?" Tom opened his eyes. They looked like burning pools of crimson.
"Yes, I'm okay. What you're doing feels amazing, actually. But I'm determined to show you that I meant it when I said you can do anything you want and I won't force you. If that means I have to put off my own pleasure to make sure you feel safe and comfortable, then so be it. I have sacrificed more for much less of a reward before." Harry blushed and went back to tracing patterns on Tom's stomach.
The admission made him feel...lightheaded in a way. He was relieved that Tom seemed to mean it, even now.