Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
The next few months passed in a blur for Harry. The death eaters had been keeping true to the plan and the general populace was livid at the ministry for dragging their feet over keeping their laws updated for the times. Lucius was getting a lot of good attention-he knew how to play the newspapers well. He gave just enough information to enrage people, and then would placate them by suggesting new ideas. Press conferences were becoming more frequent and the Order of the Phoenix was quiet. A week before Christmas, Severus stepped forward at their meeting to inform them that the order planned on pushing for Alastor Moody to become Minister-apparently Moody was just as annoyed by this as Tom was.
"My Lord, this could work in our favor," Harry cut Tom off in one of his infamous rants. "Think of it: their one salvation for this situation is to put "Mad Eye" Moody as the minister. An ex-auror who, although effective, had very...interesting ways of getting things done. Nothing he does is ever done safely or by the books. Head of the Aurors, maybe. But something tells me he wouldn't maintain the position for long. After all, he had it once before for a single year before he retired. I don't think he wants to be minister. Too many rules and too many eyes watching his every move. Besides, parents remember him teaching their children about the Unforgivable curses by example. I'm not sure he'll be any good for their side and frankly, he just might make himself seem to be the worse option so he doesn't have to outright tell them no." Tom sat back in his chair, thinking. The death eaters sat there, stunned.
"That's a good point. It's settled then. We'll allow this to continue from them. The longer they think we don't know, the better. Now with that out of the way I want you, Lucius, to start pushing new ideas, new laws, and more regulations. Hold several conferences with the board for parents at the school and go over the findings that the ministry uncovered with a fine tooth comb. Suggest laws and ideas that would prevent such transgressions in the future. And include the muggle parents as well. If they can see more involvement with the school, then it will make the transition easier for everyone involved. I think the muggles have a resentment towards us for being excluded from the school and I'd like to remedy that."
The rest of the meeting they went over laws to prevent abusive home situations and even more laws were discussed to bring the old ones up to date. Harry stifled a yawn behind his hand after another hour and stood. The death eater that had been talking cut off his own sentence and watched him.
"I grow tired of hearing about this." He bent down and kissed Tom, leaving the older man slightly breathless with shock. "Come to me when you tire of these old men, My Lord." He winked and sauntered from the room, leaving Tom highly aroused and everyone else speechless.
The days were spent learning with Tom. By now, he was properly caught up with the rest of where he should be and at the pace he was going, he would be completely prepared for his OWLS before testing commenced at the school. They had decided that he would go to the ministry for his tests in the spring and would see how he felt about returning to Hogwarts for his sixth year. Although Harry missed a few of his friends, he felt entirely too betrayed by most to return to the castle for that long.
Nights were a little more complicated. Harry attended meetings less frequently as they were full of law debates and as such he spent those nights in the library where he would spread out his books and study. On the nights Tom was free, he spent most of his time exploring Tom's lower body. He was usually indifferent to touching Tom's erection, but he loved the way Tom's breath would hitch ever so slightly. He enjoyed watching the man shiver and try to hold himself still. Mostly, he loved getting Tom to blush and stammer. It was so infrequent that the blushing happened, and even less so the hesitation with his words. It was his goal to get Tom to start mixing up his languages mid-sentence.
It wasn't until just before Christmas that he realized he hadn't done any shopping for the holidays. He looked up at Tom, who was currently sitting in the other chair by the library fire with him.
"Tom?" He watched as Tom raised his head from the book he had been consuming. "Would you call Sev for me sometime soon? I wanted to go to Diagon Alley at some point to go shopping, if that's okay?" Tom nodded.
"Of course. I trust him with you. Still having a hard time calling him dad?" Harry blushed.
"Well, it's just that I don't get to spend much time with him so it's hard to wrap my mind around it when he isn't here. It doesn't help that I have to call him Severus at the meetings either."
"No, I suppose that wouldn't help at all. You know Harry, the public has taken quite nicely to Lucius running for the position of minister. Once he secures the position, would you like to come out of hiding during the meetings?" Harry shook his head violently.
He had thought long and hard about if he wanted the death eaters to know his true identity. It was unwise to reveal himself before he was of legal age. He didn't want any chances that his identity would get out and put Tom at risk. If word got out, people would peg Tom as a rapist that was taking advantage of him. Severus's parentage over him would be questioned, as would Dumbledore's guilt. He didn't want to give the Order anything that they could use against them until he was legal. It wasn't worth it until then.
They sat in relative silence before Harry excused himself to go through his nightly routine.
"Good morning my lord." Tom nodded back at Severus over his breakfast and offered him the chair in front of him.
"Harry should be down shortly for breakfast. Care to have a plate? Coffee?" Severus took an orange and was slicing it rather efficiently when Harry slid into the seat next to Tom. He hadn't looked up from the book he was holding and just narrowly avoided knocking his fork onto the floor by searching for it blindly.
"Harry, if you must read whilst you do other things perhaps you should learn to use your peripheral vision." Harry's head shot up as he realized who was at the table.
"S-dad? You're here already?" Severus noted the slip, but he chalked it up to Harry needing to call him Severus during meetings. It made sense since the meetings all happened in this very room.
"Yes, I have a feeling the earlier we get our shopping done, the harder it will be for you to be spotted. Besides, it will be odd should I go to Diagon Alley too late-I am known for being an early riser and rarely spend time in the public after noon." Harry nodded and put the book aside in favor of breakfast. "Did you have anywhere in particular in mind?"
Harry shook his head as he ate. It still wasn't a lot compared to others his size, but he was managing to eat quicker now. With time, his stomach would make it to a normal size but progress would be slow going.
Harry and his father left shortly after he finished breakfast and he grabbed the offered arm before they apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. In a dark corner, Severus cast a few charms to change Harry's appearance. His eyes now looked blue and his hair was a few shades lighter. His build stayed the same, but his nose changed shape ever so slightly.
They walked out to the Alley and headed to Gringotts where Harry pulled out quite a bit of money for presents.
"Any ideas what we're looking for?"
"Well, I thought about getting something for Hermione and Ron but…"
"But you're not sure how the Order would take it?" Harry nodded. "The Order knows you're my son. They've tried to get me to divulge where I've been keeping you, but I've successfully hidden that information from them for the time being. They think you're living with a private tutor somewhere in America. Although Ms. Granger would likely love to get something from you and receive word from you, I'm not sure on Mr. Weasley. His mother is convinced I've got you under some sort of potion and his sister is livid at you for disappearing. Apparently you owe her an explanation as you were apparently destined to be together." His voice dripped with sarcasm. Destined indeed.
"Maybe I'll just get him something small and write him a letter? I won't say much, obviously. But maybe he just needs to hear from me. With that being said, I think a trip to Flourish and Blott's as well as the quidditch store. I'm sure Neville will appreciate some sort of flower or other but I'm not really sure where to go for that. Luna likes the unconventional, maybe something from Flea's Market and Boutique for her? Oh and I wanted to get Nagini a heated rock for my room so she'll visit me more often." Severus nodded and started towards Flea's with Harry following him.
He took his time, cautiously picking his way through the crowded pathways. They made it about halfway through when he found a school bag that was clearly handmade a long time ago. It was some sort of patchwork job with sequins sewn in at random intervals. They were dark navy and sparkled brightly in the light. It looked to be in good condition as well, so Harry purchased it for Luna.
It was off to get Ron a supply kit for his broom and then to Flourish and Blott's for Hermione. Considering she had read most of the books for learning, Harry meandered to the fiction section. He had grown quite fond of fiction in his time with Tom and loved the stories for a short escape from his own life. He grabbed her a copy of Wuthering Heights. The complex nature of the characters and the higher reading level would, at the very least, intrigue her. He considered it a safe bet where Hermione was concerned.
When they were done at the bookstore, they traveled to the Magical Menagerie to pick up a large heated stone for Nagini. Harry had to request the largest one there to make sure it was big enough for her. They exited the shop and Severus headed towards the apothecary.
He was surprised when they turned to the shop just next to it instead. The sign announced it as the Herbologist's Delight. Neville would just love this shop, Harry was sure of it.
The inside had tons of plants, many of which Hogwarts had in the greenhouses. The young lady behind the counter greeted them and asked if they needed any help.
"Actually, I'm looking for a Christmas gift for a friend. He's rather smitten with all things that grow in the dirt but, quite frankly, I don't have the first clue what to get him."
"No problem. I take it he has a lot of knowledge on the subject then? He might enjoy this." She lifted a bag from behind the counter that was filled to the brim with things. "It's a rather new thing we're doing, this kit. Comes with everything he'll need to grow any plant off this list of seeds," she handed Harry a sheaf of parchment. "You get to pick what plant he'll get and we'll tailor it to that plant specifically for you." Harry practically beamed at her. Raising a plant from seed to maturity was exactly the sort of thing Neville would love.
"What do you think?" he asked Severus, handing him the parchment.
"The alihotsy might be a good choice. It's challenging to grow, but easy to maintain once it reaches maturity and can be used in a variety of things." Harry nodded and went with that. It sounded perfect; a challenge that wouldn't take up all of his time.
With their wares paid for and stowed away, they headed for some ice cream. Both of them ordered a small bowl of pistachio ice cream with cherry sauce drizzled on top.
"Was this all you wished to get? Somehow I thought you'd have at least one other to buy for." Harry blushed at the reminder. In truth, he had no idea what to get Tom.
"Well...I don't really know what to get him. He can get anything he wants really and he spends a lot of time focused on me so I hardly know a lot of what the man likes…" He raised an eyebrow as Severus started laughing.
"Tom is a man who appreciates the small things. And shopping for him is difficult, I will be the first to admit this. But he's aware that he's hard to shop for. It's the thought behind what he gets that he appreciates most, not the value in what he's given. I once gave him a bottle of french wine-it wasn't even very expensive as I was young and didn't have much to spend-but he loved it all the same because he had mentioned very briefly several months prior that he liked wine from France best. Is there anything he's mentioned or done in passing that would give us a clue on where to start for you?"
Harry thought for a long while. Tom did say the best thing he had ever done was giving Harry the journal so they could communicate. But what was he supposed to do with that? The man liked softer colors and intricate designs. He enjoyed reading, although Harry doubted there was anything at Flourish and Blott's that the man hadn't read already. Distantly, he heard himself gasp at the sudden idea.
"Severus, I read about a type of magic once, you must know about it! I can't remember what it's called, but it's got something to do with creating things with emotions."
"Soul magic? Harry, that realm of magic can get dark rather quickly."
"Yes, yes we all know that. I read about it in Most Magic Magicks when I was in the library during a few meetings. What do you know about creating things with it? Nothing like horcruxes if that's what you're thinking." He then went on to explain his idea.
"Why Harry, I think that's a brilliant idea. It will be grueling work though. Right now the castle is on holiday so I won't be missed for a few days, but this will have to be done rather quickly if you wish it to happen at all. Do you think he will grow suspicious?"
"Nah, I'll just tell him we're working on potions and spending some quality time together. He'll leave us be." Severus nodded and they headed back.
They greeted Tom when they got back and Harry told Tom they would be spending some time together over the next few days. Tom seemed rather pleased about this and told them that he would be in the dining room with his planning materials over the next few days anyway. Elections were drawing ever closer, after all.
"Essentially, this sort of magic doesn't involve a wand. Rather, you have to learn to control your magic through your fingers. It makes this sort of magic particularly difficult as you have to be able to find your magical center and then manipulate it without your wand to guide you. Additionally, you then have to push your magic out of your body and then mold it to what you're trying to create. It takes extreme concentration and focus." They were sitting on the floor in Harry's room with the doors shut and the room under a silencing spell. Harry was fascinated by everything Severus was saying and was extremely excited to start.
"What you have to remember is that although it takes a lot of focus and concentration, you have to push your emotion into your magic as well. Different emotions will create different materials and different colors as well. The item you're making will, essentially, be your magic in a solid form." He paused before continuing. "Are you sure you want to do this for him Harry? It's a very personal gift to give-most consider it to be a more precious gift than virginity, particularly because of the incredibly personal nature of it." Harry nodded. It wasn't like he could give Tom his virginity anyway, not that he was going to say that out loud.
"All right then. Let's get started."
It took the entire rest of the day and most of the next for Harry to form anything with his magic, and took him another day to figure out how to make it clear crystal with a bit of a rosey-red hue. Another half a day to figure out how to make a solid deep green crystal and another day still to make the crystal silver. Severus, incredibly proud of Harry's work, had cast an unbreakable charm over the crystal and followed it up with an everlasting dust repellent charm so it never got dirty. Harry smiled as he wrapped his gifts. He would send out the gifts for his friends tomorrow, as that was Christmas Eve and readied them for their journeys. The box that held Tom's gift was given special attention and was wrapped in a light blue wrapping paper with silver ribbon. He only hoped that Tom liked it.