Chapter 5: Plans

"I'm sorry, that'll be Professor Dumbledore," I breathed. "I should get it."

He released my chin, though he looked like it both pained and angered him strangely, and I went to open the window for Hedwig. She perched on one of his dining chairs while I took the note from her. Dumbledore had apparently sorted things out with the ministry. I could go back to Hogwarts in September, Cornelius wishing me luck for my courses, and he'd sorted things out with the Dursleys so I could go 'home'. Handy memory charms, he said. He also advised me to stay indoors at night and avoid being alone in the daytime but didn't give a reason for the request. Fucking Mr Cryptic, it was really starting to get to me now.

"Everything's sorted, I don't have to stay with you."

Tom magically dried all the plates and came to stand by me. He acknowledged that if I wanted to go back I could, but that I had the choice to stay with him. Choice, I liked that, it was different. Politely I declined, as I didn't need Dumbledore on my back and I had left some things on Privet Drive in my haste to leave. Tom asked if I was scared to disobey Dumbledore, which I scoff at before I thought about it. I was in a way, all his warnings are for a reason, and I always get hurt when I ignore them, but of him in general, no. I'd had worse things after me. I tried to ignore his hints, for the time being, they were far too cryptic anyway. But I didn't want to leave Tom.

"Then we'll hang out, you're only a couple of streets away." He smiled easily, "besides, we made a deal, so you can come back whenever."

I turned to answer that, reminding him that if Dumbledore wanted me with the Dursleys, I'd have to stay there if I'd didn't want to face an inquisition. But then his lips were pressed against mine, and after the millisecond it took to get over the shock, I started to kiss back. When I felt his body shift away, I moved with him. I somehow deepened our kiss and had him pressed against a kitchen counter. All in all, not bad for a first-timer. But then I was pushed back roughly, his hips pinning mine to a wall, and his tongue sliding over my bottom lip. I welcomed him in, giving him dominance so I could focus my attention on grabbing his hair and feeling it between my fingers. Silky.

My toes curled and I groaned, I'd never felt passion but it sure was something. If this was him taking advantage, he could have it. I felt his magic caressing mine, like his fingers brushing my cheeks, and I was half certain my magic may have been out of control as well. There was something between us, a magical connection I couldn't begin to understand, but I didn't care. 13 or not, I wanted him in ways that were scary and new to me, but I wouldn't let fear stop me, I never had. This was what I wanted.

But all too soon, he moved away from me, leaving me panting against the wall. His eyes were darker, and there was a more prominent shape in the front of his jeans that made my cheeks burst with colour. It was so hot knowing I affected him too, that it wasn't just me. It went both ways.

"Guess this answers my hesitations of whether I'd want to actually take another man to bed," he joked. His eyes were like melted chocolate and made my mouth water. "But I shouldn't have done that, you're only 13 years old, and for wizards, I'm an adult."

"I don't care," I started.

"But you will. Maybe not while I'm kissing you, or worse, or just after. But you'll grow to resent being this close to me. It was similar in my parent's relationship, my mother took advantage of my father's weakness, and he left her first chance he had. I don't want to be a part of something like that."

"How can I convince you that you're not taking advantage of me? What do I need to do to show you I'm serious about this?"

He thought, for a rather long time he just thought. I missed his body heat, but when I moved closer he moved away, like repelling magnets. It fucking sucked.

"I'm the first person you've ever looked at in interest right?" I nodded. "While I find that flattering, I think it makes you naive. I want you to be able to go back to school in two weeks and not be looking at the other boys that you want but can't have because of me. So go, look around, 'play the field' I think they say. Maybe kiss someone or two, because if you don't get those same sensations with someone else, then I'll be able to tell myself you're less innocent and I'm not corrupting you."

It was a reasonable plan, one I thought was pointless, but reasonable all the same. If I wanted to prove I wasn't too immature to handle a relationship with him then I needed to act more grown up. So I agreed to his plan, so long as he waited for me, and didn't shack up with someone else while I wasn't there. That made his lips smile, but his eyes frown, as he assured me he was in new terrain. That he'd never felt compelled to someone before, and he had this need for me that was entirely foreign to him, and if he was entirely honest then it wasn't something he wanted to be feeling. Like me.

"Now, I say you stay here until lunch, we'll talk and maybe kiss again, then I'll walk you home." Tom smirked, "I want to charm your relatives."

I liked this plan. We moved over to their couch in the living room and he laid me down. I let him lead, though I got his hint that he was unbelievably as inexperienced as I was, so he covered my body with his own longer one and kissed me again. His plan had to be pointless. If kissing was always this fucking good, nobody would do anything else. People would be permanently attached by the mouth. I couldn't just be feeling this tingly from innocents surely. My inexperience made everything so confusing now he'd made me ask these questions. Why couldn't he stop being honourable and let me make my own decision?

We only stopped kissing when my belly rumbled, long enough to eat before starting again. Then there wasn't much kissing when he thought of a question to ask me, or if I wanted to know something about him, but answers were hastily given to shorten that time. Once or twice I felt his hands brush against my exposed legs before he controlled himself again. We didn't kiss as he was walking me home. We had a short argument on public displays of affection before I just grabbed his hand and tugged. Who was gonna see us that shouldn't? It was the same old, short walk that I was used to, but there was the added enjoyment of getting to know Tom better. The one perk of not constantly kissing I suppose. He explained Dumbledore's unease over where I spent my nights because a killer was on the loose. Tom didn't think much to Sirius Black. If everything people had said about him was true, then he was, of course, dangerous. But after receiving no trial, and no evidence other than easily manipulated muggle witnesses, Tom didn't think he was guilty. He thought he was a cover-up or something. It was certainly an exciting and intelligent theory. Tom was very intelligent.

He was also always right, as he charmed Aunt Petunia immediately by preventing me from crushing some new plant she's just put in the front garden and scolding me to be more careful. And after complimenting the home and car, Uncle Vernon seemed to like him somewhat too. Not surprising, when you consider they thought he was an ordinary muggle like them. Parting with him after being together all day was so tough, nothing had ever come close to it. It was the strangest feeling, like something right in the core of my being was begging to stay close to him, like begging to stay in the safety of home. But there was enough rational thought in me to ignore it, we'd known each other for practically a month. How was it possible to be so connected to him? To feel so...obsessed? I must have been going crazy, like the girls who trap their boyfriends with babies to keep them from leaving. Maybe going back to Hogwarts would be good, distance aids perspective, and the whole 'play-the-field' thing would too. It'll hopefully prove I'm not crazy, just in love. But isn't it crazy to be so in love after a month? It was too much to think about without sleep. I just hoped my levels of crazy would stay down over the coming weeks, so I could enter Hogwarts sane enough to last the year without Tom.

There was a letter waiting on my bed, addressed to me in the scrawl of Ron Weasley. It was pretty long, which was stupid considering it was an apology for the distance after his sister's death and a question of where we were meeting Hermione to get on the train together. I didn't even want to dignify him with a reply. I knew this would be Dumbledore's doing, trying to make sure I still have friends so I don't end up alone, or easily manipulated by the wrong people. Ron didn't really want to be my friend, neither did Hermione, so I'd cut them loose. Ron's letter fell into the bin as I started a letter to Neville Longbottom, one of my dorm mates who I wish I'd bothered to know better. Spending all my time with Ron meant I didn't talk to others much, but Neville was always nice. Best-friend material to me. I arranged to meet him on the platform, so we could catch up on the train, and he sent his acceptance a few days later. I might not have my old friends, or Tom this year at Hogwarts, but that's not what makes it fun. It's making new friends and learning interesting things, hopefully without added surprises like my previous years there. Who am I kidding, something will go wrong. I just hope Neville can keep up better than the last two, and not bail out like a dick.

Notes:

So do I Harry, but I have a feeling Neville will handle everything perfectly. *hint hint* ;)

I know, short chapter, but this was really just to set up Harry's third year. It'll only be big points of change and important moments, rather than writing through the whole year, then chapter 7 will probably be just after. Hopefully. If life goes how I tell it to, cos I haven't planned this through. Can you tell? ;)