Disclaimer: Do not own HP. Sadly.

A/N: Hey guys! I'm going to start doing Live streams again starting December 17th! 1-2 streams a week over on Picarto. You'll get to watch me flail around while trying to write chapters for RTT and other stories, give me prompts for short stories/snippets, and keep me focused on writing by yelling at me! Fun! For more info check out my tumblr: ethrildragon

Reminder: This story updates on Mondays

Reaching Through Time

Chapter 18: Of Plans and Parties

After Tom had made the suggestion of going to Professor Slughorn, Eileen had insisted they do so before dinner.

Harry had been right in believing Orion had been teasing Eileen into planning the entire thing. With the Prince girl firmly latched onto planning the party it would definitely happen.

Making sure that Eileen was in charge of the planning didn't get either Harry or Orion out of helping her. Which meant the trio making their way up to Slughorn's office after their last class and before dinner in order to talk to him about the party planning.

"Come in, come in!" The professor's voice called out after Eileen knocked sharply against the door.

With Orion and Harry trailing after Eileen, the girl opened the door and the three entered the office. Professor Slughorn was sitting in a very plush wing back chair with a book in his hands.

"Ah! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Slughorn asked as he snapped his book shut and smiled at the trio of Slytherin first years.

Using all the charm she had as well as all of her etiquette training, Eileen smiled sweetly and folded her hands together in front of herself.

"I hope we aren't disturbing you Professor." Eileen kept on smiling even as her cheeks started to hurt. "We were hoping to ask for your help with something."

Slughorn already knew what the trio wanted; Tom had already spoken to him shortly before the trio had arrived. He rather liked the idea of hosting a party for the first years. A party was something he normally did, but usually he only invited older students and those that were at the top of their classes.

"How can I help you three today?" Slughorn asked as he offered Eileen, Orion, and Harry seats on his couch.

"Well professor," Once seated, Eileen settled her hands in her lap and made herself look as poised as possible. "We were wondering if you could help us throw a party. You see many of our friends from before school started were sorted into different houses." She explained as both Orion and Harry nodded.

"We never get the chance to just hang out with them." Orion butted in, ignoring Eileens scathing glance. "And with all the tension around school we thought a party might be just what we need."

Slughorn pretended to think about the suggestion for a few minutes as he sipped at his tea. "Did you have any idea when you wanted to through your party?" He asked the three first years before him. "Or if there would be a theme?"

"A Samhain party would be nice." Harry added when Eileen and Orion looked at each other to come up with an answer to Slughorn's question. "I know we wouldn't really be able to do a full Samhain celebration, but a little party would be nice."

His Malfoy parents had told Harry how holiday celebrations had adopted a more muggle feel and it had upset the young pre-teen a bit. He'd grown to enjoy the ancient traditions and he definitely believed in the ancient beliefs a lot more than Tom did.

"A Samhain party!" Slughorn clapped his hands happily at the suggestion. "I was going to host one for the older students, but if you three want to host one for the first and second years in conjuncture that would work out fine!"

The three younger students planned with their head of house for a few more minutes before he shooed them out the door and off to dinner.

Just before Harry left though Professor Slughorn stopped him.

"How are you doing Hadrian?" The professor asked gently, his eyebrows pinched together in concern.

Harry didn't know how to respond at first. Physically he was fine, he'd healed up perfectly after everything that had happened, emotionally though? He couldn't say for sure how he was feeling.

"I'm alright professor." It was the best response Harry could settle on. It wasn't like he could ask for professor Slughorn's opinion on how to work things out with Tom. He liked Slughorn, but he wasn't close to the man.

Professor Slughorn smiled and nodded. "If you ever need anything Hadrian, my office is always open."

After one last nod and forced smile, Harry left his professor to catch up with his friends; who were waiting a few feet down the hall from the door. Orion and Eileen were chatting together, but quickly included Harry as soon as he was with them again.

"This is going to be epic!" Orion proclaimed as they hurried down the hall. "A bonfire would have been nice though." He sighed wistfully as they entered the hall.

"And where would we have the bonfire?" Eileen demanded as the three of them took their seats. "The party is going to be indoors and we won't have time to take the party outside for a bonfire before curfew." Not to mention curfew was at 10pm and the magic used in the bonfire wasn't normally used until midnight.

"At least Professor Slughorn is letting us use a fireplace to burn tributes to the spirits." Harry offered up.

"A fireplace is nowhere near as cool as a bonfire though!" Orion groaned and pouted rather dramatically.

"It's not as romantic either."

Harry looked over to find Alf coming up to sit down next to their trio. It made sense that the older teen was there since Harry didn't see Tom or Abraxas yet.

Orion snorted a bit at Alf's tidbit to the conversation. "Romance has nothing to do with it."

"You'll change your tune when you're older." Alf laughed a bit and grinned at Harry, who promptly blushed a bit and returned his smile a bit timidly. "So what are you three talking about anyway?"

"Professor Slughorn gave us permission to have a Samhain party for first and second years." Eileen piped up politely. More students were filtering into the great hall for dinner and a few of the closer students seemed to lean in a bit to hear more about the party.

"I still say we could have thrown the party in the courtyard." Orion mumbled irritably.

Eileen rolled her eyes. She and Professor Slughorn had already told Orion several times that an outdoor party at the end of October, in Northern Scotland, wouldn't be appropriate at all, if nothing else because the weather was typically wet and cold.

Instead they'd been given permission to have the party in one of the larger rooms in the dungeon. The one Slughorn had suggested was dry, had a large fireplace, and had enough room for several tables and even an area for dancing if they wanted it.

Harry joined in with the conversation as dinner started and the rest of the students arrived to the hall. He tapered off though when he realized neither Tom nor Abraxas arrived when dinner was in full swing. Harry became even more worried when dinner was half way done and still his two older brothers had yet to arrive.

"Tom's busy with prefect business and I believe Abraxas had to run to the owlery." Alf was good at noticing subtleties that people gave away and it hadn't be hard to figure out what, or specifically who, Harry was looking for.

Half the time Harry never thought about the fact that Tom was a fifth year prefect. He never really talked about it and he only ever wore his badge when he was off on his patrols or doing official prefect business.

"Sorry I'm late." Abraxas looked out of breath as he hurried over to the Slytherin table with long strides. "Had to send a message to mother and father." He smiled pleasantly before nudging at Alf's shoulder to make him scoot over so he could sit next to Harry instead.

"You should probably send a letter to mother soon, Harry." Abraxas said as he filled his plate. "You did promise to write often."

With a guilty grin Harry nodded. "I'll write a letter tonight and send it off tomorrow."

To be honest Harry had been writing his adopted parents every other day, but for the last week or so he'd been to distracted to remember.

After the attack had happened his mother had threatened to come to the school to check on him, but Harry, with the help of his brothers, had convinced her not to make the trip.

He just had to make sure to write her often otherwise she'd make the threat again.

Abraxas nodded in approval before he started eating. He'd missed half of dinner and wanted to make sure he at least got something to eat.

With dinner moving right along, Harry grew more and more worried. Even if Tom really was doing his Prefect duties, he shouldn't have been missing dinner.

So, when dinner came to an end, Harry made sure to grab a few things that he could carry with him back to the dorms to give to Tom later.

Once back in the Slytherin common rooms the trio took seats in front of the fireplace to work on the party plans. After about an hour though Eileen excused herself to go get ready for bed.

"It's going to be a pain to get anything fun into the party." Orion groaned as he spread out on on the couch. "Eileen is too prim and proper for her own good."

Harry chuckled softly at Orion's display. "You're crowding." He pointed out as he lifted Orion's arm from where it had settled behind Harry and dropped it in Orion's lap. "You're a Black, shouldn't you be 'prim and proper' as well?"

If Orion had been a little bit less polite he might have made a rude sound. "I'll leave that to my cousins and sister." His sister was definitely persnickety about being proper. "Let me enjoy my youth for as long as I can."

By the time Tom finally returned to the Slytherin common room both boys had dozed off on the couch.

What Tom had been expecting to find and what he did find were two very different things. Harry was slumped over and was leaning into Orion's side while Orion had his arm slung around the smaller boy's shoulders.

Something dark inside of Tom reared up and for a moment he saw red as he stared at the innocently intimate scene. The impulse to grab Harry and spirit him away from Orion was strong and Tom had to stop himself from doing just that.

"Tom?"

The dark cloud that had settled over Tom's thoughts cleared when he heard Harry's voice. The boy was rubbing at his eyes and was sitting up and away from Orion.

"Where were you?" Harry asked around a yawn. Orion was still lightly snoring next to him, but Harry's focus was on his oldest friend. "I saved you some dinner."

Thanks to the warming charm that Tom and Abraxas had taught Harry a couple years ago, the food that Harry had snagged at dinner was still warm where it was sitting on the table next to the couch.

"On patrol. Then I went down to the library for some research."

The way Tom had phrased it told Harry that the older teen did not mean the school library. With Orion asleep next to him and who knew how many other students around, Harry couldn't exactly ask Tom for clarification.

Tom seemed stiff though as he spoke and took the food Harry had saved for him. Harry wondered if maybe it was the tension between him and Tom was his fault. Since the attack things hadn't really gone back to the way they had been. Between Tom getting extra protective, Harry railing against Tom's protection, and Harry out right telling Tom he couldn't protect him from everything, a lot had happened to strain their friendship.

Harry wasn't very subtle with his quick glances at Tom and his fidgeting. With a quick huff Tom took a seat instead of taking the food with him to his room.

"C'mere." Tom hissed gently to Harry. The younger boy perked up and quickly abandoned Orion in favor of going to sit next to Tom. It was time the two of them had a talk; it seemed both boys were tired of the tension that had formed.

With a small flick of Tom's wrist he cast a notice me not spell around the two of them.

For a lot while the two just sat there, Harry leaning against Tom and Tom nibbling at his food.

"Can you teach me how to duel?" Harry asked suddenly which caused Tom to choke on his food in surprise.

"What?". Tom asked once he was able to breath again.

Harry fidgeted with his fingers. "You won't always be there to protect me. I know you want to keep me safe, but after what happened..." It took Harry a moment before he was able to speak again. "After what happened I realized you won't always be there." He looked up at Tom then, his light green eyes wide and serious. "But if you teach me to duel I'll be strong enough to protect myself and others!"

To be honest Abraxas and Tom had discussed teaching Harry how to duel after what had happened. No matter what security measures they took something outside of their control was bound to happen. Tom didn't like it though. It was like admitting to himself that he wasn't as strong as he thought he was.

If he couldn't protect Harry then what good was he?

"We made a deal. I'd find a way to protect you. Isn't that enough?" Tom asked without looking at the younger pre-teen.

With a huff Harry got up and stood in front of Tom so that the older teen wasn't able to look away from him. "It won't be and you know it." His hands were pressed against his hips and he was glaring a little at Tom. "Teach me how to duel. You can still protect me, but this way I can protect you and all our friends!"

Tom's gaze drifted over to the still sleeping Orion and for a moment Tom felt his jealousy surface again.

On one hand training Harry would give him independence from Tom. On the other hand training him would mean spending more time with Harry and putting himself back into the younger boy's good graces.

"If I train you," Tom said slowly as he brought his dark eyes back to Harry. "It can only be you. I'll be teaching you spells that are frowned upon by most professors and students. You can't tell anyone about this."

Harry would have liked to have included his friends, but if agreeing to Tom's demands got him what he wanted then Harry would agree...for now. He nodded once in confirmation.

"I'll go over our schedules and find times for us to train." Tom told Harry with a sigh of resignation.

A huge smile spread across Harry's lips and he launched himself at Tom. His arms went around Tom's neck and the two embraced in their first real hug in weeks.

"Wake up Orion and go to bed. You have classes tomorrow."

Tom stayed in the common room for awhile longer after Harry dragged the drowsy Orion off. What good mood he had vanished when Harry had taken Orion's hand to help the other boy along back to their dorm.

"He's going to be the death of me." Tom mumbled. He eyed the rest of his food before flicking his hand and vanishing it away. He wasn't all that hungry anyway.

There was a snicker from Tom's neck and the teen absently reached up to pet at Ophion where he was coiled around his neck. The snake continued to snicker even when Tom hushed him.

Samhain, or Halloween as the muggle born and some half blood children called it, arrived quickly. Where most eleven year old's would bend under the pressure of planning a big party, Eileen flourished. She was a pure-blood lady in her element and no matter what hurdle came along she never once wavered.

Only one thing flustered Eileen.

Up until the day of the party Orion had been careful not to let Eileen know of his plans. When the day finally arrived she found out about the little things he'd been able to carefully sneak into the party.

He hadn't gotten anything against the rules, like alcohol or fireworks, but Orion's parents had sent him a few of the traditional Black Samhain ritual tools and decorations. Which Orion promptly snuck into the decorations that Eileen had put together.

Eileen had not been amused at all when she came across a Spirit Veil that wasn't meant to be hung up so spirits could speak to and interact with the party goers. Nor was she all that happy when fairy circles started popping up in various corners of the room or in front of the fire place due to a fairy token.

"I don't see the harm." Orion grumbled as Eileen continued to lecture him. "The Spirit Veil can't let anything through. And fairy circles are fun!"

"You can't control which spirit contacts people through a veil!" Eileen had already told Orion this a dozen times. "And fairy circles don't follow normal time! You could be in one for hours or days before you can come back out!"

Orion groaned and his took the offending fairy token that Eileen was shaking at him. "It's a token Eileen! They aren't even full fairy circles! The circles only last until sunrise!"

"Which is after curfew!"

"We technically wouldn't be breaking curfew since we wouldn't be here."

"That's breaking the rules!"

"Just put the token away Orion." Harry chimed in from where he was hanging the garlands along the wall. "Best not to tempt fate when it comes to the fairies."

Eileen grinned as she won with Harry's vote.

"Let's keep the veil though. Samhain is about honoring our ancestors and since we can't have a full bonfire the veil will invite their spirits instead."

Eileen's grin fell, but she could see Harry's point. Without a bonfire the spirits of their ancestors wouldn't be given a proper invitation to join them for party.

"I promise you Eileen that spirits can't pass through the veil." Orion quickly assured her. "They can only look through."

The black haired girl relaxed a little and finally agreed to let them hang the veil up. The trio went back to decorating only for Eileen to find yet another Black artifact and go nuts.

Harry could only roll his eyes.

After the veil was hung though Harry began to wonder if he would see his own ancestors. He had been born in the future and knew his parents had died, but with him being in the past they hadn't even been born yet.

He probably wouldn't get any visits from ancestral spirits.

It was something Harry had come to accept since spending Samhain with the Malfoy family. Tom had been visited by his mother a few times, Abraxas had been visited by his grandparents, but Harry had never had a visitation. It had hurt at first, but after a long talk with Tom he understood it was probably the time travelling that kept his ancestors away.

But he hadn't had a spirit veil last year. The Black family veil might actually allow Harry to meet one of his ancestors.

"What is that?!"

And yet another argument sprang up between Orion and Eileen that pulled Harry away from the decorations and setup in order to play mediator.

Thankfully the trio had just enough time after setup to go and get changed for the party. It had been agreed to allow costumes not just to make the muggle born and half-blood students more comfortable, but to follow the pagan tradition that most pure-bloods followed.

The guest list had stretched to include not only their friends, but other first and second years that were friends of their friends. With almost 50 students coming Professor Slughorn had had to talk to Headmaster Dippet about the party.

In the end several ghosts, the ones not attending Headless Nick's death day, had been asked to watch over the younger students since Professor Slughorn had his own party to take care of with the older students.

Curfew had also been extended to after midnight so the bonfire offerings could be burned during the witching hour.

For a lot of muggle born children this would be their first traditional pagan holiday and the trio had done everything in their power to make it as true to tradition as they could.

"Are you sure it's alright I come?" Myrtle asked as she adjusted her mask that had been charmed to act as her glasses while she wore it. Harry had been set to escort the Ravenclaw attendees to the party while Eileen escorted the Hufflepuffs, Orion escorted the Slytherins, and Rupert escorted the Gryffindors. That way no one would get lost.

"You were invited so yes." Harry grinned as he held Myrtle's hand, tugging every now and then to keep her moving. "You said you read all the books about Samhain. Now you get to experience it!"

In preparation for the holiday in her first year Myrtle had checked out every book on pagan holidays thinking she would need to know about them for school. She had been pretty disappointed when the school didn't celebrate the holidays other than having a few feasts.

"I'm just a muggle born though." Myrtle whispered. There were other muggle born children and half-blood children in the Ravenclaw group, but they had never been as bullied as she had.

Harry smiled gently and reached around to give Myrtle a hug around her shoulders. "I'm a half-blood you know." He told her as they walked. "At least I think I am. I might be a muggle born for all I know." He knew he was a half-blood from his trip to Gringotts years ago with Tom, but no one other than him and Tom knew about that. "Don't worry about it tonight ok?"

He didn't let go of Myrtle's shoulders until she relented and nodded.

"Good." Harry looked at the other students and gave them all a big grin. "Let's have fun tonight!"

That got a cheer from the other students and they hurried to the dungeon and into the large room that Harry, Orion, and Eileen had worked all day to decorate and get ready. The house elves had delivered the food and a table with food had been setup next to the Spirit Veil for visiting spirits.

"Oh wow!" Myrtle exclaimed as the carved pumpkins lit up around the room. Music started and soon enough more students showed up.

Costumes had been encouraged, but everyone had been told to avoid anything revealing which house a student was in. That night was all about having fun and forgetting about house loyalties.

"You have bobbing for apples?!" Myrtle asked with a surprised squeal when she noticed the floating tub full of water and shiny red apples.

"Of course we do." Eileen had arrived with the Hufflepuff students. "Many games were pagan originally and were adopted by muggles." She was in her 'Lady hostess' mode with a sweet smile, perfect posture, and calm demeanor. "Come. I'll show you how to play the games the witches way!"

The two girls left Harry standing there in order to go play the games that had been setup for the party.

The Gryffindors arrived next and Rupert gave Harry a big hug before darting off to the food table for a palm sized meat pie. The other Gryffindor students were happy and loud, but otherwise they behaved themselves which helped to calm Harry from the momentary tension he'd felt when the Gryffindor students had arrived.

The Slytherins were last, fashionably of course, and they arrived with a great deal of decorum and poise. All of which seemed to fade away when they realized they didn't have to keep up the act in favor of just letting loose and having fun.

Harry was glad that they had decided to go ahead with the party. It was just what all the younger students needed.

"Come on Harry," An arm grabbed Harry's shoulders and he was swung around to face a grinning Orion. "Let's dance!"

Orion's dashing smile was enough to make Harry blush as the smaller of the two boys was pulled onto the dance floor by the taller. Once the two of them started dancing many other students joined in.

The party had barely started and already it was the most fun Harry had had since starting school.

Special thanks to: Louise to, Maurey, Deb