Disclaimer: I do not own HP or the HP series

Reaching Through Time

Chapter 19: A Dance to Remember

The party was a hit.

A few arguments broke out now and then, especially between Slytherins and Gryffindors, but they were quickly dissolved before they became problems.

Harry and Orion danced for a few songs only for Harry to be pulled into a dance with Eileen. A quick glance at Orion and Harry was surprised to find his friend sulking just off of the dance floor.

All of Harry's friends insisted on having a dance and when he was finally done his legs felt like jelly.

With a laugh Harry left the dance floor and found his way to a vacant spot near the wall. He was breathing heavily and it took him a minute or so to realize he was standing next to Orion in front of the Spirit Veil.

Orion wasn't sulking anymore, instead he looked strangely serene as he stared into the veil where a tall man with pitch black hair that was carefully styled and the same arched eyebrows that were identical to Orion's.

"Who's that?" Harry asked as he looked at the tall man who was smiling gently at Orion.

At Harry's words Orion jerked a little and his gaze was pulled away from the veil. "Who's who?" He asked in confusion.

Harry nodded his head at the veil. The tall man that had been smiling at Orion had shifted his eerily dark eyes to Harry. His smile turned into a frown as he looked Harry over.

Orion looked from the veil to Harry and back. "I wouldn't know. Everyone seems someone different in the veil." He explained before looking at the veil again. "You only see your blood relatives. They can see all of us though."

"He looks kinda like you." Harry told Orion as he moved so he could get a better look at the man in the veil. "Same eyebrows and cheek bones along with your dark hair."

For a moment Orion was silent. The man in the veil had started grinning slowly and he was nodding to Orion.

"What...what's he wearing Harry?"

Harry began to describe the man in the veil. With each description Orion grew paler and paler. When Harry told Orion that the man was laughing that made Orion reach for a chair and sit down shakily.

"It's not possible." He was mumbling to himself almost incoherently.

Harry was split between watching the man in the veil and helping his friend.

"It's impossible for the family tree to miss someone. It's...it's enchanted with ancient blood magic." Orion said a few other things that Harry couldn't quite catch. Suddenly Orion's dark eyes snapped up and caught Harry's gaze. "Who iare/i you Harry?"

The question threw Harry for a loop and he didn't know how to answer.

Orion shook his head, as if to clear it, then stood back up. He turned Harry by the shoulders so they were both looking into the veil again. "That man there? That's my Great Grandfather Phineas Nigellus Black. You shouldn't be able to see him unless-"

"Unless I'm related to him by blood." Harry finished as his heart seemed to pound in his chest.

Harry knew that he had ancestors, but he had never really thought about who they were. He only knew his last name and the names of his parents; who weren't even born yet. Harry didn't even know if his grandparents were alive yet.

"But how?" Orion demanded softly. "I know the family tree by heart. Never once did I see your image or name."

A shiver went through Harry as he met the gaze of Phineas. His dark eyes were full of curiosity and he looked just as confused as Orion sounded.

Harry could tell Orion the truth, about who he was and when he had come from, but should he? It wasn't a question of trust; Harry trusted Orion implicitly. No, the problem was Tom. What would Tom say if he found out that Harry had shared his secret with Orion without even talking to Tom first?

"I-" Orion chewed at his lip for a moment. "I suppose it's possible you are the grandchild of his daughter. The family tree sometimes leaves off grandchildren from the mother's line." Unless of course the grandchild was brought back into the Black family as an heir.

When Phineas Black had been alive, he had had five children. Not much was known about his daughter as she had chosen to marry someone that the patriarch had not approved. There were rumors she had even eloped to America. Her image had been burned on the family tree to stop the enchanted tapestry from tracking her line in any way, shape, or form.

Phineas was nodding ever so slightly from the other side of the veil. He might not be able to communicate with the living, but he could hear everything that was being said. He had no idea how Harry was related to him, but he could sense his blood within the boy.

It was the only possibility that Orion could think of.

"Do you see anyone else Harry?" Orion asked quickly. He was no longer confused or pale, but curious and excited. His friend was now a mystery that only heightened Orion's budding interest in him.

Harry tilted his head a bit as he tried to look for anyone else in the veil. There were a few shadows here and there, but it was like they couldn't get close at all. Something was holding the spirits back and Harry had a feeling it had to do with whatever magic had brought him into the past.

"No."

Orion huffed softly, but he didn't push it. It wasn't like they could summon the spirits on command so if they weren't approaching then there was nothing he or harry could do.

Still, the knowledge that they shared ancestry? That fact made Orion grin and he wasn't too upset that no other spirit would approach for Harry. The knowledge also meant he had something in common with Harry that Eileen didn't.

"I'm starving." Orion said abruptly. Since no other spirits were appearing for either Harry or Orion, the Black pre-teen had lost interest. "Let's get something to eat then play some games! We still have forever until midnight!"

Just as Harry was turning away from the veil to follow after Orion to the food table, a dark figure seemed to move along the edge of the veil. Harry stopped and eyed the veil for an extra moment before shrugging and wandering away.

The party had been planned for first and second years, but Harry wasn't at all surprised when Tom, Abraxas, and a few of the other pure bloods that were close to Tom came in close to midnight.

"How's your party going?" Tom asked Harry after spotting him and wandering over to his young friend.

"It's been great." Harry was grinning broadly and he had a half eaten treacle tart in one hand. "Once Orion and Eileen stopped arguing over the decorations we were able to finish setting up with enough time to get ready." Harry snickered a little when Eileen sent him a glare that clearly stated that she was not the one at fault for the fighting.

"I got to dance with just about everyone," Harry continued to say as he ignored the look he was getting from Eileen. "I've had lots of tasty food, and-" For a moment Harry paused before leaning closer to Tom so only the older teen could hear. "I might be related to Orion."

Tom felt his jealousy peaking through as Harry talked about dancing, but he was mostly able to ignore it. He could easily get a dance with Harry if he really wanted. This party had been about Harry getting to spend time with his friends.

His control over his jealousy went out the window though when Harry revealed the little secret about his possible relation with Orion.

"Why do you think that?" Tom asked only for Harry to take his hand, which made Tom's heart beat faster to his unease, and led him over to the spirit veil that Orion had set up.

Within the veil Tom spotted his mother's spirit along with several others that he could only assume were his mother's relatives.

"Orion's great grandfather was in the veil. I could see him to." Harry explained. Phineas wasn't there this time, just the blurry distant figures that had been there before. "Orion told me that you can only see the people you are related to in the veil. How else would I have seen Phineas?"

Tom felt relief when he couldn't hear his mother speaking. He wasn't sure how he felt seeing the woman that had died after giving birth to him. She was smiling warmly, but sadly at him and it made his chest hurt a little.

"Tom..."

The teen's attention was pulled away from his mother in the spirit veil and looked down at Harry who was fidgeting a little with his fingers.

"What is it Harry?" Tom asked with a smile of encouragement.

For a moment Harry was silent, but then he took a deep steadying breath. "I want to tell Orion about me." His words were soft enough that only Tom would hear them, and only just barely. Harry would have spoken in parseltongue, but only the students in Slytherin knew about that ability and neither Harry nor Tom wanted that information spreading to the rest of the school.

Tom's posture became tense and his eyes narrowed dangerously as he contemplated what he had just heard.

"A possible blood relation between you and Black is not a reason to reveal-"

"It's not that!" Harry interjected before Tom could finish. "Orion was talking about a family tree and how he knew it by heart!" His words were rushed as he attempted to keep Tom from arguing. "He's going to ask questions eventually Tom! Questions that I won't be able to answer." Harry tried hard not to sound like he was pleading, but he had to make Tom understand. "I don't want to hide things from Orion. He's my friend. It would be like keeping secrets from you."

That absurd jealousy that Tom always felt whenever Orion was mentioned came back to Tom and he had to close his eyes for a moment not to let his anger get the best of him.

"Let me think about it." Tom was able to hiss through his teeth. He didn't trust the Black boy, but he didn't want Harry to be upset. They had only just gotten over their last bout of tension and anger at each other and Tom did not want to start it up again.

Harry smiled brightly up at his best friend and nodded quickly. He knew Tom well enough that when he promised to think about something, he did just that. If after considering everything Tom decided to tell Harry 'no', then there would be a valid reason.

To distract himself from the jealousy that was seething under his skin, Tom took Harry's hand and led him over to the dance floor. He didn't need to ask knowing Harry would say yes.

Thanks to the Malfoy's, Tom was an excellent dancer. He had the grace and poise of a pure-blood and the charm and beauty he had inherited from his hated muggle father. So it wasn't that much of a surprise when people stopped to stare as Tom swept Harry elegantly across the dance floor.

Harry had a little trouble keeping up with Tom, his natural clumsiness making his feet trip every now and then, but Tom was able to cover up his mistakes with quick and fluid movements.

Soon Harry forgot about watching his feet and just enjoyed the feeling of being spun around by his oldest and closest friend. Laughter bubbled out of of him as Tom lifted him up only to dip him down rapidly. Harry's head spun and he forgot to breath as he looked up at Tom from where he was being held up below his tall friend and suddenly Harry found himself blushing.

The way the candle light created a halo around Tom and how his hair fell into his face was beautiful and Harry would have had to have been blind to not see it.

Of course Harry knew his friend was beautiful, he had heard it in enough whispers from various other students, and Harry himself had admitted over the years that Tom was beautiful. But this was the first time that it really hit Harry just how lovely Tom really was.

And it left a strange feeling in Harry's heart.

Before Harry could think more about it he was lifted back up and steadied back onto his feet.

"Thanks for the dance Harry." Tom whispered with a knowing smile before he led Harry off of the dance floor.

A few of the students that had been too stunned not to look away clapped in appreciation before going back to their own friends or groups to whisper about what had just happened. In the following days after the party there would be rumors about Tom and Harry that Tom would quickly put a stop to.

Tom caught Abraxas' eye and his adopted brother lifted a blond brow and motioned a little towards the dance floor.

With a grin that could almost be described as sinister, Tom nodded. "I'll be right back. Abraxas wants a dance as well."

Tom had learned how to dance by practicing with Abraxas. Even though what they did was dancing, it looked more like a battle whenever the two were on the dance floor. Harry had seen such events many times, but very few outside of their family had seen it.

Which left Harry snickering and shaking his head to Orion and Eileen's questions. When they started asking him what was so funny, Harry's snickering grew into laughter.

All Harry could do was laugh and point weakly at the dance floor as Abraxas and Tom moved with dangerously graceful precision. Their steps were prefect and their robes swirled around them almost artistically. Both teenagers had looks of serious concentration as they moved in sync to the music.

Their movements could have been described as violent but for the fact they were not actually attacking each other.

"Are they...trying to out dance each other?" Myrtle asked as she moved closer to the slytherin trio that had befriended her.

Harry shrugged, but he was still having trouble speaking between his laughs. "They've always been like that. They both always wanted to lead during their lessons so now their dancing always turns into a fight."

Who was leading the dance always seemed to switch back and forth between the two almost randomly. One moment Tom would be the one spinning Abraxas and the next Abraxas would be taking Tom by the waist and forcing him to take a couple steps back.

"It got to the point that mother would just have them practice with me instead of each other. I'm short enough that I can never seem to take the lead." Harry stuck his tongue as he reminded himself of his short stature. Even at eleven he was fairly short compared to others his age.

The music came to an end and for a moment Abraxas and Tom stood facing each other, their eyes meeting in fierce glares of challenge, but both were grinning wickedly. After a moment both teens bowed to each other and then moved off of the dance floor.

Students that had been watching clapped loudly and a few of the Gryffindors even cheered.

"How was that?" Abraxas asked Harry once they were close enough.

"Aggressive." Harry answered rather blandly. "Mother would not be pleased."

Tom fought the urge to roll his eyes. The Malfoy matriarch was difficult to please when it came to proper pure-blood etiquette.

"But who won?" Abraxas prodded Harry, not even showing a drop of remorse for dancing the way he had.

Both Tom and Abraxas watched Harry expectantly as the younger boy tilted his head and considered the two older teens.

"Tom had the lead more often that time." Harry finally said with a nod of his head. "So I would think Tom won."

Abraxas' shoulders sagged and he hung his head for a moment dramatically before he stood straight again with a grin. "I'll win next time Tom. Just wait and see."

"If we ever dance again." Tom pointed out. "This is the first time we've gotten to dance outside of practice in what...a year? Two?"

Mrs. Malfoy made it a point to keep Tom and Abraxas from dancing together while at Malfoy parties; for the sake of her own sanity.

"Looks like it's almost midnight." Eileen piped up as she looked at the antique clock that was hanging on one wall. "Let's get the offerings ready." She said as she grabbed both Harry and Orion to drag them over to the baskets that were near the fireplace.

Harry made sure to grab Myrtle's hand so she could join them. Even though she knew what was going on from her research, it was always better to learn about things first hand.

Other students quickly joined the small group near the fireplace. Some students had brought their own offerings, particularly the pure-bloods and half-bloods that followed the old traditions, but others took the offerings that Harry, Eileen, and Orion were handing out.

Orion had a bundle of herbs that were tied together with a cord that was inscribed with runes that had personal meaning to his family. Eileen held a package wrapped in a faded dark cloth that she held gently. Abraxas handed Harry the Malfoy traditional offering of pure white bones, oak leaves, sage, mint, and thistle that had been dipped in honey and wrapped in a pure white silk cloth that had a simple for life and death embroidered into the cloth.

The scent of herbs filled Harry's nose and his eyes fluttered closed as he took it in. It was a calming and cleansing scent that always relaxed Harry and calmed his magic.

"We give thanks to our ancestors." The room had gone quiet as Eileen spoke. As the hostess of the Samhain party it was her job to start the offering burning ritual. "On this dark night when their spirits are able to visit, on this night that we honor the Dark Mother and Dark Father."

Eileen unwrapped her offering to reveal a simple cake, a few bones, and a piece of wheat from the last harvest. "We give these offerings in thanks for the past year and to ask for your blessing for the year to come."

With those words Eileen tossed her offerings into the fire. The fire flared up and greedily accepted what she had thrown in.

Although he could not see them, Harry could feel the power of the nature spirits outside as the offerings were thrown into the fire one by one.

He had learned what they were after his first Yule with the Malfoy's. The floating lights he had seen had been nature spirits. Mrs. Malfoy had been surprised to learn that he had seen them and she had told them how they usually didn't reveal themselves to people unless they were especially powerful or pure.

Sometimes Harry could hear one of the other students whispering something as they threw in their offering. He could guess at what they were saying; a thanks or a whispered message for one of their loved ones long gone.

Harry's turn came quick enough and he fingered the herbs he carried. He never knew what to say when making offerings to his ancestors. His parents were dead in his time, but they hadn't even been born yet in this one. His grandparents were probably still alive. His great grandparents? Harry had no idea.

In the end Harry simply thanked his ancestors he did not know, the nature spirits that blessed him with their presence, and the gods of magic that had brought him to the past to be with his Tom.

The fire flared once more as Harry tossed in his offering and a blanket of magic settled across his body making his skin tingle.

A calm and serene feeling had settled over the party goers after the offerings had been made. Any conversation was quiet and in hushed whispers. It was a comfortable quiet and no one seemed to want to break the magic that was in the air.

"Blessings be upon you." Eileen murmured quietly, but loud enough so that everyone could hear her. "Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again."

The students gathered repeated Eileen's words in murmurs and whispers.

"So mote it be."

With that the party ended. The students separated into their houses and were escorted out by the Hogwarts ghosts that had been chaperoning the party.

Harry found himself walking between Tom and Abraxas, both of his hands held within one of theirs. They were his family and in that moment, with ancestral magic swirling between them, Harry felt an unbreakable connection to both of them.

There was little doubt that the party had brought the first and second years together despite their house allegiances. Tom knew Harry would have a strong group of friends from that moment forward.

"Let's head back to the common room." Abraxas said quietly. House elves had already appeared in the shadows of the room with the intent of cleaning up. Even though curfew had been extended for the party the students still had to get to bed within a reasonable time frame.

Both Tom and Harry nodded and once the room had cleared out a bit the three left.

They had just made it to the entrance to the common room when Harry remembered something. "Orion's spirit veil!" He had meant to grab it for Orion when the party ended. "I'll be right back!"

Before Tom or Abraxas could stop him, Harry darted away and back down to the room in the dungeon. It wasn't that far from the Slytherin dorms so he could just grab the veil and get back before anyone missed him.

The house elves were hard at work putting the room to rights when Harry returned panting. They were a little surprised to see a student, but they quickly asked if he needed anything.

"No, no! I'm fine! I just need to grab something." Harry quickly went over to the spirit veil and used his wand to levitate the veil off of its hangings and fold it up.

It was a good thing Harry had returned. As he was looking around he spotted a few of Orion's other family heirlooms that the Black teen had forgotten to grab even though he had said he would. With a fond sigh Harry gathered everything up. It was a little awkward carrying everything by himself, but he was able to manage fine.

Harry had to move slowly as he left the room to make sure he didn't drop any of Orion's things. He wasn't upset at all, but Harry would make jokes at Orion's expense for a couple days in revenge.

Even though he was juggling so many things and lost to his own thoughts, Harry didn't fail to notice the sound of someone whispering not far from where he was.

With a frown Harry wandered towards the direction the whispers were coming from. All the students should have been escorted back to their common rooms. The only reason Harry was even out was because he had been one of the party planners and was helping to take things down.

"Orion? Is that you?" Harry called out as he awkwardly opened a door leading into a side hallway that went into an abandoned storage closet. "Eileen?"

If his hands and arms hadn't been burdened with everything Harry might have been able to get a hold of his wand to stop the creature that suddenly darted towards him with a screeching hiss.

Harry heard someone cry out, he saw a large hand reach out to try and stop the creature, but the only thing he could focus on was the sudden pain in his leg from the creature biting him.

"Harry!"

His eyes started swimming and Harry shook his head hard to try and clear it. Dizziness filled his mind and the pain in his leg grew sharp and began to burn.

"You'll pay for this Hagrid!"

Harry's world went dark then and he began to fall. His mind went blank just in time for him to not feel his body hitting the ground.

Special thanks to: Louise to, Maurey, Deb