Warning: Slash (male/male) Don't like, don't read.

Disclaimer Notice: I don't own anything you recognize.

Guide: "Talking"/Thinking/ "Parseltongue"

Chapter 9 – Splish-Splash

"So, what's up?" The grey-eyed teen asked.

"What do you mean by, 'What's up'?" The emerald-eyed teen questioned.

"I mean, what's happening between you and the Dark Lord? There's no way he'd just call over my dad and Sev for just some small talk!"

Harry sighed. "Once again, Draco, you have hit the nail on the head."

Harry and Draco were walking through the forest. The black haired wizard was trying to concentrate on both the conversation and trying to find the lake Voldemort had shown him yesterday. He saw Gallant up ahead sniffing tree roots and turning over leaves. Harry vaguely wondered if he had been subconsciously following him on the trail of some rabbit.

"Well?" Draco's curiosity was effectively peaked.

"Well what?"

"Did something happen or not!"

Harry almost smiled. He liked drawing this out. It was a lot more pleasurable than being confused.

"Yeah, something happened."

Draco finally had enough of this torture. He grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt. "Tell me or die! Those are your only options!"

But before Harry had time to say anything, Gallant barked and charged at them. Draco quickly leapt out of the way, avoiding very sharp teeth.

He raised his hands in surrender and shouted, "Okay, okay! Harry, do something!"

Harry only needed to say one sharp word – "Sit!" – and the mad dog became the placid puppy that Draco had first set eyes on.

"Bloody Hell, Harry! Where did you say Granger and Weasley got this dog?"

"Diagon Alley." Said Harry, affectionately scratching Gallant's left ear.

"Oh, and here I thought it was from Hell."

"Hell?"

"Yeah, the Ninth Level, to be exact."

Harry snorted and began walking again. Draco was at his side, but with Gallant firmly placed between them.

"We kissed." Harry said softly.

Draco looked quickly at him, not daring to believe his ears. "You and the Dark Lord?" Harry nodded. "How was it?"

Harry smiled softly at the memory and touched his lips. "Wonderful." Draco snorted. Harry looked sideways at him. "What?"

"You sound like a love struck school girl!"

"Maybe." Harry sighed, and a dark look passed over his face washing away the smile as he thought about the events leading up to the kiss.

Draco caught the change immediately, being the Slytherin that he was. "What else happened?"

Harry had a far away look. "It's getting worse." Draco didn't need to ask what he meant by that. "It subsided when I came here, but now…"

"And how do you feel about this?"

"Like I'm being cornered…forced -."

Draco snorted again. "Potter, we're all being forced into something in one way or another. Some just realize it later than most."

Harry realized that, in an offhand sort of way, the blonde was right.

"I'm also sort of relieved. I want to go back to Hogwarts and I know that that won't be possible if the bond still has to be completed."

"Well, I wouldn't rush things, at least not yet anyway. You still have about two weeks and a month to get through before school."

Harry looked at him sideways. "Really?"

"Yeah. What, haven't you been keeping track?" Draco's brow was furrowed.

"Well, with all that's happened I haven't really had time. Plus, it seems like a year has passed since you guys came and got me."

Draco could both understand and appreciate that. It always seemed as if time went by faster when you had a lot of things all going on at once.

"Do you miss your friends?"

"Yes." But Harry knew Draco's real question. "But I also like spending time with you."

Draco laughed. It was a relieved laugh. "Geez, Potter. Don't be going all sentimental on me now!"

"The dark-haired teen knew that he was just trying to lighten the mood, but he wanted Draco to know something. "Draco, I know now that I would prefer talking to you about this whole thing than them."

"Oh?" Draco was staring at him, hard. "Why?"

"Because…I think you can understand it more and you have…" Harry bit his lip, trying to find the right words to express his feelings.

"I have…" Draco prompted.

"You have a type of…'darkness' about you that just doesn't show up in the other people I know."

Now Draco's laugh was slightly bitter. "That's the price of being a Slytherin…and a Malfoy." He slung an arm around Harry's shoulders, despite being growled at. "That's just how it is."

XXX

"So, is this the place you wanted to show me?"

After the two boys had walked in companionable silence for a while, they had finally found themselves at the lake.

Harry nodded. "Yep, this is it."

"Well then, come on, Potter!"

"Wha? – Hey!" Draco had just taken him by the waist and thrown him in. "That's not fair!" He sputtered, trying to get the water out of his eyes. He heard two other splashes and looked up to find that Draco and Gallant had joined him.

Harry stood up and found that even though they were close to the shore, the water was waist deep. "Draco, I still have my clothes on!"

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh well."

The two teens then began a furiously playful water battle between each other, with Gallant swimming around them like a silent referee. So, by the time they got out of the water, half an hour later, they were supremely water-logged.

"Well, ready to go back to the mansion and maybe get something to eat?"

Draco nodded. "Definitely."

"Great. Hey, Gallant! We have to go!" Gallant was still swimming around and had only recently begun to stick his head under water. "What is wrong with that dog?" Harry wondered.

"Probably trying to catch a fish." Draco answered.

And sure enough the next time his head appeared he had a big silver fish clamped between his fangs. And when Harry tried to take it from him he leapt out of the way and bounded off through the forest.

"Hey, wait up!"

Harry and Draco dashed after him. They knew they were running in the general direction of the mansion, but hadn't realized how close it was to the lake until they saw it a few moments later.

"Great!" Harry panted, still trying to keep up with Gallant. "We were lost."

"Yeah." Draco panted back. "That must have been why it took us so long to find the damn lake. Bloody hell! Can this dog run!" They had only managed to keep up this far because of all their rigorous quidditch training.

"Oh no! He's going inside!" Harry wheezed, as Gallant nosed the door open. This will end very badly…

XXX

Voldemort was about to take another sip of his black tea when Gallant, the Doberman puppy, galloped through the front doors, into the sitting area, and dropped, what felt like, a two ton fish on his lap.

Harry and Draco skidded in moments later, panting and clutching stitches in their sides and were sopping wet.

Voldemort took a deep breath, ready and willing to give both mutt and teens a piece of his mind, but seeing Harry brace himself for impact softened him once again. He let his breath out slowly.

"Harry, it seems both you and Gallant need a bath. That being said, I think you should say goodbye to Draco and call it a day."

Harry, not wanting to press his luck, did as he was told and then sloshed his way upstairs with Gallant in tow.

Lucius, still trying admirably to hide his amusement, rose from his chair.

"I'll take that as our cue to leave. Besides, with Draco's currant condition, we run the risk of him getting the Wizard's Flu." As if to prove his point, Draco sneezed.

Once they had departed, Severus nodded his head in the direction of the fish, which Voldemort now had by the tail and was holding it up and inspecting it.

"What are you going to do with that?"

Voldemort looked up to see his servant smirking. This, in and of itself, was surprising. He couldn't ever remember any of his Death Eaters being bold enough to actually joke around with him. Then again, there hadn't been many situations in which they could joke. So, he did the only thing that seemed appropriate, he smirked back.

"It is a fish; therefore I am going to fry it."

Severus lifted his tea cup in salute. "Good luck with that."

XXX

After they exchanged a few more words and Voldemort had given Pen the fish to prepare for dinner, he went upstairs to Harry's bathroom to find Harry leaning over the edge of the bathtub in the shallow end scrubbing off the smell of the lake and the fish from the puppy.

Harry looked up and seeing the Dark Lord he mumbled a quiet, "Hi." And then dropped his head back down to continue his work, more tense than before.

Voldemort could understand why Harry was acting this way. "I am not angry with you or Draco…or that mutt."

Harry looked up quickly at him and seeing that Voldemort was smiling softly at him he hesitantly smiled back.

"Are you in need of any assistance?" Voldemort asked, coming over and kneeling down beside him.

"Uh…no, I think I got it."

All of a sudden Gallant came right up to Voldemort, grabbed a mouthful of his robes, and with a mighty yank, sent him tumbling into the bath. And before anything else could be done, the puppy leapt out of the bath, shook himself off, then trotted out the door.

When Voldemort resurfaced it was to find Harry staring at him in shock and once Harry saw Voldemort's equally shocked face, he burst out laughing.

Voldemort wiped the soap out of his eyes and looked grumpily at Harry.

"And what, may I ask, is so humorous about this?"

Harry sobered up immediately at Voldemort's glare and blushed. "I'm sorry…It's just that…"

"Yes?"

"The Great Lord Voldemort was reduced to a sputtering, soaking wet, man!" A grin spread across his face.

Voldemort felt an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach form when Harry had called him "The Great Lord Voldemort."

In one fluid movement Voldemort grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt and dragged him in with him.

Harry struggled against a vice like grip, remembering his beatings at Privet Drive, until he heard the words, "Be calm, young one." whispered to him in parseltongue. He remembered then how he had struggled against Voldemort this morning. All his attempts had been in vain that time too. He relaxed against the firm chest that held him.

A curled finger under his chin lifted his head up and he came face to face with scarlet snake eyes.

"I wish for you to call me Tom from now onward, agreed?"

"Okay." Harry whispered.

"Say it."

Harry didn't need to ask what Voldemort wanted to hear. "Tom."

Voldemort's whole body shivered with pleasure to hear his mate speak the language of serpents. The language that only they could speak. And to express his gratitude he closed his mouth upon Harry's in a searing kiss. When he pulled back Harry looked dazed.

"Dinner will be served in the dinning room, come join me when you are washed up." He then left to take a proper bath himself in his own rooms leaving behind a still dazed emerald eyed boy.

XXX

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