A few minutes late for Harry's B-Day... :'(
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A thank you to sydni for betaing this for me and also for giving me a few ideas about this fic...
Chapter 2
Harry snuggled deeper into the warmth. He didn't have the energy to get up. Plus the bed was so warm… The others could wait…
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Harry snuggled deeper into the warmth. He didn't have the energy to get up. Plus the bed was so warm… The others could wait…
"No we won't." Harry froze. "Harrison," Tom growled. Harry stiffened. Tom only used that name when he was dead serious. Laughing nervously, Harry slipped out of bed and raced to the bathroom with all his necessities when he heard the impatient tapping of Tom's foot. "Do be sure to hurry," he added. Harry frowned when he was out of sight. 'What's wrong with Tom?'
Changed and ready to go, Harry left the bathroom and entered to dormitory to only see that something was missing.
"Where's Tom?" Harry asked Avery.
"Dunno," Avery said, shrugging. Harry frowned and left to go to the Common Room. A quick glance showed that Tom wasn't in the Common Room either.
"He already went down to breakfast." Harry turned around and met with the back of Eileen Prince. His frown deepened as he stalked out the Common Room and headed straight for the Great Hall. Sitting at the Slytherin table was Tom, surrounded by LeStrange, Parkinson, and Malfoy. Harry's eye twitched as he walked over to them.
"Tom," he said, barely managing to keep his annoyance out of his voice. Tom looked up and gave him a slight smile. It didn't go unnoticed to Harry that his smile was a little strained.
"Good Morning," Tom said simply. Harry sighed, but he should have known better than to expect anything else from him right then and there. Harry glared at LeStrange who moved aside immediately. Harry took his spot and grabbed a plate and started placing food on it. As a norm, Tom reached out and added more food to his plate, completely ignoring his glare. "That's gotten old six years ago," he muttered.
"Stop adding food to my plate," Harry muttered back.
"Eat more, then."
"I am." Tom raised an eyebrow.
"Not from what I see," Tom replied before turning back to Malfoy and muttering something to him. Harry glared at him, while Parkinson rolled his eyes.
"What was that about?" he asked. Harry gave him a weird look, which made Parkinson hold up his hands. "Just asking," he said quickly.
"Right." Harry started eating his breakfast, tuning out Tom's conversation with the others, while also trying to make it look like he was eating everything; too bad he didn't have a dog to feed the leftovers couldn't understand why he couldn't eat more, but after spending years eating a certain amount of food, he really couldn't stomach more. Well, it's not like he actually told Tom every detail about that, so it wasn't his fault that he didn't understand… but he should understand that there were occasionally days that people didn't feel like eating a lot. His just happens to be almost every day… Okay, so maybe Tom had a point.
It was just that today, he didn't feel like eating. Ever since last night, he's been feeling kind of weird and right now, the feeling had returned. Harry stared at his food. Honestly, what was wrong with him? He just finished his OWLs and now he had a week to do absolutely nothing until the term was over. There was no reason at all for him to feel depressed or lonely; not with Tom here…
"I need to speak to you at the usual spot after this."
Harry blinked and looked at Tom, but he was already immersed in his conversation again. Harry started at his food again and dropped his fork. He couldn't eat anymore. Standing up, Harry ignored the looks the others gave him and left the Great Hall. Humming to himself, Harry headed up the stairs to the fifth floor and entered the usual room which he and Tom frequently met at for privacy. Waving his wand, he settled down on the transfigured couch and rested his eyes. The feelings from earlier returned, and Harry took a deep breath to try to get rid of it, but it was futile. The odd feeling was still there.
"Harry." Harry moved the arm away from his eyes and watched as Tom entered the room, and placed the privacy spells up. "You barely ate anything" he said, settling next to him on the couch. Harry rolled his eyes.
"I didn't feel like eating, okay." Tom glared at him.
"That's not okay. If you don't eat anything, you'll start getting sick." Harry rolled his eyes. "Your spell work will also suffer if your body's not in good condition." Harry didn't respond, so Tom continued."Fine, but we're going to make a trip down to the kitchens later." Harry still didn't say anything, and was determinedly looking in the opposite direction. Tom sighed. "What's wrong?" Harry blinked.
"What do you mean?" Harry said quickly.
"You've been acting weird ever since this morning," Tom deadpanned. Harry snorted.
"And what about you?" Harry shot back.
"What do you mean?" Tom said quickly.
"You keep giving me odd looks," Harry stated. Tom blinked.
"Well…" Tom started, looking uncomfortable.
"Well what?"
"It's nothing," Tom said quickly, shaking his head. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" he asked skeptically. Tom nodded. Harry sighed, and stood up. "Then there's no reason for me to stay here." Harry headed for the door, ignoring Tom's shocked expression.
"Wait!" Tom called out. Harry paused.
"We've known each other for nearly six years. If you can't trust me enough to tell me what's wrong, then–"
"It isn't about trust!" Tom exclaimed. "And besides, you're the one not telling me anything." Harry groaned and went back to the sofa and collapsed on it.
"I don't know," Harry groaned. "We just finished OWLs, and yet I feel so anxious and depressed…" Tom frowned.
"Interesting…" Harry looked at him in disbelief.
"Interesting?" Harry repeated. Tom shook his head.
"It's just that, last night, I thought I heard something along the lines of…" Tom trailed off.
"Of?" Harry prompted. Tom flushed.
"Just a voice that sort of sounded like you," he muttered. Harry blinked.
"Sounded like me?" Harry questioned. "What do you mean?" Tom looked really uncomfortable.
"I know you don't sleep talk, so it wasn't you, but it sounded like you."
"What did the voice say?" Harry asked impatiently. "Oh, and depending on your answer, I might recommend a mental asylum," Harry added.
"Ha ha," Tom said dryly. Harry gave him a cheeky grin, before it faded away.
"Well…"
"It was something about taking a burden away and having someone who understands…" Harry froze. "It sounded so lonely and pained…" Harry let stared at him.
"You sure you weren't dreaming?" Harry asked, trying to hide his uneasiness. Tom frowned at him.
"I was wide awake," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Anyway, is there a chance that it might be related? The emotions that you're feeling and what I heard?" Harry shrugged.
"Possibly…" Harry stood up and pulled out his wand. Tom stood up in alarm.
"Where are you going?" Harry smiled.
"I just remembered something. Do you mind if I go and check it out? I'll be back quick." Tom blinked, but didn't say anything to refute him. Harry smiled, and with a wave of his wand, he brought the wards down. "I'll be back from the hospital wing," Harry called back as he ran from the room and slammed the door in Tom's face. He hoped Tom would believe him. Despite not being fond of the place, Tom did believe that the nurse could help anyone, and it would be the least likely place to think that anyone would do something risky, hence it being used as an excuse.
Keeping an eye out for anyone who was nearby, Harry raced towards the seventh floor, skidding to a halt in front of a blank stretch of wall. Dearly praying that he was completely wrong, he started to pace in front of the wall. On the third turn, he opened his eyes and faced the plain door that appeared on the wall.
"Oh no," Harry whispered, his heart clenching painfully. There was no doubt now that he was right in his thoughts. Harry took a deep breath and walked towards the door. He may be a Slytherin now, but he was a Gryffindor in the past (future). No amount of brain washing by the Slytherins was going to take away his courage. Throwing open the door (quietly), Harry entered a painfully familiar room; complete with a fireplace, a squishy chair with a side table and… a bed.
Harry breath was caught in his throat as the lump under the blanket shifted slightly. This was not good at all.
"Harrison!" Harry jumped as the door behind him slammed opened. Tom stood there, staring at him surprised. The feeling of horror washed over Harry. He wouldn't understand, not yet.
"Tom, please get out here," Harry said, as calmly as he could. Tom looked at him in surprise and opened his mouth to protest. "Now!" Harry shouted, running forward and attempting to physically push him out of the room.
"What is wrong with you?" Tom said furiously. "There's no way on Earth you would willingly visit the Hospital Wing, even if it's–" Tom froze and stared at something behind Harry's back. Harry turned around. Identical green eyes met with each other. The gaze was held for a minute before the figure on the bed broke it and moved to face the other figure. Harry's mind raced fast. He had to say something, something that wouldn't freak him out.
"Uh, welcome to Hogwarts, 1943." A second later, Harry resisted the urge to facepalm. That didn't help at all going by the widening eyes of Harry Potter who was still on the bed.
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