Life Renovations
Chapter Twenty-Four
Paybacks and Back Pains
Tom Riddle was astounded. There was simply no other way to put it. He was astounded and speechless. He was in his darkened quarters within the Malfoy Manor with only a few candles to light up the large bedroom, and stood as still as a statue in front of a full length mirror, just staring at himself. He had had no doubts about Harry and Draco's abilities, and had known he would leave the silver cauldron with a new body, but not like this. Not this perfect body that had formed to his every wish, even down to the birth mark on his right shoulder.
He wanted to touch his face to make sure it was real, despite Harry and Draco's assurances, but he was afraid. He was so enamored with his new body that he feared it was all an illusion. Just the thought of it all being unreal made his hands start to shake. Harry and Draco had indeed given him a second chance at life. He was once again eighteen years old, in every possible way. And even though he still contained all the knowledge and memories of his former life, his mind was eighteen as well. He was a young wizard again and he knew he would never be able to repay the Ukatae for this. And that was something else. Before, he would never care about what he owed people, he simply didn't care about anyone but himself, but now, he did care about Harry and Draco; he wanted to pay them back. He would never regret his decision to work with them and become their partner. Never.
He did, however, have one grievance and that was the fact that he had a reasonable conscious once again. He actually cared about a few number of people. Hermione Granger for one. How odd was that thought? He quirked an inquiring eyebrow at himself. She was a muggleborn. And yet… that did not matter. He genuinely liked her and could honestly call her a friend. If he didn't have a damn conscious, he would have tried to court her right out from under Severus' nose. But as he knew she was in love with Severus-"Undeserving, bitter man that he is"- he would not pursue her.
Tom frowned. One of the major reasons why Severus was so bitter was because of him. Tom had made Severus do a lot of things he didn't want to. Had put the Potions Master under quite a lot of torture as well, and still the snarky wizard had done it and endured it all for his Dark Lord. Tom sighed and ran a hand through his thick dark hair, silky and fluid to the touch. At least Severus was in better spirits these days. Harry having a lot to do with that.
Thinking about Harry brought a deeper frown to form on his face. He cared deeply for Harry. He didn't know when it had happened. Perhaps when he realized Harry cared about him. Cared about him when he hadn't done anything to deserve it. He recalled the conversation he'd had with Draco about Harry's former guardians, and that frown turned into a massive scowl. They would pay for the hurt the young Gryffindor had been put through. Vernon Dursley most of all.
A knock at his door drew him away from his thoughts and he turned to the door. "Enter." The door opened and two shadows moved into the room.
"Good morning, sir. Did you sleep well?"
"Excellent morning, Hermione. Yes I slept well." Tom crossed the room and picked her hand up to kiss it, enjoying the blush that crept over her face. She was a lovely witch. If Severus didn't pounce on her then he was an idiot. "You don't have to call me sir anymore. I'm eighteen, remember. Tom will do for you."
Hermione nodded and smiled brightly. "Is it weird?"
"Phenomenally so. But I am grateful."
"Merlin! Why's it so dark in here?" Harry immediately crossed the large chamber and began to pull the drapes away from the three large windows. Tom glared at the light flooding into his room.
"I prefer the dark. Is that really necessary?" Tom indicated the light.
"Of course. I like the sun light."
"But you're a dark creature…"
"I'm a being of nature, dark and light. And I love the sun just as much as I love the moon."
"Except when the sun tries to wake you up early in the morning," Hermione said with a smirk.
"Whatever. C'mon, Draco wants us to meet him in the library."
It was a surprise to Tom that his second return- or would it be the third?- did not make the public's awareness, which was more than he, Harry, and Draco could have hoped. Because Tom was certain Harry and Draco had plans for him that they hadn't explained yet. But he expected that's why Harry, Draco, and Hermione wanted to talk to him in the library. Strangely he wasn't annoyed by their apparent scheming and was more curious than anything.
"Just think about all you missed when you spent all your time turning yourself into evil incarnate!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "Think about the life you can live now being back to eighteen. That is why we think you should return to Hogwarts with us this year. Think about all we can accomplish with you at school with us. It'll be brilliant!"
Tom stared wide-eyed at the smaller Ukatae. Back to Hogwarts? He had never even thought about that possibility.
"Yeah, you're definitely coming back to school with us," Draco insisted. "Merlin, just think of all the fun we'll have."
"And how do you suggest I get into Hogwarts? I'm not on the list, and Dumbledore will recognize me."
"Not if you're a transfer, from say…Durmstrang," Hermione put in. "They don't keep the same records and you can create a powerful glamour to conceal your real looks…oh, and you'll have to change your name."
"I don't like the idea of a glamour."
"It will have to be done, otherwise Dumbledore will know. Or you can create a glamour that only effects people who you want to keep your identity hidden from."
Tom sat back and brought his fingers into a steeple under his chin as he pondered their exchange. Harry had the urge to chuckle. He still looked like Lord Voldemort.
"What sort of glamour?" Tom finally asked.
"Just a facial glamour will do I think."
"Just a minute…" Hermione's face was furrowed in thought. "I've got it!" She jumped up and clapped her hands in excitement.
"Please, tell us your brilliant plan," Tom drawled, a strange gleam in his eyes and he arched a brow at her. "I'm sure it will be enlightening."
Hermione stared at him, her gaze boring into his. "I don't know whether you're trying to be sarcastic, Tom. But I don't like your tone." Tom smirked at her.
"Come along, Mione," Harry said. "Explain."
Draco nodded. "And Tom… stop trying to get Hermione to turn violent."
Tom's smirk broadened and Hermione's mouth dropped open.
"Guys? Are you in here?" Hermione turned towards the library doors and waved as Ginny and Blaise walked in.
"Hey!" Harry called cheerfully and waved them over. He scooted over on the couch to where he was practically sitting in Draco's lap to make room for the newcomers. Ginny hurried over and gave a hug to everyone except for Tom, whom she didn't notice at first because he was sitting quietly watching the exchanges with a blank face. When she did notice him, her eyes went wide.
"Who's your new friend?" She asked her friends, then turned back to Tom, "hello, I'm Ginny Weasley." She extended a hand to the handsome boy and smiled when he took it. And then her smile upped a notch when Tom kissed her knuckles. Blaise came over and introduced himself as well, though he didn't smile at all. "Lighten up, love," she whispered. "I'm all yours, remember." After that, Blaise looked on the new guy with a little more warmth.
"Well? He's awfully quiet," Ginny said to Hermione. "Who is he? You look kind of familiar..."
Hermione smiled. "I'm not sure he wants me to tell you." She looked at Tom and he smiled.
"You've met him before, Ginny," said Harry with a frown, thinking about the incident with the Chamber of Secrets. But it seemed Ginny wasn't traumatized at all from that event, because she still didn't seem to place it together.
"Tom Riddle," the Dark Lord announced.
"Nice to meet…Oh…Oh!" Ginny covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh Merlin! It is you! I'm sorry, sir. I didn't remember."
"I would prefer if you didn't remember that time in your life," he replied as Blaise led Ginny over to sit next to Harry and Draco.
Ginny was shocked that Voldemort was actually, in his own way, apologizing for the whole diary thing. She simply nodded her head at that. "I hear we missed a great party last night. Wish I could have been there."
"Sorry, Gin. But we couldn't get your mum to change her mind," Harry tried explaining, but Ginny waved him off.
"That's all right, mate," Blaise said. "Me and Red had our own party, didn't we?" Ginny blushed and nodded.
"Mrs. Weasley let you two go out alone?" Hermione asked clearly shocked that Molly would allow her youngest to go out alone with a Slytherin.
"Yeah. I think she felt bad about not allowing me to attend here last night."
"Add to the fact that the woman adores me," Blaise said with a smirk. "And I love her cooking! I praised her about it for hours."
Harry laughed. "That'll do it!"
"So shall we continue on with what we were discussing or would you rather wait?" Hermione asked Tom.
Tom turned and pinned Blaise and Ginny with an intense stare and it was without any doubt that he was using Legilimency on them, and as this was still the Dark Lord, they were not about to put up a fight. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Please continue, Hermione."
"Severus says Dumbledore may be losing him mind, right? Perhaps we can use that to our advantage, if it's true. I'm thinking Tom should go to Hogwarts how he is now, without any glamour. We could drive Dumbledore mad that way. How do you think he would feel seeing Tom sitting at the Slytherin table once again when he comes in to give his Welcoming speech? Not only knowing that Tom is there now, but that he has all of us on his side. Don't you think that would start to wear on him? I mean, after everything he's done this summer, you can tell Dumbledore is losing his control."
"I think he'll alert the Ministry," Draco drawled while fingering some of Harry's silky black strands.
"Not if he realized he has to deal with it because we have that other memory. He must know we have it. And if he doesn't know, then I'll make him aware of it."
"I won't be able to enter the castle if he sees its me."
"You can wear a glamour until you've been sorted again and drop it when he least expects it." Ginny put in, surprising all around. "What?" she asked when she noticed everyone staring at her. "Was I not supposed to say anything?"
"No. You have a good idea," Tom said with a nod.
"McGonagall may remember you…"
"Not very likely, Harry. I don't look exactly the same. I did make subtle changes."
"So, you wear the glamour until you feel like taking it off." Harry nodded and that was the end of that discussion. Because Tom was going to Hogwarts with them whether he liked it or not.
"So where is Pansy?" Draco asked, turning to Blaise. "I was surprised she wasn't here last night and I haven't heard from her."
Blaise frowned. "I haven't heard from her either, which is strange. She's always good about owling over the summer. And now especially she wouldn't keep her distance. Too much has been happening within our social groups for that."
A silence stretched out in which the Ukatae utilized their senses to tune in to the world around them. Something was making them uneasy as both Harry and Draco's faces portrayed their edginess.
"I don't like this." Harry stood up. "You guys know her best and I'll believe when you say it's odd. Tom, did you tell Parkinson to do something with Pansy?"
"I did not."
"We should find her immediately!" Hermione said, anxiety written across her face. "You don't think her father punished her for becoming friends with us?" she asked looking at Harry.
"If he did, he will regret it. I did tell him I wanted Miss Parkinson to keep an eye on you two." Tom called a house elf and ordered it to find Parkinson. Everyone sat in silence for the few minutes it took for Parkinson to arrive. Harry, Draco, and Hermione moved to stand behind Tom's chair as Parkinson entered the library. He was decidedly nervous as he bowed to them.
"You called, my lord." He stayed on his knees and kept his eyes to the floor.
Tom nodded and looked to Hermione. "Where is Pansy? Why wasn't she here last night?"
"Her mother has taken her to France."
"Surely you knew her attendance would have been in your family's best interest," Draco drawled.
"I did not think she would be needed."
"That is a drastic change in your attitude," Tom began, his eyes going as cold as his voice. "And what about Miss Parkinson? Does she feel the same?"
Parkinson remained silent, but Harry could see his eye twitching nervously. "Why hasn't she contacted her friends? Blaise and Draco tell me this is not normal for her."
"…it's very complicated, my Lord."
Tom rose from his seat and Parkinson cringed. "Tell us exactly where she is and why you've kept her away," he hissed, wand pointed at the shaking Death Eater's head.
"The nerve of that wizard trying to force Pansy into marriage!" Ginny exclaimed as they made their way down a wizarding street in Paris. They were a rather large and peculiar group of nine. Lucius and Sirius were along, walking at the front, accompanying the younger wizards and witches to oversee their protection, as was Severus who took the end with Hermione walking beside him. She was going on and on about how lovely Paris was and it was enough to make Severus want to snog her silly so she'd stop talking. Ginny and Blaise were walking behind Sirius and Lucius, while Harry, Draco, and Tom were behind them. It was a very weird group indeed; as most of the group was recognized, people were always stopping to stare. Thank Merlin no one nowadays knew what Tom Riddle ever looked like.
"It's not uncommon for the pureblooded families to have arranged marriages," Lucius said.
"But Pansy is being kept under lock and key. She obviously doesn't want this wedding as she's tried to escape a couple of times. Can't believe Parkinson admitted to that."
"He had no choice," Tom said quietly.
"Can we really stop this?" Harry asked. "I mean if there's been a contract already drawn up and everything…"
"Pansy is of age. She has to sign the document before anything will be official. That's probably why she's locked up. I'm sure the Parkinsons feel if they keep her isolated long enough she will cave in." Draco snorted and shook his head. "They obviously don't know their own daughter very well. Pansy doesn't do anything she doesn't want to."
"Hermione, enough!" Severus suddenly said. Hermione stopped and looked up at him. Ahead of them everyone else stopped and pretended not to listen. "I've been here countless times. I know its beauty. Please cease your rambling!"
Ginny poked her head between Tom and Draco and grinned at the pair. "She's going to kill him now, right?"
"I would enjoy seeing that," Tom murmured. But Hermione didn't look like she was going to do any harm to Severus. In fact, her chin started to tremble as she looked at Severus with wide brown eyes. Tom would have thought less of her for having been brought down so quick by Severus' words, but then he caught sight of the gleam in her eyes and knew she was only pretending to be hurt. The witch was shrewd, no doubt about it, trying to bring Severus out of his ridiculously shy cocoon. Tom actually grinned when he realized what she was doing.
"I…I was only trying to talk to you, Severus. You haven't said one word to me the entire time."
Severus sighed and then caught sight of everyone who was watching them. "Mind your own business!" he snapped, and then shifted to stand in front of Hermione so that they could only see his back. He wrapped a hand around Hermione's neck, and slid it around until his fingers entangled in the hair at the back of her neck. She sighed at his touch, wishing for more.
"I'd rather not talk at the moment."
Hermione's shoulders dropped. "Oh…All right, I underst-" she squeaked when the hand behind her head jerked her forward against him, and then she melted when his mouth slanted over hers.
"I'm amazed he's snogging her in an incredibly public place," Lucius commented before turning around and continuing down the street. He noticed he was missing a husband and turned back to find Sirius scowling at the kissing couple.
"Just look, Luce. It's completely disgusting!"
"You really should-" Lucius saw the hex coming and pulled Sirius down just before it hit his head.
"That was perfect aim," Tom complemented Hermione with a nod, even though she was still kissing Severus, wrapped tightly and securely in his arms, purring into the Potions Master's mouth.
"How did she do that without even looking?" Blaise wanted to know.
"You've been teaching her stuff, haven't you, sir?" Ginny asked Tom, who nodded. They all began to proceed down the road again, leaving Hermione and Severus alone.
"Ginny, don't call him sir. He's seriously eighteen now. It's kind of creepy when you call him that," Harry said.
"Well I…" Ginny didn't know if she should listen to Harry. Just because Voldemort turned back to an eighteen year old didn't mean he didn't want to be addressed as he always was.
"Call me Tom if you wish. I am eighteen and it is weird to hear someone address me as sir. Though it wouldn't feel weird if you called me Lord Voldemort."
"Tom it is then," she returned brightly, ignoring his slight glare.
Severus pulled back and was delighted to find Hermione in a sort of stupor. "Silence at last." He took her arm and led her down the street and they soon caught up with the rest of their group.
They arrived at the Parkinson safe house shortly after. Severus, Sirius, and Lucius waited outside by Tom's orders, and the others were shown in without any trouble by a shivering squeaking house-elf. Mrs. Parkinson was waiting for them in the Entrance Hall and she looked decidedly nervous. As she was prone to do, Hermione immediately took charge and demanded to see Pansy.
"I'm afraid my daughter is not here." Mrs. Parkinson sneered at her.
"You're lying, Mrs. Parkinson," Tom said, coming to stand beside Hermione. "You're husband has already told me you've been keeping Miss Parkinson locked in a room. You will bring us to her immediately. Or you will pay the consequences."
"Who are you to demand things from me in my own home?" she demanded, taking a defensive stance. Apparently, Mr. Parkinson had failed to relate the events of the last couple of days to the rest of his family. This displeased Tom greatly.
"Your husband will be punished for his defiance, I assure you."
"Defiance of whom?"
"Mrs. Parkinson, this is Lord Voldemort," Harry finally said, getting impatient with the whole thing. "You will do as he says and bring us to Pansy."
"I don't believe you!" she shrieked. The door beside them opened and an elder gentleman came out.
"Veronica? Do you need assistance? " The newcomer studied the group as he came to stand beside Pansy's mother.
"Oh no, Tuluce. They were just leaving."
"We are not leaving without Pansy," Hermione said with a hard glare.
"I'm afraid Miss Parkinson will not be leaving," Tuluce answered as he looked Hermione up and down with a feral glint in his eyes. "We were just going over the marriage contract. Miss Parkinson will be married to me in two days time."
"No way!" Ginny yelled. "You are not going to marry your daughter off to a wizard who looks older than her father!"
"This does not concern you!" Mrs. Parkinson hissed. "And now I demand you all leave at once!"
Tom flicked his wrist, and both Mrs. Parkinson and the old French man were cast immobile. "I've had enough of your insolence!" Tom turned to the others, "go and find Miss Parkinson. Draco, please stay with me."
Draco nodded and winked at Harry before the Gryffindor went off to find Pansy. "What is it?"
"We will bring these two to Malfoy Manor, and then we're taking a trip to Surrey."
"What about Harry?"
"If he knew where we were going, he would stop us, would he not?"
"Not sure, but probably. And if that's the case then I can't just go there and do what I want to do. He'll want to beat my ass!"
"That's your problem, Draco. Do you want to go or not? I'm going. The protective magic over that house is gone and I want to meet his family," Tom ended with a nasty sneer.
"Fine, let's go."
Draco and Tom Apparated themselves along with Mrs. Parkinson and Pansy's hopeless intended back to Malfoy Manor, and hastily dropped them off in the dungeon before departing to the Dursleys.
Back in Paris, Harry led his group upstairs as he could feel Pansy's enraged emotions and was able to lead them right to her. He was soon enraged himself when he realized there was a very strong silencing spell around the room, probably so her parents wouldn't have to hear her yells of denial and demands to be let out. There was a cat flap on the door that reminded him so much of his room at the Dursleys that his anger spiked and the door was wrenched back off its hinges, the magic the Parkinsons had put on in no way a match against Harry's. The others had been a few feet away so that the door simply slammed back against the wall of the hallway. Immediately, Pansy raced out of the room, a candlestick holder clutched tightly in her hand. She dropped it when she saw who was out there.
"Oh, thank Merlin!" She raced over to Hermione and Ginny and threw her arms around them. "They wanted to marry me to a disgusting old man! I thought I was going to die! I would have killed myself!"
"Pansy, you're okay now," Harry said, patting the distraught girl's shoulder. "You're going to come live with me and Draco until school starts."
Pansy pulled away from the Gryffindor witches and looked at Harry with wide eyes. She blinked a few times in surprise. "I…Potter, you…Harry!" she shrieked, scaring the crap out of the Ukatae, then threw her arms around him. Harry would have been amused if her embrace hadn't sent a shot of hot pain through his back.
"Gah!" He hastily pulled away from her and clenched his jaw shut against the pain.
"Harry, what is it?" Hermione asked.
"My back. It's getting worse."
"What do you mean worse? You never said your back was hurting at all!"
"Well…" Harry turned away from everyone to hide his blush. He didn't know why, but he was embarrassed about the whole growing wings thing.
"What is it?" Ginny asked and Blaise nodded that he too wanted to know what was going on. Very intrigued by the blush crossing Harry's face.
"It's not a big deal…Really."
"Harry." The tone and look Hermione was giving him expressed her concern and demand that he spill.
"I'mkindasortofgrowingwings. Like I said, no big deal."
There was silence as everyone tried to decipher in their minds what Harry had just said. He'd spoken fast, but they all understood him perfectly. Harry's blush only intensified.
"What was that, Harry? I missed it," Blaise said with a smirk.
"I said I'm growing wings. Go on and laugh. I know you want to. Just get it over with." Harry turned and walked down the hall, expecting to hear a raucous of laughter behind him. He was mildly surprised when he felt a firm arm slide over his shoulders. He looked and raised an eyebrow at Blaise.
"That's actually kind of cool, mate. Is Draco getting wings?"
"No."
"Oh. I see."
Harry caught the grin on the Slytherin's face and sighed. "Yeah, alright. I'm the submissive. Let's not talk about this again."
"Oh come on, Harry. I think it's cool you're getting wings!" Ginny bubbled as they descended the stairs. "I mean… wings! Harry's gonna have wings!" She shouted as they came into the Entrance Hall where Lucius, Severus, and Sirius waited, all three older wizards having heard the last of the conversation.
"Wings?" all three exclaimed. Harry moaned and Apparated straight back to his room in Malfoy Manor.
Draco Apparated both himself and Tom to the front of the Dursley home, unconcerned that it was a bright sunny day and anyone could have seen them. They walked with a purpose up to the door and knocked. Draco thought they should just blast the door open, but Tom seemed to want to do things the polite way, which seemed to be extremely hypocritical. As if he knew what Draco was thinking, Tom turned and smirked.
"I like surprises," he said. "I like bringing surprises. I like to see the fear cross people's faces when they realize the surprise is all to my liking."
"You're one messed up wizard, Tom."
The door opened. Draco recognized Petunia Dursley and she immediately recognized him.
"What do you want? My nephew isn't here," she stated while eyeing the two handsomely dressed wizards warily.
"You can't even say his name, can you? You still think he's a freak!"
"Draco, you must remain calm. May we come in, Mrs. Dursley?"
As she didn't think she had a choice, Petunia allowed the two into her home and watched Draco carefully as he had been very violent last time. Draco and Tom didn't even bother to sit down. They stared at the furniture with disdain.
"Is your husband and son here?" Tom asked. Petunia shook her head and backed herself into a corner. Tom looked to Draco. Did she think that would protect her? "Well then, you will not mind if we wait," he said. "How long do you expect them to be?"
Petunia remained silent. She realized it was a mistake to let these men into her home. And she was an idiot to have done it while she was the only one there. She felt there was something very very wrong with both of them. "What do you want? Give me a message and I'll relay it to my husband."
"Oh no, we'll wait," Draco said. "I'm sure the message will be better received if it's in person."
"If this is about my nephew…"
"Say his name!" Draco yelled, startling the woman into screaming and covering her face. "His name is Harry! You should at least use his name after everything else you've put him through!"
"I've already told you I was sorry…what more can I do?" she whispered in a terrified high-pitched voice.
"You will control yourself or I will send you home," Tom hissed to Draco. "And you, madam, will convince your husband to return home now. And your little boy as well."
Draco snorted. "Little?"
"Vernon will not come. He doesn't listen to me. And I don't know where Dudley has gone."
Tom approached the woman and sneered in her face. "You will tell him to come home. If he refuses, tell him I will be more than happy to burn his home to the ground…with you trapped inside. Do it now!"
Petunia had no idea who this man was, but the look in his eyes made all the blood drain from her face and she scurried away into the kitchen to pick up the phone. She didn't even think of trying to escape the house. Not that it would have done her any good if she had tried. The black haired young man followed some paces behind, quietly chastising the blond who had started to fume silently.
"Draco, your reactions are getting to be as bad as Harry's. He's always letting his temper get the best of his mouth. Drives me insane."
"Sorry," he muttered and watched the muggle with an eagle eye as she dialed a number.
"You wouldn't by any chance be ringing the authorities, would you?" Tom asked quietly and pushed the disconnect button. She looked at him in surprise, her eyes flashing her guilt. "That would be a stupid move on your part. Try again. And this time, don't make any mistakes. I'm losing patience."
Petunia nodded and with shaking fingers, she dialed the correct number. Vernon came on the line almost immediately. Tom really was losing patience and he put her under the Imperius curse to say exactly what he wanted. She told Vernon their son had been in a very bad accident and he was needed home immediately. That was really all it took, but Tom threw in some hysterical crying in there as well, though Mrs. Dursley didn't need to be under the curse to achieve that.
"Now then, we'll wait for your husband to return, and if your son isn't home by then, we'll just have to go find him." Tom flashed Petunia a humorless grin.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"
"My name is Tom Riddle. Perhaps you've heard of me…."
"No. No, I've never heard of you."
"Perhaps you've heard of Lord Voldemort then?" when Petunia's eyes went wide, he chuckled. "So you have heard of me. That's wonderful." He shoved her into a chair at the kitchen table, "Incarcerous." Large thick ropes flashed out of the chair and bound her tightly to it.
"But you can't be here! That old wizard said we had protection-"
"You did. Until Harry left and had his seventeenth birthday. Now I may come and go as I please. But believe me, this will be the last you ever see of me." Tom turned to Draco. "Show me this cupboard, Draco."
The blond nodded and went to the cupboard under the stairs and blasted the door open, but not before they both noticed the many locks on the outside. Inside was a small cot, a couple of shelves that took up much of the space inside, and a hanging light socket that held no light bulb. There were stains on the floor and on the small thin mattress. Tom bent and went in to study the stains. When he came out, his eyes were blazing. "Harry's blood…they kept him locked in here? For years?"
Draco nodded, unable to say anything. He was staring at the blood, his eyes glowing an eerie silver and his claws began to extend.
"Not yet," Tom said and placed an understanding hand on the Ukatae's arm. They returned to the kitchen. "You should have destroyed the evidence," he told the squirming woman.
"I thought you wanted to destroy him."
"Let's just say Harry and I have come to an understanding." And in fact, Tom actually thought of Harry as a younger sibling now; which was odd in and of itself, as he'd never had any siblings, but he felt a very strange and warming connection with the younger wizard. "Draco and myself, we are his family now. We have come for payment for the crimes you've committed against him. He was a far better human than you or your family ever was. He doesn't know we're here. He would probably be angry if he knew why we've come."
"Was a better human?" Petunia shivered at the stare Draco was giving her. "Is he…Is Harry dead?" she asked with wide eyes.
Draco sneered. If he didn't know any better he would have thought she sounded worried about Harry. But of course that was impossible. "No, of course not. But he's no longer human. He is what I am." Draco leaned forward and dropped the glamour protecting his ears and teeth. "We are better than human."
Petunia whimpered. "Please. Please let me go. Why are you doing this?"
"We've already explained to you. We are here to seek revenge."
"But you just said he wouldn't want that!"
"Unfortunately for you, we aren't as good natured as Harry." Tom and Draco wore identical smirks and Petunia began to silently cry.
Ginny and Hermione brought Pansy to the Burrow where Molly wasted no time in calming the distraught witch with kindness and a good amount of food and was suitably outraged along with the Slytherin witch.
"You should have seen the old geezer her parents wanted to marry her off to, Mum!"
Molly patted Pansy's arm. "It's alright dear. You don't think Draco or Harry will allow you to be married off like that. And thank Merlin you didn't sign the contract, otherwise you may not have had a choice."
Once Pansy was feeling better, Ginny took her out back so that they could fly around for a while. Molly made them wait before they could go to Malfoy Manor until she could fine them a suitable escort because their Floo network wasn't connected to the Manor at that point. Molly also invited them back later because she wanted to meet the new Tom, so she invited everyone over for dinner. Ron was there to hear this, but as Molly never specified whom the new young man was, he had no idea his mum was talking about Tom Riddle. All he did know was that Harry and his friends were coming for dinner.
"I refuse to sit for dinner with them!"
"Then you may go upstairs and stay there until they have left, Ronald Weasley! Harry is still a part of this family whether you like it or not and Draco is too. And now that Sirius has married Lucius he will be a frequent visitor as well."
"But He's A Death Eater," Ron said slowly as if it were just news to her.
"Who's a Death Eater?" Charlie Weasley came in and kissed his mum's cheek before placing a bundle of flowers on the table.
"Lucius Malfoy! Mum's gone nutters and invited a whole bunch of Dark wizards to dinner!"
"Ronald Weasley, one more word…. Besides, it's never been proven that Lucius is a Death Eater."
"He has the Dark Mark!"
"He was forced to take it under the Imperius, dear. Everyone knows that."
Ron gaped at his mother. Not believing she was making excuses for Lucius Malfoy of all people.
"Mum…" Charlie pulled her away from Ron and started whispering. "I'm not opposed to dinner, but Dumbledore has easy access to the Burrow and you know Ron, he's liable to tell him what's happening."
"Hermione has assured me the Ukatae will provide plenty of protection, dear." Then she raised her voice so that Ron could hear. "And as for Ronald, he won't say a word. Not when I tell him his family may be in danger of Dumbledore if he finds everyone here."
Ron's eyes widened at the possibility of what could happen. He knew his family would be in great danger, and despite his growing hatred for Harry, he didn't want to involve his family in Dumbledore's fight against the boy who lived. That would cause all sorts of problems. Even if they kind of deserved it, what with the way they kept associating with Harry and the Malfoys.
"Besides," Molly went on, "I haven't had a chance to fill Harry's stomach in so long." Charlie grinned. "Will you be joining us dear?"
Ron huffed, mumbled something about going to see Fred and George and quickly departed.
"Course Mum. Don't have to be back to the dragon colony until next week."
"That's wonderful." Molly hustled to the kitchen. "Oh Charlie, will you please escort the girls back to Malfoy Manor? I don't like them traveling by themselves with Dumbledore out looking for Harry and Draco."
"Yeah, sure. Where are they?" Charlie asked. He didn't hear any noise upstairs, so didn't think they were in the house.
"Ginny took Pansy out for a fly. In the yard out back." Charlie nodded and headed to the back lawn where he found Hermione sitting on the grass reading a thick book. As he stood beside her, he looked down and noticed what book it was.
"The Dark Arts, Hermione?"
He chuckled when Hermione squeaked in surprise and slammed the book shut. She was flushing as she quickly rose, trying to hide the book behind her robes. "No worries. It's not like I'm going to think less of you."
"It's good to see you, Charlie."
He gave her a tight one-armed hug. "You too, Herms. I've been appointed to take you three back to Malfoy Manor."
Hermione nodded and they watched Ginny and Pansy fly around. Ginny clearly had more skill, but that was because she was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Pansy was simply flying for the fun of it, and by her laughter, the Slytherin witch was clearly in better spirits.
"That Parkinson?" Charlie asked. He squinted his eyes against the sun and pointing to the zigzagging witch above.
"Hm." He looked down to find Hermione already back into her book, unaware of the world.
"So where's Harry? I hear he was on the mission to get Parkinson back as well. He didn't come back here with you?"
"No. He went home to rest. He was complaining about back problems." She pulled her eyes away from the book and grinned at Charlie. "Apparently, Harry is growing wings."
"Seriously?" Charlie's eyes had grown wide, but his grin stretched from ear to ear. "That's wicked."
"At this point he doesn't think so. He's says it was just an annoying itch before, but now the pains are getting more frequent as the wings are forcing their way out of his back. I hope he tells Draco, but I seriously doubt he will."
"Why wouldn't he?"
"Harry still has the bad habit of trying to keep things to himself if he can. He doesn't want to bother anyone. Stupid really."
"I'm sure you'll tell Draco if Harry doesn't."
"You bet your cute butt I will."
"Hermione!" Charlie stared down at her with wide eyes, and the blush on his face was adorable. Charlie cleared his throat and looked away from her grin.
"Well you do have a cute butt. I'm not going to lie."
Charlie ignored her due to his embarrassment and whistled loud and clear for the witches above to hear. Both girls immediately zoomed down and landed lightly beside Hermione and Charlie.
"Pansy, why aren't you on the Quidditch team?" Ginny asked.
The Slytherin witch shrugged and hoisted the broom over her shoulder. "I prefer to do other things to occupy my time." She passed Charlie and gave him a once over with a smirk. Charlie threw his hands up in the air and began backing away.
"I'll take dragons any day." He quickly made his way to the house.
Ginny peered at Hermione in question. "I only said his arse was cute," she answered with an unconcerned shrug. Ginny snorted. Pansy giggled, and they both looked at her.
"It's the truth," the Slytherin replied as she stared after the retreating dragon tamer. "His arse is fine."
"C'mon, ladies. Let's get back to Malfoy Manor. I want to check up on Harry."
After that, Charlie Weasley didn't say much of anything to the girls as he Apparated each girl to the wards of Malfoy Manor. He was wary of all three. And he didn't know it, but Pansy could already Apparate but she failed to mention that because she wanted the cute redhead to have to hold on to her while he Apparated. Charlie quickly vacated as soon as he saw them to the front door.
"Geez, you two certainly scared my brother. Never seen him so quiet," Ginny said as they made their way up to Harry and Draco's room. They found Harry on his stomach in the bed. He smiled when they let themselves in. Immediately the girls climbed onto the huge bed and began to coddle him.
"Oh c'mon! It's just some back pains. They'll go away."
"Yes, but Harry, that looks painful," Pansy said pointing to his bare back. Harry had removed his shirt due to the fact it felt better with the cold air flowing against it. The bumps and ridges Draco had felt before were more pronounced now and also red and swollen. It certainly did look painful.
"Have you told Draco yet?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.
"Why not?" Ginny demanded. "He can help with the pain."
"He's busy with Tom."
"What do you mean, busy? Where are they?"
"They went to the Dursleys, Mione. He thinks I don't know, but I'm not stupid. I haven't contacted him because I don't want to know what they're doing there."
"But Harry," Hermione started quietly, "you do know Tom and Draco want revenge for what the Dursleys did to you."
"Course I know."
"You don't care?"
"No, Gin. Not really." Harry pushed himself and turned around until he was sitting cross-legged, looking at his friends. "And if it makes Draco happy, I'm not going to stop him."
"If I were you, I'd want personal revenge for whatever they did to you," Pansy put in.
"You don't even know what they put him through," Ginny said to her.
"That's because no one has told me anything. But I can guess it was pretty bad. So why don't you want your own revenge?"
"Because I don't care. They are nothing to me anymore. Nothing. I don't want to think about them, see them, hear about them, nothing. But Draco and Tom can have their fun with them because the Dursleys need to be taught that they can't treat people like trash just because they are different."
"Ok, Harry." Hermione gave him a hug, being careful of his back. She could tell he was getting upset over their conversation. "But I still think you should tell Draco about your back. Right now."
"I'll do it now then," he replied, only because he knew she wouldn't stop nagging him otherwise. Harry twisted back around to lie on his stomach again. Someone ran their fingers through his hair in a comforting gesture, and when he turned to smile at them he was surprised to find it was Pansy.
"Thanks for coming to save me, Harry," she said, smiling softly.
"You're my friend now, Pansy. Course I'd save you!"
"Of course he would. He has that hero complex, you know," Ginny laughed.
"I do NOT have a hero complex!"
"You do, Harry," both Ginny and Hermione announced. Harry huffed and buried his face against his arms while Pansy snorted and ruffled his hair.
They had been waiting for twenty minutes already for that fat bastard to return home and Draco was seriously getting impatient. As crazy as it sounded, he was missing Harry and it was on a far too intense level. Draco wondered if that would ever lessen and he hoped it wouldn't. It was both a pleasant and uncomfortable feeling. He could have talked to Harry, but Draco didn't want to contact him just in case his mate decided to question him on his whereabouts. Draco didn't think he could lie very well to Harry at this point, and he didn't really want to lie at all.
Draco? Speak of the devil. I'm being pestered to contact you.
Why?
My back is hurting. It's kind of painful. I wasn't going to say anything, but Mione is relentless…
Draco pushed away from the wall of the kitchen where he'd stopped his pacing to glare at the floor and moved into the living room where he could have more privacy, even though he was only talking in his head. Tom nodded at him as he passed, guessing at why Draco was leaving.
I'm glad she made you tell me. I'll come home now.
I know where you are. Draco's eyes widened. How could Harry know? He heard Harry chuckling in his mind and frowned. Just finish what you're doing then come home. I'm not mad at you. Though I am a little annoyed that you didn't tell me where you were going.
I thought you would try to stop me. And then I would have had to go against your wishes if you'd told me not to go.
Just don't get caught, and don't tell me what you've done either. I never want to know. Oh! And don't be out too late because I've just been informed we are having dinner with the Weasleys tonight. Tom as well. Draco could hear the amusement in Harry's voice.
Okay. I'll let Tom know. Not sure if he'll accept the invitation though.
Oh, he will. Just tell him Mrs. Weasley will be very angry if he refuses. She might even come after him with her wooden spoon! Draco couldn't help but laugh out loud at the mental picture that brought to his mind.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?"
Vernon Dursley's bulking form suddenly filled Draco's vision to where he could see every disgusting pore of the muggle.
Need to go Harry. Draco flicked his fingers out and sent the muggle flying back into the opposite wall, and watched happily as Vernon Dursley slid down the wall. Draco pulled his wand and pointed it at the man's face. "Get up."
Vernon heaved himself to his feet, his face gone purple with rage. He had a wild look in his eyes that made Draco think the muggle might actually try and take his wand away from him. To deter the fat muggle, Draco flashed his fangs and that took all the fight out of the muggle.
"Where's my son? What have you done to him?"
"All in good time. To the kitchen."
"Petunia!" he spat upon seeing his wife tied up at the table. Tom watched as the wife flinched upon seeing her husband enter. "You let these freaks into my home!" Vernon stormed over to his wife and slapped her face; not once, but repeatedly. Mrs. Dursley remained silent and let him hit her.
"That's enough!" Draco yelled. He couldn't help but see a resemblance in Mrs. Dursley to Harry when Mr. Dursley was hitting her. Like she had resigned herself to that fate. Draco pushed Vernon into a chair and bound him to it as well. Then he turned to the woman.
"Why did you return to him? You said you wanted to correct your son's attitude. And yet here you are." Draco leaned forward and pulled at the end of the pink scarf from around her neck until it fell off, exposing the dark brutal fat fingerprints imprinted against her pale skin. Draco flinched when he saw it. "And it seems now that Harry is gone your husband has turned his fists on you."
"We had nowhere else to go," she replied quietly. "And he wouldn't let me take our son away from him."
"That's right. He's my son." Vernon sneered.
"I couldn't leave Dudley here with only his father. He would only get worse. I don't want my son to grow up any more like him," Petunia defended herself.
Draco peered at Mrs. Dursley and wondered if they were doing the right thing; at least to her and her child. He firmly believed Mr. Dursley deserved what was about to happen to him, but he wasn't sure about the woman and her child now. And he couldn't follow through with this in good conscious if he wasn't absolutely sure. He tried to convey his thoughts to Tom by look alone, but he wasn't sure if the Dark Lord understood what was in his look. Tom was standing back against the counter watching everything with a detached look. Draco crossed to him.
"Is she really sorry? Can you see?" he asked quietly.
Tom gave him an odd look, his brow lifting past his hairline. He didn't really care if she was sorry or not, but he understood what was going through Draco's mind. He crossed to the table and sat down across from Mrs. Dursley and peered into her eyes. "She is. I see her son has improved upon his thoughts as well, despite this bastard," he said, nodding to Vernon. "They are both afraid of him."
"As they should be," Vernon spat. Draco walked forward, extended his claws and hit the muggle across the face, enjoying the way his claws ripped the man's flesh. Mr. Dursley screamed as the blood began to ooze down his face.
Suddenly, the front door banged open and they heard Dudley Dursley stomping through the house. "Mum! Mum, are you alright?" he skidded to a halt upon entering the kitchen.
"Now why would you think something has happened to your mother?" Draco asked and waved the teen into the kitchen. Dudley automatically did as Draco directed and headed straight for his mother.
"I…Er…I was at the park and saw father speeding by…I thought…"
"You don't like to leave your mother alone with your father then?" Tom asked curiously. Dudley shook his head.
"Please…please don't hurt my son. Please," Petunia begged.
"Mum?" Dudley turned wide eyes on everyone in the room, and then he stopped at Draco, recognition suddenly taking over. "You're that boy who helped Harry before. You look… different."
"I am different."
"Is Harry all right?"
Draco hid his surprise well, and smiled coldly at the boy. "Do you really care?"
Dudley looked to his father, and then quickly looked away. Vernon was giving him the coldest look he'd ever seen.
"Answer," Tom ordered. "You will not be harmed for answering truthfully."
Draco held back a snort. Tom was lying through his teeth! The Dursley boy's answer would probably determine whether he lived through this or not.
"Er…yeah, I guess I do," the boy answered without looking at either Draco or Tom. Draco could feel the fear coming off him in waves, but was surprised that it wasn't just fear he felt; there was also a large amount of curiosity as well. That was interesting.
"Draco, take Mrs. Dursley and her son upstairs and lock them in a room. But make sure they can hear everything that goes on down here. That should be punishment enough," Tom ordered, taking the decision from Draco's conflicted hands. He stood and Draco nodded before releasing Petunia from the chair.
"If you and your son want to survive, I suggest you keep quiet." Draco pushed them out of the kitchen and up the stairs, shoving them into Harry's old bedroom. He placed a charm around the room so that any noise coming from downstairs was magnified into the room.
"What are you going to do to Vernon?" she asked.
"Do you care?"
"I… I don't know. He is my husband after all."
"Dad's insane," Dudley whispered, standing in front of his mother. "He still wishes he'd killed Harry."
"Do you still think Harry is a freak?"
"No, he's just different. Are you sure he's okay?"
Draco nodded and smirked. "I should know. He's my lover, after all." And with that he shut the door on their shocked faces and snickered all the way down the stairs.
When Draco reentered the kitchen, he found Tom and Mr. Dursley in a staring contest, but the only reason why the muggle wasn't looking away was because he was frozen in fear. Tom had told him exactly who he was.
"I want you to know," Draco began to Mr. Dursley, "that by the time we are finished with you, there won't be a breath left in your body. You will be dead by tonight."
Tom rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "Merlin, Draco. Thanks so very much for spoiling the surprise!"
"Oh, sorry." Draco shrugged and placed his wand on the kitchen counter.
"Fine then. I'll let you have your fun first," Tom said.
Draco went forward and placed his hands on the table and leaned towards Dursley. "Have you ever seen a tiger eat live prey?" Mr. Dursley's face twitched under the pain Draco's claws had caused on his face, but otherwise remained silent and unmoving. "I tell you it's not a pretty sight. Maybe I'll give you a firsthand look, yeah?" Draco stepped back and to Vernon Dursley's horror, the blond man shimmered and fell to his hands and knees.
Draco's entire body trembled and then Dursley's eyes went wide with fear when he saw a massive white tiger sitting where the blond used to be. The tiger's face tilted up, he stretched his massive jaws, showing off extremely sharp teeth, and let out a deafening roar. Tom stood still, looking at the tiger with an extremely pleased expression on his face.
"Very nice, Draco. No stripes, either. That's very strange."
Vernon watched as the tiger swiveled his head to the other man and nodded. Then he turned back and pinned Vernon with a wicked stare, licking his chops. Vernon thought it perfectly natural that he should be so fearful that he lost control over his bowels.
"T-this only proves that I'm right!" he shouted, ashamed his voice trembled as badly as his big form was. "You're all freaks intent on driving the world mad! Your actions today only reinforce what I've thought all along."
"Do you think we would be here if you had raised Harry properly or if you had treated him like family instead of a piece of trash?" Tom moved forward to stroke the tiger's head. "Most of the time all we want is to be left alone. To keep you and your kind from destroying us. To keep you from alienating our children. We have to hide our communities in fear of being persecuted by people like you. You consider yourself the epitome of normal, yet you aren't. You abuse children and ostracize anyone different from you. Your kind included. Do you think anyone will care if you are no longer around?"
By the end of Tom's tirade, in which Vernon was more or less ignoring because he knew he was right and nothing the freak said would make a difference to him, the blond freak had transformed back into a man and was looking at the other freak with an annoyed look on his face.
"Do you mind? May I go back to stalking my prey now?" he asked acidly. "You said it was my turn, Tom."
"Excuse me, Draco," the dark haired one said, and bowed to the blond. "Please proceed."
Draco turned back to Dursley and could see the muggle had heard nothing Tom was trying to say. "I have a better idea. Instead of eating you, because that would just be really gross, I'm going to make you feel all that Harry ever felt while he lived under this roof. And I promise not one bit of it will be good. You will feel all of the mental torture and physical abuse you ever put him through. You will feel as if you are Harry during all of it."
Draco clapped his hands and closed his eyes before inhaling. As he did so, the air seemed to swirl around him, breezes coming from the walls and rooms themselves instead of from outside. Tom felt the house was breathing with Draco and when the Ukatae exhaled, all the air seemed to slam into Vernon Dursley, knocking him and the chair onto its back. Dursley started coughing uncontrollably, gasping for oxygen even as the air around seemed to want to strangle him. And then the muggle started to shake and spasm.
"Feel that? You're feeling the horror he felt every time he had to come back here. The terror he felt every time he heard you and thought you were going to punish him for something your son did." Draco snapped his fingers and Dursley started to scream when they heard several of his bones snapping out of place. "Oh yes. And every time you broke a bone…" Draco made himself not flinch when the muggle's bones continued to break. There were so many breaks in so many places. Draco hadn't known Harry had been subjected to that much. It was clear Harry was still keeping things to himself. Draco wondered how Harry had been able to keep the abuse secret for so long. Surely someone must have seen or noticed something.
Draco scowled and added on the emotional pain and watched as Vernon began to cry and scream and yell that he was not insignificant and that he mattered.
"So much pain you put him through." Draco's eyes brightened in fury as the muggle began to beg him to stop the torture. "Did you stop?" he spat. "Did you even think about the damage you were doing?"
At one point, Dursley's collarbone broke and tore through the flesh; Draco heard a rib break, and Dursley started to cough up blood. Draco remembered the last time Harry had coughed up blood and looked at Tom. "When did that happen to Harry? Was it more than once?"
Tom searched Vernon's mind and winced. He really didn't want to answer that question. He knew it would be a really bad mistake. "Are you going to leave him like that?" he asked instead. "The muggle is going to drown in his blood."
"I don't give a shit! Answer me."
"The first time, Harry was nine. The second time, it was just after he'd received his Hogwarts letter, at the age of ten. The third time happened this summer."
"He was nine the first time…" Draco felt such sadness and pain that he had to squeeze his eyes closed to keep the tears at bay. His Harry. So small. So much pain…
"Finish him. Do what you want with the two upstairs," Draco said to Tom. "I have to get back to Harry."
Draco Apparated in the next instant. Tom stared at Dursley as the muggle continued to go through the pain. Whatever magic Draco had used to allow Dursley to feel everything Harry had was still working, even without the blond there. Tom had no problem sitting down and watching the torture go on. He could have done it all night. But Tom wouldn't need to wait all night as everything was happening all at once, which was why it was such a great payback. He knew Dursley would lose his mind before the end of it.
Eventually Tom stood up and kicked Vernon onto his side so that the fat man wouldn't actually drown in blood. "I don't know if you can understand what's going on now, or if you can hear me, but I really hope you can. There is a spell that I learned where it makes a person's organs, all of them, come out of the body to land in a mess at that person's feet." Tom smiled serenely. "Would you like to see how that works, Mr. Dursley?"
Draco Apparated directly to his room and was surprised to find Harry in bed with three witches. "If I didn't know Harry so well, and the fact that he's obviously gay, you would all die in a very painful way," he commented, trying and failing to smile at his own joke as he walked over to the bed. He saw Harry had discarded his shirt and had white cloths placed over his back.
Harry propped himself up by his elbows and shot his mate a grin. "They're only keeping me company," he replied softly, locking his eyes with Draco's and immediately seeing what the blond was trying to hide. The pain, sadness, guilt, and turmoil.
"Glad you're back, though," Hermione offered. She sat cross-legged beside Harry with a bowl of water in her lap and was wringing some of the water out from a white washcloth. She removed a cloth from Harry's back and Draco sucked in a breath when he saw the red swollen bumps along the pale skin. Hermione quickly covered the spot with the new washcloth. Harry sighed in relief and dropped his head to the pillow.
"Amortia was in here earlier. But she couldn't do much for the pain," she explained.
"I guess I'm just going to have to deal with it until my wings come in."
Draco nodded and climbed onto the bed, smiling at Ginny when she made room for him. He was about to place his hands over the cloth on Harry's back when his mate stopped him.
"No sense in both of us feeling the pain. Eventually it'll go away. I can handle it. S'not like I'm going to die from this."
"Don't be stupid, Harry."
Draco continued on to what he was doing and hissed when he felt the throbbing pain, but eventually the pain ebbed and Harry was feeling a little better, but not much.
"Doesn't seem to be working like it usually does," Draco said, frowning.
"Probably because this has to happen."
"Did Amortia give you any pain potions?"
"No. She wanted to wait to see if you could heal it without me having to take something extra. I told her nothing was going to be able to help."
"I wonder what the wings will look like and what color they'll be," Ginny said.
"Pink. I hope they turn out to be pink."
Everyone turned to stare at Pansy incredulously; all except Harry, whose face was suddenly tinged green. "Pink?" he squeaked.
"What? I think pink would be a nice color."
"Pansy! If you've jinxed me into having pink wings, I'll kill you and then I'll kill myself! I mean, really. I already look like a bloody girl."
"And what's wrong with being a girl, Harry?"
"Nothing Gin, if you are one!" he spat vehemently. "But I'm a boy, not a girl!"
Draco looked at the girls and as one they nodded. "We'll be back to check on you later," Hermione said, and she dropped a kiss on Harry's head.
When they were all gone, Harry sighed. "I hate being treated like a baby," he mumbled. "It's only stupid wings. They'll probably be ugly and bothersome…"
Draco half smiled. Cranky Harry was adorable. "It's hurting you. Nobody likes to see you hurt."
"You shouldn't have gone there," Harry said after hearing the darkness creep into Draco's voice and knowing exactly where it had come from. "It hasn't made you feel any better has it?"
"No."
"You won't go there again?"
"No."
"Promise me."
"I promise never to go there again."
"Good." Then Harry brightened. "Did you tell Tom about dinner tonight?"
Draco finally truly smiled. "No. It's a surprise. The wizard keeps going on and on about surprises. So I figured we would give him one."
Harry shook his head and laughed. He was pretty sure tonight was going to turn into an event of chaos.
A/N: Edited 10/19/2011