23. BEHIND THE LINE OF DEFENCE

"I don't actually enjoy chocolate all that much," Tom commented with a smirk, idly inspecting the big gift box of Honeydukes' Finest Selection. "But still, nice try."

Holly huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him an exasperated look. He supposed he could understand her growing frustration, especially as her previous attempts had included flowers and potted plants for his study, a bottle of fine wine that she had somehow convinced Lucius to get from the deepest levels of his cellar, a rather touching written apology and a number of unprovoked compliments he would say had been at least eighty percent sincere.

"I don't know what you want from me," Holly said. "And I think maybe you don't understand how this apology thing works because you're not supposed to withhold your forgiveness for your own amusement."

Tom laughed. "Would you like me to give you a hint?"

"Yes!" Holly stated emphatically, all but stomping her foot.

"I would simply like a kiss," Tom replied. "On the lips, if you please."

"And if I don't please?" Holly challenged.

"Then I will just have to make do with chocolate, won't I?" Tom answered with an easy shrug and a charming smile, knowing how much Holly hated being backed into a corner and that he needed to leave the decision in her hands if he wanted this to work. Which he very much did.

"We've kissed before," Holly pointed out, still at a safe distance from him.

"I think it would be more accurate to say that you've allowed me to kiss you," Tom refuted softly, studying her carefully to make sure he wasn't pushing too hard.

She had been getting better, these last few days, still hiding out in their quarters for large parts of the day and asking to be excused from the communal meals after a first incident when she had all but fainted upon entering the dining hall and being exposed to everyone's emotions. He had quite enjoyed having her to himself, in all honesty. She had been a little quieter, a little more thoughtful, perhaps, but still so sweet and surprisingly amenable without her usual arsenal of snappy comebacks and long-suffering eyerolls. It had been nice to get to know this softer side of her, but he was still glad that she was starting to regain her equilibrium and confidence and with it her charming unruliness.

She was still watching him suspiciously, clearly trying to divine what ulterior motives he might be entertaining, and he gave her what he hoped was a welcoming, unassuming smile. She snorted, but then relaxed from her defensive position, slinking towards him with the feline grace of her Animagus form.

When she had reached his armchair, she hesitated briefly, but quickly rallied again, perching delicately on the armrest and throwing her legs across his lap. Tom lightly rested his hand on her thigh and obligingly tilted his face towards her when she reached out to cup his cheek with her small hand.

He half expected her to dart in for a quick peck, a fleeting facsimile of a proper kiss, and chided himself for how nice even that sounded, but instead she placed her lips very slowly and very softly against his. For a moment she seemed unsure of where to go from there, but of course his little wife had not been sorted into Gryffindor by chance and she soon pressed their mouths a little more firmly together and tipped her tongue hesitantly against the seam of his lips.

Tom grinned internally and returned her timid exploration, keeping pace with her soft touches and gentle licks without pushing her further, beyond pleased with this leisurely, intimate kiss. When Holly eventually broke the kiss, she had slid fully into his lap and Tom's fingers had somehow wound themselves into her silky hair.

"That was delightful, kitten. And of course I accept your apology," he replied with only the gentlest hint of teasing.

"You better," she gave back with a huff, shifting slightly, but then seeming to realize her position and the possible connotations and freezing into stillness.

Tom sighed soundlessly, then gently lifted her to her feet before getting up as well. "Shall we go down to dinner? It'll start a little earlier today on account of our duelling competition."

Holly nodded eagerly, as he had known she would. The duelling competition had originally been set for the beginning of the week, but Holly had still been in such a vulnerable emotional state then and so disappointed that she would miss it that Tom had decided to postpone it by a few days. Holly had spent most of the afternoon down in the duelling pit, keeping his Death Eaters company as they checked and updated the old warding and protection spells in preparation for that night. Tom had also enlisted her help in drawing lots for the duelling pairs and had covered the most important rules and customs with her in their last lesson, which had only added to her joy of anticipation.

§*§*§*§*§

The duelling pit was an oblong-shaped amphitheatre on the east side of the main castle, with the omnipresent motif of snakes making an appearance here as well in the form of a large mosaic of intertwining serpents along the edge of the duelling stage and enormous stone basilisks to separate the different viewing sections. The seating rows were hewn from large blocks of dark grey stone, spiralling upwards in the semblance of a circular staircase fit for a giant. For the occasion, the house-elves had provided fluffy rectangular cushions to the spectators that included not only his Death Eaters but also some of their sons and daughters and other assorted family members, who had all been eager to watch the various duels and presumably cheer for their respective champions.

Tom cast a brief look over his shoulder, making sure that Holly was still safely in her assigned seat, double-checked the layers of protective warding around the box seats and then tapped his wand against his throat for a wordless Sonorus.

"Good evening, gentle witches and wizards, welcome to Slytherin Castle and our little duelling competition! The tournament will follow standard duelling practices and customs, but a few notes before we begin:

"All duels will commence on my signal and end either upon the formal surrender of one of the duellist or again on my signal. Contestants may yield at any point; furthermore any loss of consciousness or similar incapacitation will be deemed equivalent to a surrender.

"All forms of magic are permitted, but since we do not wish to make it that easy for the Light side, all duellists have agreed to abstain from using any curses or spells which might lead to permanent damage or expose the audience to harmful effects. In case of doubt, you may refer to the provided list of banned spells and Lucius and I will be available in the breaks if you wish to clarify your strategy before your turn in the tournament.

"As a last point, note that all spells must be performed from within the demarcated duelling area; any leaving of this area will lead to instant disqualification and any interference from outside of this area will be considered cheating and will not be tolerated."

He paused to let his words unfold their full impact and then continued to outline the plan for the evening before announcing their first two duellists, Severus Snape and Dauphina Nott. The duelling pairs had been drawn by chance, but Tom had made the executive decision that these two should go first because he was reasonably certain that they would follow the rules and that they would refrain from using any properly Dark magic that might traumatise his little wife. He was equally sure that Severus would win easily, but would be enough of a gentleman not to make it embarrassingly quick.

Holly had leaned forward in her seat and he put a light hand on her shoulder as Severus and Dauphina bowed respectfully to one another, their wands raised in front of their chests, then swivelled on their heels and took measured steps to their starting positions. Tom raised his own wand, giving it a leisurely flick-and-swirl to create a simple countdown clock between the two opponents, the number ten appearing in luminescent green smoke above their heads.

"Let the tournament commence and may the best duellist win!" he proclaimed, the audience cheering and clapping in agreement, some jumping up or stomping their feet.

He allowed it for a moment before tapping his wand to start the countdown, a hush settling over the crowd as the numbers ticked down to naught. A short trumpet sound heralded the start of the first round, both Severus and Dauphina launching into immediate attacks, shields, counter-attacks.

Tom sank down into his own chair, dividing his attention between the tournament itself and Holly's reactions to it, whispering commentary when he thought she might be interested in having a bit more context or when he feared that she was getting a little too invested, a little too tense and upset.

"I think you'll find this next one particularly interesting," he remarked in the break between the first and the second round as David and Rudolphus, who had both emerged victorious from their first duels, were readying themselves for their next challenge. "I know you've become quite familiar with the Lestranges' fighting technique, but David is an expert at ancient runes and I think this will be the duel where he gets to show that."

Holly was watching the two wizards with avid eyes, a small furrow appearing between her inky brows as if she was trying to figure something out. "David seems more confident."

"Rudolphus and Rabastan's fighting style – while tremendously effective in actual combat situations – doesn't really lend itself to this kind of setting," Tom agreed.

"Seven metres," she said with a nod. "They once told me that if they can start their attack from seven metres of distance or less, they have a very good chance of disarming their opponent before they can even draw their wand. But any distance above that gets tricky and they can't always use their martial arts skills."

"Exactly," Tom answered approvingly. "But rune magic takes time to unfold, which is why I believe David hasn't used it in his first duel."

"That was against Avery," Holly muttered. "He hardly needed to pull out all the stops for that."

"Not impressed with our resident duelling champion?" Lucius asked. "I think he won the All-England Wizarding Duelling Competition in '65, was it?"

"'55, darling," Narcissa corrected, smiling when Lucius breathed a gentle kiss onto the back of her hand.

"He's a duelling champion?" Draco demanded with a sneer. "He was moving so slowly I was thinking of doing my Potions homework in between his spells."

Holly rolled her eyes with a huff. "It wasn't his speed that was the problem. He didn't put enough power behind his first spell and that gave David all the opening he needed."

Tom smiled a little at that astute assessment, asking her for her impressions on some of the other duels. He wasn't overly surprised that she had some clear favourites, though he still appreciated her almost brutal honesty when it came to the rest of his Death Eaters. Antonin Dolohov, in particular, had drawn her wrath, though Holly insisted that her criticism had nothing to do with the fact that the older Death Eater had won his duel against Rabastan.

"He wasn't very sporting," Holly commented. "All of his curses would have caused serious harm if they had got past Rabastan's defences – and I don't think he would have cared."

"Caring is not a requisite for this competition, Holly," Tom pointed out in amusement.

"No, but it's a requisite for being a good person," Holly retorted, her chin tilted up defiantly; he found it almost impossible to resist the urge to kiss her.

Instead he turned to Lucius. "Could you kindly remind Antonin about the rules of sportsmanship? And tell him that if any of his duelling partners should get injured all their usual duties will fall to him during their convalescence."

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius agreed with an easy smirk and got up from his chair. "I might extend the same courtesy to Corban; his modified Leg-Splitting-Curse came quite close to crossing the line, I thought."

Tom nodded and then focused back on Holly. "You're not confined to this chair, you know? Why don't you go down there to check on Rabastan and your other friends?"

"Okay," Holly exclaimed, already jumping to her feet and buzzing his cheek with a soft kiss before wiggling past Marcus, who, like Lucius, had eschewed to take part in the tournament, claiming that his publisher would be most displeased if he showed up to the scheduled book-signing at Flourish & Blotts with any body parts missing or wrapped in bandages.

"The second round starts in ten minutes," Tom called after her, rolling his eyes at her distracted wave.

"She seems to be settling in well, my Lord," Narcissa remarked delicately.

"I hope so, at least. And thank you for accompanying her for her ride yesterday," Tom replied.

"It was my pleasure. I never saw anyone attempt to ride a unicorn before and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes," Narcissa said and he silently agreed.

He had watched Holly from the window of his study, how she had carefully approached the small herd of unicorns that had wandered out of the forest to greet her, how she had patted them and brushed her fingers through their silvery manes, how she had beamed brightly when one of the unicorns had kneeled down in a clear invitation for a ride, how her long hair had waved behind her like a banner, her pale face tilted up into the sun, how she had laughed and whooped in joy as the unicorn had broken into a gallop, how she had looked as natural on the back of a mystical creature as on her trusty broom. For a moment, he had wondered how she could even stand to let him touch her before the fleeting thought had been wiped away by awe and pride.

When Holly returned, he was somehow completely unsurprised to find Rabastan's hulking form just behind her, acting as her bodyguard. Ever since that interlude with the Longbottoms, the two Lestranges had become even more protective towards his little wife, showing their gratitude in whatever way possible and treating her nothing short of a queen. Holly had good-naturedly rolled her eyes at them more than once and reminded them that none of their fussing was necessary, but they had merely shrugged their broad shoulders.

When Tom had decided that Holly might benefit from learning some non-magical self-defence techniques and asked the Lestranges if they would be willing to teach her, he had had the vague hope that she might enjoy her lessons and feel at ease with them, seeing as despite their imposing physical appearances the two brothers were polite, courteous and even-tempered to a fault. He hadn't quite expected this unlikely friendship, nor that Holly would win over his anti-social Potions Master nor crack through David's reserve, but as Narcissa had remarked, he was glad that Holly was settling in here.

He rose to his feet to escort her the last few steps to her chair, placing one hand lightly in the small of her back to steer her. He received the expected eyeroll for his trouble, but all in all Holly appeared to be in good spirits, beaming brightly when the box magically expanded, an additional seat popping up and squeezing in between her seat and Marcus' so that Rabastan could sit down next to her.

"Ready for the next round, kitten?" he asked softly, breathing a light kiss over the back of her hand when she nodded eagerly. "Then I shall give the signal."

§*§*§*§*§

The competitions continued, some duels lasting barely a few minutes with a clear winner, others drawn out and more involved, with neither duellist having any obvious advantage. David won his duel against Rudolphus after almost fifteen minutes of magical back-and-forth, then had a much easier time dispatching of Corban Yaxley, who misfired one of his curses and almost got buried under the avalanche of rocks he had meant to direct at his opponent. Severus, meanwhile had a fierce competition with Augustus, finally disarming him with a quick-fire series of spells and curses, but then had to admit defeat to Antonin after another drawn-out duel.

In the end, David and Antonin faced off in the final and Tom could feel the tension vibrating off of Holly as they watched, the glass of pumpkin juice in her hand bubbling unnoticed. The two wizards were evenly matched in skill, though their fighting styles were still very different. David was a planner, his runes carefully crafted, layered, unpredictable and almost indefensible, but Antonin was one of his best fighters, a true combatant, mercilessly pressing his advantages and not shying away from dirty tricks.

"Yes!" Holly exclaimed loudly when David's last spell finally hit home, paralysing Dolohov from the neck down, the first one to jump to her feet and start applauding, only Rabastan's quick reaction, saving her from spilling juice all over herself.

David took another moment to disarm Antonin completely, waiting for the other Death Eater's grumbling admittance of defeat before he lifted his curse and released Antonin from his paralysis. He then turned towards the box seats, a muted smirk appearing on his face as he spotted Holly's jubilation before he offered a deep bow, keeping his head lowered as the crowd surged in applause to celebrate his hard-earned victory.

Tom joined in the applause, meeting David's eyes when he looked up at the stand again and inclining his head minutely to show his respect. David bowed deeply again.

He waited for the applause to die down, finally raising his wand and his voice. "Very well done, both of you, and congratulations to the deserved winner and champion of our competition: Mr. David Travers!"

He paused to allow for a new round of applause, but then spoke up again, enjoying the hush that settled over the crowd. "I wonder, would you care to measure your skill against one more opponent, David?"

"It would be my honour, my Lord," David agreed immediately into the sudden, expectant silence.

§What are you doing?§ Holly demanded of him in an angry hiss, her dark brows pulled together in disapproval.

Tom smirked at her, pulling her into his arms for a moment. §I thought that was quite obvious, kitten: I want to see if I can't earn a bit of your enthusiasm for myself.§

Holly only scowled more deeply. §You can't just enter the competition now. It's not fair. Everyone else had to prove themselves beforehand.§

§And do you not think I've proven myself, more than once, to all of my followers?§ Tom asked in amusement. §Besides, I'm not entering the competition – this is just for fun.§

§All of this was supposed to be fun,§ Holly muttered, dropping back into her chair with a huff, crossing her arms and pointedly looking away from him.

§You're adorable when you pout,§ Tom told her with a laugh, dropping a kiss onto her head.

He straightened up again, shedding his outer robe and changing into proper duelling attire with a tap of his wand.

"Shall I give the starting signal this time, my Lord?" Lucius asked and Tom nodded before leaning in. "Also keep an eye on Holly. I'm not going to use any overly Dark magic, but if you think that her scar might be hurting her or if it seems like she's being triggered by something she sees, I want you to call an end to the duel."

They both looked over to his little wife, who was listening to Rudolphus' and Rabastan's reassurances, but still looked very displeased.

"I'm also going to discuss a time limit with David – fifteen minutes, I'd say."

"With all due respect to David, I don't think this duel will last that long, my Lord," Lucius replied with a smirk.

"We'll see," Tom gave back. "I wouldn't begrudge David another victory. I was very impressed with his performance today."

He looked over to his wife again, wishing she would show at least a touch of her previous enthusiasm. But even if the thought of Holly cheering for him and admiring his prowess as much as she had admired her favourites throughout this competition was tempting, that wasn't his main motivation. There had been mutterings of late, still quickly stifled and always behind his back of course, but he knew that unfortunately, Bellatrix wasn't the only one who was dissatisfied with their new modus operandi. And though these grievances didn't quite reach the level of open mutiny yet, he still thought it best to remind them all why they had decided to follow him in the first place. Power was almost always the right argument.

He shook David's hand when he reached the duelling stage, clapping him on the back and congratulating him again, while assessing him critically. "I appreciate you indulging me like this, David. Would you prefer to take a longer break, though?"

"No, my Lord, I'm excited for this opportunity," David replied. "I look forward to seeing how well I'll fare against you."

"Good man. I look forward to it as well. I enjoyed watching your duels today and I've been itching to test my skills against you." He smirked, thinking of Holly. "You had many on the edges of their seats."

"Thank you, my Lord," David said with a smirk of his own. "Shall we begin then?"

Tom quickly informed David of what he had discussed with Lucius and also asked if he wanted to make any requests of his own.

"If you could avoid any attacks to my left leg, my Lord, I would be much obliged. And of course, if you would prefer to limit the duel to Light magic only, we can agree to that as well," David offered.

"Naturally, I know you have an old injury there and would not wish to aggravate it again. As for making this a Light duel… it's an interesting proposal," Tom mused, but then shook his head. "But no, I would not wish you to feel limited, David. You already exerted yourself throughout this tournament and you should feel free to use any spell or curse you'd like. I'm sure that will make for the most interesting competition for both of us."

David inclined his head in agreement and upon Tom's signal up to Lucius, the blond wizard started to announce the last duel to almost tumultuous applause from the audience. Tom looked up to the box seat, immediately focusing on Holly and mentally rolling his eyes at the almost visible storm cloud over her head and the green-eyed glare she sent him. He sketched an only slightly mocking bow to her, smirking when she merely crossed her arms over her chest and glared a little harder

Then his focus narrowed to the task at hand. He was confident in his own abilities, in the speed of his reactions, the skill and power behind his attacks and defences, and he knew he had an advantage because he had been able to observe David's fighting style throughout this competition, to take note of his strengths and weaknesses, whereas for David any such knowledge lay much further back.

But despite what his enemies, and first and foremost Dumbledore, would claim, he was not given to unwarranted arrogance and he was well aware that any fight held incalculables and that a lack of respect for his opponent would almost certainly be his downfall. So he bowed just as deeply as David when they met in the middle before swivelling away and taking measured steps to his starting position.

He shot off his first attack as soon as the trumpet sounded, a mild Stinging Hex that David warded off easily, more a declaration of intent and a signal that he was ready than a true attack. David responded by sending a slightly stronger, but still relatively tame Shrivelling Curse his way that Tom blocked and countered immediately, the duel having commenced in earnest.

He kept his attacks Light, making it a challenge for himself, though he also allowed some of David's darker curses to rebound from his shields that were strong enough that he could concentrate mostly on his offensive strategy, unless David managed to fire off some of his rune magic.

He was enjoying himself even more than he had expected and even though David was struggling to ward off his attacks for the sheer power and speed with which they were raining down on him and was finding less and less openings for his own attacks, Tom was reasonably sure that the other wizard also found their locking of horns thrilling, using quite a few new and inventive spells, testing Tom's defences with increasingly creative combinations of runes and holding his own for close to five minutes before Tom managed to disorient him with a Muzzy-Head-Hex and then quickly disarmed him with a wordless Expelliarmus.

He allowed himself a smirk, catching David's wand in his hand and walking slowly towards him. "Do you yield?" he asked, stopping a polite distance away and twirling his wand lazily between his fingers.

As he waited for David to shake off his dizziness and get his bearings, his gaze instinctively wandered up to the box seats, to his little wife, wanting to see her reaction. But before he could find her, the crowd was taken by a sudden agitation – gasps, murmurs, unintelligible shouts – and he turned his focus back onto David, thinking he might have had some last trick up his sleeve.

But he hadn't turned fully yet when something hit him in the back with enough force to unbalance him completely. He fell forward, just catching himself on his hands and managing to keep a hold of both wands. He hissed out a curse, trying to understand what was happening. He felt a heavy, warm weight blanketing his back that moved with him when he tried to twist out from under it. And then he heard… purring? Soft whiskers tickled against his ear before a rough tongue lapped once over his cheek, and he finally understood.

"Holly," he hissed, pushing up with more force and feeling the juvenile panther sliding off his back.

She blinked up at him innocently, meowing happily as she wove once around his legs then bounded towards one of the statues, scaling the podium with ease and transforming back into her human form, her slender legs dangling down as she smirked.

Tom threw David a quick look, passing him his wand as he followed Holly, very aware of the numerous expectant eyes watching his every step, waiting to see how he would react to Holly's inopportune act of rebelliousness. How he would punish her, most likely, and he couldn't help but feel a little exasperated.

"What was that, Holly? I could have killed you."

"You said I could kiss you anytime, anywhere I wanted," she commented with another wide-eyed look of faux innocence when he stopped in front of her, doing a very poor job of biting back her smirk.

Tom snorted. "And you just couldn't wait until the end of the duel, I take it?"

Holly shook her head, her hair flying in wild, unruly strands around her pale face. She was absolutely beautiful, breath-taking, and he had an idea.

"I'm glad to hear that, kitten," he declared with a smirk, enjoying her obvious confusion as he stepped even closer. "Because you see, I always want to kiss you."

He didn't give her a chance to reply, taking a hold of her waist and pulling her down into his arms before pressing her back against the podium and claiming her soft pink lips in a kiss. He didn't bother to hold back this time, pouring all his anger and exasperation and desire into the kiss, wanting to make it perfectly clear to Holly that two could play this game and that he very much intended to win.

He eventually drew back, quite satisfied with her dazed gaze, the healthy flush on her cheeks and her panting inhalations. He gentled his hold on her, taking her hand and leading his suddenly docile little wife back towards the stage, smirking at the loud applause, the whistling and cheering of the crowd.

He nodded in acquiescence when David offered him a deep bow, then offered him his hand again while still keeping Holly firmly anchored to his side. "Please excuse the interruption. Holly got a little too excited," he said, loudly enough for the audience to hear, and laughed. "The impetuosity of youth."

"Of course, my Lord, my Lady," David agreed immediately, also raising his voice and inclining his head again. "I think it was clear to everyone that you had won, my Lord. I cannot fault Holly for wanting to be the first to congratulate you." They both ignored Holly's soft huff, Tom merely pulling her a little more firmly against his side.

"Thank you, David, but now it's time to commemorate your own accomplishments and to celebrate the rightful champion of our first duelling tournament," Tom declared. "And I'm sure my wife will want to assist me with the presentation of the prizes. Right, Holly?"

He smirked at the play of conflicting emotions on her face, giving her waist a light squeeze when she seemed momentarily distracted by an insect buzzing around them. But he already knew that she would be hard pressed to decline, seeing as the award ceremony had been her idea when she had learned that his original plan had been just to offer a firm handshake to the winner. Instead, she had arranged flower bouquets and had persuaded her godfather to part with a rare copy of Dunlever's Duelling Compendium with annotations by the author himself, including behind-the-scenes information on some of the most famous duels. She had also enlisted Narcissa and Lucius' help to create prize cups for the winner and the two runners-up.

She finally nodded, then smiled at David. "You were really fantastic. I never knew you could use runes like that. It makes me regret not having taken Ancient Runes as an elective."

"I'd be happy to teach you some of the basics," David offered after only a moment's hesitation. "If my Lord agrees of course."

She turned to him, looking up with pleading doe-eyes, all wide and glittering, as if she hadn't just attacked him in front of all his Death Eaters. He almost rolled his eyes, but then again, he had decided to claim her behaviour as mere exuberance and playfulness and it would certainly be best if they could get through the rest of the evening without any more fights.

"If David is willing to teach you, I can think of no better teacher," he thus answered and Holly beamed brightly.

She was astonishingly well-behaved for the rest of the ceremony, not protesting in the least at his tight hold, offering heartfelt compliments to Severus and David again and at least mustering something like a politely indifferent nod for Antonin as she handed over his trophy.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of this sudden turn to obedience, especially as he could still feel the tension in her lithe body, the way she would flinch ever so slightly if there was a particularly loud round of applause, an unwelcome comment or, he suspected, when she perceived any hostility from the people around them. He thus did his best to keep the ceremony short and to the point: a few additional compliments, another few rounds of applause and an invitation to all to enjoy the midnight picnic the house-elves had prepared just outside the pit before he tucked Holly firmly under his arm and led her back to their chambers.

He wasn't surprised when she freed herself as soon as they had stepped through the door, moving to the other side of the room and watching him warily, her arms crossed protectively in front of her chest.

Tom sighed, softly closing the door before he focused on his young wife. "What was that, Holly? Why did you attack me?"

She shrugged, scuffing her trainers over the carpet like a recalcitrant child. But he knew better.

"I would like an answer, Holly. You have been very circumspect in following the terms of our contract and I frankly cannot understand why you thought it was okay to attack me – with or without magic it was clearly disrespectful," Tom pressed, wincing mentally when he saw the burgeoning panic in her expressive eyes; their furniture began to shake, the lights flickering, and Holly's knuckles turned white from how tightly she was balling her fists.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears starting to roll down her face. "Please, I didn't mean to break the contract… Please. What can I do?"

"Holly, just… sit down, okay?" Tom sighed, not really reassured when she hastened to comply. "I'm not… Well, yes, I am a bit angry, but mostly I just want to understand what goes on in that head of yours."

Holly was silent for long moments, trying to calm her breathing, before she finally started to answer. "I didn't like the last few duels, between Professor Snape and Dolohov and Dolohov and David. I felt like I couldn't breathe throughout and then it was finally over… only for you to declare that there would be another one. And when you won you were so smug and I remembered that feeling… I remembered that so-called duel you forced me into in that graveyard and it just made me so angry. I'm sorry."

She had said all that in a pressed whisper as if the words hurt in her throat and he wanted to kick himself when he finally understood. "I'm sorry, too, Holly. That night… it certainly wasn't one of my proudest moments and I didn't consider that my actions tonight would bring back those bad memories for you."

She turned to him, a small glimmer of surprise and curiosity in her teary, verdant eyes. "You never apologised before."

"You never seemed particularly open to discussing the past," Tom pointed out reasonably, seeing her tense immediately. "And perhaps now isn't the right time for it either, but suffice it to say that there are a lot of decisions I regret – and others, I feel you might not yet understand fully."

"Maybe I don't," Holly offered after a long moment, which was much more than he had dared to expect, though she still looked small and miserable and uncharacteristically fragile. A wounded leopard cub, choosing to attack rather than wait for the next injury. He sighed.

"We can discuss all of that whenever you're ready, kitten," he said, carefully laying one arm around her slight shoulders and rubbing her arm until she stopped shivering. "Feeling better?"

"I'm really sorry, Tom. I know that was out of line," she murmured with another one of her pleading looks.

"I think it was rather amusing, in hindsight," Tom replied, giving her his gentlest smile. "And it would be rather hypocritical of me to blame you for losing your temper, don't you think? I shouldn't have been so forceful when I kissed you, kitten."

"Are you going to kiss me like that again?" she demanded and there was a slight, unexpected note in her voice.

"Would you want me to?" he thus asked, noting the blush on her cheeks with avid interest.

"I might," she admitted carefully, only to add on an immediate caveat. "But I still want you to ask first and I didn't like how you pressed me up against the stone."

"Duly noted," Tom agreed with a smirk. "And do you think I might be allowed to kiss you now, kitten?"

Holly hesitated a long moment, indecision written clearly over her pale face that still bore the tear tracks of her earlier distraught, and Tom softened his tone. "Or maybe I could just hold you for a little while, like this, before we go to bed?"

"I'd like that," Holly replied, puffing out a slightly shuddery breath. "I think I'd really like that, Tom."

He smiled at her, carefully pulling her a little closer and dropping a soft kiss into her hair when she rested her head on his chest and wrapped her slender arms around his waist. He made sure not to hold her too tightly, gently rubbing her back and carding his fingers slowly through her wild hair, marvelling a little how easy he had found it to forgive her when his usual disposition was to hold unhealthy grudges at least until he could exact his revenge and many times even after that.

"Kitten?" he hazarded when she seemed reasonably calm again. "Why were you so worried about the duels with Antonin? Is it because he used Dark magic?"

She absently played with one of the buttons on his shirt. "No, it's not, at least not entirely," she replied softly, hesitantly, as if she was still ordering her thoughts. "I don't like how he feels, his emotions. He's very loyal to you, but there's just so much anger and hostility and joy in seeing others getting hurt. And he projects."

"What do you mean by that?"

"His emotions… they're like Bludgers, constantly coming at me when I'm near him," she whispered. "It's a bit easier now that my shields are up again, but it's still exhausting."

Tom pressed a light kiss to her forehead to give himself another moment to think, not really sure how to even begin to solve that problem.

"It's not really his fault," Holly muttered. "I mean I don't like him, but Lucius projects as well and so does Sirius. Their emotions are just easier to bear."

"I'm not surprised by your godfather, but Lucius? I never thought of him as particularly emotive," Tom said in surprise.

"I can't explain it. It's just how it is." Holly shrugged before snuggling back into his side. "And I can feel you, too, though I think that's mostly because of my scar."

"Did your scar hurt during my duel with David?" Tom asked, studying her carefully for any signs of pain.

"I don't think so," Holly replied, studying him in turn. "You only used Light magic… and you still won."

"Light magic can be just as powerful as Dark… and almost as dangerous," Tom replied, tracing his thumb lightly over her cheek. "I think I wanted you to see that so that you could realise your own potential."

"But it doesn't have to be dangerous, does it?" Holly demanded. "Magic can be beautiful and exciting and wonderful. And I don't want to use it to fight, Tom. I'm so damn tired of fighting."

"You don't have to fight," Tom vowed, kissing her forehead and pulling her close again. "Not anymore."