'Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.'
~ Albert Schweitzer
Harry contented himself with knotting the blankets, twisting the fabric in his hands, and relishing the smooth feel of it beneath his fingertips. As far as distractions went it was working, and then Tom perched next to him, obliterating all thought - not that there was much going on to begin with.
"Harry, stop avoiding me," Tom's voice was sharp, and Harry looked up, his gaze meeting deep blue eyes, filled with concern and urgency. Glancing back at the bedding, he felt Tom's fingers curl round his chin, and force him to meet his eyes. "We must focus on the present, and learn from the past."
Harry mulled Tom's words over in his mind. Yes, he had been stupid, but this mistake was surely reversible, and at least his friends knew, and accepted him for who he was. That alone was worth the discomfort both had went through in the past week. Straightening himself up, he smoothed the creases in his robes in a very Tom-like manner, and his mentor's lips twitched at this.
"You said that it would take you a few days, what happened?" Harry felt as if he had a block of ice in his stomach asking this. So far he had just assumed Tom could fix everything, the powerful vampyre certainly gave that impression.
What if this time was different?
Thankfully, an aspect of Tom was that he never minced his words. "It was harder than I expected, but I have found a solution. Memories have distinct impressions, and it is possible to separate the Light thoughts from the Dark thoughts due to this. This is one technique used by Auror's to judge the affinity of wizards they hold in custody, and you tend to find that those who are deemed Dark, receive harsher penalties than those deemed Light," Tom's voice turned acidic here, and his eyes flashed dangerously, but after a few seconds he composed himself and started again, "Now, if we mask the impressions the memories generate, then there will be no reason for Dumbledore to know anything's amiss."
"Will this be similar to the purification ritual I went through?" asked Harry, a fond smile forming on his features as he remembered that one, blissful moment in the Elvin glade.
"In a way, however, I will be the one performing the magic, since this requires a skilled legilimens, and whilst the elves focus on mind magic, they do not to this degree," replied Tom smoothly.
"Are you sure you want to do that? What if Hermione decides to stay Light?" These questions came pouring out before he could stop them, Tom meanwhile looked as unruffled as ever, and Harry should have known he had already came up with a plan for this outcome.
"Then I will have to use a memory charm," Tom's words broached no argument, and for once Harry never had one. He had realised as soon as he told them that this was a possible outcome. However, hearing Tom say it as if it was inconsequential wounded him slightly, and despite having seen this before, this was the first time he saw the cold, battle hardened leader of the Dark whilst in their perspnal time, and it hammered it home how real this was.
He was helping wage a war.
The idea, a few months ago would certainly have been ludicrous. The fact that it was on the side of the Dark even more so. But here, in his bedroom, it seemed perfectly rational, justified even.
The weight of Tom's gaze brought him back to the present, and he nodded, giving his assent to rob his two best friends of their memories should their decision not aid their plight...
"Harry, I'm sorry," and just like that, the serious moment faded, and they became just Harry and Tom once more.
"I understand," whispered Harry, running his fingers through Tom's hair, and a smile of both awe and contentment appeared when Tom leaned into his touch, his eyes closing, and his face looking more relaxed than Harry had seen it in a while. Experimenting, he imagined his magic was coating him, feeling a pleasantly warm sensation coat his extremities, and journeying down to his fingertips. He knew the moment it reached the very edge of his fingertips, for Tom let out a satisfied moan, his eyes snapping open, and peering at Harry with a half dazed expression. Tentatively he felt Tom's magic reach out to his, touching once or twice before taking the plunge. The feeling was indescribable. He felt wave, after wave of pleasure crash over him. It wasn't overwhelming, but just right, and as Tom lowered himself next to him, they just lay there, the sound of their breathing filling the small space. Magic pulsed around them, entwining, and if Harry looked closely enough he could see the sparkles in the air as they combined, glittering over their exposed skin, and clothes.
Looking at Tom, he saw the openness that only he was privy to, and grinned, running his fingertips down his face, mapping out the pale expanse of skin, that many thought would be so cold. Hearing an appreciative purr, Harry's grin widened, but before he could press an advantage, Tom's long fingers curled round his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Mischief danced in his eyes, and Harry gulped audibly, his nerves only growing as he found himself pinned, and Tom gazing directly down at him, holding him in place with both his body, and his stare.
The next thing he knew he was being kissed, and Harry gasped as their magic connected more intimately, studying each other's cores as well as each others mouths. Running his fingers through Tom's hair again, Harry reached down to the nape of his neck, feeling the leather band that kept his hair in place, before finally resting on the top of his spine. Tom's hands were meanwhile roaming down his sides, and Harry squirmed when he reached a particularly ticklish spot. Feeling Tom grin against his mouth, the elder man broke the kiss, instead journeying South, licking and biting the expanse of skin between his jaw and his collarbone, beforeoce more returning to his mouth.
Harry felt his magic spread, heightening with his pleasure, and he struggled against Tom, rolling them over so that he was on top.
Now it was his turn.
Trailing butterfly kisses along his jaw, he felt a little bit of his magic spread at each touch, and soon Tom was writhing, the muscles in his neck standing out as he strained against Harry's hold. Both were panting, and Harry's hands crept to his waistcoat, unbuttoning it slowly, and running his hands over Tom's shirt covered chest, the material getting in the way, and sending a small spark of annoyance through his system. Next thing he knew it was raining buttons, and he held the shredded remains of the offending garment.
"That was quite an expensive shirt," muttered Tom, arching an eyebrow at Harry, his composure having momentarily returned.
"In the way," said Harry, semi-coherently, his eyes raking over the defined muscles, and pale skin of Tom's chest.
Very soon, Tom lost the ability for anymore remarks, and not long after that, so did Harry.
Harry only managed to sleep for a few hours. When he awoke, the first thing he heard was the sound of Tom's heartbeat, slow, and steady, and he lay there for a few minutes, relishing the sound of another life form. Becoming restless, he looked up, his eyes pouring over Tom's face, and he wondered if he was the only one to have seen him like this. Vulnerable, and content, two things he doubted Tom had felt at the same time before.
It was dark outside. The moon flitted through the gap in the curtains, the cold light so very far away from the warmth of the bed.
Stretching, he felt Tom move beside him, first a groan, and then a yawn signalling that he too had awoken.
"Harry?" Tom's speech was thick, and Harry looked to his sleepy eyed lover, and fond smile forming involuntarily on his face.
"Tom, go back to sleep, you need your rest," Harry saw Tom open his mouth to argue, and Harry placed a finger over his lips to silence him, "I'll tell Ron and Hermione the plan, and if they agree I will bring them to the Room of Requirement-"
"They need to come here," interrupted Tom, "I cannot let my defences down in the Fortress of the Light. I have already spoken to Alderan about this, and he has given his permission as long as we do not leave them unattended, or let them see the main areas of operation in the castle."
"I will bring them at noon, and give you word beforehand. Now, sleep," ordered Harry, grateful when Tom never put up a fight, merely flopping back onto the pillows in probably the most ungraceful move Harry had seen him do so far.
Throwing his unconscious lover one last look, Harry Phased, his joy from earlier quickly evaporating when he acknowledged the task before him.
A/N: Finally! After goodness knows how long my inspiration has returned! I know I said I would try and have another chapter in the summer, but over the past months my life has gone through various upheavals, and I never had time to give this story the amount of work that is needed. Nevertheless, I apologise that it has taken this long, and if any of you are still with me I would be overjoyed to hear from you, and thank you for sticking with me and this story. This chapter is short, but I realised we hadn't had a Tom/Harry moment for quite a few chapters, and so it - like this chapter - was long overdue. The next chapter will be longer, with Ron and Hermione meeting Tom for the first time, and it should hopefully be up next week :) I hope you enjoyed this, and I really would appreciate a review!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter *sigh*
I apologise for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes contained within this chapter.