Shortly after the wedding ceremonies were over, Narcissa urged them all inside the manor to enjoy the feast to celebrate. The group were just sitting down and eating, but it was mostly silent while doing such.
"So, what's gonna happen at school with you two?" Draco wondered.
"We agreed to continue appearing as teacher and student," Harry told his friend. "Nothing will be any different at school."
"Except when you're sneaking off to Uncle Sev's quarters at night," Draco grinned.
"Draco!" Lucius scolded.
"Dray!" Harry gasped. "I'd never."
"Like you'd never with Blaise?" Draco arched a brow at him.
"That was different. Blaise and I were both students. Severus and I aren't, so I'll behave." Harry rolled his eyes.
"I've told you that you can visit my rooms for your teenage hormones." Severus remarked.
"And I've told you that I've got enough on my plate to keep those at bay." Harry responded.
"Oh, your teenage years are so hard." Severus commented.
"I don't see you being targeted every single year by a psychopath obsessed with world domination and purging it of all muggle-born and half-bloods." Harry stated. "In case you've forgotten, husband, you're a half-blood too. You're no safer than I."
"I'm of use to the dark lord, that's why I'm still alive," Severus countered.
"Until he finds out you willingly agreed to marry the boy he's trying to kill to protect him. You are of use to him as his spy, all usefulness of the pawns runs out eventually." Harry argued calmly.
"How dare you…" Severus seethed.
"If you're gonna take shots at me, I'm taking them right back. Or did you forget the vows we both agreed to treat each other as equals?" Harry side-eyed him.
"Insolent brat," Severus huffed.
"Heard that once or twice, how about coming up with something original." Harry suggested.
"I hate you…" Severus growled.
"I love you too, Sev." Harry replied sarcastically.
The two glared at one another after this as Lucius only sighed and shook his head.
"I think Severus has found his match." Narcissa stated.
"Without question. They're perfect for one another." Lucius agreed.
"We're not perfect for one another!" Harry and Severus yelled.
"You definitely are." Draco snickered. "Matching each other's comments? Talking at the same time? Not to mention the spectacle during the ceremony."
"What spectacle?" Harry asked.
"I believe they're referring to the glowing ring around us…" Severus informed.
"What was that?" Harry wondered.
"Nobody knows, but it's said to be a rare event at ceremonies like that which you two went through. Some say it's a sign of the couple being blessed by the gods and goddesses. Some believe it's their way of realizing they're soulmates. There's no definitive response because it happens so rarely and when it does, people are stumped." Lucius explained.
"Ridiculous," Severus went back to eating.
Harry ignored it and went back to eating as well. Harry knew Severus wasn't happy about this whole situation, but again; it begged the question of why Severus agreed if he didn't want it. He could have said no, left Harry to suffer with Sirius or end up back with his muggle relatives. Why did Severus agree to this? Harry would probably never know. It didn't matter if Severus was his head of house, or his teacher; Harry was still James Potter's son, and Severus himself often felt Harry and James were one in the same.
Severus looked at Harry with contempt at times, the reminder of his bully's face staring back at him. At least Severus wasn't doing what Sirius did, which was try to make Harry into James. Harry was sure there was going to be some hostility between them, but maybe it would be okay as they settled into marriage. Then again, Harry told Severus he could leave after Harry turned seventeen. Harry doubted Severus would want to stay married to him after that point.
"So, Harry…Can I ask something?" Draco inquired.
"If you must, Dray?" Harry invited.
"I know it was over a year ago now…But where'd you learn to fight?" Draco asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry wondered.
"End of fourth year, you beat the dark lord's butt." Draco chuckled.
"That was a duel. You heard him, he marked me his equal." Harry replied.
"No, not that. You punched him in the face and like, made him fall on his back. What was that? That wasn't magic." Draco pushed.
"That's what muggles call a fistfight." Harry revealed.
"You used muggle fighting in a duel with the dark lord?" Narcissa blinked. "Fascinating. How do you do it?"
"Muggle fight?" Harry looked at her and she nodded. "It's just like dueling, but without magic. You and your opponent just physically attack."
"Show me?" Draco asked.
"You realize that means I have to fight you?" Harry questioned. Draco nodded. "No."
"Why not?" Draco pouted.
"Cause I can hurt you and I rather not do that to my best friend." Harry smiled.
"I'll be fine…Just show me something, please?" Draco pleaded. "Teach me how to muggle fight?"
Harry sighed. "Fine," He got up and had Draco come stand before him. "Pretend you hate me and throw a punch." Draco only moved his arm and hit Harry's shoulder. "I said throw a punch, not push it into me. Like this," Harry brought his fist back and hit Draco's arm.
"Hey, ow!" Draco rubbed his arm.
"That wasn't even as hard as I could have done it. You have to step into it to give it force." Harry instructed. Draco stared at him. "Here," Harry moved him into position, then stood behind him and put his hand over Draco's to bring it back. "Twist your body," He showed Draco the motion. "Then strike," Harry pushed Draco's fist forward. "Like a snake, fast."
"Okay, but that's not what you did to Voldemort…" Draco stated. "Show me that."
"I could hurt you." Harry informed.
"I can take it." Draco reassured.
"Draco, I don't know about this…" Lucius added.
"I'll be okay. Show me, Harry." Draco urged. "Please?"
Harry quickly socked Draco in the face, then bent to elbow his gut and finally crouched down fully and kept his hand on the floor before throwing out one of his legs to sweep Draco's out from under him and send the male to the floor, flat on his back.
"Dear Merlin…" Draco groaned. "That's what you did to Voldemort?"
"At full strength, yes. I only used a quarter on you." Harry shrugged before offering his hand to pull Draco up to his feet. "You alright?"
"Is my nose bleeding?" Draco asked.
"Only a little," Harry smiled as he waved his hand over Draco's nose and it healed. "There you go."
"I didn't know you were so good at wandless and wordless magic…" Narcissa commented.
"Only for a couple things." Harry replied.
"I find myself asking why you need to know how to muggle fight, Potter," Severus finally spoke.
"I couldn't very well use magic to protect myself against my cousin and his friends when they decided to play Harry Hunting because of that underage magic thing, so I learned how to defend myself." Harry responded.
"Harry Hunting?" Lucius inquired.
"It's their game. Chase Harry around, and when he finally hides somewhere, find him. After being found, get beaten up." Harry explained quietly. "That's what Dudley called it."
"Dudley is your cousin?" Draco asked as Harry nodded. "I don't like this cousin of yours. That's just mean…"
"Why do you think I didn't like you in first year, Dray? You came off the same way he did. Arrogant, cocky, and that you're better than everyone else. That's another reason I didn't take your friendship; you reminded me too much of the cousin I was beyond happy to have gotten away from by going to Hogwarts." Harry told him.
"So after meeting me, you pretty much felt like you never left their house?" Draco frowned. Harry nodded. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You didn't know me or my life before Hogwarts." Harry informed.
"Everyone thought you grew up spoiled rotten and pampered. Some thought you'd be the next dark lord," Draco admitted. "Me and father did. When I met you, we were ready to swear allegiance to you."
"Seriously? Me, a dark lord?" Harry said, surprised. "As for how I grew up; it was more or less as a slave."
"Rumor says the dark lord originally grew up similarly, and that's why he went dark. It's why we believed you, who defeated him, would be the next one." Lucius stated.
"Well…I, for one, didn't really beat him. It was my mother's sacrifice that caused his curse to rebound and destroy his body. I never defeated him, it was mum's love for me." Harry informed. "I might be the boy who lived, but I wish people would stop saying that I defeated him. It wasn't me; he technically destroyed himself. With his own killing curse."
"Okay, maybe not as a baby…But you defeated him in first year." Draco argued.
"That was also my mother's sacrifice." Harry corrected. "Or, that's what Dumbledore says anyway."
"So is it true that Voldemort was attached to the back of our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's head?" Draco asked.
"Mmhm," Harry nodded.
"What happened to him after you defeated Voldemort?" Draco questioned.
"Technically…I killed him." Harry admitted.
"You what?" Severus gaped at him.
"He tried to kill me first." Harry defended himself. "It was something Dumbledore said; the reason Quirrell couldn't touch me was because of my mother's sacrifice, her love. When my hands touched him, he burned. Or his skin did until he was nothing but ash." He explained. "I did beat him in second year."
"A-and what happened in second year? Everyone believed you were the heir of Slytherin after the snake thing in dueling club." Draco pushed. "No one knows what happened. Dumbledore said that someone got taken into the chamber and you saved her, defeating the monster down there."
"I'll tell you as long as your dad admits he slipped the diary into her cauldron the day at the bookstore…" Harry remarked.
"What?" Narcissa looked to her husband.
"He knows what I'm talking about." Harry folded his arms.
"Yes, it was me…I-I had orders to fill, Harry. I never knew what a stir it would cause…I mean that." Lucius said quickly.
Harry stared at him. "I believe you." He finally said. "That diary had a preserved sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle in its pages. The diary possessed Ginny Weasley, she's the one who controlled the monster and wrote the messages on the wall. Not that she knew what she was doing. Ginny tried to get rid of the diary in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and that's where Ron, Hermione, and I found it. I wrote in it as it was blank and it wrote back, then took me fifty years back to when Tom was a student at Hogwarts."
"Leave it to you to do something so reckless." Severus snorted.
"Tom showed me a young Hagrid, and Tom blaming his spider friend. Tom got Hagrid expelled and his wand snapped. I learned later on that Hagrid never did anything wrong and it had been Tom, he was the heir of Slytherin. He'd opened the chamber and controlled the monster; he let it kill a girl." Harry informed.
"Who?" Lucius asked.
"Moaning Myrtle. She died in that bathroom, that's why she never leaves it as a ghost." Harry stated. "Anyway, Tom knew he couldn't open the chamber again while he was at school, so he left behind a diary with a piece of himself in it to be able to finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work. Or that's what he told me. He was using the diary to drain Ginny's life to come back to a physical body. I did stop that…" Harry explained.
"And the monster?" Narcissa asked.
"Basilisk. That was fun to beat…" Harry muttered.
"Y-You beat it?" Draco questioned.
"Sword through the inside of its mouth and out the top of its head. Stupid on my part, I got myself bit and the venom was killing me…I'd have died if not for Fawkes." Harry informed.
"You defeated a fully grown Basilisk at the age of twelve?!" Draco's eyes widened.
"Brewed Polyjuice Potion at twelve too? Is it really that surprising?" Harry remarked.
"You brewed what?" Severus glared.
"Polyjuice Potion. Me, Ron, and Hermione. In Myrtle's bathroom, we knew no one ever went in there so we were safe from anyone coming in." Harry shrugged.
"Why on earth did you need that particular brew?" Severus eyed his young husband.
"We were trying to find out who the heir of Slytherin was and the best way to do that was get into the Slytherin common room." Harry replied.
"Hang on a minute…" Draco thought back, then his mouth dropped open.
"I take it you've realized who you were talking to that night now…" Harry grinned.
"Son of a-That was you?!" Draco glared. "You were in the common room as…Goyle?! Damn it, I knew I recognized those glasses! Reading glasses, I should have known better."
Harry laughed. "And Ron was Crabbe." He informed. "Genius plan if you ask me."
"Where was Granger?" Severus asked. "You said you three brewed it, so where was she in all this?"
"Uh…Hiding in the bathroom because she got the wrong hair to who she was going to appear as…" Harry stated. Severus eyed him again. "So she was gonna go as Millicent Bulstrode and…Got cat hair instead."
"Hah! I'd have paid good money to see that result!" Draco laughed.
"If Myrtle wasn't already dead, I'd say she'd have laughed herself to death. I felt bad, but Ron was more shocked at her tail." Harry stated.
"So…Forgive me, but…You said you defeated the dark lord in second year, but you've been saying you stopped this Tom Riddle fellow? I'm trying to find where you defeated the dark lord." Lucius mentioned.
"Oh, I've left out the best part of why Voldemort's blood supremacy ideas bother me…Bloody lying bastard." Harry mumbled. "If he didn't want me dead before, this oughta get him out of hiding to fight again…" Harry chuckled. "Voldemort is a half-blood, just like Severus and I."
"WHAT?!" Narcissa, Severus, and Lucius gaped in shock.
"Potter, explain now." Severus demanded.
"So, when I was down in the chamber…I was standing with Tom and he kept saying he wanted to know how a baby with no extraordinary magical talent got away with only a scar. I commented that it didn't matter how I got away and it didn't matter to him because Voldemort was after Tom Riddle's time. Tom told me that Voldemort was his past, present, and future…That's when it hit me." Harry sat back calmly.
"Wait…" Narcissa paused. "You mean to say that…The dark lord is this Tom Riddle?"
"That's correct," Harry nodded.
"It can't be." Lucius thought aloud. "The…Riddle's were a muggle family. They were wealthy, their manor is still standing in Little Hangleton. They were murdered years ago."
"By Tom Riddle himself." Harry added. "Little Hangleton, is that where the family is buried?" Lucius nodded. "Explains why I got brought there during the tournament then…" He unconsciously rubbed his arm from the awful night. "Tom Marvolo Riddle was born to pure blood witch, Merope Gaunt and muggle, Tom Riddle Sr. Conceived by that of a love potion his mother gave to his father. Thinking he'd be happy about the baby, she stopped dosing him and he left her. Merope gave birth and left her son at an orphanage where Dumbledore found him eleven years later and brought him to Hogwarts." He informed. "It's why Voldemort is the way he is; he doesn't know love. He can't understand or feel it. Those conceived under a love potion are unable to feel or understand it because they were born from a couple that was not really in love. It created obsession, infatuation…But not love."
"And here I felt you knew nothing about potions." Severus stated.
"It's easier to learn when you don't have a teacher breathing down your neck looking to insult you every five seconds." Harry remarked. "Moving on, I realize it's hard to understand that Voldemort and Tom Riddle are the same person, so let me show you how he showed me." He said. "Let me see your wand."
"Mine? Why?" Severus asked.
"Cause I can't use mine or Dray's due to the trace." Harry stated.
"Fair reasoning…" Severus pulled his wand and handed it to Harry.
Harry muttered a spell and started using the wand like a quill, writing letters in the air that were flaming. Harry wrote out Tom Marvolo Riddle and then swiped the wand to the side as the letters rearranged to I Am Lord Voldemort.
"Okay, one…That's a cool spell and two…What the actual hell?!" Draco said.
"He said he wouldn't keep his father's filthy muggle name, so he fashioned a new one that would one day be feared as he became the greatest sorcerer in the world." Harry ended the spell and gave the wand back to Severus.
"And…How did you defeat him?" Draco questioned.
"I…Took the Basilisk fang that had injected me and stabbed the diary three times until he disappeared." Harry informed. "Ginny woke up, we met up with Ron and an obliviated Lockhart, and Fawkes flew us out of the chamber." He shrugged.
"I'll expect you to no longer be placing yourself in danger, Mr. Potter…" Severus said.
"Cause I've done it to myself." Harry scoffed. "Okay, first year was totally all me for knowing the stone was in the school…I thought you were trying to steal it. The rest was not me. Lucius gave Ginny the diary and Sirius escaped without my help. And fourth year was all Voldemort too. Fifth wasn't me either."
"Yeah, well you are married now and have a husband to think about. Don't go dying on me or it defeats the purpose of this entire marriage being to protect you." Severus commented. "You come to me if there's a problem and do not involve yourself. Is that clear? I'm telling you as your head of house, teacher, and husband…"
"Yes, sir," Harry replied.
"And at some point, I'd like to hear all your little adventures that I'm just learning about…" Severus added. "If we're to be married, I suppose I should get to know you."
"It's not to be married, Severus. We are married. I'm happy to tell you more, as long as you're willing to share about you too. Two way street, babe…" Harry told him.
"Very well." Severus agreed.
"Lovely," Harry smiled.
It wasn't perfect, but just maybe; Severus and Harry would be able to get along for the duration of their time as a married couple. Only time would tell, but Harry had to admit he didn't mind things as they were.