Birds of a Feather, Lilith Max
You're a black crow in the shadows
Bleak eyes, far too clever
I'm a fly-high, sharp mind
Birds of a feather
You carry yourself like an old man
Your pockets are filled with knives
Any fool wouldn't notice
Til they're begging for their lives
I won't resist the temptation
I'd fall with you through the dark
Turn my back for a second just to feel
A stab through the heart
You've got a mean grin, all teeth
Stealing every treasure
I've got soft hands, a quick blade
Birds of a feather
The alleyways are your playground
And money is your god
Can't count on my fingers
All the churches you've burned
I won't resist the temptation
I'd bloody my hands for you
And if I stay long enough
You might bloody yours too
The Dark Lord healed his burns just after midnight, avoiding his eyes and scowling throughout. Then he was released without a word, and Harry thought Voldemort might have been knocked over by a light breeze with how he swayed on his feet, his eyes unfocused as he gestured at the door.
The Dark Lord didn't move to leave, instead sitting back at the desk and staring at the far wall. Harry frowned and left him there, Disapparating and reappearing outside the wonky wooden bridge.
He hadn't been able to sleep, watching the clouds roll past a half-moon on his enchanted ceiling, not really seeing it.
And so, he was awake when he felt the insistent, unmistakable, and furious needling of his Horcrux. Tom performed his usual cryptic dance before he let him in, preparing and concealing thoughts.
'Good, you're awake. Hello. I am here to say I am sorry about what I said. All that stuff about you being a fucking idiot and proper fucked? Can I see it again now?' His Horcux's apology was mechanical, the question a demand.
'That is not really how this works,' Tom thought.
'Oh, okay, I thought we were using apologies as currency.' He was quiet for a beat, '…I take it back. Dumb fuckwit. I'll give you one letter of the prophecy. I pick the letter.'
'No? The whole thing.'
'No? Stupid ass. Just GIVE me it?' He was upending Harry's head as though just for fun, or in a tantrum, not even examining the threads he tossed around.
'You will need something more than a letter.'
'FUCK. Stubborn fuck. Okay. Let me think.' He didn't pause long, 'What if I threatened you? Blackmail. Would that work?'
'Fuck me.' Tom's fear was leaking out, making Harry sweat, his pulse shaking his hands.
'I'm missing the cock, but I have an idea; what if I told him his own filthy little secret?' His Horcrux was laughing, savage and pleased with himself.
'I am suddenly feeling benevolent.'
'Oh wow that's so kind, actually, thank you. Not so fucking hard now, was it?' Every now and then, he seemed harmless.
He reminded Harry of himself, little flickers here and there. Other times, he felt the madness, a fury that made him nauseous to think about. The snarled words ringing in his thoughts and how easily Tom relented to him made Harry particularly uneasy.
As well as the fact that he seemed to be the only one who didn't know his own secret.
'I would offer it free of charge under any other circumstance, Harry.'
'…What.' Harry's Horcrux stopped rifling through his thoughts and radiating pure malice abruptly, his attention fully on Tom.
'Any other circumstance, free of charge.' He repeated.
'I… That's the stupidest thing you've said. I'm here to kick you while you cry about it, not… What? Did you call me?'
'…Harry.' Tom purred. 'Come here.'
'…Only because I want to.'
Each time Harry tried to inquire, something along the lines of the 'What the fuck is going on here', Tom would frantically hush him.
It was like watching two rattlesnakes try to charm each other. Or, judging by the way his heart kept fluttering and his lips kept flicking into a smirk, it was like watching two rattlesnakes try and fuck each other.
Tom pulled his Horcrux into the void Harry couldn't enter, and the confusion quickly became jealousy when another inexplicable erection announced itself.
'Hey, excuse me, what the fuck?' His thoughts were ignored or unheard.
They were gone far longer the second time, leaving Harry to clench his fists and glare at the ceiling. His heart was intermittently pounding, adrenaline pumping through him with no cause he could identify.
'…A closer eye on Neville Longbottom, then?' Tom thought when they reemerged, seeming far sadder than he would have expected for someone with a raging hard-on.
'Sure, fucking idiot, do whatever you want with Neville Longbottom.'
'I will see you soon, Harry.'
'Always so fucking confident, 'Nur, see you soon,' asshole. We'll see who sees who. So tasty when you cry.'
'…Anytime.'
'Fuck off. Wank…Face. I'm going.'
'Alright, liar.'
He blew a raspberry in his head, a long, resounding, 'Pffffft.'
"What is going on," Harry demanded when his Horcrux was gone.
"He cannot be tamed with physical contact; we know that. When you said it is not hard to guess what he wants, you were right. I know what he wants."
"…And that is? I meant call him Harry; treat him like a person…"
Tom didn't answer, and Harry barked a laugh.
"Oh, of course. My Horcrux goes in there with you, and I can't?"
"He is dangerous. He needs to be neutralised, at least. At best, on our side, Harry. Please trust me."
He found it incredibly difficult to swallow the jealousy, and harder still to disregard his confusion. "…Is this how you feel? When we try to… With Voldemort?"
Tom examined Harry's emotions, pulled through metaphorical fingers, deconstructed and reconstructed.
"In part. I am sorry. I… It is for you. Everything I give him, everything he wants, it's for you. I just can't- until we-" Tom pulled his hair without warming and hummed a growl, refusing to inhale.
Then the curse was blooming, billowing from every inch of his skin, washing him from the inside. Agony loosed and rolling out to fill the room in an instant, collapsing him back onto the bed while Tom tore his clothes apart.
'It's yours. Yours.' He thought it over and over, and though Harry had no idea what he was talking about, his thoughts, the curse, and his immediate, tight grip on Harry's cock had him decimated in under a minute.
After which, it was Tom who refused to go to class for the day.
"What does this have to do with Neville?" Harry asked just after sunrise in Parseltongue.
Tom laughed, a shocked guffaw, then it was over and he was frowning. "I… Convinced him to give me more information. He told me that the prophecy was a 'Doomsday prophecy.' He said, 'Fire and brimstone and darkness and belly-up.' I asked if we were the cause, and he said, 'No, Neville Longbottom. Of course, us.'"
"Well, that's not fucking funny?"
"I suppose you had to be there."
"Doomsday? Doomsday?!"
"Essentially my response. That was all he said on that subject, but I have hope that I can get it out of him.'
Harry didn't have a clear thought to respond with, and so Tom continued.
'He also hinted that we have a good chance. With the Dark Lord. He told me when we were in Russia and Voldemort healed your wounds while you slept, he did not hate you. Momentarily."
"So, you're telling me some of it?" He assumed.
"I'm losing my mind. I'm going to go insane. Harry. Please. I swear to you, as soon as I can… I'll tell you everything."
Harry had no reason not to believe him. For all he was, he was honest. Regardless, irritation, impatience, confusion, fear, and jealousy bubbled together in his gut.
"There is something else. I have been thinking about Ginevra. About all of them. It would be safer for them, and beneficial for us, if the Dark Lord believes he has won on that front. I need to speak with Draco, Reed, and, if we can, Ginevra. I have a plan. If I am correct about something."
"…Cool." Harry deadpanned. "Doomsday."
Though Tom had said that he wanted to seek out Reed, Ginny, and Draco, he didn't move to leave the Room of Requirement until midway through Tuesday, not called to soothe his Horcrux on Monday night—something that inspired nerves in both of them.
Tom had thoroughly showered and primped excessively as though he could smother the perpetual anxiety with mundane tasks, or wash it off.
He purposefully skipped his first lesson, Divination, leaving his room after lunch for hand-to-hand training, knowing he'd find Draco and Reed there. Unfortunately, he'd also find Avalon and Eris. It was held in the old Divination classroom, cleared of crystal balls and cushions, replaced with foam mats and punching bags.
He was halfway up the ladder when his Horcrux started tapping his skull. He paused on the rungs and rolled his eyes as Tom rearranged his mind.
'I'm gonna bluff him. Double bluff. Triple bluff? That's for me to know and for you to find out. I'm so hungryyy, do you guys got any spare juice?' His Horcrux announced when he was allowed in.
'Okay? And no, I do not believe it works that way.' Tom thought.
Harry resumed climbing, eyes narrowed as he emerged through the trap door.
'He'll think it's all his idea then, obviously.'
'…Obviously.' Tom thought, though Harry could tell he had no idea what his Horcrux was talking about either.
'Then he's fucking DONE.' He was cackling, reverberating between Harry's ears.
'Won't he notice your absence?' Tom asked, eyes bulging as he swallowed and sat down on the mat, one of the first few students in the room.
Reed, Ruby, and Pollux were the others. The former two watched him with pursed lips, and Ruby nodded her head continuously, agreeing with something in silence.
Tom was too distracted to pay them any attention.
'Nah, second I let that motherfucker breathe, his head hits the floor like a ton of shit,' his Horcrux was absently ripping through Harry's thoughts, making his fingers twitch with more than fear.
'Can you not-' He thought, about to swear at him.
'It's alright,' Tom thought, plucking his Horcrux up like a disobedient puppy and dragging him into the depths of Harry's head.
'Yeah, that's totally fucking fine,' he thought, no one listening to him.
He watched the instructor, Gale Everglade, flick through notes. He was standing at the far side of the room, looking up each time a student popped through the trap door, his mop of brown hair obscuring his vision.
Draco was next through the trap door, followed by Pansy, who was taking the class for curiosity's sake. They sat beside him, and Pansy immediately questioned.
"You've vanished two weekends in a row, Harry?"
"Hey," Draco said, "Your Weasleys swapped beds in the Slytherin dungeons."
"Don't call her… My Weasley. Swapped beds?"
"Mm," Malfoy looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and when Harry didn't guess, he frowned and shook his head, "Jager? She's in the Seventh-year boy's dorm."
"Oh. Oh."
Pansy was giggling while Harry scowled.
The next through the trap was Avalon, then Eris, as though he'd been waiting to be mentioned. He smirked at Harry as he sat down, and he nearly burst out of his seat in response, more than ready to turn just about anyone's face to mash.
'Meeting tonight. Bitchfuck…Head,' his Horcrux thought when they reemerged.
As usual, he had an erection—thankfully hidden by his robes, though his cheeks were bright red—his heart palpitating.
'Pleasure doing business with you, Harry.'
'Yeah, sure...Whatever. Idiot.'
'He is harder to read than you are, but I believe I am making progress,' Tom thought when his Horcrux was gone.
'Oh, wow. Congratulations.'
'…Harry. I dislike this as much as you do. More so. We need that prophecy; we need the why and the how. He is a powerful tool, and I could not forgive myself if we did not utilise him and failed. On either front. Do you understand? Please understand.'
'What did he say?' He was digging his nails into his palms, jammed in his pockets. The professor was talking theory; Harry was deaf.
'He has, in a manner, agreed to help us in exchange for free access to- at this point, he picks and chooses what he gives, and he is not particularly forthcoming, but I believe he is already shifting. He gave me his plan. He lied liberally about it, but it does not matter. He… Also agreed to help with an idea I have.'
'What idea? What's his plan?'
'He said that he will be quieter when we are nearby—particularly if you are unrestrained—in order to make the Dark Lord think your Horcrux is developing an infatuation. He said he would 'Vehemently deny it, make him feel like he's solved some big mystery. Then, hook, line, and sinker, it's suddenly Voldemort's idea.' To be near you and silence him.'
'He's such a… He's so-'
'I know. Would you like me to give you my theories on why, or would you prefer to hate him forever?' Tom thought.
'I want you to hate him too! Not get a fucking boner.' Harry knew he was scowling deeply, that Draco and Pansy had picked up on his random fury and fallen silent, no longer muttering to each other or attempting to get words into Harry's non-functioning ears.
'He is jealous. Of you. He wants to be you. At first, I believe he hoped you would save him, or, at the very least, end it. When we became something else, not the saviour or the destroyer he wanted…'
Harry didn't like thinking about what it would be like to be the part of his soul that broke off, entombed within the one who shattered it, watching everything go catastrophically wrong, powerless to stop it. Staring down the barrel of an eternity imprisoned in hatred.
'Try to be—for lack of a better term—gentle with him. It immediately works.' Tom thought.
'Oh okay, expert on me, are you?'
'…I am.'
'Whatever,' though his stomach erupted with butterflies at the thought. 'And what plan did you make with him?'
'It would be better if your reaction is genuine.'
Harry pulled a face, and Tom thought:
'You will not need to wait long. I will explain afterwards.'
'Amazing. Great.'
"I need to talk to you in private. As soon as possible. If you can, bring Reed and Ginevra," Tom told Draco the instant Pansy started a conversation with Ruby.
The instructor seemed to sense that Harry wanted to kill Eris and so didn't pair them up.
Neither Harry nor Tom wanted to be in the public eye, and so they sequestered themselves in their room after easily savaging Zacharias Smith—to the point he needed to be pulled away.
He kept the map out on his bed, though he didn't really expect Draco to successfully convince Ginny to come with him. Unless he told her that Harry was on fire.
'So… Obviously he has a way to hide things from Voldemort?'
'I have not asked—I assumed. He does not respond well to questions.'
'Crazy, sounds like someone I know. Bet you get along great.'
'Harry.'
"Tom." He was winding up to take another attack at the plan he was steadily growing to despise when three names on the map stopped him, heading up the last set of stairs before his room.
'No way,' Harry thought.
'Malfoys are incredibly reliable.'
He rolled out of bed, his heart already thundering, and opened the doors for Ginny, Reed, and Draco. He let Tom take over, far more comfortable allowing him to speak, at least to start with.
"When was the last time he used Legilimency on you?" He asked Draco without preamble, avoiding Ginny's eyes as they sat down.
"Oh, uh. It's been so long I almost forget what it feels like."
"Good. You might have noticed some tension," Tom said.
Draco snorted and stopped himself. Then he said, "Some?"
Harry finally laid eyes on Ginny, looking as heartbroken as he felt. "I haven't heard anything about Charlie. I'll let you know when I do. I'm trying… No news is good news." He tore his gaze away, unable to keep his eyes on her.
She didn't say anything.
Reed seemed horrified to be there, watching Harry like he was a ticking bomb.
"The Dark Lord is trying to deconstruct Harry's relationships. It has reached a point where it is no longer safe for any of you. Reed, I assume you have already partially warned Pollux and Ruby?"
She immediately panicked, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do. I didn't break it; I didn't tell them anything-"
"If you did, you would be dead," Tom said. "It is fine. I am telling you to continue. This next part is optional and risky." His eyes flicked to Ginny, and she was crying, so he didn't look for long.
Harry sucked in a breath and fought the hot flush that rushed through him.
"The Dark Lord will not check your minds. Of that, I am almost entirely certain. It is enough for him to believe Harry has no relationships."
"Sorry… You're- him, right?" Reed asked.
"Yes," Tom said, "I am Voldemort's Horcrux."
She swallowed and said, "Ahh."
"Are you okay? Harry?" Ginny asked, and he whipped to look at her.
"I- Ginny. No. No, I'm- Everything is-" He inhaled sharply and bugged his eyes, biting his tongue.
"When he made you fight Draco in the Chamber…" Ginny said.
"And Charlie. And setting Reed up to fight Eris—he knows… A lot. And now she does." Harry gestured at the cerebromancer. "And I'm exhausted. And I get it, Gin. I've said it a thousand times, but every time, I mean it. I couldn't even begin to explain any of this to you now. It's too much. Too dangerous. And I- I don't want you in it. I've never really wanted you in it, but you're all I have left of before."
"You seem… Different." She said, "Like you're terrified? Like it's life or death? Like when you were- I don't know. Trying to kill each other. Before you knew what you are."
He knew his face answered her question, even though he didn't want it to. So, he said it: "I am. And I think it is."
