When Harry isn't spending time in class, quidditch practice, or with friends, he's with Tom. Harry's getting a lot less sleep than he's used to, but it's worth it. Weeks pass like this:
Tom helps Harry with his homework, teaches him some dueling techniques, and they even fly around together in some of the bigger rooms the Come-And-Go Room can summon. When Harry and Tom are sneaking around the castle, Tom shows Harry secret passages and rooms he'd never have discovered on his own.
Even Merlin is eventually won over all the way. It helps that Tom seems taken with her in a way Harry had only seen Remus or Malfoy be. He has a real way with snakes- Harry wonders if it's genetic.
Tom has no relatives he knows of, but never knew who his father was. Harry and Tom decide that Tom's father must have had other children, eventually leading to Lily and then Harry. Tom lets it slip that Dumbledore dismissed his dismal summer living conditions, and Harry in turn shares about the Dursleys.
When Tom hears about this, he's angrier than Harry has ever seen him. At this point, Tom has basically caught up with the last fifty years. They hadn't talked about the Boy-Who-Lived stuff, not really, but apparently this had been the final straw.
"That bastard," Tom growls. "Your late mother- my relative, sacrifices her life to save yours, single-handedly defeating the most powerful Dark Lord the world has ever seen in the process, and Dumbledore leaves you on a doorstep and doesn't check on you for a decade. Am I getting all that right?"
Harry nods glumly. "That's the gist of it," he says.
"Argh!" Tom wandlessly fires off a red spell, blowing up an empty bookcase. "Does he never learn?"
"Tom, it's alright, really," Harry says worriedly as Tom struggles to get his breathing back under control.
"But you're safe, now. You're happy? Remus is nice, right?" Tom goes from furious to concerned in an instant.
Harry laughs. "Yeah, he's amazing. I can't wait for you to meet him."
"You still haven't told him about me, right?"
"Nope. The sooner the better, though. My friends, too. They're still trying to crack the Chamber of Secrets." They're going to be so mad at Harry when they find out how long he's kept Tom from them, but Harry thinks they'll see reason.
Tom grimaces. "I want to let you tell them, I'm just… I'm not ready. Once I re-register as a student, then you can tell them everything."
Harry and Tom had decided that Tom was going to try and come back to Hogwarts to finish his education. The tentative plan right now is to somehow sneak into the Headmaster's office right after Easter break and get the Hat to call out a house for Tom, and then hopefully Hogwarts' magic takes care of the rest of it.
It is admittedly not the smoothest of plans, but both Harry and Tom agree that the less interactions they have with Dumbledore, the better.
Apparently Tom and Dumbledore don't have the best of relationships- so much so that Tom is going to pretend to be the son or grandson of Tom Riddle, in the hopes that Dumbledore and him can start over with a clean slate. Harry thinks this is a great plan.
"I've been meaning to ask," Tom says one day as he is fruitlessly trying to teach Harry chess. "How on earth did your familiar eat the Philosopher's stone?"
Harry winces. He hasn't actually told Tom that Voldemort isn't exactly dead. Harry has been putting it off, not wanting to make the older boy anxious.
He's not about to outright lie to Tom, though, so he tells Tom everything- Quirrell being possessed, the troll on Halloween, the quidditch game murder attempt, the unicorn blood, the obstacle course and the confrontation in the mirror room. Tom only interrupts occasionally, and only to ask a clarifying question or two. When Harry finishes his tale, Tom sits back. His already pale face is paler than Harry has ever seen it.
"Thank you, Harry," Tom says quietly. "I think I need to be alone for a bit. You'd better go to bed."
Harry nods, standing up. "Night, Tom."
Tom nods, and Harry leaves. He tries to ignore the churning in his stomach- Tom needs to know about Voldemort, and it's better he finds out from Harry than from a secondary source.
Fortunately, Tom is back to his usual self by the next day.
Unfortunately, that day is Valentine's day and Lockhart as per usual has ruined everything.
"... and then the cupid sat on me and recited a terrible poem and everyone saw! Malfoy is going to have a field day and everything is horrible and my life is over," Harry laments. His face had gone bright red ever since "the incident" and Harry doesn't think it'll ever go away. This is just what his face looks like now.
Tom winces sympathetically. "Could be worse," he hazards. "You could be the person who sent the poem."
Harry shoots a glare at Tom and the older boy holds his hands up placatingly. "Sorry, sorry. You're right. Couldn't be worse and your life is absolutely over."
"What's worse is that I think the person who sent the poem is my best mate's little sister. How awkward is that?"
"Wow," Tom says, pretending to wipe away a tear. "Twelve years old and already my little brother is a heart-breaker. They grow up so fast."
Harry stares, unable to believe his ears.
Does Tom really mean that? Harry's never had an older brother before, but from what he knows about them, Tom definitely fits the bill- he's not perfect or anything, he's got a hell of a temper; but he wants Harry to be safe, and cracks silly jokes to make Harry laugh when he's feeling sad, and he just- he'd make a great older brother, is the point.
It's not something Harry has let himself dwell on, though, because he couldn't help but think that Tom really only just puts up with him. But if Tom thinks the same way, then…
Tom cringes as he realizes what he said. "Oh, er, sorry. I didn't mean… well, I did mean it, but it just slipped out…"
Harry's face splits into a smile and Tom scratches the back of his neck, returning the smile with a sheepish one of his own.
"Brothers?" Harry asks, feeling warmth bloom in his chest.
Tom's grin widens and he nods. "Brothers," he agrees.
Another couple weeks pass and with every passing day Harry is looking forward more and more to the Easter holidays. Theo, Hermione, and Ron have all elected to stay at Hogwarts. Normally Harry would be considering staying as well, but he has a really good reason to go home.
"I'm just glad I'm staying this time," Ron mutters. "Christmas was hell- all that worrying. Ugh."
"Really, Ron," Daphne says. "As if anything was going to be able to touch Hermione with both her and Theo on the case."
"And it was fine, remember?" Blaise adds, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Daphne elbows him, but that doesn't stop Blaise. "Christmas was totally uneventful for them. Right, Theo?"
"Y-yeah," Neville says, eyes sparkling with mirth. "Anything to s-say, Hermione?"
Harry narrows his eyes at Hermione and Theo, who are very carefully not looking up from their books.
"Spill," Harry says. Ron nods his head, frowning.
Hermione sighs as she looks up from her book. "It really was uneventful," she says.
"If you don't count the heist," Theo adds flatly.
"What?" Harry and Ron exclaim simultaneously.
Blaise and Neville burst into laughter, and even Daphne cracks a smile. Theo goes back to reading, and Hermione rolls her eyes.
Even though the days seem to be moving more and more slowly the closer it gets to Easter, and Oliver has been pushing the team harder than ever, the quidditch game still manages to sneak up on him. It's only thanks to Ron's question of "are you nervous for tomorrow?" That Harry remembers he's got a game.
"I am now that you reminded me," Harry says glumly.
"Mate, no joke? You say that every time I ask that question."
"It can't possibly be every time," Harry protests.
Ron turns to look at Hermione expectantly and she sighs heavily before looking up from her book and closing her eyes, thinking back.
"It has been every time," Hermione says, surprised. "Really, Harry?"
Harry throws his hands up in the air. "I can't help that I have a busy schedule!"
That night, as Harry, Merlin, and Tom are playing a game of Uno they'd found in the Room, Harry musters up his courage and says, "Tom?"
Tom doesn't look up from his hand, but he hums in acknowledgment and Harry forges on. "Would you want to borrow my invisibility cloak and come to my quidditch game tomorrow? You don't need to if you don't want to," he adds hurriedly. "Or if you think it's too risky, or anything."
Tom sets his cards down face first, a smile on his face. "I would love to!"
Harry perks up. "Really?"
Tom nods. "Definitely. I'll be there. You, uh, won't see me, obviously, but I'll be rooting for you."
Harry grins delightedly. "Awesome! I'll leave my cloak with you tonight. Also, Uno."
Tom throws his cards down. "God damn it!"
Harry bursts into laughter as Merlin latches onto his arm in frustration. Harry can admit that second year had been shaping up into a bit of a disaster, but now? Now everything is wonderful.