Chapter 2

Voldemort/Tom POV

True to his word, Voldemort filed the paperwork the very next day with the help of the goblins, though it hadn't been needed at all since Harry was already listed as his heir, he wanted to make it concrete so that no other fool could even think to lay claim to what was his.

While there, he also drew up a contract that would ensure that he would be able to choose who Harry married, although this was only in name since he would never take such a decision away from him, it was done to ensure that no one else would be able to marry Harry off to another, as he suspected Dumbledore would do once he figured out that he'd lost track of his weapon.

After that, he returned home to find Khal napping in front of the fire in the library with Lucius sitting in one of the chairs and reading a book.

He motioned for the man to sit once he'd noticed his presence and instead took a seat opposite the man before casting a privacy ward, "How is he doing?"

Lucius glanced at Khal with a sad expression before shaking his head, "Despite him knowing that he can now be himself around us, he is still under the impression that he is taking up space and that he must make himself as invisible as possible. I had the elves ready a room for him though, and Severus is out getting some things that he may need. Hopefully, that would ease the notion a bit."

Voldemort found himself wanting to inquire where the room was, but he stopped himself and instead filled Lucius in on his progress at the bank, "Should anyone try to trap him under the marriage oath, they will find themselves dealing with a nasty little curse that Salazar Slytherin usually protected his own affairs and those of his heirs with."

Lucius gave a vindictive smile at that, just as Severus entered the room with a single packet that no doubt held many things if Lucius had been the one to send him as Voldemort suspected.

What he didn't expect, however, was the way the dour man's expression softened just a little and his brilliant mind suddenly came to the conclusion that it wasn't just him and Lucius that felt a pull toward the young man, which was simply taboo, seeing as he was only 15.

He also knew that, like himself, neither man would make a move since not only had they been instrumental in almost killing him numerous times, but he was also the same age as Lucius' son and Severus' Godson.

Not to mention that, despite the immortality, Voldemort was old enough to be his grandfather, and the thought quickly had him discarding the thoughts he'd had so far.

A yawn startled him from his thoughts and he quickly broke the privacy ward when he saw that Khal was waking up and stretching out lazily before he sniffed the air, opened his eyes, and froze at the sight of the men watching him.

Despite his thoughts, he still couldn't deny that Harry in fox form was one of the cutest sights ever.

A mumble of words distracted him and at first, he didn't know where it was coming from, until it became clearer and that is when his mind finally registered that Harry's thoughts were being broadcasted through the Horcrux due to his shock.

Khal/ Harry POV

He didn't know what woke him from his nap, but he did know that something in the room had changed and he lazily opened his eyes after yawning, only to freeze at the sight of the three men watching him with strange expressions on their faces.

Damn, why do they all look so good? Are they trying to kill me with their combined looks?! No, don't look! You're not good enough for them! And why the hell would they want a scrawny brat like you? You're just a fr-

His thoughts were cut off as Voldemort moved forward and picked him up and for a moment he was afraid that the man had picked up on his thoughts, but the older man's expression revealed nothing as he walked toward the door before turning back to Lucius and Severus, "I believe we could all do with some lunch after the busy morning we've had."

The other two men nodded, though Khal could see quite a bit of confusion in their gazes.

He was glad though, because he was beginning to get hungry.

Voldemort paused by the table and glanced down at him, "Would you mind turning back? If you aren't comfortable you may stay as Khal if you want."

Knowing that his embarrassment would clearly show if he were to change back into human form, Khal shook his head and gave a jip, to which Voldemort simply nodded before depositing him on the chair beside him, much to Khal's confusion.

Not knowing that Voldemort was picking up on his inner thoughts, he simply thought that the man had noticed that he looked slightly uncomfortable with the idea of changing back.

Dinner was mostly silent, but Khal was surprised to find that it wasn't an awkward silence as he thought it would be.

He didn't notice that the other three men kept themselves occupied by watching his actions instead of speaking about trivial things.

As lunch neared its end, Lucius looked at Harry with a slight smile on his face, "I do believe there is a new foal in the stables if you would like to see it."

Khal's ears instantly perked up and he nodded, but then he saw Severus' face go blank and he suddenly had the strange urge to invite the man and the Dark Lord as well, even though he knew they would probably decline.

He turned back into Harry, much to the surprise of the men, "I would like that, uhm, would it be okay if Severus and Voldemort came with?"

None of the men were able to fully hide their surprise at the words, but Lucius looked to Severus and Voldemort, also expecting them to decline, only to be surprised even further when they both agreed.

The visit didn't take long, since the mare was still very protective of her foal, but Lucius showed them a few of the new animals that he'd purchased and Harry was delighted to have a chance to speak Parseltongue without being ridiculed.

In fact, it surprised him to learn that Voldemort hadn't even known that he had the ability since Draco had believed that he'd been faking it at the time, even though the snake had truly turned to him when he spoke.

Dinnertime came around sooner than he expected and this time he felt brave enough to eat dinner as himself instead of staying in Khal's form, and surprisingly enough, it seemed to make the three men happy so he decided to try and do it more often.

After dinner, he was about to change back into Khal when Voldemort stopped him, "Lucius and Severus prepared something for you."

Harry tilted his head in confusion, "For me?" before his eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, "I-eh thank you, but I've received everything I need, really! I don't want you to go out of your way to-"

Lucius placed a finger on his lips, effectively making him swallow the rest of his words and his mind almost short-circuited as he registered the warmth before Lucius seemed to realize what he was doing because he quickly removed his hand once more, "We decided that it would be good for you to have a place where you could feel safe, Harry. Everyone deserves such a place."

Harry wanted to argue further, but he simply nodded instead, causing Lucius to smile before they led him to the room that was conveniently located near both Lucius' room and Severus' guest room.

Harry was confused at the jealousy he could feel through the link because Voldemort didn't seem to be jealous of him, but rather of Severus and Lucius.

When Lucius opened the door, Harry felt his breath catch as the room was done in soft blues instead of the garish red or emerald greens that he expected.

It had a desk to the one side as well as a door that looked like it led to a walk-in cupboard as well as his very own bathroom.

The room was decorated to make it feel like he was in the air and the scenes constantly moved and changed, which amazed him greatly.

Several pairs of clothing lay on the bed as well as numerous necessities that he required, and he found himself slightly tearing up at the thought that someone had actually taken his likes and needs into account.

The three men smiled as he turned to them, "I-thank you. You didn't have to."

Lucius shook his head, "We did. We want you to feel at home here. Now it's time to get to bed. Go on, take a long soak, and sleep. We will see you in the morning."

Harry nodded and did just that, taking a nice, long soak with bubbles before putting on his new pajamas, but when he got into bed and switched the light off, something didn't seem quite right and he tossed and turned for quite a while before he sighed and got up.

He quickly changed into Khal and exited the room, but when he saw that Lucius' door was closed, his face fell and he sat down outside the man's door.

It's not right. They know who I am now so I can't go acting like a pet…but it was so comfortable there. Would it really be so bad?

He tried the door, but it didn't budge and given that he didn't want to go back to his room, he decided to sleep on the floor instead.

It wasn't the first time he'd ever done so and it was slightly more comfortable as Khal.

I'll wake up early and leave, but for now, I'll just sleep.

Harry fell fast asleep, unaware that one of the elves had seen him, and after wringing their ears in a panic they decided to wake their master, who was still awake anyway and greatly surprised and saddened when he found Khal sleeping outside his bedroom door.

He carefully picked up the kit, but instead of placing him on the doggy bed, he placed him on the other side of the bed above the covers before covering the shivering kit with a blanket.

He promised himself to speak to Severus and the Dark Lord about it the next day to try and come up with a solution, but for now, he was content to have Khal close to him again since he'd also found it difficult to sleep without the kit's presence.