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1 - Hermione
Hermione smiled as she pushed open the doors to the library. She loved being in the library, it was always so quiet and peaceful. It was her haven away from the rest of her busy life at Hogwarts.
She hummed quietly to herself as she navigated her way through the stacks of books. She wanted to get lost among the stacks and find a nice spot to herself. She had finished her homework early and wanted a cozy spot to read for pleasure. She knew of a spot near the back of the library, it was very hidden. She’d never seen another student use it before, and knowing Hogwarts, she could be the only one to know it existed.
Well, probably not the only one. She frowned to herself. Riddle probably knew it existed. Just like how he knew everything else.
Riddle was always beating her in everything, coming out slightly ahead. It irked her to no end. His potion was always slightly more perfect, his essay slightly longer, or his spells flawless. She didn’t understand. She also never saw him studying or practicing, it was like he was just innately perfect and gifted in every way. She scoffed to herself.
As she was about to turn the corner into her spot, she heard a quiet laugh and she stopped. She knew that laugh. Harry had a beautiful laugh; it was a sound of pure joy. But, why was he laughing in the back of the library?
She waited and she heard another voice, it was deep and also full of humor, like the person was holding back a laugh. It was a very nice voice, and one that she also knew well. That was the voice of Tom Riddle. Although, now that she thought about it, she has never heard his voice sound like that before. She’s heard him laugh before, of course, but never did his voice sound so warm and happy. His laugh was always forced happy at jokes made by professors or cold and sharp at some other student.
She quietly stepped back and peered through the stacks of books to look into the quiet spot.
Harry and Tom were sitting at a table together and were incredibly close. Their legs were pressed together, and Tom’s arm was slung around Harry’s shoulders. There were some books in front of them, but it was obvious that they were long abandoned. Harry was still laughing quietly at whatever Tom had told him, and Tom was smiling pleased down at him.
This was another shock to Hermione. She had known, of course, that Tom and Harry were together. Harry had told her and Ron a couple weeks ago that Tom had asked him out, and that he had said yes. Hermione and Ron had been incredibly confused at the time, given that the pair had never been seen together in public. Or that Harry had never mentioned Riddle before until now. They had smiled and been supportive, but her and Ron had assumed that it was a joke or something. They never had actually considered them to be a couple.
Or such a loving couple at that. Riddle had kept quietly making jokes to Harry, and Harry was almost about to fall out of his chair laughing. Riddle moved his arm to wrap around Harry’s midsection to keep him in the chair but was continuing to make Harry laugh. At this point, Harry was almost sitting in Riddle’s lap.
Harry finally stopped laughing but looked up at Riddle with a stupidly happy grin on his face. Riddle was looking down at him, with his arm still firmed wrapped around him, with a soft smile. Riddle’s eyes were warm and full of affection, Hermione noticed.
Hermione finally heard Harry quietly say, “You promised me that you would help me with potions, not kill me with your bad jokes.” Riddle smirked at that, obviously pleased with himself.
“Of course, lovely. Anything to help you stop complaining about Snape,” Riddle replied.
Harry rolled his eyes but went back to trying to read his textbook. Hermione watched as Riddle carefully watched Harry, his eye still full of affection and fondness. He moved his arm and ran his hand through Harry’s hair with a small and soft smile on his face. He then pulled Harry close to him and pressed a long kiss into his hair.
Hermione turned away. She knew that she had no business watching them like that, but she was a bit nosy and she knew that. She silently let out of breath that she didn’t even know that she’d been holding. She closed her eyes.
So, Harry and Tom were actually together. Harry and Tom seemed happy together, incredibly so. She had seen Riddle genuinely laugh and smile for the first time in her life.
She shook her head; this was a lot to take in. She needed to go tell Ron right away. She didn’t think she would confront or tell Harry about this. He deserved someone that made him happy, and someone that gazed at him with such love and affection. She didn’t particularly like Riddle, but if he could do that for Harry, then he was alright in her book.
2 - Draco
Draco stomped angrily out to the quidditch pitch. He knew Potter would be there right now, he always practices there on Sunday afternoons. Potter had convinced the Gryffindor team to come out and watch the Slytherin team practice this morning, he had even made them take notes. It had thrown off his team’s ability to focus because they were constantly worried about the lions being right there. The practice had been a complete waste because of it.
He was going to give Potter a piece of his mind. He was sure of it. He had hesitated to start something with Potter earlier because he had heard rumors about him and Riddle shacking up.
He wasn’t stupid. He knew that Riddle was cold and calculating, he was a Slytherin down to his bones. He knew there was no way that Riddle would pick Potter of all people, Potter was as Gryffindor as they get. He did hesitate earlier though, because on the slight chance that the rumors had been true, his life would have been in actual danger.
Riddle ran Slytherin house with a cold iron first. Every first year learned very quickly who was in charge, and it wasn’t the head of their house. Riddle was always perfectly composed, never a hair out of place. When his mask did slip, it got ugly. He had a nasty temper and he didn’t care about who he took it out on. Draco himself had been the recipient of a crucio from Riddle’s wand. He shivered, he never wanted to experience that again.
But there was just no way that Riddle, and Potter were together, it just didn’t make sense. The King of Slytherin with the Gryffindor's Golden boy? No way. With his mind resolved, he was walking down to the pitch to lose his mind on Potter.
He saw a broom driving dangerously fast as he approached. He smirked. Perfect. That definitely meant that Potter was here. Nobody else would be stupid enough to try and pull off a move like that. He was basically in a nose drive towards the ground.
As Draco got closer, he saw that there were actually two figures on the quidditch pitch. He paused in his stomping and watched as Potter leapt from his broom, caught the snitch, and ended up rolling on the ground for a landing. The other figure had been waiting beside the pitch, now ran towards Potter frantically.
Even from a distance, Draco knew that walk. It was smooth and effortless, like a snake slithering around unseen. Only one person embodied a snake that well, and that was Tom Riddle himself. Now, if Tom Riddle was watch Harry Potter practice his dives, there is a reason for concern.
Draco watched as Riddle rushed over to Potter, he got there just as Potter pushed himself off of the ground. Potter held up the snitch and had a wide smile on his face. He clearly was overjoyed that he had caught the damn thing in such a dangerous way. The bloody lion always was reckless.
He could tell that Tom was less pleased about that. His arms were crossed, and Draco could just make out the furring of his eyebrows in frustration. Riddle was probably going to crucio Potter, if Draco could guess.
Potter didn’t look concerned in the least. He was still smiling wide and waving the snitch around. He didn’t seem to notice Riddle’s annoyance, or he simply didn’t care. Then, Potter ran towards Riddle and jumped on him. Potter wrapped his legs around his waist and had his arms around his neck. Riddle caught him easily, of course. Potter was nothing but skin and bones, it couldn’t have been hard. Something was off though; Draco shook his head. The action looked so comfortable and natural. It was as if they had done it hundreds of times.
Draco watched as Potter was wrapped around Riddle like a koala, and Riddle held him up easily. Potter smiled down at Riddle with such happiness and affection in his face that Draco almost had to look away. Tom was still glaring at him slightly, albeit lessened since Potter had leapt into his arms.
Potter wrapped his hands firmly into the hair on the back of Riddle’s neck and pull Riddle towards him. Draco watched raptly as Potter kissed Riddle so gently and lovingly, and Riddle kissed back. They held the kiss for a long minute before they broke apart. Potter started beaming at Riddle once again, but Riddle stared up at Potter with a small smile. There was such devotion on his face that Draco could see it from far away. It was as if Riddle was staring at the sun. He clearly worshipped Potter.
When Potter started to pull Riddle in for a second kiss, Draco turned around and ran as quietly and as quickly as he could.
If anyone messed with Potter, they wouldn’t live to see another day. Riddle would ruin them. Draco had known what he just saw, he saw a man completely and hopelessly in love. A man that would do everything and anything to make his lover happy. It was worse that it was Riddle, because Riddle had the power, smarts, ambition, and drive to bring the world to his lover’s feet.
Draco knew that he needed to tell his friends now. Potter would from now on be an untouchable. Nobody can mess with him.
Draco shivered. He knew that Riddle must never find out that he knows, or that he watched. He knew the punishment for watching Riddle in his private moments was much greater than that of yelling at Potter. He would take the specifics of today to the grave. All he would tell is that Potter was now not to be messed with, unless you have a death wish.
Part 3 - Sirius
Sirius was shocked when Harry asked if Tom Riddle could come visit over for Christmas Eve dinner. He had heard through the grapevine that the boy was taking Hogwarts by storm, an almost picture-perfect student. He had also heard through some sketchier grapevines that the boy was to be feared, that he was dangerous. That he was trying to be the next Dark Lord. Sirius said yes to Harry, mostly thinking that maybe Harry could be a good influence on him. He knew that him and Tom were friends, but he didn’t know they were that close.
Sirius sat at the table with Tom and Harry and watched them interact. Harry seemed to be like his usual self. He was friendly, warm, and talkative. He brought Tom and his accomplishments up multiple times, and Sirius was genuinely impressed. The boy had accomplished a lot in his 5 years at Hogwarts.
Tom, however, was perfectly polite. He accepted Harry’s praise gracefully but seemed cold and aloof about the whole situation. Sirius knew that it was the Slytherin mask, he had enough in the family to be able to recognize it. Tom’s mask never slipped once the whole dinner, even when Harry went on a rant about quidditch for 15 minutes straight.
Sirius thought that maybe because him and Harry were such close friends, that Tom wouldn’t need a mask. He could just be himself. He didn’t understand how Harry could be friends with someone who was pretending all the time. It didn’t make sense.
After dinner, the boy went off into a sitting room to exchange their gifts with one another. Sirius was still sitting in the dining room, reading a book. He realized that if he leaned back, he could see slightly into the sitting room.
Even though he felt bad about spying, he needed to know what Harry saw in Tom. He needed to know that his boy hadn’t made a bad friend and was going to get himself hurt.
He watched as they sat with their legs crossed, facing each other. Each boy had a wrapped gift in their lap. Harry’s was not-so-nicely wrapped in a shiny green wrapping paper. It was in a medium sized box. Tom’s was perfectly wrapped, it even had what looked to be a homemade bow on top, in a brilliant red. It was smaller than Harry’s gift.
Sirius stared in shock as he watched the mask melt away from Tom’s face and body language once he thought he was alone with Harry. Tom’s shoulders relaxed, and his back hunched a little. His face was more expressive. He could see that Tom was a little nervous now but looked happy. Tom smiled at Harry, and it was such a handsome smile. He looked younger, more boyish. It suited him.
Harry handed his gift to Tom, with a small smile on his face. He ran his hand through his messy black hair, and that’s when Sirius knew that Harry was nervous too. He was blushing a little and had a little bit of sweat on his forehead.
Sirius watched as Tom carefully and cautiously unwrapped Harry’s gift. He was giving this gift his full attention, almost like he’s never received one before. He unwrapped a brown box, which he slowly lifted the lid too. Tom stared inside the box and didn’t say anything. His face was carefully blank again.
Harry looked deep at Tom and said, “I made it, without using magic. It took a long time.” He gave a nervous chuckle, “Do you like it?”
The question seemed to shake Tom out of his shock. He looked up at Harry, and Sirius could see that his eyes were shining bright and watery.
“I love it, thank you,” Tom replied. The response might have sounded short, but Sirius could tell that it was full of emotion. Tom meant every word. Harry smiled gently at him.
“Well, put it on then! It’s meant to be worn. I expect to see you in it every day,” Harry joked. Sirius could tell that he was trying to lighten the mood between them. He assumed Harry knew that Tom was uncomfortable showing emotions and was giving him a way out.
Tom slowly pulled a beautiful emerald scarf out of the box. The scarf was made from thick yarn and looked very warm and soft. It was long and colored a deep emerald green. Sirius could tell that it was homemade, but with a lot of care and energy. Harry wasn’t joking, he must have spent hours on that scarf.
Tom was still just holding the scarf and running his hands over it gently, like he was afraid it would break. Harry reached over and grabbed the scarf, he took it and slowly wrapped it around Tom’s neck. Tom silently looked up at Harry, and Sirius could see the admiration and gratefulness in his eyes.
“Nobody’s ever made me something before,” Tom said quietly.
“Well, now, somebody has,” Harry replied, “Although, I wasn’t sure you’d like the homemade route.”
Tom smiled at him, “I will love anything you give me because it’s from you.”
Harry smiled softly at him. It was easy to tell now that both of these boys were completely gone on each other. Sirius now realized why Tom was invited over, because Harry is head over heels in love with him.
Tom handed his present over to Harry, now looking very nervous.
“I’m not sure you’re going to like it, it’s nothing like what you got me,” Tom spoke softly.
“I’m sure I’ll love it.”
Harry unwrapped his gift with more vigor than Tom had, revealing a jewelry box. Harry quirked an eyebrow at Tom, and Tom just stared nervously back. Harry slowly lifted the lid to the jewelry box, and when he saw was inside, he gasped.
“Tom, you can’t be serious. You just got this, I can’t take this away from you,” Harry started.
“You’re not taking it away; I’m giving it to you. I want you to hold on to this for me, you’re the only person I trust to do so,” Tom stated. He now sounded firm, gone was the nervousness from before.
Harry slowly lifted the piece out of the jewelry box, and Sirius did a double take. It was Slytherin’s locket. It was last known to be in Gringotts, awaiting the next heir of Slytherin to claim it. This meant, well, that Tom was the heir to the Slytherin line. Sirius shook his head and blinked. He hadn’t quite gotten his mind wrapped around it yet.
“I know that I haven’t come public with my heirship yet, but I want you to have this. It can be a piece of me that you can carry around with you, so you’ll never forget me,” Tom started strong but ended in a whisper, as if he was afraid to say it.
Harry looked at him, all soft and full of love, “If it means that much to you, of course I’ll wear it.” Harry handed him the locket and turned around, “Would you put it on me please?”
Tom slowly unclasped the locket and put it around Harry’s neck. He did this slowly, and then clasped it again. Harry turned around to look at him, with a nervous expression on his face.
“How does it look?”
Tom looked Harry in the eyes, “You look beautiful, love. It matches your eyes perfectly.”
Harry smiled at Tom, and then started to lean in.
Sirius turned away and stared at his book. He knew that spying on his godson’s gift exchange was wrong, but there was a line at watching him and his boyfriend kiss.
Sirius started processing what he just watched. Tom was the heir of Slytherin. Tom was in love with Harry. Tom has just given Harry a priceless artifact for a Christmas gift. Tom clearly told Harry all of his secrets, so they must be very close.
Sirius smiled to himself. Harry had found someone who loved him almost just as much as Sirius does. Sirius knew that he didn’t have to worry anymore, Tom wouldn’t ever hurt Harry. Tom also would hurt anyone who tried to hurt Harry.
4 - Luna
Luna knew it was late, but she had just come from the astronomy tower. She was watching the stars. She was humming to herself was she wandered through the hallway, it was so peaceful at night. The castle was quiet and beautiful just lit by the moonlight.
Luna was about to turn the corner when she heard a door open and shut. She paused; it could be a professor. Then, she heard someone giggling. She frowned; a professor wouldn’t be giggling.
She peaked around the corner and saw Harry Potter and Tom Riddle standing outside of the Room of Requirement. Harry’s normally messy hair was somehow even messier, it was standing up in all directions. His shirt was somewhat unbuttoned and untucked, his tie was nowhere to be seen. His glasses were slightly askew on his face and his lips looked very red and used. He had a lot of bruises forming down his neck and Luna could see they trailed down deeper than his unbuttoned shirt. He was leaned over giggling, while holding onto Tom’s arm.
Tom’s appearance was so shocking because he was always so put together. His outfits were normally perfect. Tom’s shirt was half tucked in, and his tie was undone around his neck.
His hair was completely messed up, as if someone had been gripping it and pull on it. He also had some bruises forming on his neck, but not as many as Harry. Tom’s belt was also undone, although it looked like he was currently trying to buckle it. He wasn’t very successful because he was also trying to keep Harry upright and to stop him from giggling.
“Harry, you must be quiet, it is quite after curfew,” Tom said quietly, but it echoed in the empty halls.
Harry only responded by giggling more. Luna watched and Harry moved to be completely in front of Tom. Harry wrapped his arms around Tom’s neck and pulled Tom towards him. Their lips met and Luna thought they looked quite beautiful like this in the moonlight.
Tom wrapped his arms around Harry tightly and Harry was only pulling himself closer and closer to Tom. Harry started walking them back, until Tom’s back hit the door of the Room of Requirement. Harry continued to press Tom into the door, making out with him passionately.
Suddenly, Tom flipped them. He pushed Harry into the door and dominated the kiss. He had his hands on Harry’s hips in a tight grip. Harry was now pulling on Tom’s undone tie, trying to be closer to him still.
Luna watched as Harry’s hands slowly drifted from pulling at Tom’s tie to moving down his chest. Harry’s hands wandered even lower, now sitting at Tom’s waistline. Harry curled his fingers into the loops of Tom’s still unbuckled pants. Harry pulled Tom closer still by the loops of his pants, this only seemed to make Tom hungrier. Their kiss went on for several minutes before Tom broke it apart because Harry’s hands started to wander into his pants. He just pushed Harry’s hands away and pulled Harry into his arms again.
Harry slowly rested his head on Tom’s chest, as his head only barely reached Tom’s shoulder. He had a big smile on his face, full of contentedness. Tom rested his chin on the top of Harry’s head, and closed his eyes. They were basking in each other’s presence, clearly just happy to be together. Harry pulled away eventually and grabbed Tom’s hand.
He started pulling Tom towards the center on the hallway and was giggling. It seemed as if Harry was trying to taunt Tom into making out with him again. Tom obliged him and allowed himself to be pulled. Luna could see Tom’s face clearly now.
His eyes were trained on Harry, as if determined to memorize every detail. He had a satisfied smile on his face, like someone who had everything they could ever want. He looked the happiest that Luna had ever seen him. Tom clearly worshipped Harry. He was looking at Harry like he was looking at the sun.
Tom pulled Harry into his arms again and pressed a kiss to his forehead. They were standing in front of a window now. The moonlight illuminated their faces so clearly, she could the dedicated and love that stretched across both of their faces. They were enraptured with each other.
“You’re the most precious thing in the world.”
Harry, who finally had stopped giggling, smiled up at Tom, his eyes were bright with happiness and contentedness. Harry clearly worshipped Tom just as much.
“I love you, Tom.”
“I love you too, Harry.”
Luna smiled to herself as she turned around to walk back to her down. They were a beautiful couple, she thought. They were beautiful because they were so happy. Happy and in love.
5 - Colin
Colin was trying to practice his nature photography. He had gotten quite good at taking pictures of people and objects, but not nature itself. Photography was a big passion of his, and he wanted to be able to share every part of Hogwarts with the family back home. He needed to be able to capture the Black Lake in all of its glory.
He had decided that today was the perfect day to go take pictures of the lake. It was the middle of Spring, so the temperature was comfortable. There also hadn’t been a single cloud in sight the whole day. The clear skies would make for a brilliant sunset. So, here he was walking down to the Black Lake a little before dusk to try and capture a beautiful sunset.
It was a peaceful walk. There were birds chirping happily, the grass was starting to grow again, and the leaves on the trees were budding. Colin felt excited to try and take pictures of this sunset. On his walk, he stopped to take pictures of some birds sitting in a tree. He was still a little way away from the lake, but the sunset hadn’t started yet.
Just as he was lining up his lens, he learned music. He waited quietly; he had an inkling that he knew the song that was playing. It was a muggle song, something that he had heard playing before in his own house. It was an old record of Frank Sinatra playing.
Why was there Frank Sinatra playing near the Black Lake? He guessed that it was probably some students on a date, but he was curious. He looked back up at the tree that he had been about to take a picture of and knew that if he climbed it, he probably would be able to see whomever was playing music. He would also probably be able to get a good shot of the sunset too.
Mind made up; Colin started up the tree. Once he was situated, he started looking around through the lens of his camera to see who it is. He is scanning the shoreline and almost drops his camera out of surprise of who it is.
It’s Tom Riddle and Harry Potter having a picnic by the Black Lake. Colin had heard rumors about them dating, but like everyone else, he had never seen them together. They almost pretended that each other didn’t exist at school. His curiosity renewed, he continued watching what they were doing.
There was a blanket spread out on the grass near the shoreline. On the blanket, there was a small picnic basket with what looked to be cheese, bread, and wine. There were also empty glasses from which the wine had been drunk. There was a small record player sitting on the blanket also. There were also a couple of records next to it.
Colin sometimes forgot that both Harry and Tom were raised by muggles. The muggle music made more sense now. Just like him, they both had probably grown up hearing this music played. That made him smile.
Harry was sitting with his legs crossed on the blanket, and Tom was laying down with his head in Harry’s lap. His hand was linked and settled on his stomach. His mouth was moving while he was looking up at Harry. Harry was running his fingers through Tom’s hair gently and slowly, while nodding along to whatever Tom was talking about. Colin could only guess to what they were talking about, knowing Tom, it was probably world domination.
They seemed so comfortable and happy in each other’s presence, surprisingly. Tom seemed like a completely different person. That Slytherin facade that Tom always wore was completely gone. He was smiling and relaxed, in a way that Colin had never seen. He wouldn’t be surprised if Harry was the only person to ever see him that way. Tom was always so cold and manipulative; his warmth and his smiles were always fake and forced.
Although, most of Hogwarts couldn’t tell. The only reason that Colin knew was because Tom had roughed him up once or twice in the hallway. But now, that was all gone. All of the posturing and facades. Tom just seemed like a nice boy in love.
Harry also seemed more relaxed. All of Hogwarts knew that Harry was always stressed out with Grindelwald on the rise. Harry barely smiled these days. But here in this private place with Tom, he was smiling. A real genuine smile. He laughed freely at something that Tom said. Harry seemed more like the boy that Colin admired right now, than he had been in months.
Colin heard the song change to something soft and slow. He recognized it as Frank Sinatra’s I’ll Never Smile Again. Colin liked this song; he had often seen his parents slow dancing to it in the kitchen at night after they had thought he was in bed.
Colin watched as Tom paused in whatever he had been talking about and just looked up at Harry. He then quickly rose to his feet with a coy smile on his face. He reached a hand down to Harry, and Harry took it.
Tom pulled Harry to his feet, and they were standing close. Their noses were almost touching. Colin saw Tom ask Harry something, and while he couldn’t exactly make out what is was, he knew the gist.
May I have this dance?
Harry nodded, with a soft smile on this face. Tom wrapped both of his arms around Harry’s waist, and Harry wrapped both of his around Tom’s neck. Tom pulled Harry close as they started to slowly spin in a circle.
For the first part of the song, they were staring into each other’s eyes. Even from here, Colin could see the adoration and love in their eyes. They were completely gone on each other. Harry then, slowly put his head on Tom’s shoulder as they turned. Harry closed his eyes and relaxed in Tom’s arms.
Tom was staring down at Harry like he had the most important thing in the world in his arms. Colin knew that Tom would do anything for the boy he was holding. It was as obvious as the sky being blue.
They continued to slowly spin until the song was done. The record was finished and started to make the white noise. They didn’t move though. They just stayed there, holding each other and being held. Colin couldn’t tell you how long they stayed there wrapped in each other’s arms. They probably would stay there forever if they could.
Colin finally looked up from his camera, to realize that the sunset had started. It was beautiful, but nowhere near as beautiful as those boys in love.
Colin felt happy knowing that Harry had someone who loved him, especially with everything that was going on. To get through this war, they would as much love as they could get. Colin hoped they would enjoy the sunset, maybe he would give them a picture of it. They might appreciate it.
1 - The Final Battle
Harry was panting, covered in sweat and blood. This was the culminating moment of everything that he had been working towards. He had beaten Grindelwald; the battle was brutal. He was exhausted.
He looked down the tip of his wand and saw Grindelwald laying at his feet. The man was staring up at him, waiting for him to end it. He knew that he needed to, he needed to kill this man. After everything he did, all the lives he’s taken, he definitely deserves it.
Harry just stared at him. He couldn’t do it. He wasn’t a killer; he never had been and never will be. Grindelwald realized this too. Grindelwald still had his wand in his hand, and Harry knew that if he didn’t do something, he would be the one to die. He knew that Grindelwald wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.
Harry had hesitated though, and it was about to cost him his life. Grindelwald saw his weakness, his moments of indecision, and was about to strike. He was starting to raise his wand, and Harry was frozen in place. He couldn’t move. It was like he was trapped in ice.
All of the sudden, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tom running.
Later, people would tell him how Tom ran to him. That his mask was completely gone, and they could see the demon that’s always beneath the surface of Tom Riddle. They could see all of the darkness and rage that he carried around with him. How he moved so fast that it seemed impossible.
Tom came around the corner, a pinnacle of rage. He robes were pillowing out around him, black and powerful. His eyes were ablaze with rage as he ran to Harry. He had shed whatever mask and character that he had been playing all these years. For the first time in public, Tom Riddle wasn’t acting.
Tom took one look at the situation and knew what to do. He didn’t hesitate. He couldn’t. If he hesitated, the one person he truly loved would be gone. The one person who kept him sane, who kept the darkness from swallowing him whole. He couldn’t lose Harry, and he wouldn’t. Not today. He raised his arm and pointed. Even in his fury, he articulated perfectly. His wand movement was perfect. He meant this spell more than he had meant anything before in his life. He put all of his magic into it, he didn’t hold back.
Avada kedavra.
Harry’s world went green for the second time in his life. This time, it wasn’t aimed at him, however. It was aimed for the man about to kill him. Harry watched as Grindelwald was surrounded in a brilliant bright green. He watched as the life faded from him.
Harry was still frozen, still stuck in ice.
Tom ran to his side, moving so fast that no one could really process. Everybody else was stuck in ice too. It wasn’t every day that you saw an unforgivable cast, especially with that much power.
It was dead silent except Tom. All anyone could hear was Tom running to Harry’s side. Tom pulled him into his arms, against his chest. Tom was running his hands through Harry’s hair trying to comfort him. Harry’s eyes were glazed over, he was still in shock. It was clear that Tom wasn’t affected about committing murder at all, all he was worried about was Harry.
Tom didn’t say anything. He knew that anything he said wouldn’t be heard and wouldn’t matter.
Everybody was still watching as Harry, through Tom’s petting, slowly came back to life. His eyes started to thaw out and the life came back into them. Harry let Tom hold him for a little longer, just needing to feel safe.
After a while, Harry slowly pulled away and looked at Tom. Tom still had his arms loosely wrapped around him, not willing to let him go quite yet. Tom eyebrows furrowed in concerned as he looked down at Harry.
“It’s over, isn’t it?” Harry asked Tom.
“Yes, it is,” Tom replied quietly.
Harry nodded and started to look around at all the people gathered around. Nobody was paying much attention to them anymore. They were more focused on treating the wounded and hugging their own loved ones. He saw Ron and Hermione hug fiercely and he smiled.
“Thank god,” Harry looked at Tom once more. This time with a beaming smile on his face. He finally felt relieved of all the stress he’s been feeling for years. He could finally be a normal person; he wasn’t the chosen one anymore. He couldn’t be, not with Grindelwald dead at his feet. Harry reached and pulled Tom into a tight hug.
Harry could feel the tension bleed out of Tom, and Tom hugged him back just as tight.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” Tom whispered into his hair. His voice was small and fragile. Harry almost didn’t hear it. Harry realized that he must have scared Tom very bad for him to be admitting this in public.
“You didn’t though, I’m right here,” Harry whispered back into his chest. Tom only responded by pulling him tighter.
Eventually, they pulled apart again. Harry started looking around again and saw Grindelwald’s dead body once more. It then hit him what Tom had done.
“Tom?”
“Yes, love?”
“Did you cast an unforgivable?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I needed you to be safe.”
And then, Harry understood. Tom could’ve cast a bunch of different curses that would’ve incapacitated Grindelwald or unarmed him. However, none of them guaranteed that Grindelwald wouldn’t be able to hurt Harry. There was always the slight chance that Grindelwald would have known the counter curse or put up a protection spell. Hell, Grindelwald might’ve just started muggle fighting Harry. The killing curse was the only one 100% guaranteed way that Harry would remain alive and unharmed. Tom was never one to play the odds.
Harry looked at him, with tears starting to build up in his eyes. Tom matched his gaze with just as much emotion. Harry could see the love and the strong desire to protect in his eyes.
“You did it for me.”
“I would do anything for you.”
Harry nodded. He knew that in theory, but most of the time people say that and then when the time comes, they don’t actually mean it. Tom meant it, and he had proved that he really meant it. Tom had just risked his whole potential career in the Ministry to save Harry, in the way that he knew would be successful.
Harry smiled up at Tom. That’s all he could do.
Tom smiled back, a happy and handsome smile. That smile made Harry fall in love with him all over again, every time he saw it.
Tom started reaching for his pocket and Harry gave him a look of confusion.
“What are you doing?” Harry asked.
Then, Tom dropped to one knee.
Harry gasped, and he heard others around him gasp and stop what they were doing to watch.
Tom pulled a beautiful, black velvet ring box out of his pants pocket. He looked up at Harry and smiled again. He held up the ring box but didn’t open it yet.
“Harry, I love you. I always have and I always will. I would do anything in the world for you, all you have to do is say the word. I would bring the world to your feet if that’s what you wanted,” Tom took a deep breath, he actually looked nervous for once. “I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy and keeping you safe.”
Harry knew that he was just staring at Tom, with his mouth dropped open.
“Harry, my love, my light, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”
Tom opened the ring box to reveal his Slytherin consort ring. Harry almost wanted to laugh; Tom was always so dramatic. He had hidden his Slytherin heritage for so long, he had been waiting for the right moment to reveal it. He had chosen now apparently.
Once again, all Harry could do was nod. He felt tears roll down his cheeks, he didn’t even know that he’d been crying.
Tom reached out, his hands were shaking slightly, and grabbed Harry’s hand. He slowly slipped the ring onto his left hand. He then pulled Harry’s hand to his lips and pressed a small but lingering kiss to the back of his hand.
He then rose, Tom was smiling so wide, maybe the widest he ever had. It was blinding and yet Harry couldn’t look away.
Tom put both of his hands on Harry’s cheeks and pull him in for a kiss. It was so warm, and Harry could hear people start to clap and cheer all around them.
He blushed and pulled away. Harry couldn’t stop smiling either. They turned to face the crowd together, with Tom’s arm around his waist.
He looked around at his friends, and while all of them looked very happy for them, none of them looked surprised at all.