(Tomarry - HP/TR) Burnt Ice Cream

Part IX

On Sunday night, Tom joined the Potters for dinner. He hadn't wanted to, it hadn't been his choice, but somehow he was here. He blamed Harry for asking him and himself for stupidly accepting.

It wasn't his fault, really, Harry had been holding his ice cream hostage and refused to hand it over until he acquiesced. It was blackmail - extortion. Tom should have lasted longer. In the end, he allowed Harry to drag him to Florean's fireplace at the end of his shift and throw floo powder in, bringing them both to Godric's Hollow. He would have fought harder to refuse if he knew how torturous the evening was going to be.

The Potters had been decent, accepting Harry's quick explanation and welcoming him into their home. He did catch both of them looking at each other knowingly when they didn't think he'd notice, but he tried not let it bother him. He was only here to guarantee a continued supply of ice cream, after all.

The problem began when Tom became hyperaware of Harry's leg. It couldn't be a mistake that it was brushing so innocuously against his own, underneath the table and out of sight. He wanted to move away, jolt his leg back and be done with it, but he couldn't move. It was like he was paralysed, his leg pressed so firmly against Harry's, two magnets locked against each other.

He wondered if Harry noticed, if he was doing this on purpose. Tom wouldn't put it past him, Harry had no concept of personal space. No, the boy was staring dumbly ahead, chatting with his parents about inane things.

"Pass the salt, Harry," James Potter asked from the other side of the table, and Harry leaned slightly to hand it over. As he shifted, tingles raced under Tom's skin where Harry had moved, lingering and burning. Tom clenched his fist, the sparks stirring up the magic lulling in his core, calling out to it. Tom ignored the itching sensation, banishing it to the back of his mind.

"So, Tom, what exactly is your relationship with Harry?" Mrs Potter asked, smiling widely. Next to him, Harry huffed and scowled at his mother, while Mr Potter laughed and raised his eyebrows at Tom. What did she mean by that? There wasn't anything happening between him and Harry. He wouldn't even call themselves friends.

Unbidden, Harry's words from yesterday came to mind.

'Someone you can confide in, someone who makes you laugh? Smile? Someone who you don't mind spending time with?'

Well, he had shared some information with Harry – but not a lot, surely. Harry did make him laugh, smile even, but that was because Tom was mostly laughing at him. It wasn't the same thing, right? And as for wanting to spend time with Harry….

Harry's leg brushed up against Tom's and he swallowed, his leg tingling.

Okay, maybe they were friends…

"We're acquaintances, ma'am," Tom replied politely, not liking the suggestive looks passing between the two adults. He didn't even bother trying to decipher them.

Harry stared at Tom, surprise evident on his face. He probably didn't expect Tom to give their 'relationship' a label beyond 'enemies' or some other dramatic term. Harry was just too emotional for his own good – Tom hadn't met anyone else quite like him. Hell, he didn't deem anyone to be a friend.

"Sure," Mr Potter teased, elbowing his wife, and Tom noticed Harry blushing. Why was he always blushing these days? It was getting tiresome.

Unless Harry really had been flirting with Tom the other day…

No. That was a horror that he wouldn't bear thinking about.

Lily Potter smiled at him. "Harry tells me you read a lot of books, Tom. What are you interested in?"

Tom threw a withering glare at Harry, who rolled his eyes, before addressing Mrs Potter.

"Mainly books that cover the curriculum in more detail," he lied, the words coming easily to him. "I find that once you understand the magical theory behind certain spells, they are able to come to you more naturally. Similarly, extrapolating on and developing the spells to suit one's purpose then comes into play."

Lily nodded earnestly, "That is my line of work, has Harry told you? I experiment with different charms and calculate their unique radiations, thus enabling them to be plotted on the magical spectrum so we can make conjectures about how they will react to different - "

"While I'm sure Tom is interested in you research, Lils, I'm afraid you'll have to discuss it later," James interrupted gently, nodding towards Harry. "Our son's almost fallen asleep."

"I'm not sleeping," Harry grumbled, raising his head out of his hands. "It was - err - really interesting , Mum."

"Truly, it was. Perhaps we can continue our conversation at another time?" Tom inquired politely, but had no plans to do so. While Lily's branch of research was fascinating, it was not something he would be able to reproduce. Determining the spectrometry of spells required incredibly delicate and expensive magical instruments, which wasn't something Tom could easily get his hands. Perhaps in the future he would.

"That would be lovely, Tom," Lily replied, and turned to Harry. "Your friend is so polite, Harry. You should learn from him."

Harry nodded, glaring sidelong at Tom. "Yeah, so polite."

The rest of the meal continued in a similar vein, and Tom felt his muscles aching after he had been forced to smile endlessly. Harry owed him. Big time.

The Potters had sent Tom and Harry off while they cleared the plates, and they stood awkwardly outside the door.

"So… do you want to come up to my room, or…" Harry trailed off, unsure.

Tom was quick to reply. "I think we'd best just leave it here, Potter. Don't you think?"

Harry nodded, slightly regretful. "Yeah, whatever."

Tom headed to the fireplace, taking a pinch of floo powder. He would have to floo back to Florean's, and then make his way back to the orphanage from there. He flicked the powder in, stepping into the green flames.

Harry watched him, and Tom hesitated.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

And then he was whisked away.