Riddle and the Ancient Contract

Chapter 16, Lessons

Tom twitched to full wakefulness at the angry/pained hiss / wash of emotion from Hari. He was awake, wand in hand scanning for a threat in the blink between sleep and wakefulness.

"Hari?"

She appeared in the open French doors with the Daily Prophet in hand. "Dumbledore could turn Merlin into a Dark Lord bent on vengeance." She snarled.

Tom stared, blinked then laughed bitterly. "Yes, he could."

"He ambushes Severus and then blames the deaths that follow on him!"

"You didn't expect him to say he got them killed, did you?"

Hari flung the paper away from her. It flared into flames turning to ashes immediately. She yelped in pain.

"Stop doing magic," Tom hissed. "You'll damage your channels."

"I can't help it. I'm furious!"

"Control yourself." Tom snapped seeing the pain ripple over her.

Magic buffeted him even as she cried out and wrapped arms around her waist.

"I can and will put suppression cuffs on you if you don't have sufficient control to keep from harming yourself."

"Don't you dare treat me like a child!" Hari yelled.

"Don't act like one!"

The furniture started to vibrate. "Don't push me!"

"I'll take you being angry over you causing permanent harm to yourself." Tom yelled back at her.

Her eyes narrowed. The furniture began to shake. A chair exploded. The pain she was ignoring flowed through their link. "You think you can contain me?"

Tom was on her in an instant one hand outstretched to silently call the cuffs from his bedside table. He knew firsthand how heady the influx of magical power was. It made you feel as if the world was at your feet where it belonged. It made you feel invincible. She was incredibly powerful now. If he didn't stop her now she would lose the fragile control of her new immense core and harm herself irreparably. Before she could recover from the unexpected physical attack, Tom had the cuffs fastened around her slender wrists.

Hari panicked when her magic sense nearly disappeared. She thrashed beneath him. "Let me go!" She shrieked. "Let me go! How dare you suppress me!"

Tom snorted. "There is not much I won't dare."

Hands held against the wall, Hari kicked at him hard.

"Ow! Stop it," Tom snarled as pain slammed into his shin.

"LET GO!"

Tom jerked her forward and slammed her back against the wall using the physical pain to jerk her from the magically fueled anger. "Stop acting like a child." He ordered curtly.

"Let go of her!" Black's voice cut through their argument.

"Stupefy." Lucius pain filled drawl came practically on top of Sirius' furious shout.

Hari's eyes went wide as Tom whirled in front of her, a shield blooming in front of them even as he was flinging disabling hexes at the doorway. It was a stunning display of his skill and power. Hari swallowed hard. He had fired off at least six hexes in less than a minute. No wonder people feared him.

Lucius shielded and dodged out of the way. The powerful hexes barely missing him as he had dodged as soon as he spoke. His shield shattered at the first impact.

Tom stilled taking in the situation. His eyes swept over Black unconscious on the floor, Nagini too still in the hall and Lucius looking extremely disheveled with a bruise blooming on his right temple. His eyes flared red. "Nagini."