Lemniscate

Eight

"W-wha-?" Tom chuckles at my fake surprise, of course thinking it to be real. He gets to his feet, walking over to me and wrapping me in a gentle hug.
"I'm sure that you didn't notice, in your haste to hide me. Can you feel it now, though?" in truth, I had felt it earlier, when I hugged him; the electricity and contentment I felt when I was so close to him; and I had known what it was. Still, I nod, scooting my chair closer to him.
Tom smirks, actually picking me up, causing me to wince. A few of the cuts and scars are still sore, because I keep opening them in my sleep. Tom's eyes narrow slightly, and he runs a hand roughly across my back, causing me to gasp, my eyes tearing up. He growls softly, setting me down and gesturing for me to show him where it hurts.
I almost shake my head, but then see his worried expression, and sigh. I slip my shirt off. His eyes roam over my bare chest, a bearer of quite a few scars, though not nearly as bad as my back. When I turn, he gasps, which quickly turns into a violent growl, startling me. I crane my neck to look at him, and see an extremely angry expression, though it only shows in his eyes.

"Who did this?" he asks, his voice low and dangerous. I shiver, looking away.
"Just... just my aunt and uncle. But, please, don't worry about it. Sev is taking me in, so it won't happen anymore," I hold my hands up, wanting to calm him. He breathes deeply for a second, then cocks his head at me.
"Sev...? Severus, you mean?" when I nod, he has a look of surprise in his eyes, though his face remains blank.
"He's, um... he's one of my fathers."
"One of them?" Tom asks, an eyebrow raised.
"He and James were mates, and when James was killed... Dumbledore took me away from Sev. He hates him for what he did to us... and he doesn't know the half of it," I add under my breath, and Tom seems to catch it, but doesn't comment. Instead, he sighs.
"That's what I've been trying to tell the wizarding world. Dumbledore is a lying cheat and plays only by his own rules."
"Yeah..." I move closer to him, and, for the first time since I returned, I allow myself the comfort of crying. For Sev, for Tom, for everything that had happened in the future, everything that I've vowed to change. Tom, to his credit, takes me in his arms, rubbing my back lightly, trying not to hurt me as he does so. I'm grateful for the physical comfort, and rest my head on his shoulder lightly.
"Harry?" he asks after a few moments. I look up at him, and see concern in his expression. I smile, or try to, wiping my tears.
"Alright... back to business," I say lightly, and Tom sighs, "The fact that we're mates means that we'll have to see a lot of one another- and no, I don't mean like that, so stop chuckling- so we have to find a way to do that so the bond doesn't get strained. Luckily, school's pretty much over, and we leave in a few days, so that won't be much of a problem until next year. I'm sure that Sev will let you stay with us, though you'd have to be disguised if you were to go out with us. Any objections?" Tom shakes his head, and I smile at him, "Then there is the matter of your horcruxes."
Tom's smile falls, turning to shock that I know about them.
"Don't look at me like that! I happen to be one, you know. I'm thinking that we can easily repair your soul so that the only horcrux left is me. Along with that, I've made one of my own already."
"What?! When?! What is it?!" Tom growls. I chuckle.
"Well, when I pulled you from Quirrel, it killed him. I used that to push a part of my own soul into you. It was only a small bit, since I wasn't sure that he would die, but it guarantees us both immortality. And, since we have both the stone and an entire cauldron of the potion used to restore you, we'll be able to restore one another should something go wrong."
Tom contemplates for a moment, then narrows his eyes at me, "And what if I hadn't cared and killed you. Why would you put your soul into me when I could have easily removed it?"
I gulp. He's sharper than I remember, "I-"
"Don't lie."
Those two words are enough to get the truth from me.
"Sit down," I sigh, "This may take awhile..."