What Words Can Do (TOMARRY)

Year 3 ◇ Part 6

Harry's POV

I went up to Tom and hugged him. He hugged back which I was happy about. After a few seconds, we pulled away. "It's nice down here without the fear factor of getting petrified," I said jokingly.

"I try to keep it modernized," Tom laughed, looking around the room. "So have you thought about my offer?"

"A little bit," I admitted. "I still haven't come up with a decision yet, though. Have you thought about your prize yet?"

"Like I've said before," Tom shrugged, "I know what I want my prize to be, but I'll let you know when I want it." I nodded.

"So tell me about the Dursleys, " Tom said after a few minutes of silence. I looked at him with a confused look. "I just want to know in further detail how bad they hurt you."

"Well, for starters," I began, "they forced me to sleep in a cupboard until I was 11. They gave me the smallest bedroom that happened to be my cousin's second bedroom. But other than that, they force me to cook, clean, and just about every other chore they could think of. The only time I can go outside was if Dudley was around or if no one else can see me. When my Uncle Vernon is having a bad day, he beats me. They've even put me in the hospital a time or two. Dudley doesn't even need a reason to beat me up. In my aunt and uncle's eyes, Dudley is perfect. Until I came to Hogwarts I didn't have any friends or even any Christmas or birthday presents. They're still abusive toward me. They don't even let me say the word magic around them or anyone else. Every summer, they lock up all of my Hogwarts stuff, so I have to do my summer work in the middle of the night."

"Wow," was all Tom said, but I could see a thousand gears turning in his head. "I'm honestly lost for words. How could someone hurt someone as small as you?"

"I'm not small," I said defensively. Tom looked me up and down as if he couldn't believe what I had just said.

"Yeah," he rolled his eyes, "and older me isn't Lord Voldemort."

"Whatever," I huffed.

We spent a good hour after that just talking. At about 4 in the morning, I told him that I should get back before people started waking up. He agreed and pulled me into a hug.

Before I left, I could have swore I heard him say, "I'm going to kill the Dursleys." I figured I was just hearing things and left.