Meant To Be

Chapter 15

Harry spent the next few days on edge, expecting Tom to walk in at any moment. Any squeak of the floor or the wind hitting the shutters and he would jump, thinking that he was here to...That was the thing. Harry wasn't sure what Tom was going to do. Not with what happened last time.

Harry shook his head. He refused to fall into that routine again. He should never have let it happen again. He had felt the same pull towards Tom just like the first time, but it hadn't felt as strong. Yet it had been there and there had been nothing he could have done to stop it. Not that he really wanted it too; he'd be lying to himself if he didn't say that he was relieved that Tom was touching him again. Harry had been craving his touch ever since the first time. He didn't like the thought of it but his body felt differently, it was betraying him in the worst possible way and if it continued to happen then it was going to be a real problem.

But it won't be a problem because it will never happen again, he thought to himself firmly.

He just wished he knew what was going to happen. Usually, he could predict what Voldemort would do, but ever since finding out about Wynter...things had changed. Voldemort, no Tom was doing something he had never done before. Show emotion. Shock, happiness, uncertainty, desire...they were all so new to Harry. It was like he was a completely different person. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try something, what exactly, he didn't know. All Harry knew was that he had to be prepared.

He sighed and looked down at his daughter who was lying on her back on the floor on a blanket. "You have things so easy, you know that? Unlike me. My life is so complicated even when I'm not doing anything."

Wynter gazed up at him and blinked her bright green eyes, smiling slightly behind her pacifier. "Not that you understand me," he said to her. "But that's okay. You just lay there and look cute."

A knock at the door caught his attention. He gasped lightly at her, "We have a visitor! I wonder who it is." Wynter blinked up at him and sporadically kicked her legs as she heard his voice and Harry smiled down at her.

I wasn't expecting Ron and Hermione today... he thought and moved to open the door.

xxx

Tom apparated outside the fake cottage and walked past it to the real one. It stood solitary amongst the trees and bushes, simple and unnoticeable and he felt the presence of Harry inside. Thankfully he had stayed like he had told him to. Tom really didn't want to go looking for him again. He had been very impatient with wanting to just leave and come back here but he had things to do as a Dark Lord that couldn't be put off. And after days of putting his followers on new assignments, he finally had time to see his daughter.

His daughter.

Tom still couldn't believe it. He had a daughter! Every time he thought about it, it brought a smile to his face. He had to be careful because it just wouldn't do to have his followers see him smile. It would make them suspicious, not to mention destroy his image. But he couldn't help it. He wondered what she looked like, what her name was, how old she was...there were so many things he wanted to know.

He had been...distracted last time, but he wasn't to be denied this time.

Not that he had really minded the distraction. It had been a really, really nice one. Yet it was one that should not have happened. All his research that he had done on the subject had come up with nothing. The closest he had was the Soul Mate Bond, but that only counted for the first time. According to the book, they had already "consummated" the bond, but there was none, yet it had happened again. There was something deeper to it; he just had to find it.

Tom mounted the steps and reached for the doorknob, but paused. If I am to continue to see my daughter, I have to at least be civil with Potter. Barging in will not help. He took a deep breath and straightened his robes, then knocked on the door.