Disclaimer: Still not mine!

Author's Note: I'm back! And it's the weekend! I'll try to update daily again, but it finally hit me that I have school again and that I should do something since this is my last year and make good of my promise to do more, blablabla. Well, anway, I'll have to see how it works out, but maybe I'll only update every two days now or even only weekly, though I think that's a bit hard. Just wanted to prewarn you. And now enjoy!

30. ONE LONG NIGHT

The first time in the Great Hall after the holidays was always overwhelming, overpowering and stunning, but Harry loved it nonetheless. He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath, although the air inside was actually quite stuffy, but that didn't matter because he was back, he was finally free- or as free as he would ever be again. His eyes travelled up to the teachers table where his husband sat next to a dour-looking Severus and Dumbledore.

Harry knew that both of the dark-haired men were very unhappy with this arrangement.

Tom, because he had to sit next to the headmaster, which he had predicted would drive him to homicide in the near future (Harry had dumped a bowl of yoghurt on his head in retaliation to his joke), but which he hadn't fought because he was convinced it was his right as a Dark Lord to sit at least in the middle of the table if not at the head.

And Severus, because he once again hadn't got the Defence post, though he had admitted to Harry that he had only ever wanted it to have some variety. Next to the Potion's Master sat Rudolphus and Rabastan and Harry could see that they were a bit nervous.

Harry could totally relate to them when he caught sight of two certain red-heads and a bushy-haired witch, sitting in the centre of the Gryffindor table, talking animatedly, not bothering to lower their voices and drawing a larger and larger public. Harry straightened his back, his eyes narrowing slightly as he walked towards the main group. He had no intention to spent another year with people talking behind his back- offence seemed like the best means of defence in this case.

"Sprouting lies again, I see", he lifted one eyebrow mockingly at Hermione, who seemed to be the ringleader, "Wouldn't the information be more reliable, if you asked the objects of your discussion yourself?"

"Oh, Harry", Parvati squealed, batting her overly elongated lashes at him, "How is it? Does he treat you well? Do you love him? Is he good in bed? Do you know those three good-looking men up at the teacher's table? Do you have another lover at the side? Have you always been gay?..."

"Okay. Yes. No. No-one to compare it to. Yes. No and no", Harry smirked at everyone's baffled face, "I guess that answers your questions. Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to watch the sorting. And please, be so kind as to refrain from anymore discussions about myself."

"But, Harry", Lavender pouted as she thought cutely, "That was a bit fast and short..."

"I'll be in the common room tonight", Harry waved her away, "I'll answer some things then, but don't expect me to share everything with you..."

He took his seat next to Neville and across from Dean and Seamus, ignoring the Irish boy's attempts to get some more answers.

Soon Professor McGonagall entered through the huge double doors followed by a row of frightened looking first-years. Harry smiled at a girl who tripped over her own feet near the Gryffindor table, which caused her to give a startled squeak and her face to turn crimson. She went to Hufflepuff. After the sorting Dumbledore stood up and Harry noticed to his horror that the old wizard had pink bows in his beard.

"Welcome and welcome back to all students and of course to our dear teachers", Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily; Severus sneered at anyone who had the misfortune to meet his eyes, "I'm happy to introduce you to your new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Tom Riddle. Stand up, Tom.", there was a round of polite applause and some dreamy sounds from the majority of the female population as Tom stood up and smirked down at the mass of students, which only reinforced Harry's assumption that no-one knew the real identity of the new teacher, "Yes, yes, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful teacher. You can sit back down, Tom."

"Of course, I can, Dumbledore", Tom looked down at the elder wizard, "But the question is: Do I want to?", whispers broke out all over the hall and Harry was sure that some of them were about the sexiness of Tom's voice rather than his disrespect for the headmaster, "I don't think that you're in any position to order me around, old man."

"My dear boy,...", Dumbledore began in a patronising tone, but the Dark Lord's eyes were focused on his husband, who had stood up: "Tom, what are you doing? Do you really want to stand throughout the whole meal? Please, sit down."

"Of course, Harry", Voldemort smiled pleasantly, "All you had to do was ask."

"Yes, thank you, Harry", Dumbledore only received a cold stare in return, "Why don't you take a seat?"

"Because, I'm not hungry", Harry pushed his chair back, "And I already know the contents of your announcements. I don't see the point in staying here any longer."

"I'm afraid, you'll still have to keep us company. The welcoming feast is obligatory", Dumbledore's blue eyes seemed to give Morse signs, "And you don't know where your new rooms are."

"You're ill informed, Professor", Harry returned, "Enjoy your meal!", he silently swept out of the room- the tension was just too much.

It wasn't only that Dumbledore's behaviour had annoyed him greatly- he had treated Tom like he was his little puppy and Harry as if he wanted to say that he had trained him well- but all the stares he could still feel lingering on his form, especially his scar, and the whispers wandering between the students, spreading what they thought universal truths. And although he didn't blame Tom for reacting none too kindly to Dumbledore's words, the looks he received after their little interaction- it just was too much for him to cope on the first day back.

He curled up in the same corner as after the wedding, trying to convince himself that he didn't care about what others said, that it was alright for them to hate him or laugh at him. He tried to remind himself that there were always some people thinking differently and that it was impossible to be hated by everyone, like he had told Tanea, who had been sorted into Ravenclaw, like he had suspected she would, and whom he had seen talking animatedly with a black girl with dread locks and teeth so white you were almost blinded by them. Harry thought her name to be Ashley or Amy, but he wasn't sure.

There was a sudden increase in volume and he was sure that Dumbledore finally had sat back down and that the food had appeared. Draco was certainly angry with him for skipping a meal, Harry mused. The blond had made sure that he ate at least more than usual during the holidays, but Harry wasn't sure if it had helped much. His body was still much too thin and he weighed too little, making each of his rips stand out. He didn't know how Tom could even stand to touch him- a small, pale, malnourished boy- but Tom had never complained and even gone so far as to compliment his supposed beauty. It was most likely his kind of humour to mock him indirectly. Of course Tom didn't like him, Draco had been wrong...

Meanwhile, behind the large double doors, everyone was more or less enjoying his or her meal. Hermione and the Weasleys had once again seized the opportunity to badmouth their once best-friend, though they were a bit miffed when they found a much smaller audience this time since Parvati and Lavender had chosen to start their own little discussion about the relationship between the boy-who-lived and the handsome Defence teacher, going more and more into the direction of lovers since that surely was the most promising well for their teenage fantasies.

And of course there was the matter of the Lestranges. Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Neville obviously knew, what they had done and the first three made no secret about their deeds. So it had been all the more surprising when Neville had clapped loudly, when they had been introduced as Harry's teachers and now the chubby boy got too much attention for his own liking.

Harry didn't want his involvement known in the healing of his parents and so he couldn't very well tell everyone what exactly had happened. But the joy of his parents' recovery made it hard for him to not shout it all out. Sure, it was awkward to live with two literal stranger, but since it was awkward for all of them, it was somehow easier and so far he really liked the people his parents were.

He found himself more like his mother in most every way, with her love for plants, her ready smile, her shyness and motherly qualities, but his father was great also and while his mother loved to talk and laugh a lot his father was quieter and much calmer, much like himself. They certainly weren't the perfect family, but for him it couldn't possibly be any better.

Dumbledore was trying to catch his eye, too, but Harry didn't trust him and Harry had a good knowledge of human nature, so he avoided the old man's gaze. He almost felt sorry when Dumbledore instead turned to the Lestranges and You-know-who, almost...

Tom was unhappy about his husband's disappearance, not that he blamed him, but he had had this great strategy how to observe Harry during the meal without him noticing anything and now not only was that not going to work out, no, but Harry had once again skipped dinner and he was pestered by the stupid old coot. As if it was his fault Harry had left, it certainly wasn't. He was pretty sure that Harry had intended to sit back down, when Dumbledore had had to open his mouth once again. He hoped that Harry had gone to the kitchens to eat- it wouldn't do to have him starve himself, it just wouldn't do!

Next to him Rudolphus and Rabastan felt much the same. Harry ought to be handled with care! They had learned it the hard way, Harry in his own way was much more delicate than his raw power suggested. And for whatever reason he seemed to like Dumbledore about as much as Bellatrix.

Finally the feast was over and Tom stood without further ado, brushing through the hordes of students, who blocked his way. Harry was waiting outside for him, smiling apologetically, looking extremely guilty when Tom pushed a slice of cake into his hands.

"I'm sorry", Harry looked at his feet, "I overreacted."

"It's fine", Tom moved closer, encircling Harry's narrow waist with both his hands, "Dumbledore's eyes stopped twinkling for over two minutes. It was quite refreshing", he swiftly dipped his head and captured Harry's lips, deepening the kiss almost immediately, playfully tugging on Harry's tongue, allowing Harry to enter his mouth, "Either you eat your cake right now or I'm going to kiss you until you do- both will suit me just fine", he smirked down at his younger husband, who was panting heavily, but obediently began to eat his cake.

"Harry!", two dark heads swivelled around to focus on Parvati and Lavender, "Are you and Professor Riddle an item? Does You-know-who know about this?"

"No, Miss Patil, is it?", Tom asked, "The Dark Lord doesn't know about us and he mustn't ever find out, I rely on your secrecy on this..."

"Of course", the black-haired girl assured him at once, "This is so romantic. Harry, you have to tell us all about you. We expect you in the common room."

The two girls latched onto each other's arms, whispering and giggling excitedly as they walked away.

"I thought you would tell everyone who you are", Harry mused as they waited for the two Lestranges, who slowly walked towards them, "Why didn't you?"

"I'm waiting for classes", the Dark Lord smirked, "This way I can watch their reactions separately. It should be fun."

"Figures", Harry said, "So you want me to keep the identity of my little affair a secret in order for you to have more fun? That really is not fair."

"Suits you right for kissing strangers in the hallways", Tom kissed Harry once again to prove his point, not noticing the shocked looks from Rudolphus, Rabastan and Dumbledore.

/Great, now everyone thinks I'm cheating on you/, Harry hissed when his lips were released/As if my reputation wasn't bad enough. Now Rabastan and Rudolphus think that you're angry with me./

Tom only smirked harder at Harry's reproachful look/I told you I didn't like sharing!/

Harry growled dangerously, and as Tom thought quite cutely, at him before he turned to the Lestrange brothers: "It's not how it seems and it certainly isn't my fault."

"Oh, I'm sure about it", Dumbledore grinned delightedly at him and Harry wasn't sure, if he just found it amusing or that he really thought Harry was being unfaithful, "But I'm sure you wouldn't mind clearing up the little misunderstanding, after all the contract was quite clear on that point."

"And what right would you have to be informed about what I do or don't do?", Harry asked mockingly, "You gave away all control you ever had over me, Headmaster, by bargaining me off- I don't think that I owe you an explanation."

"Harry, I understand that you are a bit bitter about this..."

"A bit bitter?", Harry asked incredulously, "When I found out that the Chudley Cannons had once again failed to shoot a single goal against the Falmouth Falcons and that I would have to listen to Ron's nagging for weeks on end, I might have been a bit bitter, but that term doesn't nearly cover what I'm feeling now."

"You chose to do this, Harry", Dumbledore returned in a sad-reproachful voice, as if Harry was doing him immensely wrong, "It's unjust to blame it on me now, don't you think?"

"Enough, Dumbledore", Tom hissed dangerously when he felt Harry retreat into himself, "You know as good as I that Harry had no real choice and that he has every right to blame you or me for it. But Harry is my charge now and you have no right to demand explanations of him if they don't directly relate to his schooling, so you will just have to deal with the new situation because I have no intention to bear with you any longer. If I feel that Harry isn't absolutely happy with the way things are, I will take him out of Hogwarts immediately... Now, if you would give us directions to our rooms?", he had his arm securely around Harry's waist, who was half hiding his face in his robes, but didn't protest.

"I'll just show you", Dumbledore said more coldly.

"Fine, Rudolphus, Rabastan, you stay with Harry", Tom ordered, gently pushing Harry towards the brown-eyed men, who hugged him protectively, "I'll fetch you as soon as I know the location of our rooms."

Dumbledore was about to protest again when he saw Harry's calm expression and Voldemort's menacing one and realised that he had lost this round and he silently marched into one of the deserted corridors- the students had long since went to their common rooms.

/I'll be back soon/, Voldemort hissed softly/Don't be angry with me, please?/

/I'm not/, Harry smiled tenderly up at him/Thank you, Tom. Would you mind if we went down to the kitchens? I'm quite hungry./

Tom shook his head before he followed the headmaster.

"Tom said we could go to the kitchens", Harry informed them and they nodded approvingly taking their positions right and left of him, "I'm sorry I lost my temper, I didn't mean to leave you alone."

"It's fine", Rudolphus reassured him, smiling slightly at his guilty expression, "We're already big boys."

They both smirked down at him, walking just that little bit straighter that emphasised their height, and Harry swatted their arms playfully: "I know you are. I just wanted to be there for you. How did everyone react?"

"We didn't get such a warm welcome as the Dark Lord, but after the Longbottom kid started to clap for us most of the others joined", Rabastan told him as they entered the corridor with the many paintings of food, "And of course most of the Slytherins did as well."

Harry sighed relievedly and tickled the pear, which transformed into a door handle, and walked through the now evident door, almost immediately being swarmed by a troop of house-elves under the lead of Dobby, who all offered him something to eat or to drink.

"Could I have some milk and cookies, please?", the house-elves nodded enthusiastically and moments later he was manoeuvred into one of the chairs and a plate of cookies and a big glass of milk was placed in front of him. Harry returned the many toothy smiles as best as he could and tugged on Rudolphus' sleeve to make him sit down next to him, giving Rabastan a significant look to do the same, "So you don't regret coming here, do you?", he asked them nervously.

"No, Harry", Rabastan put an arm around Harry's small shoulders, "Don't think so lowly of us."

"I don't think lowly of you", Harry said indignantly, "Why would you say something like this?"

"Because you always seem to protect us, although it should be the other way round", Rudolphus supplied, "We won't back off just because people don't consider us the best company to be around their children and we won't leave you in favour of our own well-being. You have to give us a chance to prove ourselves to you, not the other way round, you're the good one among us."

"Now, who is thinking lowly of whom?", Harry teased, "I'm sorry, I'm getting on your nerves, I didn't mean to..."

"We'll never tire of having you worried about us", Rabastan also put an arm around the small shoulders, "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us in a long time, but let us also be worried about you, okay? Harry, when have you slept last?"

Harry scrunched his face up in thought while he drank the last of his milk, almost choking on the cookie crumbles that had dropped into it: "Thursday? I think it was Thursday. But I'm fine."

The brothers scowled at him darkly: "You should sleep more. No wonder you're so edgy", Rabastan chuckled at Harry's indignant look, "Not that we blame you for telling off Dumbledore, of course, it was actually quite amusing."

"I'll sleep tonight, I promise", Harry mumbled, playing with one of the cookies, "But don't start complaining when I'm not in a good mood tomorrow."

"Has the Dark Lord anything to do with your refusal to sleep, Harry?", Rudolphus pried Harry's hands away from the poor cookie, "Doesn't he treat you right?"

"No, Tom's great", Harry reassured them, "I just don't want him to know."

Voldemort had stood at the door during the last part of the conversation and though he didn't know what prompted the Lestranges to be so worried about his Harry he was more glad about it than angry. And Harry thought he was great, if that wasn't a heart-warming notion...

"Hey", he stepped into the kitchen, "Ready to go, little one? Did you eat something?"

Harry smiled at him and nodded, offering his last cookie to the Dark Lord, who was so surprised by that action that he actually took it, but then quickly regained his composure and led them to their new rooms, Harry's hand securely in his, the small fingers wrapped tightly around two of his.

Dumbledore had given them all rooms on the fourth floor and on the east side, on what he probably deemed neutral ground between Slytherin and Gryffindor area. He hadn't really looked into either of them, but had dismissed Dumbledore, telling him that it was fine and had hastened back to his husband, although he knew him in safe hands. He showed the two brothers their rooms first, which were linked by a common room, watching silently as Harry kissed both of them good-night, before he walked them to their rooms.

The door was hidden like the one that led to Diagon Alley with bricks that moved away if you told them the password. At the moment it was "Green Peace" (he wondered if Dumbledore actually was aware of the Muggle nature conservation organisation or if it was some obscure reference to the armistice between the Light and the Dark), but he would change it as soon as possible to one in Parseltongue to make sure Dumbledore couldn't intrude on them.

Maybe he should have taken a closer look, he realised, when the stones made room for them to pass and revealed the interior of their new quarters. It was so nasty that it was almost laughable, at least Harry seemed to think so because he shook with suppressed laughter, clutching his sides and staring with wide eyes at the myriad of colours displayed in the decorating. Instead of torturing his eyes anymore he decided to watch his beautiful husband, whose eyes welled over with tears of joy. It was the most breath-taking sight he could imagine.

Harry finally got himself back under control, looking up through teary eyes and saying in a deadpan voice: "Well, I'll be gone now. I suggest you do some redecorating, because I'm not staying in a room that looks like the decorator has been colour-blind."

He kissed Tom's nose teasingly, squirming out of the embrace before the older man could deepen the kiss like he had intended and jogged in the direction of the Gryffindor tower, leaving Tom to deal with the problem.

And a problem it was. Whoever had done the decorating- he could hazard a fairly good guess as to who was responsible for this mess- had most likely attempted to bring some symbolic value into the colouring and had mainly used green and silver and red and gold, but had also not shied away from using different kinds of blues, pinks, oranges and pastel colours. All this thrown together looked like the work of a toddler, although Tom was pretty sure that even a toddler would have done better. He had the insistent urge to puke, but was afraid the bathroom would look much the same and so instead vanished all the colours with a simple wand movement, turning his environment into a dull kind of grey.

He could make out the other aspects of the room now for the first time: He knew from the location that their rooms were situated in one of the smaller towers and through the seven windows fell little light from the waning moon, illuminating the staircase to his left, which led to their bedchamber and two now grey large desks next to each other, with two grey bookshelves filled with some general books besides them and grey, comfy-looking armchairs in front of them. There was a low coffee table in between a sofa and three grey beanbags, Tom was sure Harry would love, as well as the rocking chair that stood near one of the windows. There was another door to the right, leading to a small kitchenette.

He sighed exasperatedly, although the room looked decidedly better, Harry wouldn't approve of the greyness and so he started to colour everything more tastefully. He restored the natural brown of the wooden furniture, changed the plush carpet into a dark Slytherin green after unsuccessfully trying to match the colour of Harry's eyes and the armchairs and the sofa into black and finally turned the beanbags into different shades of blue, trying to lessen the general Slytherin look of the room. Thinking that the stone walls looked to bare and cold he conjured up some green drapings, deciding that he would hang up some paintings later, and put white blankets with silver edges on the armchairs, the rocking chair and one over the back of the sofa. Satisfied with his work he addressed himself to the kitchenette, the bathroom and the bedroom, decorating it in much the same way as the one in Slytherin Castle and then settled himself into one of the armchairs checking his schedule for one last time, all the while wishing that Harry was there, too.

When Harry entered the common room everyone seemed to be assembled and waiting for him, which made him really uncomfortable. Even Hermione and the two remaining Weasleys were there, although they did everything to look uninterested. He sat down in one of the chairs calmly his face not betraying anything of what he felt and waited for the question firing to start- he didn't have to wait long...

Two hours later Harry dropped onto his bed unceremoniously, sighing relievedly. He had tried to answer all the questions truthfully, except the ones that concerned his sex-life or the secrets of one of the Death Eaters or Voldemort. Neville was already snoring in his bed, Seamus and Dean, who had helped interrogating him, were changing into their pyjamas and Ron was staring at him, so nothing unusual. He pulled the little knapsack he had packed that morning out from under his bed and, gathering his own pyjamas and his toothbrush in his arms, disappeared in the bathroom in order to get ready for the night.

"Hey, Harry", Seamus called from his bed, when he returned from the bathroom, "Just wanted to tell you thank you for all you did for us with this contract."

"Me too", Dean added from the next bed, "That was a pretty decent thing to do."

Ron snorted loudly, drawing everyone's attention: "Decent? Potter is whoring himself out to the Death Eaters! Yeah, that's pretty decent! Probably learned already how to suck your masters' cocks, didn't you? Oh, I forgot you likely knew that already, right, Potter?"

"Shut up, Ron", Harry said coldly, "I don't have to take this shit from you. Grow up already. Thanks Dean, thanks Seamus. It means a lot to me. Good night everyone."

He really had intended to stay the night in Gryffindor Tower, but Ron's eyes had been an unpleasant reminder of that one forced kiss and he was utterly afraid what Ron would do to him if he found him defenceless. He couldn't stay, not tonight at least. He grabbed his knapsack and quickly left the dorm, passing the common room before anyone could notice him and walked through the portrait hole. Normally, he would just have went into the Forbidden Forest or the library, but he had promised to sleep tonight and since he simply couldn't when Tom had his arms around him, he found himself in front of the Lestranges' rooms, knocking shyly.

"Harry", Rabastan had opened the door forcefully just to find the small boy standing in front of it in his pyjamas, "Is something wrong?"

"Can I sleep here, please?", Harry whispered, "I really thought I could sleep in the same dorm as Ron, but I just can't."

"Come in", Rabastan ushered the delicate Gryffindor into their redecorated living room, "It's Harry!", he called to his brother who entered moments later from the bathroom, his hair still dripping wet and only a towel slung around his hips.

"What happened?", Rudolphus asked concerned, noticing the way Harry was chewing his bottom lip.

"I can't sleep with Ron in the same room and I can't sleep with Tom's arm around me and... I promised to you that I would sleep", Harry rambled nervously, looking up through dark lashes, "Uh, Rudolphus, could you maybe get dressed?"

"Oh, sorry about that", Rudolphus said, becoming aware of his state of almost undress and disappeared back into the bathroom.

"Of course, you can stay here, Harry", Rabastan said to Harry, who looked totally lost in his too big pyjamas, standing near the door, "You can have my room and I'll keep watch over you, okay?"

"I don't want you to stay awake because of me", Harry mumbled, "And I don't want to eject you from your room. I can sleep on the sofa."

"No way, Harry", Rudolphus had reappeared again, "You are our guest. One of us will sleep there, if you really don't want us to keep an eye on you."

"It's much too small for you", Harry protested, "I'll fit on it easily. And I really don't want you to stay awake."

"Fine", Rabastan sighed, "I see your point, but I'll come check on you every once in a while and don't you dare putting up silencing spells around you."

Harry blushed uncomfortable since that had been exactly his plan, but nodded.

"You want a hot chocolate before you go to sleep?", Rudolphus asked gently, while he and Rabastan set up Harry's sleeping accommodation.

"No, I already brushed my teeth", Harry murmured and extracted Lami from his knapsack, pressing him against his chest, "I'm sorry, I'm troubling you."

"It's no trouble", the brothers chorused, making Harry chuckle softly, before they tucked him in, each kissing his forehead lightly, "Sleep tight. And if you need anything, just ask, okay?"

"Okay", Harry smiled, "Thank you."

The older two men went into their own rooms, each leaving the door slightly ajar. Harry closed his eyes, deciding it would be best to get it over with. It wasn't long before he was caught up in another nightmare of Tom's first reign, though as far as he could tell those had decreased lately- maybe he was finally through with all the memories- and had been substituted by his own memories, which wasn't better at all. Approximately two hours later he woke up, to find two pairs of concerned brown eyes watching him silently. He shied away when Rabastan made to hug him whimpering softly. His whole body ached and his eyes burned from all the tears. No, please stop, they don't deserve this, I'm sorry, no please, no more. After a while he just curled up again and closed his eyes, intend to get some more sleep, he felt the brothers kiss his forehead once again, before they went back to their own rooms. None of them had commented on what had happened.

The next time he woke after having relived one of his own memories his reaction to their proximity was much more violent and he fell of the sofa in an attempt to hide from them. It took him nearly two hours to finally calm down enough to crawl into Rudolphus' lap and to sob his heart out against his chest.

"Shh, Harry", they constantly repeated, "No one will harm you here. It'll be okay."

Rabastan made them all some camomile tea and cradled Harry in his arms when his brother's legs threatened to cramp.

"Do you think, I'm a whore?", Harry asked quite suddenly, looking up at them for the first time.

"No, why would we think something like that?", the younger brother asked and his brother nodded affirmatively, rubbing Harry's arms.

"Maybe because it's true", Harry murmured more to himself than the other wizards.

"Do you think, I'm a whore?", Rudolphus asked, "Because if you are one I'm one, too. I agreed to marry Bellatrix in order to spruce the family's reputation. Your motives to marry the Dark Lord were certainly much more honourable than mine."

"Did someone say that you are a whore, Harry?", Rabastan asked when the small boy only mutely shook his head, "They better watch their mouths before we decide that a fist would look good in there."

"It's what everyone thinks", Harry mumbled, "Even Draco thinks so."

"I'm pretty sure that none of the Malfoys thinks of you like that", the older of the two replied, "Why else would they mess around with you?"

"I'm their little charity case", Harry said bitterly, "I can feel their pity every time they look at me. Hell, I can feel your pity. But I don't need it! I don't need pity and I don't want it."

"Do you really think that, Harry?", Rabastan asked quietly, "That we only see you as our charity project? Because then you're wrong. We like you and so do the Malfoys and Severus and the Dark Lord. We like you because you make us laugh and because you are much stronger than you give yourself credit for and because you care and because you are nice and smart and don't make us feel like we're bad people. We like you because you give us a reason to like ourselves and because you sometimes have weird ideas and because your enthusiasm is contagious. Yes, I admit it, I pity you, because you have to go through so much and because you look after others first and because I don't know how I could possibly help you. If that bothers you, I'm sorry, but I can't change what I feel."

"I'm sorry", Harry sniffed, "I didn't mean to make you angry."

"I'm not angry", Rabastan laughed, hugging the small boy, "For an empath you can't tell what others feel very well!"

"You sound a lot like Simon", the black-haired boy gave back, "He says that all the time."

"Well, if so many people tell you that they care for you, the chances are high that they really do", Rudolphus added, "Can you deal with our pity, Harry?"

"I will have to try because I don't want to lose you as my friends", Harry said unsurely, "But I don't like it."

"Maybe if you told us more about yourself and your life...", Rabastan suggested cautiously, "Then we could help you better and then we wouldn't pity you so much."

"Nice try", chuckled Harry weakly, "Really, but no. I don't need your help and if I should need it sometime I'll just ask."

"Okay, Harry", the older men laughed, too, "We're always at your service."

"Can we ask you only one question?", Rabastan asked and Harry nodded: "I might not answer."

"When you have those nightmares, do you feel everything or only what you feel", the brown-haired wizard demanded, "Is your empathy the reason, your nightmares are so much worse than is normal."

"Yes, I do feel everyone's feelings in my dreams, because my shields seem to just crumble once I'm asleep", Harry shivered, hugging his legs to his chest and rocking slowly, "I can't sleep anymore to night, please, don't make me."

"I don't believe that we are in any position to give you orders, if you don't even obey the Dark Lord", Rudolphus smiled teasingly at Harry, who returned the smile, before he suddenly pressed his eyes shut, gasping softly.

His stomach had cramped up for some reason and now he felt a stinging pain that spread from in between his thighs up to his chest, where it caused bile to rise in his throat. Harry cursed lowly, before he had to hold a hand to his mouth and ran to pray to the porcelain god.

"Harry, are you alright?", the two brothers had appeared at the open door, looking worried, but Harry, who hung over the toilette and heaved up everything in his stomach, waved his hand and the door closed in front of their surprised faces.

He hadn't felt this miserable in a long time. His whole body trembled from the suppressed urge to let out a blood-curling scream and he was sure he was as pale as Nearly Headless Nick. The sight of his vomit made him even more nauseous and he would have continued throwing up, if there had been anything left to throw up. Instead he sank to the floor, whimpering painfully, and curled up on the midnight blue plush carpet while tears streamed down his face. Gradually the pain subsided and he could breath normally again and noticed the persistent knocking on the door and the subdued callings of his name. He carefully got up, swaying and his vision blackening for a moment.

"Are you okay, Harry?", Rudolphus asked worriedly, "Merlin, you're white as a sheet!"

"I don't know", Harry whispered, "Something doesn't feel right."

"Come on, lay down", Rabastan half carried him back to the sofa and tucked him in under the blanket, "You're shivering!"

Rudolphus cast a warming spell before he sat down on the edge of the sofa next to his brother and asked: "Do you want a Pain-killing Potion? I have one here."

Harry just nodded, crystal tears rolling down his cheeks and clenched his hands into fists.

The older brother disappeared into the bathroom to fetch the potion while Rabastan brushed away his tears and patted his hair, receiving a painful smile in return. The two helped him to sit up slightly so that he could swallow the potion more easily and Harry leaned against them heavily, clutching his hands into their pyjamas. After a while Harry relaxed and breathed more deeply.

"Can you just hold me for a while?", he mumbled shyly, "Please?"

"Of course", they agreed shifting into more comfortable positions with Harry lying between and half on top of them: "Are you sure you don't want one of us to go and fetch Madam Pomfrey?", Rudolphus asked, rubbing Harry's back.

"She's still visiting her sister", Harry mumbled, "She'll come back somewhen tomorrow. Besides, I feel much better now. You don't have to stay awake with me..."

"But we want to", the younger brown-haired man said gently, "Though I'm afraid the Dark Lord would kill us if he walked through that door right now."

"I wouldn't allow it, don't worry", Harry smiled peacefully, "You're only trying to help me."

"Apropos help", Rudolphus asked, "Can we do anything for you?"

"Will you tell me a story?", the small boy asked timidly, "Something about you?"

"Let us think about something suitable."

They finally agreed to tell the petite boy different stories about their school time, mainly about Rabastan's first and Rudolphus' third year when Rudolphus showed his younger brother around and protected him from mean poltergeists, obsessed Ravenclaws, tricky trap steps and hostile Gryffindors, though Rabastan assured him that he hadn't needed the help and that his brother was only showing off, while Harry laughed till his sides hurt.

"Thanks, I needed that", he said still chuckling and got up, careful not to hurt the two brothers, "But you really should go back to sleep. And I'll go outside."

"But it looks like there's a storm out there", Rabastan protested, but Harry just pushed them to their respective bedchambers: "That's exactly the point. Don't worry, I'll be fine. See, you at breakfast."

"At least, take one of our cloaks", Rudolphus sighed motioning to where to black robes hung, "Else you'll freeze to death."

"Oh, hogwash", Harry laughed at them, "I'll only get wet and that's all. Now, hush, catch some sleep."

The two brothers grumbled something unintelligible, but went back to their own rooms and closed the door, leaving a delighted Harry the privacy to change into his normal clothes minus his school robes, before he practically ran out into the rain, feeling the big drops splashing against his skin, hiding the tears he cried, for his family, for Sirius, for Tom, for his friends and for himself- everyone he would disappoint should they find out who he really was- and dampening all the stray feelings that were drawn towards him like a compass needle towards the north pole. He's stomach still churned uncomfortably, as if his body was protesting against the potion.

You have lots to tell me, right? So what are you waiting for... Oh, yes, I forgot: Ready? Steady? Review!