As Tom had been unable to look his husband in the eye after hearing of the death of the first snake he had ever loved, the pair had decided that a talk with the headmaster was in order. Harry sullenly followed three paces behind Tom, certain that the elder man was overreacting.

"It tried to kill me!" He mumbled to himself, again.

"SHE." Tom spat, without turning around. Both partners could feel oncoming migraines, but neither was willing to give in.

"What do you even need to talk to Dumbledore about?" Harry grumbled. "I thought that me being sold off to you solved everything."

"Oh don't be ridiculous, you were not sold!" Tom rolled his eyes.

"Err no, pretty sure I was sold. Marry me and I won't kill people. Okay, maybe it's blackmail, but I was sold off to you all the same!" Harry pouted, slowing down slightly, letting himself lag a step or two behind to catch a glimpse of a behind he was rather fond of.

"Does it bother you that much?"

Harry frowned as the arse came to a halt, and swung out of view as it's owner turned to face him.

"I don't know." He replied honestly. "Do I wish we'd gotten together some normal way – of course! Even with the amount of time we've spent together, I don't know you as well as I'd like, and I don't know if I love you yet. When I was little, with the Dursleys, I promised myself that I'd have a family, and we'd love each other and we'd be happy."

"You don't think we could love each other?" Tom's breath hitched as he stepped closer to his husband.

"I never said that!" Harry defended, stepping back to lean against the cool stone wall of the castle's corridor. "I said I don't know. And right now, I'm not sure how I'm ever going to know when we spend all of our time bouncing from one thing to another! I just, I just need some time, to get used to all of this, to get used to us. We're stuck with each other forever, shouldn't that start now?"

"Let me make you dinner." Tom nuzzled his ear. "Let's go home, you can have a long, relaxing bath, and you can learn about me. About how well I cook, to begin with."

Harry looked up at Tom, emerald green eyes sparkling suspiciously under his dark fringe.

"Really?" He whispered.

"Really." Tom smirked back down at him, pressing a soft kiss into the younger man's hair.

HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP -

Tom's version of cooking was, Harry discovered, very unique. It involved him sitting in a throne like chair, giving very precise directions to house elves. Each elf was, apparently, ordered to do exactly as their master told them, and then let the results be inspected by Tom. More than one elf was sent away for imperfect mashed potatoes.

Harry was pleased with the meal though. Rather than trying to give him an ostentatious, pretentious meal of gourmet delicacies, he had chosen his favourite childhood meal.

"Sausage and mash, a la Tom!" He proudly announced, as he levitated their plates down onto the dining table. "I know it's probably not what you were expecting, but I wanted to show you a bit more of me, that you hadn't seen before, and I guess I just..."

"Tom," Harry interrupted gently. "I love it. Apart from bangers and mash being a wonderful meal, this means I get to know you better. This is the real you, what you love, and one day, I hope I'll come under that category!"

"Well, yes, but I don't want to eat you."

"I could certainly see my way to eating a certain part of your anatomy," Harry leaned across the table, waggling his eybrows.

"Don't you dare think of such an atrocity!" Tom almost squealed, and Harry was sure he could see his husband's legs closing protectively. "You can't eat it! That would hurt!"

"Tom – I didn't mean – I-" Harry sighed. "Let's just eat. And let's have wine. Let's have lots of wine."

HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP -

The house elves had been so good at providing lots of wine, that Harry was rather giggly. Sure, he'd fallen over a couple of times on his way up to the bathroom, but Tom had helped him up.

It didn't really matter to Harry that Tom had had a house elf run the bath for him. The man had given such strict instructions that it was almost as if his husband had done it for him. Harry sunk into the hot water, grateful to wash off the grime that their little foray into the Chamber of Secrets had covered him with. Tom had even ordered some potions to be put into the water that meant he didn't even have to wash himself, and Harry could feel the topical muscle relaxant taking effect as knots in his back began to unwind.

"This is wonderful, Tom!" Harry smiled, leaning back into his husband's chest. "Where did you get the idea to put all of these potions in the bath?"

"Lucius." Tom admitted. "That man puts more effort into his appearance than anybody I have ever met."

"Have you ever met his son?" Harry smirked, twisting around to gently kiss his husband's jawline.

"Kissing me, while talking of Malfoys, is not an option, oh husband-of-mine."

"I'll stop if you will." Harry teased back, deepening his kiss. Tom reached out to his shoulders, pulling the younger man around to face him fully. One hand snaked down his chest, circling his nipples, and dipping down, down, beneath the water, to find...

"Flaccid?!" Tom screeched, pulling away from Harry in confusion.

"What? I'm not..." His own hand reached down, cheeks blushing in embarrassment. "How? I don't..." Harry's head tilted to one side, fingers suddenly snatching out to reach for his husband's own fun-stick. "You too!"

"What?!" Tom roared, surging up out of the water to stare in dismay at his pelvis. "I am going to KILL Lucius Malfoy!"

- HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP -

To everyone still reading this, thank you. I'm well aware it's been a very long time since I last updated this, but in my defence, I've had a very, very busy year. In this last twelve I've moved out of the family home, started at university in a new city, seen four family members in and out of hospital and am currently recovering from surgery. This story arc is not abandoned, and neither are any of my other stories. They should (hopfully) begin to be updated more regularly over the next few weeks. If I do decide to abandon anything ever, I will put notes up to make everyone aware.