Wed for Peace

Harry was woken by the sun streaming through the window. His night had been filled with fitful sleeping, thoughts of both conversations flowing through his mind constantly. Harry decided for now that he would not think about either revelations from yesterday and that he would just enjoy his birthday.

To his surprise, when he woke up, neither Snape nor Tom were sitting next to his bed. That would mean that his wounds had healed enough for both of them to leave him alone, right? Harry grinned at that thought.

He climbed out of bed and immediately his legs wobbled. He saved himself by gripping the bedframe.

"Well, that was unexpected.", Harry mumbled.

"No, Mr. Potter, it was not unexpected.", Snape snapped as he walked quickly into the bedroom. He continued: "You were supposed to wait. I was under the impression that even you would have understood that much. Back into bed. Now."

Harry obeyed as quickly as he could and ducked his head.

"I'm sorry, sir. I assumed I was properly healed or neither of you would've left me alone."

He could hear Snape sigh but didn't lift his head.

"I believe we were at fault for leaving you alone. But please, for the future, should you have been badly injured, wait for someone to come and release you."

Harry snapped his head up and gaped at Snape. The man seemed to be entirely truthful in his apology. The dark eyes were unrelenting and Harry huffed.

"Thanks, Professor. I'll try."

Snape watched him for a moment before seating himself in the chair in front of Harry's bed. It seemed as if he was waiting for something.

"Is there something wrong, sir?", Harry asked as politely as he could with the current confusion streaming through his body.

Why was the man watching him like he was a frightened animal?

"No."

The response was fast and - particularly - neutral.

Harry raised a brow in an imitation of Snape's usual interrogation tactic.

The man huffed a quiet laugh and the sound startled Harry. He was pretty sure that he'd never heard the man laugh before.

"A very good impression of my own raised eyebrow, Mr. Potter. I was waiting for you to begin yelling at me. We did - after all - talk about a highly emotional topic last night and my involvement in your life's misery.", Snape said softly.

Harry understood. Snape was waiting for him to be angry. He was even giving Harry the permission to be angry. A warm feeling spred in his chest and a small smile played around his mouth.

"I'm not angry, sir. At least not yet. I haven't fully grasped everything that was explained to me yesterday. I might need a few days because I decided to just push the revelations to the back of my mind for today. But...", Harry hesitated for a moment. "But I don't think I'll be angry at you. You didn't know how Tom would interpret the prophecy, I know that now. I was angry last year but now I kind of get it. You've saved my life more often than I can count and I believe in telling Tom about the Horcrux inside me, you were trying to save my life yet again. I don't like being a peace offering but I don't mind that it saved me in the process because at least one person was concerned enough to try and save me."

Snape's eyes looked pained while his mouth had opened in shock. It took the potions master a moment to collect himself. He snapped his jaw shut with a click. A deep breath later Snape spoke: "You have more of Lily in you than I ever thought. She was always kind of rational and forgave a lot of mistakes when she thought you did them with the best intentions."

Harry swallowed heavily and ignored the burning in his eyes.

"Thank you.", he whispered.

They both avoided each others' eyes to get their emotions back under control.

"Uhm, professor, when will I be able to leave the bed?", Harry asked when he felt ready to speak without crying.

Snape stood up and pulled out his wand. "I will cast a diagnostic charm. Given the results of that we will decide the next procedures."

Snape waved his wand in an intricate pattern and muttered a spell. A parchment appeared next to the potions master and Harry could just make out some script forming. It took six minutes before Snape plucked it out of the air and started reading.

"Your results are better than I hoped for. After giving you some muscle strengthening potion and a pepper up you can follow me into the Dining Room for your birthday breakfast. After that I believe the Dark Lord wanted you to open the presents you've received.", Snape said and summoned two potions vials.

With a grimace Harry swallowed the potions.

"Good. I will leave you for a moment so you can dress yourself. Just come into the hallway whenever you're ready.", Snape said and turned on his heel to leave the room.

"Sir?"

Snape stopped and turned around to look at him.

"Is there time for me to shower?"

"Yes, of course. The door on this side is for the ensuite." Snape gestured to the other side of the room and then left to wait in the hall.

Harry went to the door Snape had indicated and opened it.

The bathroom was the most luxurious he had ever seen. And that included the prefect's bathroom at Hogwarts.

The wall on the far right was made up in forest deep tiles. Underneath those was a clear white bathtub let into the ground. On the left to the bathtub was a spacious shower with various handles that could be pulled. The toilet and sink were on the left side with the same green tiles. The floor was a clean white, a fluffy deep green rug laying in front of the tub. On the right side of the tub there was a closet filled with fluffy white towels and expensive looking shower gels and toiletries.

Harry was awed at the bathroom. This was just one of the guest bathrooms. What would the master bedroom and bathroom look like?

The teenager quickly shed his clothes which, upon landing on the floor, disappeared. He watched them disappear with a sense of horror but quickly got into the, frankly, massive shower cubicle.

He could probably waltz inside, it was so big.

He contemplated which handles he should turn when one of them started glowing slightly. Confused Harry turned it to find the water was at just the right temperature and there was a fresh scent of jasmine filling the bathroom. Harry washed his body and hair quickly, giving a confused hum when he thought about shampoo and one of the containers started glowing. The same happened with conditioner and body scrub.

After he stepped out of the shower a previously warmed up towel floated over to him and enveloped him completely. It was soft enough to not aggravate the healing skin on his back.

Harry dried himself and cautiously stepped out of the bedroom. He found it empty. At the thought of clothes the wardrobe next to the bed started glowing. Curious but nervous the teenager opened its door.

The variety of clothes he found startled him enough to make him slam the door. With a deep breath Harry opened the door again to find the same clothes inside the closet. He could see two formal robes in a deep green and silver and black with red linings. There were also some casual robes in muted colours. Choosing a deep grey one with dark green linings, Harry quickly dressed himself.

When he opened the door to the hallway, Snape was leaning against the wall opposite the door, waiting patiently.

"Ah, I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean to take so long!", Harry apologized quickly.

The man looked up, motioned for him to follow and set off at a moderate pace.

"That is no problem at all, Mr. Potter."

Harry frowned.

"Harry.", the teenager said firmly.

The man stumbled and turned around with wide eyes. "What?"

"I would feel a bit more comfortable with you calling me Harry.", Harry said quietly and gave the potions master a shy smile.

Snape watched him curiously for a moment. Then he began walking again, Harry following on his heels.

"Very well, Harry. I believe it only fair for you to call me Severus then."

It was Harry's turn to stumble at the request.

"Okay, Severus.", he said slowly, testing out the name.

It felt odd to call the man by his first name. After all the times that Snape - Severus - has requested Harry shall show him respect through his title, it was weird talking to him so informally.

Harry was so deep in his thoughts that he almost missed Snape - Severus! - stopping in front of two dark oak doors. While he was thinking, the teenager hadn't even noticed which way they'd been taking to get to the informal dining room.

"I believe the Dark Lord has prepared a breakfast spread for you. Please refrain from overeating.", Snap-Severus said.

"I have some experience with overeating. I guess I can manage.", Harry answered dryly.

Sn-Severus nodded and opened the doors.

The room was homey in decor, all dark woods and cream coloured wallpapers, the table wasn't too big but also big enough to comfortably seat at least six people. A chandelier was hanging directly above the middle of the table, the crystals and gems giving off a slight twinkling in the morning light, mirroring on the walls in rainbow colours.

Right now the table was filled with all kinds of different breakfast foods. There were pancakes with fruit and chocolate sauce, bread rolls and jam or marmelade and even cereals or toast and eggs and bacon.

Harry's stomach rumbled loudly and a bright blush warmed his face.

Tom was sitting at the head of the table and on the right and left to him were two plates for both Harry and Sna-Severus.

Harry sat down on Tom's left side, leaving the other for S-Severus.

"Harry! Happy Birthday, darling!", Tom crooned softly and took Harry's hand to kiss the back of it.

The blush intensified and a hitched breath later, Tom let go of his hand.

"I was unsure which food you liked for breakfast so I ordered a bit of everything.", the man said smiling awkwardly.

Harry nodded and looked at the table. He really would like some pancakes but he wasn't sure how his stomach would handle it. Fortunately for him Severus seemed to be able to read his mind.

"I have prepared some potions so your stomach will not hinder you to eat anything, Mr.-Harry.", Severus said and handed over two vials.

If Tom noticed the switch in formalities he didn't comment it.

One was filled with a sludge-like potion and the other looked to be of the same consistency as a vanilla-milkshake.

"Uhh, thanks, si-Severus.", Harry murmured and opted to take the sludge one first.

"One is a nutrition potion with a higher nutritional value than the original recipe, the other is a stomach soothing potion.", the potions master explained quickly and Harry nodded before taking both quickly.

The sludge-like potion was as disgusting as it looked and the vanilla-milkshake one was almost worse. Harry screwed up his face and shook his head, taking a quick gulp of tea to get rid of the slimey feeling and bitter taste.

"How about we begin with our breakfast? I have a tight schedule today, unfortunately as I will have to go to the Malfoys for a meeting just before lunch. After we have eaten breakfast you can open your presents.", Tom said gently and placed a pancake and some fruit onto his plate.

Harry's stomach swooped at the thought of presents. What kind of things would he get this year? Would his friends even send him something?

The teenager dug into the food. It was so good, he let out a quiet moan.

Unfortunately, he did not have enough room to eat more than two pancakes, which were American style and quite large if he was honest, and a few pieces of bacon and fruit. With a last mournful look, Harry pushed his plate away from himself and looked to his right.

"I am finished.", he said simply.

Tom threw a concerned glance at his plate before looking into Harry's eyes.

"I think we need to make a meal plan for you to stomach more than this. I hadn't anticipated you to have been starved as badly as you were.", the man said and drew his eyebrows together in a frown.

Harry blushed brightly in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry so much food is going to waste.", Harry apologized quietly.

Tom shook his head.

"That is not the issue I wanted to talk about. This is about you sustaining enough energy and nutrition for your still growing body. I am displeased that those muggles have treated you in this way. I will come up with a solution. For now you are going to open your presents.", Tom said and stood, already walking to a door.

The food vanished from the table.

"Wait a moment!", Harry said suddenly and both Tom and Sna-Severus turned around to look at him.

"Where is Hedwig?"

Understanding dawned on Tom's face. The man turned around fully and said: "Your familiar is almost healed. I can bring you to her after you've opened your presents."

"Yes, please. I missed her. When I stayed at my relatives she was my only friend.", Harry said quietly and lowered his head.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up. Dark eyes met his and he smiled shakily at the reassuring gaze resting on him.

Both Tom and Severus threw each other a dark look.

The men walked to the door, Harry following them after a beat into the sitting room.

In front of the sofa were a dozen presents. He could already tell some of them were from his friends but others were more formally packed. The pile nearly reched the height of the doorframe.

"Uhh, Tom?"

"Yes, darling?"

"From whom are all those presents?", Harry asked carefully.

Tom just threw him a look that said it was obvious but still answered his question patiently.

"From my followers of course. After all you are my fiancé and they see it as an obligation to at least present you with something. Your rank is above them as my partner."

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I really don't like your politics, Tom. But I will leave it because I can't change it right now and I don't want to fight over this on my birthday. But at some point after the wedding we need to talk about it.", Harry murmured softly.

He opened his eyes when Tom took his hand. The man kissed the back of it and Harry felt his face warm. He probably wouldn't get used to this kind of affection anytime soon.

The red eyes of his fiancé practically glowed.

"How very wise of you, darling. But let's stop talking. You have presents to get to.", Tom said earnestly and walked him to the sofa.

They sat down and Harry surveyed his pile of presents. He knew he wanted to open them but...

"I don't know where to start.", Harry admitted shyly.

Tom waved his wand and the big pile sorted itself into smaller piles.

"How about you start with the presents sent by your friends? It might be easier to open them first.", Tom suggested and pointed to the smallest pile to Harry's right.

"Alright."

Harry took one of the presents and saw that it was from Hermione. From the rectangular shape, Harry supposed it was a book. Carefully he undid the wrapping and a card fell into his lap. Knowing Hermione, he took the card and opened that first.

Dear Harry,

I wish you a Happy Birthday!

I hope you are alright.

I thought some info-material for the wedding night would not go amiss.

Love

Hermione

Harry dreaded opening the book. With a deep breath he still opened it to the first page and the title made him slam it shut again. Wedding nights between wizards - aguidebook. Harry could feel the blush rapidly spreading across his face to his ears and neck. Hermione was always prone to give him information without judging the information given. This was taking it a bit farther than he liked, though.

"What's the problem, darling? Is it not to your liking?", Tom asked.

The man's voice brought him out of his own thoughts and his face flamed brighter than before.

"I...uh...I just...", he stammered.

Tom reached around him and took the book out of his hand, opening it and letting out a hum.

"Your muggleborn friend is certainly resourceful. I haven't seen this book in decades.", Tom said thoughtfully.

Harry was mortified. How could Hermione send him something like this? What if he still had been at the Dursleys? Shaking his head he decided to take Ron's present and hope for the best.

It turned out to be a book about wizarding customs and the meaning of gifts. For Ron this was a really thoughtful present. Maybe he wanted to apologize for the incident with the Dursleys?

A sudden thought struck him.

"Uh, Tom? Does the Order know I'm not at the Dursley's anymore?", he asked quickly, without looking at the man.

"No. They still think you are there. The blood wards have fallen at midnight, though. I don't know if they are aware of anything yet. Severus, did they inquire about Harry's whereabouts?"

Tom had redirected his question skillfully and Harry rolled his eyes at the self-important antics the oh so fearsome Dark Lord possessed.

"No, my Lord. They have not inquired about Harry's whereabouts. I don't think they have caught wind of anything happening in that house.", Severus said.

The wording of that sentence was weird and Harry narrowed his eyes at the men.

"Riiight.", Harry said slowly.

Tom threw Severus a glare but smiled serenely at Harry. The teenager rolled his eyes, not believing the innocent look at all and took the next present. He was fine with ignoring the fact that both of them kept information from him for now. Harry decided he would ask Tom later.

This one was from Fred and George and Harry had a bad feeling about that. If Hermione decided he needed some more info about how to get into Tom's pants what would the twins send him? Slowly he peeled the paper away and upon seeing what was inside, he gave an undignified squeak and let the package drop. It rattled the potion bottles inside, making them clink against each other.

"Oh, your friends seem to have worked together on their gifts.", Tom said, chuckling.

The twins had given him five bottles of self-brewed lube in different flavours. Harry put his hands over his face to hide his burning cheeks. Why were his friends like this?

Warm hands softly took his wrists and pulled his hands away from his face. Tom's red eyes were glowing faintly in amusement but there was also concern evident.

"Harry, don't be embarrassed. I know you have no experience but I think you know what needs to happen during our wedding night. It will be good for you to be informed about the procedures.", Tom murmured into his ear, kissing his cheek softly.

The teenager nodded. The blush wouldn't fade anytime, though.

The presents from Molly and Arthur were more tame. They were accessories for his wedding day. A bracelet made out of pure silver with green gems twining around the band itself and a necklace made from the same material but with a deep red ruby seated in the middle of the silver. It would lay directly in the hollow of his throat.

"Oh, these are beautiful.", Tom said and let his fingers glide along the bracelet.

"Yes, they are.", Harry whispered.

He felt his throat close up. It was such a thoughtful gift. The ruby for himself and the green for Tom. They seemed to accept him even though he decided to marry Tom. Well, more like decided to save the world again but that wasn't the point. And now they had to pay a fine because of him.

A warm hand settled on his back and stroked it softly.

Harry looked to his side. Tom was smiling gently at him and for a second Harry forgot just what kind of person Tom Riddle really was. Right now he was just a fiancé caring about him.

A few deep breaths later, Harry was able to open the next gift. This one came from Remus. It was a worn-down notebook. The werewolf had left a note with it. 

This notebook was your mother's. I know you are not a prodigy at potions but she decided to write down potions recipes she wanted to publish as well as some new charms.

I wanted you to have it.

Remus

Harry reverently opened the book and looked at the fine script inside. There were messy corrections, crossed out sentences and sometimes even drops of potions on the paper. Harry swallowed thickly. He finally had something that had belonged to his mom. Through his blurry vision he was startled to realise that his handwriting was similar to that of his mum's.

"I forgot about that. Lily started this notebook in her fourth year. We were still friends back then. I helped her with some recipes as I never wanted to publish my own variations of potions.", Severus said from beside him, startling him back into awareness.

"I never had anything of my mom. I received my dad's invisibility cloak in my first year. But the only thing I ever had from my mom was a few pictures of her and dad's wedding.", Harry whispered. He was in awe with the notebook.

A hand settled on his shoulder and he looked over to find Severus watching him.

"I believe you shall open my present next.", the potions master said softly.

Warily Harry watched Severus pick up one of the gifts in the next pile and hand it over to him. He grabbed it hesitatingly. For a moment the teenager just looked at the package and the meticulously done wrapping before daring to open it.

A velvet box was underneath the wrapping paper and Tom inhaled sharply next to him. A look to Harry's right showed him that his fiancé was glaring at Severus. The potions master held his hands up and said: "It is not a courting gift, my Lord. I will explain as soon as Harry opens the box."

Curious now, Harry opened the box and revealed a silver necklace. But this one wasn't new. A few places were dull as if it had been worn for a long time before being placed inside this box for safekeeping. The pendant was a silver lily with black gemstones lining the stem.

"The stone is an onyx. It is my birthstone. Lily gifted me this necklace in fifth year, before our friendship ended. She was a gifted witch and she charmed it with at least four different spells. One being that the stones would light up if someone with bad intentions went near you. She designed it to be a help in avoiding your father and his gang. I realized my error in assuming you came after your father. I wanted to give you something as both an apology and a promise to be better than before.", Severus explained.

Harry swallowed thickly.

"I... thank you, Severus. This is such a thoughtful gift. I honestly don't know what to say."

Severus Snape, mean potions master and bat of the dungeons, smiled at him. It wasn't a big smile but it was enough to make Harry smile back at him.

"I am quite touched by that emotional display but please, Severus, for the sake of all of us, warn me before you do something like this.", Tom said, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Harry laid a hand on the man's arm and said: "Tom, I don't think Severus would be interested in me in that way. And even if he was, I'm sure he is intelligent enough to know what would happen if he even tried to court me."

Tom's red eyes rested on Harry's face, warming significantly.

"Alright.", the man finally said and leaned back into the sofa cushions. "Proceed then. I think it is time for the gifts given by my followers."

Harry opened present after present. It seemed almost all of Tom's followers had sent him something small. There were all kinds of expensive chocolates as well as some items of clothing. Usually scarfs or gloves but sometimes even a few shirts. It was nice to receive those things, even if he wasn't sure how sincere their intentions were.

The last gift by them was from the Malfoys. It was a simple envelope. There was a gift card inside with an unholy amount of galleons for a magical boutique in Paris.

"Uhh, Tom? Why are the Malfoys gifting me with a shopping spree in Paris? And this is a lot of money.", Harry said shocked. The amount of money was truly ridiculous.

Tom snorted quietly.

"I'm unsurprised to see they found a way to spend this much money. I guess we will make a trip to Paris after our wedding."

Harry was thrilled at the prospect of having a vacation outside of Britain. Not that he ever had a vacation within Britain as well. He was just excited to even be able to be on a vacation at all.

"As you have opened all of their presents, I believe I shall give you mine.", Tom decided and proceded to give him a small present.

After unwrapping it, Harry saw that it was another velvet box. Carefully he opened the box and it revealed a bracelet. It was made out of two fine silver bands entwined with a single golden thread as a snake eating its own tail. The eyes were rubies.

"This bracelet is enchanted with old magic. As I used your blood in my resurrection I was able to use my blood to key it into your magic. As soon as you'll put it on nobody but yourself can take it from you. The gold thread is made of dragon's gold. It can only be gifted to someone but never forcefully removed. The silver is made by Goblins and absorbs every spell which strengthens the protective magic already in place. I would be pleased if you would wear this bracelet as my first official courting gift. I know we are marrying in two days but I wanted to at least start the proper procedure of courting.", Tom explained quietly.

Harry took the bracelet and slid it over his left wrist. Effortlessly it refit itself to fit his wrist's size.

His hand was taken a second later by Tom and the left hand was brought to his cheek. A soft kiss to his cheek startled Harry and Tom smiled at him.

"Thank you for accepting it!", the man said huskily.

Tom straightened and tugged on Harry's hand gently.

"I will show you how your familiar is doing and then I would like for you to accompany me to a meeting at Malfoy Manor. I scheduled this meeting before you arrived and wasn't able to reschedule. You can either sit at my side during the meeting or let Draco show you around the manor.", Tom explained.

Harry hesitated.

One on hand he wanted to give Malfoy a piece of his mind, on the other hand, he wasn't really sure if he wanted to see Malfoy Sr.

"Tom, I'm not sure... I mean, I would like to see the Manor but the Malfoys and I don't have a good history.", Harry whispered.

Tom frowned.

"I guess. You could always stay here with Severus if you wanted even though I'd prefer to keep you at my side."

The man seemed sincere in his suggestion. But Harry had the feeling he would disappoint Tom if he said no.

"I... can we see Hedwig first and I'll decide after? I'm not sure what I want to do.", Harry said and lowered his head.

Having a choice was overwhelming when he never had a say in where he stayed before.

"Of course, darling. Just follow me.", Tom said gently, let go of Harry's hand and walked to the door.

After a beat Harry followed him.