The library was quite full, as it always is just before exams. That was also the reason why Harry had found his way here. He urgently needed to do something about his problem with potions.
Totally lost in thought, he shuffled through the corridors of the library and past many tables that were flooded with classmates. That's why he didn't notice the small pile of books that one of his classmates had stacked on the floor and was caught by surprise. Harry wasn't sure what had happened, but he clearly hadn't landed on the floor.
Uncertain, he spun around and cautiously opened his eyes. His gaze was caught by a pair of red eyes looking down at him in surprise. Suddenly Harry became aware of his situation:
He must have somehow, through his clumsy nature, managed to trip in a crowded library so that he landed on a classmate's lap. And not just any pupil, it seemed, but Tom Riddle's lap, that of the head boy.
Harry turned bright red and thought about how he could get out of this situation best. Uncomfortably, he felt all the stares from the other people around them and Harry wasn't willing to be the laughing stock of Hogwarts for the next few weeks.
Resolved, he made himself a little more comfortable on the lap and carefully put his bag down. Riddle watched him the whole time curious, but thankfully kept quiet.
"So Tom, you had said that you would help me with the preparations for my potions exam? Do we need any other book?", Harry hoped with all his might that Riddle would play along. He did not want the others to understand how much he had just embarrassed himself.
"No, Harry. We should have everything here." One long arm wrapped around Harry's waist to hold him better and the hand from the other arm reached past him to pull a book from the pile in front of him. Thus encircled by Riddle's larger form, Harry's face grew warm and red. Maybe this wasn't his best idea. He cleared his throat to get rid of the lump in his throat and turned to Riddle. "Er, very well. Then can you please explain to me again exactly why you have to stir anti-clockwise when making the Draught of Living Death?" If he was going to be in this situation, at least he could get some tutoring from the best student at Hogwarts.
Riddle grinned as he looked down at him, red meeting green. "Yes, it’s not that complicated, little one. Since the potion also affects ageing in certain parts, you need to stir it anti-clockwise to guide the magic better. If you were to turn clockwise, the person might continue to age even though they are not really alive.”
While Tom carefully worked through Harry's questions, the latter couldn't manage to sit still and either slid around or let his leg wriggle. Tom let it go for a while until he suddenly pressed his slender hands on Harry's thighs and gripped tightly. "You want to sit here, so stay still, darling." Harry gave a slight groan of pain but understood the warning and stopped wriggling.
Some time later, Harry felt that not only did he understand Potions better, but the excitement of his fall had subsided. So he packed up his things and set about getting up again from the comfort of Tom’s lap. However, Tom did not loosen his grip around Harry's hips, preventing Harry from moving. "What exactly do you think you're doing?" the velvety voice sounded right by his ear. Harry hadn't noticed how close Tom had come to him. "I...uh. I was going to get up?" he looked over his shoulder at Tom in confusion.
"I don't think so, darling. I like your weight on my lap, so you're going to stay right where you are until I get my stuff done too. And then we can go somewhere else." He raised one of his elegant eyebrows at that, as if inviting Harry to argue. The latter, however, only blushed all over again and slumped back against the body behind him. He suddenly felt bad. He didn't want Tom to think that Harry was only thinking of himself. That's why he didn't let his insecurity show and accepted Tom's request. It wasn't such a bad thing. When he thought about it, he couldn't think of a better place to be right now anyway. So Harry snuggled closer to the warm lean body and closed his eyes to doze a little.
Half asleep, he felt Tom's lips mouthing something against his ear. But he wasn't sure if he had heard it correctly. After all, it was not that important.
The “You’re not getting away from me, precious” was accompanied by a soft kiss on Harry’s Head.