The Missing Pieces
He silently walked into the guest room with a tray full of food and had to pause when he saw Harry sleeping. His fluffy black curls and Harry’s cute nose were poking out of the comforter that simply engulfed the rest of his body. Tom felt a little warm wiggle in his stomach as a result, which he ignored and set the tray on the nightstand. He slid the heavy, dark curtain open to let some of the fading daylight in and sat on the bed next to Harry and started running his fingers through the soft hair, while whispering Harry’s name to wake him up.
Sleepy eyes, smudged with blue under them, and framed with black lashes blinked a few times and squinted at him. Tom looked away for a second to catch his breath and control his blush–because Gaunts did not blush thank you very much–and used that as a convenient time to hand Harry his glasses. Harry looked at him confused for a few seconds and waited for Tom to say something. Tom cleared his throat before speaking.
“I brought you dinner and wanted to talk about a few things while you are eating.” Harry just continued to look at him confused like he wasn’t used to people waking him up to give him dinner in bed–which was probably the case if Tom’s theory was correct. Tom waited until Harry sat up and stretched with a little yawn, which made Tom’s heart speed up a little–curse you stupid emotions. Harry then looked up at him and the shirt he was wearing slipped of his shoulder and Tom remembered Harry was wearing his own clothes and that thought was so intoxicating–Harry was covered in his scent–he couldn’t have stopped his hand if he had tried and gently tucked one of Harry’s errant curls around his ears and trailed his finger down the soft skin of Harry’s neck to the exposed shoulder until he regretfully pulled away. Harry shivered slightly in response and looked at his hands, while starting to chew on his lip nervously.
Tom handed Harry his tray of food and gestured at him to start eating and started talking before he could overthink this scenario any further.
“Harry dear,“ Harry looked up at that endearment, but then continued to pick hesitantly at his food– which must have been slightly difficult due to the perhaps excess amount of bandages Tom had applied to his hands earlier. “I find myself extremely curious about how much you know about your magic abilities and if there are any other changes you have noticed.“ Harry glanced at him briefly before tightening his hand on his fork.
There was a pause for a second filled only by Harry’s hesitation until he took a slightly shaky breath. “I...I know that it sometimes protects me when I’m scared, that it can also heal me faster than other humans and... that well I don’t know how to explain this...” Harry trailed off, glanced at Tom and Tom tried to nod at him encouragingly. Harry chewed his lip again for a few seconds until he said thoughtfully, “but I can feel plants and stuff and I can control them, like as in make them grow when I touch them and they also protect me by like tripping people and stuff and also I can speak to snakes.“ Tom’s head jerked up suddenly at that admission.
Tom’s head was spinning–how could Harry speak Parseltongue? He thought only those descended from Slytherin‘s line could. Also what was with the plant abilities? Tom himself had certain areas of magic that called to him more than others namely necromancy and blood magic, maybe that was something similar?
There was this itch at the back of his mind that felt like he and Harry meeting was a thread of fate finally revealing itself. If he and Harry were meant to find each other, perhaps their abilities had something to do with it. After all, Harry’s affinities to life magic and Tom’s affinities to death magic were intriguing especially the connection of Parseltongue. Snakes were ambiguous creatures after all–Seen as dark but also symbols of healing.
“Tom? Everything okay?“ Harry’s sweet voice suddenly rang in his ear startling him from his thoughts.
Tom rubbed his eyes trying to organize his thoughts. “Hmm? Oh yes just thinking about what you said about being able to speak Parseltongue–snake speak that is. It is a gift that was thought to belong to only one family, but you have just proved otherwise.”
Harry perked up instantly. “Wait. Family? You mean that there are a ton more people who have magic than just you or me?“
Tom nodded and replied with: “Oh yes, there is an entire Wizarding World, however, they are very prejudiced to wixen who have been born to nonmagical people, they are called muggleborns.“
“So I’m a muggleborn? I mean I never knew my parents, they died in a car crash when I was a baby. Also what are wixes?“ Harry was practically vibrating with excitement, his questions barely held in, if only to hear the answer to his questions, which he treated like precious stones. Tom’s chest ached at the thought that his answers meant so much and how he was about to be incredibly let down by how close-minded the community in Britain was.
“My assumption is that you are a muggleborn because you have clearly not attended Hogwarts, which is a magical school intended only for halfblood and pureblood use. Wixen is the genderneutral term for a wizard or witch.“ Tom tried very hard to keep his voice steady while he said this, but his voice had wavered slightly on the word pureblood.
Harry looked slightly heartbroken at the fact that he could not go to a school for magic and was fiddling with his food again.
“Tom? Did you go to Hogwarts?“
“Yes, Harry. I did.“
“Could you- I mean would you be willing to teach me some stuff?“
Tom grabbed Harry’s hand and looked him in the eye. “I would be happy to teach you.”
Harry reached out and brushed his bandaged hand against Tom’s face, cupping his cheek. “Thank you,“ he whispered, “you have no idea how much that means to me.“ Harry then kissed his cheek, his glasses pressing into Tom’s face and he pulled away, letting his hands fall back into his lap.
Tom felt his stomach fluttering and reached shaky fingers up to touch the spot on his cheek that Harry had kissed, it was still warm.
“Harry,” Tom whispered with a slight roughness. “There was something else that I wanted to tell you about magic.“ He paused for a second wetting his lips. “Magical people have second genders, which means that including their biological gender people have a magical one. The different magical genders are Alpha, Beta, and Omega. They all are important and I can explain them in more detail whenever we start doing lessons, but in general they are presented when wixen turn sixteen and include a heightened sense of smell, the wixen, if they are not a beta that is, will have other characteristics, if you will, that present during this time.“ Tom glanced at Harry, who looked slightly horrified. “Harry? Everything okay?“
“But I’m eighteen? Does that mean I don’t have a magical gender?“
Tom paused at this and said, “Harry, secondary genders can be presented at a later time if certain circumstances are not suitable enough. I think that this is the case you find yourself in. Too much stress, and an unsafe environment are simply not conductive to presenting your secondary gender. However, I believe you to be presenting very soon, in two days at the latest judging by your smell and symptoms. This is why I felt it necessary to explain this.”
Harry looked up quickly, “You already know my other gender? What is it?“ Harry grabbed his hand, the overlarge sleeve getting in the way for a moment.
“You are an Omega, which means that you develop a uterus that is fertile during so-called heats that occur twice a year, your first is almost underway.“ Harry clutched his hand even tighter and pulled it to his chest. “I can get pregnant? And have children?“ Harry’s eyes started to glisten–that was the first time he noticed their color, green, a beautiful green that reminded him of fresh air and the moss that was in his favorite clearing in the woods about a half-mile walk from here–and scooted out of the blankets, mindful of the tray, and into Tom’s arms. Tom pulled Harry closer and buried his face into those gorgeous locks of his.
Harry looked up at him and whispered, “I can have a family of my own to love?“ Tom drowned in those eyes of his that exuded life and nodded in answer, leaning his forehead against Harry’s. Their cheeks brushed each other, so that Tom could feel the tears running down Harry’s face. Tom rocked Harry in his arms until he stopped crying and then laid them down on the bed his chest pressing into Harry’s back so he could still feel the shuddering breaths Harry was taking in. Tom kissed his head and then fell into a deep, contented sleep for the first time in years.