Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, the world of Harry Potter is not mine, they belong to J. K. Rowling.

Warnings: Language, Yaoi / Slash, OOC, Mpreg, Time Travel

Rating: NC-17

bParseltongue/b

I have a dare in here. It is underlined. Found on this: .org/ page, a little below the top of the site. It is a Dare Machine and quite fun. It dares things I can't really do in this fanfic, like getting a phone call from the future. But I won't reveal anything else. =D

Chapter Nine: Snakebite, Lovebite

"Nagini."

A hiss answered Tom and he smiled with a sigh of relief. No one had found his snake, which he was eternally greatful for. Nagini had been his best friend ever since he came to Hogwarts. She was a dark green, that was almost black. And she was huge, even though she was still rather young. Tom had never seen such a big snake in his life before.

"I have been waiting for you, Aric. It's been too long since I have last seen you", the snake hissed at him, tongue licking the air around him. "You smell different. Are you sick?"

The Slytherin gave a little laugh and sat down on the cold stone floor, shaking his head at the same time.

"I'm not sick, my beauty. I have found a human friend, at last. You would like him, I'm sure", he hissed at her, smiling dreamily. Nagini gave a hiss that sounded like a laugh, making Tom look at her in worry. He had never heard her let a sound like that. She slithered to him and made herself comfortable on his lap.

"You are happy, Aric. I am glad he can make you happy."

A small smile formed on the lips of the Slytherin boy as he listened to Nagini tell him about her feast in the morning. It was amazing how an animal like the snake could tell by the slightest change what was going on. Animals did not know the feeling of love, but they did understand affection and happiness. No human could read another like animals could read each other. It was one of the good reasons Tom did not like to be around other people. Which was also why Harry was so different.

Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to fall in love.

The weeks had been a pain to Harry. He could not remember school being so difficult in his time, nor the teachers being so strict and intolerant. Only Slughorn and Dumbledore let the students be children. Slughorn seemed not to notice the behaviour and Dumbledore simply let it pass with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

It was hard and it was taking its toll on the former Gryffindor. But the worst was, no one else seemed to have a hard time. Even Jackie was keeping up well with his studies, and he wasn't usually even paying attention. Maybe the presence of Hermione had helped Harry to be a better student, but he doubted it very much. He was trying his hardest to keep up and understand, but he just could not make it.

And on top of it all, Tom was disappearing frequently. When he needed his friend the most, he was never there to comfort him. At first Harry had not even noticed the disappearances, but then they started to happen more often, which bugged him to no end. Yes, he did those disappearance acts himself, but he always told someone he was leaving for a while to be with his thoughts. Tom never said a word when he left and not a word when he came back.

He had never thought it possible, but Harry was actually missing the other Slytherin, even though he wasn't very far away. And the loneliness he was feeling wasn't very helpful with his studies. It made it almost impossible to focus on the task at hand and it was making him depressed. He had no interest in doing anything.

Strangest thing with this was, that Duane had actually started to hang out with him. He always left when Tom came back from whatever he was doing, but that was understandable. The future Dark Lord was rather protective of Harry and him not liking the Prince heir did not help. It made the former Gryffindor sad, that he could not help them like each other. He had started to like Duane somewhat. He wasn't an open person, but neither was Harry. They usually sat in a comfortable silence and did their homework.

Sometimes, sitting there in the Slytherin common room with Snapes grandfather made him forget about his loneliness and feeling of abandonment that Tom left behind.

"Hey, Duane!"

The Prince heir lifted his eyes very slowly to the bright eyes of Jackie Scarre. He blinked two times very slowly before he deemed the lucky-go-guy with an answer:

"Yes, Jackie?"

The merry boy smiled broadly, which was very suspicious. He laughed and straightened up a bit, looking around the common room in a lazy manner that did not fool Duane. He was Slytherin for a reason, after all. When Jackie was satisfied, he leaned closer and asked in an innocent tone that did not fool him either:

"What are you planning with Ater? Take him away from Tom? You do know if that's your plan, you'll probably lose your life."

A predatory smile spread across the lips of the dark haired Slytherin and Jackie's own smile wavered a little. Only a little. He was a Slytherin for a reason, too.

"Oh, I'm not taking him from Tom Riddle. You don't take something from someone like him. I don't have to take Harry away from him. It seemes to me like he is actually pushing our newest member away from him. Accidentaly, mind you, but that does not change the fact, that Harry will soon see what monster lies beyond that beutiful face that has trapped him in its charms. Whatever Riddle likes to think of himself, he cannot keep people by his side willingly", Duane said in a low voice, that was almost seductive, making the other boy shiver with what possibly was fear. "And when Harry sees that monster, he will on his own accord come to me. I am there for him, unlike Riddle."

With a quick jerk Jackie was standing up straght again. His face had turned serious, no smile lit it up. He nodded quickly, with balled fists and turned on his heels. A slight hesitation as he looked over his shoulder at the cold Prince spoke of his uncertain mind.

"You will not do harm to Harry. If Tom won't stop you, I will", he promised with a dangerously calm voice. And then he left. Duane sat back in the chair and thought that maybe he had underestimated Jackie and his abilities as a Slytherin.

The Astronomy tower was fully booked when Harry wanted to go there to think and watch the starry sky. He gave the scared couple one look and left quickly when he realized they were practically naked. He was glad he had not recognized the couple. As a Slytherin it should have been intresting for him, but he just could not get past his Gryffindor side on this.

When he had climbed down the tower he stood there a little lost. He had no idea where he could go hide next. It seemed the whole school was packed with love birds. It had been packed with them in his time, too, but now they were everywhere. He had nowhere to go.

There was a scraping sound to his left and his head snapped up to look in the direction. He saw nothing, but that was no guarantee there was nothing. His eyes scanned the corridor and then the floor. Nothing to be seen.

With a disappointed sigh he turned away from where the noise had come and started walking with his eyes on the floor. He might have missed the momevent if he had not done that. A smile crept on his face and he started following the small, dark figure that slithered on the floor. He had never seen a snake in Hogwarts, but that did not bother him. Times were different, so maybe snakes were allowed in the school. He wanted to know where it would go.

After a while Harry decided the snake was going absolutetly nowhere. It slithered here, it slithered there, but it didn't seem to have a destination in mind. So he gave up on following it and started wandering with no destination himself. It was strange how he had not encountered one person while following the snake. Maybe it avoided humans.

But why had it not avoided me, then?

That thought made him stop for a while. Why hadn't it? It was a good question, but unfortunately he had no answer to it. So he shrugged and continued his wandering towards the dungeons.

Tom sat on the cool dungeon floor, waiting for Nagini to come. She was rather late and he was starting to worry. She wasn't usually late. He shifted nervously and looked around the room. It was dim, there were only a few candles lit around, so he could hardly see anything, but something told him it would be a good idea to leave the place. But he could not leave without seeing Nagini first.

After what seemed like an eternity he heard the familiar scraping noice of his snake moving about. He let out a sigh of relief and stood up to greet the giant snake.

"Nagini! I'm glad you came. It took you so long, I was beginning to worry about you", Tom said swiftly and scooped the snake up to his arms. Nagini let out an unpleasant hiss, but did not attack him. She did not like to be lifted up.

"There was a curious boy after me. I did not even notice him at first. I don't know how that is possible. I should have been able to smell him before seeing him. I was trying to get away from him, but he was very persistent", she explained as the Slytherin carried her away from their usual meetingplace. He frowned when he heard that, but shook it quickly from his mind. The air might have been different, which is why she had not smelled the stranger at first. "Where are we going?"

"Someplace different. I don't have a good feeling. Like something bad is going to happen to us", Tom answered while taking a look over his shoulder. No one was supposed to see Nagini. Snakes were not allowed in Hogwarts. They represented evil in their minds, just because Salazar Slytherin had been a Parseltongue. It was ridiculous. To blame an animal for the wrongs of one man. He would show them, some day. Snakes were not bad. Snakes were graceful, they were intelligent and they made good conversation.

With a few swift strides they had rounded the corner. Nagini's hiss made Tom stop in his tracks and look where he was going. His jaw opened slightly as he could only stare at the person in front of him.

"Oh shit...", he muttered in English and Nagini hissed her agreement.

Harry decided that the dungeons were overly boring. There was only stone and water to be seen as far as the eye could see. It was dark and it was grey and it was extremely depressing. It made him think about Tom and he didn't want to think about anything that would make him sad and lonely. It was the hardest thing he had ever tried to do.

Slowing down he came to a halt. He thought he could hear steps coming in his direction, but it was rather hard to determine. The dungeons carried sounds all too well, so he wasn't sure where they were coming from. Hesitantly he started walking again, but stopped as someone almost ran into him. Only a shouted warning from... something kept the person from colliding with him. When the person looked in his direction, he was surprised to see Tom in front of him. The Slytherin boy whispered as he recognized who it was in front of him:

"Oh shit..."

"I do agree. He smells like the one I was hardly able to smell before", came the answere from seemingly Toms arms and Harry had to look down. There was the snake he had been following earlier. It looked huge on the boys arms and somehow familiar, too. He frowned, but he was sure it could not be Nagini. Snakes did not live that long, did they?

Instead of thinking more of the snake, he turned his attention to Tom and slipped into Parseltongue without even noticing:

"What are you doing here, Tom?"

The other boy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped down. He was looking like a fish on dry land, which would have been funny if he wasn't a little annoyed at the Slytherin at the moment. He did put the image away in his memory so he could laugh at it later.

"What?" he asked impatiently. "Have I grown another head? If I haven't, and you're just for the sake of it staying silent, answer me."

Tom closed his mouth and swallowed audibly. He kept staring for a while, though, and Harry narrowed his eyes dangerously. He heard an angry hiss from the snake in the other boy's arms, but he chose to ignore it. He knew Tom would master a basilisk, he would have mastered a much smaller snake by now.

"You speak Parseltongue?" the other Slytherin asked with a shaking voice, looking rather wary. Harry blinked at the question and stopped to think, controlling the emotions that followed.

How could he know? He had not spoken in..., his thought trailing to an end. Now it was his turn to look at Tom with wide eyes. They stared at each other like this, until Harry's lips curled into a goofy smile.

"I guess, I'm speaking in snakes again...", he said with a shrug and the other Slytherin seemed to relax a little. He even managed a small smile. But the huge snake didn't look happy. Or sound happy.

"I don't like him, Aric. He smells wrong", she said with an angry hiss, which set the alarm clocks in the former Gryffindors head off. He backed off a step and looked at Tom for help. But the other boy seemed to be in as much of a loss at something to do as he was.

"Don't be silly, Nagini. He's my friend. You know I don't have friends other than you. He can't be bad", the Slytherin boy said with a claming voice, but that did not help the situation. But at least he had been correct in recognizing the snake. That did nothing to lessen his fear, though. Now he could be positive she was poisonous and if she attacked him, he would surely die.

"That is the thing that makes me worry most. You don't have friends. Humans cannot be trusted. He is a human, and therefore he cannot be trusted."

"Tom's a human, too...", Harry pointed out, but that was the biggest mistake he could have done. She did attack him. It was like seeing Mr. Weasley getting bitten again, only from the other point of view. He threw his arm in front of his face, to shield it, but at the very moment he felt the fangs puncture his skin, he knew he was done for.

"No!" Tom shouted from a distance. His vision began to blurr already, the other Slytherin was only a mass of colours.

Well. At least I will die quickly, was his thought when he sank to his knees and gasped for air. He felt warm hands on his shoulders and someone was shouting his name. He saw a strange flash of light and a peace that was familiar washed over him. Fawkes?

The bird sang to his thought, confirming it. A wash of relief flowed through his body and he let himself slump forward in Tom's arms. Fawkes landed beside him, though the only thing he could see was a blob of yellow and red. He layed his head on his arm, above the wound and started to cry.

"It's crying, Harry. You're not going to die now, are you?" the other boy asked with a trembling voice and the former Gryffindor shook his head, smiling lazily.

"He's healing me, Tom. He will heal the wound and the venom won't do anything. He has cured be before from a bite from a basilisk. This will be an easy job for him", was the whispered answer and he closed his eyes. He heard a scarping noise somewhere near and knew Nagini had slithered closer. The phoenix raised his head and gave a warning sound to the snake.

"Leave her alone, bird!" Tom shouted at Fawkes and the phonix looked angrily at him. Harry sighed and raised his head from the other boy's shoulder. He put a calming hand on his arm and shook his head.

"Don't be mad at him. He's only trying to protect me from harm."

"I'm trying to protect my snake from it!" was the answer and he sighed again. He didn't have the strenght to listen to the angry voices and noises. He didn't have the strenght to fight against them, to calm them down. Apparently the venom had been stronger than he had thought. The appeance of Fawkes may have come at the last minute.

"His name is Fawkes. He is a good phoenix. Loyal and friendly. Fawkes, this is Tom Riddle. He's a good boy and I want you to be nice to him. That snake over there is Nagini and Tom's friend. Please, be nice to her, too", he introduced them to each other and closed his eyes. It was so safe and warm in Tom's arms, he had no desire to rise from them. He snuggeled closer and let darkness take him over.

Tom did not know how he had been able to carry Harry all the way to the Slytherin common room and up to the dorms. The other boy was small, but still heavy enough. He just could not let his friend go. It was strange, walking down the dungeon corridors followed by a snake and a phoenix. He had to look back at the bird sometimes, to make himself believe that there was actually such a powerful magical creature following him.

Well, following Harry. He really should not underestimate his friends powers. He could not be a measley wizard if he had a phoenix following him around, saving him from snake venoms every other day. Really, surviving a basilik's venom was a great feat he had not thought the other Slytherin could have accomplished. He had no idea how he could have survived the deadly look a basilisk in the first place...

But it was not his place to question his friend, at least not now. Nagini's venom had been a little too much to the boy, as he had just passed out after introducing the phoenix to him and Nagini. Luckily for them the common room had been empty. Everyone was asleep or out with their lovers. No one would notice the snake and the phoenix and the lifeless boy he was carrying on his arms.

The moon shone through the window above Harry's bed, making the boy look like he was made of porcelain. So fragile, so beautiful. But still so strong under that frailness. He was a person to be admired. And feared. If he only wanted, he would be able to accomplish anything. But Tom was sure, Harry was too modest and shy to want to accomplish great things.

But he doesn't have to. He can just stay by my side, forever, and enjoy what I accomplish, he thought with a loving smile on his face. Mine forever. I'll do everything I have wanted for you, Harry.

He setteled himself beside the other Slytherin and whispered in his ear:

"I love you."

The next day went on reasonably well. No one asked questions, which meant no one had seen them or noticed Harry being a little absent. He also had no apparent side effects from the poison and the healing, which told Tom that he was as well as could be thought.

The only things that made the Slytherin boy nervous, were the strange and somewhat shy looks Harry gave him. It bothered him as he didn't know why he was being looked that way. The other boy hardly even spoke to him, but he was fine with chatting and laughing with everyone else.

Tom did not like his Harry ignoring him like this.

And it could become dangerous if he did not like something. But seeing as he did not want to hurt his friend, he decided to confront him. It was not how he usually did things, but Harry was not a usual person. He respected him and cherished him. And last night he had even confessed to himself that he was in love.

But that did not mean he could – or would – not be mad if someone he cared for and wanted for himself was not paying him the attention he should be. Jealosy was a strange feeling. In a way, he liked the feeling. It meant he actually cared. On the other hand it was a frustrating feeling. He didn't feel complete.

As Harry shot him a shyly curious look all thoughts of jealosy flew away. The boy was truly beautiful. Raven black hair that shone in the sun that was glowing through the enchanted ceiling, emerald green eyes that were so full of emotion he could hardly stand looking in them, the milky white skin and those bloody red lips. His heart ached at the wonderful sight in front of him and he smiled without thinking. He could not stop the curling of lips, even though the heartache made him want to cry.

But it looked like Harry did not even notice what he was feeling inside. The other boy turned his attention back to Cylferth, who was blabbering on and on about his future wife and how great it would be. A smart marriage, a smart girl, smart children... Unfortunately for Tom, he could never have that. He had never had any interest in girls and if Harry never answered his feelings he could never have a happy life with someone.

With a sigh he rose from the Slytherin table and left without saying a word to anyone. He just wanted to be alone with his unhappiness. He did not even look back to see two emerald green eyes looking worryingly after him as he left the dining hall.

Tom could not believe how he was acting. His arrogance had come out in a way he had hoped it would not come out around Harry. Like an ancient cheese grater, that was how Tom was acting, and he was only sixteen. There was nothing in him that could be described ancient, but here he was. It would really be a miracle if Harry would ever talk to him again.

The Slytherin burrowed his face in his pillow and breathed the fresh smell of the pillowcase, the houselves must have changed the bedsheets during the classes. It was a slightly rosy smell and it made him smile. Harry's hair smelled like roses sometimes, too.

Turning his head to the side he wondered when the smaller boy would come to the dorm. He wanted to talk to him, wanted to hold him close, to make sure he would never leave his side. How he would make Harry never leave his side was something he did not want to think about. He knew he had ways of making people do whatever he wanted. But he did not want to hurt his friend.

Sighing the Slytherin closed his eyes and let his mind drift away from all the worries he had. From everything he had thought mattered most to him. All his plans, all his revenges. He was not sure he wanted that anymore.

There was the sound of a door opening and closing, but he did not open his eyes. Whoever it was, should think he was asleep and did not want to be bothered. All he wanted was to drift, stay away from feeling. Sail between darkness and the shades of grey that were never close to white.

"Tom? Is everything all right?"

Of course he had not taken Harry into account. He could not fool his friend and make him think he was sleeping. A good reason not to like the feeling of love and companionship. A good reason to let go of this person who had slipped himself into his heart he had not even known existed. But it was also a good reason to keep this person close. He would not be able to tell his secrets to anyone else if he stayed near.

The bed sank as the smaller boy sat on the edge of it. A warm hand was layed on his shoulder and Tom had to open his eyes.

"Don't you have friends to be with?" he asked with a coldness in his voice that scared even him. But the hand did not leave his shoulder. Fleetingly he thought if Harry was heavensent, but then discarded the thought. He had never believed in God, nor would he ever believe in Him.

"There are not many people I call a friend. You are one of them, silly. At the moment, you are the only one", came the calm answer. He could almost hear the smile on the red lips. The warm hand started to pet his hair and he closed his eyes again. How he regretted his quick and bitter tongue sometimes. It had already driven so many people from his side. Why did he try to make Harry go away, too? "I'm sorry, if I have hurt your feelings, Tommy. It has not been my intention."

The Slytherin nodded his head silently, afraid of unleashing more cold words. The other boy did not seem to mind his silence, as the hand continued to stroke his hair and Tom began to drift into a dreamlike state. It was comfortable and he did not want to leave this place. Only the muttered words of his friend made him open his eyes and turn to him:

"I heard what you said last night to me."

"What?" he asked stupidly. Harry had been uncocious, so he could not mean his last words of the night. Maybe he had been sleeping in his dreams, muttering something about his plans of the future.

"I heard what you said to me last night", the other boy repeated, with downcast eyes and slightly rosy cheeks. It was an alluring sight, but he did not have time for such thoughts.

"Well, what did I say?"

"You told me you loved me", Harry whispered shyly, confirming Tom's fears. He was not sure how the boy had heard him, but he had heard him and he wanted to be swallowed by the ground beneath him. He was very embarrased, but of course he did not let it show.

"You must have dreamt it, Harry. You lost conciousness after Nagini bit you", the taller Slytherin said, but the other boy shook his head in denial.

"I only fell asleep. I was rather out of it, but I woke up, when you lay down beside me."

That was an information that made the Slytherin speechless. He had been sure the other boy had been unconcious, so he had not been worried of what he might hear. But this was not good. He was not sure if he should panick or deny everything.

But Harry's smile melted all of those thought away. The emerald green eyes shone a warmth and kindness he had never seen in anyone before. And before he knew it, he was drawn in a kiss that took his breath away, making his body tingle all over.

If this was love, he never wanted to let it go.

So, the dare I chose to actually use was to include "ancient cheese grater" in the next paragraph. Quite funny.