Hogwarts

Maybe not. Tom had never explicitly confirmed or denied it – but Harry had come to believe that the boy he was sharing a body with was not a boy at all, but a man, and not a young one either.

Tom knew far too much, and was far too set in his ways to be anything short of an old man. But Harry, of course, never said that to his face. Given Tom's liberal use pain as a teaching tool and/or communication device, Harry avoided saying things that could irritate his friend too much.

His friend. Because despite the age gap, Tom was his friend – his only friend, and a good one at that. He knew everything about Harry, but he never looked at Harry with disgust or fear, not even pity; instead, he told Harry to stay strong – he told him that one day, his time would come, and he would carve out his own place in the world with the power he apparently had so much of.

Harry wasn't stupid. He knew that a significant portion of Tom's concern with his well-being was tied to the fact that anything Harry felt, Tom felt as well.

Tom was Harry's friend, but Harry knew he was selfish – it was obvious from the way he talked, even the way he looked at Harry. It was understandable; after all, before he met Harry, Tom was alone. He had no one, and had to become selfish in order to survive. But Harry didn't care, because Tom was kind to him.

Tom only smiled for the purpose of mocking, only spoke softly in an attempt to coax Harry into doing what he wanted, and every quality that Harry prided himself in was under Tom's constant scrutiny.

Patience, kindness, longsuffering, empathy, honesty, and guilt all made Harry pathetic and weak, and Tom would often gleefully remind him of this fact. Harry didn't mind, in the end, though, because Tom was only looking out for him – this was Tom's kindness.

Tom seemed to have a warped vision of goodness and greatness, but he was constantly pushing Harry to be better, to be stronger. And that meant something to Harry. Something profound. Never before had anyone believed in him, and acted on that belief. Yes, Tom was more than just a friend - though he'd never say it out loud for Tom would surely deny it, Harry and Tom were family, and no one would convince him otherwise.

Not to mention, Harry would prefer Tom in the worst of his moods to any of his classmates or teachers – who only ever looked at him with fear or indifference – any day.

This is why every night, Harry would spend hours staring into the Tom's little hand-held mirror, listening to Tom's dark, velvety voice. It didn't matter what Tom said or did – Harry wanted to hear it and see it.

Seeing Tom was the only thing he ever had to look forward to. Harry wished he could hear Tom's voice in his mind all the time – the silence he suffered through as he sat through boring classes and performed chore after chore was stifling, and incredibly lonely.

It was a necessary evil, though; Tom only had access to the smallest fraction of his own magical core, and building up enough energy to do something as small as communicate mentally with Harry was exhausting to him.

Harry was determined to, at some point, rectify this.

Tom had seemed genuinely surprised by Harry's offer to donate some of his magic, but Harry had suggested it without a second thought. Harry didn't know why Tom was so surprised; he apparently had an over-abundance of the mysterious energy – why wouldn't he give some to his friend?

However, the offer came with one condition – Harry wanted to know more about Hogwarts. Tom had told him from time to time about the magical school tucked away in an unplottable region of Scotland – Tom's home.

Tom usually declined to tell too many stories about Hogwarts, and had insisted that Harry would eventually start to dream about his Hogwart's days, but when Harry made his generous offer, Tom agreed to tell him more.

It became a currency of sorts; Tom would often try to convince Harry to do things he didn't want to do – like stealing money from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, or slipping things like dish soap or dishwater into their coffee.

However, with the promise of a story about Hogwarts, Harry would obey without question, because in his mind, it was more than worth it, and Tom understood this.

To Harry, Hogwarts was hope – a reason to keep on living, to keep trying – and the promise of finally going home in a few years time was more than enough to make the miserable boy smile.

And it was all thanks to Tom.

.....

Read ahead by joining my Pa#treon for more thrilling chapters!

Link : pa*treon.com/GalaxyWonder (Remove the *)

Unlock a weekend bonus chapter by reaching 100 power stones.