The Silver Tongue

Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Talks

All right my fellow fan fiction readers. I know many of you hate me for leaving the last chapter like I did so for this chapter you will all love me... It is mostly Tom and Harry, enjoy!
I

don't own Harry Potter, wish I did though.
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"Talk"
'Think'
"Parseltongue"
Chapter 35 - Talks
(Recap)
"Hello Tom." Harry looked on at the lake. He felt Tom stop only feet behind him.
"Hello my little Alpha." Tom greeted him.
Harry closed his eyes. This meeting would help him decide what he was going to do. The dragon had proven to him that he was one of the Lords of Old and now he had to decide if he was going to partner with the Dark Lord or declare him an enemy.
"Tell me Tom. What do you know of the Lords of Old?" Harry opened his eyes feeling Tom move closer. Harry kept his eyes on the dark water, watching the ripples the wind caused on its otherwise calm surface.
Tom stopped so closely behind Harry that he could feel Tom's body heat warm his back even when neither of them were touching. "I know much. The Malfoy library is extensive. Why do you ask?" Harry feel Tom's breath on his ear. Tom was very close indeed.
Tom's magic drifted lazily in the air around them, playfully stroking Harry's skin. It was begging for Harry to let his own magic back out. Harry, tired of fighting his magic, released his iron control. It attached to Tom's intensifying the air around them. "I ask," Harry was struggling to keep his voice steady from the feel of their magics together. "because one of the Lords is killing Mother Magic. I know that you are the true Dark Lord and I have reason to believe that the only way to save her is for three of the Lords to work together to kill the fourth."
"My little Alpha," Tom's wrapped a hand around Harry's right wrist, thumb rubbing his pulse. "Are you trying to justify this meeting? Really?"
Harry shivered. "It is truth." Tom nodded. Harry could feel it, the soft touch of Tom's skin on his ear at the movment.
Harry stepped away and turned to face him, though he didn't try to take his wrist out of Tom's grasp. He didn't want to. "Your followers know you have returned yes?" Tom nodded. "I will not agree to anything yet, that answer will be given at the end of the third task. I agreed to meet you today because I need to know how much you know of the Old Ways and the prophecy."
That caught Tom's attention. "You know of the prophecy?" His grip tightened before he released Harry all together. Harry felt the loss of Tom's touch keenly. "Of course you know of it. Nothing is hidden from you long."
Harry glanced around with his eyes and magic, no one was around. "Yes, but the question is do you know the real one or the fake one?" Tom slowly walked around him, circling him silently. Harry took his silence as the go ahead. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord... or The one with the power to vanquish the end approaches..." On Tom's third circle around him he stopped so he was once again behind Harry. It seemed that both of them enjoyed the closeness as Tom stood as close as he could to Harry's back without touching once again.
"How did you come across this information?" Tom's voice was deeper with controlled anger. Harry couldn't blame him. He liked having all the moves of the board to see as well.
"I got it from a book. A book left to me by my mother." Harry felt a person approaching the lake. A quick feel made him realize it was Barty. It would seem their play time was almost up. "So tell me Tom, which one did you hear?" Barty could be seen now, still looking like Mad-eye Moody. His approached slowed seeing Tom with Harry. Tom paid him no mind, eyes only on Harry. Harry gave Barty a nod but no more.
The minutes stretched on, Harry's question hanging in the air. Barty stopped meters from them and stood silently. He wasn't going to interupt them. He wasn't glutten for the punishment that his lord would no doubt give him if such an act was comitted. Harry's thoughts were scattered when he was forced to suppressed a shiver when Tom's hand caught his right one. Harry watched Tom hold their hands up at eye level, his Lordship rings on display but Harry knew the ring he was really looking at was the Peverell ring that rested on his thumb today.
Tom gently stroked it. "I learned part of the first one, the second one is unknown to me." His voice was velvet as all the anger left him. Harry once again compared his voice to melted chocolate.
Harry leaned back, resting against Tom's chest. His eyes closed. He felt no danger being this close to Tom or trusting him. Their magics were still dancing lazily together and around them, wrapping them in a cocoon. "The first one goes 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...'" He paused waiting for Tom to get angry or comment but he didn't so much as twitch so Harry continued. "It is fake." That did promote a response but not one Harry expected. Tom rested his left hand on Harry's hip, giving it a slight squeeze.
"The second one is the real one then?" Tom released Harry's hand, instead he placed his arm around Harry's waist, clasping his hands together on Harry's hip.
Harry nodded, eyes still closed but he could feel Barty's magic quiver, reflecting the man's emotions. He was surprised and partly afraid. Now that was something to look into. "'The one with the power to vanquish the end approaches...born to those who have thrice defied the Dark Lord, born as the seventh month dies... and the Lords will mark him as their equal, but he will have power the Lords know not... and one must die by the hands of the others for none can live while the one survives...the one with the power to vanquish the end will be born as the seventh month dies...'. Now you understand why I ask about your knowledge of the Old Ways?"
"The Grey Lord is among us again. There have always been Dark Lords, Light Lords, and Neutral Lords. It is the Grey Lord that only comes when Magic needs a protector. She's chosen you, the first in a hundred years." It was different, hearing someone who was not serpent like speaking to him in Parseltongue Harry decided.
"The only question is will we stand together like the prophecy says to or do we fight?" Harry asked slowly pulling away from Tom. For a moment Tom tightened his hold around Harry's waist, making him believe that Tom wasn't going to let him go, but Tom slowly let his hands fall away from him. Harry stepped away, ignoring the urge to lean back into the warm body. "You now know what's at stake, so prove to me that you will help me in my goal to protect Mother Magic or I will have no choice but to see you as an enemy to kill. My first priority is Mother Magic, never forget that Voldemort." Harry forced himself to walk away and pull his magic way from Tom's. Tom didn't help by letting his magic cling to his as he pulled it back under his iron control. He passed Barty with a nod. Barty for his part looked shocked. His magic was fluctuating in confusion and fear.
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"Alpha!" Draco yelled from his seat in the courtyard. The rest of the Pack sat around him under one of the trees in the corner. Viktor sat beside Hermione unharmed and Fleur was between the twins with a wrapping around her leg and under her skirt. Harry sighed tiredly. He was still in his dueling robes and his magic wasn't happy with him leaving Tom. If he was truthful with himself, eveything in him was rebelling with his depature from Tom. They were too drawn together and that made Harry a little afraid. How was he to keep a clear head if this connection they share intensifed in the future? Luna moved from her spot against the tree, pulling him over to sit there. He got comfortable letting Ginny curl up in his lap and Luna into his side.
"You alright Alpha?" Neville held out a plate of sandwiches. No one commented on the fact that Harry was still blocking their bond.
Harry happily took two with a small smile in thanks. He locked his confusion and slight fear away and opened the bond. They didn't need to worry about such thing. They were for him to deal with. "Yeah I'm good. How is Cedric and what were my scores?"
Hermione snorted. Harry turned to her, indicating for her to explain. "Cedric is fine, minor burns...your score on the other hand." She rolled her eyes with a huff. "Dumbledore gave you a 7 for 'use of a dark talent' that bigotry ass of an old man. Madam Maxime gave you a 10, which is true unbiasedness. Mr. Bagman, the greasy man, gave you a 10 too. Headmaster Karkaroff gave you an 8, a better score than Dumbledore, but he's still biased. Mr. Crouch on the other hand wanted to have you arrested."
Harry coughed, having swallowed a bite of his sandwich and it tried to go into his airway during his momentary shock at hearing that last peice of information from Hermione. "He what? What the hell did I do wrong?"
"You didn't do anything wrong and it took Bagman pulling out the rule book to prove it. You have a bloodline gift and by the rulebook it was legal to use in the tournament. In the end he gave you a 10 but he wasn't happy." Draco ranted. Fred wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him over to get him to stop talking and breathe.
"So over all?" Harry prompted. So the man feared what he didn't understand, what else was new in their world. He could deal with Crouch at a later date. or he could have Barty deal with his father.
"You did well. You are in third place after Viktor and Fleur. Viktor got solid 50. Fleur got a score of 46. You got that 45, and Cedric got a 35. If that dragon hadn't hit him he would have gotten a stronger score." Hermione supplied him with the results before diving into the history of first tasks used in the past. That evolved into a debate of which task was better and the different challenges one would have encountered in each.
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"Alpha?" Harry turned from his staring contest with the golden egg to his Pack mate standing by the bedroom door. Ginny rubbed the sleep from her eyes, something Harry thought she shouldn't be doing as she should be sleeping with the others. "Why are you still up?"
Harry sighed. He leaned back into his chair, opening his arms in an invitation for her. Ginny stumbled over into his lap. She curled up as he wrapped his arms around her waist, tucking her head under his chin. "I was just thinking."
"Talk to me then. What's on your mind?" Ginny mutter into his neck, snuggling closer into his warmth.
Harry smiled down at the redhead slowly falling back to sleep but trying to stay awake to listen to her Alpha. "It's nothing for you to worry about. My thoughts are all over the place this year, many plans to remake and even more options to explore."
"Is that why you've been blocking our bond so much lately?" She was almost gone from the waking world.
"Yeah, you all don't need to worry about this. That's my job as your Alpha." Harry smoothed a piece of hair out of her face.
He thought she was in the lands of dreams when he heard her mutter brokenly, "...Lord Alpha...ours." He smiled softly down at one of his three girls. She was right, they were all his and he was their Alpha.
He turned back to the egg. The fireplace was flameless but the glow of the embers made the egg shine. While his eyes were on the egg his thoughts were on the encounter at the lake earlier. He wasn't even thinking of what was said, no he was thinking about the actions. His magic felt drawn to Tom, something he knew meant that his soul was drawn to him. He didn't know why, as conflicted he was with his thoughts. Tom was a monster. He tore his soul apart, voluntarily. Harry didn't know why he was so comfortable around the man. Talking was one thing, being close was another thing, but allowing touches was a whole different game. He didn't like others touching him. His family and Pack was one thing but never outsiders. His uncle had beaten that lesson into him. Growing up he learned to release his magic into the air around him so people would avoid even brushing him as they passed him walking. That was a hard habit to break whe he had gotten to Hogwarts but he had.
That's not the case with Tom though. He didn't have a problem with Tom touching him, hell he would even admit to liking the feel of Tom's touch. His magic had attached to Tom's magic when they first met and then Tom had touched him during that attack and now his body was aware of Tom's in a way that it never was before. It had been proven at the lake. He had been keenly aware of his movements, of the heat his body gave off, and the absent of his touch when it left. That had never happen, not to that extreme. He could feel his Pack when they were close but that was mostly thanks to their bond and his trust/affection he held for them.
Harry sighed. It looked like he was going to have to do some research. Ginny moved, shifting in his arms and lap to a more comfortable position. He was going to have to keep Hermione occupied with her own research, this was one thing he was going to have to figure out on his own. When he did figure it out, that would be when he decides if he will share it with them or not. Ginny shifts again making it clear to him that his time in solitude was up. Harry sighed for the umpteenth time that night. He stood, balancing Ginny in his arms, before he made his way to their bedroom. After the day he had, maybe it was time to get some sleep with his Pack.
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The next morning after their training the Pack could be found lounging in front of the fire in their animagus form. Harry's wolf form lay away from the others, who were in a pile on top of each other. Amara was wrapped around his neck and Nightshade was curled up between his front paws.
"You are thinking too much Master." Amara muttered lazily.
Harry sighed in amusement. 'Amara when am I ever not thinking?' One thing they had found was when Harry was in animal form was that he could talk to Amara with his mind. He just opened the bond between them like he did for his Pack. The two bonds didn't connect or mix so the Pack still couldn't understand her but he didn't mind.
"Don't worry about Tom. Just worry about the surprise meeting you are going to call in a couple hours." Amara was right. Harry growled in agreement causing the others to look over at him. "What are your plans with the two other champions? They spend much time with our nestmate."
' I'll gather more information and decide after the meeting.'
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The whole Pack sat in uniform on their platform. Harry was summoning his Venatores by year this time. He had instruted each year to have a short list of students from the visiting school ready for the Pack to inspect. Harry was going to have his twins and Neville take time to watch the students on the lists pervided and decide which of them to approach, which was going to be Ginny and Luna's job to do. Hermione and Draco were going to be in charge of gathering the students that express an agreement to their views and goals for a meeting with Harry, which would end with either more Venatores or students thinking they got pranked by the twins.
Harry summoned the second years, even though they weren't around the older students much. As he expected they didn't have anyone to recommend from the other schools but they did give a short list of first years and even a few more second years that they thought would be good candidates for recruitment. The third years were the same as the second. The fourth years came forward with some new information. It would seem that the other schools were interested in getting information on the Pack and had been asking around. From this, a few of the fourth years were able to gauge who would be approachable for the cause. The fifth through seventh gave the same report as the fourth years. The other students were trying to be gather information on the Pack, information that no one was releasing to them. Harry was proud with how much his fellow students were buffering the other schools from gathering to were making it so that if the others wanted the information they seek then they would have to approach the Pack themselves. That would give the Pack a chance to assece the student that were so curious. It would give them equal oppitunites to learn about the others and their own views of the world.
By the end of the meeting Hermione had written all the names onto one list that comprised of fifteen names from Beauxbatons and twenty-two names from Durmstrang. Logically, Harry knew that only half those names, if that, were going to accept what the Venatores were about. It was two names that showed up on every list presented today that caught his attention the most though. Both Viktor and Fleur seemed to be really interested in the Pack. They had even tried asking Cedric about them a number of times.
"Twins, Neville you three know to watch our potentials without interactions. Ginny and Luna, your to never approach a potential with out eachother. I want you to be cafeful as you will be the ones to determin how much information is given out before Hermione and Draco gather and prep them for a meeting with me. These potentials will have no reason to give me respect or loyalty like students at Hogwarts. They don't have the house connections we have. Me being a Lord of two of the houses mean nothing to them. I want you all to be on guard, these students are taught many of the same things we have been teaching ourselves or the founders have been teaching us. They can be dangerous if they see us as a threat. Let's not let that happen. " Harry stood, allowing his mask to melt away as the seventh years left him alone with his most trusted. "Sirius you said that you have been on the lookout at the ministry?"
Sirius grinned, still sprawled out on his chair. "I have been feeling out some of the people yes. I think I have a couple too, my cousin for one. Nymphadora Tonks, but she prefers Tonks. She completed her Auror training under Mad-eye Moody himself. She's a bit clumsy but she is very loyal and underestimated a lot. She would be perfect for the Venatores."
"We've spoken of her before." Harry acknowledged. "If you think she'll be good, approach her. Be careful about it." Harry turned to his godmother. "Aunty Minerva has Dumbledore spoken of any plans?"
"Nothing. He's been silent since you all welcomed our guests. He wasn't too happy with that. He also wasn't happy with your performance at the first task." Minerva took her mask off, fingers tracing the patterns on it. "I fear he is planning something and he's hasn't trusted me since Petunia made Severus and I your magical guardians.
"What did he have to say?" Hermione asked. He mask already stowed away.
"He didn't say anything. He just walked off but I've known him long enough to know when he is not happy with a situation." Minerva told them. Hermione snorted.
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Alright everyone this chapter ends here. I hope you all enjoyed it and I would ove to read your comments so please review