Fears

Chapter 16: Climacophobia

Summary:

Climacophobia- Fear of stairs, climbing, or of falling downstairs.
~To scared to use the moving staircase to get to his common room, he's lucky Tom is kind enough to sneak him into his own.

-Rating: Explicit
-Relationship: Tom Riddle/ Harry Potter
-Warning/Tags: Sexual Content, Anxiety, Past Child Abuse, Slytherin Dorms, Sleeping, Tom In Harry's Timeline AU,

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Shoes clacked down the glossy hallway. It was so late that even the ghosts had gone to sleep. Normally, Tom would have left his duties hours ago and simply gone to sleep as well, but he had the feeling something was off tonight, and he was never the kind to ignore his instincts. Slowing, he found what he missed on the last 5 passes.

A small light came pouring through under a classroom door. It must have just been lit as he passed, and he heard shuffling inside. Tom stepped forward, excited that something interesting had finally occurred and ready to dish out detentions and take house points. Opening the door to the transfiguration classroom, he noticed a sleeping bag set up, as well as a bag of clothes sitting on a desk beside a pile of clothes. Tom was stunned to see a boy, who must have been a year below him looking through a pile of laundry. "What is going on here?" The boy dropped the shirt and looked at him petrified in his place.

Tom stepped into the classroom further. "Are you sleeping in here? You have a dorm room, you know." Tom noticed the red robes, and smiled, taking Gryffindor points always made his night.

"It's a misunderstanding! It was just a dare for tonight, please don't take any points!"

Tom liked the look of fear on the boys face, it made staying up so late worth it. "I will be taking points, I'll decide how many when we get you to your common room."

The boy packed his things and trudged sadly behind Tom. He had gotten the boy all the way to the moving stairs and started up when he heard the footsteps cease. Turning back, he watched the boy shuffle around at the bottom of the steps. "Well, I don't have all day." The boy looked up quickly, he gripped the handrail, and Tom saw his knuckles turn white. It was almost funny watching the boy try to put his foot onto the first step, but soon he gave up and just fell to the ground crying.

"I can't! I haven't been to my dorm in all the years I've been here. I'm afraid of stairs. I just can't get myself to do it. Please don't take any points, I'm so sorry!"

Tom stared at the boy, hundreds of questions coming forth. "It's impossible to get around this school without using stairs, your excuse is pathetic."

Green eyes shined with tears and looked him straight on. "There are passages all throughout the school, I have a map that shows all of them, if you take the right ones you can get anywhere without taking stairs, but they don't lead to the common rooms."

Tom was amazed by this and wanted this map for himself. He knew of the chamber of secrets, and a few other passageways but not as many as this boy was implying. He looked up at the portrait of the fat lady, and made a decision.

"Okay Gryffindor. How about a deal. Let me see this map and I'll let you stay in the Slytherin dorms until we can find something better."

The messy hair almost looked like dog ears as the boy perked up. "Yes sir!"

Tom sighed and lead the way, letting the boy find ways on the map, to the dungeons.

Never one who didn't think ahead first, Tom knew that his housemates wouldn't be agreeable in having a Gryffindor in their shared space. Tom had Harry stay in the shadows to avoid any light sleepers who may have wandered out for a drink or bathroom break. When he had Harry with him in the 7th year dorm, he quickly had the boy get into his bed, throwing the others belongings into his trunk. The two had the awkward dance of figuring out where each could lay without touching each other. In the end Tom though he would have a horrid time sleeping beside another person, but for a reason beyond his tired mind he didn't mind the small boy, and fell into a peaceful sleep.