A Little Help from a Snake // Tomarry

Part 54

Reposted: December 22, 2021

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Summary: Harry (and an offscreen Remus) recover from the dementors; revelations take place; Tom earns himself a(nother) new nickname

All throughout the night Harry tossed and turned. Several times Tom woke up to him trying to push away, as if he forgot who he was sleeping with.

If Harry was this affected by the dementors, Tom hated to think how Remus was faring.

Tom sat up. What was he supposed to do? He wanted to reach out, but earlier he tried that and Harry had flinched violently. At that point, he had calmed down on his own, but Tom didn't think that would be the case this time.

'Let me.' Azure climbed onto the bed, taking care to avoid the thrashing limbs. She positioned herself near Harry's head and began hissing in soothing tones. Gradually, Harry relaxed, and Azure motioned for Tom, who placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

'You've done this before?' Tom asked.

Azure nodded solemnly. 'After some weeks, I managed to convince him to take me into his room. He had nightmares even though they left him alone for the most part. They ceased after a while.'

It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Tom.

'I think he should be fine,' Azure said after a moment. 'But I'll stay nearby in case you need me.'

She slithered off the bed and settled down by the window, her eyes fixated on Tom and Harry.

Tom laid back down, bringing an unresisting Harry into his arms. Harry pressed his face into Tom's shoulder and breathed out softly.

No nightmares disturbed him for the rest of the night.

A few hours later, Tom awoke and couldn't fall back asleep. He checked the time. It was almost nine; he may as well get up.

He took a quick shower and returned twenty–five minutes later. Azure was still at the window, dozing, but she lifted her head as Tom approached. 'He moved around a bit, but that's all.'

Tom turned to Harry. His lips quirked upward; Harry had somehow maneuvered in a way that resulted in his feet sticking out from under the blankets.

He poked his foot, making Harry giggle. "Hey, you. Wake up."

"How about you wake up?" Harry muttered.

"I already am. You should probably take a shower. You stink."

One green eye opened. "Look who's talking."

"I just took a shower," Tom protested, gesturing to the towel. And his still damp body, which did not help the situation.

"Yeah, but you still reek from yesterday's game. Also you missed a spot here." He poked Tom's face. "And here. Here. Or maybe those are your freckles. Can't tell, they're very light."

Tom grabbed his hand. "You're an idiot."

"I know." Harry kissed him and left the room.

He let out a puff of air as the warm water hit his back. His mind drifted back to the dementors. He hadn't thought about his oh-so-loving relatives in that much detail in months. Sometimes, he would wonder how they were coping with their new lives, but he wouldn't dwell on it. Once or twice, he pictured Dudley and Petunia being nicer, but that was just laughable.

Vernon was hopefully still rotting in the hellhole of prison. If anyone deserved Azkaban, it was him, Harry thought savagely. Too bad he was just in a Muggle prison, which was much less haunting.