Lettered

Disclaimer: J.K.R owns Harry Potter, not me. That's why she's making the big bucks, and I'm deciding between paying for books and buying food.



Warning: This is a Slash Story. That means boy/boy lovin'.



Whoo! Citrus! With Dominant!Harry!



Have I ever mentioned that I suck at writing sex scenes? My brain just has a habit of shutting down whenever I mention anything below the belt. It's kind of sad, really.



I'll reply to any and all comments in my livejournal, which is linked in my profile.



:Parseltongue:



Important note! I have a poll up in my livejournal about the ending- go vote!



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Tom looked up at the man who entered the shop and froze. Remus Lupin, the surrogate godfather of Harry Potter, was standing not five feet away from him. Taking a deep breath, Tom managed a smile.



"Hi, there, is there anything I can help you with?"



The werewolf looked at the man standing in front of him. He looked perhaps two years older than Harry, and despite his smile, he looked incredibly nervous.



"Actually, yes there is. I'm Remus Lupin, and you are..?" The werewolf extended his hand.



"Tom." The one-time Dark Lord took the Defense Professor's hand, giving it a firm, professional shake. The werewolf looked impressed.



"What can I do for you, Mr. Lupin?"



"Oh, Remus is fine. And I've come to talk to you about a student. I heard a rumor earlier that one of my students was dating the new clerk at Honeydukes." Tom swallowed. This couldn't be good.



"Harry."



"Indeed. I was friends with his parents, and now I feel somewhat responsible for him." The werewolf's tone was rather neutral, but there was a decidedly feral glint in his eye.



"Yes, sir. Harry's told me about you. He also told me about what happened last June."



"I see. Harry's been hurt far too often already. I hope you remember that before you do anything that might hurt him again." At that, the man offered a smile, which Tom returned weakly.



"Yes, sir." Tom choked out. Remus nodded at him, and left the shop.



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Tom watched the man leave the shop, feeling his heart race. If that's what I have to deal with now, what's going to happen when he finds out who I really am?



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Harry had finally read through the last of the information on the Multiple Personality Experiments, and he was almost certain that his interpretation of the prophecy was correct. Before he told Tom, though, he wanted to get another perspective. Sighing, he packed up the file he had put together detailing the experiment and its results, as well as Tom's descriptions of the disintegration of the "Voldemort" persona, and his statements about what Westhover and Zephyrwilde had "taught" him. It was time to talk to Snape.



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Harry knocked on the door of Snape's office. Opening the door, the Potions Master immediately frowned. What in the world could the Gryffindor want now?



"Sir, I need to talk to you."



"Obviously, Mister Potter. Come in." Severus stepped out of the way, allowing the boy to enter his office.



"Well, what is it?" the older man snapped.



"It's complicated, sir. It has to do with the prophecy, and with Tom's sudden personality change." He pulled the file out of his bag. "I think you should read this first, before I explain the rest."



"Alright, Potter. Go, sit down, and I'll deal with you when I'm done." Harry obliged, sitting down and pulling out a textbook to read.



Severus opened the folder and started reading. At least it looks more interesting than the 3rd year Hufflepuffs' essays.



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Half an hour later, the man sat back, shocked. The implications of this... and Dumbledore helped them? Why would he do something like that?



Sighing, he turned to the boy.



"Alright, Potter, now how does the prophecy fit in here?"



Harry explained it to the Potions Master, watching as his frown gradually deepened.



"Mister Potter, I think you may just have a valid theory here. Have you shared it with anyone else?"



"Well, I told the basics to Gin a while back, while I was just working it out- that was the conversation that Nev overheard. But I didn't have this much information before, so I couldn't be sure. I thought that, now that I had it all worked out, you'd be the best person to talk to about this."



"Indeed. Potter- Harry, I think I may need to show this to someone. Do you mind if I take this file?"



"As long as it's not Dumbledore, it's fine. I have another copy of everything in my trunk- I thought you might want a copy, so I put that together for you."



Severus was struck at the thoughtfulness of that act, and the trust that in implied.



"Well, thank you then. Now, get out of my office." The kindness in his tone belied the harshness of the words. Harry smiled at the man, put his book back into his bag, and headed up to the tower.



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The werewolf frowned as he sat at his desk. He knew that man's scent, but from where? And what did he want with Harry?

He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. "It's open!" he called.



Severus Snape opened the door and walked in briskly.



"Good afternoon, Severus. What can I do for you?"



"A student just passed along some information to me. I thought you might find it interesting."



Severus handed over the file to Lupin, who cocked one eyebrow. "Harry?"



Severus smirked. "Yes. The boy is nothing if not tenacious. Now, I don't know if Dumbledore ever informed you of the background of Voldemort...?"



"Yes, he mentioned it. Tom Marvolo Riddle? Student from the 1940's?"



Severus nodded, and Remus sighed opening the file. Starting with the first document, which explained the nature of the experiments. Remus kept reading, a look of disbelief forming on his face. He was ready to strangle Dumbledore by the time he was halfway through. Finally, he reached the last page, and froze. On it was a picture of four wizards. One of them was Dumbledore. Two of them were named as Westhover and Zephyrwilde. The final face, that of the "unnamed test subject" was what shook him. Remus stared down at the picture of Tom Riddle.



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Upon returning to his dorm, Harry had cast a quick tempus, and, seeing that it was only quarter to four, grabbed a piece of parchment out of his bag and penned a note to Tom, asking him to meet him in the usual spot as soon as possible.



Grabbing his cloak and map, Harry made his way to the passage to Honeydukes. He practically ran down the passage, and by the time he reached the cellar, he was out of breath. Climbing up into the dark room, he made his way over to the crates. Quickly transfiguring the lids of the crates into something with a bit of a cushion (a trick Tom had suggested after the fourth time they had come to the cellar to cuddle and snog), he hopped up and waited. About five minutes later, Tom climbed down, wand lit in front of him.



"Hey there. Took you long enough." Harry grinned at the older man. Tom rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, there was a witch up there who wanted thirty of everything. Counted out individually, of course, so she could see them. It's days like this when I miss having the freedom to crucio people."



Harry snickered as Tom sat down beside him. "I'm sure it's tough, having to just deal with problems like the rest of us."



Tom ignored the comment and continued. "And a certain Remus Lupin showed up today, and gave me a talking to." Harry squeaked. "It was quite impressive. He really cares about you, you know."



"Yeah, I know. He figured out that there was something off about Halloween, and kept me and Neville after class. We managed to convince him that it was just a bit of a prank, and that we were playing on past events for a bit of a laugh. I'm sorry he came and threatened you."



"Oh, you better be. I'm supposed to be a bloody dark lord, and he nearly made me wet myself!" Harry giggled, leaning against his boyfriend. Tilting his head, he captured the other man's lips in a kiss that was almost chaste. Shifting, he moved back in, pressing his lips more firmly against Tom's, mouth open lightly. He slowly drew his tongue across his boyfriend's lips, causing the older man to open his mouth obediently. Throwing one arm around Tom's shoulder for leverage, he reached with his other hand for the top-most button of Tom's robes. Slowly, he worked his way down Tom's front, undoing buttons as he went. As he undid the last button, he started to move his mouth, trailing kisses down Tom's jaw and across his neck, pausing to suckle just below Tom's adam's apple, which elicited a moan from the older man. The sound went straight to Harry's cock, which was already rock hard. From the size of the lump in Tom's boxers, the older man wasn't doing any better. Harry continued his ministrations, moving down to nip at Tom's collarbone, and then down to lave at his nipples. He nipped and sucked at Tom's nipples, entranced by the sounds the man was making. Kissing his way across Tom's chest, Harry gave the same treatment to the other nipple, teasing more wonderful sounds from the older man. Finishing there, he slowly kissed is way down Tom's stomach, pausing to dip his tongue into the man's navel. Finally, reaching the topmost edge of Tom's boxers, he hitched his fingers around the waistband, exposing the older man's length to the cold air of the cellar. Tom hissed as the fabric caught on his sensitive flesh. Harry grinned, and blew gently on the exposed member before him, causing Tom to moan and curse in a mixture of English and parseltongue.



"Please," :Harry,: "more!"



Harry looked up at the other man. "Tell me what you want me to do. I want to hear you say it."



:Oh, god, Harry, I want you to suck me:



Shivering, Harry did just that.



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Remus was pacing his office. Harry was dating Tom Fucking Riddle? That nervous young man who had shaken his hand and assured him that he wasn't going to hurt Harry was the same man that had murdered Merlin only knows how many people? And Harry knew this? It was too much to take. He needed to talk to Harry. Now. He paused for a minute, trying to figure out the fastest way to find him. House elves, that's it. What was the name of that one that liked Harry so much? He'd know where to look. Dobby, wasn't it? Yeah, that sounds right.



"Dobby!" called the werewolf. The house elf popped up beside him, looking up with his big round eyes. "Can you find Harry and tell him I need to talk to him in my office immediately?"



"Harry Potter, sir? Yes sir, Dobby will be finding him!" Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared.



Lupin sat back in his chair. There wasn't anything to do now but wait.



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Half an hour later, and there was still no sign of Harry. Remus was about to go out and look for him himself when Dobby popped back into his office.



"Dobby is sorry, sir, but Harry Potter is not being in the castle, so Dobby is asking Miz Ginny Wheezy if she knows where Harry Potter is being. Miz Ginny Wheezy says that Harry Potter is likely being with his boyfriend, but Miz Ginny Wheezy was not telling Dobby where."



"It's alright, Dobby. I think I can find him. Thank you." Dobby bowed, and popped away.



Remus sighed and cast a quick tempus. 5:30- he should be able to get to Honeydukes before it closed. putting on his cloak, the man started out towards the sweet shop for the second time that day.



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Harry was curled up in Tom's arms, dozing comfortably. It had been an amazing afternoon- after he had gotten Tom off, the older man had of course wanted to return the favor, an experience which left Harry euphoric. Add to that the fact that he no longer had that prophecy hanging over his head, and he was in heaven. He yawned, and snuggled in tighter to Tom. Tom- wonderful Tom. The older man, wary of Harry's past, had had no qualms about giving up control to the young Gryffindor, who, though eager, was still nervous. There was just one thing bugging him. Not wanting to move, Harry nudged Tom.



"What time is it?" Tom blinked, grabbed his wand, and cast a silent tempus.



"It's almost 6. You should probably head back soon if you want dinner." Harry sat up, grumbling softly, and reaching for his robes. He was almost done buttoning them up when the door to the cellar opened up.



"Hey, Tom, are you down there? There's a man here, says he needs to see you. He says bring up your friend, too."



Tom and Harry glanced at each other. Who could it be? Harry figured it out first.



"Remus." Tom shrugged on his robes, and quickly buttoned them up.



"Oh. Alright then. Since he's probably going to kill me, it was nice knowing you."



Harry rolled his eyes. "Quit being melodramatic. The worse he'd do is maim you."



Tom snorted at his boyfriend's terrible joke. "I wish I had your confidence, love." He took a deep breath, and started up the stairs, with Harry on his heels.



Emerging into the shop, Tom kept his eyes carefully on his shoes. Harry managed to look up at his surrogate godfather, but his face was bright crimson. Remus took a look at their tousled hair, and caught a whiff of the scent clinging to them, and shook his head. Turning to the proprietor, he rolled his eyes.



"Do you have a private room I could borrow? I need to have a talk with these two." The man nodded, and gestured to Tom, who sighed and started walking.



"There's an office back here." He opened the door, holding it for Harry and Lupin. Stepping in, he shut the door firmly. "There's privacy wards already set up." Still not looking up, he shuffled over to Harry's side.



"So, Harry, I had an interesting visit from Snape not too long ago." Harry's eyes widened.



"So you're the person he wanted to talk to..." He trailed off, thinking about what exactly was in the file. Then he remembered the picture. "Oh, shit."



"Oh shit indeed. I just about had a heart attack when I saw that picture! And the, when I couldn't find you afterwards..." Remus was pacing now, running his hand through his hair. "What exactly is going on, Harry? What was all that stuff?"



Harry looked over to the desk, saw a chair in front of it, and sat down. "Alright. Professor, did you actually read the file?" Remus nodded. "Ok, this will make it easier. Tom, remember when I said I had a theory about the experiment? Well, it's about the prophecy. You see..."



Harry explained his theory, telling the other two men that, from what he could tell, it was already fulfilled. Tom's eyes went wide when he heard the full prophecy for the first time, and Harry, seeing his discomfort, reached over to take the older man's hand and give it a gentle squeeze, which was promptly returned. Even entranced in Harry's theory, Remus noticed this little sign of affection, filing it away for future reference. Harry explained the link to Remus, pointing out that he could tell whether or not Tom was telling the truth. "And I went to Snape with it because I needed someone with a different point of view, and if I had made a mistake, he would have found it right away- he's good at that, you know." He took a deep breath. "And I'm sorry I scared you, Remus, I was just so happy that I had figured it out, and I wanted to spend time with Tom. I always screw things up like that."



"Harry, you didn't screw anything up. I was just scared. You're family, cub, and the only family I have left. If something happened to you... I'd never forgive myself. And it is a little hard to get my head around, even after seeing all the research." He snorted. "So, who else knows about this?"



Harry ran down the list for him.



"I see. And Draco and Neville are actually getting along now?"



"Scarily, yes. Of course, Draco's still afraid of me, so that helps, but..."



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"So, what are we going to do about Dumbledore?" Harry looked up at the werewolf, who was leafing through the file, yet again. A week had passed since Remus Lupin had learned about Tom, and he, Harry and Ginny were sitting in Lupin's office, drinking butterbeer. Snape was also present, but he'd declined the offered butterbeer with a glare.



"I'm not sure yet. He's got a lot to answer for, that's for sure. Does anyone even know where he is?"



"No, he hasn't said. He did send a note saying that he'd be back after Christmas, though, and telling us not to worry. You know, it's a good thing that you've got Tom wrapped around your little finger, Harry, I'd hate to have to deal with Voldemort at a time like this." Harry snorted.



"Why not? The only time he's ever stepped in to help me was at the Ministry. Other than that, he's just let me deal with the big, bad Dark Lord. That's another thing he has to answer for."



Ginny cut in. "Don't forget the fact that he was apparently watching you while you were at the Dursleys."



"Wait, what's this about the Dursleys?" Harry scowled, but Ginny answered.



"Well, when Harry got to Grimmauld Place, I accidentally walked in on him changing, and his back was covered in bruises-"



"It was fine, Ginny. And, it's still none of your business."



"Bullshit, your back looked like a bloody sunset, Harry. So, anyways, I wrote a letter to Dumbledore telling him I was worried about Harry's safety, and he sent a reply saying that Harry was perfectly safe there, that Dumbledore had been keeping a close watch on Harry, and that I should mind my own business. I wonder if that's the same close watch he kept on you during second year, when you were locked in your room with bars on your window and a cat door for them to slide food through? Or before you got your letter and the muggles were so kind as to give you the cupboard under the stairs as a room of your own, or treated like a bloody house elf-" Both professor's eyes widened at this. Severus looked down, thinking. I knew it wasn't the most pleasant house- I saw that when I fetched the boy. But to be that bad... What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?



Lupin practically exploded. "Wait, what? Why didn't anyone tell me about this? Dumbledore," the werewolf spat the name, "told me that you were fine and happy, and that he was just concerned about giving you a normal childhood. I'm going to wring that man's neck!"



Harry looked at his surrogate godfather. "You'll have to get in line, sir. I think Tom claimed that privilege around the time Dumbles advocated turning him into an experiment. Anyways, there's still more. Did you know that Sirius made me his heir? Dumbles dearest didn't bother telling me. One of the goblins told me when I was at Gringotts, they'd been trying to reach me for months- although I think that particular goblin was just excitable. maybe he's related to Flitwick somewhere along the line? Anyways, the point is, I own Grimmauld Place, among other things, and the old coot wasn't planning on telling me. Who knows, maybe he was afraid I'd kick the Order out or something. Plus, there was the whole thing with the prophecy- he knew it, and apparently he'd been taunting Tom with it, through Snape here." He nodded towards the Potions Master. "Of course, he made sure to plant the idea of luring me to the Ministry in his head. And I'm sure there's plenty more out there. I mean, the man's been oblivious to most of the goings-on in this school for as long as I've been here! How exactly did Quirrell get the job, anyways? He had Voldemort sicking out the back of his head, for Merlin's sake! And Lockhart!" Severus snorted at the name. Harry nodded at the man. "Exactly! The man was as useless as tits on a boar!" Ginny started laughing at the image that evoked. Remus, who only knew the man by reputation, chuckled, and wondered where little Harry had learned such colourful phrases. Even Severus smiled at that.



"Yes, Mister Potter, we understand. Dumbledore is a menace. Now, what are we going to do about him?" Harry leaned back in his chair.



"I think I might have an idea." Everyone looked over at the girl, expectantly. "We all know that the biggest thing he has going for him is his reputation, right? A little odd and eccentric, maybe, but also undoubtedly good and completely light- otherwise he wouldn't be so indispensable. So, why don't we cast a shadow on that reputation?" The others grinned. Oh, yes, Dumbledore was going to pay.



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