the Gambler

Draco hadn't been looking right at Harry since the Screaming Shack incident, and Harry couldn't blame him, really, no one could have imagined Voldemort in that image, and said, uh, those horrible things ear-piercing words.Harry stretched inconspicuously, and the odd situation recurred in his dreams that night, forcing him to crawl into the bathroom early in the morning to fix minor problems.

That didn't mean Harry liked Voldemort or Tom, it bothered him, they were so similar he couldn't even make out who was calling his name under his breath.It was just a salty//soggy dream, and Harry slammed his head on the table, the pain giving the boy a momentary opportunity to lose his memory.Hermione gave him a concerned look.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Hermione reached out and patted Harry on the shoulder. After struggling for a moment, she said sympathetically, "I heard that Marvolo was in the Three Broomsticks with a man who looked very similar. Dating, I didn't know he was interested in that."

"It's all right," said Harry muffled, suddenly aware of Hermione's message, and his emotions rose a lot. "Marvolo is a narcissist, isn't he? Oh, I'm so glad everyone found out about him." tendency."

"I'm not inclined in that direction." Tom was still personable, and he didn't even give a little attention to those malicious eyes. "A wonderful Hogsmeade weekend, Riddle?" Harry chuckled, Merlin, he really liked the way those students looked at Tom, disgusted and incredulous, "You must be happy to finally meet your lover, hot A date, unfortunately I can't see it with my own eyes."

The expressions of the people around were even worse.

"You're attracted to him." Tom's abrupt words made Harry drop his knife and fork in fright, and the 'he' could only refer to Voldemort.Harry swallowed, looking at the sullen boy in horror.

"You feel attracted," Tom repeated mechanically, this time moving his eyes away from the food in front of him to focus on Harry's face, and everyone around him pricked up their ears.Harry picked up the fork and calmly sliced ​​the pie, ignoring the accusing stares.

Tom grabbed Harry's arm hard, and his tone became extremely cold: "You shouldn't be attracted to him."

"You're thinking too much," Harry said quietly, his eyes falling on everyone but Tom, who had absolutely no intention of arguing with the Slytherin in front of him in such a public place.

"It's you, Harry Potter." Tom threw a silencing spell casually, and a huge bubble enveloped the two of them, making sure that no one could overhear their conversation. He turned cold, "You don't like He, you like me. I am a completely different individual from him, at least until I prove the theory."

"Sorry, I didn't know when I fell in love with you." Harry shook Tom's hand vigorously, "Don't think too highly of yourself, Tom Riddle."

"From a bystander's point of view, are you just trying to make amends with Voldemort for hitting a wall with me, his handsome face piqued your interest? Or his superb kissing skills?" Unlike frivolous questions, Tom With a cold attitude, he slowly approached Harry like a prey, and didn't stop until Harry's body hit Hermione, "You were wrongly induced by him. The rapid heartbeat that humans have in a tense state will be overwhelmed." Mistakenly believing that a strong attraction to others, a highly tense mental state will also improve one's own enthusiasm, which is similar to the symptoms of facing a person in love."

"Another book?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm not attracted to him. It's all about your imagination."

"You'd better remember what you just said."

"I'll never like Voldemort," was a lie, and Harry knew it better than anyone, and yet, the next words were probably the biggest lie of his life, "I'll never like you. Get off, Tom."

Tom's expression was strangely numb, he just stared at Harry without blinking.

"I never share, Harry."

Tom left these words coldly and walked towards the long Slytherin table, where it was unusually quiet.Tom clenched his fists, and today he was deliberately dressed like Abraxas, dressed like a peacock, but the boy only saw sneering.He could not believe that his charm had not worked at all.Damn it, it was all Harry's fault, if he had accepted his advances, these useless hours would not have been wasted.

No, he needs to do something.

Tom stopped and turned to walk back in Harry's direction, who still seemed to be enjoying the thrill of revenge.Ron glanced up at Tom and patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Besides, I have something else to say, no, I don't take no for an answer - don't look at me like that, Harry, I've had enough of your childish attitude, you've never let me down like this I hate it."

"So what? Do you want to beat me up or something?" Harry's tone was aggressive.

"Your joke is a bit too much." Tom grabbed the boy's arm with such strength that Harry couldn't breathe, "I don't accept your rejection, let me tell you clearly, I will always get what I want .”

"It's a pity I have no intention of giving in."

Tom dragged Harry out of the auditorium abruptly, and at the moment when the heavy door closed, he suddenly pressed Harry hard against the stone wall and kissed him. Harry struggled with all his strength and kept struggling. He even bit the other's Lips and tongue, the smell of rust made him sick, but Tom wasn't about to give up.He could feel a cold object being put on his ring finger, the familiar touch, the ring he had discarded.

Tom let go of Harry.

Harry quickly backed away from a safe distance, he reached out to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, bared his teeth and growled: "I don't want you!"

"/Then I will kill everyone who comes into contact with you./"

There is no anger but dissatisfaction.

Harry understood Tom's dissatisfaction, and perhaps in the eyes of the other party, he lost his temper for no reason, but how should he explain it?Keeping distance because you don't want to fall in love with an impossible person?How he could say such a thing in front of Tom was too embarrassing even for the famously brave Gryffindor.God knew talking to Hermione had taken all his strength.Did Tom really have the same feelings for him as the witch guessed?Ah, don't think about it anymore, the result is still the same anyway, and he doesn't want to shatter it with a useless hope.

And, Voldemort.

Harry reminded himself.Voldemort had warned him that Tom had been deceiving himself the whole time.Not that he trusted Voldemort any more than Tom did, neither man was trustworthy.

Oh, Harry was doubting himself.

Tom could see clearly in the other's eyes.A little trickery is necessary.

"He's telling the truth." Tom said quietly, playing with the end of his hair, "I'm indeed deceiving you. Only in this way can I achieve my purpose of possessing you. But I'm not Voldemort."

Harry raised his guard.

"That's over." Tom took Harry's hand to his chest. "Can you feel it, my heart beats for you. I said I wasn't capable of loving - that was wrong, I was, I love you, Harry." He lowered his eyes, his tone full of sincerity, "I always thought I only wanted you as a second-in-command, and I was trying to manipulate you. Shameful intentions."

"Open the link, Harry, and you'll know it's true."

Harry nodded.Surprisingly Tom didn't lie.

Tom raised Harry's fingers to his lips and kissed them softly, staring at each other far longer than casual eye contact, and the complex emotions in Harry's eyes made him chuckle.

"Tongue eaten by a cat, Harry? I hope that cat is my Animagus form."

Harry blushed instantly, avoiding Tom's focused gaze, and stared intently at the nearby colonnade.He wanted to pull back, but Tom was too stubborn.

Merlin, the shy Harry looks so sweet, Tom suppresses his desire to pin the boy against the wall and ravage it, it's not time yet, he can't scare the lion cub away, he's looking forward to a more perfect result .He always gets what he wants.Is not it?

Tom approached Harry slowly until the tips of his noses touched.He let his warm breath hit the boy's parted lips.

"I'll give you the choice, but you have to know—" Tom put his hand on Harry's chest and drawled lazily, "I'm a crazy gambler. Get out and you can't get it back, Harry Potter." He stepped back with a sly smile, "Tell me, is what you've put on worth my involvement?"

"What?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Tom chuckled: "Trelawney said that I am the key figure in this battle. Voldemort or Dumbledore, no matter which side, my joining is a powerful boost."

"If you go to Voldemort, I'll kill you." Harry's firm tone made the corners of Tom's mouth curve wider and wider.

"Then I'm honored to tell you that I still have the chip in my hand. I'm an outsider, am I?" Tom tilted his head to observe Harry's expression carefully, "The only thing I need to do is disrupt this game. No, I didn't reveal my choice earlier because I wanted to get the most out of it. Now, I've got an idea. Tell me how you'd bet, Harry. Willing to take on the challenge?"

Tom could see how Harry's thoughts raced.As much as he knew Harry, he was sure that the boy's pride would not make him refuse a challenge, and that all he needed was to slowly draw the prey into the trap.

As expected, Harry made up his mind and raised his head to face Tom bravely, his eyes firm and steady.Although it looked like a lion cub with bristling hair in Tom's eyes, the minions that could be used as weapons were far from sharp enough, but it was quite good for Gryffindor who was in a sluggish state.Tom loved the way the conflicting qualities of the two Houses collided in Harry, and it made him look forward to it, to the point where he couldn't even breathe.

"I accept." Harry raised his voice slightly, "I said long ago that no matter what the challenge is, I will never back down."

"Then your choice?"

Harry closed his eyes tightly. Tom's ideas were almost exactly the same as Voldemort's. Of course he would defect to the other party, but this was too natural. Tom shouldn't open a gamble knowing the outcome, should he?But Tom's choice of Dumbledore sounded ridiculous, and Harry knew exactly how much he hated old people.

So, what is Tom's real choice?

"Dumbledore." Harry decided to give it a try. If he was important enough to Tom, the other party would stay in this camp.

"As I said before, you lost the bet. I want to accept my reward." Tom put his hands on Harry's face, and he could clearly see the boy's wide-eyed eyes, the beautiful emeralds almost threatening him. Suck it in, "You won't play tricks, will you?"

The next second, Tom grabbed Harry's lips and grinded them finely. He never thought that such a kiss without lust could make the heart beat wildly, so loud that he worried that Harry would hear it too .Oh, Harry was stiff again.Tom smiled, which was exactly what he wanted.He stepped back, looking at the flickering fire, Harry's lips were slightly parted, silently begging to be possessed.But he has to take his time.

Harry seemed to want to say something for a moment, but the opened mouth quickly closed again.

"Are you going to find him?" Harry asked softly after a long silence.

"Join Voldemort? Of course not, I was born to be a leader, and even my future self can't make me submit." Tom explained with a smirk.

Harry stretched out his hand to touch the place where he was kissed, and frowned deeply: "Then I didn't lose the bet."

"Join Dumbledore?" Tom smiled contemptuously, "That's even more impossible."

"I don't understand what you mean." Harry admitted his confusion openly, "You didn't choose either side, and this bet was untenable from the very beginning."

"Voldemort or Dumbledore, no matter which side, my joining is a powerful boost." Tom repeated, "This in itself is a misunderstanding."

A long silence greeted him.

"Harry, you can't afford to lose, can you?" Before the boy could speak, Tom continued, "I've put my whole life in it from the beginning."

"I chose you, love."

The click of the gears closing.