The Chamber of Secrets wasn’t terrifying anymore. Not to you. It was cold, yes, and dimly lit by the green glow of torches, but it was yours. Yours and Tom’s.

He had led you there months ago, not with fear, but with something like pride. “No one else gets to see this,” he had whispered against your ear as the stone serpent slid aside for the first time.

Now it was a secret sanctuary. A place where he wasn’t the perfect student, the heir of a dark legacy, or the boy who spoke Parseltongue. Here, he was just Tom. And you were the only one who got to see that version of him.

Tonight, your head rested on his shoulder, one of his arms loosely around your waist, robes pooled beneath you both. You traced circles over the back of his hand.

“I like it here,” you said softly.

Tom didn’t answer right away. He just looked down at you, eyes darker than usual. “Of course you do,” he murmured, brushing his lips against your temple. “It’s the only place in this whole school where I can hold you without pretending.”