Chapter 11
Once the excitement of his letter wore off, Dudley felt all the weariness and transformation that came with the day's events. He asked his mother how long she thought Hadrien would be with the Prince of the Goblin nation, and while she didn't know, she headed for the door to try and ask someone. She popped her head out and noticed two guards standing beside the door; she wasn't sure if they were for their protection or incapacitation. Gathering what little courage she had left, she asked the least scary-looking of the pair. Mind you, there weren't very many differences to begin with. Mainly the number of sharp objects visible.
"Hello, umm…is it rude to ask when my son and the prince will return?"
"Typically, if a wix, demiwix or emrywix were to ask, it would be. However, given the circumstances and the fact that it is His Royal Highness, Prince Pegragon and the Almighty and Feirce Prince Bonehammer, it would not be. The ritual typically doesn't take very long; however, the cleansing bath is a process only known to goblin royalty and has an unknown timeframe. We were instructed to acquire anything you request, provided it adheres to Goblin and wixen laws. Do you require anything at this time?"
"I appreciate you telling me all of this. My other son seems tired, and we haven't eaten anything in quite a while. Can we have a couch or a couple of chairs to sit and possibly sleep on, and whatever refreshments we can be offered?"
"You are a very polite emrywix, and your emry-demiwix son's tiredness is not concerning. He has dealt with many emotional and magical experiences today. If he weren't tired, it would be worrisome. We will acquire a couch, an armchair, and the requested nourishment. It shouldn't take very long. Please wait inside at Prince Bonehammer's desk."
With that, the other guard left and turned down the corner, presuming to acquire what Petunia had requested. After speaking with the goblin guard, Petunia had more questions and invited the guard in to chat. Surprisingly, the guard accepted her request and blocked off Bonehammer's desk with magic that went straight over Petunia and Dudley's heads. The guard introduced himself as Rodnuk, nodding his head towards the two in the room.
Petunia gave her typical introduction: "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Petunia Evans, and this is my eldest son, Dudley." Dudley bowed so far toward the ground that he lost his balance and pummeled over, almost taking out Rodnuk.
"Ha ha, watch how low you bow, young Dudley Evans. You may topple the wrong sort of creature one day, but that day is not today. Reednuk should be arriving shortly. She is my wife and much less tolerant of emrywix or wouglic tendencies and ideals. She will bring the requested items but will not stay to hear our conversation."
As if on cue, Reednuk walked in, and a floating couch and armchair, sized for a goblin, came after her. She lazily held a small pouch in her left hand and her right fingers up, presumably floating the tiny furniture. Privately, in the back of Petunia's mind, she doubted the armchair would fit anyone of her stature, and the couch looked more like a small rectangular chair, but she would take what she could get. Rodnuk got her to place the floating items on the ground a fair space away from each other, then, muttering in a language Petunia couldn't understand, he made the items enlarge and fill the awkward space between them. Now, the armchair was big, much like one you'd see on the telly in a sitcom. The couch, however, elongated slightly wider and made for a comfortable-looking futon. Digging around in her bag, Reednuk pulled out a coffee table, an assortment of snacks and tiny sandwiches, a tea set, a couple of fruit jams, bread, butter, and two dull knives. Arranging them how she saw fit. What the result looked like was cute. It looked similar to a small sitting room and luncheon tea time.
Petunia took the chair, and Dudley took half the couch. He lay down and almost fell asleep instantly. Petunia encouraged him to eat a bit first while Reednuk squeezed Rodnuk's bicep goodbye. Once the door to the now mini sitting room had shut, Rodnuk snapped his fingers, and another identical chair, albeit goblin-sized, appeared out of thin air next to hers. It was smaller in dimensional size but the same height, so they could talk face to face without offending either party.
Petunia ate a small assortment of bread, jam, and cookies and tried one of the sandwiches before she started asking her questions.
"May I ask a personal question before discussing everything else?" She started
Rodnuk looked at her and said, " That depends on the question. I reserve the right to refuse."
"Of course, I would never make anyone answer uncomfortable questions. I was just curious about your name and your wife's name. The endings are identical, and I wondered if that was a spousal thing."
"Ah, well…the names we gave you are our common names. Nobody in the whole magical world gives their true full name. Unless you are stupid or have a death wish. Goblin customs hold that the submissive soul bonded changes their clan name from the one they were born into. I changed mine upon marrying Reednuk, as I am the submissive soul bonded. I was born Rodgrast of the Grast clan in the east. Reednuk kept her name because she is the dominant soul bonded."
"Okay, so no full names, got it. The ends of your names identify which clan you're a part of?"
Rodnuk nodded and took a sip of his tea. He always enjoyed it when the goblin researchers asked their many questions, but he had never had anyone ask about marriage clan identification. This Petunia Evans should be a delight to converse with.
"You keep mentioning soul bonds? And submissive and dominant versions of that…what does all of that mean exactly?"
"Soul bonds refers to what wouglics would call soul mates, or fated love. They are predestined creatures or people who are the other half of your soul. It is common for creatures or wix, of any variety, with creature blood to have soul bonds. However, regular wix and wouglics are very rare. The fact that your son has one is a surprise. There shouldn't be any creature blood in his line… however, we will not know that until he takes a creature inheritance test or goes through an inheritance when he reaches the creature's majority."
"I understood most of that. Hadrien's person, the other half of his soul, is rare because, as we know it, he is a regular… how'd you put it, Wix?
"Yes, although he is a wizard, wix is the neutral term for all gender binaries in the human magical world. Witch, is the feminine. Wixen refers to a large group, if not all wix in the world, such as wixen society. A society built upon the culture, traditions, and values of all magically inclined humans."
Wow… That is so cool…okay, back to the submissive and dominant thing?"
"Right, goblins are typically born without reproductive organs. They develop as the goblin grows older. The basic definition of a submissive partner in a soul-bonded relationship is a partner who can bear children. The dominant is the one to sire them. Goblins can change their reproductive organs as they see fit, meaning most goblins are strictly gender neutral; without a specific gender bias, they conform to their bodies, too. My wife and I are oddballs in our clan. I have always chosen male, and she has always chosen female. When we want to sire a child together, if ever, all we have to do is change our reproductive organs, and my body will do the rest. Prince Harrison is a submissive partner, meaning that when his body meets its majority, he can become pregnant, and his body will adjust itself to the embryo."
"Oh wow… my son can have a child…birth a child? That's a lot to take in."
"Yes, It is scarce for a male wix to have Mother Magic assign them the submissive partner role…however it is not unheard of. I believe the last Wix recorded in wixen history to have given birth as a male would be Emrys Merlin."
"That is incredible." Petunia was officially in awe of the magical world. Ever since she was that little twelve-year-old girl entering Diagon Ally for the first time with her baby sister, she knew her life would never be the same. There were times when Lils would come home for the summer, ranting about turning rats into cups and the new potion they were making. Sev would spend most of the summer at their house. He had always been rough around the edges, but he was her little brother. Magic from the people she loved had been a constant in Petunia's life for a long time. It never ceased to amaze her, though. Now, she was in complete and total awe. Her sister's son…the one she loved as her own, could bear his biological child. Magic was incredible.
Then Petunia got thinking. Her sons were going into this world without her protection because she didn't know anything about this world. She had been cut off from it for over twelve years, and she never thought to pay attention to what Sev and Lils were saying as kids. Sure, she knew other people who had magical children and didn't know a whole lot… but she had grown up with the limited magic that she did. She had met James Potter; he was some nobility in this world, and she never thought to ask about it… why had she been so blind? Her precious babies were going into this world and would come home and want to share in that experience…Petunia made up her mnd then. While the boys were away, she was going to learn everything she physically possibly could about the wixen world and all the magical creatures and whatnot that came along with it. She was going to understand and be able to help her sons with their summer homework and not be ignorant of what was being taught to her children.
Rodnuk patiently watched Petunia experience her emotional crisis. He prides himself on his intuition and ability to understand others' emotions. From the look in her eyes, he knew her questioning was not the least bit over.