Introductions?
Chapter Seven.
“Priority Message for Lewis Peverell. Will you accept?” A message bubble appeared, waking up the Pareya with its insistent chiming.
“There goes my plans to sleep in…” The man grumbled sleepily as he reached up and tapped the bubble to accept the message.
“This is Ashton Hartwood speaking. We have a Portal Break at the Earth Gate. Would you please join us as a precaution?”
With a sound that could be both a sigh and a yawn, Lewis finally rolled out of bed and quickly threw on a shirt. Then he grabbed his always ready medical pack and swiftly cast a Portal. There was no time to lose.
He made it to the Earth Gate just in time to witness two Gheyos land, bringing a tiny unconscious Submissive with them. The Peverell Medic-trained Pareya used his elbows with great efficiency; making a clear path for himself though the onlooking crowd. Some people hissed at him, while others were smart enough to move before he had to push past them.
“Hien!” He called out, as soon as he was clear from the crowd. “What have you got for me?”
“Lewis!” The Shadow Dragel was relieved to see him. “Don’t really know much more than you do. His Portal broke. Myself and…” He paused to look at the other Gheyo questioningly.
“Brishen.” The name was supplied curtly.
Hien gave the Phoelix a small smile, adjusting his grip on the slight body in their arms. “Hien Kuroe. A pleasure. ...As I was saying. Myself and Brishen caught him and brought him down. That’s all there really is to it.”
From behind the Pareya a familiar tall blond made his presence known. “And while you were off saving the young one, I sent Lewis a message just in case.”
“Never a bad idea with broken Portals involved.” Grunted Brishen. The crowd of onlookers was getting on his nerves and the weird feeling only got much more intense since coming in contact with the tiny Submissive.
Ashton looked above their heads and gestured for a couple people to follow them. “Let’s move this someplace else. I’m sure the little one wouldn't want to be gawked at by this crowd.”
“Careful, dear, your Pareya is showing.” Hien teased him gently as they made their way to the nearby pavilion. It was erected for emergency medical situations, but it would serve their purpose even though there was no actual emergency to be taken care of.
From his place next to the Shadow Dragel, Brishen observed the small group that entered the pavilion that really looked like a glorified magical tent. There was Hien; the Shadow Joker that helped him catch the Submissive. The Earth Joker, called Ashton, seemed rather close to him. Bonded perhaps? Besides that pair and the Medic there were three other men present. One was most definitely of the Earth, with a very strong connection to his Element at that, the one next to him also had a well of magic in his core and all but crackled with immense but masterfully contained Storms. The last one, a Gheyo, stood closeby, but held himself separately from everyone else. He was not quite as tall as him or Ashton, but he still had a few inches over Hien for sure. There were small tendrils of shadows that curiously reached from the man’s shadow towards Hien’s.
The Medic looked around at the people in the tent. “Prince Raspen, Mage Cairothe. What a surprise.”
Brishen’s eyebrows rose in surprise. A Royal at the Gate, times surely must have changed.
The other Shadow Gheyo smiled ruefully. “That’ll be my fault…”
“Nonsense.” The Prince cut him with an exasperated eye roll. “Riven and I just didn’t feel like waiting until Mariana was done with you, Blood Raven. We’ve been waiting eagerly for that information, you know.”
“But that can wait.” Stated the Mage, looking at the tiny Submissive. “We should first make sure there is nothing wrong with the Young One.” He threw a glance at the three Gheyos and the Medic. “Do excuse him, he lacks a word filter before he consumes at least a litre of coffee.”
They were all privately sure that the Royal would have pouted at the Storm Mage, if only they were not in the company of other people. As it was, however, all the reaction they got was a small nod, the man not looking at anyone in particular, though his gaze often drifted from one person to the other, never stopping for long.
Long black eyelashes, so full any girl would be jealous, softly fluttered against his skin, as Harry struggled to open his eyes. A soft groan left his lips and he tried to figure out what on Earth happened to him. First things first though. He could sense that he was not alone, but he was not being restrained and judging by the smell, he seemed to be in some sort of clinic or hospital, or something like that. So perhaps, for once, his luck had not fucked him over.
He tried speaking and succeeded, though his voice was quite raspy and his throat felt dry as the Sahara Desert. Immediately two of the people present made his way over to the bed he was lying on. One of them, a tall brunette with black hair and equally dark glittering eyes, slowly approached him and with carefully telegraphed movements helped put some pillows behind his back, so he could comfortably sit up. Though ‘comfortably’ was perhaps an exaggeration.
Dull pain lanced across his back when he came in contact with the pillow. A low whine escaped his lips and he froze, confusion marring his face. In reaction to the strange nose, the nearby men rumbled at him. It was an incredibly soothing noise, but he was sure no human could make it. Of course, taking into consideration the theory Lady Black’s Portrait proposed earlier, Harry himself couldn’t really judge anyone for not being human, not that he would have anyway.
“Have a drink, Young One.” The other man came close enough for Harry to see his features and then closer still, carrying a tall glass of water for him to drink.
“Dad…” Harry muttered unconsciously, staring at the man who just approached him in incredulous disbelief. He knew it was impossible, of course, he wasn’t stupid. But this man had the same Potter messy hair, the same build, the same hazel eyes. It was exactly like his Dad would have looked like, had he only lived longer.
The man gave him a sad smile and trilled soothingly, he clearly thought Harry was confused. “I’m sorry, Young One, I am not your Father. I am Lewis Peverell, a Medic. Is there someone we can contact for you, though? After we are done with the medical scans that is.”
Harry tried shaking his head, still mute from the shock of just how familiar this stranger looked. The young brunette instantly regretted the action, as the world spun around him. He reached out a hand blindly, and gripped the dark eyed man, who had been lingering near his bed. As soon as their skin touched, pretty colorful lightning arched between them, making Harry yelp in surprise.
“What the hell?” He exclaimed.
“Now that’s a surprise.” One of the men near the fall wall drawled, lifting his hand to cover an amused smile on their ridiculously handsome pale face.
The Medic sighed. “Behave, you lot. We really need to get the scans done. Who knows what that Cry and the fall did to him. Not to mention whatever other issues he may or may not have.”
“He is sitting right here and can hear you perfectly fine.” Harry grumbled into his chest. He was confused. Something was going on, that he wasn’t aware of, and he wanted answers. The sooner the better.
The two dark-haired men exchanged a glance over the grumpy Submissive’s head, both shrugging in sync. The Air Pareya gave Harry a smile, though it was a small thing. Lewis couldn’t stop thinking of how much this young man looked like his lost brother. But he had to be professional, there were more important things to be done.
The Medic’s hands glowed light green, as he ran a general health scan. Ideally, of course, this should be done by a Healer, but he liked to think he was skilled enough to handle basic things. Now, if the scans picked up something major, that would be an entirely different situation.
Knowing this would take some time, the Prince grabbed his partner by the hand and approached their guest, the Jokers trailing slightly behind, it wouldn’t do to overwhelm the boy after all. “Now, while Lewis is busy performing your scans, why don’t we get to know each other? How does that sound?”
There was a sincere warm smile on the man’s face that made Harry blush a little. Why was everyone so pretty?! He nodded slowly, trying not to move too abruptly, remembering the vertigo that assaulted him the last time he decided to move too fast.
“Perfect.” The man came close and extended his hand for a handshake. “I am Raspen.” The white-haired man elbowed him discreetly, but from his angle, Harry could see it clearly. “Prince of the Earth Courts.” Raspen added with a grumble.
“H-harry Potter.” He all but squeaked, doing his best to fight down the urge to blush, while at the same time his brain tried to process the fact that there was an honest to Merlin PRINCE in front of him. Eyeing the outstretched hand, he gulped and reached for it. It would be totally rude to not shake it, he just knew it.
“Nice to meet you, Harry.” The now identified Prince took his slightly shaking small hand in his. And then they all stared at him as once again sparks flew where their skin touched. These were of different colors though.
“Two out of six. Not bad at all.” The white-haired man snickered while the rest of them appeared to be still in slight shock. He swanned up to where Harry was sitting still propped up on the hospital bed, with a solemn expression on his very handsome face, while his purple eyes all but gleaming.
“Riven Cairothe, Storm Mage.” He resolutely put his hand down on top of Harry and Raspen’s still clasped hands. This time the faces of their audience became a bit incredulous at the resurgence of electricity striking through the air, while Riven gave a nod. He seemed to have expected the sparks to appear.
“Nice to meet you, Raspen and Riven.” Harry was finally finding his tongue again. “But can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on? Better yet: where am I?”
It was the lone blond in the room who spoke this time. He was probably the tallest person in the room, though the brunette with the piercing all but glowing blue eyes was slouching a little, so Harry couldn’t really be sure, plus it also wasn’t the most important thing. “Ash.” The man dropped the name quickly, eager for information. “What do you mean, ‘where are you’, Harry? Where do you think you are?”
Harry bit his lip awkwardly. It was a bit embarrassing in hindsight, but he needed answers, so he soldiered on. “Well, you see…” He fiddled with the medallion that was still around his neck, where Luna had placed it. He really hoped Luna would calm Andromeda, he just knew the older witch would worry.
“I’m not actually sure. It’s a little dumb…” He proceeded to recount the events that led to him appearing mid-air.
Riven and Raspen shared a concerned look, while Ash was clearly fighting against an urge to smile. The blond then dragged the shorter brunette forward. He was about to introduce him, when the glow around Lewis’ hands finally died out. The Air Pareya stretched his hands a little, before picking up the scroll of paper that appeared to be just hanging in the air in front of him.
The Medic looked down at Harry with concern in his painfully familiar hazel eyes. It was very similar to how Remus and Sirius used to look at him at times. Harry flinched a little and tried to find anything else to stare at, even if that something was one of the ridiculously good-looking men gathered around him.
Was it bad that he just zoned out while staring at the pretty Mage? Probably. Did he care much? Not really. Health scan results were never a great conversation topic, so Harry distracted himself. The distraction worked so well that he seemed to not have heard a thing, because the next thing he knew there was Lewis’ face very close to him.
Harry was so out of it that he jerked back with a shocked screech and would have fallen over, if not for the strong and steady hands that caught him… hands that made even more damn sparks appear. Right, the SPARKS! They still haven’t said anything about the sparks!
The wizard opened his mouth, but a finger pressed to his lips to shush him. Without any thought at all, Harry bit at the offending digit. Then his brain caught up to his actions, but he refused to regret it- he was not a child to be shushed, thank you very much! He glared up at the owner of the finger and found himself looking into Raspen’s amused eyes.
Well wasn’t that just great? He bit a Prince of all people.
The man in question just smiled at him, a rumbling purr vibrating in his wide chest, the noise doing wonders to Harry’s singed nerves, though he had no idea why that was exactly.
“It’s okay, Harry.” The pretty smile was even present in his gorgeous eyes. “Could you perhaps release me?”
A barely there grumble could be heard and then his finger was released from the grip of small dainty fangs.
The Air Pareya rolled his eyes, staring at the Gheyo, “Could you stop hovering already? You’re distracting my patient. Shoo.”
The brunette with the black eyes winked at Harry, clearly amused by the Medic’s offended squawking. “I am Hadrian, dear one. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Harry nodded. The first man that caused sparks. So that was his name. He then looked to the two still unnamed men and tilted his head to the side in silent question. The wizard didn’t know why, but he knew he needed their names. There was just something nagging at him, telling him it was important he met them.
“Hien Kuroe.” Came from the shorter brunette with dark gray eyes, while the blue-eyed man introduced himself as ‘Brishen.’
Harry smiled at both of them and held out his hand automatically. He wasn’t aware he was subconsciously expecting the sparks to show up again until they failed to do so. A sad whine left him, while the two men just smiled at him. Brishen gently ruffled his hair, while Hien joined Hadrian who was sitting next to him with one hand wrapped around him.
“The sparks appear only on first contact.” Said Hien. “And we were the ones who caught you in the air.”
“Oh…” Harry mumbled, blushing at his reaction. “But what do the sparks mean?”
The Medic growled. Like honest to God growled, though for once Harry could tell it was not an angry sound. “The sooner we can get over these results, the sooner I can leave you to enjoy each other’s company… Maybe with people actually paying attention to me this time?”
Harry whined. Turns out his wandering attention was not missed. How… unfortunate.