Not Alone Anymore

Licking the skin left behind a mark that made something inside him purr though, and instinct hadn’t been wrong so far so he continued, hoping that maybe this meant he wouldn’t be alone after all. 

Harry didn’t stop purring, even at the sting of fangs sinking into his skin; marking him as theirs in the same way that he had marked them. A wide array of skin was marked by his fangs, including several that were blue for reasons that escaped him — that couldn’t be healthy and yet, their blood tasted magical and powerful just like the others.

And then like all good things, it came grinding to a halt. He had begun to get a little too energetic, based on the barely muffled laughter of those around him and the concerned look on a pretty face framed by blonde hair. His fangs were sinking into too pale skin and before he registered it, he was rearing back and coughing violently. That tasted wrong, it tasted bad — why did they taste like that? Something had to be wrong. 

A frown settled on his face as he looked up at the pale figure, who in return offered an apologetic trill. “Potions,” they murmured, “I would have warned you, only I didn’t quite have the chance.” He looked amused at that for a second before adding, “And everyone else will taste fine, unless they tell you otherwise.”

Harry must have still looked confused because another figure leaned over with a gentle smile and added, “Potions mess with the blood, little one.” He tucked a long strand of hair behind his ear before smoothing out a braid, looking like he was considering what else to say. “I’m not on any potions if you want to rinse your mouth out, in a sense.” Harry wrinkled his nose at the suggestion, shaking his head and leaning away. He was surprised when the other simply nodded and walked away towards a familiar face. 

“Theo,” he whispered, leaping off the other man’s lap and beginning to run towards the Slytherin only to stop short at the sight of three Weasley brothers. “Charlie? Fred? George?” He changed direction only for the twins to loop their arms around his shoulders and march them over to where Theo was gathered with three others. He would have protested but the easy affection was nice, even if he wished it didn’t always have to accompany pushing him around. A cuddle would be nice. He blushed at the thought, shaking his head to get rid of it.

“May we present our delightful, charming Harrykins?” Came from George before Fred eagerly added, “Well we simply must!” 

A tall masked figure bowed his head, dark eyes glimmering in amusement; Harry thought that he might be able to get lost in those eyes. “A pleasure, indeed.” The others present in the little group echoed his words as Harry made eye contact with them — a muscular man with bright red hair and a lithe blue-skinned man with sapphire hair. 

“Who are you?” The words were out of his mouth before he considered how rude they would sound, and he winced as they echoed in his ears. “I’m sorry, I just, I mean, what happened?”

It was Theo who spoke this time, his jaw set in a way that spoke of a deep sense of frustration but his eyes soft in the way they had been on the train. He felt safe too, in the same way that he had then but perhaps amplified, as if he was someone who would protect Harry at all costs. “Harry, most of us here are dragels. You gave a soulscream.” He paused as if waiting for Harry to understand but if anything he only felt more confused than before, a feeling that was clear on his face. “You called us to you, magically. We’re going to be your bonded, but first, we need to deal with the situation with whoever is attacking the wards.”

“Voldemort,” he whispered, the fear piquing again as the wards groaned again. “He’s here for me. Theo .” His voice trailed off in a whine, tapering off when he was wrapped in a warm hug by the twins. He heard several growls throughout the room and tried not to think about it any further, attempting to push down the growing sense of unease. “What’s a soulscream? What does being bonded mean?” He asked, speaking into the wool of one of the twins’ jumpers. 

The twins were quickly granted permission to take him to an Ethan for a catch-up, with Theo murmuring that the suites would handle it. Whatever that meant. 

Hadrian 

They needed to establish ranks, even if only for the moment. Luckily, at least one suite was immediately obvious given that they had the perfect number of merrow and half-merrow Gheyos. Alden led those bonded away leaving behind the others, the Vega twins among them, leaving Hadrian to consider those who were left. It was fairly easy to identify the elemental inclinations, if nothing else. 

“You take storm, shadow and air. I’ll take earth and fire?” Came Zandian’s offer, which from the looks of things would settle them both with a full suite for the moment. It might shake out differently in the long-run but it would be a good starting place. “We should leave a Joker or two behind.”

“Agreed on both fronts. The storm Joker is too young. Leave him and Brishen?” That would mean he was stuck with the Vega Twins, but that was always going to be the case. Maybe it was even for the better, if he was being honest. “The Mages can stay too. If this is a school, they should be prepared to put up emergency wards.” Generally for the sake of the hundreds of children that their Alpha had mentioned but especially for their submissive who, according to their twin Pareya, was quite protective of the younger students. 

Zandian nodded, striding off to gather the group that was his for the morning. He followed, quickly beckoning over those that he had agreed to take on. “We're hunting. The suites which each handle a direction outside the wards.” He paused, debating whether or not to bring this up. “Obviously we cannot have the traditional fights right now. If you do not plan to challenge me, I will mark you. Otherwise it will need to wait.”

Unsurprisingly, the twins gave identical headshakes; they would want a chance to fight him before making a decision. As was typical for Jokers, really. Instead an anxious looking figure shuffled forward, eyes directed downwards and skin covered with patches of fur. “I do not plan to challenge you, ACE.” Hadrian nodded sharply accepting the declaration before hiding them amongst the shadows and placing his mark. The other settled, retreating from the edge of feral as he in turn placed his mark. 

The two air Gheyos apparently took this as a sign of sorts and accepted his mark as well in quick succession. Hadrian did not hold out hope that the Dark Fae would be doing the same, based on the scowl on the other's face. “Quick introductions before we head out. My name is Hadrian Maruke, I am ACE and Blood Raven. I am a Grim Reaper.” Best to tell the whole truth from the jump, it was likely to come out during the upcoming battle anyways.

The dark-haired air gheyo spoke from where he had draped himself across the other, “Minh Shiae, Prism.” Pointing to the paler man, he added, “Idan Kaelior. Helios.” Hadrian nodded as he recalled their reputations from the circuit and the attached rumours.

The newly settled were spoke up next, “Devrim Ekene. The Outcast.” He paused as if debating how much to say before sighing, “Were-Hyena, Dragel and Vampire parentage. Wild Magic gift.” 

He turned his eyes to the last non-joker, the Dark Fae who looked as unimpressed as ever. “Wikhn.” Nothing else was offered, even as the group sat in uneasy silence for a long moment. One of the Vega Twins broke the silence with their own introduction and Hadrian made a note to keep an eye on Wikhn.

Quinn

He had run quick checks on all the Gheyos before they headed out. He was already making a mental list of issues to address once he had more time and space. For now, he had a different target in mind and one that he had time to heal properly. He spun on his heel and quickly made his way over to where the Pareya were gathered around Bran and Harry.

“I need to check on Harry,” he wrote in the air, with a look at the consort to indicate that he was next. “You don't need to move.” He quickly cast some simple diagnostics on the younger man, carefully selecting them to prevent a reaction in case of magic sensitivity. As he began to read the results, he tensed before casting several more spells (a mix of healing and deeper diagnostics). A sharp whistle got the Alpha's attention and he beckoned the dominant dragel over from where he was talking to his mentor.

A familiar spell gave him the ability to speak, temporarily, though he was sure to hear about it later. “These results. There will be dozens of other hunts.” He grit his teeth, anger throbbing to the forefront as the thought of continued threats to his submissive. “Thirteen seals. Three shattered, two frayed and one dissolving.” At the other’s raised eyebrow, he continued, “Two soul seals, two seals on his inheritances, three familial seals, a prophecy seal, a blood seal, two seals bearing a mentor's signature and two death seals.” At the mention of the death seals, the room seemed to go cold.

“Two death seals,” a voice growled. Quinn made eye contact with the snarling faces of all three of their mages, though one’s eyes seemed to be literally glowing with barely restrained power. “Why does he have two death seals?” Quinn went to answer only to be moved out of the way by one of the jokers who had remained out of the way. 

His mouth was open, prepared to protest when he was shocked by what the other had to say. “And why are there phoenix tears in his blood?” Harry let out a quiet little groan at that attempting to bury his face in the robes of a rapidly paling Fred Weasley. Quinn merely stared at him, waiting for answers. 

Devrim

Falling into the instructed formation was easy for him, comforting even. The Merrow were diving into the lake on one side of their group while Zandian’s group had portalled ahead to attack from the rear. As they fanned out, they all fell into the battlelust as they registered how many had come to attack their submissive. “The abomination is mine,” came in a hiss from the Shadow ACE and it was quickly made clear who he was referring to when shadows cloaked the group’s leader. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard the whistle sounding out but he quickly faced the source. Only to be shocked that Hadrian had even managed a whistle in that form, given that Devrim couldn’t exactly spot lips amongst the tattered robes and skeletal body. There was a murmur amongst the crowd, a restlessness from being disrupted before the battle could be properly ended. After all, the one that Hadrian had claimed was hovering helplessly in front of him. 

“A sliver of a soul,” the ACE hissed, the feeling of death magic rolling over those present as he ran his scythe threw the figure. “Hardly enough to be reaped. A denial of death, and that starts a hunt.” As he spoke, he withdrew his hand while grasping what Devrim assumed must be the soul sliver; it was a fragile wispy thing that looked like a blob of black ink from a distance. Once he had tucked it into a box, one that was too familiar in appearance for Devrim’s comfort, Hadrian shifted back out of his Reaper form.

“We must return to Neverah.” he spoke, ignoring the body as it turned to ash, looking out over the Gheyos. Devrim rumbled in agreement, the sound echoing as the others repeated it; instincts still running high but with a new directive in mind: remove their submissive from this realm. 

Fred

He couldn’t help but pull Harry closer once it became obvious that he wouldn’t have to repeat the story of the Chamber of Secrets. It had been horrifying enough the first three times, the idea of Harry being in that level of danger pulling at his instincts in a way that was both familiar and different from how he had felt at the time. The story reminded him that when they left, they would be leaving behind his other siblings and several others. Though he wasn’t sure how to bring up that issue, given the nervous energy. 

Luckily, Charlie was thinking the same thing. “When we leave. Is there a possibility of bringing others along, at all?” He looked unsure, shifting slightly where he stood near Theo and the other beta, Ariki. “Being wizard-raised, it’s just. Our other siblings, some of them at least, are still suppressed.”

Harry shifted in his lap, turning so that he was facing the room. “Luna?” Those not from Hogwarts looked confused at the question but didn’t have time to question it before Harry let out a soft, sad whine. “‘Mione. The-o .” Their Alpha nodded, turning to his mentor with a questioning look. 

“We’ll need somewhere private to stay while we get ready to leave if we’re talking about bringing others for sanctuary,” she noted, frowning slightly. “But Raspen and Peryton’s presence will give us the lee-way to do what we might not be able to do otherwise.” The wizard-raised amongst the circle looked unsure, each considering their options. Neville looked as though he had an option, one that he didn’t seem particularly fond of but was staying silent in his place between Riven and the other Mage. 

“The chamber?” Fred wanted to laugh, because only Harry would suggest that they go hide out in the very place where he had almost died. And yet, it wasn’t a bad plan. Only a parselmouth could enter, it was a large space and they didn’t have to leave the castle to get there. The others seemingly agreed if the silence and Theo’s reluctant nod were anything to go by. 

Dumbledore

The Headmaster saw the wings of a Dragel outside a bathroom on the second floor and went running towards them; he had to get there before the entrance to the Chamber was sealed and his plan was made impossible. He tripped over his long robes which seemed longer than he recalled them being, stumbling on the stone floors until he finally grasped the stone doorway. He growled when he saw the sink sliding back into place, sending off a cutting curse in hopes that it would sneak through and hit a target. It dinged harmlessly off the stone instead, enraging him.

“How dare that blasted brat,” he muttered, storming off towards his office as he muttered to himself. “And the replacement is with him too.” Too much time and effort had been spent on those boys to lose them, to lose the keys to his plan now before it had even truly begun. No, he would simply have to find a way before they left the realm. Quickly then. 

Entering his office, he quickly summoned the ritual books that adorned the shelf. Certainly they would have a way to bring Harry and Neville back to his side before they had a chance to escape. Of course, once that was done he would need the council ready to enact the plan immediately rather than risk waiting. “Fawkes,” he called, deciding that he would send off letters before researching. “Fawkes,” he snapped again, annoyed that the stupid bird failed to immediately appear. 

Striding over to the instruments that tracked different pieces of his plan, he frowned at the number of them that had stopped spinning. “No, no. This won’t do. This won’t do at all.” His day was rapidly souring further, control slipping from his grasp. He would need to call in the council using alternate methods, he decided before rushing away to the owlery, blissfully unaware of the shadows that were whispering about him.