Talks of War!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“They are not going to just let us alone,” Albus stated firmly.
“You do not know that, Albus,” Gellert repeated for the fourth time. This had been a fight for two days now.
“You are being stubborn, Gellert,” Septimus chimed in. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “I think they have proven they will not leave us be.”
“They were scouting, Gellert. Right outside of Septimus’ home while we were meeting. You think that is a coincidence?” Albus asked his husband.
Gellert took a deep breath and sighed before sitting down. He was being stubborn. He knew he was. He just didn’t want to do this. He had been hoping that the Merlin damned Dragel would just leave them alone. Abandon Earth to the Torvak and never return. That had been his hope.
Clearly that wasn’t going to happen. He just wanted to be happy and rule the world with his Husband. Why couldn’t they just leave them alone.
“Perhaps we can negotiate with them,” Gellert spoke up.
“What?” Albus asked him shocked.
“Negotiate with them. Help them locate every Dragel on Earth and relocate them to Nevarah. Then declare Earth abandoned and never return. It would be ours to do with whatever we pleased. Swear to never hunt Dragel again if they just leave us in peace,” Gellert elaborated.
“They want me dead, Gellert. You think they will simply forgo their revenge?” Albus questioned him.
“I believe if we take it to their royals they will be forced to abandon their goal of revenge. If they do not back off then we will inform them that they are starting a war. We will find a way to invade and we will destroy them all. Even if it takes decades to do it,” Gellert insisted.
“They would never go for it,” Septimus said with a roll of his eyes. “You are trying so hard to avoid war and I do not understand it. You used to be so hungry for it. Where is your hunger, Gellert?”
“I am not a young man anymore. I am not foolish and easily riled. My goals are not any different then they were back in the day. I still want to put Muggles in their rightful place beneath us. I still want to rule the world, and I want to do it with my husband at my side,” Gellert answered.
“But your husband is not content with that,” Septimus pointed out. “Your husband wants war and revenge. You are a full blooded Torvak, like myself and yet, the half-breed has more fire in him then you do.”
“I was raised to hate them, it is all I have ever known,” Albus added with a shrug.
“Gellert was raised to hate them as well. I knew his father. He would be ashamed,” Septimus stated.
“My father was insane and took joy in capturing creatures, including Torvak, and slowing torturing them and dissecting them just to see what they looked like on the inside. I don’t think we should use him as an example of Torvak greatness,” Gellert pointed out bitterly.
“Yes well aside from his hobbies, he was a brilliant general and led us to many victories. He helped us to hunt down all of the Dragel that didn’t leave when they were first exiled by the Ministry. We had great hopes for you as a leader. You are quite the disappointment, Gellert,” Septimus stated with a shake of his head.
“I am sorry, My Love, but I cannot follow your lead in this. I am not satisfied with merely ruling Earth. I am with Septimus on this. I will go with him to war with the Dragel. It is time,” Albus told his husband.
“You may have Earth to play with, Gellert. For now. But once we have destroyed the Dragel and their sanctuary realm I cannot guarantee that any of the Torvak will allow you to remain in power here when they could not depend on you to lead them to battle,” Septimus insisted.
“You will not stay beside me?” Gellert asked Albus.
“No, Love. I cannot,” Albus answered. “I tried. I truly tried to stand beside you and be happy with your plans to simply rule Earth. But the Dragel being here a few days ago proves that it was simply wishful thinking. They will not leave us be. Me especially. I know that I am the one they are after. They want me dead to avenge that little shit Harrison Black.”
Gellert hung his head for a moment and took a few deep breaths. Then when he raised it, his grin was feral.
“Then I will go with you to war, My Love. We are always better together,” Gellert told him with a hard edge to his voice. “If they want you dead, Husband, they will have to get through me to get to you.”
Albus walked into his husband’s arms and let him hold him. This was perfect. Exactly what he had wanted. Now, finally they would truly be working toward the same goal. His husband was a natural leader.
The Torvak would fall in line behind him because of who his family was. Gellert was the last son in a long line of Torvak rulers. It was one of the reasons that Albus had pursued him when they were teenagers. Even Septimus was willing to follow him as long as he was strong and didn’t show weakness.
“I guess now would be a good time to reveal that I have captured a Submissive Dragel and her Alpha. I believe after a bit of torture, they will give us the access to Nevarah that we have been searching for,” Gellert revealed to Septimus and Albus.
“Of course, you did,” Albus cooed up at him and nuzzled his neck. “You are wonderful, My Love. It is so good to have you back on side with this.”
“I have had them for two days. They are being given the bare minimum of food and water and have been separated. I plan to leave them this way for a week before I start the real torture. The Alpha will break once he hears the screams of his Submissive,” Gellert insisted.
“Very well done. I give it a month before we have what we need. It is time to start gathering and preparing our army,” Septimus said with a grin.
None of them noticed when the shadows in the room seemed to shift and sped away back to their waiting mistress. She frowned hard and then turned on her heal to head out of the manor.
It was time to return home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry lay on the ground looking up at the Cunningham Submissive. She had swept his feet out from under him for like the twentieth time since they had started this little training session.
Erebus nuzzled his head and nudged him. Harry pushed him away with a huff.
“I know. I am getting back up,” Harry grumbled and got back on his feet. He had been right about Mariana; she was not someone to take lightly when training.
“You did better this time,” Mariana said with a smirk. “It took longer than five minutes to knock you down.”
“Ha ha,” Harry said sarcastically and frowned at her. “You could maybe show me a few defensive stances or something. Like any kind of instruction would have been nice instead of just telling me to defend myself and tossing a whole damn sword at me.”
“You will learn better this way,” Mariana said with a casual shrug. “I have trained too many Dragel to keep count. They are all successful and very good fighters. I am doing you a favor by offering to train you without anything in return.”
“Yeah well, considering the only time I ever held a sword was when I was fighting a Basilisk, you could at least show how to properly hold it,” Harry demanded.
He had been trying really hard to keep his temper in check. He didn’t want to blow up at the person that the Shadow courts considered their leader. But it was really hard. He had a really bad temper.
“Perhaps if you wanted to learn how to properly hold a sword, you should have spoken to your Gheyo about it before our training session,” Marianna pointed out. Still as calm as could be.
Harry could feel his power reacting and it felt like the shadows around them grew thicker. Erebus stood from where he had been laying down near Fred and George and was suddenly at attention. His bonded that were outside with them were a little less relaxed.
“Perhaps,” Harry growled out. “If you had actually made plans to meet instead of just showing up and pushing your weight around, I would have been prepared.”
“I was bored of waiting for you to decide if you wanted training,” Mariana answered.
He growled and the Shadows around them thickened again. Harry hated that she was still standing there so casually as if he wasn’t fighting everything in him not to let his anger have free reign.
Suddenly, he felt a large body press up against his from behind. Clawed hands gently moved down his arms toward his hands. They held his much smaller hands and placed them on the sword.
“Hold it here and here,” his Half-Demon spoke quietly in his ear. He felt Nefarion’s tail nudge his legs and moved them so that they were spread a little further. “Feet apart and parallel to your shoulders and hips. Slightly bent. You will have a better foundation and it makes for easier movement.”
“Thank you, Rion,” Harry breathed out. The very large man nuzzled his cheek.
“Do not let her rile your temper. She is trying to make you react in anger. Do not give her the satisfaction,” Nefarion stated before he stepped back and left Harry to square up against the Cunningham Submissive again.
“Are you through flirting?” Mariana asked with a grin.
“For now,” Harry responded.
“Good,” she replied and then she was coming for him again.
Harry blocked her sword twice before she nicked him. She didn’t give him time to recover before she moved to strike again, and Harry knew he wouldn’t move the sword fast enough to block her, so he called the Shadows to him and formed a shield that her sword bounced off of.
She paused in surprise for only a split second, but it gave Harry an opportunity to swing at her. She blocked him of course and swept his feet out from under him again, but the fact that he had been able to swing was progress.
“Very good. I was wondering when you were going to start showing off some of that power your bonded have been bragging about,” Mariana said with a small hint of respect in her tone.
Harry sat up and huffed.
“If you wanted me to use my Element, why didn’t you just say that,” Harry said with a roll of his eyes.
Nefarion gently helped him to his feet. He was always so gentle with Harry. The Submissive always felt like something precious and breakable when Nefarion touched him.
“A Dragel always makes use of their Element when fighting. Always,” Mariana responded as if Harry was an idiot.
“How am I supposed to know that?” Harry growled out. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down just like Nefarion told him to. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of his anger.
“Your mentor hasn’t talked to you about fighting yet? You are a Ferros, this stuff is important for you to learn. You will be more easily riled and quicker to fight than most Submissives. You need to know how to fight to back up that temper that has been boiling under the surface for the past hour,” Mariana insisted.
“No, my mentor hasn’t talked to me about fighting,” Harry responded. “I had my realignment pretty quickly after she became my mentor and have been a little busy since then.”
“Fine,” Mariana said as if it was so troublesome. “I will begin from the beginning with you. I will mentor you in everything that it means to be Ferros and a Submissive.”
“I thought you were Gheyic? Isn’t there a difference?” Harry asked her curiously.
“Yes, but the principle is the same,” Mariana answered him.
She opened her mouth to say something else but they were interrupted when Salazar came striding into the backyard with a very pretty woman on his heels. Mariana looked a bit surprised but didn’t get the chance to say anything.
“Mother?”
All eyes turned to Arthur Weasley who had been talking quietly with Remus and Severus while they watched Harry spar. The Weasleys had been over for a visit when Mariana had shown up.
“Hello, Artie,” the beautiful woman responded with a smile. “Come hug your mother.”
Arthur immediately moved so that he could embrace her. His children had all stood as well. They had never met their grandmother on Arthur’s side.
“What are you doing here, Mother?” Arthur asked her curiously as she held his face in her hands and looked him over.
“That is a rather long story, Love. We can talk about it later. How are you settling in?” she asked him.
“You knew I was here?” Arthur asked shocked.
“Of course, I did. I have always known where you are and what you are doing. You are my only son, after all,” she answered with a smile. She patted his cheek and kissed his head. “Now, give me just a moment or two and then you can introduce me to my grandchildren while we catch up.”
Arthur just nodded and stepped back to where his kids where standing gathered together. The lady moved away from him and strode quickly to where Mariana and Harry were still standing together. Erebus was pressed against Harry and watching the newcomer carefully.
“My Lady,” the woman said and gave a slight curtsy to Mariana.
“Cedrella,” Mariana acknowledged. “What has happened that you have finally returned?”
“I have very important information. I need to speak with you and Jascha as well as this little one’s circle,” Cedrella said and indicated Harry.
“What does this have to do with?” Salazar asked as he wrapped Harry in his arms.
“Albus Dumbledore,” Cedrella answered with a frown. “He is plotting, and I think he may have finally found a way to get to Nevarah. We need to stop him.”
Harry growled and gripped the sword in his hand. He was not afraid of Albus Dumbledore. He was angry. This man had ruined his life, or at least tried to. He wanted him dead. As long as he was alive, Harry’s circle and family were at risk.
“Calm down, Little Snake,” Salazar said with a chuckle and nuzzled him gently. “Deep breaths. Your temper is still very close to erupting.”
“Of course it is,” Harry stated a bit more snappishly than he had meant to.
He immediately turned and nuzzled under his Alpha’s chin. He made a mewling noise and pressed a few chaste kisses.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Harry said quietly. All traces of temper completely gone.
“It’s ok, My Love. I am not angry. I know you are just worked up from dealing with Lady Cunningham and hearing about Albus,” Salazar answered. He nuzzled Harry back and kissed his lips.
“Let’s take this inside so that we can all get comfortable and give Jascha time to arrive,” Mariana suggested.
“Sounds good,” Salazar answered. Harry nodded and handed the sword in his hand to Hadrian when he reached for it.
“We will work with you to learn the basics,” Hadrian promised.
“Thank you, Hadrian,” Harry said gratefully. “Apparently, I am not being given a choice on whether or not she trains me.”
“You will be a much better fighter because of it,” Hadrian insisted. “She is harsh and seems a little unfair, but you will come out the other end much stronger because of it.”
“Ok,” Harry said with a smile. “I will do my best not to let my temper get the best of me when she is teaching me.”
“That will be a miracle,” Fred said with a laugh.
“You lot have no idea,” George added.
“He has a famous temper,” the said together and ruffled Harry’s hair before heading into the house with everyone else.
“That bad huh?” Salazar teased. Harry blushed and shrugged.
“Sometimes,” he answered honestly.
"It's alright, Little Snake. I am not afraid of a little temper. You should see Garrick when he gets worked up," Salazar said with a chuckle. "Must be a Gryffindor trait."
They all made their way into the sitting room and settled around the room. Harry was happily pressed between Remus and Rodolphus. He always loved having his family around.
“Alright Cedrella,” Mariana finally stated. “Give your report.”
“Albus’ husband, Grindelwald has managed to get his hands on a Submissive/Alpha pair,” Cedrella began.
“How?” Mariana demanded.
“I do not know. He didn’t give details. Only that he is keeping them captive and going to torture the Submissive in about a week or so after they are both starving and desperate. He figures the Alpha or Submissive will give up the location of Nevarah and how to reach it in about a month’s time,” Cedrella revealed.
“We won’t let it get that far,” Salazar instantly responded.
“No, we won’t,” Jascha agreed. “We will petition the Royals for a small army and we will decimate them.”
“Don’t underestimate them, My Lord,” Cedrella said quickly. “They have been breeding at unnatural rates. I believe they have found a way to speed up the gestational period of each pregnancy and some are even having multiples. Their first and second batch of children have reached adulthood, and they have been trained their entire lives to fight Dragel.”
“Then we will prepare for that,” Salazar responded.
“I believe the eventual victory will still be overwhelmed with losses. I don’t think an all out war is the answer,” Cedrella insisted.
“Then what do you suggest?” Mariana asked her.
Cedrella had been living among the Torvak for decades. She would be the best source of information on how to deal with them.
“I believe our best course of action is to rescue the Alpha and Submissive as quickly and quietly as possible. They have records of all Dragel born on Earth. I can take them and we can gather them all and give them the option of relocating to Nevarah. Once that is finished, we should kill the leaders and then completely abandon Earth,” Cedrella answered.
“You think avoiding war is the best option?” Hadrian asked her seriously.
“Yes,” Cedrella stated simply. “They are many and if we abandon Earth and mark it as a Forbidden Realm, then there will be no way for them to ever reach us here. That is what I think we need to discuss with the Royals. Complete and total shut off from Earth. No one to or from there after we have taken those that choose to leave.”
“But Albus and his husband die first,” Tom insisted. He would not be allowing that man to get away with what he had done to his family.
“Tom is right,” Salazar stated. “the headmaster is determined to find a way to get here. He is fixated on it and has caused my Submissive and his family enough trouble. He dies.”
“Agreed,” Cedrella responded. “I said the leaders, that includes, Albus, Gellert, Septimus, and his brothers.”
“Ok,” Jascha agreed. “We need to take this to the Royals. Sal, you are coming as well?”
“Of course, I will make sure to use whatever influence I hold here to ensure things are handled,” Salazar answered.
“I would like to come if that is alright,” Tom spoke up.
“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Jascha responded. “I will contact Prince Raspen immediately so that this can be handled as quickly as possible. The Royals will debate this for days I am sure.”
“Sounds good,” Salazar agreed. “Just let us know when they have responded and set up a meeting.”
“We will,” Jascha answered. Mariana stood and went to her husband.
“I believe we will take our leave now. Cedrella needs to spend some time with her family and I am through torturing Harry for the day,” Mariana said with a chuckle. “Be ready for the next time I come for you though.”
“I will be,” Harry responded immediately.
“Good boy,” Mariana praised and then the Cunningham Alpha and Submissive left the house.
“Do you have somewhere that we can go to talk, Artie? I am afraid my home here has not been maintained it is in desperate need of repairs,” Cedrella spoke up.
“We are staying in the Fire Section in a Prewitt home. You are welcome to join us and stay with us there until you can get your home squared away,” Arthur answered her.
“Very good,” Cedrella said with a smile. “Then lead the way, Son.”
Arthur nodded but he didn’t leave right away. He pulled Harry up and hugged him tightly.
“Be a good boy, Son. We will come back and visit when we can if we have the time between all of this and The Hunt starting,” Arthur told him.
“We will make the time, Mr. Weasley,” Harry promised as he hugged the man back.
“Of course, we will,” Bellatrix agreed.
Harry was pretty sure Arthur had been spending more time with Harry’s parents then anyone was saying. He was pretty sure there was a little bit of something going on with them all.
He looked over toward Draco and Luna. The two of them would know. He would try and corner them soon to ask. He told the rest of the Weasleys bye and was about to sit back down when he felt arms snake around him.
“Care to join me for a bath?” Dorrin asked him with a smile.
“That sounds amazing,” Harry agreed and allowed the Queen to sweep him into his arms and carry him out of the room. He was sweaty, dirty, and sore from earlier. A bath was exactly what he needed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Now that he is distracted for the moment,” Garrick said with a chuckle. “What is the plan?”
“I don’t know that we can really make one before meeting with the Royals to discuss everything,” Doyle responded.
“We cannot make any final plans until then, but we can discuss options,” Salazar pointed out.
“Ok, what are we hoping for?” Hadrian asked. “Nefarion and I can kill two birds with one stone. If we are going after the old man, then we can question him about the Lady’s Hallow.”
“Well, ideally we will leave and return before we are required to walk,” Tom stated.
“That or leave after we walk,” Severus added. “We went through all of the trouble of convincing Harry that we needed to walk, and he has even agreed to Hunt, I do not want anything to mess that up for him.”
“Agreed,” Bellatrix responded.
“And who all is going?” Hadrian asked. “Are we leaving Harry behind or taking him with us?”
“I think perhaps we ask Harry what he would prefer,” Remus answered. “He has had too many choices taken out of his hands.”
“That is very true,” Salazar agreed. “If he chooses to go, everyone goes from our circle and I will be requesting Gheyo that will be assigned to never leave his side no matter what happens.”
“I would like to volunteer to be among those that stay with him if he chooses to go,” Kyron spoke up.
“I find that I am very comfortable with that,” Doyle responded.
“Ok, then you will stay with Harry,” Garrick agreed.
“Thank you for trusting me with his care,” Kyron said with a smile and small bow.
“You know what will happen to you should even one hair on his head become skewed,” Nefarion threatened.
“Yes, I do,” Kyron said with a chuckle. “Unimaginable pain.”
“And if he chooses to stay home?” Hadrian asked.
“I will stay,” Garrick answered quickly. “Sal wants to be involved in the Old Man’s death.”
“Once again,” Salazar stated. “We can hire Gheyo to shadow him at all times while we are gone.”
“If he chooses to go,” Rabastan stated. “Some of us will stay with him to guard him with Kyron. If he chooses to stay, those same people will stay here in the house with him while you are gone to make sure he is taken care of.”
“I would like to suggest the Storm Prince, Devrim as part of his guard whether he stays or goes,” Riven inserted. Tavit chuckled and rolled his eyes.
“Riven is match making,” Tavit offered as an explanation.
“I feel confident in that choice,” Hadrian agreed.
“Ok, sounds good. Everyone leave me a list of those staying if Harry chooses to stay. That will make it easier to determine exactly how many Gheyo we need to hire,” Salazar insisted.
“We will let you know either this evening or in the morning,” Tom responded.
“And we will decide once we know if Harry is staying or going,” Zagan added.
“Staying or going where?” Harry asked as Dorrin carried him back into the room. His hair was still a little damp, and he was in his comfiest pajamas.
“To Earth to finish this thing with Albus once and for all,” Salazar answered as Dorrin placed Harry in the Alpha’s lap.
“Oh, I um…don’t think I want to go,” Harry told him carefully. “Would it be ok if I stayed here?”
“Of course, it is,” Salazar insisted.
“Will some one stay with me?” Harry asked.
“Yes, Little Snake. You will not be alone,” Severus answered him.
“Perfect,” Harry said and snuggled close to Salazar.
“Well, I think we are going to head home,” Dolph stated and pulled Bellatrix to her feet when he stood.
“Oh, yes, we have to meet our tailor and then we are going to have dinner,” Bellatrix said excitedly.
They all said their goodbyes and then Harry’s parents all left. He stayed curled up with his Alpha while their dinner was cooked and just listened to the rest of his bonded as well as Kyron talk quietly together.
He wanted this shit with Dumbledore handled and then he never wanted to think about it again. He wanted quiet nights at home surrounded by the people who loved him the most. He wanted children to watch play in the yard and raise in a loving home.
But first, Albus Dumbledore and his horrible husband had to die.