Healing, Hugs, and Hunts

Hunt Day 6: Evanson-Malfoy Home

"This must be the new Joker Sirius and Remus were talking about last night when they got home," Lily said with a hesitant smile. Harry grinned and nodded.

"This is Varon. He is part of Crimson Tide and he was one of my open soul bonds. It isn't open anymore," Harry said with a smirk and a blush. Sirius chuckled and swiped a finger across Harry's shoulder and then brushed the glitter off of himself.

"Yeah we can see that," Sirius teased. Harry blushed and shrugged. "Well, you remember me, I am Sirius. That is Harry and Draco's bearer Lily, our beautiful Pareya Narcissa, and their little sister Luna. The pretty young lady sitting next to Luna is one of our foster children, Su. You met their grandparents last night as well. Juniper and Briar Evanson. Now what do you say we leave the ladies and gents to their favor fun and go make ourselves busy somewhere else? You to Charlie and Enlil."

Harry kissed his three Gheyo and let his Siri drag them off. He turned back to the waiting group and looked over Lily, Jun, and Briar. Draco put a hand on his shoulder and they went to the table with Ethan and Fleur close behind.

"I can leave and let the rest of you do this if it will make you more comfortable, Harry," Lily said quietly. Harry took a deep breath and looked his bearer in the eyes for probably the first time in days.

"It's fine....Mum. We can all do this together," Harry said just as quietly. He had to start somewhere. He couldn't keep being angry at his Mum. At this point, he had probably been angry at her more than he had not been since finding her. He didn't want to keep things bad between them. She had already apologized and had even sent him a letter detailing exactly what she had been thinking about when she had done it. She explained that she had seen Lucius' very first memories of him in the Goblin's office. He had given her the reports that showed his heart stopping and shown her Harry's memories of the situation. She swore she understood and that she was so sorry.

"Are you sure, Harry?" Draco asked him carefully. Harry could practically see the next sentence that he didn't say out loud 'Especially, after this morning.'

"Yeah, I am sure, Drake," Harry said and patted his brother's hand. Lily looked so relieved.

"Thank you, Harry," Lily told him genuinely. Harry nodded and then looked around at everyone else.

"I am here to spend nice quality time with my family. This is normal stuff. I want to do this and not worry about anything outside of this room and us for a while," Harry stated firmly. Luna smiled and reached out to hold his hand as well across the table.

"This is going to be so fun, big brother," Luna said softly. The others nodded.

"Great let's get started," Harry said happily. Ethan chuckled.

"We might want to expand the table or spread out on the floor. From what I can tell the two of you have quite the stacks of favors. Su what about you? Have you gotten any favors?" Ethan said excitedly.

"A few. Nothing like what the two of them have gotten I am sure. The mentor I was given has already gone through mine with me. I am really only here to hang out with you all," Su stated. She didn't feel the same pull to do this stuff with them. These were not her siblings or her family. She didn't have siblings and her parents had wanted nothing to do with her. The Evanson-Malfoy family had been super kind to her and she wanted for nothing but it was different.

Her mentor had actually offered to let her move in with his circle if she wanted to and she was actually considering it. She had spent a lot of time with them since meeting them and they felt more like family to her than even her own family had growing up. She didn't know if it was the mentor bond causing it or not but she found she really didn't care. Her mentor was supposed to be coming this evening to talk to Lily and Lucius about her moving into their home. She was pretty excited. She would miss Ernie but she felt like this was something she needed.

"Oh, that is good. Which reminds me that we still need to take the mentor seal off Harry so that he can meet his. Maybe this weekend," Ethan said. Harry nodded. It was about time. They had just been so busy. He was envious of the bonds that Theo and the others had with their mentors. Even Charlie had found one in the Princess Ebony. Which Harry was super excited about.

Narcissa expanded the table with a rune and then dumped Luna's favors on her side of the table and Harry was amazed at the size of her pile.

"So many, Luna-girl. That's because you were so pretty during your walk," Harry said with a grin. "I would hate to have to sort through that many." Ethan, Fleur, and Draco both chuckled and Harry's jaw dropped when Ethan dumped out his pile on the table. It was just as big as Luna's was.

"You looked very pretty during your walk as well, big brother," Luna said with a giggle.

"And powerful," Briar added. The others nodded. Harry just blushed.

"I am not even hunting for a full circle. There is no way that this is all just from Gheyo," Harry said firmly.

"It probably isn't but that is how we start narrowing it down. We start with separating," Ethan told him.

"Ok how do we do that," Harry asked.

"First thing we will do is separate favors of courtship from favors for friendship or alliances, ok," Ethan said and Harry nodded. He watched intently as Ethan muttered an incantation and waved his hands. The favors separated themselves into two separate stacks. Briar showed Luna and the others on the other side of the table how to do the same spell. Luna's stack was separated as well.

"I want to put the ones for friendships or alliances up. We can go through those with everyone else at home," Harry told Ethan. It was Draco who reached forward and pushed that stack back into a bag and tucked it behind them out of the way.

"We can do that as well," Lily told Luna who nodded.

"Next you will want to sort them by rank. It will help you narrow down what you are ready to look for," Briar offered and waved his hand with an incantation and Luna's favors separated into six stacks. "Alphas, Betas, Pareya, Gheyo, Mages, and other ranks," Briar explained and pointed to each of the stacks in turn. Luna nodded.

Ethan did the same spell for Harry and he watched as his favors separated into six stacks. Harry laughed.

"Why would people send me favors when they know I am not looking for certain ranks? Like an Alpha. I have one already why would they send favors? What was the point of announcing that I am only Hunting for Gheyo?" Harry asked curiously.

"You are bonded to a blood title, a prince, cousin to the merrow king, you are fourth in line to the merrow throne, and that isn't even mentioning the fact that you have so many other powerful bonded. There are some that truly believe that their pretty faces or their connections will be able to convince you to sever your bonds and join with them," Ethan explained to him.

"That is ridiculous. How do you reject favors?" Harry asked with a scowl at the stack of favors from Alphas. "I'd like to do it myself if you don't mind? Can you teach me the spell?"

"Of course, I can," Ethan said with a smile he picked up one favor from the top held it in his hand and spoke a phrase. "Lasair Gheal." Harry watched as the favor was engulfed in a white flame and vanished.

"Does it let the other person know that they have been rejected?" Harry asked Ethan. He nodded.

"Yes, it lets them know," Ethan told him. "This is the simplest way to politely refuse a favor. You don't have to do them one at a time. You can do them all at once." Harry held his hand over the pile and muttered the phrase. He watched as the entire stack was consumed in a white flame. He moved his hand to the beta pile but Ethan stopped him. Harry looked up at him confused.

"We have a Beta and a Rheyo we don't need another," Harry told him.

"Bill, Theo, and Caelus have discussed the fact that maybe it wouldn't be remiss for you to consider adding another Beta since we will have such a large circle. It is just something to consider. If it is not something that you are interested in then that is ok," Ethan explained to him. Harry thought about it and then caught the stack on fire anyway. Draco chuckled.

"Guess he doesn't want another Beta," Jun pointed out. Ethan chuckled too.

"That isn't it," Harry said with a roll of his eyes. "These people sent favors knowing that I was only looking for Gheyo. It was literally in my introduction. I don't want anyone who was sending favors to cause problems or try to replace my current bonded."

"That is very smart, Harry," Luna said with a smile. She was holding a favor in her hand and smiling brightly at it.

"Who is that one from?" Harry asked. Luna laughed.

"Ginerva of course," Luna said with a sigh. Then she lifted her hand and set the other favors from Betas on fire.

"I guess we are all just destined to love Weasleys. Who wants to place bets right now that Ron ends up in Neville's circle?" Draco said with a snort. Harry started laughing but Luna got a faraway look on her face then she smiled.

"I will take the bet," She said still smiling softly. Harry just kept laughing. Life was going to be so fun once things all fell into place.

"Find any Alphas that caught your fancy," Fleur asked softly. Luna shook her head.

"I am not going to look yet. Ginerva and I will choose an Alpha together," Luna informed them. She did reach for the stack of favors from Mages though. She began humming as she sorted through them. Harry turned back to his own stacks.

He pulled the stack of Gheyo toward him.

"Can we sort it by rank?" Harry asked. Ethan nodded and said another short incantation and waved a hand. The favors arranged themselves into six stacks. He pulled the Aces toward him first. He looked through them one by one, he smelled them and felt the magic signature on each of them. He came to one that made him trill happily. He placed it to the side. Draco picked it up and read the name on it.

"Raiden Foster?" Draco said quietly. "Raiden isn't that the name of the Ace that talked to us for a few minutes the first day of The Hunt when we went to lunch?"

"Yeah, I have seen him a few more times since then. He gave me his fight schedule and a statistic card with all of his information on it. He hunted with us last night too for a bit. He is an amazing fighter," Harry said with a blush and a smile. "I will be answering that one for sure." Harry continued to search through the favors. He discarded quite a few right off the bat. He didn't like the way they smelled or the way the magic felt to him.

When he was finished judging them by that he started to open them. He opened a few that offered large jewels or extravagant gifts and the notes inside were very clear that they wanted in his circle for the wrong reasons those were discarded as well. When he was done he only had three favors left. Raiden and two others. An Earth Ace named Rathal who both smelled and felt nice as well as sent a simple personalized gift as well as his fight schedule and an explanation that the reason there were so few fights was because he also worked as a royal guard. The third one was an Air Ace that had done contracted work for the Peverell clan many times had heard about him through them and had made up his mind when he had seen him fighting during the hunt last night.

Draco pulled out his bag of favors and Ethan handed him paper and pen. Harry wrote a small bit about himself for the Earth and Air Aces as well as a small favor to each letting them know that he was open to getting to know each other a bit better. Raiden's was more personal. He placed a favor in his that Harry had made personally. Harry had been playing with the idea of perhaps jewelry making as a hobby and found that he was actually pretty good at manipulating metals and other things to make the prettiest jewelry that he could put enchantments into. He also asked Raiden if was interested in lunch just the two of them with an escort close by of course.

Ethan took those three from him and set them to the side to send off as Harry set his discarded pile on fire. Luna made a pleased noise and Harry looked up to see her pluck a favor out of her stack of mages. She smiled and set it to the side with Ginny's favor. Harry thought it might be nice to just know things the way that Luna did. She was always so certain and she was never wrong. Briar picked it up and looked at it.

"This is not a favor that is offered here," Briar said curiously. Luna giggled and shook her head.

"No, it isn't. That is from my Rolf. He has visited Daddy and me a few times over the years. You all know Daddy is a spy for Queen Titania. Rolf has delivered messages back and forth for them a few times," Luna told them. "He isn't here yet. He will come later when the fae get here. He sent this from the Fae Realm."

"That makes more sense," Briar said and placed the favor back down with a small smile. His grandchildren were all pretty spectacular. It made him so angry to think that he could have lost all of them before he had even known them. Harry shared a look with Draco and then he pulled the stack of Kings toward himself.

"I wish I just knew things the way that you do, Luna. It would make things so much easier," Su said dreamily. Luna smiled at her and patted her knee.

"It isn't always nice. Sometimes, I know things that I am not allowed to tell. Things that could hurt people I love. Other times I see things in pieces that don't make sense until it is too late to change them," Luna informed her. Su looked sad for a moment and hugged Luna tightly.

"I am sorry, Luna. I didn't know that," Su apologized. Luna just kissed her cheek and smiled.

"Nothing to be sorry for, Su. There is always a downside to everything. It is how things stay balanced," Luna told her and went back to looking through her things.

Harry went back to looking at his favors. He was almost certain that he would not be choosing anyone for Glynn's suite that wasn't at least part Merrow. Especially, after the drama from this morning. It would just make things easier. So he went through all of the favors and if they didn't come from someone that could claim at least part-Merrow he wasn't interested. He ended up with a very small stack of four favors.

"Why so few?" Lily asked hesitantly. Harry looked up at her and smiled.

"These are the only Merrow that sent a favor. I had a bit of drama with my Merrow Suite this morning. Apparently, my Storm King and Storm Princess did not bond into their suite. It didn't feel right. My instincts tell me that only someone who is either pure Merrow or at least Half will work with that suite," Harry explained to her. She nodded.

"I understand how difficult Merrow can be sometimes. I understand even more now since we have been going to court with Laurent. That is a good choice, Love," She said a bit more confidently since Harry didn't seem to be bothered by her asking. Harry grinned.

"Try having six water types in the house with so many fire types. It is interesting to say the least sometimes," Harry agreed. Draco snorted and nodded.

"That is not an exaggeration at all," He added. Lily smiled at them both as Harry went back to looking over the four Merrow. None of them felt right to him. He even made sure to open them and read them over just in case but that didn't change his mind at all so he discarded all four of them and then set the stack of Kings on fire. Draco snorted. "Didn't like any of them?"

"Nope," Harry said and popped his 'p'. "I will just have to hunt my Merrow in person. After truly watching Varon last night when he was fighting I am itching to watch others. Merrow are pretty and vicious it's a bit intoxicating." Harry said with a sigh. He heard a laugh from Jun and then felt a hand sink into his hair and tug his head back. He purred happily as he looked up into the eyes of the Joker he had just been talking about.

"Talking about me, Princeling?" Varon smirked. Harry smiled.

"Yes, Lovely Joker. I was just bragging about how very nice it was to watch you fight beside me last night," Harry said honestly. Varon leaned down and kissed him upside down which was new for Harry but still a bit exciting since he could feel the Merrow's claws against his scalp. "Miss me?" Harry asked when the Joker pulled away.

"Yes, and I was sent in here by your Dad to see if you lot wanted any snacks," Varon asked. Finally, releasing Harry's hair. Harry looked at the others who all nodded. He looked back up at his Joker.

"A snack sounds lovely. Thank you, Varon. I missed you too, by the way," Harry said to the Merrow and gave a happy chir when he received another kiss before the Joker left the room. Probably to tell Severus that they wanted their snack.

"Still settling your bond with him?" Briar asked and Harry nodded. He was loving the time with his family but he certainly wouldn't mind a little more time with his new Joker. "Perfectly normal. Especially, since you said it is a soul bond."

"It is. I will get cuddles from him later when we get home. Uncle Al and Dad gave him time off from his duties for the entire week so that we can settle. Varon says it is unusual and that they are making exceptions because he is mine," Harry told them.

"Of course they are. You are their family. It makes you happy to have him at home and so they will do that for you," Lily insisted with a laugh. Harry blushed and then snuggled close to Draco for a moment. It was just so nice to have so much family. Draco wrapped his arm around Harry and took as much comfort from Harry as he was giving. Having so much loving family was a different thing for both of them.

"Nice isn't it?" Draco asked Harry.

"Yeah," Harry said and then he sat back up and went back to his Favors.

"All right, Darlings?" Narcissa asked softly. They both nodded and smiled.

Harry pulled his stack of Queens toward him and started the process of smelling and sensing their magic. Once again he came across one that made him super happy. He set it to the side. Draco once again picked it up and read the name out.

"Damon Torres, Air Queen. Is this like with the Ace?" Draco asked. Harry nodded.

"He was with us last night for part of the hunt as well, wasn't he? He showed up with the Ace and left with the Ace at the end of the night," Jun asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I met Damon in The Pits that day I spent the entire day there. He sat and talked with me all day long about the fights. Invited me to come and watch him fight. I introduced him to Raiden that day as well," Harry told them. "Guess they hit it off. I think Damon and Bill hit it off as well. Their personalities are similar."

"I remember him, was he still there after lunch?" Ethan asked Harry.

"Yeah, Hadrian invited him to sit with us instead of behind us so he sat next to Donovan and me while we watched more fights. I like him," Harry said with a blush. About that time Severus came in floating trays of snacks that he sat on the floor around the group at the table. There was no room on the table for anything other than the stacks of favors. Severus was not going to risk messing that up. He hugged both Harry and Draco and let them know he loved them before leaving the room again.

"He did seem very interested in you," Ethan said with a smile as Draco placed the favor back on the table. "I think Adad and Styrmir liked him too. They kept shooting each other looks while the two of you were lost in conversation. That is helpful since, if you chose him, he would be with them." Harry nodded as he popped a piece of fruit into his mouth.

"Guess their looks make more sense now. As well as their interest in watching Raiden when I mentioned that I was going to his fight," Harry said a bit put out. Knowing what he did now about his suites just put a few looks and comments into perspective. He was a bit miffed about it.

Harry kept sorting through the Queens while he snacked and only found one other that appealed to him at all. He wrote his reply to each of them and placed a favor inside before handing those to Ethan as well. When it was all said and done he had five favors to return to different Princes, none for the Princess rank since that would also be Merrow, He hadn't been interested in any of the Jokers, one return favor for a Mage, two return favors for Medics, and three for people who wanted the companion rank. So in all, he would be responding to sixteen favors.

Luna only had two. Ginny and Rolf. But she had only burned a few of the favors, she said she was waiting to see which Alpha she and Ginny chose and then she would know which favors to accept.

"The Alpha that Ginerva and I choose will show which path my circle will take. I have seen two different paths that we could take. Both of them include Ginerva and Rolf which is why I know I am accepting those," Luna explained when Jun had asked her why she was so certain about those two and not the others. They would just need to get used to Luna the way that he and Draco were used to her.

"Well, that concludes our first go-round with favors. What did the two you think?" Ethan asked as Harry reclined against Draco and let Ethan feed him more snacks. Harry was exhausted in more ways than one and he was ready for a nap. If they didn't get him home soon he was going to make Draco curl up with him in front of the fire. Maybe he could talk Luna into their cuddle pile as well.

"It was fun. I liked it more than I thought I would," Harry said holding back a yawn. He could feel Draco nod his head in agreement behind him.

"It did look a bit more fun than I was expecting," Draco agreed. Harry made a questioning chir and Draco scoffed. "No that doesn't mean I changed my mind. I am perfectly settled with my circle just the way it is."

"I think it is great fun as well," Luna said. She had crawled into Narcissa's lap at some point and was also happily indulging in a cuddle. Varon came into the room with Enlil and Charlie behind him. He reached for Harry who held his arms out to the Joker. He heard Charlie chuckle.

"Looks like he was right," Charlie said.

"How did you know he was ready? Did you tug on your bond?" Enlil asked. Varon shook his head no. He didn't know how he knew he just had. He was perfectly happy sparing with Harry's parents when he suddenly just knew that Harry was tired and ready to go home for a cuddle.

"No, I just knew he was ready," The Joker said and rumbled happily as Harry burrowed his face into the Joker's neck. Draco stood up off the floor with Ethan's help and then reached back to help Fleur to her feet as well.

"Well, I think what Harry's psychic Joker is trying to say is that it is time for us to head home. I could feel that Harry was about two minutes away from dragging me and Luna into a cuddle pile in front of the fire," Draco told them. They told their family bye and to let Lucius and Neville know that they loved them since they didn't get to see them. Then they flooed home. Draco and Fleur headed off to find his bonded and Harry was carried into the sitting room where Brishen and Alec were sitting together. He dropped Harry into Alec's lap and then sat down next to them.

"Hi, Troublemaker. I missed you," Alec said gently. Varon watched as Brishen's shoulders relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief. Harry happily nuzzled Alec and trilled happily when he felt the Merrow release the tension in his body.

"I missed you too, Alec. I am sorry that I didn't get to talk to you this morning," Harry responded. "Where you terribly upset?" Alec flicked his nose and leaned back against the couch and allowed Brishen and Varon to surround the two of them with their bodies and magic. It felt really nice. Harry yawned heavily and leaned more heavily onto Alec.

"I was, but not at you. Our Alpha and the other handled it though. I am happy you are home. Did you send out many return favors?" Alec asked him. Harry nodded.

"Sixteen," Harry replied with another yawn. Alec and the others chuckled.

"Why don't the four of us head to a room and have a nap and a cuddle?" Brishen offered. Harry nodded and wrapped his arms and legs more securely around Alec. Then the Merrow stood with Brishen leading the way and Varon trailing behind them. They went into a room on one of the Merrow floors and Harry was pretty sure he was asleep before they had all completely gotten comfortable in the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie and Theo

Charlie returned from the Evanson-Malfoy home and felt the need to seek out his favorite Beta. He was tired of dancing around about his feelings and was ready to corner Theo into a conversation about bonding. Charlie adored Harry and was happy for the soulbond between them but he was pretty sure he also had a soulbond with Theo. It wasn't as explosive or obvious as it had been with Harry but it was there nonetheless.

He found Theo in the office he had claimed as his own and he looked to be elbow-deep in paperwork and in desperate need of a break. Charlie was pretty sure the Beta had probably been holed up in there since this morning. Charlie figured that meant that now was a good time for a distraction. He closed the office door behind him and then knocked on the frame when Theo still didn't look up at him.

"Oh, hi Charlie," Theo said with a smile. "I thought you were going with Harry?" Charlie chuckled and strode over to the desk and leaned his hip against it. Theo had to admit he was super sexy when he looked so casual about things.

"Theo, Darling, we have been gone for hours. We just got back. You have not left this room since this morning have you?" Charlie asked with a smirk. Theo looked a bit shocked that he had been so distracted.

"I guess so. I didn't realize so much time had passed," Theo admitted.

"Did you at least eat?" Charlie asked seriously. Theo took a minute to think about it and realized that at some point, Oliver had brought him lunch and then come back later to take the tray.

"I did. Oliver brought me something," Theo answered. Charlie nodded.

"Good, now it is time for you to take a break. I need to speak with you," Charlie told him. Theo nodded and let Charlie pull him out of the desk chair. Charlie led him to the sofa in the room and pushed him down on it. Charlie then straddled his legs and settled comfortably in the Beta's lap. Theo was a bit shocked but grasped his waist anyway. He looked up at the redhead.

"What kind of conversation do you want to have, Dragonheart," Theo asked him. He was pretty sure he knew exactly where this was going. He wasn't a stupid man. He was a Slytherin after all and he knew what a soulbond felt like. He had just been giving the Joker time to decide for himself what he wanted. It wasn't common for a Joker to bond to more than one person in a Circle.

"I think you know, Theodore. I know you feel it too. I have seen the way you look at me sometimes," Charlie told him. "I wish to court and bond with you, Beta. If you are open to it." Theo smiled up at the Joker. He reached up and grasped his neck and pulled him down to claim his mouth. When they finally pulled apart they were both a bit out of breath.

"I am more than open to it, Charlie," Theo answered finally. Charlie grinned down at him then he started pulling at Theo's clothes.

"Now?" Charlie asked hopefully. Theo pulled his arms out of the shirt when Charlie finished unbuttoning it.

"Yes, Now," Theo agreed.

"Thank Merlin," Charlie sighed and then he started nipping at Theo's neck and newly exposed shoulders.

An hour later, Caelus knocked on the door to ask a question and found the two of them napping on the sofa wrapped around each other and absolutely stark naked. Each of them sporting a new claiming mark. Caelus just smiled and closed the door back. He went and found his Alpha instead and settled in his lap in his office.

"Guess I owe you a new stationary set," Caelus said after he nuzzled Bill's neck and jaw. Bill chuckled.

"Theo and Charlie?" Bill asked just to make sure. Caelus nodded. "Knew it. I know my brother and I know my Beta. Shouldn't have bet against me. Ready to pay up on the second part of that bet?" Caelus grinned and slid until he was on his knees partly under the Alpha's desk between his spread legs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry and his three cuddle buddies were woken up a few hours later by Oliver for dinner.

"Hey Olli," Harry said with a sleepy smile. Oliver reached out for Harry, who happily went into his arms. "Is it time to get up?"

"Hey, Little Seeker. It is. Our Alpha wants to see you for just a bit before we go to dinner. Up for it?" Oliver asked him. Harry nodded and then turned to the others.

"Thank you. That cuddle was exactly what I needed. I love all three of you and will see you at dinner," Harry insisted. He blew them all a kiss and then let his former captain carry him out of the room and up to the sitting room where his Alpha and a few others were waiting. Theo moved over so that Oliver could sit down on the couch between Bill and Theo with Harry still snuggled in his lap.

"Hey Princess, did you have a good day?" Theo asked him in his gentle way. Harry nodded and let Theo kiss him gently on the lips.

"Maybe not as good a day as you though," Harry said with a smile and tapped the new claim mark on Theo's exposed arm. "Charlie?" Theo blushed slightly and nodded. "Knew it." Bill smiled and ran his fingers through Harry's hair to get his attention.

"We just wanted to let you know what was decided about your Merrow now that you are more settled. Is that ok?" Bill asked him.

"Yeah, that's fine Bill. I was going to ask anyway. Let's hear it," Harry said resolutely.

"It was decided by Hadrian, Caelus, and myself that they would spend the entire day tomorrow running a training gauntlet under Hadrian's watchful eye. No breaks except to eat. Sun up to sun down," Bill told him. Harry nodded, that sounded fair. "They have also been thoroughly talked to about what it means to you to have things kept from you, no matter the reason. That the next time something like this happens it won't be so easy."

"Is that all?" Harry asked. "They run the Gauntlet all day tomorrow and then we move on?" Bill shook his head no.

"No, Trouble that isn't it. We also decided that they would not be allowed to interact with you at all for forty-eight hours starting earlier today after we talked to them. So they will not be around you until Monday," Bill told him. Harry didn't think he liked that at all. That felt like a punishment for him as well. But he had left their punishment up to Bill and Hadrian. He trusted their judgment about what would help. He didn't have to like it but he did have to stand behind it.

"That's it? Run the Gauntlet and stay away from me?" Harry asked quieter that time.

"Yes, that's it Trouble. There is one person who I think you should consider not involving in the punishment at all though," Bill stated and Harry looked up at him surprised.

"Who, and Why?" Harry asked.

"Donovan. Your Joker only found out two days ago about the entire thing. He told Glynn that you needed to know what was going on. Glynn begged him to not say anything to you so that he could tell you himself. Donovan agreed but told him that if he didn't tell you in the next few days, he was going to tell you himself. That is the only reason he tried to keep Varon from saying anything. He was still trying to honor letting Glynn tell you himself," Bill explained to him.

" So Donovan wasn't involved in keeping things from me. He was only trying to make sure that Glynn had the opportunity to tell me himself," Harry repeated. Bill nodded and Oliver nuzzled him. "Can I see Donovan?" Harry asked. Bill nodded and looked at Harry curiously. He didn't really like the way Harry was acting now.

"Which part of their punishment distresses you, Trouble? Be honest. Just because we decided on it doesn't mean that if you don't agree with something it can't be adjusted or discussed," Bill said firmly. Harry looked up at him and fidgeted just a bit.

"Well, I ... I don't really understand why they have to stay away from me for two days. That feels like I am being punished as well. I am mad at them for keeping things from me but that doesn't mean that I don't still want to be around them," Harry said finally. By this time Ethan had come into the room.

"His instincts are unsettled, Alpha. He has unfortunately been questioning their feelings for him since only people who wanted to hurt or use him kept things from him. Keeping him away from them is only going to make it worse for him because he won't be given the opportunity to reassure himself that they do actually care for him. It will be worse for Harry than the ones actually being punished," Ethan explained. Harry looked relieved and nodded at Bill.

"Exactly that. I told you Ethan was super smart. He knows everything," Harry praised and noticed the Pareya blush. Bill looked between the two of them and then sighed.

"I am sorry, Harry. I didn't think about that at all. Maybe next time we should have our wonderful Pareya involved in the conversation so that he can make sure that any punishment given out doesn't hurt you worse than it punishes them. We will not enforce that bit, OK Harry? You can be with them as much as you want. I am however going to ask that for tomorrow you stay away from the gauntlet. Let Hadrian do what he needs for that and you can cuddle all of them afterward. Is that better?" Bill asked him. Harry nodded his head eagerly.

"Yes, thank you, Bill. That's much better. I can stay away from them tomorrow while Hadrian has them. Donovan doesn't need a punishment at all," Harry said and leaned forward still in Oliver's arms and kissed his Alpha. "Do I have time before dinner to go and find them? Are they even here?"

"They are not. All of them have gone to the Merrow Section where your Uncle is staying during The Hunt. They didn't want to risk going against their punishment by running into you when they had been told to stay away from you," Hadrian said from the doorway. Harry frowned and curled up into Oliver more.

"I want them home," Harry stated. He pulled on his bonds to the five of his Gheyo. Then he talked quietly with his bonded while he waited but they never came. After about an hour and Quinn insisting that it was time to eat, Harry was distressed. There was no way that he would be able to eat now. His bonded had not come when he called. Was it because they had been told to stay away? Would they really ignore his call?

Harry? Quinn called to him from the doorway to the sitting room. Harry looked up at him.

"Yeah, Quinn?" Harry responded.

It is time to eat, Love. I have the food under stasis. I know you had a very light lunch. Please come to the table. Quinn asked him for the third time. Harry just gave a chir of distress and shook his head again.

"I can't, Quinn. I need them home. They didn't come when I called. What if something is wrong? I have called them to me twice more in the last hour. Would they really ignore me?" Harry asked. Quinn and the others could hear the tears in his voice at this point. Varon and Alec stepped up to him.

"Come on," Alec said and pulled Harry up. He pushed him into Varon's arms. "If I know my cousin, he found out what happened. He is probably giving them his own form of punishment. They probably can't come to your call."

"I thought I stated that we were keeping this a circle matter for now?" Bill said.

"Well, I didn't tell him. I haven't left home today. He would have suspected something when Varon told him that they may not be around this weekend and then for them to show up and stay the night. He would have demanded answers. It won't be pretty," Alec said with a grimace. Harry made another distressed sound.

"We have to go get them. Please, Bill. We need to get them now," Harry said urgently. Bill stood and sighed.

"Varon, Brishen, and Alec will go with you," Bill said and kissed Harry on the head. Harry tugged on his bond to Brishen. The Phoelix was there quickly. They were all staying close so that they could eat when Harry was settled enough to do so.

"We will be back, Quinn. We will eat when we come home. I promise," Harry said to his healer.

Of course, Love. Bring them home. Quinn responded. Harry nodded and then let his Merrow port him away. They ported into the entrance and were allowed through after the guard on duty told them where Alcandor was. Harry gasped when they made it to Alcandor's temporary throne room. His Bonded were strapped to poles in the middle of the room and they were bloody. He didn't know what had been done but he was not happy at all.

Alcandor was sitting on his throne looking both annoyed and pleased with himself. His dad Laurent was speaking quickly and heatedly with his Papa off to the side of the room.

"What did you do?" Harry demanded of his uncle. All eyes turned to him. Alcandor smiled and Laurent moved to stand near his brother while Lucius came to Harry.

"Punished those that deserved it," Alcandor said firmly. Harry was going to wait and see if they had done anything to the King to deserve this before he got angry.

"What did they do to deserve it?" Harry asked. Alcandor and Laurent both looked at him like he was crazy.

"They hurt you, Son," Laurent stated. "They disrespected you and lied." Harry snarled and Varon grabbed him around the waist.

"You had no right. What happened was being addressed and handled within our circle. My Alpha had their punishment well in hand," Harry snarled at the two of them. Laurent looked upset but Alcandor looked angry.

"I have every right. I am the Merrow King, little guppy. I decide what is a sufficient punishment for those that have wronged my family," Alcandor stated angrily. Harry snarled again and actually almost managed to slip out of Varon's grip. Brishen and Alec put their hands on him as well just in case. It would only make things worse if Harry managed to actually reach Alcandor.

"They are my bonded. Mine. Do you interfere when one of your other Merrow have personal issues in their circles?" Harry demanded. At this point, his nails and fangs were out and scales were starting to appear across his skin. He was very close to Feral.

"No, I do not. But other Merrow are not my Nephews," Alcandor answered.

"You are wrong, Uncle. This was wrong. You had no right to interfere in a punishment that was already being taken care of. They didn't do anything to you or your court this was not a public problem. It was private and being handled privately. My personal circle business is not the business of you or this court. Release them," Harry demanded with a growl.

"Harry, my son. We were only trying to make sure they understood that hurting you was not acceptable," Laurent said uncertainly. Harry glared at him. "It is our right as your father and uncle."

"Then you should have come to me, as your son, and talked to me about how I felt about it. If you knew me at all you would know that this is never something that I would have agreed to. I am done talking about this. I want my bonded released and I want it done right now. I am not happy with either of you. I am so hurt and angered by what you have done. Don't interfere with my circle again unless I ask it," Harry demanded once again. Laurent looked distressed that he had upset his son so badly. He looked at Lucius who was frowning at him still.

"I told you that he would be very unhappy about this. It is why I came here immediately when I got home and heard what was going on. You don't know our son like I do, Laurent. Next time don't be so quick to take matters into your own hands. Release our son's bonded so we can go home," Lucius told him gently. Laurent looked up at his brother and nodded. Alcandor waved his hand with a scowl and Gheyo moved forward to release his bloodied bonded.

Harry nuzzled Varon's arms and he was released. He went straight to his Storm Princess and looked him over. He kissed him and fussed until he realized all of the wounds were superficial.

"Call a healer or medic," Harry told his dad. Laurent nodded and then there were two merrows standing there waiting for instructions. "Heal him." He stated and then kissed Styrmir again before turning to his Prince. He fussed over Marin the same way and then instructed the second healer to heal him as he turned his attention to Chelan, his Queen.

"They are fine, Princeling," Varon said from behind him. "All of it is superficial." Harry just nodded but kept fussing. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Alec.

"I can heal Chelan. Stop fussing over this one and move on to the next one," Alec told him. Harry nodded and kissed his Queen before moving on to Adad. His Storm King and His Ace looked the worse of all of them as if the brunt of whatever had been done had been done to them. Harry trilled in distress and fussed over Adad more. He didn't realize he was crying until Glynn stepped up and wiped his tears.

"It's ok, Submissive mine. We are fine. All of us have had much much worse than this," His Ace insisted. The first medic was done with Styrmir and had stepped up waiting for Harry to let him tend to Adad. "Let the Healer tend to Adad, Love." Harry nodded and kissed his King again before moving on to Glynn. The Ace let him fuss and worry until the next medic was ready to tend to him. Harry was pulled gently back into someone's arms and looked up into the eyes of his Joker.

"They are all fine. We can go home, eat, and then you can cuddle them until your heart is content," Varon told him gently. Harry nodded and let the Joker nuzzle him. Glynn stepped up with the others when he was done being healed.

"Unfortunately, our Alpha and the others have made it part of our punishment that we must stay away from you," Glynn said a bit sadly. Harry went into his arms.

"The Alpha has lifted that punishment. Harry and Ethan pointed out that it was more of a punishment for Harry since his instincts were unsettled by everything. He will never settle if he isn't allowed around you lot," Varon explained. Glynn nodded and Harry could feel how thankful they all were through their bonds.

"Can we please go home now? I just want to be at home now where we are all safe," Harry said quietly. Glynn squeezed him tighter and lifted him into his arms.

"Let's go home, Love," Glynn said and then they all strode from the room and out to the port area. They ported home and Harry had his dinner sitting in Chelan's lap surrounded by his Merrow and two Storm Gheyo. When dinner was over, his entire circle gathered in the sitting room with Draco's circle. They talked, cuddled, and played games for far longer than they normally did. They were all giving Harry the opportunity to settle again.

The next day, Hadrian only ran them through the gauntlet until lunch. After that, he released them from their punishment since they had already been punished by the Merrow King. Harry was happy to have them all back in the house so quickly and convinced them all to go for a swim. It was a good rest of the weekend and Harry and his bonded were ready to tackle week two of the Hunt come Monday.