Chapter Twenty-Eight
Three hours later Sirius was engaged in a conversation with William and Frankie while Harry had been pulled away by a few of the younger kids. Sirius could just see him out of his peripheral vision, he seemed to be telling them a few stories or answering questions they had. Either way Harry didn’t seem to mind and Sirius didn’t mind the company he had either.
“So how you liking it so far? Too cozy for you yet?” William asked
“No, I actually kinda like it. It’s secluded, but not lonely.” Sirius said looking around, “Is everyone here a werewolf?”
“No we have four human mates, they’re animagi however much like yourself. All some type of canine.” Frankie told him, “I’m glad Harry is bringing you guys one at a time though, Lyall’s son will take some getting used to and getting to know before some of the Mothers trust him around their young I’m afraid. Where is Remus anyway?”
“There’s been a minor disagreement and Harry needed space from him and I knew Harry needed me more so I followed him.”
“I see. Well you did the right thing. I know it may not seem like it, but you did. Remus is a big boy, he can handle himself.” Frankie said
**
They stayed for dinner, a pack dinner which was basically a buffet of many different things and everyone ate outside amongst the Pack. It was nice, Harry again serving him his plate and making sure his stuff was a little more cooked. There were a few other human mates there as well, four total, two were omega, two alpha. The omegas were women, one was pregnant with their first child and the other already had four children. The alphas were men, one had the typical alpha behavior that Sirius didn’t like, but the other one was nicer and seemed more laid back.
“So how are you adjusting to having an Omega mate?” Lyra, the pregnant human mate, asked when Harry went to make his own plate after giving Sirius his.
“It’s not that different really. At least I haven’t really noticed the difference yet. Besides, he's more than just an omega.”
“Ugh you’re one of those.” The typical alpha said with an eye roll, his name was Marcus and honestly Sirius could do without him and the ego of a 20-something year old alpha, “You just haven't discovered the benefits yet. I mean honestly, it’s great. Omegas have this gland on their necks that if you touch it just right-”
“That’s enough Marcus.” Liam, the other human alpha, said.
“He should know this so if Harry ever is acting up he can just-”
“Harry isn’t my child that needs correcting when he is ‘acting up’. If Harry has a problem we discuss it like adults.” Sirius quickly put an end to that, “And before you say it if he is ever not in the mood then that’s that. End of discussion. I don’t need to know about a shortcut to get what I want when it’s not mine to have.”
“Whatever man.” Marcus thankfully got the hint and got out of his seat and left walking over to his mate. Sirius felt bad for the young woman, but he knew enough to know it wasn’t his place.
“Told Marcus where to shove it, did you?” Harry asked amused as he came over with his own overfilling plate now and two cups, one he handed to Sirius.
‘More or less.” Lyra said, “Though to be mated to you he couldn’t be the type to agree with Marcus so it’s no surprise there.”
“What does that mean?” Harry asked though the tone of his voice told them he knew exactly what that meant as he sat beside Sirius on the log bench.
“It means your alphas have their hands full.” Janis, the older omega human said, “This one was a terror as a child.” She told Sirius.
“Oh that I believe.” Sirius said laughing, “He’s a terror now as an adult can’t imagine he was much better as a child.”
“Moving on.” Harry said pointedly, “Where’s Cassie?” This question was directed at Liam
“Too close to her heat, she took her meal inside and is laying in the bath for a while until it comes.”
“You’re not with her?” Sirius asked when all Harry did was nod.
“No, some omegas, my mate being one of them, aren’t comfortable sharing their heats with their mate. So I let her guide me each time it comes, sometimes she wants to cuddle until the very last second and other times she wants to be alone a week before it comes. It all just depends on her.”
“Heats are a very vulnerable time for Omegas and some Omegas are just never ready to share that part of them. Other times they only want to share it occasionally. Hell sometimes my Alpha doesn’t want to join me in my heats, one time he claimed I dried him up.” Janis said, laughing lightly.
“We aren’t ourselves during our heat so sometimes we will want things done during the heat we may not want done during regular sex and some alphas can get that confused. The point of heats is breeding so almost every omega gets, in other words, a breeding kink during their time.” Harry further explained, “Some omegas find it embarrassing, find that side of themselves embarrassing. It’s up to the Alphas to make sure they know it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Alphas get that way too during their ruts.” Lyra said, “Evidence here.” She rubbed her belly with a laugh.
“So during yours, if you share it with us, will you mostly need Remus? Since he’s the Alpha.”
“Well to me you smell like an Alpha as well, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t need you too, after we mate, the mating bond will be complete and you might get more traits. There are two things that could happen after we mate, you could be more of an Omega or more of an Alpha. Not completely and they can help explain why a Human Alpha or Human Omega is different compared to a regular one. Or you can be a switch which is exactly what it sounds like your body will be a bit of both. During my heat you’ll be more alpha and during Remus’ rut you’ll be more omega. It just depends how your body responds to the mating bond, we won’t know until probably my first heat and Remus’ first rut being mated.”
“There’s a human switch in Pack J I think right?” Liam said looking at Harry who nodded after a moment, “Pack J is an ally pack, you and your mates can go there sometime once mated and ask him what it’s like for him and his mates.”
“Would I get a heat or a rut?”
“You might get a period of time where you’re hornier than usual, but I don't think it’ll qualify as either or.” Lyra explained
“And if you do, I'll buy you your first knotting toy.” Harry teased making everyone laugh and Sirius to shake his head.
The conversation around them was nice. It was relaxing and honestly Sirius didn’t feel like he was an outsider. Sure he was one of the older ones there, but it didn’t feel like it especially when Frankie and William joined them. They talked well into the night, Lyra turning in early due to her pregnancy and Janie leaving to put the kids to bed then joining them again later with her alpha, Damian.
Alcohol was passed around both Muggle and Wizarding kind. Harry held a Heineken bottle in his hands while Sirius had either a Guinness or bottled Firewhiskey.
“You do know what he’s doing don’t you?” Alfred, one of the many ‘uncles’ Harry had introduced him to today, asked Sirius leaning over towards him while Harry was grabbing them another bottle.
“From the looks Henry was giving Harry earlier today I’m assuming it’s more than just doing things for me.”
“He’s trying to…not seduce you in a sexual way, but more so…entice you. It’s somewhat involuntary, but he’s aware he’s doing it if someone brings attention to it. If that makes sense. It’s one of the many things we’ll have to teach you about later, but in a roundabout way he is just trying to please you by letting his omega instincts short of…show themselves. As I’m sure you know Harry is far from the stereotypical omega type, but he does still have those instincts.”
Sirius felt his face get hot as he looked over at Harry who had been side tracked by one of the younger omegas, a young teenage girl who hasn’t said more than two or three words to Sirius today, but was often found beside Harry when they were separated.
“So…do I do anything?” Sirius asked, turning to him.
“No, not really. You can, of course, if you want to, but it’s just something omegas do to make their Alphas proud or to entice them, in a more different setting to seduce them. He’s just trying to prove he’s a good omega, later, once you two are alone just compliment him, do something nice for him. It’ll tell him more than you can say right now without being mated or a werewolf.”
Harry joined them a few seconds later giving Sirius his already opened bottle before he sat beside him. He looped his arm in Sirius’ and snuggled his side, his chin resting on his arm. And damn it felt nice having someone who wanted to be seen so freely and openly on his arm like this.
“I know that look Alfred told you something about me didn’t he?” Harry asked, giving Al a dirty look before turning to Sirius who hadn’t realized how close he was or how bright his eyes were by the fire and starlight surrounding them.
Was Lily’s eyes this bright? Sirius wasn’t sure.
“Uh..no. Of course not.” Sirius said, clearing his throat.
“Don’t worry cub, I only told him about the time you wanted to have an entire pack tea party on the full moon together and was heartbroken when we all had to decline.”
It was Harry’s turn to blush while the other laughed around them.
“Well at least one of my mates can have a tea party with me under the full moon.” Harry turned to Sirius again, “Right?”
“Of course. Whenever you want.” Sirius said easily
“Alright Harry give the man his balls back.” Frankie said with an eye roll and a shit eating grin that only got a laugh from Sirius and a rock thrown at him by Harry.
“So Sirius, how is teaching over at Hogwarts treating ya?” William asked, clearly steering the conversation away from what would end up being a back and forth between Harry and Frankie.
“It’s good, but it was never really something I wanted to do. I just took it so I was with my family at the time. With the deadline getting closer Remus and I have been trying to decide if we want to leave or not. I’m leaning more on leaving while he- he loves teaching and he’s bloody good at it. The students love him too so I know he doesn’t want to give that up completely.”
“Well he could always teach here.” Edwin suggested he too was an Alpha though Harry told him he was newer, having been bitten as an adult, “I’ve been doing what I can, but someone with experience would be nice.”
“Teach here? What, you mean like kid classes? Penmanship? Shapes? Colors? I don’t know if Remus would like that. He loves kids, taught Charlie and Ariel practically everything before Hogwarts, but he likes the challenge of teaching students harder stuff.”
“No, he's talking about teaching the older kids here. The short explanation is we share a territory a little aways with a few other packs where we send our cubs to go learn things that Hogwarts and other schools teach. It unites the Ally Packs, makes them closer, and it helps some cubs find their mates sooner.” Frankie explained
“Why don’t the kids go to Hogwarts? There's special funding for families who can’t afford it.” Sirius told them confused.
“Which werewolves don’t qualify for.” Alfred said gently
“Seriously?” Logically Sirius knew Werewolves had it bad, but to deny kids an education, “Why- But Remus went.”
“And he’s one of the few werewolf children that has ever gone. Harry was taught at the Pack School until he was nine. And now he teaches there in his spare time.” Sirius turned to Harry.
“You do? Why haven’t you told me about this?”
“Because I haven’t had the spare time to come back. I’ve been busy with my NEWTs and I was going to tell you guys about it if you chose to leave Hogwarts, but I didn’t want to persuade you. I can take you there sometime if you’d like.”
“Could I teach there? Are they magical children or-”
“Yes to both. Most muggles don’t survive the bite or the first transformation. The few that do tend to kill themselves or live amongst muggles for most of the month. Or we have to…silence them before they put us in danger.” Sirius knew what Frankie meant without him having to say more so he just nodded, “But we do allow Human mates to teach if they so desire to. Most don’t because they’re the only ones who can typically hold down a job and this isn’t a paid position for obvious reasons.”
“I’ll take you to the school some time and let you see it and meet some of the teachers there.” Harry said
“Sounds good.” Harry smiled then before Sirius realized, he was leaning over and pressing a quick kiss to his lips that had Sirius tensing though he tried to hide it.
“Perfect. Maybe we’ll come closer to the Full Moon, the pack gets livelier the closer we are to it.” Harry said though his smile didn’t reach his eyes anymore and he put a little more space between them. To try to apologize, Sirius wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist and pulled him closer, but for the next few hours there was slight tension between them that Sirius didn’t like.
*****
Harry and Sirius got back to Henry’s well past midnight, both a bit tipsy as they stumbled out of the fireplace.
“Come on, let's go to bed.” Harry said softly as he locked the floo down.
“Wait..come here. Grabbing Harry’s wrist he pulled the teen closer to him as he sat on the couch arm, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tense up when you kissed me.”
“It’s fine.I- I’m a little tipsy so I just- I didn’t realize that you didn’t want to be so open.”
“It’s not that.” Sirius was quick to deny shaking his head, he pulled Harry’s hand up to his mouth and kissed the inside of his wrist, “I’m so used to Remus and his aversion to anything more than a small kiss here and there that I wasn’t prepared for yours. But to be clear you can kiss me whenever you want, wherever we are, no matter who we are around. Though around James might take some time. Other than that, just give me a moment to prepare myself, yeah? At least for a little while until I’m used to it.”
“Well…are you prepared now?” Harry asked, a small amused smirk tugging at the corner of his lips that Sirius could decide if he wanted to watch grow or kiss away.
“Come here.” Kissing it away won.
With a grin Sirius’ hand not holding Harry’s wrist still cupped the side of his face as he pressed his lips against Harry’s softer ones. Harry stepped closer to him easily, his one hand escaping his hold to slide to the back of his neck while the other one pressed against his stomach, his fingers closing around the fabric there.
It still took a moment for Sirius to remember he was supposed to be the one leading the kiss. This kiss was different then the few they had shared previously, those were chaste, barely lasting more than a few seconds, this one was more. Especially with their tipsiness making Sirius just brave enough to tease Harry’s lips with the tip of his tongue surprised when Harry let him in then met him with his own. Harry tasted like beer and the salted caramel chocolate cake one of the women made for dessert.
Sirius was the first to pull away, breathing heavily and pressing his forehead against Harry’s own to get some much needed oxygen and to calm himself. Harry whined and tried to follow his lips like the last times they've kissed, but Sirius just smiled and rubbed his cheek with his thumb, rubbed their noses together softly, then kissed his forehead before pressing them together again. That setted Harry, letting him relax against his body.
“Let’s go to bed.” Harry spoke softly, nudging him with his nose. Sirius nodded, pulling completely away and letting Harry go first up the stairs.
“We should probably sleep with a pillow between us.” Sirius said- and Merlin killed him, but Harry giggled. Sirius completely tripped over his own feet at the sound and stared at Harry who turned wide eyed when he heard the noise.
“Are you okay? Are you drunk? I didn’t think you drank that much.” Harry rushed to make sure he was okay.
“Fine. I’m fine. I’m not drunk.” Sirius said a slight flush to his cheeks now as Harry helped him up the stairs despite his protests.
Later when Harry was fast asleep on his chest, his arms and legs wrapped around his body, Sirius laid there wide awake because somewhere in the last few days he went from falling to having fallen flat on his face in love with the man using him as his personal cuddly toy.
Harry wriggled, his face rubbing into his chest and his arms tightening for a moment until Sirius rubbed his back, getting him to relax once more.
Correction.
Sirius went from falling to having been caught and steadied on his own two feet with Harry right there with him. And that made it much better than falling alone. Or he hadn’t been alone, Remus loved him, he never doubted that, but maybe they fell at different levels. Here at the bottom of whatever dark hole Love was he wasn’t alone because Harry was there too. Harry and his fucking giggle.