Walking down memory lane (I'm stepping on broken glass)
On one hand, the atmosphere in the cafe they were in were slightly awkward, as they waited for their order. On the other Hyacinth had been in worse - being the only child of the sole merrow, and his soul-bonded Pareya, in a mostly Air circle, containing the Crown Royal, and having that be a trigger for a bunch of rebellion from the other Air nobles, it goes to show that having a conversation about highly likely being the unknowing parent of what looks like a recently inherited and bonded dragel was much more preferable.
Taking pity on the Pareya who was rearranging the table when their drinks arrived, she flicked out a privacy bubble, wincing when she saw the brief shimmer of lightning running through.
Her magic was still running a bit wild after everything, it seems. When Ethan finally finished setting up, she had to admit the coffee smelled delightful. Nodding to him in gratitude, she took a sip, catching the submissive (her son, her son!) fidget.
"I was on Earth, England and met Lily and James in 1978. I normally roamed the oceans and coastal areas when I was beached during a bad storm." seeing him frown, she continued, "I suppose I looked enough like a magical creature that Lily decided to bring me back to heal me."
Nudging Harry's drink closer to him, she then proceeded to douse her coffee in non-sugar sweetener. If her magic decided to go for more lethal measures when she was already trying to tone it down, sugar was a no-go, despite the comfort it would provide.
"So, what, you were a pet?", Harry questioned with a scowl on his face. It got her choking on her next sip. Grabbing a napkin, she took a while before she could breathe normally again. "I wish I could say that you got that all from James, but really. Did you think it through before letting it out? I know it's frustrating, but it's a long story. And it's painful for me too."
Seeing him subside and take a sip of his ridiculously sweet drink with the mountain of cream, she continued "I don't recall much of that time but it took a week before I could recognise and speak in human speech. And even then, my vocabulary was very limited. But eventually they got the point about what I was, the whole explanations and all. Helped that I could resume a human form a week after that. Though I did give both of them a shock."
"They've never heard of Dragel before either. I found that weird, since I could tell what they were.", she scrunched her nose in confusion, not seeing Harry do the same thing opposite her. Shrugging, she took a sip of coffee, letting the warmth of it bring forth more warm memories.
"Apparently they wanted to go to the bank and get it verified but they were scared because there was a war going on", she continued. "A bank?", interrupted Ethan. Nodding in commiseration, "Right? I never got why a bank would be the one in charge of clearing curses and managing inheritance magics. I thought those would be done at either the family casting grounds, or graveyard."
A floundering Harry brought her back to the topic, "There was another way. I unsealed them myself." The determined eyes of the both of them stared back at her, now overlaid over how Harry was staring at her. "They had... So many suppression seals, I broke what I could that weren't lethal. And I had to teach them the basics of dragel magic while I was at it. Their mentors..... They never came, could've been because of the wards they were under. So many for protection and redirection."
"I knew they sometimes came back hurt, badly injured. But when I was allowed to even look at the wards, I could tell, the two of them? They meant business. Arielle, the wards refused my sight until I was granted permission." Focusing her attention on her cooling drink, Hyacinth stirred it somemore, to give herself more time to think about what she could say.
"Knowing what I do of them, I'm sure this had been said many times, but your parents were brilliant. They managed to pick up the basics within the year and yet we're talking about being proficient enough that I started talking about bringing them here - "
"Then why didn't you?! THEY COULD'VE LIVED!", shout Harry. And how that stabbed at her. How she argued that point with them. Ethan was trying to calm Harry down, but she had no one but herself. Hanging onto calm by her fingertips. He was young, and still grieving, and still asking her, how could she have not saved the two people on Earth that she loved.
Deep breaths, to center herself, and to let Harry run out of steam. "I asked. Every few days, I asked. I begged. I pleaded, I bargained." She could feel the tears welling up again, and here she thought they all dried up when she killed her bonded triad. "They said no. They always said no. They were fighting for the next generation to grow up safely, without fear. But it made me fear for them instead." Harry was glaring at her, his eyes piercing through the tears. Perhaps he blamed her, and perhaps he was right to do so.
"In 1980, I had to leave. I promised them I'd be back. But I came back to a wrecked house. I couldn't bear to go in." Here, she paused. Wondering, how to bring up the likelihood of her being his Third.
"The night before I left. I was in so much pain, because I had put off leaving for so long. My magic, if I don't find what it's telling me to, it hurts me.", taking a sip, Hyacinth peered over the cup to see how Harry was taking it.
The submissive was staring down at his drink, using the straw to stab at the ice repeatedly. "I was in so much pain I couldn't move. Your Mum, she drove all the way while your Dad was trying to figure out if the direction we were going in was causing me more or less pain. I was delirious, and I remember waking up a lot many times that night." Harry kept his head down, probably finding nothing of import to her words. Well, not yet, she mused.
"James was trying to keep me awake and coherent so bad, that he asked and promised me so many things, that the both of them would come here with me whenever I returned. Even if it was for a brief visit to get their seals off. When I dream about them, I dreamed about asked them that night, when we moved here, if we could start a family together. I'm not sure if it was reality. " seeing him turn his shocked look onto her, she continued.
"They never responded in my dreams. Maybe I didn't hear their answer back then. But I remember we ended up at a coast, and my magic was yanking me across the ocean, so I asked them to set me into the water. By the time I came back and saw the ruined house, I had to block all my bonds for a while so I didn't end up committing suicide within year." Harry flinched, but she continued, "I never knew if either of them wanted a family. I didn't think it would take, given I was half-delirious. But if it was with them, I did."
"Even before you were a thought, I wanted you, wanted to see you, to get to know you as your own person. And now that you're here, I want to get to know you more, if that's OK?" she asked shocked green eyes.