Rating: M for smut/lemon, but again it is cut out from non-NC17 sites.
Posted: 2/20/2006
Beta: Yogert
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Chapter 10: Mystery of the Veela
The young man flipped the page in Thanatos's diary.
"Freedom…" How he had dreamed of it as he laid, cold and hungry, within the confines of his 'room'… How he had relished it when he was led into the brave new world… and how angry and despairing he was when he first wondered if his newfound freedom was all a lie.
'How much did Dumbledore know if he always had agents around? If so then why didn't he ever check on him? Why do he still trust these despised muggles to…' Harry closed his eyes to exorcize the chaotic emotions. Now wasn't the time for him to chase inner demons.
"Power…" The word sparked a shiver down the boy's back; it was a shiver of anticipation, of understanding, of reluctant acquiescence.
What was it that the muggles said? 'Might makes right…' Harry thought darkly.
What was it that Voldemort said? 'There is only power and those too weak to seek it.'
He, the Dark Lord, wasn't wrong, now was he? Surely power would not be handed to a person on a silver platter. He would have to work for it. Harry once more resisted the urge to rage against Dumbledore. Did he seriously believe they could possibly win without more training, more people and more aggression? Did he seriously expect some nebulous abstract concept like love to withstand the raw might of the magical arts?
'I was such a fool.' Indeed he had, but no longer…
"…No two words better characterize what it means to be 'l'homme débonnaire', as the French called the male veela. To be one is to have the implicit blessing of the powers that be, to be the necessary peak of all mortal creations, to be the shining star amongst a sea of mediocrity… the existence of what can be best characterized as a harem – that is a closed group of personal female attachés - is therefore a natural outgrowth…"
"Yet, it is also more than that. Either by divine decree or by sheer luck, no two matured male veela is believed to have ever co-existed at one time. It is my sincere opinion that the former is the case as, I hope that the fate of the world rest not on the carefree and arbitrary hands of fortune. After all, the simultaneous existence of two male veela - two absolute Alpha dominators - would have no value but to bring about the apocalypse for the mortals around them. The power of the male veela is truly staggering and his fury, demonic given form…"
"Indeed, the male veela is naturally a chaotic creature of terrifying and boundless passions. These passions are magnitudes greater than what even he can possibly hope to contain unassisted. Without the stable environment that only a permanent harem could provide, the male veela will be forced to devote the majority of his existence seeking relief least he be driven insane by the nature of his very being. In this regard, the male veela's need for multiple females in the realm of physical, but also in the realm of mental companionships, is an undeniable and biological imperative."
Harry rolled his eyes, suppressing a small chuckle. Smart as this Thanatos guy was, this guy really was a bit over the top at times, 'biological imperative!' But then, Thanatos was supposedly French, or rather Frankish, as this was the middle ages. And truthfully, Harry no longer found the harem concept as disagreeable as he once did. The male veela read on as the text pinned down, blow-by-blow, the intricacies and dynamics of a 'good' harem in the next dozen or so pages.
The weary male veela kneaded his forehead in disbelief as he took in the long list of racially compatible females. His eyes scanned the list: Dryads, nymphs, werewolves, vampires, elder elves – all subclasses, all thirteen represented sub-races of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, draconian humanoids, serpentine arthropods, and avian progenitors… pretty much the only limiting specification was very basic anatomical compatibility. It even listed…
'Bloody hell? Demons! Don't they have a vamp-like fixation on blood?' Harry splattered with shock until he came across a particularly interesting paragraph about one type of demon, or rather demoness.
"Of all the creatures of the netherworld, the succubus, most deserve at least passing mention in this text. Though there exists no proof for this, it is almost assured that no female species in all the realms come as close as the succubus does in matching the raw sexual potential of the male veela…"
"There is, then, but one major problem. That is that few mortals have ever lived to tell about their encounter with one of these blood and flesh lusting 'handmaidens of the fiendish one'… And indeed, for all intents and purposes, the succubus, like all the dwellers of the underworld, is merely a creature of speculative interest, rather than a serious choice for consideration."
Harry frowned. He had to admit the passage made him very curious and then to end it so abruptly... nevertheless, the young man pushed onwards.
"… So based on the empirical data gleamed from history, the most appropriate, logical and realistic choice for the position of Alpha (defined and covered in chapter 7, page 137) within the male veela's harem seems unsurprisingly to be a female veela…"
'At least he got that right.' Harry thought. True, it was hardly official and he 'only' had two females in his budding harem. But, it was pretty clear to him that for a variety of reasons, Fleur was the one.
"… a pureblooded veela being the preferred choice, but any other type of veela would most likely do almost as well. It is, however, highly advised that at least one full veela is added to the harem if for nothing else but to enhance the stability of the intra-harem structure and the mental bonds of the female members."
"… There are also additional peculiarities about a near pure female veela's blood. First, it displays high healing and regenerative properties that are superior to Phoenix tears. Yet this is somehow unknown to the Wizarding world at large. The second peculiarity relates to the blood of a male veela. See, the properties of the excretions of most other creatures, whether good or bad, break down immediately upon contact with the male veela's volatile blood stream. This is believed to be a defense mechanism designed to make the male veela immune to even the deadliest of poisons, i.e. Basilisk venom. At the same time, this defense also negates the healing properties of something like phoenix tears, presumably on the assumption that such agents would never be needed."
'That seems to balance out.' Harry nodded in thought.
"Yet, the blood of at least a half breed female veela could interact in almost perfect harmony with the blood of a male veela. On the one hand, this seems to indicate that with a pureblood nearby, a male veela would have a ready supply to healing…
"… but on the other, that same pureblood represents an absolute security risk for the male veela, for she alone through her blood can bypass his innate defenses. Blood is very important to a male veela. It is doubly important when the blood of a female veela is in question. Be ever vigilant of your thralls, young one. Don't assume their loyalty as a given."
The young man blinked. 'So he's paranoid as well.' But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, was it? Better paranoid than dead, right?
"… of course, pure veela also possess other fine skills, especially the more commonly alluded to ones, which account for why their presence is universally well received by males throughout history."
'Gee, I wonder why.' The male veela's bland sarcasm turned to curiosity and then to awe as he beheld the caricature of the pure veela on the paper before him. Long, waist length, pure and white as snow hair fell in waves past her shoulders and glided in the wind like fine silk; while the flowing robes, though completely decent by all normal standards, seem entirely inappropriate in covering the beauty portrayed on the page. Even in 2D form, the veela represented an anomaly; where the innocent, freshness and lithe form found in youthful girls and the luscious curves and aura of sexuality found in mature women, seemingly existed in perfect, non-contradicting, harmony with one another.
Harry shook his head to chase away his wondering thoughts. Needless to say, Fleur would probably have not been a happy camper had she been present to witness her mate's reaction. But then, she wasn't entirely human, so maybe she wouldn't have been jealous. Harry shook his head again. Women of one race was enough, merlin knows how he was going to deal with females from different species.
'Gee, and a succubus was suppose to surpass even this?'
"… It is of no coincidence or of great error that the name, 'male veela', is partially derived from the females who hold the same name. For they too feel the call of power and freedom. They too treasure and valorize these qualities…"
"Thus, might not a blessed male veela assume that these female veela are therefore one self's natural companions? Do not be this fool. Aforementioned characteristics aside, we are as different from the females who share our designation as the legendary Imperial Black Dragons are from Common Welsh Greens. Both are called dragons but the latter could hardly stand in objective comparison to the former. I do not mean to be disparaging with this remark, as my own Alpha of many moons is a full blooded veela, but it is the truth. Our destiny, our rule and our duties extend far beyond the boundaries of veela interests, but they would have us believe otherwise…"
Harry felt the chills running across the back of his neck as he read the next passage.
"There is something very strange at the heart of all this. I do not know what it is but I do know it is there. Why is it that the veela, despite their numerical disparity have always taken such prominent roles in the affairs of all the male veela in history? Who gave us the title 'male veela' when we can not be defined racially in an objective sense? How is it that all of my last twenty or so predecessors chose like I did a veela to be his alpha? I find it strange that all of us should be so uniform in our choices in selecting our alpha, no matter how exceptional and superior the veela seem to be compared to the other races…"
"Why is it that the Veela race came to be the guardians of such sensitive history, history which no other is privy to? Is it a coincidence that my meticulous studies of the past merely reaffirm everything the veela have told me?"
"… Why is it that peaceful unicorns flee from the presence of even the youngest of veela chicks? While their darker and more bellicose counterparts, the war unicorns, cluster tightly around my veela Alpha of many years. Something is amiss…"
Harry frowned. Thanatos talked of the veela, the most beautiful of all humanoid species, as if it was a sinister plot to ensnare everyone.
'Could be sexism.' He reasoned, given that this was the middle of the middle ages. But that seemed unlike the learnt scholar Harry knew Thanatos to be. He quickly flipped through the next several pages.
"Note that despite what it seems, I'm also firm believer in the need for restraints where necessary. But in the case of the male veela, these restraints should be internal. Self-discipline should be judiciously applied, but never, ever should they be the result of foreign pressures. This is a matter of facts, not opinions. I can assure you that the very spirit and soul of the male veela could not and would not tolerate such aberrations…"
"… Be wary of potential foes, but be extra vigilant of allies, friends and even bonded lovers. The former can but harm or at best slay you; the latter can, willingly or not, enslave you to fates worse than death."
Feeling rather queasy about what he had read, the young man decided that perhaps a change of the sceneries would help. Harry grabbed his wand and disappeared into the book, intent on losing himself while he practiced.
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Harry succeeded, more or less. He was completely oblivious to other thoughts as he concentrated on his training. Twirling his wand high overhead, he slid to the side smoothly. Arcing it in a downward slicing movement, the sweating young man imagined blowing apart his shadow opponent with a fragmentary curse. For the better part of at least an hour, he moved, jumped, slid, intermixing jabs and kicks, blocks and parries with quick wand work on both hands in the blackness of space.
Magical katas was what Thanatos had called them. Apparently, the former male veela had cleaved the basics from several eastern mages during his travels, but then developed it over the course of decades. To Harry, it had seemed at first a somewhat jumbled amalgam of muggle fitness and martial arts routines adopted for magic. But it gradually started to make more sense as the principles of the fighting methods started to seep in: such as when to use a shield and how strong that shield should be; when to dodge or roll; when and where to strike and with what kind of curse; and what kind of sequence of attacks and blocks to employ under so and so circumstance and etc…
The battle with those supped up werewolf puppies was a harsh lesson for the male veela; one which showed that knowledge and raw power, no matter how great or broad, were hardly everything in combat. Clearly he had the power as demonstrated by his coup de grace finishing move. Clearly he had the skill as demonstrated by his quick footwork in protecting the girls and avoiding most of the brutes' attacks. But equally clear was that he was a complete greenie! Those were werewolves and yet not once did he think about using silver against them.
'Stupid, stupid, stupid…' yet it couldn't be helped. Harry sighed in frustration.
There was ultimately no substitute for real battles. Even Thanatos, himself, noted this. But Harry also realized he could make sure that he was as prepared as possible and equipped with the right frame of mind for subsequent battles. He rightly noted that the physical part of the martial magical arts helped train his body to instinctively recognize and record the fluid movements needed for proficiency on the battlefield, while their principles helped shape at least a basic understanding of the tactics that could be employed on the field.
'… And I really could use another wand.' Another major point Thanatos had advocated. Well, actually the former male veela had first advocated complete mastery of wandless magic to entirely cure one's dependence on magical artifacts such as a wand, but as Harry wasn't quite up to that point, a second wand seemed the best route to take. Plus, the diary contained a fountain of information on particularly innovative tactics which integrated dual wand wielding, silent casting and wandless magic.
With a small smile, Harry wondered if he could convince Susan to ask her aunt to pull some strings for him given Ollivander's present intransigence to selling a second wand to non-ministry approved personnel.
"Ah!" His mind momentarily distracted, Harry stumbled and collapsed onto the dank, dark floor. The tired male veela dropped out of the pseudo virtual reality Thanatos's Diary provided for him and slumped on his bed.
'Wow, didn't think it could be that exhausting.' The young man thought while panting and gasping. Clearly Thanatos wasn't kidding when he said he tried to create as realistic a world within his diary for his successor to study and practice. Harry was most thankful for this, or else he would be hard pressed to find a place to train and test the skills and abilities he supposedly has access to.
Picking his sweaty and sticky self off of the bed, Harry gingerly examined himself. The rituals he completed in the secret sanctuary of his room had done a wonderful job of reorganizing his metabolic systems, enhancing his overall magic prowess as well as allowing for easier access to his expansive magic reserves.
Harry lazily put on his glasses. Bad eye sight was a definite no-no in combat and the male veela was very glad the rituals took care of his eye problem. That said, there was no reason why he shouldn't allow his enemies to underestimate him.
Of course, another physical, but much more self-indulgent effect was the slight but distinctively noticeable change in his physique: A few inches added to his rather modest height, a couple of pounds added to his previously thin frame, and a general sharpening of his facial features rounded him off quite nicely. Harry Potter affected very much so the lithe, slightly dark and mysterious, but also 'fuck with me and die' kind of presence of being.
Combined with his newfound sense of confidence, the resident Wizard had become the ultimate chick magnet in Surrey. His premier entrance at one of the neighborhood teen parties resulted in him being ensconced by a bevy of young dames. The experiences after that, however, have been so far underwhelming to say the least.
The first time, which was at the same party, Harry had been quite pleased and more than a little surprised (since he didn't have his aura charm turned on at the time) when one of the supposedly popular girls managed to corner him for some one-on-one time. In fact, he was so giddy and excited about his first time with a muggle girl, that he over-stimulated his partner and knocked her out just before they got to the main event. Of course, he could have continued with her unconscious form and while he seriously doubt that the girl would have minded, it just didn't seem right. So, Harry let the stone dead and satiated girl sleep, vowing to be extra careful next time. He definitely didn't want to be constantly left with the irritating and painful problem of being stiff.
Of course, a let-down the first time was hardly enough to put a dent his libido, so he tried again…
-----LEMON WARNING-----
Text Cut-----END LEMON-----
Ok, so the second time with a muggle girl was better than the first, but not by much. That was partially because compared to Fleur, or even Regine, the girl simply sucked at…well, surely that needn't be said. That, of course, really is no fault other than Harry's own. His time with the two older French lovers had simply spoiled him for the majority of other girls. Besides, to the poor girl's credit, she did try very hard as evidenced by how sore her jaws became. And ever the generous lover, Harry did amply reward her for her efforts. Still, as he left a second muggle girl curled up beside him, the male veela's desire for further explorations had been significantly reduced… for the time being at least.
Hedwig hooted from inside her cage.
"Sorry girl. Until I find a way to get past Dumbledore's ward, you won't be able to deliver any messages." Several rapid hoots answered him, causing Harry to chuckle.
"Yeah, I hate him too, girl. Say, would you like some fresh air?" The snow white owl bounced in affirmation. Harry waved his hand and the cage popped open, freeing the creature from its confinement. The boy smiled as he watched as his companion disappear out the window.
It was by a small stroke of genius that he found the shielding ward he was currently using to block the Ministry from detecting magic within the house. Small, discrete and sublime, it was also attached to Dumbledore's original ward. No one, but the original caster or possibly a very experienced curse breaker, would possibly notice and even then only if they were scanning for discrepancies in the ward locally. The latter is most unlikely and the former… please. The old man didn't bother to check on him in well over a decade. Harry had no reason believe he would start now. The male veela was about to doze off when Hedwig came in from the windows, flying at top speed.
Harry jumped up in surprise, however, as a second winged bird, materialized in the middle of the room. 'What the bloody fuck?' Hedwig hooted excitedly until Harry motioned her to stop.
One look at the Île-de-France imprinted on the blue cloth draped over the bird told him who it was from. The young man smiled. How the girls managed to get access to an official French ministry messenger Falcon, AKA the 'mail anywhere carrier', was beyond him. They were rumored to be the fastest, stealthiest and most secure messengers in the world, with incredible range, capable of bypassing almost all anti-OWL wards and bolstered a legendary in-flight invisibility charm that guarded against unwanted en route detection. No wonder, these falcons were the official messengers of not only the French Ministry, but also of the International Confederation of Wizards.
'So that's why Hedwig was so eager to get out. She somehow sensed him.' Harry thought in genuine amazement.
"Good girl." The owl hooted happily at her 'companion's' praise. Quite humorous how he could call another human being his, but merlin have mercy on him should it be suggested that he was this owl's master.
Harry took the letter from the falcon and popped open the seal, only to look on in confusion at the jumble of messy writing, written in neither English nor French. Realization quickly dawned upon him, however, and Harry smacked his forehead.
"Denudo!" A small text box appeared at the top of the letter.
'A password?' Harry tapped it once, as the words 'male veela' were spelled in it. Nothing happened even as the words disappeared. He tried again, this time with the word 'master'. Still nothing. The male veela frowned in puzzlement.
'Of course…' Harry inputted the nine letters making up the three words and watched in satisfaction as the squabbling marks rearranged itself into cohesive lines and sentences.
Dear Harry:
How are you, our beloved? It's been only weeks, but we miss you dearly and
already, we yearn for you…
He smiled at the cheesy flowery cursively written words that greeted him.
… we also yearn for your cock. Fleur's also being mean…
Harry laughed out loud at the change in handwriting, shaking his head in mirth and smiling as he read on. But that smile, however, eventually dropped away as the point of the letter became very clear.
… another veela, a pureblood, came to me, talking about you… She somehow knew.
The male veela felt his inside turn cold. He read Fleur's handwriting twice more times just to be sure.
… She said that it was imperative that they, the veela community, meet you, here in France as soon as possible. Regine didn't trust her and neither do I, even if she is one of my kind. But… she has mentioned other important things; things that should not be discussed in letters. We, Regine and I, do not presume to demand anything of you, Harry, for we are yours. But if you can, please write back about when you would be available for a few days. Please… The veela said arrangements will be made on this end.
Know that we love you. Until then.
with hugs and kisses,
Fleur and Regine
Harry folded the letter neatly, laid it on the table and gazed at it in silence. The male veela seriously considered reevaluating what Thanatos had said. There was indeed 'something very strange' going on. How could a veela in France have possibly known the happenings in England when no one else in England knew?
'A spy in Hogwarts.' Sounded outlandish, but what else could it be, then? Harry racked his mind for more ideas, but none were forthcoming. Not like that mattered, it sounded like Fleur needed him, so merlin forbid anyone stand in his way.
"Can you stay while I compose a letter?" He asked of the falcon, which nodded before flying up to Hedwig cage. The owl seemed so impressed by the other bird that she didn't even complain as he drank the water from her bowl.
Harry, meanwhile, turned his attention to penning the letter at hand.
Mes Chéries:
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Translation:
Denudo – to lay bare, to reveal
Mes Chéries – my dears
Trivia! Can you figure out the three words (nine letters in total) Harry used to decode the content of the letter?
--Hint-- The three words have been stated in dialogue as a phrase in its entirety at least three times in previous chapters! Have fun. (Get it? 3 words, 3x3 as in 9 letters in total, said at least 3x in the story!)