"I can't believe I missed my last night to sleep in my greenhouse," I complain. Sirius laughs at my whining as he is cooking. I'm picking at a bowl of fruit as I watch him. My hip was throbbing again, and he'd told me I couldn't have another pain reliever until I'd ate something. Apparently having two on empty stomachs is bad for you.
"What did you miss?" Remus' sleepy voice behind me makes me turn half around. He's dressed and ready to go for the day.
"My last day to sleep in my own bed and I fell asleep in front of the fire," I explain as he takes a seat next to me. He makes a humming noise in the back of his throat as he begins making a thing of coffee. I'm sitting with my legs crossed Indian style underneath me, leaning towards him because it took pressure off of my mate mark.
That felt strange to think. I had a mate now. It gave a warm, bubbly feeling I haven't felt before and made my faerie purr every time I thought it. Speaking of mates, shouldn't Remus be feeling a pull now? What was it I read…
… Werewolves that have mates that are not werewolves themselves, will seek out the mate if they are separated more than a few hours until the bond has settled. This can take from a month to a year, depending on the power level of the mate. The time away will depend on the age of the mate. The younger the mate is, the less time they can be apart. The time will be able to expand more when the bond is settling, but not for the first day or so. After the bond is complete, they will still seek out their mate after a few days. Seeking a mate out is so that they can be close to the one they've taken as theirs. They will want simple contacts, such as hand holding, hugging, arms brushing, or any skin on skin contact. They will want to maintain this contact for at least 5-10 minutes, but can spend up to an hour attached to their mates…
The book, The Matings of Humanoid Creatures, went into detail about some of the other oddities that mating a werewolf- and any humanoid, for that matter- would have. I review the information I remember twice before I tune into what Sirius was saying.
"... the train, what are you going to wear?" The question seems to be aimed at me. I shrug and shift in my seat, moving so that my knee is resting against Remus' leg with my feet still tucked up underneath me. His hand falls from his cup, which he had been cradling with both hands, to rest on my knee reflexively before he looks up at me startled when he realized what he was doing. I just give him a small grin before turning to answer Sirius, who was still cooking.
"I planned on wearing the pants I was going to have to wear when in my uniform," I admit, picking up a grape to eat. I think as I chew and turn my head to look at Remus again.
"You're going to the Ministry once the train leaves?" I ask. At his nod, I pick up a piece of mango.
"Will you put in an announcement in the paper as well so that's done?"
"I can if that's what you want. Do you want to write it up before you leave?" he agrees. I ponder that a moment. He begins stroking his thumb across the top of my knee as I think and Sirius serves up the breakfast he had been working on. It had bacon, sausage, biscuits, eggs, and some kind of pastry that I begin eyeing immediately.
"Can I have one of those?" I ask, pointing to the plate overflowing with the baked good. Sirius looks startled but pleased that I want something he made.
"Can you eat it?" Remus asks carefully. I nod a bit over eagerly and Sirius passes me one. It was warm and soft, and when I bite into it flakes of slightly. I tear through mine quickly and he laughs when I reach for another. Once I'm done with that one, I remember I was asked a question.
"I'll write it up and you can look at it. If there's something to change, we can change it before you leave." I finally tell Remus, who nods along to what I'm saying. I sit and wait for the two to finish eating, and Remus to pull his hand away before I stand and head out the back door.
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"Be good pup! I'll visit when I can! Ronald, keep him in line!" Sirius shouts were making me laugh in the compartment Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville and I were cozied in with the window open to hear him. I wave at him and Remus, who was grinning next to Sirius. He'd been surprised when I let him apparate me to the platform, and even more surprised when I didn't move away from under his arm until it was time to leave. I would have to talk to him tonight about whether he realized what was going on or not because he seemed oblivious. Luna pulls me from my thoughts and the platform that was slowly moving away by setting herself on my lap, resting her back against the wall I was up against and her feet in the empty seat she had been occupying next to me. She tucks her head under my chin and hugs around my chest, making me laugh as I hugged her back. I had my glamour on and had even thrown on a white button down so all I had to do was throw my robes on before we got to the castle.
"How was your summer dear?" I ask her. We didn't correspond much during the summer because her father was still wary about her being friends with me.
"Daddy and I went to South Africa! It was so much fun and I got your birthday present from there. Neville already has his." She tells me happily. I laugh at her excitement as she bounces away from me to her trunk and begins pulling out a few things. While she's busy, Ginny moves over and hugs me as well, laughing at Luna's chatter.
"How was the summer with Sirius and Remus? Ron told me some things, but not everything." She tells me. I glance at Ron, who just shrugs.
"My summer started out horrible, but ended on a good note," I admit. She goes to ask another question when I find myself with a lap full of Luna again. She's holding something in her hands but before I can see what it is properly, she has it over my head and it's settling against my skin. I blink in surprise when she holds up some kind of gem, with the middle carved into a tree. The main color was a dark purple, but the outer ring was black.
"It's a tree of life, in an amethyst geode. Very hard to craft, even for a magic user. The black is onyx and it has runes carved into them. It's a protection necklace." she says happily. I thank her for the gift and she cuddles up to me as we all discuss our holiday. None of us are overly surprised when we are interrupted about halfway through the trip, but I am surprised to see it's Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. I see a flash of blond and relax when I realize that Draco is behind them, even if I can't see them behind the door and from my seat.
"Please, come in." I offer when Pansy hesitates. She seems surprised, but steps in with Blaise shadowing her every move. Though to compare him to a shadow was ridiculous- he towered over the poor girl. Draco steps in next and smirks immediately when he sees a dozing Luna still in my lap, fist wrapped in my shirt.
"Got yourself a pet there Hadrian?" He asks. I roll my eyes, instead of getting offended.
"No, I have a friend. Try it sometime." I tease back. He laughs at that, and settles on the bench across from me, next to Ron. Blaise takes a hesitant seat next to Ginny, leaving Pansy to settle next to Neville.
"Pansy and Blaise didn't believe me when I told them that the paper was telling the truth this time." Draco finally tells the reason they are in the compartment with us.
"About what exactly?" I ask, amused. Luna shuffles slightly in her seat and I adjust the grip I have on her.
"You know what we mean. Are you really a Faerie? And all your lordships!" Pansy bursts out. Not very Slytherin, I have to say. Before I can open my mouth to retort, Ron cuts in and begins to explain the key points of my summer, allowing me to relax. Soon I'm finding myself dozing off too.
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"Hadrian, time to wake up." Ron is shaking me, so I swat his hand away as I stretch out. Luna and Ginny are gone, most likely to change as I could feel the train slowing down. I pull my robes out and fling them on in time to start moving out of the train. I follow Ron, casting a charm at myself wandlessly to get Luna's scent off of me. The last thing I need is a crazed werewolf mate killing one of my friends. I follow a group of kids out onto the platform and I find Ginny and Luna waiting with Neville and Draco, though I can't see Pansy and Blaise anywhere. I move next to Ginny and I'm grateful a moment later that Luna was standing with Neville when I feel an arm settle over my shoulders and hear someone breathing in deeply near my left ear.
"Hello, Remus," I say slowly.
"Hello professor Lupin!" the group chorus' together. I grin at that, even if the arm around my shoulders tightens in surprise.
"When not in class, please, call me Remus. Hadrian, can I talk to you before you get onto the carriage?" he asks politely. I nod my agreement and his hand slides from my shoulder to the back of my neck.
"I'm sorry, Hadrian, I don't know what's gotten into me," he mutters as we move in and out of the crowd, gaining attention from a lot of students though no one stops us. He makes it to a side of the platform that's mostly deserted and casts a silencing and notice me not charm.
"I'll talk to you tonight about it. It's something I expected to happen so no worries. Are you coming to the welcoming feast?"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. It seems that the headmaster is trying to cause problems. He's demanding that you sleep in your own quarters and that your mate isn't required to be around you."
"What did the board have to say about that?" I ask. His hand tightens around my neck and I reach up and pry at his hand until it loosens. When it does so I drop my hand again and he gives me an apologetic look.
"Lucius convinced them that they were, in fact, necessary. But we have to eat at least two meals in the great hall on weekdays and I have to sit at the head table instead of with the students. Also, Lucius gracefully offered me the Arithmancy teaching position. He was supposed to take it after Professor Vector declined a renewal of her contract. The board agreed that hiring me on would be good, and since you didn't take the class in your electives, it was fine for me to teach it."
"Well, they'll be in for a surprise. I was meant to switch to that class after O.W.L.S came back. I suppose I can petition to McGonagall that I can self-study like I have been for the past five years." I muse to myself. He gives me a half amused, half exasperated look, before turning to look at him.
"I'll be sitting with Severus and Hagrid and McGonagall when she gets there. Will you be okay?"
"Sure. Do you know where the rooms are?"
"Yes, I've seen them. It's been a busy 7 hours. Are you ready to go?"
"I'll wait for you in the great hall and you can show me the way then. Yes, I'm ready to go. See you after the meal." I agree, moving away from him and to the group of people waiting for me. We catch one of the last carriages and make our way into the great hall. I knew that Remus was just going to apparate to the gate and walk, so I'm not surprised that he beats me into the hall and is sitting next to Severus. I sit next to Ron, ignoring all the looks the students are giving me and the whispers I was hearing. The murmurs grew until McGonagall comes in with the first years. I watch the sorting with mild interest, but not as much as I used to. I was going to be studying for my NEWTS this year, of course, I wasn't going to be bothered by the younger years. When Bumblefuck stands, however, my attention zeros in.
"Hello, students! Welcome to Hogwarts, and to those returning, welcome back! I won't waste your time now with the welcoming speech, I'm sure you're all as hungry as I am. So, eat up!" he's way too cheerful for my taste, but he makes the food appear on the table so I can't complain. I scan the table and see a bowl of what looks like mangos, bananas, and something else in some kind of fruit salad near Ginny. I motion for the bowl and serve myself, and then I see a bowl full of grapes near Neville that I snag as well. There are snap peas and green beans as well, and when my plate is full I begin eating. I don't realize how hungry I am until I dig in. I reach for seconds and even take a few pastries set near me for dessert. I'm feeling full enough to burst, something I don't normally feel anymore when Bumblefuck stands again.
"Now that our stomach is full, let's get the announcements out of the way. Filch has the listed of banned items in his office if you wish to see it, otherwise, be advised he can take the items away. The forbidden forest is, as always, forbidden to everyone. And, as some of you have noticed, we have a creature living with us this year. The school board has agreed to give Harry Potter and his mate separate rooms so that they won't be a disturbance to the everyday routine of the school." I hiss at this addition. Why did he have to point it out like that? And I've sent a note back with McGonagall when I got my OWLS that I didn't want to be addressed by anything but Hadrian Merlin- Le Fey. He was doing it just to piss me off!
"... Professor Vector has decided to leave us, meaning that Professor Remus Lupin will be taking over. You may remember him from three years ago teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." That catches my attention because I haven't seen an announcement for this teacher yet.
"The school board has decided to send a teacher they have appointed this year, so let me introduce you to Professor Derrick Vasgama. He's lived in America the past ten years, but has family here he was visiting when the board made the offer. Now, perfects, please take the first years to their dormitories. Classes start tomorrow, so sleep well!" he dismisses us. I roll my eyes, standing with the others. I make it just outside the doors before a group of seventh years corners me into the wall.
"What's this about perfect Potter getting a creature inheritance?" one sneers at me. I'm surprised to see the Ravenclaw emblem on his robes.
"I'm a Faerie, apparently. Anyone who reads the paper knows that. And it's legally Merlin- Le Fey. if people keep getting it wrong, I'll set a slander ban on my old name." I warn him. It's something I thought about doing just to spite Bumblefuck- if he continued calling me my old name, I could go to the goblins and have an announcement put in the Daily. It would state, clearly, that anyone who called me by my old name would be charged no less than five galleons, but no more than 50, depending on my decision when setting up the announcement. It would then take that money automatically from a person vault and place it in one of mine until I call the ban off, every time someone who's read the title or was made aware of the article says the wrong name. It's a complicated piece of magic, which is why the goblins are the ones to do it and not the paper themselves.
"You just want more attention! If you're a faerie, where are your wings?" A girl sneers. Her, I recognize as a Gryffindor, which further pisses me off. Before I can retaliate, Snape and Remus come out of the hall together, along with McGonagall and Babbling. I see Remus immediately shift and begin moving towards me, breaking up the seventh years as Snape's voice cuts into the crowd that was gathering.
"Anyone caught harassing Mr. Merlin- Le Fey will be given a detention with me. You all read the paper and know that it's true by several follow-ups from several different people as well as the bank. Move along." he snaps. I watch the students disappear before I turn to the three professors that stayed behind- Remus, Snape, and McGonagall.
"Thanks for that. I didn't want to end up hurting a kid for bad mouthing me the first night back." I admit, only half teasing.
"We wouldn't want you to put your house in the negative the first night back, Mr. Merlin- Le Fey." Snape counters, before giving a farewell to Remus and McGonagall. By then the hall is nearly empty. McGonagall leaves as well, nodding a good night before I'm left with Remus, whose rubbing the back of his head like he wasn't sure what to do.
"So, where are these rooms?" I decided to ask after a few more moments of tense silence.
"Right, this way." he murmurs, motioning me to begin following him. He doesn't lead for long, instead falling to be in line with me so that we were walking together. We pass students here and there, some saying hello, others giving us weird or annoyed looks, but for the most part, it's quiet. We pass the Hufflepuff dorms, and I see the kitchens, but before we get to that door he pauses outside one I don't remember seeing before.
"This one is it. Would you like a portrait or a door?" he asks. I study the wooden door a moment.
"A portrait would be best probably." I decide. The door morphs to look similar to the portrait hole that the Gryffindor common room had, only slimmer.
"Well, shit, how do we get inside?" I complain, making Remus laugh as he moves closer to me.
"You think of who you want to guard the door and touch the frame. If the castle has a portrait of them, and they want to guard the door, they will show up," he tells me lightly, though I can tell he's still smirking at me. I throw him a quick glare over my shoulder.
"Who should we have guarding the place then, hmm? You think they have a portrait of Tom Riddle in the school?"
"Hadrian!"
"What! I was only kidding, Remus." I shoot back. I think for another minute before nodding to myself and touching the frame. When nothing happens immediately, I scowl back at Remus.
"You lied to me."
"I did not! They have to walk here, it might take a while," he argues back.
"What do we do until then? I don't have all- ow!" I whirl back around to the door that I was still touching as something pricks the middle of my hand. I yank my hand back, seeing the blood welling from a small cut I had. When I look at the door properly I'm surprised to see the basilisk from my second year peering at me.
"My master sent me to see if you were a true descendant of Slytherin. He will be here shortly. May I keep him company in your portrait?" she hisses at me. I'm startled. Did Salazar Slytherin really have a portrait in the castle? Why wasn't he protecting the Slytherin dorms?
"Of course beautiful. What's your name?" I ask instead.
"Master calls me Alazia," she responds. I turn to Remus, who had made a curious sound behind me.
"Hadrian, you do realize that I can't speak parseltongue, right?" He asks though he looks more amused than annoyed.
"Of course. She's just visiting. Remus, this is Alazia. Alazia, this is my mate, Remus." I introduce them, ignoring the warm rush I got introducing my mate for the first time, even if it was a painting of a basilisk.
"Hadrian…. That's a… is that Salazar's snake?" Remus asks when he steps closer to the picture and seeing exactly what kind of snake she was. It didn't take him long to put two and two together. Which I'm proud of.
"Yes, she is. I asked the door for Salazar, and she was sent to make sure I was a real descendant of Slytherin." I tell him.
"I'm sure many people have asked for Salazar Slytherin to guard their doors. Why is he answering to you?"
"Because he's the first real heir I've had in many years." A new, soft voice draws our attention back to the portrait. This Salazar was surprisingly young, all things considered. He was supposed to have lived almost 300 years, yet this Salazar looked 30 at most. He was dressed in black pants and a matching shirt of some kind, with a built that had a silver looking sword on it and dark brown boots. His black hair was pulled into a high, tight looking ponytail and he had something strapped to his back I couldn't see. Alazia was winding her way around his feet and he looks away a moment to give her an amused look before focusing on us again. I realize with a start that he's taller than the both of us, and that makes me grin. Anyone who would visit me would be looked down upon by Salazar Slytherin himself.
"Hello, Lord Slytherin. Rumors have it that you have many other titles as well," he says when no one speaks up immediately.
"Five, actually. Merlin and Le Fey being the most prominent." I admit to him.
"I see. I have three conditions to guarding your portrait." He says, turning slightly formal. I nod to show I'm listening and Remus gives a verbal okay before he continues.
"One is, as a safeguard, Your password is changed once a week, much like the dorms used to be. Two, between the hours of two and five in the morning I am allowed to leave, though Alazia will stay here in case of emergencies. You will be able to open the door from the inside, but not the outside if the door is closed. And the third is that you have a portrait in the living area of your home for me so that I may visit you, or announce visitors if need be." he finishes off. I glance back at Remus, knowing that he would need to agree to these terms as well. When he nods just slightly, I turn back to the portrait.
"Would you be willing to amend the second condition so that you're the 24 hours after the full moon? Remus is a werewolf and will most likely be indisposed." I ask in parseltongue. Slytherin thinks a moment before he nods.
"I can accept that. What will be your first password?" He asks. At this, Remus tugs my arm just slightly so that I turn towards him.
"May I?" he asks, almost hopefully. I nod and he turns to Slytherin who is watching us in interest.
"Golden Eagle." He says, and I want to smack him. He'd been obsessed with finding out what animal my wings were, and Sirius had called it the first time he'd seen them when he said the golden eagle. Apparently, my wings were fascinating enough to name our first password over them.
"Now, these rooms are for a Faerie, and their mates. No one else is allowed in without your permission, who would be allowed access?"
"I'll bring them here first. If they aren't with me, they don't get in. After that, you'll have to ask them a question in the rooms that they will have to answer every time they come in. at most seven people will have free reign to come in at any given time, not including us." I tell him. I'm dancing in place at this point. I was tired, and full, and wanted to get off my feet.
"Very well. Welcome home, Lord Slytherin and…"
"My mate, Remus Lupin." I fill in the pause. He nods, and the portrait swings in.