Recap from Chapter 20:
Severus arched an eyebrow again briefly as he watched Harry hide his face in his chest. It was a couple minutes later when both Severus and Harry heard footsteps approaching the infirmary doors. Harry stiffened slightly until Severus tightened his hold on the teen and pulled him even closer to his body.
"It'll be okay, Harry." Severus whispered ever so softly in Harry's ear just as one of the doors to the hospital wing opened and Isis and the other person entered the room.
Important Note, please read because it explains some things relevant to the story: Okay everyone, I admit that I have neglected the issue of Harry being the 'submissive mate' for quite a while because it frankly wasn't all that important until relatively recently. The way that's I intended the whole 'submissive mate' thing, as of now, is mostly when Harry gets upset his mates will be able to comfort him in whatever way that he needs. It will also mean that at times he will need a little extra reassurance from his mates because of everything he went through. I also intend for Harry to be somewhat submissive sexually when it comes to Severus and Isis. Harry being 'submissive' helps, in a way, for explaining how he is pregnant and how he has had so many miscarriages. Harry had so many miscarriages because at the time he didn't have his mates to help and support him and he was not ready to carry a child to full term at those times either. Harry may be submissive in some things, but that doesn't mean that he won't have any free will. He'll have plenty of free will and be able to make his own choices. The 'submissive' thing will not be mentioned too often unless I bring it up as of a way to help explain why some things are happening in the chapters. Sometimes Harry being 'submissive' will show up in and other times it won't and if it does come up then it will not be too obvious unless you are actually looking for it and reading between the lines. I hope that clears things up about the whole issue.
P.S. Sorry about the rant at the end of the last chapter, I over-reacted to a review but I still feel like some of it had to be said. *sheepish grin* Once again, sorry about that rant. Feel free to ask me any questions and know that if I don't answer them then it most likely ties into the plot and I'm not ready to reveal the information just yet. But hey, a new chapter and not as far apart from the last update compared to the update before that. :) This chapter is unbataed at this time, but mistakes will be fixed within the next few days or so.
Chapter 21
Severus sent a smug smirk at the two who just entered the hospital wing. That smug smirk seemed to be full of happiness because in the next moment he was looking down fondly at Harry as the teen tried to hide his face in Severus's still open shirt. As Harry's cheek rests against the skin of Severus's chest, Severus pulls Harry further into their embrace. Harry willingly goes and snuggles even more into the older man. He was much calmer than he had been earlier and was even more at ease with Severus. He was even comfortable with him.
Harry knows that Isis has returned and that she brought Remus with her. He didn't know why Isis brought Remus, but he decided that he wasn't going to worry about it unless he absolutely had to. He directs a small, yet somewhat shy smile at the two of them before hiding his face again. "Hi." He said softly.
"You weren't this shy earlier." Severus teased softly.
"Oh, shut it, you." Harry growled as he nipped Severus's chest in a small warning; he was feeling a little bold when it came to Severus at this time.
"And if I don't want to?" Severus inquired with a smirk. He wanted to see where this would go, he didn't even care that they now had an audience besides Isis.
"Then I guess that would mean I would have to find a way to shut you up myself." Harry replied.
"Is that so?" Severus purred. He liked this new side of his young mate.
"Oh yeah," Harry retorted and then leaned up and kissed Severus for a few moments before hiding his face against Severus's chest again. "Did that work?" His face was turning red and was glad he was hiding his face in Severus's chest.
"Yes, I suppose it did." Severus murmured in amusement.
"Good." Harry grumbled quietly in slight exasperation.
It was around then that both Isis and Remus cleared their throats. Severus looked to them with a raised eyebrow as Harry continued to hide his face in the older vampire's chest. Harry still wasn't completely sure why Isis had brought Remus with her, but he did have a slight idea about it. He couldn't really bring himself to be bothered or upset by Remus being brought there by Isis. Isis herself was amused by the interaction between her two male mates and was happy with how well they were getting along. They even seemed to be comfortable in each other's presence and at ease with each other as well. Remus, on the other hand, was shifting a little uncomfortably from embarrassment and was confused by what he had just witnessed.
"Well, this is kind of awkward." Remus muttered to himself after minutes of silence had gone by.
Severus snorted and pulled Harry a little closer to his body as he eyed the werewolf. "That's one way to look at it."
"I take it that I probably missed something, Sev, Harry?" Isis asked with a small smile.
Harry shrugged and tried to burrow further into Severus and his chest. Severus sent an amused look in Harry's direction and held the teen a little tighter in response to the teen's actions. "Yes, I suppose that you could say that, my dear." Severus stated. He could already feel Harry's tension beginning to rise and shifted his body under the teen's in order to try to give him comfort and give the teen a sense of safety if need be. "You could definitely say that you missed something, but you will have to wait until later to hear about it." A touch of smugness entered his tone.
Even though Harry could feel tension starting to build up within him, he was enjoying being so close to Severus. He was actually feeling safe and that seemed to have a peaceful effect on him, his mind, and body. He began to realize, though, that he was starting to crave more of Severus's blood. Or even Isis's blood, the blood from either of his two older mates would suit him just fine. But since Severus was the closest one of his two mates that made it easier to decide who to get the blood from, so then Severus's blood would work perfectly. Harry seemed to be in a bit of haze as he nuzzled a spot on Severus's chest above his heart and, feeling bold, he flicked his tongue out and lightly ran it over the older male's left nipple. Harry briefly realized that he was excited that Isis was back, but Severus was so much closer. He wasn't sure what he was feeling or why, so he chose to ignore it for now.
"Would someone care to tell me what is going on here?" Remus requested in confusion.
Severus had been about to make a scathing retort when he was startled by whatever Harry was doing. Severus's startled gaze flew down to Harry to try to figure out what his young mate was doing when he felt a moist tongue circle his left nipple. His bewildered gaze moved to Isis and met her eyes. "Harry?" He asked in surprise. "What are you doing?" He made a move as if to move the teen a little and was growled at by said teen.
"Severus, do not!" Isis's voice cut in sharply. "He needs to feed again because of his condition. He won't need to take much more from you, just enough to calm him and his body. Just allow him to do what his instincts are telling him."
"But he just feed about two or three hours ago." Severus whispered in shock as he felt the inquisitive tongue against his skin again. "Just before you contacted me, to be exact."
"He just needs a little more nourishment, Sev." Isis stated as she moved toward the bed and her mates. 'It's the pregnancy, he will be fine as long as he does what he needs to do.'
'The pregnancy is making him do this?' Severus asked as he bit back a moan and allowed his fingers to tangle into Harry's hair as the teen's fangs sank into delicate flesh. He couldn't suppress his gasp though. "Harry." He murmured the teen's name.
'At this moment, yes.' Isis replied. 'Just go with it and enjoy it with him.' She sat down next to both males and just watched. 'He might not even realize what he is doing.'
'Merlin!' Severus hissed. 'He has no idea what he is doing to me. Again!'
'Oh, but I think he does on some level.' Isis murmured. 'Just relax, Sev.'
TN
Remus made as if to move as Severus let out a soft moan, but froze when he was met with the hostile gaze of two fully mature adult vampires. Remus was more confused now than he had been minutes ago. It looked like he would have to wait to get any answers, though, as Severus and Isis looked at him coldly and with such hostile looks. All Remus had been able to get out of Isis since she had found him was that something had happened to Harry and he needed to come right away. Other than that, Isis hadn't said much. Well, okay, so he had been able to learn that something had happened at the Dursleys and whatever it was led to Isis and Severus to turning Harry. At least that was from what he could gather. But the situation going on in front of him was confusing. And then it hit him about the comment Isis had made about her and Severus finding another mate.
"Dear Merlin!" Remus exclaimed as he watched Severus throw his head back against the headboard and moan softly. Remus was surprised as hell when a growl was omitted from Harry.
"Ssshh." Isis hissed harshly as Harry growled at the sound of the werewolf's voice. "You don't want to upset him, right?"
Remus nodded, but stayed silent. He hadn't liked that Harry had growled at him. He remained quiet as he watched the scene in front of him. He noticed how Isis leaned in toward both Severus and Harry and how she began to run her fingers through Harry's hair. Remus blinked when Isis leaned forward and briefly brushed her lips against Severus's.
TN
'Isis! You're not helping!' Severus grumbled after Isis pulled back.
'I know.' Isis smirked. 'But how else am I going to find out what happened?' She paused and looked at Harry. 'His instincts are really strong, Sev.'
'That definitely explains some of Harry's actions and reaction earlier.' Severus said and he tried to force himself to focus on Isis and not what Harry was doing to him at the present.
'Sev, what happened?' Isis asked as she reached over to brush a stray bit of Severus's hair out of his face.
'Damn it! You know exactly how to get the information.' Severus hissed as he forced back a groan. 'Just use the link.'
'Was only waiting for your permission, Sev,' Isis intoned. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she took in the information through the link she shared with Severus. She blinked a few moments later after she quickly went through the information from Severus's memories. 'Yes,' She murmured, 'his instincts are indeed very strong. His instincts took over during his interactions with you earlier and it explains his behavior and actions during and after you helped him.' She explained.
'And what about this?' Severus demanded in a growl. 'Does that explain any of what is going on with Harry right now?'
'Tell me, was he beginning to tense up at all before he startled you?' Isis asked.
'Yes, as a matter of fact, he did.' Severus stated.
'Then yes, his instincts did have a hand in this as well and it is also partly because of the pregnancy.' Isis said. 'The pregnancy is going to make it so that Harry's instincts will kick in frequently and possibly take over. Sometimes he'll be like this and other times he won't.'
'I see.' Severus said as his eyes narrowed at Isis. 'And you would know all of this information how?'
Isis's eyes shifted away from Severus's briefly before returning to meet his eyes again. She took a deep breath before replying. 'Severus, I have been alive for a very long time. This is not the first time that the three of us have been together.' She looked away from Severus for a few moments. 'Things were different back then. For one, both Harry and you were humans that went by different names and died before either of you could be turned even though you both wanted to become vampires. We're not just mates, Severus, we're soulmates. When you both died, I thought I had lost you forever, but then I found you again, Severus. After so many countless years without my mates, I finally found one of you again even though I had no hope of ever doing so. I couldn't stand the thought of just finding you after so long and just let you die. So, I did as Albus asked and saved you.
'I had thought that you be the only one of my mates that I would ever find. Then yesterday, you brought Harry home with you and as soon as I saw him I knew who he was to us. I let you decide how best to handle it because I knew you would do what was right not only for you and me, but for Harry as well. I also gave you both the opportunity to be with each other without me and I would have walked away right then if it would have made both of you happy, but both of you chose to have me stay. So I stayed and now I'm sharing things with you that I was afraid to talk about.
'I know so much information about Harry's current pregnancy because the last time we were all together, I was the one in Harry's situation. I not only lost both Harry and you in the past, but another mate and a son as well.' Isis finally paused. She forced her eyes and face to go blank because she didn't want Severus to be able to see any of the pain that talking about the past causes her. 'I'm sorry I never told you all of this before. I wasn't sure how to tell you. I had been waiting for an opportunity to tell you about some of this, but the timing was never right. And now we have Harry and he's pregnant and going to need us a lot to get through it, especially since he'll need more blood than a regular vampire in order to sustain the pregnancy at a normal level.' She started to move away from both Severus and Harry when Severus's left hand shot out and captured her right wrist.
'Are you telling me that we are not only part of a triad, but a quartet as well?' Severus asked tonelessly. 'After being together for nearly two decades, you wait until now to say something?'
'Yes,' Isis replied as she bowed her head in shame, 'but I have no idea whatsoever if we will be able to find our last mate or not. I'm not really sure about much of anything right now.'
'We will have to tell Harry about this sometime soon.' Severus sighed. 'I'm not angry with you, Isis.' He added. 'I just wish you would have said something a hell of a lot sooner about us having not only one, but two other mates that we could possibly find one day. I would have been more prepared and not so surprised and taken off guard about finding out Harry is a mate to us. We will have to talk about this more in depth later and with Harry. He should know.' Severus wasn't sure what to think or feel. A part of him was angry about information being withheld, but he somehow knew that it had been hard on Isis to reveal as much as she finally did. For now he would refuse to think on or feel too much about the new information unless he had to, that way he would have time to come to terms with the information.
'As you wish,' Isis murmured. She knew Severus was suppressing a lot of his feelings right now and that he was refusing to think too much about a lot of the information that she had finally shared with him. Not that she blamed him; he had every right to be angry with her but so far he wasn't as far as she could tell.
TN
Harry had been paying careful attention to how Severus would react the first time Harry's tongue made contact with the other male's skin. Harry smirked mentally when he felt Severus startle from just a simple flick of a tongue. He barely paid attention to what Severus said, but he ended up growling at the older man when he made as if to try to move Harry. Some small part of Harry knew that that he was acting purely on instinct at this point in time, just like he had been doing with Severus earlier just after the feeding and then a little later when Severus had helped Harry; but right now he couldn't find it in himself to be upset about his instincts taking over.
A small part of Harry's mind was paying attention to everything that was being said so that it could be processed later. Harry ran his tongue lightly over Severus's skin a second time and paid close attention for any reaction from the other male vampire. When Severus didn't seem to react that time, Harry took that as permission to continue and sank his fangs into the delicately soft skin as fingers tangled themselves in his hair. Harry enjoyed the sound of Severus's gasp just before the murmuring of his name. He also felt a small swell of smugness as he noticed Severus relaxed enough to allow a soft moan to be voiced.
Moments later, Harry felt anger surge within him briefly at the sound of a voice that didn't belong to either of his mates. He growled his displeasure at hearing a voice that was clearly not one of his older mates, but he calmed almost immediately when he heard Isis administer some kind of reprimanded reply to whomever it was that spoke before her. A part of his mind reminded him that Remus was there and that it had probably been his voice, but he really didn't care at the time as long as he stayed quiet until he was done feeding. Harry felt a tinge of happiness when Severus's arms wrapped around his waist after releasing the teen's hair and pulled him even closer to the older man.
Harry took his time feeding this time by drinking slowly. For some reason, he wanted to enjoy this feeding as much as possible. The minutes slowly ticked by while Harry was drinking some of Severus's blood. About five minutes had passed when Harry noticed something odd. Well, it was more like he felt something odd. It was a weird sensation in his abdomen, almost as if something was shifting lightly within him. Harry brushed it off at first until he felt it happening again a few moments later. Harry was startled enough that he gasped and ended up jerking his head away from Severus's chest. He vaguely noticed that his sudden movement ended up startling his mates. He pulled away from Severus enough to sit up a little bit and Severus's hands feel away from the teen briefly.
"Harry?" Severus and Isis asked in concern at Harry's sudden, unexpected movement. Severus pushed himself up into a slightly reclined position and gently pulled Harry into a sitting position as well. He shared a brief worried look with Isis before his eyes returned to Harry again.
Harry was so bewildered that he didn't feel or notice that Severus had pulled him into a sitting position or that he was partially curled into Severus's side. Harry's left hand fluttered uncertainly to his abdomen, where he noticed for the first time that there was the slightest hint of a barely there bulge that was the beginning of a baby bump. He gently pressed his hand a little more firmly against his abdomen and softly gasped again when he felt something lightly press back against his hand.
"What in the…?" Harry began and then trailed off as comprehension of what could be going on entered his mind. "Oh." His eyes widened in surprise. He wasn't far enough along in the pregnancy to be able to feel the baby move; at least he didn't think he was. He couldn't be that far along, could he? But right now he didn't have any other ideas that could explain what was going on. Maybe the conversion and the blood from his mates had something to do with.
"Harry?" Isis called gently to try to get the teen's attention.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Severus demanded in a soft tone.
Harry barely heard what his mates were saying. Maybe he was farther along in the pregnancy than he and the others thought, but if that was true then that would mean… He couldn't let himself think farther than that just yet. He needed to know if anyone else could feel what he felt when he rested his hand against his abdomen. He needed to know if it really happened or if it had been his imagination.
Harry's eyes flashed to Severus as Severus's right hand lightly brushed against the left side of the teen's face. "Harry, please talk to us." Severus said softly.
"Severus." Harry whispered as his left hand flew up to Severus's hand and grasped it. He tugged lightly on Severus's hand until the older man allowed him to move the hand where he wanted it. He gently arranged Severus's hand so that the palm of his hand was resting against the teen's mostly flat abdomen. Harry watched Severus carefully while he rested his left hand over Severus's hand in order to make sure the older man didn't move his hand until Harry was ready for him to move said hand.
"Harry, what…" Severus started but trailed off as he felt something lightly nudge the palm of his hand. His eyes widened and he pressed his hand a little more firmly against Harry's abdomen. He felt the slight nudge a second time and he lowered his shocked eyes to search the anxious eyes of Harry. "Harry?" His concern was more pronounced now and it showed in his tone.
"Please." Harry whispered in an almost desperate tone. "Please tell me that you felt that and that I'm not imagining things." Panic was starting to make itself known through his voice. "Severus, please, I need to know."
"Ssshh, Harry." Severus murmured soothingly. "Yes, I felt it." His worried eyes went from Harry's anxious eyes to Isis and held her gaze. "Harry, is that what startled you a few minutes ago?"
"Yes." Harry replied softly.
"Harry, Sev, what's going on?" Isis asked. She could tell by the look in Severus's eyes that he was worried about something.
"In a moment, darling," Severus said to Isis before turning his gaze back to Harry. Severus pulled Harry a little closer to his body and shifted his hand slightly and was rewarded with another barely there nudge. "As far as you know, Harry, is today the first time that you felt that?" He asked the teen in a gentle tone.
"Yes." Harry whispered. "The first time was a short time before I jerked away from you." He paused as he lowered his eyes from Severus's concerned gaze. It was while he allowed his gaze to wander a little that he noticed two faint trails of blood slowly trickling from the puncture wounds that Harry accidently left on Severus when he had jerked away from the older man in surprise. "Severus, you're bleeding still. I'm sorry." He would have said more, but Severus gently pressed one of his fingers from his left hand against the teen's lips.
"It's just a little bit of blood and it's nothing to worry about. It will heal on its own in a short amount of time. It was an accident and is of no consequence." Severus said in the same gentle tone that he had used earlier. He then wrapped his left arm around Harry's waist again in an attempt to try to comfort the teen.
Harry leaned into Severus a little more and accepted the silent comfort that the other male was trying to give him. "What could this mean?" Harry muttered to no one in particular, but knowing that Severus would probably say some kind of response to that question any way.
"I'm not completely sure, to be honest." Severus replied quietly. "But it most likely means that you are farther along than we thought or knew."
Harry tensed briefly before making himself relax again. "I was afraid that you might say something like that." He said with a sigh because he now knew that he would have to think about what that implied. He wasn't sure if he was ready to think about what it implied that he was farther along in his pregnancy than he had thought he was.
Severus and Harry both looked to Isis and noticed that she now understood what was going on. "Oh, Harry." Isis murmured softly. "Are you all right?" She asked in concern.
"I don't know." Harry said in a low tone of voice as he slightly turned toward Isis. He froze briefly as Isis went to brush her fingertips against the side of the teen's face. He quickly looked between his mates as a small whimper of fear escaped from his throat. He was suddenly sensing anger in the room, but it did not seem to be coming from either Severus or Isis because what he could mostly sense from them was worry and concern. That only left one person in the room that could possibly be angry: Remus.
A/N: Sorry about the cliffy, but it was needed and I won't explain why. Now, I made a new revelation through Isis in this chapter about a fourth mate. To make things a little more interesting and have posted a poll on my profile, so check it out. Everyone is allowed to choose two choices because the way I have it set up is to choose a sex and then a person who could possibly be the fourth mate. I will say that the fourth mate is not going to be a created character, but a character from the HP series. :) I hope you guys aren't too mad at me for the cliff hanger. Well, let me know what you think of this chapter and don't forget to check out the poll. Hint: the name of the fourth mate is most likely listed in the poll. Feel free to also leave a review about who you think the fourth mate might turn out to be after voting for the poll because that might be fun as well. Oh, and by the way, the next chapter has been started. This chapter is kinda like an early birthday present to Harry himself. :) Till next time, take care all and later. And PLEASE leave me a review; they usually brighten my day when they're nice. :)