Chapter 38
Of girls and evil things
The ground in that particular late February morning was frozen solid around the town of Little Hangleton. Adam's information network had finally given him a lead to one of the soul pieces Voldemort had left behind. So he together with Pan went to the old Gaunt cottage.
'This seems like a cheerful place to raise a family.' Pan muttered as they stepped through the half fallen gate onto the property. Two steps in however what seemed like an army of snakes was coming towards them. The cold did not seem to deter them in the least. Pan stepped up and vanished them with a snap of his fingers.
'They were enchanted to withstand the cold.' Aries said
'And to attack anyone who isn't their master.' Added Pan
'And here I thought it was your charming personality that drew them to us.'
Pan raised an eyebrow 'There will be more traps inside.'
'Is that fear I hear?'
'Caution. Not all of us have the recklessness of a Gryffindor.'
Aries shook his head and chuckled 'Sometimes I wonder if my dear old granddad didn't leave more than his magic behind when he created you.'
'Arcturus's common sense helped you get this far.'
'You will never hear me say differently.' Aries smiled and they moved forward. The door was surprisingly solid and no opening charm worked on it. After examining the house Pan came out empty.
'It is wizard magic of unknown origins to us elves.'
'That is why I am here.' Aries pulled the cloak over his face before taking out his wand and examining the spells and wards that were barring their entrance. Another 10 minutes later and he understood the price that was needed to go inside. Blood.
'Conjure me a flask of pig's blood.' Aries said.
The elf did so and Aries simply smeared it on the door that sprung open.
'Rather pathetic.'
'Only because Tom Riddle clearly didn't read about the similarities between humans and pigs. Though I didn't know it would work so well.'
Aries stepped inside the cottage after Pan. The place was covered in a thick layer of dust that gave the old furniture a dull grey glow. Pan executed another sweep of the room and found that the central table had a circular spell guarding it.
'There is nothing on the table.' Aries pointed out.
'There might be something in it.'
'Or beneath the floor boards. Check the foundation of the house.'
Pan did so and it turned out that there was a maze like labyrinth where snakes were crawling into the thousands.
'There is something here all right. I do not think even I can vanish that many snakes.'
'Hm, then we might need some help.' He cast a portal to their left and a gaping black hole the height of Aries himself and just as broad appeared and through it stepped out one of the creatures Pan felt least comfortable with that resided on Black Land only. Huge paw prints appeared on the dust covered floor but only his master's eyes could see the creature itself. Hell Hounds were after all invisible to mortal eyes.
'One should be enough to assist you in cleaning up this hovel.' Aries petted the beast's head that was somewhere level to his torso.
The elf broke the seal surrounding the table but the opening didn't show itself. He tried blasting through the floor but nothing happened. The boards were sealed shut.
'Is it the same magic as the one at the door?'
Aries went to examine it in more detail. 'No, this is a bit trickier.'
'Pig sacrifice?'
'That would be crude, though I wouldn't put it past Voldemort. No, the password is in Parseltongue.'
'Great, do we know anyone who speaks it?'
'Harry, but we needn't bring him here. You see, while the Blacks can't understand snakes, they made a study of the human version of the language. I think a few well-placed hisses will open this door for us.'
'I assume you came prepared.'
'That would not be a very Gryffindor quality.'
'You were bread a Slytherin.' Pan huffed as Aries took out a recorder orb and played it. It hissed something and just as his master had predicted, the opening formed in front of them.
'After you.' Aries said and the hound and the elf jumped in.
The tunnels were left in a state of snake carnage after the hell hound swept through the enchanted reptiles. Pan barely needed to vanish a couple hapless creatures that had been left alive by the Hades monster.
'They were enchanted to have a long life, and multiplied by spell alone.' Pan said quietly
'Is that pity I hear, for these creatures?'
'They were innocent.'
'But still trapped in this place for such a long time. A swift death is preferable to serving in darkness.'
'Would that we could have saved them.'
'The enchantments are bound together, once freed of the compulsion to attack intruders they would die in a matter of seconds as old age will catch up to them.' Aries shook his head 'No, my friend, oblivion is the best we can do for them.'
'Knowing doesn't make it any less sad.'
'Looks like Arty is done cleaning up the tunnels.'
'Making a mess more like it.'
They followed the tunnels to their end where a chest awaited them.
'Those are nasty spells around it. Nothing a bit of skill with wards will not fix.' Aries took the hood off and began working at untangling the intricacies of the spells surrounding their prize. Pan watched the concentrated face of his young master as he worked around to opening the chest. Pan could see the spider web like enchantments being thinned, but in the end there were two strands left that made Aries pause.
'Interesting.'
'What is?'
'The choice given to me. There are two ways to open the chest: one is a sort of mind control spell that I do not know about.'
'That doesn't sound good.'
'The other is a perverted torture spell that acts like a Cruciatus.'
'You have to cast it?'
'No, it will be cast on me.'
'Your mind is strong enough to withstand mind control.'
'I cannot take the risk. With the ritual in place and the island under my protection, anything that may have a chance of controlling me is not an option.'
'And what if torture leaves you a vegetable?'
'Torture I can withstand.'
'Can't I take your place?'
'The magic recognizes the one that undid the other spells. It has to be me. If I am incapacitated you will take whatever it is in that box and myself to Black Manor.'
'And if you won't recover?'
'Silver-Mane has my instruction. You will stay at Harry's side until he is done needing you.'
'If you die I die.'
'It's torture, not the killing curse. Worst case scenario, keep me on life support until you are ready to die as well.'
'Why don't we leave this for later, when the little Master is all grown up and won't need you anymore?'
'The possibility of Voldemort returning and moving this piece of soul somewhere out of our reach is not something I care to chance. And I am fairly certain I will be fine.'
'Which is why you left instructions with Silver-mane.' Pan snorted
'It's my Slytherin education, prepare for every contingency.'
'Well, get on with it then.'
'Who is the master here?' Aries smiled and returned to the chest. The last trap had to be sprung, and Aries did not waste time.
Pain infiltrated every nerve ending in his body. It was the Cruciatus, but ten time, no a hundred times worse. He shielded his mind from the torture as best he could as the spell continued for what seemed to him an eternity but in the end it had been only ten minutes. As the torture ended Aries collapsed shaking on the floor and the chest opened. Pan took out the ring that was set on a purple cushion without touching the artefact. He was prepared to carry Aries on a stretcher but the Black Lord was climbing up on his two shaky legs clinging onto the Hell Hound for support.
'You're still sane?'
'As much as I was before.' Aries answered quietly.
The High Elf bit his tongue instead of replying that that was not very reassuring. Aries managed with shaky hands to open a second black portal and he and the hell-hound stepped through followed by Pan before the portal closed entirely.
A warm soup and a blanket over his still shaky legs later, Aries was staring at the untouched ring on the desk inside his study at Black Manor.
'It is cursed.' Said Trill coming in with a kettle full of tea.
'I figured as much. There's a compulsion too.'
'Yet you do not seem affected.'
'First thing in strengthening one's mind is fighting off compulsion spells. This is the Gaunt second Slytherin Heirloom. Only it's not.'
'Not what?'
'Not Slytherin at all. Look at the engravings.'
'I have seen that somewhere before.'
'A children's book.' Aries answered making Trill look up at his master. Aries's now quickly aging face left the grey eyes intact and burning with something like triumph.
'If Master is certain.'
'It is of no consequence to us. Trill go ask for an audience with Silver-Mane three days from now. I want to discuss the forging of a new artefact.'
Trill bowed and departed just as Pan came in holding a Basilisk Tooth Dagger in its iron casing.
'Ready to destroy it?' Pan asked.
'Most definitely.' Aries took the dagger and with a swiftness that Pan didn't think he still had left after the torture that evening, Aries stabbed the golden band before the spirit inside it could figure out what was happening. The agonizing scream died out and the ring shattered, the gold turning black and then to dust leaving the black stone gleaming on the cushion. While Horcruxes could read ill-intent when in the presence of someone who wanted them destroyed and could protect themselves through manipulating the enemy's darkest fears, they were helpless when dealing with expert Occlumency users.
'The curse and the Horcrux are gone.' Said Pan after examining the stone.
'Yes, but how many remain?'
'You think he did more than three?'
'I was hoping he had stopped at two. This way his soul would have been split in three.'
'Maybe the wanted three plus one?'
'No. A powerful wizard with an obsession for rituals of power would choose magically powerful numbers: 3, 7, 9, 13...'
'You think he was aiming for 13?' Pan looked alarmed. They were never going to find all of them.
'I am not sure. Seems unlikely, from all the evidence out there, too many splits will cause madness, and not of the coherent kind. But even three was for me one too many.'
'Is there no way of knowing?'
'There is but one way that I can think of that would ensure the destruction of all soul pieces, regardless of number. But for it to work I would need to perform the ritual on the original soul piece.'
'So finding Voldemort's wraith?'
'The ritual demands he has a body.'
'You can't think of helping that mad man back into being!?'
'Of course not. I just have to look for a different ritual to find the remaining Horcruxes. But if Riddle finds his way to a body, I will be ready, and all his Horcruxes will be destroyed without mercy.' Aries grinned.
Spring was showing itself early on the Hogwarts grounds this year as Harry flew high above the Quiddich pitch looking for the snitch in their practice session that Friday evening. He dodged a Bludger from Fred and flew away from the game of Quaffle-Tag the chasers were having to check for the snitch in peace. He barely made a full round of the stadium when he saw the little ball's glitter in the last rays of sun of the day. He chased after it only to realize it wasn't the snitch at all.
'Heide, what are you doing here?'
'I am back from Avalon and knowing that you won't come home tomorrow, since Aries has to go to the IWC conference this weekend, I decided to pay you a visit.'
'You missed out on a lot of fun during the winter holiday.' Harry said as the two flew now next to each other.
'Yes well, I am not a fan of cold weather and faes need to recharge their batteries in the mother land every once in a while, if we want to be efficient while in the human world.'
'Harry, why aren't you looking for the snitch?' Oliver asked
'Sorry Oliver, Heide came for a visit.'
'Who?'
'Heide!' Fred and George came to greet the fairy leaving Angelina to almost get knocked down by a Bludger.
'You lot, stop fooling around, we have our match with Hufflepuff in less than a month. We need to be ready!'
'Relax Oli, we will be ready. The Puffs won't stand a chance.'
'With you two trying to learn Muggle guitar for Merlin knows what reason, and Mr. Lovebird here and his crush on an enemy seeker and probably letting her catch the snitch just to get in her knickers.' Wood said pointing at Harry.
'I would never do that.' Harry objected flushing red 'And Cho and I are just friends.'
'Oooh, I did miss a lot of fun stuff, didn't I.' Heide beamed at Harry. 'Who is this Cho? Is she prettier than me?'
Harry groaned, the last thing he wanted was the Fae to know about Cho and tease him mercilessly probably into his fourth year and beyond.
'Cho's Harry's girlfriend.' Explained Fred
'No, she's not. We just hang around for our Arithmancy homework.'
'I don't recall Professor Vector giving us partner assignments the past three weeks.' Katie said smirking at Harry.
'So? Don't you like working on your homework with your friends?'
'In the common room or at the library, but Harrykins, a little birdy told us you two are meeting in empty classrooms.'
'We are studying away from noise and where we can actually talk, and not whisper.'
'Harry and Cho, sitting on a broom…'
'Heide stop that!'
'Oh this is so much fun. Does Aries know?' Harry's surprised eyes gave the answer away.
'He will surely want to find out, his little boy is growing up so fast.' The Fae twirled in the air and Harry made a grab at her but missed.
'Don't you dare tell Aries this!'
'What will you do to stop me?' Heide started flying away and Harry gave chase as the twins laughed at their seeker's predicament. Heide was fast, but Harry knew his Firebolt would catch up to her. He just had to make her promise not to say anything. Aries had promised the talk through a howler if he found out that he was interested in girls. And though he was interested in Cho, it was more platonic than anything else. He hadn't done anything, they hadn't done anything except study and talk about Quiddich. Her team the Tornadoes was a mess but Harry had to admit they had a pretty decent Seeker. If he had any chance of actually asking her out sometime in the next three years, he had to make sure Aries didn't send him a howler. Which meant he had to catch Heide. He zeroed in on the Fae and managed to catch her but the timing was off, and Heide had been in the middle of transporting herself away back to the house. She did not think Harry could catch her in time and so she was not prepared to transport him with her. She would have stopped mid-air on the terrace but Harry's speed followed through the transportation and they both zoomed with the Firebolt through the glass windows and into the living-room furniture at a speed of too many miles an hour.
The crash made the two resident house elves and Aries come running.
'Harry!' Aries felt his heart stop at seeing the teen bleeding and unconscious on the wreck that was the lounge table and the window to the terrace.
'Get Andromeda and Ted here at once.' Aries told Pan who instantly popped away.
Heide who had been shielded by Harry's body managed to not get hurt.
'What happened?' Aries asked the Fae as he gently picked Harry up from the wreckage.
'We were just fooling around and then…he grabbed me when I wanted to leave and followed me here.' Heide explained.
'Sweet Merlin, what happened?' asked Andromeda as she and Ted, both in their stay at home clothes popped in with Pan.
'Harry crashed his Firebolt. Help him.' Aries set Harry on the one sofa that was clear of the wreckage and Ted immediately started examining him.
'He's concussed, his left arm is broken, his left ankle is sprained, but the worst of it is his spine. It's almost broken in two places.'
Aries grew white.
'Can you fix it?'
'He was lucky, the potion that deals with spinal damage can work so long there is just a bit of nerve attached. But he will need to rest for the next three days and won't be allowed to move for the next twelve hours while the potions takes effect. The rest of the injuries we can deal with them after that.'
'I will levitate him to his room.' Andromeda said. 'While you get the potion from St Mungo's.'
Ted nodded and Disaparated away.
It was hours later during the night that Harry woke up and found that he could not move. The ceiling however was too familiar for him to panic. He was in his room back home. He turned his head slightly and felt a tingle running down his spine.
'Don't move. You're under a healing potion.' Explained Aries as he came closer so that Harry could see him better.
'What happened?'
'From what I understood from Heide, your little game went too far and you crashed into the living room, almost fracturing your spine in two places. Breaking your left arm, and spraining your ankle.'
'I…my head hurts.'
'That would be the concussion.'
'How long have I been asleep?'
'A little over 8 hours. You still have another 4 to go before you can move freely.' Aries brushed some hair from his forehead before placing a cool towel over it that instantly took away the throbbing pain in his temples. He sighed
'Sleep, they will pass faster.'
'What about you?'
'I will be here.'
When Harry next woke up the sun was shining through the cracked curtains of his window. He could still feel a light tingling in his back but he was free to move around now. Well as free as his arm in a cast could allow him. He pushed himself up in a sitting position with his good arm and felt slightly dizzy from the effort, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
'You're awake!' Heide said flying to him 'Oh Harry, I am so sorry. I didn't think you would catch me and get pulled along. Please forgive me.'
'It's OK. You weren't hurt or anything.'
'No, you shielded me.' She said whipping her tears.
'You should let him rest.' Pan said as he came up with a tray of breakfast.
'Pan, you're up early.'
'It is past eleven o'clock, young master. How are you feeling?'
'My head is still a bit fuzzy and my arm and ankle still hurt. But I'm fine.'
'Madam Tonks will come by and check on you in one hour or so. She will bring the necessary potions to heal you completely.'
'Thank you Pan.' Harry said as he was served breakfast. 'Is Aries already at the IWC?'
'He had to take a conference call with them but he will be back up here in half an hour.'
'He didn't leave?' Harry whispered, feeling at the same time happy to know his guardian stayed with him but ashamed for making him miss an important meeting.
Harry ate slowly the delicious breakfast he knew that Aries had prepared by the way it tasted. He was almost done when the lord of the house returned at his side.
'How is your head?' Aries asked as he sat down on the bed next to him.
'A bit better. You should have gone to Paris. Pan and Heide would have taken care of me.'
'Paris can wait. There was nothing important on the agenda anyway.' He pulled out the black onyx pendant and put it around Harry's neck. 'It will speed up your recovery.'
'But isn't it a Black family heirloom.' Harry touched the cool stone and felt the fuzziness in his head clear slowly.
'Just to aid you get better faster.' Aries smiled squeezing his good hand.
'Is the living-room ok?'
'Dobby fixed everything last night. I need you to tell me what happened.'
'Didn't Heide already tell you?' Aries frowned at the name of the little Fae
'She mumbled something, but I want to hear what happened from you.'
'I just, I lost control.'
'Not true, try again.'
'I just, I don't want you to get mad at her, or me.'
'Harry, do I look mad?'
'No. But you must be, I mean I crashed through the window, I destroyed your property, I…I put myself in danger.'
'You know I don't care at all for the first two things.'
'I know. But I did injure myself.'
'That you did. But before I can accurately assess what that means. I need to know why.'
'So you're holding out to get angry at the end of my story.'
'I won't get angry.'
'Disappointed then.' Which Harry thought was worse.
'Can you blame me?'
'No. I just-' he just didn't want his guardian to be disappointed in him.
'I will be a lot more disappointed if you don't tell me why this happened. Come on kid, why would you try so hard to catch Heide when she was shifting space?'
'I didn't realize it until it was too late. I just…we were having a practice session with the team when Heide came to visit. Then the others started teasing me and said some things that weren't true. Heide said she was going to tell you and well, I panicked and tried to stop her from getting back home. I flew too fast and lost control when we ended up here.'
Aries looked at the crestfallen teen with concern and was about to ask what the teasing was all about. If it was bullying he would put an end to it, only Andy arrived just then and he let her deal with the last of Harry's injuries. An hour later Harry's ankle was fixed, his arm was as good as new if a bit stiff and his head injury was dealt with. But Aunt Andromeda still prescribed bed rest for the next two days and two more doses of Clear-Mind potion to be taken in the evenings. So Harry tried to slip back into sleep just so that he could avoid further questions from Aries. He felt his guardian settle in an armchair next to his bed watching over him. Harry couldn't' deny that it was comforting to know the older man was there.
'He will be Ok.' Andromeda said to Aries
'He almost injured himself beyond magical help.' Harry had never heard Aries sound so…vulnerable before.
'But he didn't.'
'Thank you for your help.'
'Any time, my Lord. You should also get something to eat and rest a bit.'
'I will later.'
Andromeda left the two of them alone. A warm feeling spread over him as he spiralled into unconsciousness, but not before his mind's eye showing him a younger man with the same deep grey eyes watching over him in a room much like his own room at Black Manor. It seemed to be a memory, but like all good memories it vanished as sleep took over.
Next he woke up it was already evening. Aries was still there in the armchair, but he had had a change of clothes and he was sipping some tea as he was quietly reading some official looking documents.
'Good evening sleepy-head.' Aries said smiling.
'I slept the whole day.'
'This way the healing potions work best. Dobby will bring up some food in about half an hour, if you want to take a shower before then.'
'I think that might be a good idea.' He felt sticky and sweaty. Aries helped him to his bathroom and he managed to slip into the shower on his own. The warm water did wonders to his slightly stiff body.
'I have been away from school for more than 24 hours…' Harry said when he came back.
'I notified your head of house. Told her you would be spending the weekend with me.'
'Did you tell her why?'
'I did, in general terms. She said she would drop by today or tomorrow to assess the situation.'
'I am sorry.'
'I know you are, Harry. But I still need to understand more about what happened.'
'Can't I just…you know, keep it to myself? It's not life threatening information.'
'I would disagree. It almost paralyzed you.' Harry sighed as he settled back in bed and Aries sat next to him.
'You will think it silly.'
'May I be the judge of that?'
'I've been studying Arithmancy with the 4th years. And there's this girl that got partnered with me for a few of the projects. We're just friends.' He quickly added. 'She's also the Ravenclaw Seeker, and somehow Wood got it into his head that she is a distraction, or the enemy or whatever. Katie figured out I might fancy her a little, but we're just friends. Then Fred and George sort of walked in on me and Cho studying in the old history classroom and kind of decided to tease me about it at practice. But I swear we were only studying Aries. Only they kind of made it sound like we were doing something else, and Heide asked if you knew, I guess I just panicked.'
'Why?' Aries asked unable to hold the smile from his face. It was teasing, it was definitely not bullying.
'Well you said that if you found out McGonagall caught me alone with a girl you'd send a howler. I just. I don't want the whole school to know I fancy Cho, because she is just a friend.'
'Why would I send a howler?'
'You said that about the talk during summer…'
'Oh pup.' Aries finally realized what this was all about. He pulled the teen in a sideway hug and kissed the top of his head. 'I was teasing you, and Heide telling me about your crush would not have made me send a howler.'
'You seemed pretty serious about it.' mumbled Harry into the older man's chest.
'You silly kid. You did nothing wrong, I would never embarrass you like that. Well maybe only if you deserved it. But definitely not in a way to alert your crush to your feelings without her knowing beforehand.'
'I'm sorry.'
'You should be. You hurt yourself badly because of some pretty bad judgement on your part. But you weren't the only one in the wrong, Heide should have known better. The Firebolt is faster than her. She should have checked that you were far enough away before transporting herself back home.'
'Where is she?'
'Moping about somewhere. I forbade her from visiting you without permission from now on.'
'But it was my fault. You shouldn't punish her.'
'It's not so much punishment, as reassurance that something like this won't happen again.'
'And my punishment?'
'I think it will be more than reasonable to confiscate your Firebolt for the next month.'
'But the game against Hufflepuff is in two weeks!'
'And you still have your Nimbus.'
'But-'
'No buts, it could be much worse.'
'I guess.' Harry sighed. 'Can I have it back after that?'
'Why?'
'Well the game against Ravenclaw is in May.'
'And you want to impress your little lady.' Aries smiled.
'Maybe a little. But I won't do anything with her, I promise.'
'I know you won't.' Aries pulled him closer in the hug before getting up to allow Dobby who had just entered the room with the tray of food to set it on the bed.
They ate in comfortable silence and Aries finally spoke only when they are both nursing hot cups of chocolate.
'I think you know what is coming next, don't you?'
'No?' Harry said confused.
'I know I did promise to wait until summer break, but since it is clear that you already have inclination towards the fairer sex.'
'No, please don't. I promise I won't do anything with Cho. She doesn't even know I fancy her. I wouldn't even know where to begin.'
'In that case, this will help you.'
'Isn't taking away the Firebolt punishment enough?'
'This is not punishment.'
'You like embarrassing me.'
'I admit your puffy red face is a bit funny. But no, this is more about educating you.'
'I know where babies come from. We had biology in Muggle School.'
'Lovely, but this is not just about making babies. It is about what is happening to your body, the changes that come with puberty and a little about how to handle girls.'
'It's still embarrassing. I mean it is my body.'
'Most boys face the same issues, you're not alone in going through these changes. They are perfectly natural and I know from my own experiences that without a proper explanation some things can seem a bit scary and confusing. Now I know it might be embarrassing talking to an older man about it, but I want you to get the facts from me and not piece things together from colourful talks in the boys' dorm room.'
'I guess.' Harry finally whispered. He was playing with the hem of his night shirt, too embarrassed to look up at his guardian who was once again sitting on the armchair near his bed. Aries took that as a sign to continue.
'Well, let's start with the changes. You might have noticed some already, you have had a pretty big growth spurt in the middle of summer, and we did have to renew your school robes during winter break because you were beginning to show too much of your fashionably multi-coloured socks.' Harry couldn't help but smile thinking of Dobby's gifts. Wearing the socks made the House Elf so happy, and Harry had to admit that those socks were magical, always keeping his feet warm and dry no matter if he trudged through the grounds of the castle his trousers knee deep in mud and rain.
'Now you will continue to grow until you are about 16-18, that is when your body will have matured into that of an adult. While this happens you might feel slight pain because of your bones and cartilages adjusting to your new body form. If it somehow become too much to handle, please go to Madam Pomfrey or come to me. It shouldn't be a problem, but if it does become one, don't lose sleep over it. OK?'
'OK.' Harry nodded. This was not so bad, as far as embarrassing discussions went.
'Other changes will show around your genitals.' Harry jolted as if he wanted to leave the bed and at the same time crawl under the covers and not come out of there until Aries was gone. 'Your testicles and penis will get bigger. You will start growing hair down there and in other places like under your armpits and on your chest. If you begin sweating more, that's also a sign, and to help with the odour you can use deodorant after washing. I will buy one for you and you can take it with you, in case you need it. Just so you know, girls prefer it when guys don't smell bad.'
Harry made a mental note to take more showers when he was going to meet with Cho.
'You might have already experienced wet dreams.'
'Can we please not talk about that?' Harry grew even redder. He had been hearing Seamus moan and groan in his sleep and he had been so scared one night when he woke up with his crotch sticky.
'They are perfectly natural, Harry.'
'But they sound so…'
'You heard your room mates.'
'I think Seamus was actually awake.'
'Ah, so he was helping it along. That is also natural. You might wake up before you ejaculate in your sleep. When that happens, you can help it along, so you don't walk about with morning-hood.'
'So it's not…bad?'
'It is your body, Harry. As long as you don't injure yourself you are the only person that has every right to touch yourself. It is also a way of knowing yourself, what you like, what you don't like.'
'I guess.'
'Did someone tell you it was bad?'
'Um, no. Well, sort of, my aunt when we came home from school after biology and Dudley asked. Uncle Vernon took him aside and Aunt Petunia said to me that it was unnatural.'
'Your aunt is not an expert in boys' problems. Best not take what she said into account. It is natural and healthy. If you are shy or don't feel comfortable with sharing your roommate's explorations I can teach you a good silencing charm you can cast around your bed. This way you can keep your privacy. But as I said, all of your colleagues will go through the same experiences sooner or later, there is nothing to be embarrassed about.' Harry begged to differ, but his previous experience seemed to be less scary now and his red cheeks were no longer so hot as he looked up to see that Aries wasn't laughing at him at all. He sighed and nodded.
'Other signs of growing up will be your voice changing. It will get deeper, but before it settles permanently you might experience it going high, then the next minute low.'
That hadn't happened yet. Harry made a mental note not to freak out when it did.
'You might get acne. Some of your classmates already have it. But it will clear out, and if it gets too much there are creams and potions that can take care of the nastier stuff.'
'There's this girl in Slytherin that has it.'
'Yes, girls get it too. But for them is the same, it will clear once they get past puberty.' This made Harry wonder what other things happened to girls during puberty.
'They will also have growth spurts, and hair will grow in their netter regions and under their armpits. You will also see their breasts develop, while for boys that is not the case, you might experience slight swelling, but it is only temporary, while for girls it is permanent.' Harry blushed thinking of Cho's breasts. He had done his best to keep his gaze always on her face, but sometimes the eyes wandered.
'What you should know about girls is that they get their period around this age.' He heard about it, but never quite understood what it was.
'It means that they have a few days a month, around 5, when they will bleed from their vagina.'
Harry looked alarmed at this.
'Don't worry, it is not life threatening and it is part of the reproductive cycle. But that period can be accompanied by mood swings and sometimes pain and discomfort. It is related to the level of hormones in the body, as most of the puberty signs are. So if you see one of your girl friends acting a bit out of character, or being particularly moody, just give her some space, or help her carry heavier loads. I would advise not discussing this with girls as they tend to think of it as something very personal.'
Harry nodded but hoped Aries would not go into more detail than this.
'If you want to understand more, there is a biology book downstairs in the study which explains everything from a physical point of view I will bring it to you when we are done here. The last thing that I can think of that changes for you is facial fair.' Aries rubbed his trimmed beard 'But this will happen later, and I can show you how to use a razor spell to trim it to your liking or there are also potion-creams that remove the hair if you don't want to grow a beard.'
'That's it?' Harry said hopefully.
'Not quite. We talked about the changes to your body, but we didn't talk about relationships and intercourse.'
Harry turned back to full red at this.
'We won't go into details. That is for you to explore on your own with your partner. I will also give you another book that has more information on the subject.' Harry calmed down again, slightly.
'What I want to talk to you about is how to go about asking a girl out and how to go about dealing with them. That being said, each girl is different, so don't expect them to like the same things or want the same things from you. Which is why communication is essential in every relationship. I would advise first getting to know the girl you like and then asking her out. Like you are doing with Miss Cho. Try to see if you have something more in common than just physical attraction. It will help later on when you get to the physical stage of the relationship if you can build trust with your partner first.'
'But how do you ask a girl out?' Harry finally made himself to ask. Aries was jumping too far ahead from his own point of view. He already knew how to talk to Cho about Arithmancy and Quiddich, but he was still too confused about how that final step that went from friend to girlfriend went.
'With a bit of courage and words that go like this: Would you like to go on a date with me? It would help if you told her that you like her one or two sentences before.'
'And if she says no?'
'Then you have to accept that and move on. It is not going to be the end of the world. There will be a lot of yeses and noes. There are very few people who find the love of their lives on their first try. What is important is that you understand that each relationship you have should be based on love, trust and respect. Do not treat your girlfriends or even your one night stands with anything but respect.'
'One-night stands?'
'There is another reason than making babies why people have intercourse. That reason is pleasure and it is one of the ways to relieve stress. This is true for both men and women. I am not saying to seek out one night stands as a rule, but if it happens make sure that you are both on the same page, this way it doesn't get weird in the morning.'
'It is not happening.' Harry shook his head vehemently. He could imagine spending the night with someone he knew and was in a relationship with, but a complete stranger?
'What will happen is what you decide to happen. Do not get pressured or pressure someone to do something they are not ready for. Which is why it is best to be with someone you trust and can talk openly about this.'
'I can't even ask her out on a date. I don't think it will be any time soon.'
'Take your time. And remember than everyone has the same questions about what being together means, what they like, what they don't. The beautiful part about relationships is discovering the answers together even if sometimes the answers are not the same. Remember that communication is the key.'
'What if we have a fight and break up?'
'First of, a fight doesn't necessarily mean you will break up. It depends on the fight, but working things out can lead sometimes to a fight if you both have different opinions. Some things may be trivial and you can move past those, some may not. That is up to you to decide what is what. And if you break up, well, then you break up. It may be painful, but it is not the end of the world. Especially at this age, and I know it will sound dismissive, but you are young, you will be fine, you will find someone else. Just remember that you should continue to respect your ex, don't try to hurt her, chances are that she too is suffering like you are and revenge never helped anyone move forward.'
Harry nodded though breaking up sounded so far, far away since he didn't plan to have a girlfriend anytime soon. He needed a bit more time to ponder all this information before he asked Cho out.
'While what I said was true, and intercourse is not just about making babies, the chances of actually getting a girl pregnant are high if you don't use protection. In the Muggle world that protection is also against some diseases, the magical world solved those problems a few centuries back, so there is a cure for everything. Your magic does the job for the healers most of the time and the few diseases that persist in spite of your magic have been either eradicated in wizards though vaccines or already have a good and quick treatment for them waiting at St Mungo's. That being said, pregnancy is not a disease, it is something quite beautiful to have a child but it is also a great responsibility. Don't play with your life and that of your partner by not using protection until you both decide you wish to have a child and certainly not before you leave school.'
'I am a child myself.' Harry protested, he really, really didn't want to think about that.
'You are a teenager. Hormones are going to run wild now. I won't say don't do it, because I've been there, and I know that temptation is sometimes too much. That is why, tomorrow when you get out of bed, I will teach you a few very useful contraception charms that are easy to cast and very efficient, as well as the silencing charm I promised earlier.'
'Now a little bit of dating advice and you are all set.' Harry groaned, he thought contraception was the end of this discussion.
'Hey, if you do not want advice, I can stop.'
Harry glared and was about to say he really didn't want any more advice, but then again he had been thoroughly embarrassed and the worst part was over, it was better to get dating advice from someone who had experience and was sure not to spill his secrets like Seamus and Dean were sure to do, well, more Seamus than Dean.
'Girls like it when you pay attention to them and sometimes give them gifts like flowers or chocolate. If you go on a date it is best to give your undivided attention to the girl, so don't bring your friends along for the ride. I suggest you try for something a bit more active on a first date, like a walk through Hogsmeade or around the lake. A café or restaurant works, but only when you are sure you have something to talk about, otherwise something outside will spark a conversation easier than the table cloth at Madam Puddifoots. Also walking the girl back to her dorm is nice. Last but not least, don't try to kiss her without asking if she is ok with it, at least not for the first time. It can save you a slapped cheek. Any questions?'
Harry shook his head vehemently.
'Good, I will go get the books from downstairs, in case you want to read through them tonight.'
Harry shook his head, he was not touching those with a ten foot wand, definitely not tonight, or tomorrow, or in the near future. But maybe during summer break…he looked under the covers towards his crotch pondering but quickly put the covers down when there was a slight knock on the door.
'Come iin.' His voice went up an octave and he coughed before speaking lounder 'Come in.' He was expecting Dobby or Pan or Aries, he did not expect to see McGonagall followed by Lupin.
'Erm hello professors.' He made to get out of bed.
'Don't get up, Mr Potter, we heard you suffered an accident and should stay in bed.'
'Er yes, though I am feeling much better, Aunt Andy and Uncle Ted fixed me up.'
'We heard from your guardian and from Andromeda herself.' Lupin said
'The Gryffindor Quiddich team also said that you vanished chasing after a Fae.' McGonagall said
'It was my fault mainly. I didn't think Heide would disapparate home just when I grabbed her.'
'The little Fae that was at your birthday party?' McGonagall frowned
'Er yes, she came to visit when she returned from Avalon.'
'Did she do it on purpose?' asked McGonagall
'No, Heide would never hurt me on purpose. It was just bad timing.'
'Well, I would appreciate it if we could talk to your guardian and make sure the Fairy does not visit you unannounced.'
'Aries already made her promise she wouldn't come without permission. I am also sure she is feeling guilty for what happened and it won't happen again.'
'Or maybe Aries put her up to this.' Said Lupin.
'What?! No way.' Harry immediately jumped almost out of bed.
'Please stay in bed, Harry.' Aries said as he came in putting the two books he brought with him on Harry's desk before turning to the two visitors. 'Mr. Lupin I would appreciate it, if you brought your accusations to me personally and not stress my ward unnecessarily.'
'Unnecessarily you say, after he almost became an invalid.'
'Harry and I talked, Heide will not go visit him without permission. Harry's Firebolt will stay at home for one month as punishment and he will not chase after anything without enough room to break properly.'
'What about the snitch?' asked Harry
'I expect you to catch it without endangering yourself or not catch it at all.'
Harry sighed and nodded only because he knew his Nimbus had manageable speed compared to the Firebolt. But Wood would still go nuts when he heard that the world class broomstick was on lock down. Well, maybe Wood would learn to stop harping on about Cho. If he had stayed quiet Heide wouldn't have known, he wouldn't have given chase and he wouldn't have had to go through the most embarrassing hour ever.
'I am not accusing you or the Fae of anything, but what prompted the chase in the first place?' asked McGonagall.
'Some friendly teasing.' Aries answered evasively.
'Mr. Potter, is that true?' asked McGonagall
Harry blushed and nodded looking down.
'Could we speak with the Fae?' asked McGonagall.
'Of course, Pan, have Heide come here.' The elf who had been waiting just outside the door to Harry's bedroom went to fetch her and returned quickly. Heide was hiccupping slightly from too much crying.
'Harry is feeling better?' she asked trying to stop from crying.
'See for yourself.' Aries said
'I am sorry.' She said as she went to Harry once again and cried on his chest.
'Hey, no harm done. We're good, though next time try not to shift when we are playing tag. It isn't fair you know.'
'I will never ever do it again.'
'Don't you need it to go home?'
'Never ever do it when you are there then.'
'Let's stick to the realm of logical restrictions.' Aries said smiling. 'Just don't do it when you and Harry are flying around at top speed. If you are both drinking lemonade on the terrace and you have to be somewhere fast, you can leave, just, make your intentions clear before doing so.'
Heide turned to the Black Lord and zoomed into his chest next.
'I am so sorry Aries, I never wanted to endanger your-'
'Quite all right.' Aries cut her off 'Why don't you calm down. It seems our guests want to ask you a few questions about what happened.'
Lupin saw the Fae finally look at them and realize they were there.
'Oh…hello.'
'Miss Heide, why did you make Harry chase after you and then vanished back here?' asked McGonagall
'I just missed Harry while in Avalon and wanted to see him. We were only having some fun, I never thought that he would catch up to me so fast and…'
'Did your master put you up to this?' Lupin asked.
'Who?' Harry asked frowning.
'I have no master.' Heide said angrily.
'You are a Fae living in a Wizard's house. You could do that only if you were under bond.' Lupin pressed.
'Of course I am bonded with Aries, but he never tells me what to do, well except yesterday evening when he forbade me from doing something to endanger Harry ever again. But I would never want to endanger Harry. He is my friend, as is Aries. I may be bonded with him, but that is only because a Fae without a bond is easy pray for evil witches and wizards.'
'Then what was the teasing about?' asked Remus looking at Harry.
Harry avoided the history professor's eyes. He really didn't want Lupin and McGonagall to know about Cho.
'That is something Harry prefers to keep to himself.' Aries said 'we talked about it and it is nothing life threatening.'
'He was injured because of it. So it is life threatening.' Lupin objected.
'Mr Potter, if you are threatened.' McGonagall added.
'Oh for Merlin's sake. I fancy a girl and didn't want the school to find out via howler.' Harry finally said. 'Now could you please drop the accusations, it was my bad judgement that got me injured.'
'Oh, er, well then, Mr Potter. I hope you have learnt your lesson and er we will await your return to Hogwarts tomorrow evening at the latest.' Said McGonagall awkwardly.
'He will floo directly to your office at 6 o'clock before dinner.' Said Aries.
'Very well. Remus, I think we are done here.'
'Pan please escort our visitors to the fireplace.'
Their goodbyes said Harry shifted the covers to hide himself.
'Hey pup, I'm sorry about that, but you needn't have told them if you didn't want to. I could have handled them.' Aries said sitting on his bed and rubbing his back in comfort.
'I just don't understand why Professor Lupin is so against you. He promised he would make an effort to stop channelling Dumbledore's ideas. He came to Black manor, he seemed ok with everything.'
'He is just concerned about you, both of them are.'
'I am not so sure. Sometimes they seem to see just my parents or my godfather when they look at me.' Harry sighed.
'I am sorry you feel that way, but I do not think it is entirely true. You are your own person, and both McGonagall and Lupin are perceptive people.'
'Then why can't they see who you really are?' Harry asked.
'The name Black is heavier than most.'
'Why not just change it then.'
Aries smiled a sad smile 'If only it were that simple. I'll bring you the potions Andy left, and then you should try to sleep.'
McGonagall had forgotten to give Harry the get well soon presents from the Quiddich team and so while Remus departed for Hogwarts, she backtracked to the teen's rooms where she fell on the conversation Harry was having with his guardian. She flinched at the boy's accusation about his parents and godfather, but she had to admit that it was more true than false. What surprised her more was how Aries tried to defend her and Remus.
Aries almost ran into her on his way out.
'Professor?'
'I…I'm sorry. I forgot to give Mr Potter his gifts from well-wishers. I didn't mean to intrude.'
'Harry is still up, you may go in.'
'Thank you.' She hesitated 'Mr Black I am sorry for seeing only the Black family name. I will endeavour to change that and I thank you for taking such good care of Harry and removing him from his awful relatives.'
'Thank you for saying that.'
McGonagall nodded and went inside where her student was looking at the two a bit apprehensively.
A/N: that was a very long chapter to write but I was hoping to get it out there between Christmas and New Year and I did it :) it was also in part because of your reviews and the need for a little more Harry-Aries time (fluffy family time to spread holiday cheer). I don't know how the talk for boys normally goes, since I lack the necessary equipment to have witnessed one, but I hope it was not too cringe worthy. Remus still needs some time to adjust to the idea of Aries as a good guy especially since his instincts are going off for all the right reasons. I was really thinking if I should have Aries reveal to Harry who he is, but the end scenes I have already written would not come to pass, so, no, Aries will stay an idiot and not tell Harry the truth. Which ,yes, will cause some major trouble along the way. Of course that is not to say that Harry won't figure it out on his own, let's see.
I wanted to correct a reader-assumption for a long time now, but always forgot: High Elves, or original House Elves are not the old witches and wizards themselves, they are the product of the sacrifice done to aid the family. Whoever created Pan is happily resting in the afterlife or already reincarnated depending on belief system.
On a different note, happy holidays, I hope you guys are staying healthy and could be with your loved ones, even if only online (like me), it's still better than nothing. Anyway snow came high in the mountains, went for a couple of winter hikes and got the happy good vibes from the fluffy white scenery. Sort of like the calm before the storm really since next month will be crazy full with work and moving to a new apartment (this is me telling you guys not to expect an update soon :P). As always, would love to read your thoughts on the new chapter and have a lovely end of the year (by lovely I mean take time to find your inner peace and evaluate what is really important to you).
