Hey, everyone
sorry for taking so long to post this new chapter but I've been working extra hours to cover peoples shifts while they're on quarantine
also I've fallen down the BTS rabbit hole, I started listening to them in august and I haven't stopped yet, I can't believe that I've been missing such good music and such gorgeous guys all these years, and the music is so good I don't even care that I don't know korean, its that good, if you don't listen to BTS i recommend that you at least give it a try, you won't be disappointed. not to mention there are so many BTS fics on archiveorourown (if you use it) that you can find anything and everything you could want, ABO? they have it, fluffy? it's here, supper kinky? ohh yeah
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As Nathair got off the train with Draco, he and Draco were quickly apparated to Malfoy Manor and Nathair was pulled into a death gripping hug.
"Father," Nathair breathed around the death gripping hug he was held in.
"You've been gone so long, you've grown an inch, almost as tall as me now," said Tom as he pulled back and looked Nathair over, eyes taking in his son.
"I think I have a lot more growing to do before I'm as tall as you dad, I've missed you," he said before burying his face in Tom's chest holding him tight. He hadn't realized exactly how much he had really missed his father until he saw him, been held by him. Being away from his father had left a hole in him, his father had saved him, protected him, been a constant positive presence in his life for three years. Unlike the Dursley's his father loved him, sure he made Nathair work and study, but it was for him to make him better, powerful. Before heading back to Hogwarts the longest he'd been away from his father had been a week, whether his father had to go away on business, sending Nathair for a few days of training, or staying with Draco at Malfoy manor for a few days of fun together.
Letting go of his father Nathair looked around him and saw Fenrir standing in the shadows off to the side, a blush rose to his face when he saw the large werewolf, so effortlessly looking powerful and handsome. Nathair turned his face away from the older man and back to his father trying to put the blush making thoughts out of his head.
Fenrir had come to see Nathair's return, missing the young man more than he carried to admit, or would admit to. When he walked into the room, staying in the shadows near the door, watching as Nathair was held tightly in his father's embrace. When Nathair got out of his father's hold he had looked right at Fenrir, a deep red blush filling his face. Fenrir's eyes narrowed at the sight, taking in the blush that had taken over Nathan's, confused as to why Nathair was blushing from looking at him. He knew that Nathair was his Mate, and had since he first met the young boy, did the blush mean that Nathair felt something for him. Looking at the now young man he could see how much he had changed in just three years, he had changed from a starved small child to a healthy looking young man who looked like he was going to become an even better man when the time came.
Maybe I should talk to Tom, thought Fenrir to himself.
As Nathair went to say something he felt a heavy weight across his legs looking down Nathair saw Nagini had come into the room and started to crawl up his body, winding around him.
"Welcome back hatchling, Master and the wolf have missed you and won't stop moaning about you being at Hogwarts."
"Well it was father's idea," Nathair hissed back to the large snake which was now covering almost all of his body. He had grown quite a bit since he was eleven but Nagini was an unusually large snake and could cover a grown man and then some with her body with a good meter to spare.
"Yes, I know. When I remind him he just glares at me and mumbles about impertinent snakes."
"Serves him right," hissed Nathair as he moved out of arm's reach and headed out of the room hissing at Nagini as he did.
Waiting until Nathair took off and up to his room, Jiffy Nathan's house elf having already taken his trunk and things to his room and put away at the snap of his fingers. Fenrir walked out of the shadows and up to Tom.
"I think we need to talk, Tom."
"Fenrir, I saw you hiding in the shadows. What do you need to talk about?"
"I think my Mate is beginning to realize his feeling for me," said Fenrir, his eyes down cast. Even though they both knew who his Mate was Fenrir was unsure after the past years at how Tom felt about his son being a Mate to a werewolf who was many many years his senior.
"Really?" Asked Tom, surprise evident in his eyes.
"When I came into the room and Nathair looked at me. He had this look in his eyes and started blushing very quickly, then he wouldn't look at me again."
"Well you knew moments before even meeting him that he was your Mate, we knew it would be only a matter of time before he would start feeling things for you. In fact I wonder how long he's been feeling things for you. Do you want to tell him, or wait until he comes to one of us?"
"I don't know, I never thought that when I met my Mate he would be so much younger than me. It'll still be a few years until he's of age, what do you think we should do?"
"If it would be anyone else I would say that he's your Mate and you should do as you think best, but he's been my son and even before that he was one of the closest people I had to family," said Tom looking away from Fenrir. "As is I think we should wait until we're sure, if he comes to either one of us we tell him what the one of us he comes to thinks they should tell him. If I talk to him and he isn't having feelings for you he might feel corned, granted he already suspects that because of how powerful he is he'll have a Mate. I just don't want to push him, I want to protect him as long as I can."
"I understand Tom, it's been hard knowing he's my Mate and not being able to tell him, or start to treat him as my Mate. To get to know him in a more personal way," said Fenrir looking forlorn, eyes looking lost.
"At least you know that you'll be together in time, he's your Mate and will come to you in time. Just give it some more time."
Unbeknownst to the two older men Nathair had come back from his room and had heard a good part of the conversation between the two. Eyes wide he turned and ran from the doorway he had been standing next to, running to the nearest floo Nathair called for and elf and told them he was going to Malfoy manor and to tell his father he would be back soon. Hopping into the floo Nathair arrived at Malfoy manor and made his way to Draco's room as fast as he could without running. When he got to Draco's room he burst in not bothering to knock and startled the blond causing him to fall into his trunk that was sitting on the floor, and thanks to the expansion charm on the trunk it was like falling into a pit, but Nathair was too preoccupied to notice anything besides that Draco was in the room.
When Draco was finally able to get out of his trunk he was angry and ready to start cursing Nathair, not only for more or less trapping him in his own trunk, but for not helping him out of said trunk, all that fell away when he saw his best friend who was as close to a brother as he could get. Nathair was pacing back and forth, a frantic look on his face and tears nearly bursting out of his eyes.
"Nathair? What's wrong? What happened?"
"I knew that there was a chance... father said there was a chance. I just didn't think about it. Why would I, it didn't seem all that important until it happened and now it happened and he knew, he knew. He's known the whole time, and him, why did it have to be him. I mean i've been thinking things, lots of things and now...," Nathair was talking frantically, his words not making much, if any sense.
"Whoa slow down," said Draco as he stepped in front of Nathair and held him in place. "I don't understand what you're trying to tell me, just take a deep breath and when you're calm enough to tell me then you can talk."
"When dad was teaching me about magical creatures he said that humanoid ones had Mates, and that they could be other creatures or wizards and witches, if they were powerful enough. I asked him if I could be powerful enough, he said I could be, that I would most likely have one. And he's known this whole time, that I had one, that he knows who my Mate is."
"What? I knew you were powerful, but enough to have a creature Mate?" Asked Draco, confused as to why Tom and Nathan's Mate would be hiding something as big and important as this.
"Yeah, and what's worse is that they know I like my Mate, before I even knew he was my Mate, that I really had one. They've been lying to me for all these years."
"I can't understand why they would hide this from you," said Draco looking confused. "Who is your Mate? You haven't said anything about them, except that you've liked them for a while. Is that who you've been thinking about these past few months?"
"Yes... it's, it's... Fenrir," Nathair stuttered out, a blush once again heating up his face.
"Greyback? The werewolf?"
"Yeah, and they've both known for a long time, why would they keep something like this from me?"
"I don't know. This is something big... Maybe they thought it would be better if you didn't know. Some pureblood families feel like they should find out if their children have Mates as soon as they can, which can be just after their birth or years later, then if they do they spend most of their lives together. But most of them never end up happy, some have said how they feel forced to be with their Mate. It distortes the bond that is naturally supposed to grow between Mates, that could be why they haven't told you, that they want you to figure it out for yourself."
"You really think that's why?" Nathair asked Draco, Nathair was suddenly feeling lost at the new discovery. He needed to know that someone besides Draco, someone older who knew more, was there to help him figure things out.
"The only way you can really know is to ask one of them, otherwise all you can do is guess and worry over things."
Nathair sat there trying to digest what was happening to his life, how it had changed drastically again, within a matter of seconds.