Chapter 26: A Mate for Two
Severus was having a desperately hard time schooling his features. His mate was calling to him, begging and pleading for him, and he could do nothing in return.
The teens song was so delicate yet strong, it pulled on his heart and made him want to almost purr. He needed to leave, but stayed seated, hoping to see his little mate until the moment he controlled himself.
Putting together a remark about the boy going out of his way for the attention he'd deemed unwanted, Severus managed to keep his instincts in check. Rie was almost desperate as she called to him, and as he noticed the thin restraint his mate had, he dug his claws into his thighs.
Sending calming magic to his little gem, Severus was pleased to see his mate coming out of the trance. He sipped his coffee, trying not to acknowledge the fact that his treasure was openly asking to mate. Inviting the dark eyed man into such a wonderfully set trap. And if he were lesser man, he would have taken the teens sweet virgin body against the dining table by now.
As it were, he simply clenched his jaw to hide his fangs, and waited for the song to dissipate. It was all such a mess, and he would have been unable to help the teen even if they were not mates. A sirens song is powerful, and the tighter your control, the harder they make you fall. Most individuals in relationships, even those who have bonded to another, were hard pressed to remember their significant others when faced with a song such as that.
The melody was unrefined, but the inexperience was a turn on all on it's own. He wondered how the teens friends could resist.
Draco had a mate, and his own veela inheritance made him more tolerant of other creatures snares. The rest, were all fairly normal, but after a moment he watched as each teen protecting his mate removed a set of plugs from their ears. Truly they were fit for the house they resorted into. He forced himself to finish his coffee and his own lunch, acting ignorant of the way his mate had caused even the older more wizened Professors beside him to fumble in embarrassment.
Rie was on a cloud after her song quieted down, staring down at the collar that had fallen haphazardly back into its box. She had felt a longing unlike before, and was almost disappointed that her mate hadn't answered her call. He almost forgot himself and called the mans name earlier, and if Luna hadn't have covered his mouth he knew all hell would have broken loose.
Cutting the song off abruptly, the teen chanced a look around the room, mortified that he'd once again drawn more eyes to himself than he was comfortable with. Sitting up straight, he attempted to ignore the scene he'd created, and instead hastily placed the collar around his neck. He banished the wrappings, but tucked this note in his pocket with the other from this morning.
It wasn't long until he devoured the rest of his lunch and excused himself. Not only was he majorly embarassed but he had gone and gotten turned on in the process.
He was hard, and felt a slick wetness in several places and he knew his mate would easily notice the change in his scent if he stayed.
After whispering where he'd be going to his friends, he walked to the doors as calmly as possible. Though as soon as he was out of eyesight, he unfurled his wings and flew straight to his dorm. There was a lot he had to settle, and a cold bath would just have to do.
Racing up towards Ravenclaw tower, he hastily turned corners and zoomed both through and past a few ghosts. His speed alone tilted a few portraits and he gave apologies as he went, trying to get to a place where he could be alone and not feel so vulnerable.
It was almost too much! He had called out to the man so loudly, a lewd message that only the dragon he loved could understand. He wanted the man so desperately, that even the tears falling from his face made him shiver in arousal. Resigning himself to a lonely wank session and a cold bath, he gave the answer to the Ravenclaw portraits riddle, and locked himself away in his rooms.
Alone in the tower, and with wards around his single dorm room to keep sounds in and intruders out, he firmly shut the door and slid down to the floor. He only had half an hour before lunch truly ended and he really needed to speak with Madam Pomfrey about this.
Of course, it didn't take long for him to relieve his tension, as he had been worked up by his mates positively controlling demeanor. At this point, Harry was sure that his mate unleashed his dominant side just to get him going. He would have to find out what to do to keep this under wraps until Voldemort was dealt with.
The teen looked down at his hands, both were dirtied and he couldn't use his wand without having to clean that along with his clothes. So he stood, made his way into his open bathroom, and prayed that his jeans and panties stayed up for the time being. With the fly open, he felt like he had to walk with his legs splayed a bit wider, but in the end he managed to make it to his destination and clean his hands properly.
Reaching into his holster, he pulled out his wand and cast a strong scourgify on his clothes and face. He almost fainted when he saw it on his face, but he had a lot to do, so he just cleared his skin of the evidence, and undressed.
Hopping into the bath, he quickly scrubbed himself down, making sure to reach everything and cool his heated skin.
The whole situation felt like when he would come down with a fever. His skin was hot, and he felt almost sweaty. His breath was shallow as well, but unlike back then, when he was forced to work through the sluggishness and pain, he was able to actually care for himself. He had a mother figure who taught him the proper ways to get over sickness, and it worked for him.
His temperature had gone down after the bath, and he used the small amount of clear headedness it granted him to get dressed, and leave. The feverish symptoms kept coming back to him off and on as he made his way down to the hospital wing, using the walls as a cooling agent, while keeping himself balanced.
It was likely that he wouldn't be going to his next class, or really any other class for the rest of the day.
Almost as soon as the teen made it into the hospital wing, he collapsed. His breathing was jagged and plumes of heart shaped smoke exited his lungs with each breath. Not to mention that his body was hot again. He was so aroused that it was terrifying, and he had lost control of his shift. He was thankfully not singing or calling out for his mate to explain what was happening, but he knew he was close to that point.
As soon as the matron saw the state he was in, she levitated him and rushed him into a private room. The woman kept her hands off of the teen as she checked him over, and called for a house elf to get the small hybrid some water and a damp rag.
She was already running low on cooling potions, so Madam Pomfrey used her patronus to call for Severus.
"Severus, I have a patient who is currently in heat, I have a suppressant on hand, but I must request more cooling potions for their fever."
"Heat?" Harry asked groggily.
"Yes Mr. Dunhill. Both Dragonkin and Sirens have something called a mating period. It is similar to your menstrual cycle, in that your body is trying to ask for children. It seems that this is your first heat, so your periods and heats will align over time as a way to properly conceive your future children."
The teen groaned loudly, trying to sit up. "So this will happen to me every month?!" His voice held a slight whine in it, but Harry didn't care. He would have cramps and a fever all at once? How is that anywhere near fair?
"Well, we simply don't know. The only way to lessen these symptoms without letting your mate impregnate you this early on, would be to use suppressants. It is a form of birth control that will allow you to have little to no symptoms of a heat or menstrual cycle."
"But--" Harry stopped to cover his eyes and lay back down. "Why didn't anyone tell me about the affects sooner? And I've had a heat suppressant once before so why do I need one now??"
The matron looked a bit surprised at the teens knowledge of his body. However the young hybrid was still so unused to his new physiology and the potions he'd need to have on hand from today onwards.
"Harry," She spoke softly, coming up to the teen. He hadn't pounced up or tried to seek out his mate, so she felt he was under enough control to keep his wits about him. "You are a hybrid. Your body does not work along the same conventions that, say Mr. Longbottom or Ms. Granger's would. As for your first heat suppressant, that was likely a precautionary action in response to your inheritance. You may have become unstable if in contact with anyone, family or not."
As the woman explained, she gently stroked her fingers through the teens hair to untangle it. Harry was so much like a child to her, just a precious person she wished to hug. A fawn that was still new to the world...
"This time, when you get the heat suppressant, you will have to use it every three months... your menstrual cycles will likely match the same schedule of your heat, which is typically around every three months for a mixed blood wizard like yourself. As I said, we will not know until next month. You may only have a heat every season but a period every month." She stopped, accepting the damp rag from the house elf, noting that the water was already on the bedside table.
"How often have you been in close contact with your mate?" The woman asked after a few short minutes of wiping sweat from her patients face and neck.
"Um," Harry paused. He was technically close to Severus most everyday, and some extra time at night until curfew. There were also a couple times when he had been able to stay the night, like yesterday, but still... "We are usually always around one another. Sometimes we hang out before curfew."
That was as much as he could bring himself to say, a deep blush making it's way to his cheeks while his body heated up.
"Have you done anything that would be considered inappropriate in the last few days?" She asked clinically.
"No, we've only been talking." He said in response.
"And do you know what may have caused this heat if not a physical activity?" The woman asked a bit skeptically. They are teens, so the fact that he and his mate could keep things chaste made her want to smile. She could not show that however, so she only raised a brow at the embarrassed teen.
"He said he loved me earlier, and I was lost in this hot fog for a while after that." He looked down and away from the woman. She was prying more than he would have liked, but he was confused.
"We-- we've only kissed a few times, but I've known him for years, so hearing that for the first time made me extremely... excited." The final word was forced out in a whisper as the hybrid buried his face into his hands. He really just wanted to be alone after admitting that to the woman in front of him.
Luckily for him, the talk was ended by a firm knock on the door. One that Harry already knew well. Heat rose up past his cheeks as he realized his mate had heard a good chunk of the end of their conversation, and he tried to keep his breath from coming out in pants.
Madam Pomfrey turned just as he released another torrent of small heart shaped breaths, and he was glad that luck was on his side this time.
Waving the smoke away he instead burrowed under the blanket, just as the woman stepped out of the room. Only a few moments later she was back with a cooling potion and the suppressant.
"Drink some water between each potion, and get some rest, I told Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore not to expect you back in class for the next three days at the least." The woman waited until the teen nodded from beneath his cocoon of embarrassment, before leaving.
It was frustrating to be in a position where she did not know how exactly to treat her patient. Harry had been in her care off and on for years at this point. The teen had his own bed in the infirmary, but this was something she would not be able to help with unless she could learn more about hybrid types.
Luckily, the boys protector was on the staff, and as Severus was also a dragon, he would be able to enlighten her about that side of the equation at least.
A sigh escaped the woman once she got back into her office. She could only hope that what she knew now would be helpful to the siren.
In the private room, Harry finally uncovered himself, just to force down both potions and the water against his body's wishes. His mate had just been on the other side of the door, and if he had called to the dragon, he had hopes that the man would have answered.
The only problem with that, was that he ran the risk of completely exposing their relationship and he didn't want that just yet.
Voldemort had already succeeded once before in using someone he loved against him. If the snake knew of their bond, Harry knew without any doubt that his mate would have to completely denounce the Dark Lord, or reveal some fake plan in which Severus was trying to seduce him.
Either way it was a heavy risk, one that neither dragon wanted to take.
As she thought, the potions began to set in. Her sweaty skin began to cool down, her breathing settled, the smokey hearts had finally dissipated, and she was tired.
She only took a moment to make sure the door was firmly shut and warded, before dragging her sluggish body back to the bedding to sleep.
HPSSHPSSHPSS
The next day passed in a lot of silence, broken only by Madam Pomfrey coming in to ask questions about his state of being. None of her friends were allowed near the room, as it was less of a disease and more of instinct that needed to be controlled. The dragon wondered what the rest of the school thought, or what was told to them by her mate and the Headmaster.
The only symptom of her heat that remained through the better part of her stay, was the hearts of smoke. In all she felt good and energized. Her thoughts went back to her mate, as it usually did when she had free time.
They still could not consciously speak through the bond, but even with that drawback, the teen was happy. Though she wondered what exactly might happen next in her life, she was content to know that her mate was always there for her. It was a thought that got her through the boring morning and afternoon.
At least up until dinner had come and gone. His mate still had special meals sent up for Harry, which surprised Madam Pomfrey. She had come to his door to wake him in preparation for dinner the night before, only to find him already eating. Her face when she saw him getting meals before she could call for them was something that lifted the teens spirits.
Though that only lasted until Harry felt his mate being summoned by Voldemort. The amount of time they had spent together had solidified their bond in more ways than one it seemed. It was at such a point where even if the man tried to block his end of the bond, Harry would still be able to feel a faint version of what was going on. And nothing burned his left wrist like it did when his mate was called.
He was just settling down for his second night in the hospital wing when a tingling heat erupted from his wrist. A gasp was pulled from his mouth as it intensified until it became an uncomfortable burning sensation. The burning on his wrist told him everything he didn't want to know, and he was currently locked in the room for the night, unable to even see his mate before the man left.
A small sense of panic started to creep up her spine, but everything shifted within a split second as she collapsed back onto the bed.
Opening her eyes, she was in a room she couldn't recognize. Filled with opulent decor and refined colors, she knew she was no longer in the castle. She hadn't had a vision like this in so long, so could it truly be an inside look or just a projection of her dreams?
In the end she decided it didn't matter. At this point it was either a hyper realistic dream, or a vision she should be paying close attention to, so she decided to take it as the more serious of the two outcomes.
Glancing around as the snake took stock of the large room and its occupants, she could see a whole slew of expensive items that meant the setting was a large home or manor of some kind.
Knowing the undead mans followers, it was likely some purebloods finances he'd used to furnish the makeshift throne room.
And it truly was a throne room. Voldemort was sat in a lavishly decorated seat, and kneeling before him were figures adorned in black robes with white masks.
"Ah, Severusss." The pain in the ass wizard spoke once the unmistakable man walked into the room and knelt. The potions master was cloaked heavily in black and wore a mask of white as well, but his gait was undeniable.
"My Lord." His mate said silently, bowing his head even further. Harry seemed to notice the way his mates voice sounded strained, but Voldemort hadn't, so the teen tried to relax and not alert the dark wizard to his presence.
"What is the state of Hogwarts?" The man asked, skipping any sort of formalities.
"My lord, it seems that Draco has found his way into the group lead by Potter and his ex Gryffindors." Whispers sparked up at the mention of the ex Malfoy, but Severus continued.
"Potter himself has been drawing attention from the masses and seems to be in the infirmary as we speak. I have not yet been made privy on what it is from. The old nit and his order have made no moves as of late either." It was a lot of information that his mate had just glossed over, but it seemed to satisfy Voldemort.
"Ah and what of Luciuss' failure?" Harry felt himself speak. It was disconcerting how the teen was no longer himself in this moment. Just a mind that was pulled into another's body and forced to go along with the motions.
"It would appear that he is smitten with someone within the golden boys group."
"Very well... keep an eye on Potter and his mate," Harry sneered the word mate, a vicious storm present in his oily voice. "And when the boy has been revealed, we will strike."
"Yes, my lord. Shall I attempt to bring the whelp to you?" Severus asked patiently, as if he had no other cares beyond serving the monster seated before him.
"No... we shall deal with him when the time arises. However, let Potter believe you are changing how you see him."
A few other the death eaters laughed, most taking pleasure out of the mundane thought of toying with Harry's mental and emotional life.
The meeting continued on, and Harry learned that of the inner circle, only Snape, Pettigrew, and Bellatrix Lestrange were still in the Dark Lord's favor.
Malfoy had been limping pretty badly throughout the meeting, and he leaned on his cane a bit more than he used to. Likely because of his son's dissent. Pettigrew had gotten a silver hand to replace the one he'd used in the ritual, likely a way to keep the rat indebted to the snake. While Harry had done quite a number on her skin last year, Bellatrix was in as normal a state as possible. It sounded like she had trouble talking or moving her face, and her skin was taut where he could see her hands, but she was still as deranged as ever.
Snape was the only one without injury from something Harry had been involved in, but the way he had spoken was enough to get a deep seeded loathing across.
Harry was able to watch the last of the meeting, and see that Voldemort was currently looking for a way to gain his old body back. He had the basis of his former body, and despite denouncing his name and muggle side, the dark wizard hated his current appearance.
Luring in more recruits was his reasoning. If he was able to charm the youth into coming to his side, rather than simply relying on his followers, he would become more powerful than the light. He would have more active supporters and inside help than the old fools' Order could imagine.
It was around this moment when Harry realized he wasn't just a passive viewer.
He could browse through his enemy's mind, just as the snake had done to him. But unsure of what to look for, he tried to find some memories.
