Okay,
Those reviews. 3
I don't have a lot of ability to respond individually because I'm an overwhelming mess, but you guys made me feel so good.
I'm SO GLAD you like the direction I'm taking with the A/B/O. I do love the idea of A/B/O but have always hated the Omega being weak, slave minded mess. I mean, sometimes that's hot, and there may be a time and place for that in my story, but Hermione is to bad-ass for that!
Enjoy :)
After that piece of information, Harry retreated to his room, quickly cleaned himself up, and set out to return the book to Remus. He took his time traversing the castle towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, giving himself space to think about what he'd read and what he'd learned from Draco and Neville.
When he arrived at the classroom, the door was open, along with the door to the Professor's office. Harry knocked gently on the door to get the attention of Remus, who was grading papers while Teddy played in his playpen with a set of blocks that had runes carved on the sides, a gift Harry knew had come from Hermione, who loved how they were so similar to the muggle version that babies often had with the alphabet on them.
"Harry," Remus rose to greet Harry, "I didn't expect you back so quickly."
Harry moved towards one of the chairs across from Remus' desk and took a seat while Remus did the same in the chair opposite.
"I finished the book," Harry said, holding out the old tome for Remus to take.
Remus rose an eyebrow in a questioning look, "Already?" he asked.
"Last night," Harry explained, "Or, this morning rather. I didn't sleep."
"It's a lot of information," Remus said, "Do you have any questions?"
"A lot of information?" Harry was frustrated, and he was certain that was clear in the tone of his voice. "No. It wasn't a lot of information! Sure, it talked about being an Alpha, and how great it was to have a hierarchy partner, and it really detailed just what happened when you are with that partner, but it didn't say a thing about how to find them!"
"I know." Remus sighed, "The book does miss a lot of the important things because families choose to teach their children these things. The book is really to discuss your blessing traits, your partnership... Finding your partner is something young Alphas and Omegas are taught about from a very young age."
"Useful for someone whose parents are dead." Harry snarled.
If Remus was surprised by Harry's aggressiveness, he didn't say so.
"Well, ask me what you want and I'll answer what I can." He told Harry.
"You said there was a third type of inheritance blessing, but you've only told me about Alphas and Omegas. The other one isn't in your book either." Harry said. "What's the third?"
"Ah." Remus replied, "The third isn't really an inheritance blessing at all, but the lack of the blessings. These are known as Betas. Up until you begin receiving your blessing, there's no difference between an Alpha, Omega, or Beta. Once you begin receiving your blessings, you will be able to tell those who are Betas. They have a distinct lack of smell, are typically smaller males or larger women, their physical strength and magical power are a more average level, sometimes even less than average. They make up the majority of our society, and it's considered highly offensive to remark on their lack of hierarchy status."
"Draco mentioned the Omega smell..." Harry thought out loud.
"You talked to Draco about this?" Remus asked, surprised.
"Oh," Harry laughed, "Yeah. This morning, he and Neville told me they both found their partners but mentioned Hermione's smell was driving them mad."
"Her smell," Remus said sharply. "Bloody hell. I hadn't even noticed, I try to tune those things out as a Professor, and a werewolf. My senses are so heightened. I use a potion sometimes to dull the aromas. If they can smell her, she may be approaching her first heat and..." he trailed off.
"And what?" Harry asked, worried.
"She'll need a partner." Remus said, "Preferably her hierarchy partner, in order to make it through that. Let me send a quick message to Minerva, she'll need to create a safe space for Hermione and her partner."
Harry felt his anger with Remus rise at that moment. The man knew that Harry was Hermione's partner because Harry had told him about the incident where Hermione had obeyed him so quickly in the library. Remus didn't know that Harry knew that Hermione was his partner, but for the life of him, Harry couldn't figure out why Remus was trying to keep that a secret.
"You mean she'll need me!" Harry exploded, unable to control the anger he felt that a man he trusted was avoiding something so important.
"You know?" Remus stuttered out.
"I told you I had talked to Neville and Draco, didn't I?" Harry raged. "They told me you can only use the persuasion trait on your own Omega. Which means Hermione is my hierarchy partner, and if she's going into whatever the first heat is, she's going to need me! Not just anyone, Remus, she needs ME."
"Harry," Remus said gently, trying to soothe the anger radiating off the younger man. "I was only trying to protect you."
"Protect me?" Harry shouted, "A little late for that! Would have been nice to be protected during my abusive childhood, or during literally any of my years of schooling where Voldemort was trying to kill me! I don't need to be protected from Hermione! She's the best thing that's ever happened to me!"
Harry hadn't realized he risen from his seat, and in his anger and frustration had begun pacing the room. Teddy looked up at him with fearful eyes and Remus looked defeated.
"I'll just talk to someone who wants to tell me the truth," Harry snarled, spinning on his heel and stalking out of the room. He made the quick decision to head back to his dorm for the Marauder's Map, hoping he could use it to track down Draco or Neville. He needed to know what Hermione needed for her first heat, and what he needed to do to help her.