disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
warning: none for this chapter except for fluffiness
Hello all! So sorry about the wait. Just started a second job, you see and that takes up a lot of my time. But I think I have a good schedule going and can make time to start writing again. Thank you all for being so patient with me! Also I had a review asking what happened to Severus's feather during this chapter and didn't realize I had made a big goof, but its fixed now!
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It was well into the night when everyone agreed it was time to go to bed. They all spent long hours talking about both wars, lost friends and family, and things to look forward to. Everyone thought it was the most tears any of them had shed at any point in time, both in happiness and pain. However, Harry was silent most of the time. He was content to spent the time just listening to his parents speak with their old friends, tears silently rolling down his face, chocking back sobs or laughter. He didn't want to disturber this moment by making it about himself. There were countless years lost between the older generation and Harry wanted to give them some of that time back. He could only imagine the five, or six if Peter was thought to be included, meeting for coffee and catching up in a similar way, but alive and having been spared the pain of war.
It was Remus who noticed Harry yawning and announced they should all be going to bed. They said their goodbyes and promises to visit again, before calling for an elf to guide them to their rooms. Along the way, Harry stayed close to Sirius, the deep familial pain the two shared had them seeking comfort from each other. Sirius had an arm wrapped around Harry, tucking him into his side while Harry had an arm wrapped around Sirius's waist, to give support to each other to keep moving forward.
"Sirius?" Harry asked quietly. He wasn't even sure what he wanted to say or ask, but he needed to do something as they walked silently towards their rooms. Something to fill the aching void in his chest. Sure, Remus and Severus were behind him and could offer comfort, but he needed someone that was likely to fill an emptiness he has felt for as long as he can remember. The love of a parent, the comfort that was given freely, and the unconditional pride that was to be shown easily.
"Yeah, kiddo?" Sirius responded, his voice still hoarse from the evening.
"I'm sad, but I'm happy too. It that alright?" Sirius looked down at Harry, who was staring at the floor as they walked. As much as Harry had matured recently and how brave he acted, he was still a child to Sirius. After growing up, many children did not need this kind of reassurance, and many parents took for granted that their children would grow out it. He understood that Harry would not need him as much for how old he was and with mates, but he was happy to have this small moment.
"Yes, Harry, its alright." And just like that, the mood was lifted and Sirius's small moment was a success.
Their journey soon ended as they reached the main family wing. Remus and Severus were the first ones dropped off at a door. After an awkward moment of hesitation, Harry placed quick presses of his lips to his mates' cheeks. As he dashed away, his own face bright red, Remus and Severus shared pleased looks between them as they entered their room. Sirius raised his eyes to the ceiling asking a silent prayer from ancestors, friends, and gods for help and patience through their transition.
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The next morning, Harry woke slightly in a daze, forgetting, in the early stages of alertness, where he was at and what had happened in the past few days. With a groan, everything came back to him as he opened his eyes to the extravagant suite he was given. Shades of gold, red, and brown dominated the room, making it look like a royal palace. Harry was sitting up to stretch when suddenly an ancient looking elf popped into his room with a low bow. The small creature raised its head before snapping knobby fingers, making the curtains open revealing large windows and bright sunlight.
"Good morning, master. I'd being Blux, the head house-elf. Is master needing anything?"
"Um, when is breakfast?" Harry asked, still startled by the appearance of Blux. "Where will breakfast be?"
"Breakfast will be in an hour in family eating room. Anything else master?"
"Yeah, could you send Sirius to my room please?"
"Of course." The elf popped away with another bow. Now alone, but with the promise of Sirius coming over soon, Harry decided to take a shower. Harry took out the feather in his hair and lifted the tooth from around his neck before he stepped into the ensuite that he didn't have the energy to explore last night. It was something he would imagine seeing in a French loo. Bright blues, gold trimming, and gleaming tiles. The sight took his breath away. It was hard to believe that while he was forced to stay at the Dursley's or Sirius staying at Grimmauld when all this luxury was his and just sitting here in secret.
As Harry stepped into the shower, and allowed the how water to relax him, his thoughts began running rampant. How was he to act with his new mates? Was he supposed to act a certain way with them? And what was the role of his new creature inheritance supposed to fit in all of this? Harry tried searching within himself for any answers. He had always been in tune with his magic, so he started there to see if there was any difference. He knew he had a noble and selfless streak within and his magic always reflected that, but now as he reached into it, it felt more mischievous. It felt light and dark equally. It reminded him of the Weasley twins magic. Feeling around and making it rise more, he could feel the beginning of someone else's magic twinning with his, two in fact.
Thinking, knowing, how significant this revelation made him smile, but with unease. This prelude to their mating gave him hope that if their magic was coming together, their very core, was a good sign for their relationship. And that's where the unease came from. Was it natural for this to happen so quick? It scared him that their magic was already connecting on such a base level, because what if for some reason it didn't work out for them.
While his thought spiraled more because of his insecurities, Harry forgot was still tapping into his magic. One moment Harry was standing under the warm spray, arms wrapped around his midsection. The next moment he painfully landed on his bum because he could no longer hold himself up after transforming.
"Are you alright in there, Harry? I heard something fall." Great, Harry thought. Sirius was here and would be part of an embarrassing moment of having to help Harry out of the shower.
"N-no. I need a bit of help!" Harry called out to Sirius. He struggled to reach the taps to turn off the shower. It was just his luck that he ended up turning in the shower, but it gave him a flicker of hope to know that he could tap into his magic and cause him to change. Now if he could make it happen in reverse.
"Harry? Where are you?" Harry looked up and could see the silhouette of Sirius at the door.
"In the shower Sirius, I need help getting out."
"I'm not your mates Harry, I'd rather not see you naked," he said before opening the shower door. There on the floor was Harry in his creature form. It was the first time he got to be able to see Harry like this without Remus and Severus hovering around. He didn't think Harry looked like anything from this world. Those eyes, Lily's eyes, seemed to glow against all of the whiteness. It alarmed Sirius to think if anyone, other than himself, Remus, or Severus, were to look into those eyes they could very well lose themselves. They would have to keep in mind that Harry could become quite dangerous if he felt threatened. However, at the moment Sirius couldn't help, but to laugh at the pitiful look on Harry's face while he was stuck on the floor. "you know, showers don't work this way? You have to stand."
"I was standing!" Harry cried out. It was so humiliating having to ask his godfather to help him, and made worse when the man just laughed. "I was looking at my magic and suddenly, I'm on the ground!"
"well, that'll do it. Don't poke at the creature if you don't want it to come forward," Sirius said as he reached down to scoop Harry up. He had never seen a live mer before, let alone touch one, but holding Harry was about as mesmerizing as looking into his eyes. Thank goodness he felt nothing. but parental love towards Harry. The scales on Harry's tail felt like the warmed facet of a jewel pressed against his hands. Shaking his head, Sirius stopped at a pile of towels remembering what Remus had told him about Harry's transformations. "Grab a few will you? Hands are a bit full."
"Just you wait, I'll get back at you for this," Harry grumbled, but did as he was asked and grabbed a few fluffy towels. Sirius helped him onto the bed and took a towel before sitting behind Harry to help dry his ridiculous amount of hair. "Sirius?"
"Hm?"
"You cut your own hair. right?" When Harry got an affirmative hum as a response, he continued. "Could you cut mine? All of this is too much for me and I already talked it over with Severus and Remus. I don't want it as short and messy as before, but shorter than this that's for sure." Harry worked on arranging the towels around him so he didn't end up completely stark naked in front of Sirius.
"How about the length of mine? Right at your shoulders?" Sirius set his wand next to him as he gathered Harry's hair at the suggested length.
"Maybe a bit shorter? Can you conjure up a mirror so I can see?" Sirius did as asked and soon a small hand mirror was circling Harry's head as he tried to imagine his hair being that short. "You know what? Just make it as short as it was, having it stick up all over the place may go better with my new self."
"If you're sure." And Sirius got to work. He made sure to get every strand into a single pile so it could be disposed of properly. They may live amongst only those they trust, but one could never be too cautious. 'Constant vigilance' as his old Auror trainer, Moody, used to say. When he was done, Sirius incinerated the pile of hair while Harry was once again moving the mirror around his head. "Well? What's the verdict?"
"I think it looks better this way than it has ever before," Harry said. Sirius could only agree. Thanks to the shorter hair, what had been small streaks of white and silver, stood out even more where you could see the brilliant colors began.
"Good. I'm going to head to breakfast now. Join in when you've changed back." Sirius gave Harry a pat on the shoulder before leaving the room. Which was a good thing too because Harry could feel the last drop of water dry on his skin and felt himself change back into legs. Reliever to back to his old self, Harry quickly dressed into a pair of black trousers and an ocean blue shirt.
After getting lost and bouts of not having a sense of direction, Harry finally broke down and called for an elf to help him find the dining room. It was embarrassing not being able to find his way around his own house. When he arrived at breakfast, his face flushed when he realized everyone was waiting on him. "Sorry I'm late, had trouble finding my way."
"Its okay Harry," Remus said as he stood and pulled a chair out for Harry. As Harry stepped closer, Remus took notice of Harry's hair. It shocked him to see it gone already and he greatly missed the long locks. He wished Harry would have kept the long, but his young mate seemed happy and that was all that mattered. He reached forward and ran a gentle hand over the unruly hair, smiling as he saw the more prominent streaks that didn't seem to have been there before. "You cut your hair."
"Yeah," Harry responded though he wasn't asked a question. "I told you I wanted to do so. I didn't think it would be this short, but I think it looks better this way. Do you like it?"
"Of course." Both Harry and Remus turned towards Severus when he had spoken. "It goes better with the more mischievous nature of merfolk."
"Thank you, Severus," Harry said with flushed cheeks. He sat down and began to eat his breakfast. He was so hungry and focused on his food that he didn't hear anyone call his name or try to get his attention until Sirius reached across and knocked on the table in front of him. "What? Sorry."
"I asked if you wanted yo spend some time with Severus and I today?" Remus asked. He didn't think Harry would be doing anything else, but he also didn't want to make Harry feel like he had to spend all day with Remus and Severus.
"Actually, I was going to do some research on myself and maybe talk to some portraits that were merfolk. I need to learn more about myself," Harry said. He did feel bad that he was rejecting Remus's request, but this was important too. "How about we plan to have dinner just the three of us tomorrow? We can go into the room with the spring?"
That sounds lovely," Remus said, smiling at the thought of a 'date' with his mates. He squeezed Severus's hand when he felt it slip into his own.
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A/N: There ya go! R&R -yours truly, Echo Harmony
