Disclaimer- While the plot is mine, the characters are not… I'm just playing with them.
A/N- Still no notes…. They won't get posted until later!
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Chapter 7
Wotan was rather intrigued when he saw when he saw his son follow the Wybir and the boy under his care out into the field for what he could only presume was practice of some sort. The fact that the blond boy carried two broomsticks did not escape his attention; in fact their very presence is what drew him in the first place.
His son's dragonfly wings had dried nicely and shimmered like mother-of-pearl in the sunlight, and sometime after the last time he saw him and now, he had his long hair braided out of the way where it now flopped loosely against his back. He still couldn't believe how long that hair of his had been after Eileen's glamours had dropped. When Dia finally gotten around to cutting it, she had cut off about six feet of what was probably about nine or ten feet of hair. It was no wonder that the worst of Severus' headaches had stopped immediately afterwards it was cut.
His Mannau pack were also interested in what the trio were up to and he knew that he would not be able to persuade them from interfering for long. He knew that they were interested in the Wybir pup that had been assigned to his son and had heard in passing more than once in the last month that that right should have gone to one of their own. Arawn's reminder that there was no purifier amongst the pack had silenced most of their protests but there were still some protests amongst the youngest and eldest of the pack. A couple of them, like Taibhse, had adopted young Madra as one of their own though most of them still thought of the pup as the son of the Annwn's Gwynnwy. That alone confirmed that most of the Cŵn still saw themselves as one breed which was a bit of a relief to Gwyn, Arawn and himself. The last thing they needed was an inner-house war between the three Cŵn branches.
Madra did manage to make friends with several of his Mannau pups and one of them, Mhen, had grown quite infatuated with the young pair. Wotan knew that if Madra hadn't shown such interest in his young Severus that Mhen would have probably gone to pursue the Wybir pup. He was just relieved that she had found interest in another pup though he wondered what sort of pups to expect from a union with a Cu Síth. He never had to deal with green puppies before though he supposed that they would be rather pretty, maybe possessing the same coloring as a raven or crow.
Gwydion said that the Cu Síth puppies had leopard spots until they fully matured and he was going to have to take their owner's word on that. After all, the Cŵn pups had stripes.
The boys, for Madra had taken the form he had been born into, were racing one another to the field much to his and Severus' amusement and Wotan knew at that instant that there was a friendly rivalry between the boys that started long before the blonde's arrival at Ælwyd. The sprint between the boys triggered the Mannau pups to chase after them and with that the rest of the pack. Wotan sighed and followed after the hounds that had already caught up to or bypassed Severus.
"To what do we owe this visit?" His son greeted him as soon as he caught up.
"The hounds had apparently decided that they wanted to play," Wotan shrugged, redirecting his son's attention back to the boys and the black dogs that had caught up with the pair.
Severus sighed and said, "I wasn't really expecting to get off the ground this time."
The pair then turned when they heard a startled yelp to see a bewildered, protesting Draco on the back of one of the larger Mannau as the rest of the pack had taken to the sky in a game of tag. Madra had also returned to canine form to join them in their game.
Severus asked, amused, "How many more minutes should we wait before these eighteen hellhounds become fifty?"
"I believe the exact number of hounds here at the moment was something like eighty-seven although only a third of them are the age of your Madra or younger," Wotan answered, "Still, not long. Look." Severus turned to see the more curious of the hellhound pups coming to watch and the numbers were quickly growing. It was a Shuck puppy that broke the ranks of spectators first to join the chase and the rest followed suit immediately.
By the time the other owners of the packs had arrived to see what was going on, Draco had managed to convince them to fly under his own power (via Harry's broomstick) and all but the oldest of the hellhounds had already joined in what soon become a very elaborate game of fetch with the ball being a Snitch. Draco also had let a pair of Bludgers loose as well to make the game more interesting which to the hounds enjoyed and proceeded to use to show off their dodging abilities.
"What is all this?" Dia asked in curiosity, watching the hounds play.
Severus shrugged and said, "The boys wanted their Quidditch game. I believe that this is the end result."
"A what?' She asked, puzzled.
"An airborne Wizarding game that combines aspects from the Muggle sports of Handball and Cricket," Snape explained, knowing that they were also familiar with the Muggle World. "Wizards play it on broomstick."
"They are certainly enjoying it," Wotan remarked, before looking at Arawn. "You sure you won't let the boys start their own league, Uncle?"
Arawn sighed before going back to watching them play, "I'll think about it."
He then gave Severus a grim look before asking, "Have you been told about the significance of the bond you share with Madra yet?"
"Yes, Guaritore informed me yesterday while helping me access my elemental abilities," the iompróir said distastefully. "By becoming my asgre, he has agreed to be my protector during any future pregnancy and the 'Father' to any child I will be forced to bear for the elders in addition to his own.
"I take it also that the pup has been deemed by the elders to be the first then?"
"Yes," Wotan nodded, "They have also decided to speed up the process in light of Madra's recent reactions regarding you. They fear he's started his cycle as may of the other hounds have also begun reacting to it."
"Coincidence?" Dia asked, noting her cousin's dismay.
"Doubtful," Arawn answered, shaking his head. "They theorize that his actions are the result of the bond itself."
"So my cleansing triggered it, I take it?" Severus sighed, watching Madra play.
"It certainly seems that way," Wotan sighed. "As a result, we've decided to leave for Sifra earlier than we intended to. They want you to take the trial as soon as possible to avoid any further complications."
"By trial, you mean that trial?" His son turned abruptly to stare at him as he nodded. "The other will be…?"
"It hasn't been decided at this point, by we hope for both of your sakes that the elders take into consideration the strength of the asgre bond when making their final choice," Arawn told him. "In either case, we should hear the results sometime this evening."
"I just hope they know how to handle an outraged puppy should they choose wrongly," Severus sighed. No one chose to argue that.
They had already seen first hand what Madra was capable of.
cwn
"WHAT?"
Draco Malfoy's screech echoed through the halls turning heads of whoever happened in the area. In the room that the sound originated from there stood eight shocked hellhounds that were trying to regain their hearing back, a fuming Harry Potter and a laughing Severus Snape.
Draco looked between Harry and Snape repeating what his ears had told him, "Getting married? Sir, please don't tell me that you actually intend on going through with this nonsense?"
"Actually," Snape said smugly from where he sat in his reading chair. He had woken up a couple hours ago without problems but Cneasaigh wanted to keep him under observation which explained the presence of the hellhounds. "I believe I will."
"But-," Draco protested, still unable to even consider the concept of his godfather and Head of House married, even after knowing the relationship between Snape and his Wybir hound.
"They didn't tell you whom the lucky groom was did they?" Snape asked smoothly. He had known for years that once his wings came in that he would be expected to take a husband so the news was really no real surprise for him. It also helped that he had seen no one of real interest since Lily Evans.
But he smelled Frea's handiwork in there somewhere and he knew not to underestimate the female mastermind that his father married. He was still uncertain of what her ultimate goal was.
He also had a good idea of whom his groom would be and that was precisely why he was not sulking in a corner like his puppy or on the verge of pulling out his hair like his godson.
The sulking boy was presently in canine form and refusing to answer questions but the small shake of his head did in fact state that he did not know. It was probably best that Madra didn't. He didn't need his jealous pup killing any of the high-born suitors that were sure to come.
So when Wotan arrived a hour later to given them the results of their meeting, by the end of it, the one-eyed fae stood there dumbfounded as both teens passed out on the floor from shock and the iompróir dropped back into his chair laughing.
He definitely could handle being married to his puppy.
cwn
Faerie marriages did not follow the same principles as either Wizarding or Muggle ones on several points. There were no vows of faithfulness or everlasting devotion between happy couples nor was there ceremonies involving embarrassment or any form of alcohol or bleeding, even amongst the guests.
There was just one unspoken rule of marriage: the one you take into your life as your spouse must remain first in your heart no matter what obstacles may come between you.
In the Faerie Realms, being married meant taking and returning from the Trial of the Elements. This explained why two days after getting the announcement of their engagement, Harry and Snape found themselves at the foot of Mount Hukairya with nothing but the clothes on their back and each other's company.
"There are seven elements," Snape told his partner, "one for each of the founding principles of life: earth, air, fire, water, thunder, light and aether. We will be expected to go through all seven. The only thing Father would tell me about the trial is that it's meant to test us both physically and mentally. His only advice was to say that nothing we experience inside the cave is real and to remember that if nothing else. I do not know what we will find once inside so stay alert."
As Harry had already intended that, he nodded in determination. They entered the cave together, but once inside, Harry found himself completely alone.
"Sev?" He whispered to the air, confused and rapidly growing worried. Didn't Severus come in with him? He could pick up nothing in regards to his mate's presence and abruptly turned to check and see if he was behind him. But even the cave entrance behind him had vanished.
Harry swallowed and fought down his fear.
The trial had begun.
