13th August 1997

Harry woke the next morning feeling calm, safe and relaxed, snuggled cosily between both of his mates, whose soft breathing he could hear comfortingly from nearby. The Fae stayed there, contentedly basking in their combined warmth, only the dimmest light beyond his eyelids controlling him from succumbing to his body's urge to continue sleeping. His eyes didn't begin to crack open until minutes after he first gained consciousness, and when they did so, it was slowly and with great reluctance. Harry felt content in his own mind for the first time since his inheritance two weeks ago, that insistent itch in the back of his brain finally having settled down.

He turned his head to stare sleepily at his newest mate, Blaise, with interest. The boy looked equally as gorgeous asleep as he did awake, softer, however, as he was missing the cocky smirk that seemed permanently on his face, and his sharp, purple eyes that usually drew all of his attention were currently closed. Harry could just about make out the slightest smattering of purple and black scales around the edges of his eyes, making them look more full as if he was wearing subtle eyeliner or eyeshadow. He smiled, shifting his head the opposite way.

On his other side slept Draco- flat on his back, the heathen- looking angelic in the early morning sunlight that crept through the curtains, highlighting the golden strands in his white-blond hair and the paleness of his skin. He seemed to be stirring, shifting slightly towards Harry in his light sleep, snuffling slightly into his neck, his eyelids fluttering and cracking open slightly to reveal the slightest sliver of silver. Harry smiled warmly.

"Good morning." He whispered barely audibly, his voice croaky with sleep.

Draco's eyes shut once more, and he sleepily hummed, turning onto his side to squish their bodies closer together. "G'morning." He mumbled back, slurred with sleep. To his other side, Blaise huffed, drawing his attention once more.

Without opening his eyes, he swung suddenly out of the bed, dragging the covers with him, much to the startled, voiced annoyance of both Harry and Draco. Tiredly, he stumbled his way into the en-suite bathroom, slamming the door behind him and leaving the pair to shiver in the morning air.

Draco groaned, sitting up with a scowl. "Bastard." He looked ruffled, hair sticking up at the back, but Harry knew that his own was probably ten times worse. He sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, blinking rapidly to wake up faster, casting a Tempus with a groan. Turning back impatiently when Harry made no move to get up, he huffed again. "Harry, it's already nearing eleven, you need to get up."

He grumbled back, turning to plonk his face in the pillow instead.

"Harry, up. We've got to go eat breakfast- or lunch. I'm surprised no one woke us up beforehand."

"Parents are used to it. We aren't mornin' people." With a put-on sigh, Harry pushed himself up on weak arms, turning, licking dry lips with disgust. "Ugh, need water." Groping in the direction of his side table, he swiped the convenient glass there and took several, desperate gulps of water.

During this, Draco had wandered off to his bag, dressing in dark robes.

"Not going to shower?"

"I had one last night after you fell asleep. You should have one, though, after Blaise relinquishes the bathroom."

As if summoned, the bathroom door opened, bellowing out steam, and a refreshed-looking, damp Blaise stepped out, only a towel wrapped around his waist. "Morning." He smiled, it turning wicked as he noticed their dual stares fixated on his body. "Like what you see?"

"Yeah," Harry admitted honestly, Draco humming in agreement. "Anyway, I'll hop in the shower for a few minutes, we should make it down for lunch."

Although he had woken up this morning thinking that he only needed the two mates, as the day carried on, that itching came back in trickles, building and building until he knew that he had no choice but to contact the Council that the meetings needed to resume after all.

They were, once again, overjoyed, much to Harry's displeasure, and he made it known by cutting off the floo call soon after- running back to the sofa to snuggle between his two mates in a mutual sulking huddle.

14th August 1997

The meetings resumed the next day, although Harry only actually had four Dominants still on his list, quite little at this point, Elder Murr had commented, looking slightly worried. Harry waved off his attempts to persuade him to choose more from those he found tolerable previously, steadfast in his decision. Hopefully, this would be his last mate to choose. Three was more than enough.

He met with Aldo first, the pair of them heading straight into talk about quidditch, much to the amusement and exasperation of those in the room. They talked as if they were old friends, joking with each other, the man still not revealing his team. Harry was running out of guesses, not that he was disclosing whether the guess was correct or not anyway. In all, Harry didn't see his as a mate for certain, more of a friendly figure that he could fanboy with about his interests.

Elian was as bubbly and energetic as the past times he had met the man, only just stopping himself short from wrapping his arms around him in a hug, pulling back at the last second to simply shake his hand, a mischievous smile on his face that suited the Fae horribly well. Beside him, his mates scowled, Draco almost pushing entirely between the two of them to keep the other man away from him, which only further drew out that smile of his.

"Hello, Harry! Draco, Blaise." He nodded at the pair. "How are you all today?"

Harry smiled, his energy infectious. "Fine, and you?"

"Great! I get to spend time with you!" He chuckled at Harry's blush. "And your mates, of course." Blaise snarled under his breath slightly, and Draco's unamused raise of an eyebrow said enough. "So, what do you want me to tell you today?"

"Could you tell me about the gatherings that are held? They seem quite interesting, and Draco wants to know too." They sat down on the sofas, Draco leaning forward with polite eagerness.

"Which one should I start with? Hmm, perhaps the one that's coming up the soonest. Well, the soonest formal meeting held here in the Council Halls is actually the Main Meeting, held every two years in early July. It's open to all creatures and it will be held next year. The next is the Dragonborn Gathering in October of the same year, and only Dragonborns, their mates and a permitted amount of children are permitted to attend. I think it's about two children per mate allowed. It's about the same for most of the meetings. It's an event that happens once every five years. Then, in June 2000, the Boread meeting is held, which I don't know much about due to how private it is. There are not many Boreads in the world, after all, but I do know it's also held every five years. The Veela gathering is next held in November 2001 and is also on a five-year schedule, although it's doubtful that you'll need to know more than that since only Veela are invited, not even their mates. The Fae meeting is in August 2002, every seven years, and I know that the limit for children is three per mate. Then, finally, there's the Vampire meeting, held every ten years, and the next one is in December 2005. That's a brief overview of them."

"Wow, there's quite a lot of them! Is it compulsory to attend them?"

"They are used as a place for the Council to check that mateships are well and the people within them aren't unhappy, but they aren't compulsory. These are only the gatherings held by the Council though, there are plenty more private ones over the world that you may find yourself invited to."

"Are they formal gatherings, or rather informal?" Draco asked him, his arms folded.

Elian raised a hand to ruffle his hair. "It depends on which hall you stay in. The main hall is informal, mainly filled with families, and has a big play area for the children, whilst the side halls are more for those who are single and those who have no children. It's hard to explain since I've never been to one myself, but I've heard that there's a place for everyone in there."

They sounded interesting, but Harry didn't know how comfortable he'd feel attending. Creatures from all over the world would be in attendance, meaning perhaps thousands would be there. At least there was nearly a year until the next one.

Thomas, polite as ever, walked into the room with a bouquet of flowers, which turned out to be several as he passed one to his mum, one to himself, and another to both Draco and Blaise. His dad, instead of receiving a bouquet of flowers, was handed a leather notebook instead.

Blaise snorted by his side, handing off the flowers to Harry, sitting back with folded arms. Draco kept a hold of his own, although he looked a bit jealous of his dad's notebook. Clearly, he would have preferred to have received that instead.

Thomas took note of their varying expressions and smiled. "If I have another meeting with Harry, I will be sure to bring along something more to your tastes, yes? You do not like flowers, Mr Zabini?"

"Call me Blaise, and, not really. One of Mum's boyfriends had an obsession with them, and the manor stunk like them for a couple of years, I've never been able to like them since."

"Then, you would prefer a notebook?" He received a nod. "And you, Draco?"

"The flowers don't bother me, mother will like them and appreciate the thought. Thanks."

"Ah, yeah, thanks." Harry hurriedly tacked on, having forgotten earlier even as his mum had voiced her thanks.

"It is no problem. Now, what would you like to know about me so that we can get to know each other better? I'm afraid my job is terribly boring, so I suppose you don't want to hear-"

"No, no, It's interesting! You're a Lord, me, Draco and Blaise will be Lords of our own houses one day, it's a topic I'd appreciate you talking about."

Thomas looked gleeful to explain the intricacies of the Wizengamot, adding in cheeky quips here and there about certain members that even got James to snort where he was sitting in the armchair next to the sofa.

Mikelis was the final prospective mate he met, the man polite and respectful as ever, although now that he was looking closer at their interactions, he could tell that they just didn't mesh in a romantic way. However, the man was interesting and was fast becoming a friend of his despite their age gap (not that that would matter in the long run), so Harry didn't have the urge to take him off of the list.

16th August 1997

The meetings the next day had gone similarly, and today, after three more meetings with his prospective mates, Harry felt as though he had made his decision. He had the man who he'd had his eye on called in for a meeting after they were done for the day, him looking confused as well as frightened.

"Is there something the matter, Harry? I apologise if I've offended either your, your mates or your family today." The man looked heartfelt and downtrodden, shoulders drooped as if he expected to be lashed out at.

Instead, Harry took a step forward, a happy yet worried smile on his face. "Nothing is the matter, I had you called back because I wanted to ask you something." He drew in a deep breath, steeling himself. "Would you be my mate, Elian?"

The fae in front of him blinked, golden lashes fluttering in surprise. "Of-of course!" He stuttered, jerking forwards awkwardly, not knowing exactly how to react.

Harry reached out and wrapped his arms around him, the daze settling on his shoulders heavily as he clung to the equally clingy man draped over his shoulder. He was shaking slightly, whether from the overwhelming sensation of being mated, or because of how emotional he was feeling, and stayed in that position until it had stopped. They separated hesitantly, Harry looking back to make eye contact with his two other mates, who looked a little dazed themselves.

"Congratulations on your third mate, Harry." Elder Murr softly drew his attention, and he smiled.

"Yes, and hopefully the last." Somehow, Harry knew in the back of his mind that those words weren't going to come true, and he couldn't find himself to be disappointed with that fact.

There was someone else he liked, after all, despite the slight push they needed before he'd consider them mate material.

17th August 1997

With only three left in the running, Elder Murr asked him if he wished to only meet one of them a day instead of all three, but spend that whole day with each of them. Harry agreed enthusiastically as it would mean he'd have more time to sus out their personality.

Aldo was the first, and they spent the whole day together, flying around the Council halls quidditch pitch (used for the tournaments Creature society held every ten years), and generally solidifying their friendship. They both knew that they weren't compatible that way and Harry found himself relieved that his choice was just that bit easier now.

It felt freeing to fly around the pitch without having any expectations placed on either of them, his mates having been settled by confirmation that neither of them thought of the other as a prospective mate, so they pushed and shoved each other without a care in their race for the Snitch.

Harry hoped that they could do the same thing somewhen in the future.

18th August 1997

He met with Tom on the 18th, the man having completed his promise and brung an expensive-looking notebook for Blaise, more flowers for Draco, Harry and Lily, and a book for James. He also handed him and Draco a book each, specialised on Vampires.

"I know that Blaise has Vampires in his family, and so he has access to this information already from a first-person point of view, so I thought I'd help you out on getting your collections started." He had grinned then, fangs slightly peeking out from under his lips, and Harry knew that he had made his choice.

19th August 1997

Mikelis and Harry met up in the gardens of the halls on the 19th, the man carrying with him a small basket filled with food. He explained, once they started walking, that he had a picnic planned.

They enjoyed it in a sunny clearing next to a pristine white fountain, his now three mates watching from the sidelines instead of getting involved. Whilst taking the last few bites from his sandwich, Mikelis admits to him that he knows he has no chance. He shrugs when Harry makes a noise, turning his head away. "I can see it, clear as day. You like the Vampire. He is a good choice, Vampires are strong, and he is clearly from a good bloodline. You have chosen your mates well, Harry Potter."

He left it at that, ignoring Harry's splutters with a small smile as they headed towards the halls once more.

20th August 1997

Harry woke up on the morning of the 20th panicky, but firm in his decision. He had already informed the Elders of what he was going to do today, and they had prepared accordingly, inviting the man to the halls once more for their final meeting.

It was as Thomas walked in, as composed as ever, that Harry sprung the question on him, tightly holding onto Elian's hand for reassurance. "Would you... be my mate?"

Tom, to Harry's great surprise, froze, his eyes going slightly glassy with emotion. His mouth opened a closed, hand twitching by his side in an anxious movement, staring into his eyes with unnatural intensity. "You are sure of your choice in me?"

"Are you going to try and dissuade me?"

"No, not a chance, I am simply asking before you seal your fate."

His mum leaned closer to him, mouth pressing up against his ear to whisper conspiratorially. "I don't know about him, Harry. He's a bit...well..." She grimaced, pulling back. "But it is all your choice, sweetheart."

He gave her a sideways glance. "I know that, and that's why I am sure that he is my mate." Harry's eyes locked with the Vampire's once more. "So, do you accept?"

Thomas' expression was breathtaking. Harry had never seen someone's smile be so attractive and alluring before- not even Draco's sly smirks, Blaise's smug grins or Elian's blinding beams- it left him dumbfounded. "Is there any universe in which I would deny your request?" The man stood, striding over to him with a hand held out. Harry grabbed it, thinking he was intending to pull him up off of the sofa, but instead, the vampire bent down to press a soft kiss on the inside of his wrist, near to his pulse point. Harry's heartbeat sped up, the sight of those sharp and deadly fangs so close to his veins sending adrenaline racing through his body. Thomas withdrew with a smirk on his lips. "It is my hope that we will all get along splendidly."

This was said, not only to Harry but his three other mates who were standing behind him, staring at their newest partner in apprehension.

"Perhaps, we should leave you alone so that you may get to know one another better without our interference?" Elder Murr spoke up, switching his gaze between Harry and his individual mates.

"That sounds good, yeah."

His mum drew his attention. "Do you want us to leave as well, sweetheart?"

"Might be for the best, I've got to get to know them without supervision at some point, it's better to start now."

"Ok, we'll be in the other meeting room with the Elders if you need us for anything." His dad gently grabbed the waist of his mum, and led her out of the room, following the elders' departure.

Once left alone, they settled themself on the sofas and various armchairs, Blaise and Draco squeezing him into the corner of the sofa with their bulk, Elian and Thomas taking up the armchairs opposite. They sat in awkward silence for a minute or so, before Elian, straightening up in his chair, blurted out the first thing that came into his mind.

"So, what's your favourite colour? Mine's gold!"

"Is gold even a colour?" Blaise raised an eyebrow. Thomas confirmed that it was, muffled slightly from behind the book he had pulled out.

"So, colours?"

"Oh, I like red." Harry smiled.

Draco scoffed teasingly. "Gryffindor. I like silver."

"And you came at me for the connections towards my house?"

"Stereotypical of me, but I like green the most," Blaise answered, slouching back into a more comfortable position.

Silence hung in the air for a moment, and they turned to the only one who had yet to speak. He was sat up straight in his armchair, one leg crossed over the other, the book still in his hands. "Thomas?" The man raised his eyes at the sound of his voice. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Perhaps black or green would be contenders, although I am also partial to reds."

Harry shot a smug look at Draco. "See, a Slytherin that likes red, I'm not sure if you'd ever be able to admit that."

The group spent the rest of their day getting to know each other, although most of their questions were aimed towards Harry. He hoped that, in the future, they'd come to see each other as mates, and not only himself as their only connection.

Then, came the discussion as to what they were going to do after this. Obviously, Harry didn't want to be separated from any of them, but he knew for sure that five people could not fit in his bed- Elian had slept at the end of it the past couple of nights, despite Harry's protests that they should swap around.

Besides, there was also the terrifying thought that, perhaps, he'd need another mate, and therefore would need even more room. It was scary to think about it since he didn't know who he'd choose, having sent away the rest of the Dominants already.

He knew, however, that there was no use speculating about it. They'd find out in the morning whether or not he needed another- which would contend with the previous record of five.

Thomas spoke up. "We will be heading back to my Manor, will we not? Draco still lives with his parents in Malfoy Manor, Blaise also lives with his mother, and Elian?"

The Fae blushed. "Ah, I also still live with my parents. They haven't allowed me to move out yet, since I've only recently become an adult."

"Then, it's settled, yes?"

"Um, we're moving in? So soon?"

"That is to be expected, yes. Being mated is essentially the same as being married, and I doubt you'd want to still be living at home when your heat hits if your cycle is especially short."

Harry turned a shocking shade of red. He hadn't allowed himself to think about his upcoming heat for a while now, preferring to ignore the fact that its arrival was only a matter of when.

"Uh, I suppose not. Still, this is a bit short notice, can't I stay with my parents for a little while longer?"

Thomas blinked. A look around showed Blaise and Elian showing similar reactions of confusion. Only Draco looked as he felt, but less so. Obviously, he had some prewarning that this sort of situation could or would happen.

"A week?"

Thomas raised his eyebrow. "A week? That is much too long, you'd already be on your way to insanity from separation from us by then since I know that Potter Manor isn't big enough to contain us all. You have four siblings, yes? And your parents live there too. Add us in the mix, with you, Draco and Blaise being more volatile due to your more recent inheritances, it could be a recipe for disaster. It surprises me that no violence occurred whilst they were staying there these past few days."

Harry focused on the most startling piece of information the Vampire revealed. "I can go insane just for being separated from you for a week!?"

"Yes, that is the reason why mates are a must for submissives in the first place. Mates help to stabilise a submissive's mental and magical state, either from their sudden creature inheritance or from maturing into their adult creature state. Being away from those stabilisers for more than a certain amount of time can be detrimental to a submissive, especially once they have chosen their mates."

"Then, what about dominants? How come they don't have to find their mates in such a short amount of time? Do they not go insane from their creature inheritances or maturing?"

"Yes, but at a much slower rate, due to the fact that Dominants get stronger with age, whilst Submissives have access to their full power from the time they are considered an adult. The longest a Submissive has held off a mate meeting before going insane after becoming an adult creature is two years, and they ended up killing their own children and Dominant after they mated. The longest a Dominant has lasted is a few hundred years, before they caused the greatest loss of life seen in a mate meeting, killing over a hundred dominants and the Submissive they were vying for. It is why there is such protection at meeting nowadays, and why Submissives are urged to begin the meeting process as soon as possible. Your own meeting lasted for a relatively short amount of time- some can last for as long as a whole year or so." He explained patiently, waiting for Harry to absorb the startling information.

"Then, how much time would you suggest is safe?"

"At most? Up to five days, although that wouldn't be preferable, and you would experience the beginnings of insanity by then. I would say that the most you would be able to tolerate with no repercussions at such a time when you are both newly inherited and mated, is a day or two. Perhaps longer if a couple of us are with you. It is, honestly, only such a short amount of time due to the newness of our bond. Within a few months, that timeframe should expand, but for now, it's best to play it safe."

Harry gaped slightly, closing his mouth when he realised it had dropped open. "Oh. Um... I think...that I'd prefer to spend tonight alone with my family. Just... yeah, then I'll come to yours after that."

"That sounds perfect, even if my instincts don't agree with that sentiment all too much. I am reluctant to see you leave, but I am not the sort of Dominant to deny such a simple request from you. Just make sure you are back by the evening of tomorrow, the morning of the next at the latest."

Harry nodded in agreement.

The air in the manor was stifling, even Dylan and Peony seeming to have picked up on the sombre mood from the way they sat in silence by his doorway, watching as he and their mum packed boxes full of his belongings.

"You won't be taking all of it though, will you, Harry?" Lily picked up the blanket from his bed, holding it tightly between clenched fists.

Harry huffed from where he sat on the floor, sifting through the items in one of his many draws. "Perhaps? I'm not sure, we're only going to be in Thomas' Manor for a couple of weeks before leaving for Hogwarts, but wouldn't it be best to get everything I need there sooner rather than later?" She clenched the blanket tighter, turning her face away. "I won't be taking everything, Mum. Only the stuff I want. Things like this-" He picked up a light-up ball from the draw, and promptly dropped it back in when it sprouted legs in reaction to his magic. "-Can stay, and I know Draco's already started scouring the fashion catalogue from Twilfitts for new clothes, but I'll be taking most of my books and stuff."

She released a sigh, looking slightly more relieved. "You don't need to keep stuff here for my sake, Harry. I'm sorry about this, but, I just- I just can't believe that you're already moving out!"

"It'll just be like I'm going to Hogwarts for this first year, and obviously I'm going to be here for part of the holidays, so, I mean..."

Lily smiled, softly but sadly. "It's fine, Harry. As long as I know that you are safe, I'm happy that you are moving in with your mates. Now, Thomas has his own Manor? Is it as fancy and over the top as the Malfoys'?"

"I'm not sure, probably. He is a Slytherin, the Slytherin, after all. I can't imagine that it'll be anything less than grand, especially since it's a Lord's Manor."

"Oh, how exciting!" She seemed to have forgotten most of her melancholy of him moving out, abandoning straightening out the blanket to instead sit on the floor with him. Dylan and Peony, still in the doorway, rushed into the room now that the solemn atmosphere had disappeared.

"Ay! Out!" He grabbed Dylan as he dived into one of the half-full boxes, seizing Peony by the leg as she attempted to crawl under his bed, and deposited them both out into the hallway.

"But-But Hawwy!" Dylan whined, and he closed his eyes.

His mum chided him from behind, although there was mirth in her words. "Harry, they're only playing."

"They have a playroom, I'm trying to pack." Instead of closing the door, knowing that a meltdown would ensue, he put up a ward in front of the door instead, thanking that he was finally of age and able to use magic freely. "There. Now, I'd rather this be done before dinner, so that we can relax later." With another swish of his wand, all draws and cupboards opened. He looked through each, before floating what he wanted to pack into his boxes- books, a few pairs of clothes, shoes, trinkets, and his collection of brooms. "Done! Why didn't we pack this way in the first place?"

Lily sighed.