6.8k words

Please comment any further scenes you'd like to see to further the relationship between Harry and his mates ^-^

3rd September 1997- Wednesday

Tom had, in fact, held him to his promise of reviewing his textbooks at a later time, and made him read through the Creature Studies textbook and the rest of the DADA textbook before his first lesson Wednesday afternoon.

He was glad that his first lesson of the year was Creature Studies, as it meant that all of his mates could join him and he'd be able to spend more time with them, at least for this one day.

Walking into the Creature Studies classroom on the sixth floor, Harry was surprised to see so many Creatures within the room. Daphne Greengrass was sitting alone at a table, strange antlers sprouting from her head and green streaks running through her golden hair. Sat on the opposite side of the room, Terry Boot had the scales marking him as a Dragonborn surrounding his eyes, red and bright. Ernie Macmillan had the same but in a lighter shade, sitting at the same table as him. Zacharias Smith, now with pointed ears, looked moody as the woman by his side surrounded him with her Dragonborn wings, and Lavender Brown sat near the back, furry ears poking out of her hair, a beautiful man next to her with his arms wrapped around her waist. With them included, there were twelve of them taking this class.

The eyes of all those in the room turned to them when they made their entrance, causing Harry's hackles to rise at the sudden attention. Brushing in front of him and hiding him from view, Tom lead them to the table in the left-back corner, making sure that he was settled at the end of the table, nearest to the back. The room was silent apart from their rustling as they placed their textbooks and equipment on the table, their stares still heavy.

"They're acting as if they've never seen a Creature before," Draco muttered from his space at Harry's left, leaning back against the wall.

"A mateship this large is pretty rare- I think there are only around ten others in the world that are still ongoing. The average Submissive has one or two mates. At least there's not six of us, that would cause a stir."

Harry groaned, hiding his face in his arms. "I hate attention."

"You've mated the Prince of the Fae and who is essentially the Prince of Slytherin, as well as me, the youngest Boread and Malfoy heir, and Blaise, whose Vampire and Dragonborn ancestors are Noble families."

That had been a shock when Blaise had told them that tidbit of information. Harry was starting to see a pattern with his mates.

"And don't forget that Harry also descends from Noble Fae lines, he isn't slacking in the ancestral department either."

Before Harry could retort, a door at the far side of the classroom opened, and in stepped a man with none of his Creature attributes visible. He looked around the classroom, eyes stopping for a moment on their group, before frowning at Zacharias' mate.

"Please refrain from displaying your Creature attributes so boldly within such a public space. In this classroom- only the minimum amount is permitted. That goes for the rest of you, as well." He pointedly stared at Greengrass, whose antlers seemed to melt away, the green streaks in her hair lightening until they were only slightly discoloured.

By his other side, Tom had a frown on his face, and Elian looked displeased too, both staring at the man intently.

The Professor walked to the front of the classroom and leaned on his desk with a scowl. "My name is Professor Marke, although you should already know that. You will refer to me as that or as Professor only. There are strict rules you all must follow within my classroom, and yes, that goes for you who are here as mates and not students as well. As I said earlier but will reiterate: only the barest of Creature attributes are allowed to be on show, such as the scales around your eyes as a Dragonborn. Under no circumstances should you release your wings- we are in a school, and there is no danger here that would warrant such a thing. I also expect you to take notes and read the textbook outside and inside the lesson- to succeed, you must be willing to put the effort in. There are to be no overly expressive displays of affection between mates in my classroom, you are Beings, not Beasts. And finally, as a Professor, my word is the law within this space. Now, any questions?" He ignored the raised hands that shot up. "No? good. Now, leave your questionnaires I set as summer work on the table and I will be coming around to collect them when I hand you out the quiz on the first chapter of the textbook."

Elian sat down heavily on the sofa, pen and parchment in hand, slamming them down on the table to begin writing furiously. "He needs to be fired, he should not be the one teaching the next generation of Creatures!"

"I agree, he is not suited for any sort of teaching position." Tom nodded his head, sitting down beside the angry man and sneaking glances at whatever he was writing.

Harry was on the armchair, head in his hands, receiving a soothing backrub from Draco. "I totally did terrible on that test, half of them weren't even in the first chapter- or in the textbook at all!"

Creature Studies, after a painful and awkward couple of hours where they were barely permitted to even speak to each other, had ended only ten minutes ago, and they had fled the room as soon as possible. The test had taken up a large portion of the lesson, and the questions were harder than they were expecting for the first lesson. Even Elian and Tom had received the test, although they weren't expected to hand it in for marking, and had said they wouldn't expect newly inherited Creatures of less than a year to know all the answers, even those raised with the knowledge that they were a Creature.

"It won't matter once I send this letter off." Elian folded it haphazardly, stuffing it into an envelope, and walked over to the perch where his bird- Harry didn't know the species, but he was sure it was a magical one that didn't exist in their dimension- sat, preening itself. "Lea, please deliver this to Nylian, this is a serious matter." The bird squawked, snatched the letter in its claws, and dissolved in a flash of light.

"You're sending it to the Creature Council?"

"My brother, but as a part of the Council, I'm sure he'll bring this up to the rest of them."

"Wait, what did you write?" Harry frowned at his mate, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"That there is a Fae teaching at Hogwarts who is spreading dangerous misinformation to the youngest generation and controlling their actions with malicious intent. He'll be fired, at least, by the end of next week, if not as soon as my brother reads the letter." He explained smugly, and Draco laughed from behind him.

"Isn't that abusing your power as his brother?"

He widened his eyes innocently. "I'm simply reporting a criminal, what's wrong with that? My connection to him simply means that the letter will be on the top of his pile and sorted sooner than usual."

Harry sighed. At least, he wouldn't have to dread further interaction with that horrible man.

They spent the rest of the evening simply soaking in each other's presence and winding down from the righteous anger they felt towards being so dehumanised- Harry supposed- by a man who was supposed to be teaching them more about the world they were now thrust into.

4th September 1997- Thursday

Brightening Harry's mood, the next day, he, Draco and Blaise shared their first Defence Against The Dark Arts Class together, his favourite and the one class he was top in.

Their teacher, Professor Evergreen, was miles better than Professor Marke, and allowed them to talk to one another whilst they were taking notes on the Patronus Charm, a theory-packed lesson since it was the start of the year. Harry, having been able to cast the charm since he was thirteen, was admittedly slacking off, more focused on helping Blaise and Draco than focusing on his own work.

"Psst! Hey, Potter!" A voice hissed from behind him, startling him from his thoughts, and he turned around to be met with the shifty stare of Lavender Brown, who looked uncomfortable but determined to speak to him despite the glares she was receiving from both Draco and Blaise. Draco knew that he and Lavender didn't get along, and Blaise had obviously figured that out from the spats they had had since she and Ron had broken up.

"What?"

"Can we...talk after class?"

Harry's eyebrows rose. Talk? He and Lavender had never simply just talked. "Sure? What do you want to talk about?"

"Just...stuff. You know..." She made a gesture towards the top of her head, and at his uncomprehensive look, rolled her eyes and flexed her hand, sharp claws replacing her previously perfectly manicured nails. "Creature stuff, duh!"

"Oh, um, yeah, sure. That'd be fine."

"Great!" She quickly turned back to Parvati by her side, which signalled the end of their abrupt conversation.

Harry, feeling confused, turned back around slowly, blinking. "Why would Lavender of all people want to speak to you? Yeah, you're both Creatures and Gryffindors, but that's about it!" Blaise whispered into his ear, and he shrugged in response.

"I'm not sure, I'll find out later. Don't wait up for me when class ends, I doubt I'll be long."

"That's more reason to wait around."

"She wants a private conversation, and with your hearing, we won't get that unless you go."

Blaise huffed, a thin breath of smoke curling out of his mouth, a clear sign of his agitation. Harry waved it away with his hand, raising his eyebrow at his mate, who huffed once more. "Fine, but none of us are going to be happy about it, and you know I'm going to get an earful from Tom for not staying with you."

After DADA had finally finished, he and Lavender wandered off to a more secluded part of the castle, despite Draco and Blaise's unwillingness to let him go. Once they had stopped, silence reigned for a minute or so, the pair hesitating, never having felt comfortable in the presence of the other. Harry drew in a deep breath, shuffling slightly.

"So, what did you need?"

Lavender cleared her throat, eyes darting from side to side, surveying the area for others for a few moments, before leaning in and whispering conspiratorily at him. "You're a Submissive too, right?" She blurted out, before curling away, fiddling with her fingers in a hunched position that didn't suit her usually outgoing personality. Harry felt nothing but understanding for the girl in front of him, her expression and shaky voice telling, which allowed him to gain the confidence to speak clearly about the topic he hadn't been allowing himself to think about much.

He smiled hesitantly. "Yes, I am. I only inherited recently, on the 31st of July, so if you're asking for advice, I won't be able to give much, but I'll try."

"Oh, that's, that's fine, you probably know more than I do, anyway." She let out a self-deprecating laugh that tugged on his heartstrings, her eyes lowered to the floor. "I was born on the 17th of August, so I've only known about Creatures for a little over two weeks now, and it's honestly just so-so confusing!" Lavender's voice took on a slightly breathless and overwhelmed tone, eyes tearing up. "My-my parents didn't even realise they were still carriers for Creature blood, and- the man that came round our house wasn't helpful at all! All he did was give me a single book and set up a mate meeting as soon as he could! It had to wait a few days since he said that there was another Submissive still having their mate meeting, which I heard was you and I was so shocked and so grateful for more time, and my mate is trying to be helpful as soon as he realised I had no clue what I was doing but hedoesn'tknowmuchaboutSubmissivessoIthoughtIwouldcomeandseeyouwhenIsawyouintheclassroomyesterday, and- and- this is all just so stupid! I'm so sorry to ask but can you help me?!" She burst into tears, sliding down the wall she had leant on for support during her ramble, and Harry lunged forward to wrap her in a hug, eyes wide as he stared down at her sobbing form.

"Of-of course you can! Lavender, what-"

"Thank you! I-I know you hate me because I dated Ron, but-"

He choked. "What, I don't hate you-"

"I'm just-just so-so overwhelmed, I can't-" Lavender's breath caught in her throat, and she began to breathe deeply, closing her watery eyes, using the sleeve of her robes to wipe the tears off of her face. She let out a shaky breath after a few moments, opening her eyes once more. "You... don't...hate me?" Her voice was so broken and vulnerable that Harry couldn't help but hold her tighter.

"No, not at all, I wouldn't hate you for such a silly thing." She sniffled some more, taking in deep breaths, chest shuddering with the strength of her sobs. After a few minutes, she had finally calmed down enough to hold a stable conversation with him.

"Sorry, It's-it's just...there's so much to say, and I feel like I'm overreacting." She giggled a bit madly, and he joined in on impulse, their slightly hysterical laughs echoing through the abandoned part of the castle.

"That's fine, I was also shocked, it's natural. Your life has changed so abruptly."

"It was just so sudden, we had no idea that there was even still active Creature blood in our line, and my parent's reactions to it didn't help much..." She sniffled a bit. "They're fine now, but going all furry like that was a shock to them as much as it was me. We immediately sent word to the Creature Council about my situation, and they sent a Consultant to talk with us, but he didn't explain anything!" Her tone turned biting, and hugged her a little tighter as she began to shake more. "He wasn't even in our house for more than ten minutes before he left to go and set up my mate meeting! I'll admit that I was glad to find out that there was still an ongoing mate meeting, it gave me time to read through that one book and for my parents to order some more, but it wasn't enough. I practically went into that meeting blind, presented to that crowd like a piece of meat, and the Dominants were all so disgustingly misogynistic that I could have torn their faces off! I'm glad that I found Bradley- my mate, by the way- on the second day, and that he was the only one I needed. For the first few days, we kind of skirted around each other awkwardly, but his mum- and oh, she's an angel!- talked to him and he sat me down so that we could have a proper discussion, where he found out that I knew barely anything. He's been trying to help me out, but he's young himself and only inherited a few years ago, so my situation hasn't changed much." By this point, it was almost like the pair were having a perfectly normal conversation, Lavender growing more lively the more she opened up. They were still cradling each other, although it was now more for comfort than stabilisation. "But, then when I saw you in Creature Studies yesterday and remembered that you are also a Submissive who recently came into an inheritance, I wanted to talk to you about it, even if all we could do was exchange experiences as we go on."

Harry nodded seriously. "Totally, you're also the only other Submissive Creature I've met so far, It'd be helpful for me as well."

She smiled happily, flinging her arms around his neck once more. "Thanks, Harry."

They made their way up to the seventh floor a little while later, making small talk and giggling the whole way, undeterred by the baffled looks being sent their way by others. It felt as if they had been friends for years already. Finally, they had to split ways once they came across the diversion between their rooms, and Lavender lunged at him for another hug which Harry was becoming used to now as a quirk of hers. "Thanks for listening."

"It's no problem, I'm also glad that I can finally talk to someone about all...this."

She giggled happily. "Well, my room isn't too far from here, just down that corridor and then a few turns, so come and talk whenever you like when we're both out of class. The door's a dark oak colour, very hard to miss since the rest are lighter"

He nodded, waving as she happily skipped away down the corridor, whispering the password for the door, before slipping inside. Almost the moment his foot crossed the threshold, Blaise was in front of him, holding him by his shoulders and searching him for any harm, Draco behind him, Tom and Elian sitting on the sofa also with concerned expressions. "What did she want? She didn't say anything nasty to you, did she?"

Harry scowled up at him. "Don't assume. We became friends, actually."

"Just like that?" His tone was uncertain.

"Just like that. She's a likeable person." Draco sent him an unconvinced look, likely remembering the many times he'd had to listen to Harry rant about the girl. "Look, we had a talk, discussed some stuff, and realised that we have a lot of similarities. She's also a Submissive, and wanted some guidance. I told her I was also newly inherited, but am happy to share experiences with her. It might also help me with becoming more comfortable with this situation."

"That's amazing, Harry. I'm happy that you've found someone to talk to." Elian smiled from his seat on the sofa, and Harry's shoulders relaxed from their defensive position. Blaise sighed, but agreed, directing him to also sit on the sofa. "We haven't been doing much since you've been gone, only talking."

"Yeah, and having a go at me and Blaise."

Tom tutted, sending a glare his way. "Of course, despite Harry telling you to go away, I still don't like him being so unprotected." Harry opened his mouth with a scowl, ready to retort. "And yes, I know you are capable, darling, but I have instincts, and these two are obviously much more controlled in that aspect than I am." His admittance lightened the mood, and Harry smiled instead, settling himself down on the sofa. "Did you have any worries, Harry?"

Where had that come from? "Hm?" He hummed questioning, searching Tom's suddenly sullen face.

"You said that talking with Lavender would help you to become more comfortable with 'this situation'. You are feeling uncomfortable." He bluntly stated, staring at Harry with his deep, red eyes, filled with hurt and sorrow.

He shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean, my inheritance happened so suddenly and unexpectedly that it's understandable that I'm feeling uneasy. It's just general worries that, with time, will lessen. It's fine, Tom, you don't have to worry."

"It's my job as the main protector of this mateship to worry, about all of you. But, I'll take your word for it, Harry. I trust you to know yourself best."

Tom's heartfelt words sent warmth through his body, and Harry smiled gratefully, cuddling further into the corner of the sofa. "Thanks."

5th September 1997- Friday

Transfiguration was the only lesson that he didn't have with either of his mates, on Friday afternoon for periods three and four. Luckily for Harry, Ron and Hermione also took Transfiguration, and he sat with them in the middle of the classroom as was usual.

"How have you been, ma- er- Harry?" Ron stuttered when Harry plonked himself down in the seat next to him, and Harry felt gratitude that he had remembered Harry's aversion to being called 'mate' by anyone that wasn't his mate in a romantic capacity.

"Good, how about you?"

"Great! Been missing you at lunch though, can't you come down sometimes?"

Harry chuckled at his overdramatic pout. "If I can convince Tom, he's quite solitary. Which is strange, since he seems to like being the centre of attention so much."

Ron grimaced. "Ah, it's still so weird that you're mated to a Slytherin, THE Slytherin."

"I'm mated to three of them!"

"You're happy with them, Harry?" Hermione questioned from Ron's other side, where she had a book open in front of her.

"Yeah, it's been great!"

"As long as you're well, Harry, that's all I want for you." That's when McGonagall made her appearance, and their conversation had to cease.

Professor McGonagall was still acting strange towards him despite Tom not being in sight, avoiding picking on him for answers whenever he raised his hand and swiftly walking away after a cursory glance at the progress of his spellwork.

All in all, it was making Harry incredibly frustrated. McGonagall was one of his favourite teachers, yet she was treating him like he didn't exist. Was it really Tom, or was it the fact that he was now a Creature?

Once again, he raised his hand to answer the question, and even Hermione didn't raise her own, having been watching him grow more and more frustrated with the professor. Despite being the one person to raise their hand, Mcgonagall seemed to scan the room and sigh. "No one knows? Well, look through your textbooks, the answer is in there, and I will be picking on someone at random to answer in a minute." She turned around and sat at her desk, ignoring the looks the whole class was sending her.

After the lesson, Harry stormed off, entering the living room where Draco and Blaise were practically on top of each other, looking sheepish and apologetic as they turned his way with his sudden entrance.

Harry stopped, his foul mood swept away, amusement filling him instead at the sight. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes-" Was Blaise's grinning answer.

"No, not really, Blaise stole my work." In Draco's hand was a piece of crumpled paper, which he attempted to straighten back out with a frown on his face, giving up and slamming another bit of paper on the table.

"Are you sure? You looked like you were..."

"We were not!" Blaise cackled at Draco's defensive shout, who looked disgruntled to be under speculation.

Harry collapsed on the sofa with a smile still on his face, hands raised in surrender. "Alright, alright." He let his head fall backwards, a sigh escaping him, amusement draining out of him now that his thoughts caught back up with him, tears prickling his eyes. What was wrong with McGonagall? Why was she treating him as if he didn't exist? Harry didn't give in to Draco and Blaise's badgering of his sudden morose mood, simply brooding to himself until Elian made an appearance, and then snuggled into his hold for the rest of the night, ignoring the concerned stares sent his way.

6th September 1997- Saturday

The weekend arrived at the end of the first, strange week back at Hogwarts, and Harry couldn't be any more grateful to spend his free time with his mates and bond. Unfortunately, these plans were derailed when Tom apologetically told them that he had to get back to work, at least for a few hours a day, since his paperwork was beginning to pile up. Elian had stayed up late on a floo call with one of his parents, seriously discussing something with them until the early hours of the morning, so he was still sleeping. That left Harry with Blaise and Draco, who wanted to get their homework done before anything else so that they could 'relax the rest of the weekend.'

In the end, Harry decided to do the only sensible thing, and seek out Lavender, who had given him directions to where she and her mate were staying, a few hallways away from their own room.

He knocked on their door, waiting a few moments as he heard shuffling from behind it, before it was cracked open, Lavender peeking out and widening it quickly. "Harry!"

"I'm bored, so I came to talk. Is that fine?"

"Come in, ah, Bradley is in, too, but don't mind him."

Bradley, who he recognised from Creature Studies, was sat on the sofa, watching him from the corner of his eye, but seemingly pretending to ignore him.

He stood awkwardly by the hallway. "Hi, I'm Harry."

"Bradley."

"Bradley doesn't really like talking to people he doesn't know." Lavender twirled her hair around her finger, giggling awkwardly to fill the silence.

Bradley cleared his throat. "I'll head into the bedroom so you two can sit in here and chat." He stood, heading towards the doorway to the left without a second glance.

"Don't eat all the snacks, and don't eat on the bed either!"

"Alright~"

The door shut. "I bet he's not going to listen to a word I just said." She huffed, pulling him towards the sofa. "So...did you have anything you wanted to talk about?" Harry shrugged, having come here on impulse. "Ok, well, how about we ask each other questions? What Creature are you?"

"I'm a Fae."

"Really?! Woah, that's so cool! I've only heard a little about Fae, but aren't they, like, really powerful?"

"Um, I'm not sure, maybe? I've never seen our power in action."

"I mean as in every aspect, like politically, even here in the Wizarding World, and more so in Creature Society. Even Bradley admires Fae, and he told me that Veela aren't all that keen on other Creatures. I'm a Were-Creature, by the way, a canine type." She gave him vulnerable smile.

"A Were-Creature? I haven't heard of them yet. Do they include Werewolves, or is that something different?"

She looked giddy to finally know something that he didn't. "Oh, we aren't a big species, even less so because we are distinguished from each other into smaller groups depending on what species of Were we are, and since we are minor Creatures, most don't know about us. Werewolves, born ones, are Were-Creatures, but turned Werewolves are not. Its confusing, but Were kind doesn't accept turned Were as a part of our species- besides, born and inherited Were are much different from turned Were. I can tell you more if you'd like?" Harry nodded, always happy to know more about the world he was now a part of. "Um, where to start...We have a relative lifespan of around five hundred years, although there are Were species that can live much longer than that. Most Were's can change their form- into our more animalistic one- at will, which is cool. I haven't tried it yet, but Bradley says he'll help me in the Christmas Holidays if I haven't learnt to do it by will by then. Have you seen your Creature form yet? I came out of mine too quickly after my inheritance to see."

Harry hummed in affirmation. "Yeah, I can show you if you'd like?" She nodded excitedly, and Harry lowered his robes to allow his wings out from the slits in his shirt, feeling his ears elongate, teeth sharpen and nails grow. Lavender's awed gasp made Harry preen, wings fluttering in satisfaction, making the sight even more magical.

The girl sounded breathless when she spoke next, eyes fixated on the twinkling of his wings. "Oh, wow! Harry, you look so... so beautiful!"

"Thanks." He blushed shyly, tucking his wings in but keeping the rest of his Fae attributes on show.

"Woah, I've heard so much about Fae, at least in comparison to a lot of other Creature species, but you look even more mystical than described! Can you fly with your wings?"

"Yeah, I learnt how to recently, one of my mates, Elian, is also a Fae, a Creature-born one."

"Creature-born? Is that what they call Creatures who are born Creatures?"

"And those within three generations of a Creature ancestor. It's a bit confusing, but I guess you just have to go with context clues."

She hummed. "Anyway, I also wanted to talk about the fact that you have four mates. Four! That's...that's insane! I swear I read that there aren't many mateships above three, so the fact that you have four means that you must be insanely powerful!"

He laughed awkwardly, never being one to like hearing himself being talked about in this way, yet he also felt satisfied that his strength was being recognised. "I suppose so, although I have no idea how to use it beyond the spells Hogwarts has taught us."

"It's not just spells, though. I've heard that the major species of Creatures- Fae, Dragonborn, Vampires, Veela and Boreads- all have specific powers in their bloodlines that make them even more powerful, especially in Submissives. It's like nature's way of giving Submissives another way to protect their families.

Harry's mouth formed an 'o' of surprise. Neither the books he had read nor Elian had mentioned anything like that. Although, it did ring a bell, so perhaps he had glanced over it, not thinking much of it in the moment. An extra power? That sounded cool. Being a Creature seemed to have so many perks, Harry was nearly forgetting his apprehension about his Inheritance the more he discovered.

"Lavender." Harry turned his head at the sudden voice, spotting Bradley in the doorway of the room.

"Yes, Bradley?"

He shuffled awkwardly, before fixing his gaze on Harry. "It's getting late, I think it's time for your friend to get going, he has mates that would probably also like to spend time with him tonight." His last sentence was teasing, and Harry blushed, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, I should probably get going."

Lavender smiled, following him to the door with a smile. "Yeah, we can finish off our talk another time." She opened it and Harry stepped out, turning around to give her a hug.

"I enjoyed learning about your kind, Lavender."

"And thanks for listening to me, It was good to talk so freely!"

"Hey, you, boy." A portrait interrupted their goodbyes, Harry turning around to give the painting a questioning look.

"Yes?"

"Your mates have been searching for you for the past half an hour, they've been running the halls looking half crazy."

"What!?" Harry's eyes bugged out of his head and, giving a last quick side hug to Lavender, he sprinted down the hall, the cackles of the portrait following his hasty retreat.

His heart was nearly beating out of his chest as he raced through the corridors, panic filling his mind. He'd forgotten to tell anyone he was going out! Swerving around one last corner, he ran into a hard chest, caught before he could tumble to the floor. Looking up, he met the relieved but disappointed eyes of Elian, which made him flinch.

The Fae pulled him upright, holding onto his shoulders tightly, and Harry could just about make out Tom rounding the corner in the distance, followed closely by Draco and Blaise. "Where were you?!"

"I-I was with Lavender-"

"And where was that?" Tom hissed, looking more like the notoriously terrifying man Harry's father had described than ever.

"A few hallways down, in her rooms-"

"You mean to tell me that you, without telling any of us, went into a practically unknown Submissives and Dominants room? How could you be so stupid? Anything could have happened to you!"

"Well, nothing did! I know Lavender-"

"You barely do, and you don't know her Creature side or her mate at all! Did you know that she is a were-Creature, an aggressive species that are incredibly territorial, and her mate is a Veela, a species well known for not liking many other species at all-"

"I know that! Stop treating me like a child, I am an adult that can make my own choices!"

"Stupid ones that could have resulted in you being harmed or worse.

The least you could have done was left a note so that we didn't spend the past half an hour running about Hogwarts, thinking the worst had happened!"

"Well, I didn't, okay? I forgot, and I'm sorry-"

"Sorry isn't good enough, you should have told one of us before you left-"

Harry gritted his teeth, his temper flaring. "Stop treating me like a child! I am your mate!" With that, he turned sharply on his heel, pushing open the door of their room after a harsh whisper of its password, heading into the bedroom and slamming the door in Tom's face.

He sat down on the bed, put his head into his arms, and screamed his frustration into them.

7th September 1997- Sunday

Harry awoke the next morning to the smell of burning. He shot out of the bed, eyes almost swollen shut still, and barely managed to wrench the door handle open, wand in hand. He stumbled to where the burning smell and smoke were billowing from, met with the sight of three frantic mates- Elian, Draco and Blaise- attempting to put a fire in a saucepan out as Tom watched them from the Island.

Their heads snapped up as he entered. "Harry!"

"Harry, help!"

"What happened?! Why's the pan on fire?!"

"I, um, I wanted to make you breakfast. To cheer you up..."

"Your sleeve!" Draco shouted, and the Fae yelped as the fire ate at the cloth, shoving his hand under the tap. Before the pan could get shoved under it too, Harry grabbed it and extinguished the fire with a spell. The sound of heavy panting and the sizzling of the remnants of whatever concoction Elian was cooking up filled the room, before Harry snorted, slapping a hand over his mouth to muffle it.

"What's so funny?" Elian whined a fake put-out expression on his face that made the situation even more hilarious to him.

Harry peered once more into the pan. It was a blackened mess, odd lumpy bits floating about in a strange liquid, burbling strangely even off of the heat. "What-" Harry choked on his laughter. "What even is that?"

"Scrambled egg. I thought it was supposed to be simple to make, but then it caught on fire!" Harry chuckled some more, putting the pan on the side.

Draco peered into the charcoal mess and grimaced. "Why's there eggshells still in it? Are they eggshells?"

Elian's eyebrow rose. "They add to the experience." Draco gagged, rushing to the sink.

Whilst Elian and Draco were arguing about how to cook eggs, or how not to cook them, Blaise an amused spectator, Harry dragged Tom away to a more private area so that they could talk in peace.

He chose the living room, noting the strewn-about blankets and pillows dotted around, feeling ashamed and sorry that he had forced them to sleep on the sofa and floor the previous night. Harry drew in a deep breath, steeling himself. "I'm sorry that I worried you all, and went off without telling any of you."

Tom sighed, turning towards him with a soft expression. "And I'm sorry for treating you like a child. You're an adult in your own right, you shouldn't have to tell any of us where you're going. Just...It'd be nice to know that you're going out, at least, if you don't want to tell us where. It alleviates the worry that you may have been kidnapped- which you may think is unfounded, but Fae are rare, and you are a male Submissive, there's no telling what people would do to get to you."

Harry nodded. "I get that, I really do, Tom, but this is all just so new to me, you've got to understand my side of things. But, I'll remember what you've said."

Tom smiled softly, his red eyes taking on a less vibrant shade in his fond state. "That's all I ask."

They headed down to breakfast, leaving Elian's attempt at breakfast in the sink to soak, making their appearance after a couple of days of no-show in the great hall. They settled themselves at the end of the table, there once more being a chunk of space cleared as if it was a purposeful action by the rest of the Slytherins, and dug into their breakfast.

It was whilst his face was stuffed with toast that Draco nudged him harshly in the side, gesturing for him to look. Marching over to Slytherin's table was Liana, closely followed by an anxious-looking Daisy.

Oh, Merlin, he hadn't talked to his sisters yet.

Stopping at the end of the table with her hands on her hips, Liana huffed at him with a glare that had Harry shrinking. "Harry."

From his space behind the larger figure of Draco, Harry waved as cheerfully as he could muster in this situation. "Liana, Daisy! How has your first week at Hogwarts been?" This he directed at Daisy, trying to change the conversation, but his sister simply shuffled, allowing her older one to step in front of her and fix him with a disapproving look.

"You'd know if you had actually decided to speak to us in the last few days. What the hell, Harry?"

"Sorry."

She huffed again. "I know you've had a lot going on recently, but I was really looking forward to talking more with you after your inheritance, I've barely seen you since your birthday, and Daisy has been struggling with starting Hogwarts."

This alighted his brotherly instincts, and he turned to Daisy with an intense look in his eyes. "What's wrong? Is someone being mean to you? Are you struggling with homework or classwork?"

She seemed to shrink into herself some more, a far cry from her usual, confident self that could stand in front of Remus and demand he does what she says. "Nothing."

"Oh, don't be like that." Liana scolded, ruffling her hair. "She's just feeling a bit lost, it's a big change from being homeschooled. I've had enough of her moping, so I'm hoping you have an idea on how to cheer her up."

Harry thought hard for a few moments, ignoring how Daisy turned to Liana with a betrayed stare and began swatting at her. What could cheer up his- ah.

"How about something for the both of you? Have either of you ever heard of the Room of Requirement?"

Lia's eyes began to twinkle, and she leaned forward eagerly. "THE Room of Requirement? The one you and Dad talk of all the time? You're going to show us where it is?"

"Oh, really?!" Daisy bounced on the balls of her feet, looking at him intently.

"Sure. But! You must tell no one. Got it?"

He received eager nods in return, ignoring the looks he was getting from his mates- Draco and Blaise resigned, Elian as equally excited as his sister's even though he had never heard of the place, and Tom intrigued.

In the evening, after a day of mock battles in the Room of Requirement, a letter from Elian's brother, Nylian, arrived. It contained word that Professor Marke had been arrested by the Creature's version of Auror's for 'spreading dangerous misinformation to the vulnerable young Creatures under his care' and removed from his post as the Creature Studies Professor. The Council had sent in a replacement until Dumbledore could find somebody else, approved by them, but it didn't look as if there would ever be a replacement, given how much difficulty Dumbledore had finding a teacher the first time.

There was also a section in the letter where his brother had gone off a tangent about how his little brother 'was all grown up now' and was finally 'taking an interest in adult matters' that made Elian blush up to the tips of his pointed ears as Blaise goaded him, earning the other man a harsh shove off of the sofa.

"I can't believe that got sorted so quickly, and easily," Harry commented as he was reading the letter over Elian's shoulder.

"It was a Creature matter, not a Wizarding one, that's why. The Ministry of Magic is notorious for taking its time, and even for avoiding matters such as these. But, since only Creatures were being taught by Professor Marke, it fell under the sole jurisdiction of the Creature Council instead, who actually care about their citizens. Hopefully, this new teacher will be a better one, especially since they aren't hired by Dumbledore."