Disclaimer: I love Harry Potter. I don't own it.
Title: The Ties That Bind
Beta: ShadowFax999: she who rocks and manages to put up with me and my screwy schedule.
Summary/ Warning: Dom/ Sub, HGRW, PPBZ, RLSB, LVBL …and of course HPSS.
Chapter 13: Questions and Answers
:Parseltongue:
"Conversational thoughts"
Private thoughts, shared memories
At random moments for the rest of the day, the pairs sought each other out. Neville spoke to Pansy and Harry to Theo, and after endless rounds of hastily scribbled notes and meaningful glances, all of the pairs agreed to meet in the Room of Requirement at nine o'clock.
Harry used the time to 'get Snape on their side', meaning that he asked Severus to tell the Slytherins to consider agreeing to the meeting. Severus- though not really wanting to let on to his students the fact that he knew all about their little 'mate problem'- was actually the only one who got Pansy and Theo to agree to go.
Classes all that day were… fun… to say the least, and Harry and Hermione were beyond thankful that the other pairings were having trouble controlling themselves all day. It would make having the meeting later on much easier when everyone was exhausted.
When seven o'clock rolled around, Harry stood inside the odd little corridor he had originally found Robert and Jamie in and waited until they arrived. When they did, it was to Harry's mysterious smile and the promise of a meeting to be held in the Room of Requirement at nine o'clock.
At nine o'clock, everyone was ready and waiting for entrance to the room. Harry came up behind them all and walked in front of the Room the three required times, and as he opened the newest door, gestured grandly for the others to precede him.
Only when everyone was settled did Hermione stand and begin the meeting. "Alright. Most of you should know by now why we're here-" she waited until they all nodded before going on. "In that light, I just want to make a few things clear. One- if you need to get away from the world, come to this Room and ask for the Paired Meeting Room. It should let you in right away. Two- Not even Harry will be able to find you- so we ask that you leave a note or something on a timer telling someone where you've gone. And three-" Hermione glanced at Harry, who just shrugged and looked away- "Please don't ask Harry who or where his mate is. All I'll tell you is that it's complicated and that- at the moment- you don't really need to know."
Seamus grumbled in annoyance, but a sharp look from Dean shut him up. Pansy brought attention to herself and Blaise from their position on one of the couches. As she spoke, Blaise rubbed soothing circles on her back.
"Why all the secrecy?" was her question, and Theo made a noise of agreement from his position of being wrapped around Susan like he was her personal heater.
Harry took the question and kind of tilted his head to the side as he thought of a way to phrase his answer. "Dumbledore is not to be trusted, and we know of no other teachers who might feel sympathy for us that would be accepted by both sides."
Pansy shrugged in agreement- the sentiment's Harry had just expressed made sense to her, but Neville caught onto the one comment.
"Why can't the Headmaster be trusted?" he asked curiously, and Seamus and Dean eagerly awaited the answer. Even Hermione and Ron were looking at him expectantly, and Harry realized that he hadn't even told Hermione of the conversation in the Headmaster's office. Of course- he did have other things on his mind at the time, but…
"When I went to the Headmaster to tell him who my partner was, he was immediately distrustful of that person. So distrustful, in fact, that he ordered us to be separated so that I would not be 'abused' by my partner. And when Dumbledore realized that I was not, in fact, the Sub but the Dom, he never apologized to my mate and since that time I've had to perfect my sneaking skills to see my mate."
As Harry spoke, he rubbed his arm continuously with one hand, a nervous habit that he had developed for the times when he was away from Severus for too long. The other inhabitants of the Room noticed this, but forebode to comment, instinctually realizing why he did it.
They also saw that Harry never assigned a gender to his mate, and left them guessing at every turn.
Susan spoke up for the first time, and her soft voice got everyone's attention. "When I first realized that Theo would be my Dom, I ran away from him whenever I saw him. But since I've bonded with him, I don't have to hide to see him. Why can't you just let people find out who your mate is without actually saying anything? That's what we're doing."
Theo tightened his arms around Susan as Harry's expression shifted, and the Room got noticeably colder as Harry thought. "I've thought of that idea, and I've thought of what the reaction would be, but no matter which way I spin it- the public reaction would still be the same. I do not want to chance it."
Harry stopped for a second, and then added, "It's very complicated."
Neville snorted, and Hermione had to smack a hand over Ron's mouth as he began to laugh. Harry just smiled at them, and turning to the others said, "Yes, they know. Hermione and Ron were… witnesses, I'd say, and Neville- as you'll recall- figured it out on his own."
Blaise watched the entire thing with a puzzled expression. Who on earth could cause this much tension and chaos with the Boy-Who-Lived? And his best friends? Pansy reached out and caressed his arm.
As he shivered, she said silently, her voice syrupy-sweet, "Remember, darling, what King Robert said- leave Harry alone. He'll tell us when he's ready."
Blaise looked at his Dom with surprise clear in his eyes. "I thought you were a busy body who got into everyone's dirty laundry."
Pansy smiled. "I am. But I have a fair idea who his mate is." But she wouldn't say anything else, and after about ten minutes Blaise gave up, instead preferring to watch the rather amusing argument that was taking place.
"I swear to you- if I have to explain one more time why the Potion works the way it does I will go insane." Hermione's sharp voice cut through the chatter and silenced the boys that were involved in the debate.
As she took in their faces, though, Hermione sighed, knowing that she was going to have to explain. Again.
"The Potion that brought all of us together is not a man-made trick to tie two people together. It only makes visible what pairings are meant to be. It ties the two people together for the rest of their lives because it is impossible to know who your mate is and not be with them. The Potion just makes sure that we a) Know who our mates are (if we have them) and b) That we can never screw ourselves over by leaving them."
She glared around the room. "Got it?" No one even bothered to nod, because Hermione was already off on another subject.
"Now. It's getting late-" nine identical snorts sounded; it was barely ten o'clock- "and King Robert should be here shortly, if Harry was telling the truth."
Harry didn't look up from his contemplation of his hands. "Nope. I lied." Hermione gaped at Harry. Something is seriously wrong with that boy, she thought.
"Boy," an awed voice said from the far side of the room, "I'll never play poker with you. I actually believed you, and I was standing right here!"
Seamus grinned at the sight of Jamie, and waved a happy 'hello' to the painted man. Jamie waved right back, and skipped through the pictures in the Room until he was nearest Seamus and Dean's couch.
"Hi there Seamus! How are you? Whatcha been up to?" Seamus beamed at the hyper man and the two of them were off in their own little world of pranks and jokes, totally not paying attention to anything that surrounded them. Neville threw Dean a sympathetic glance, but Dean just shrugged, used to this by now.
Robert came to the forefront of the picture Jamie had just evacuated, and took a chair near Harry.
"So. Ask away. What can I tell you?" He made himself comfortable, knowing that this was going to be a long night.
Dean went first. "Why do I always want to touch him?"
Robert barely had to think about that one. "Your body is trying to convince you that your mate is the missing part of you- basically, your body thinks that the more you hold your mate, the more likely it is for the mate to return to their proper place- as your other half."
"So when I get this need to make Draco the happiest, most content person in the world, it's for that reason?" Neville really didn't blush when the small blonde beauty in his lap threw his arms around Neville's neck.
"Somewhat. You want to make him happy because when he is happy, you are happy, and you can function better. It really amounts to a defense mechanism custom-made for the Dom of the mates, but pretty much it's the only one in place. Also, you want to make him happy because his being happy pleases you."
Neville did blush this time, and Robert smiled kindly at the boy before looking for the next question.
There was silence for a second as the pairs thought of questions they would like answered. Blaise finally came up with one, and frowned as he said, "Not that I have a problem with it, but why are we mostly from Gryffindor and Slytherin?"
Robert pursed his lips as he thought. "I believe that this happened because those two houses are the homes for the more emotional wizards. Strong emotions are essential to the paring, you know, and Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs- while extremely smart and loyal- do not really have the same need for acceptance as a Gryffindor or a Slytherin. And this is the largest paired group the school has ever seen, I think, because of the threat that you are facing."
There was silence as the students absorbed his words. It made sense, if you thought about it. Voldemort did disrupt the natural order of things wherever he went, so why should this be any different?
"Next?" Robert asked, and smiled gently as Ron raised his hand.
"So, is the fact that my body refuses to disobey Hermione natural?" Dean couldn't help but laugh at the look on Hermione's face when she heard the question. Robert smiled deviously at Ron before answering.
"Think of it this way- your body obeys your Dom because your body is a part of your Dom's. In other words, yes- it is natural."
All the Submissive partners in the Room grumbled and either hid their faces from their Dom's, or hid their faces in their Dom's shirt. Susan lifted her head off of Theo's chest as a thought hit her.
Ignoring her Dom's sudden blush, she asked, "So I know in the books on the subject they told us that the homosexual couples can have children, but they didn't really say anything about the heterosexual couples. So I guess my question is really; does this mate thing increase my chance of getting pregnant?"
Robert had to think about that one. "Let me see- if I remember correctly, your ability to conceive will be multiplied, so use protection, but I'm not sure if there is any other side effect." Robert rested his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand as he thought. After a second he said, "No- I don't believe there is anything else."
He was about to go on when Harry interrupted him, his voice dead and flat. The startled students listened as he spoke, eyes wide.
"For the female in the heterosexual Subdo Revilio union, the chances of becoming pregnant are greatly magnified. However, it is harder for the female to carry the child to term as the magic of the binding running through her veins will make her body almost uninhabitable for the child. In order to prevent this from occurring, the female must go through the procedure Protectus Fetus, an action that any semi-competent Healer could perform. This procedure ensures that the womb is sealed off from any stray magic."
Harry fell silent in the stunned room, his eyes as blank a his voice, but after a moment went on. "In the homosexual male/male relationships, the conception of a child must be wished for by both parties. Once that has occurred, the Submissive male's body will begin utilizing the excess magic from the binding to create suitable quarters for the child."
Harry sat upright and squeezed his eyes shut, only to open them and shake his whole body like a dog shaking off water.
"That was odd," he said, "I didn't think that that could happen."
"What did happen, Harry?" Hermione asked curiously as the others- even Seamus and Jamie- just stared at him.
"Oh, my mate decided that I was going to provide everyone with the answer to Susan's question. Apparently, my mate was very annoyed by the fact that Robert didn't know the answer."
Robert snorted suddenly, startling everyone. "Your mate would do that." He tapped his chin with a long finger as he thought. "But, you know, you were right. Mates are not supposed to be able to take control of the thought process like that."
Harry shifted in his seat. "That isn't really what happened," he hunched his shoulders as every eye came to rest on him. "Urm- I kinda just let myself into my mates mind and said what needed to be said."
"Hmm," Robert gazed at Harry with a speculative gleam in his eye. "Well, we shall have to discuss that another time when your mate is here to help you explain the process."
"Yay."
Harry's deadpanned voice had everyone laughing again, and Robert turned to face them as the merriment died down. "Alright. Any more questions?"
No one said anything, so Robert stood and gestured for Jamie to come back to him. "Well then, I will see you all the next time we have a get together. I know it's a school night and well past all of your bedtimes."
A chorus of groans met his words, and he grinned wickedly. "Don't stay up too late." He and Jamie disappeared into the darkness of their portrait.
The students stayed where they were, enjoying the camaraderie that had come upon them sometime during the past two hours. But eventually pairs started getting up and going back to their dorms with the help of Harry and his Map.
Soon only Harry, Ron, and Hermione were left, and Harry slumped back into his chair as he covered his eyes with his elbow. Hermione eyed her best friend worriedly, but refrained from asking what was wrong. After all, she knew what was wrong.
So instead she asked, "You gonna make it?" Harry grinned tiredly up at her from under his elbow.
"Suuure," he replied, "Don't you know; I'm the Boy-Who-Lived?"
Hermione laughed at him, as Ron took the Map out of his hands to see which way was the safest way to get back to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione patted Harry's head as Ron handed the Map back, and they waved good bye as they left Harry alone.
He waited for about ten minutes before going to a door in a corner of the Room and placing a hand on it, willing it to lead to Severus Snape's Private Quarters. Harry stepped through and into a familiar kitchen just as Severus came out of his office.
"Long day, hey Sev?" Harry said as he moved out of the kitchen and flopped onto one of the couches. Severus didn't answer, and Harry just watched as the older man went through his routine. Shoes kicked off by the door, cloak flung over the back of a chair, tunic strewn across the seat of said chair.
Soon it would be 'go into the kitchen, grab a cup of tea, come into the living room and place the cup on the table. Make Harry sit up, position himself behind Harry, get Harry to lean against him.
Pull the blanket off of the top of the couch, cover the two bodies and get comfortable. Snuggle together, forget about the tea, fall asleep'.
Harry loved Severus' routine.
Happy Happy Monday!
Hello my lovelies- look! A new chapter just for you (and its NOT LATE… for a change… XD) and hey- did anyone see 'Get Smart' with Steve Carrel and Anne Hathaway and The Rock? Great movie dudettes (and dudes, for all I know). You should all go see it and rejoice that The Rock is so hot.
…if you couldn't tell, I love The Rock. To bits and pieces and almost enough to write RL FanFiction with him starring in it on another site. But not really- I don't do RL… but its tempting…
-grin-
AND THANKS TO THOSE WHO GOT BACK TO ME WITH THE ADMIN STUFF!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!
Netrixie
P.S.: By the way, I'm putting my fic "Learning to be a Malfoy" up for adoption. If you want it (its a drarry as well as a sirmus and a Lucius/Hermione) please PM me and tell me where you plan to go with it, and why you want it. When I decide whose going to get it, I'll tell you all in the next chapter. This notice is going to be up for one week. Please get back to me before the 28th of July. Thank you.