Thank You for your reviews! :
Eryk Lestrange (3 reviews. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it once you found out about Harry. :( But, at least you tried to read it! :)),
Fantasyfreak101, DoctorMarthaJones,
Marksmom (It could mean whatever I want it to, but, in this case, it means he's losing his Immortality now that he's met Ron. Because Ron isn't Immortal, and Dani won't want to live on without him. :)),
darkroseofwolf, Yana5, TheSlytherinShadow,
Hikory (It's not that he couldn't go on and try to find another Mate if Ron didn't accept him, it's that he doesn't want to be alone for another five-hundred years, or possibly forever, since the odds of finding another Mate are slim. Ron stopped his own Transformation through force of will, because he doesen't want to be a Mer, he just wants to be a 'normal wizard', and to love Viktor and have his babies. :)),
jgood27, Shadowfire27, TearfullPixie,
AspergianStoryteller (2 reviews) (Yeah, I suppose it's a species thing. :) But, what if you're a male who doesn't want to be Dominant? Where does that leave you? You have to have an option, a choice),
ShadowXMoonlight, Kisa167, mickysango,
Author's Note:
Enjoy! :) I know everyone wanted more about Wanda and Pippa, so here it is! Also, yes, Wallace will play a role in the story. We can't leave out dear, sweet Wally! :)
~Sweet-Hearted SilverEars~
Chapter 41 Answers
Dani sat next to Ron by the fire in his, Draco and Harry's room, the pair of them curled up in a chair as they stared down at Viktor's reply letter. It had only arrived today from Bulgaria. Ron inhaled a nervous breath, licking his lips as he stared down at his name scrawled in his lover's handwriting on the front of the envelope, finally just flipping it over and opening it quickly to pull out the letter, the envelope falling out of his lap to drift to the carpet in front of the fireplace as he started to read.
Ron put his arm around Dani's shoulders when the boy snuggled closer and laid his head on his shoulder, draping his arm across Ron's midsection, clinging to him almost anxiously, wary of the letter's contents and it's repercussions on his life. The silence stretched on for quite a while as Ron read, then he tossed the letter down to the carpet and pulled Daniel closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead tenderly.
"He says it's alright, as long as we don't engage in intercourse before summer. He'll be coming to platform nine and three quarters to pick us up and take us home to his castle in Bulgaria then. He wants to be with us when we do. Then I'll have to come back here for my last year of school. I assume you'll come back with me?"
"Yes, of course. I go where you go."
Ron smiled, leaning closer to kiss Dani's lips briefly.
"Ron?…" Dani said hesitantly. "Yes?"
"There's… Something that you don't know about me.."
"You can tell me anything, Dani," he promised him gently. "What is it?"
"It's… I'm a lot older then you are," he finished in a rush, tilting his head back where it rested on the redhead's shoulder to look up at his face nervously. "I hope that doesn't bother you…"
"That depends," Ron said teasingly, stroking his hair reassuringly with one hand. "How old is much older?"
Dani didn't look reassured as he mumbled something in answer, and Ron had to ask him to repeat himself. "I'm five hundred and seventeen, Ron."
"Five-hundred and seventeen?" Ron gasped in surprise. "So.. You're what, immortal?"
"No. I mean, I was, yes. I started to lose my immortality the second I looked into your eyes. If you were immortal, too, it would have been different, but you're not. The process won't be complete until you release your seed inside of me. I wouldn't want to continue living after your death, anyway. That's why it works that way."
"Wow… You must have been with a lot of mermen in Atlantis over all that time.."
The jealousy was achingly obvious in Ron's voice, so Daniel corrected him with a quick shake of his head as he lifted it to look into his eyes steadily. "No, Ron. I am, and will be, pure when you do take me. My anal-webbing is still one hundred percent complete and intact. No one has ever touched me there. You are my Mate. My purity is yours to take."
"Anal-webbing?" Ron repeated, his voice sounding slightly strangled now.
"Yes. All the male mers are born with it. If they are submissives, it ensures their purity until they marry. An impure Submissive mer is considered a disgrace if they are not Mated or wed."
He was surprised when Ron looked upset as he reached out to touch Dani's cheek, stroking it with gentle fingers. "Are you sure that this is what you want, Daniel? I mean, you could live for.. a very long time yet if you left me now."
"Yes," he answered him with emotion soft eyes, placing a hand on the redhead's cheek as well. "I don't need forever, sweet Ron. I just need you.."
Neptune and Jason walked together through Hogsmeade, their fingers linked together across the couple of inches that they had left between their bodies, ignoring the funny looks and scandalized stares that people gave them as they made their way to the Wiggly Wand of Wanda. They went inside, looking around the shop with curiosity.
A woman came out of the back of the shop, her reddish blonde curls bouncing around her face, her eyes bright as she came around from behind the counter to greet them.
"Hello and good day. I'm Wanda. Welcome to my shop. What can I do for you?"
"My name is Neptune. I'm the ruler of Atlantis. This is my mate, Jason. We have come to England because of the activation of the shell cradle. We have spoken to Draco and Harry on this matter, and they say they purchased it here, in your shop. We wondered if you had any information concerning the cradle. How it came to be here, who sold it to you, that sort of thing."
"Oh? I'm sure I do somewhere. I'll have Pippa check the records. Pippa!"
The tiny female house-elf appeared at her Mistresses call, wearing her usual small bright yellow sundress and a wide smile. "Yes, Mistress?" she squeaked in question.
"Will you please bring out the file about the Shell from the records?"
"Of course, Mistress Wanda."
The little elf disappeared again into the back rooms quickly, and Wanda smiled at them brightly.
"It's a fine school, Hogwarts," she said to fill the silence while they waited for Pippa to return. "Least ways for the 'normal' children it is, but for the ones who are different, like Harry, like my own boy, Wallace, it's not easy going there at all. I considered home schooling Wally, but he needs to be with others his own age. I do wish sometimes that we could have stayed in Ireland, but it just wasn't meant to be. Oh, here's Pippa back again." Wanda took the small file from the elf, nodding with a smile. "Thank you, Pippa."
The little house-elf nodded curtsying to them all before exiting the room once more. Wanda went back behind the counter, setting the file down and opening it, speaking to them as she read.
"The shell was brought in to me by a young girl with long, wavy chestnut hair, looking to be about seventeen, and heavy with-child. She didn't tell me what it was, so I had no idea until the boys came in and found it buried in the back of the shop. This was about fifty years ago. The records I keep are very through," she explained to them. "They go all the way down to the hour. She said when she brought it to me, 'I have no need of it, for I have left my family and my heritage behind me. My baby is all I have left to me in this world.'"
"Arailia.." Jason breathed, his eyes widening in shock and obvious pain as he looked at Neptune.
"Yes, that was her name," Wanda said with a nod. "Arailia. Arailia Potter. How do you know this?"
"She's my sister. The last name means nothing to me. Merfolk don't have them. She must have taken it after she fled Atlantis. I knew nothing about the babe, but it could have been the reason she left. Do you know anything else?" Jason asked her almost desperately. "Anything that could help us, me, find her?"
"There's nothing else in the records, I'm afraid. I don't think that she wanted to be found to be honest. But.. perhaps the answers you seek are to be found back at Hogwarts? After all, she did take the last name 'Potter'."
The two men turned their heads to look at each other quickly, their eyes wide as they spoke as one. "Harry!"
"I don't know anything about any Arailia Potter," Harry admitted to them with a sigh.
The Gryffindor was sitting by the fire in a large cushy red chair while Draco was sitting on the floor there, rubbing his husband's aching feet with gentle tenderness. Ron and Dani were curled up together in a green chair closer to the fire, whispering and giggling to each other about something.
"As far as I know I don't have any family left. At least, none with the name Potter."
"Could she possibly be hiding somewhere?" Draco spoke up with the suggestion softly. "Perhaps Potter Manor? We have not been inside it to explore yet."
"I suppose it's possible. I could fire call Sirius and ask him if he knows anything.."
"Arailia Potter…" Sirius said in response to Harry's inquiry. "That's a name I haven't heard in at least two decades."
"You know her, then?"
"Not really, Harry, no. Arailia prefers to be left alone. She's a very private woman. She knows about you and Draco, though. I told her just after I found out myself. She stays at Potter Manor."
"And.. What is she to me?"
"She's your great grandmother."