AN: I am so thrilled for the wonderful reviews and comments on the story.

this has been betaed by the wondrous dianemalfoy

To clear a few things up:

Harry will not be Fawkes' new partner. I have other plans for him and he will come back up and be important later.

Hufflepuff and Slytherin have heirs that will not be revealed until the summer after third year and during fourth year respectfully.

I have no clue when to unveil the Ravenclaw heir even though I do know who it is. They are being very tricky and I can't pin them down.

Harry's second mate will be human and younger than Harry and Theo. I haven't decided on the gender yet as their sex really doesn't matter to me. (I care more about personality than what is between their legs)

Also none of Harry and Theo's group of friend (Hermione, Daphne, Blaise, Tracy, Susan, Hannah, Neville, Lisa, Terry) will be Harry's mate. Charlie is in the maybe pile because I would need a lot of inspiration to write sub Charlie. He is just too much of a Dom in my mind.

Before anyone asks, Theo has social anxiety, I hope I'm not playing it up too much or if I don't get his thoughts right feel free to let me know. This is a side effect of his abuse from his father (Who will show up at some point in the story)

Finally... OOH MY GOODNESS! IT'S CHAPTER 30! I never thought this would get so far or be so well loved. From a vague idea in the margins of a kids coloring book to almost 200 pages I can't believe it.

Done now on to the story

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Theo September 2nd

Theo came awake slowly as he had done for the past weeks. Harry was draped over him like a living blanket. Sometime in the night, his Drake side had come out and his wings were hanging over the sides of the bed and his tail was around Theo's ankle. This had happened a time or two before. Liam said it was a sign he was completely relaxed and at ease.

Theo traced a finger around the horn near his head. The first time he'd woken to see the horns he'd been worried that Harry would accidentally stab him with them in his sleep but Anthony had chuckled and explained that even Harry's subconscious would try to protect him and there was no chance he would be stabbed in his sleep. To which Alex signed a lewd comment that Theo was thankful he couldn't understand.

As Theo got to the base of the spiral ridge that ran up each horn, Harry grumbled and snuggled closer to him, one wing flapping half-heartedly, knocking a chair over. Theo blinked, looking over at it. It took a moment for him to remember why they were in this smaller, darker room. They weren't at home in their bright sunny room with glass doors and a balcony. They were back in the castle within a set of rooms near the Hufflepuff dorms.

He gently shook Harry awake. Not long after they had started sharing a room, before Harry came into his inheritance, Theo had tried to just sneak away but Harry had woken and jumped into a fighting stance. Feeling him being moved, Harry had thought, in his sleepy mind, that Theo was being kidnapped and reacted. It had put Harry on edge most of the day so Theo resolved to waking the sleepy head, at least enough to get him to let go, before trying to start the day. It made everyone calmer.

Harry grumbled and gripped about it being too early but his features began to melt back into his body and he flopped his head to the side on Theo's chest looking up at him.

Theo smiled at his ridiculousness. He was twice Theo's size, one leg over the side of the bed. Times like this, Theo didn't feel the Sub/Dom difference between them. Harry could be so sweet and childish, especially in the mornings.

"We have to get up for classes." Theo said in a mock stern tone. Being alone with Harry was easy. He wanted to get to know and please Theo so much that it gave Theo confidence. When others were around, he didn't know how he was supposed to be. Was he expected to be Harry's equal? Should he act subservient as the contract said and as his father would expect? Should he speak up? Remain silent? He didn't know what was expected and that made him nervous and shy.

When they first met, Theo had been sacred that anything he did would make Harry mad at him. That he would be cursed or hit for stepping over the invisible line he didn't know existed. Now he didn't want to say anything that could hurt Harry's position or standing. He wanted everyone to see Harry in the best light possible and Theo had no clue how to do that. What if he said something that offended someone important? What if he did something that revealed Harry was a Drake and he was killed? Theo was sure most of those kind of thoughts were stupid and would never happen but he couldn't stop them if he wanted to.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked.

The depth of concern in those big green eyes made him feel foolish. Harry would do anything to keep them safe and he once more felt confident. Theo smiled. "Don't worry, I'm just wondering how the other Slytherins will take me being with the 'king' of Gryffindor."

"I don't care what they think or say. Only our friends matter. They accept us and that is all that counts." He told him leaning up to steal a kiss before digging through their shared trunk for some clothes.

Harry had offered to bring a trunk for both of them but Theo though that was ridiculous. All their things easily fit in the larger trunk Harry had bought and anything else they needed was a simple elf shout away. Even less than that if Dobby wasn't distracted. That elf was so dedicated, if he even thought Harry or Theo needed something, it would appear before they thought to ask for it.

Theo scooped up his uniform from where Harry had lain it out and headed for the bath. He liked to shower in the morning, to start his day fresh, while Harry preferred an evening bath to wash away the day's grim.

Once he was out of the bath, Harry handed him his Slytherin scarf. The castle was much cooler than where they were staying and Theo still didn't like the collar being shown. With a quick kiss on the cheek, they were out the door holding hands the whole way.

As they approached the great hall, Theo tightened his grip. There was no way Harry would drop his hand just because they were in public. There were a few heads that turned and looked when they entered and even more that followed them as Harry Potter walked over to the Slytherin table.

Theo was getting redder by the second but smiling as well. Harry didn't seem to even notice the looks. He pulled Theo to him and pecked his lips before helping him sit.

"Good morning Tracey, Daphne, Blaise." Harry said once Theo was seated. "See you all in class." With a final wave, he walked to the other end of the hall and sat between Hermione and Neville.

Theo couldn't hear what Ron had said into his hand but it caused all three of his brothers and Hermione to turn dark glares at him. Neville just chuckled at Harry who made a reply that had all the chaser girls giggling.

"I wonder what he said this time?" Tracey asked.

"Probably something about Harry being whipped. Which he is. If he were wrapped any tighter around your little finger it would be in danger of falling off." Daphne said with an eye roll not looking up from the book her nose was in.

"I wonder how such a low born managed that?" One of the other Slytherins questioned.

"By spreading his legs." Pansy Parkinson replied with a sneer. "He's Potter's little pet. Wearing that scarf isn't going to hide what you are. I've already seen it."

"You are speaking of things that are far above your station." Blaise said with a dark glare. "For your health, I suggest not letting Harry catch wind of what you just said."

"And what will he do?" Pansy said with a glare. "There's nothing special about him."

"Draco is she for real?" Tracey asked looking at the girl as if she had lost the plot. "You were at Harry's ball. You saw the collar but ignored that Harry is LORD Potter and Lord Perciville as well as Heir Black and the head of two lesser houses. He danced with a Queen and is pen pals with THE Viktor Krum. How is that nothing special?"

Pansy turned away with a huff.

"Harry Potter is the new Lord Perciville?" One of the older members asked.

"Yes he is." Marcus Flint said. "Harry Potter-Perciville is my femoral cousin and I don't want another word said against him or his consort."

The group looked at the seventh year prefect and Quidditch captain.

Theo grasped what little courage he had and opened his mouth. "Harry is arranging for some extra classes I'm sure you would be welcome to join." He said it all as calmly as possible but was fire red by the end.

Marcus nodded. "I'll talk to him about it later. Thank you for the invitation."

Theo nodded looking down, too embarrassed to speak now that most of the house was looking at him again.

"What's this collar businesses about?" Bulstrode asked. Her family hadn't attended the ball so she had no idea.

"Theodore was signed over to Potter in an absolute contract." Draco said pouting. His father had warned him to keep his head down. Something happened at the Ball that Draco hadn't seen and there was now unrest in the Malfoy house. His mum warned him that should Markus and Samuel start feuding things would get dangerous. Should Samuel win and cast his brother from the house Draco would be homeless and nameless unless he could convince Harry or Flint to let them join one of their houses. (Aribell Malfoy was born a Flint. She is Connan's aunt). Should Samuel lose and choose to forsake the Malfoy name they would lose much of their standing and a lot of face. Samuel could also join Harry's house since his wife is a Nott or worse Markus II could get ahold of the Prewett Lordship as his husband Leon is one of their lot.

Narcissa had stated in plain terms that if they chose the wrong side she'd suck up to her muggle loving sister rather than being poor. Draco knew she loved him but his mother was a true Slytherin and would abandon him at the drop of a hat if he endangered her plans. She had even written to Andromeda already to lay the ground work in case of a feud.

With all that in mind, he curbed his tongue. "Not that he is treated as such." Draco forced out with a tight smile, "Potter introduced him as Consort Perciville making Theodore his equal."

There were murmurings running up and down the table after that news. That Draco was now being decently civil about Potter said more than any words could. The Malfoy Heir would not be challenging Potter or Theo anytime soon.

Few knew of the real reason behind it. In a pit of vipers, you don't let your guard down for a second. No one outside the Malfoy family knew but several other families that had been at the ball guessed there was tension in the house. Some assumed Potter had targeted the gap between brothers, Markus and Samuel, and was looking to split the family and cripple the Dark Lord's base of support. Others assumed Samuel approached him with Malfoy secrets to undermine his brother and take command. All those in the house of green and silver knew that the Perciville family had to approve the next Lord Slytherin before any heir could take the title. For some of their families, that was enough reason to consider following Harry.

Snape looked over his charges wondering what the story behind Potter and Nott was. He had been told that they were sharing a suite. He would make sure his snake was safe. Severus was very overprotective of his charges. He looked at the boy closely while handing him his schedule.

"Mr. Nott, come to my office after today's classes."

"Yes sir." Theo replied looking at him curiously. He thought Professor McGonagall would have told all the staff about their bond.

The first class Gryffindor and Slytherin shared was Charms. Harry, Hermione and Neville all came over and sat with their Slytherin friends. Blaise was at one end of one bench followed by Theo, Harry and Neville. The three girls sat on the bench in front of them. Daphne was first with Hermione beside her then Tracy. The last seat was taken by Millicent. She was the only Slytherin brave enough to be near the mixed group. Tracy smiled at her before turning forward as the professor walked in.

Charms went smoothly but there were rumors flying all over the castle when the whole class moved to Potions as one unit instead of with massive space between them as before. Harry and Theo were leading the group holding hands.

Neville and Tracy were chatting about plants they might be covering this year in Herbology. Hermione was offering Millicent tutoring in charms since the other girls seemed to be struggling in class. Daphne rolled her eyes and told Millicent to take any advice from her with a grain of salt. Hermione saw the humor in Daphne's eyes and smiled at her.

Blaise was walking silently but that wasn't uncommon. Dean and Seamus came up alongside the couple and not caring for subtlety just asked.

"So what's up with him?" Seamus said pointing at Theo.

"This is Theodore Nott, he goes by Theo. We are in a contract together and he will be the Perciville Consort." Harry told them just as bluntly. He knew he'd blown up at Hermione for similar questioning but after thinking about it there was no reason to hide those facts. He wasn't going to spill everything but not telling people anything would just raise suspicion and interest. If he told them most of the truth they would leave him alone, at least according to Serpens.

Dean looked confused while Seamus looked like he'd swallowed his tongue. "Wow man that's awesome."

Harry smiled. "It really is." He said kissing Theo's cheek which made him blush and smile.

"Does that mean you took the Potter Lordship?" Parvati asked.

"I have and the Perciville Lordship."

"Father would be glad to arrange a contract with me as your second wife." Lavender said without shame.

Harry shook his head. "I will only marry for love. The contract between me and Theo is only a formality. I would marry him even without it." He said voice full of honesty.

"But man he's a Slytherin." Dean questioned but didn't sound harsh or hateful.

"So, the hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. If I hadn't just had a fight with Draco, I might be wearing green right now." He said as they walked into the potions classroom.

Snape looked over the students hearing the last bits of their conversation. He continued to watch as Potter's group paired off with a Slytherin and Gryffindor in each group. Dean and Seamus pairing with Tracey and Blaise since Neville was with Daphne and Hermione and Millicent just sat together since they were still chatting. There wasn't an air of revulsion that Snape always felt when Lily used to sit with him in class. If not for the color of their robes, he wouldn't have known the partners were from rival houses.

He paused a moment to think about what things would have been like if Lily had had this kind of power. Looking at her son now, he could see some of her kindness and capability for love in him. As he moved with Theodore he looked much more like his mother than his father.

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The rest of the day past smoothly for the group. Dean and Seamus seamlessly joined them. When they finally had classes with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, the others met their friends in those houses.

Finally the last class of the day came, Care of Magical Creatures. Sammy who loved magical creatures and wanted to be either a magizoologist or a beast master was able to help Harry tame his copy of a Monstrous Book of Monsters. He passed on that wisdom to the others in the class that would listen to him.

"How do you know that?" Draco said. There was a distinct lack of hostility as the blonde stroked the spine of the book.

"My cousin Samantha Dupree is as good with magical creatures as Neville is with plants." Harry replied.

When he'd bowed to Buckbeak, he was more prepared for the ride than he would have been normally. Harry hadn't progressed to flying steeds yet but he knew how to ride. Buckbeak wasn't too different from the Clydesdale he favored at the Palace.

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After he landed, most of the class clapped. Draco got a sly look on his face as he bowed to his own hippogriff. Once he had done everything Hagrid asked, he asked to be allowed a flight like Harry had. Hagrid simply beamed at him and sat him down on the beast's back.

While Draco was in the air loving the feeling of freedom and planned on begging his father for one of these as a pet, Ron was pissed at his former friend and the little blonde weasel.

"If you'll let him on you then there isn't anything noble about you." He said moving closer to the steed ignoring its reactions. He let out a very high pitched scream when the beast reared and slashed out at him. Blood flew as the talons ripped the flesh on the arm he'd thrown up to protect his face.

Harry quickly cast the summoning charm to yank Ron away from the second swing as Hagrid used his size to calm the hippogriff and get it back in the paddock. Draco landed in the middle of the chaos wondering what he'd missed. Since Hagrid was busy, Neville bowed to Draco's mount and came over to help him down.

"Thank you." He said feeling wary and confused by the kindness. "What happened?"

"Weasley was being a prat again and got attacked again."

"Again?" Draco wondered what had happened the first time.

"He suggested Harry share Theo intimately." Neville said flushing from embarrassment and anger at what had been said.

"Ah. So Potter attacked him."

Neville nodded. "I know you have issues with Harry but we can all see today that you have been trying to be civil. It might help if you started calling him Perciville and acting like you've never met. He's very different from the boy that left school last year."

Draco gave him a nod accepting that advice.

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After classes ended, Theo met Harry at the door to the castle with a kiss. "I'm going down to meet Professor Snape before dinner."

Harry nodded, glad Theo let him know where he was going to be so he didn't worry. "I'm gonna go scope out some unused classrooms we can commandeer so everyone can study together without getting our bullocks cut off by Madame Price."

Theo chuckled as they split ways at the staircase.

"You wanted to see me Professor?" He said coming into the man's office since the door was ajar.

"Yes. Close the door."

Theo did and as always, the moment it shut privacy barriers were raised. "You want to know about me and Harry right?"

There was no answer so he took it as agreement.

Theo unwound his scarf so the collar could be seen. "My mother didn't want father or the Dark Lord to get their hands on me so she spoke to Sirius Black and arranged an Absolute contract between Harry and I. Lying to you is a lesson in futility so I will be truthful. At first I feared Harry. I was afraid that any small infraction or mistake would result in him hitting or cursing me. As you no doubt noticed Harry came into himself over the summer and is very powerful in both areas. I was wrong though. If Harry cared anymore for me, he'd worship at my feet like I was the second coming of Merlin. He treats me with respect and does his level best to make sure everyone else respects me too."

Theo was only able to give such a speech since he knew Severus so well. His head of house had noticed the signs of abuse within the first week of Theo being in the castle and sat himself up as a steady rock he could come to anytime with any matter. Theo knew Snape would never harm him and so wasn't afraid of what he said.

Severus sat quietly for a long time. Theo was just starting to fidget under his flat look when he spoke. "Be careful. Even if Potter is not a danger to you, he is dangerous. He has many enemies and the moment the tension with the Malfoy family ends, they will strike. You have until Samuel or Markus makes their move to gain allies and create a lasting base. Almost everyone will wait and see if they implode or if Lucius can convince them to start a feud with House Potter."

Theo's eyes bugged. "You think House Malfoy is going to start a feud? Either with themselves or Harry."

"Yes. Something happened at the Perciville ball that has moved the inevitable fight closer."

"Sir, you do know Harry is Lord Perciville right?"

Both eyebrows went up. "Is that so? Do you know what happened?"

"Harry said that Samuel was looking for his aide while they were dancing and that after he was told that Voldemort was a half-blood bastard Samuel took his family and left."

Severus steepled his fingers and rested his lips against them. "Hmmmm." He said in his deep rich voice. "Thank you for the information Theodore. I will keep all that you have said in mind during my further dealings with Lucius." He nodded in clear dismissal.

"Be careful yourself Professor." Theo said leaving the room.

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Molly Weasley stormed the castle that evening and was seen soon after dragging her youngest son back out by the ear.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked. He and Theo were sitting with the Gryffindors for the evening meal since they had joined the Slytherins for lunch.

"Mum told the prat that he had one chance." Ginny said. "That if he stepped out of line one more time he was getting home schooled by her."

"Yes ickle Harry-kins" One twin said. "We are your humble servants." the other continued.

Ginny giggled. "I'd also do anything to avoid that fate."

"Oh the possibilities." Harry said taping his fingers together and giving a fake evil laugh.

The others around them laughed.

Later that night, once they were back in their own rooms, Theo told Harry about what Snape said.

Harry ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Crap." He said. "I'm just starting to get a grip on all this Lordship stuff and now this gets thrown in. I'm not ready to be part of a family feud."

"Then don't." Theo said. "You don't have to do anything. All this does is explain Draco's attitude today. He's been told, probably very bluntly knowing Aunt Narcissa, that if he causes trouble with you when the fighting starts he might be homeless, penniless and maybe nameless. Draco would do anything, including actually marrying Parkinson to avoid that fate."

"Why would what he does to me matter?" Harry asked confused.

"Narcissa Malfoy was born Narcissa Black. She's Sirius's and your father's cousin. She's also the slyest Slytherin to ever wear these colors. If things aren't going her way she will abandon ship and try to get into your and or Sirius' good graces."

"So this is all a play from Draco to get close enough to seek asylum and acceptance back into House Black if need be." Theo nodded. Harry was silent thinking it over with Theo curled into his side. "This could work in our favor. Even if there is no fighting, maybe we could show Draco the error of his ways while he's forced to play nice."

Theo smiled kissing his cheek. "I doubt Hermione and Draco will ever be the best of friends but I'm sure you could convince him not to say hateful words like Mudblood anymore."

"Baby steps Theo, baby steps." He said turning and kissing him on the lips.

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The rest of the week sped by. Out of all the electives offed at Hogwarts, Harry loved Runes the most. There was something about the runic language that spoke to him. He couldn't say how or why but it came as easily as defense. Speaking of, Harry loved DADA being taught by Remus. He made the class fun and exciting.

Adding in five more classes nearly broke the group's backs though. For the first few weeks, they struggled to get their course load under control. Once they had though, there were no issues with the added classes and before anyone knew what happened it was nearly Halloween.

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AN: I'm cutting it there. So sorry this took forever. My plot bunny for this one has run away and I couldn't find it.