Chapter 6
Winter is a particularly challenging season for Harry to embrace. He always had a love/hate relationship with it.He likes the cleansing element of winter, the gentle hush it brings to the world. It makes him forget the choking sensation at the back of his throat every time he inhales cold winter air into his weak lungs. This is exactly how he feels about the Emperor and his Kings. He did not hate them on principle like some of the Light faction, yet he had no actual reason to like them. He liked them on an afterthought level, something he doesn't necessarily think or understand about unless in their immediate company. Some of the things which he had started to dislike about them was the frequency with which they were seen with Draco Malfoy. Well maybe that was because he had been subconsciously jealous that the Alpha was not paying him attention to him, though admitting that is another thing of which Harry is not going to do, even to himself. He had to tamp down this jealousy as he walked into the room. The blonde was shamelessly draped over an elongated stool with golden furnishings in the Emperor's study room, almost sitting on top of his uncle, the Ivory King. They were sitting together with the Onyx King, playing chess. He almost groaned, he hated chess. Standing on the side of the large oak doorway was the head eunuch of the Emperor, Antonin Dolohov. He announced Harry's arrival. "Potter Changzai has arrived!" As he walked towards them with Hermione by his side, he resolved to be as firm and concise as he could, no matter what he was asked. He had to nervously tug at his erratic magic before it could leap across the room and reunite with the emperor.
The man himself was sitting aloof and apart from his lovers in a large throne-like seat, reading reports. He didn't look up from his papers, but his nose flared. Harry wasn't fooled, the Alpha had smelled him way before his arrival was announced in his study. He allowed the charade to continue however by obeying tradition and bending down on the side to curtsy, uttering the traditional greetings. "Huangsha(Emperor) May you reign ten thousand years." "Hmm, what brilliant colors you're wearing today Meimei, what's the occasion?" Draco Malfoy unfurled lazily from the Ivory King's embrace like a snake awakening from slumber, not even waiting for the Emperor to acknowledge Harry. Harry smiled pleasantly if a bit blandly, knees bent in a curtsy, awaiting one of them to excuse him. Hermione glanced anxiously at her mistress on bent knees, looking for a signal on how to behave. She was still unsettled from his earlier revelations and was clearly uncomfortable with the brash and rude nature of the blond concubine. Harry glanced her way briefly with a genuine smile on the corner of his lips, looking away only after receiving a small but quick smile in response. "Rise," came the deep voice of the Onyx King, apparently fed up with the stilted ambiance produced by the blonde's antagonistic comment. Harry turned to him with gratitude before responding in kind, "Thank you, Your Highness." The blonde huffed through his nose, deliberately caressing his slightly rounded stomach in an attempt to arouse jealousy from Harry. Harry had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. For all his abominable ways, the blonde's ability to unknowingly entertain Harry was impressive. "Indeed, it is a surprise to see my modest concubine in such bright colors. What are you celebrating? Speak so I may join you in your festivities," said the Ivory King. Harry blinked in surprise. While the older man hadn't snubbed him consciously, he had never made any gestures to imply that he liked Harry less than any of the other concubines in the Harem-except maybe Malfoy. "Celebration would be an exaggeration, my Lord. My servant clothed me in vibrant colors due to my longing for spring in this frigid winter, and her own attempts to mark my improving health against all odds." Harry did not want the Emperor to think that he was somehow overjoyed beyond belief and was showing his happiness through his clothing. The King smiled briefly before inclining his head in understanding. "You allow your servant to dictate what you wear? No wonder you're often less than presentable Meimei," Imperial Concubine Malfoy taunted with an angelic smile. Harry felt Hermione's breath catch in what he assumed was annoyance; his magic was content to rest on his bare skin so he couldn't feel her emotions keenly. He gently took her right hand in his hand and held it close while affirming, "Yes, unfortunately for me, I am fashion-challenged, but it is my fortune to have such a dedicated servant as Hermione who is quite the fashion enthusiast. As I have heard the same of your eunuch Dobby." He turned fully in the blonde concubine's direction and waited for his reaction. The blonde cringed at the mention of his fanatic servant before going back to glaring at Harry. "Why don't you have a seat Changzai? Seeing as your health has just started improving, you shouldn't do anything to jeopardize the process." Harry nodded with a polite smile and sat beside the Onyx King. He accepted the offer of refreshments made by the awaiting servant girl in the room and smiled at her in thanks. Malfoy watched his movements with disdain as he plastered himself even closer to the Ivory King's chest. Harry purposely kept his eyes off the Emperor, even though he could feel his eyes on him. He tried very hard not to squirm as he sat with perfect posture. This was not what he thought would happen when the Emperor requested his presence. He'd expected a continuation of the confrontation that occurred at Malfoy's residence. Not this awkward gathering. Then again, maybe this was strange to only Harry. For all he knew, the four of them (Malfoy included of course) could have been doing gatherings like these the entire time, so they would not be awkward with each other. He refused to acknowledge the painful throb of his heart at the thought.
The Emperor finally rose his eyes from his reports and directed them to Harry's green eyes, daring him to avert his eyes. Harry wanted to keep staring at the Emperor's eyes just to see what the alpha would do but knew that not only was it stupid politically, that it was impossible physiologically. "Would you be kind as to grind some ink for me Changzai?" The Emperor finally asked after Harry averted his eyes in submission. Initially, Harry didn't register what the Alpha had said but after it sunk into his brain, he rose up slowly and walked to the Emperor's side.
The inkpot was almost empty, and the black ink stick on the ink stone was brand new, presumably left there by one of the servants. Harry excused himself and reached across the Emperor to grab the ink stick, his slender hands accidentally brushing the Emperor's right hand. The Emperor moved his hand quickly to link with Harry's. The surprise interaction of skin froze all breath in his body, leaving him to stare at the Emperor like a possessed being. The Emperor held himself still, continuing to hold onto Harry's fingers in a slightly tight grip. The air was thick between them, with neither willing to speak, lest the magic buzzing around them ceased. The Emperor reached for Harry's other hand slowly, looking at the boy for any signs of protest. When he found none, he extended his hand to Harry's left hand gripping it just as tight as his right. He added the two hands in one of his massive hands and breathed subtly onto them, wanting to leave an imprint of his scent on the pure scent of his omega. Harry's breath hitched and his beating heart took off on a rhythm of its own, alerting the alpha of his inexperience. The Emperor smirked and brought his nose closer to Harry's palms, landing a soft kiss on each palm and further escalating the beating of Harry's heart. The Emperor chuckled. Before Harry's body could betray him any further, they were interrupted by the clearing of a throat. Harry blushed as he came back to reality. He made as to dislodge his hands from the Emperor's large hand but only succeeded in removing his right hand. The Emperor kept a tighter grip on the Omega's left hand and went back to reading his reports with his other hand. Harry finally looked up from his imprisoned hand to see a fuming Malfoy standing with his hands across his chest. He turned his eyes to the center of the room to see Hermione's flushed face and the Onyx King's barely perceptible smirk. He tried to calm his pounding heart, succeeding somewhat before going back to his original task of grinding the Emperor some ink. He held the ink stick in his right hand shakily before grating it slowly on the slightly rough surface of the ink stone. He continued grinding the ink, very much aware of the large hand keeping his other hand prisoner underneath the oak desk. During this lull in the conversation, Malfoy went back to the Ivory King's side to sulk, he settled on glaring at Harry. Hermione was doing her very best to hide her smug smile as she witnessed such a private moment between the royal family. The confusion with the Emperor's behavior evaporated over time as Harry got well acquainted with the motions of grinding gritty ink on the slightly rough surface of the inkstone. His thoughts cleared and his magic pooled softly at the tips of his fingers, making the process of grinding the ink smoother. The Emperor, not missing the sudden influx of magic in the atmosphere, turned to look at his concubine for a second before allowing his own magic to join Harry's. Initially, Harry was unaware of the new magic in the air, so focused was he on his current task. But shortly he felt the distinctly domineering presence of the Emperor's magic around his fingers, guiding his fingers along with Harry's own magic.
If Harry had to describe his magic in terms of personality, there would be no doubt that he would describe it as an overexcited child. His magic was overjoyed by the arrival of the Emperor's magic, swirling around Harry's finger in excitement while hesitatingly hovering near the Emperor's magic like a shy lover. It didn't completely touch the Alpha's magic, but it was very close to it, humming and purring in pleasure-not very different from Harry's omega form. The Emperor watched in amusement as his black magic evaluated the shimmering green magic loftily, unsure of this flighty creature with boundless energy. Harry wanted to scold his magic to calm down, but it was still young like he was, and unlike him, it was not mature enough to behave itself unless in a life or death situation. He turned his attention to the majestic magic of the Emperor.
The magic was powerful, as was evident by the form it had taken. He didn't know the exact age of the Emperor, but he was in his late twenties, which would explain the appearance of his magic. Since he'd never known any alpha/omegas except for his uncle Remus, Harry had always assumed that all alphas had wolf spirits. This was obviously not the case for the Emperor seeing as his magic manifested in the form of a magnificent basilisk. Its scales ranged from opaque black to deep violet. He bet the Emperor had a name for it too. Harry was too young to name his magic, and he hasn't even begun to guess what shape his magic would eventually form. As for now, he stared at the basilisk with awe, wanting to touch it and fearing it at the same time. He averted his eyes to look at the Emperor, only to collide with murky eyes of fire. The two stared at each other, once again inescapably entranced. As if on cue, the mood was broken by the impatient sound of a throat clearing. Once again, Harry glanced back to Draco Malfoy, however, this time, his omegan possessiveness towards the Alpha next to him outweighed his polite mask, making him look the blonde in the eye directly without backing down. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly jerked his eyes back down and curtsied apologetically, ashamed and mortified at his behavior. He could not allow his nature to overwhelm him like that, it would mean serious consequences if it manifested at the wrong time. The Emperor looked at Malfoy and questioned him "Is there a problem Draco?" Malfoy's cheeks pinked embarrassingly, "N...no Your Majesty I apologize" Malfoy spluttered, the Emperor just shook his head. Harry turned away from the chastised eyes of Draco Malfoy and towards the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I apologize but may I be excused? I would like to take my afternoon tonic." He wanted to escape the room at once. But alas, the Emperor had different ideas. "Draco my dear, I believe you should make your way back to your palace while the air is still a little warm. I do not want you walking to your Palace as it gets colder in the evening. I shall visit you tomorrow." Harry tried to contain his shock at the abrupt dismissal of the Emperor's favorite concubine. Draco on the other hand made no such attempt. The incredulous look on his face gave way to betrayal, prompting feelings of pity in Harry's gut. He quickly squashed the unwanted feelings, knowing that it was not his fault.
The blonde nodded jerkily and bowed before leaving the study with a huff. Harry made way as to follow, but was stopped by a command: "Stay." He turned slowly towards the Emperor and swallowed, he could taste the turmoil of Draco still at the back of his throat and could feel echoes of Hermione's discomfort, but the raw feelings coming from the emperor outshined them all. His knees almost buckled under their weight The Emperor walked towards Harry with slow, calculated, steps. He reached for Harry's cheeks with both hands, caught his eyes, and stared into them. Harry was gone.
Edited and updated on 29/06/2021.