Chapter 18

Before Harry knew it, the week had flown by and he was meeting the Emperor or the Kings every evening. Sometimes all three of them would come together and sometimes it would be just one of them in his company.

They would come for tea and some nights, stay through dinner. Spending time with them, Harry realized that they were not as intimidating as he had previously thought. In fact, they were pretty lax if Harry said something inappropriate and they would actually say or do something to make him react without decorum on purpose.

Harry was able to slowly come out of his shell and he learned to be at ease when they were around. They passed their evenings discussing their day or what had to be done or how the renovation of Harry's new palace was going. Though Harry was kept busy, he didn't miss the chaos of the other concubines preparing to leave.

Thomas had avoided seeing any of the disgraced concubines so that none of them could beg him for forgiveness. If there was one thing to know about Thomas it was that he forgave rarely. He had discussed with Harry, at length, his forgiving nature but he knew Harry would never be petty like him. He did think that a little less forgiving would be better. Thomas had met with General Delacour, within a day of the Consort's dismissal. He was their French Emissary, Fleur's brother, and he did not want to turn things sour with him. The meeting surprisingly had not gone poorly. The General understood why his sister had been exiled for a year, any harm wilful or not to the prince, especially prior to his birth, was punishable by death in France.

The General did still ask Thomas to consider reinstating Fleur as his consort after the year was over. Thomas made no promises but told the General that he would consider it if Fleur changed and showed remorse for what she had done. They had decided to announce in full court what had happened and why the concubines were being dismissed to soften the blow.

To say the shock that was felt by his court was huge, would be an understatement, but seeing General Delacour standing with the Emperor in his decision stopped the protesting. If General Delacour, accepted his sister's punishment as just, it was easier for the court to accept the rest. The Emperor had made it clear that any discrimination because of blood status was to be stopped immediately. Everyone was equal and if anyone wanted to advance in society they would have to do it on their own merits and not because of their blood status. Anyone found not following this would be severely punished. To see that the rules were implemented properly and the people were following them correctly, committees had been formed and placed in every village. These committees were filled with people who had previously refused to take bribes, were low-born, or at most half-blood.

The cost of implementing all these committees hit the treasury hard and so the selection of the new harem would be scheduled the next year. Thomas had his doubts about reinstating the harem though.

On a clear April morning, Cedric Diggory reached the forbidden palace with his trainer, Newt Scamander, because his possessive husband wouldn't leave him to travel without him, Victor Krum.

After being granted entrance into the palace they were taken to meet the Emperor and both the Kings immediately to discuss Harry's training. The conference hall was magnificent, the sheer opulence reflected from high golden pillars, the walls were eggshell white with golden carvings on them, and huge chandeliers decorated the high ceiling.

At the end of the room sat the Emperor's throne with two smaller thrones flanking it on either side. There was a backdrop of heavy emerald-green velvet curtains that added to the richness of the room. The Emperor and the Kings were already seated and waiting for Cedric's group. The sheer testosterone made Cedric wrinkle his nose. It was the first time he was meeting a supreme alpha.

The eunuch at door announced them and they knelt to greet them, "Greetings, Your Majesty, My lords,".

"Rise, Mr. Diggory, Mr. Scamander, and Mr. Krum, thank you for coming to help us on such short notice," Thomas told them.

"Please, Your Majesty it is my pleasure to help fellow supreme omega, he is indeed blessed to have not one but three alphas who care about him so much," Cedric said.

"Thank you, and we welcome you to our home and hope you find the stay pleasurable," Severus said.

"You must be tired after the journey, we have prepared rooms for you, please rest and then you can meet Harry over dinner," Lucius informed them and called his guard to escort them to their rooms.

By the end of the week, the harem's palace was almost empty with all the concubines gone. The Empress had gone to make blessings to the priestess of Moon Goddess and to pray for a good future of the kingdom, with hopes of an heir. She had been doing this every year for the past ten years but her prayers had yet to be fulfilled. She would be gone quite some time.

Draco was still in the palace but had taken to hiding when the Emperor or the Kings were present to see Harry. If he was merely throwing a tantrum or feeling guilty, they didn't know or care at the moment. With the arrival of Harry's trainers, the palace could not be empty at a better time, especially if they were to keep Harry's status secret until his maturity. The introductory dinner was held in one the smaller formal dining rooms in the palace, the Empress Dowager would also be attending the dinner. She had been informed of everything that had transpired and this would be the first time after the punishments were dealt out, that

she was stepping out of her residence. When Harry arrived for dinner he saw that only the Empress Dowager was present and already seated, Harry knelt to his knees, "Greetings, Royal Mother,"

"Rise, Harry, how are you feeling dear, I apologize I couldn't come to see you, come sit next to me,"

"I am feeling much better, Royal Mother, you do not have to apologize, you haven't been feeling well either and you have to look after your health first. I will come to visit you soon, Royal Mother," "Yes, Harry I have been feeling lonely and I miss our talks and I am upset with you Harry,"

"Royal Mother, forgive me if I have done anything to upset you," Harry said frantically, Merope just smiled and shook her head at him, "No, Harry you have done nothing wrong, I was just teasing you for hiding that you were a supreme omega but I can understand why you did that, but please be at rest, we are all very blessed to have you with us," Harry blushed and looked down feeling shy all of a sudden.

"So has my son been treated well?" "Yes, Royal Mother the Emperor has been so nice to me and both the Kings too, I am well now because they helped me heal faster," "I am glad, they are doing what they should have done from the start, but no matter all is good now."

When Thomas, Severus, and Lucius entered the dining room they saw Harry and Merope already seated and talking between themselves. This made Thomas smile. Seeing them he was glad that Harry was close to his mother just because he wanted to and not for any personal gain.

"Greetings, Your Majesty and My Lords," Harry said. "Rise, please go back to your seat. Greetings Mother," Thomas replied. They seated themselves in their seats, arranged in an oval manner with Thomas in the middle and Severus and Lucius beside him. "Harry is going to sit next to me for the entire dinner, don't make him get up now," Merope said strictly, "We wouldn't dream of doing it Mother," Thomas said gently.

Just then the eunuch announced the guest's arrival. After the introductions were done, they greeted each other all sat down to have dinner. Cedric sat next to Harry and immediately immersed him in conversation before the dinner was served.

Harry had never seen such a beautiful person in his life, everything about him extraordinary, with his soft brown eyes and his thick head of hair, he couldn't take his eyes off of Cedric. This was of course the first time he was seeing another supreme omega, someone like him. He felt emotional all of a sudden and had to swallow down his tears. This was a person who would completely understand what Harry had been through and would have also felt the same things as him.

Harry flushed when he was caught by Cedric staring at him and he looked down. "Hello, Harry I hope we become good friends," Cedric said softly "Yes, I hope so too Mr. Diggory," Harry said shyly, "Please call me Cedric you do not have to be so formal with me," "I hope you found your rooms pleasant Mr. Krum," asked Severus. "Oh, yes they are wonderful, thank you for being so accommodating and for allowing me to come also with my husband, I know you do not allow just anyone in the palace," "Please, it was our pleasure having you here. We are indebted to you three for all you will be helping us with," Severus replied. "Now that Harry is well, will you start training him immediately?" asked Lucius.

"Oh yes, I know the supreme omegas are a little delicate in their health but now that you say he is well we will start first thing tomorrow," Newt said. He did not know the actual reason for Harry's sickness and assumed it was the omega physiology. The other did not correct him on that. Throughout dinner they discussed their different cultures and kept topics of conversation light, no one wanted to touch any of the heavy topics tonight. Once the dinner was done they excused themselves and retired to their rooms. After they had left, Thomas noted to Harry and his Kings, "They feel like good people and I hope things go smoothly from here on. Let us all retire it is a long day tomorrow."

Edited and updated on 17/06/2024.