Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to their otherwise respective owners.
Author's Notes: I really like how this chapter turned out, but just in case you're antsy: I know we're going really slow with these chapters, but I expect to have the summer arc concluded by chapter 15 at the latest. Some things I feel like we need to cover (and some things I just wanted to include lol), but I'm not a big fan of delving into every possible minutiae unless I feel like it's absolutely necessary. And also, I want to maintain a slight illusion of mystery, sue me. :P
As always, I hope you enjoy. Until the next chapter,
~TGWSI/Selene Borealis
~daughter of briganti~
~meet me in the woods~
~chapter 8~
17 July 1995
Black Cottage, Cornwall, England, Great Britain
They woke up bright and early the next morning, before the sun had even risen.
Hyleth had indeed raged and cried last night. True to her word, she'd thrown a few things around in her room, albeit not much. Ginny had watched her, not saying anything, until she'd settled down enough to go to bed. Hyleth had continued to cry then, she'd cried until she'd fallen asleep. When she woke up, it was with salty cheeks, suggesting that she'd perhaps cried during her sleep, too.
They had an early breakfast, the two girls taking coffee alongside Pritchard and Sirius. After their meal, Sirius put up some extra wards for their departure, including ones that would deflect almost all of the mail meant for them. He'd decided last night that the less anybody knew about what they were doing, the better; he didn't want any details about the Ritual of Briganti inadvertently leaked to The Daily Prophet, or worse, Voldemort.
(And no, Hyleth wasn't going to think about how upset her friends, Ginny's family, and the Order would be over that when they returned.
She wasn't.)
Then, they went into the living room, and Hyleth stood in the center of it. She steeled her breath, remembering the plan that she and her father had come up with, also last night.
He was wary of the whole idea, although he did trust her. He knew that she wouldn't have considered asking Theo to marry her, much less actually doing it, if she thought he was anything like the other living members of his family at all.
"Dobby!" she called out.
With a pop!, the former house elf of the Malfoys appeared. "Mistress Hyleth Potter!" he exclaimed, his ears flapping about and his green eyes as bulging as ever. Pritchard, who was standing in the archway that led to the main hallway, suppressed a smile. Hyleth saw it even from the corner of her eye. "Dobby is so happy you have called him!"
Hyleth knew that, if she gave him an inch, she'd end up giving him a mile. "It's good to see you, Dobby," she said. "Listen, I need you to do me a favor."
"No favors are necessary!" he cried. "Never necessary for Hyleth Potter! Whatever Dobby can do to be of service!"
"Right," she said. "When you were working for the Malfoys – " Dobby's expression faltered here, but he was obviously more than willing to hear her out " – did you ever go to Nott Manor? If so, did you meet the other house elves there?"
Dobby blinked. "Yes, Dobby went with Lady Consort Narcissa a few times, when Lady Consort Corinthia Nott was gravely ill. One of the Nott family's house elves, Misty, was her nurse."
"Do you know what Misty did after Corinthia Nott died?"
"Dobby thinks she started to take care of the young Theodore Nott, when he developed the same illness as his mother, Magical Immunodeficiency Disease," he said. "But Dobby isn't completely sure."
Hyleth grinned. "Brilliant. That's good enough, Dobby. If you're up to it, I need you to go to Nott Manor and talk with Misty. Tell her that Hyleth Potter needs to see Theo as soon as possible, and that it's important for Theo's sake if his father isn't told about it right away."
Dobby tugged on one of his ears. "Is Hyleth sure? The Notts are a Dark family! Dark, very Dark!"
"Theo isn't," she responded. "He's my friend. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
Dobby bowed. "If Hyleth Potter is sure."
He disappeared with another pop!
In total, it took about thirty minutes. More than enough time for them to get their luggage down and into one room. Before her father had set up the mail-deflecting wards, they'd sent the letters they'd penned – one was to be sent to Grimmauld Place for the Order, the Weasleys, and Hermione. Hyleth had written another one to Cedric, replying to the contents of his last letter and informing him that she would be out of the country for the remainder of the summer. Ginny had written one to Luna Lovegood, too. She knew her best out of the four of them, after all.
Hyleth had never really talked with Luna. It made the knowledge that the blonde Ravenclaw had probably been raised with the expectation of being her wife more than a little uncomfortable. It was nothing against her – Hyleth didn't agree with the other students in their year that the girl was strange, she liked her. But she was relieved that Sirius and Pritchard thought it'd be best for them to wait to get married until after they went back to Hogwarts.
It would give Hyleth some time to get to know her properly, though only through letters.
When Theo appeared with a third pop! and alongside a house elf with dark brown hair much like Winky's and light blue eyes, wearing what looked to have been a dress once for a doll of similar size, he was visibly confused. He himself looked to have hastily put his robes on; his dark brown hair was as messy as ever, much like hers, and his nose was red. His skin was much paler than the last time she'd seen him, if that was possible; it made her stomach feel like it was twisting itself into knots.
"Hyleth?" he asked with half-lidded butterscotch gold eyes, swaying on his feet. Magical transportation had never agreed with him since he'd gotten sick, due to how it reacted to his magic, which was attacking his own immune system. "Why the bloody hell did you have to pull me out of bed at six o'clock in the morning during the summer? What's so important? Where are we? And – oh my gods, are you an alpha now?" He practically shouted the last part upon scenting her pheromones.
"Yeah, I am, and we're at my house," she answered him. She gestured to her dad and Ginny, who were sitting on the couch. "Theo, this is my father, Sirius Black. Dad, this is Theodore Nott."
Theo's eyes briefly widened. He hastened to do a bow. "L – Lord Black."
"Please, none of that," he requested.
Ginny gave a small wave. "Hi, Nott."
"Weasley," Theo returned. He looked back at Hyleth. "You didn't answer my first two questions. Also, how are you an alpha?"
"That's mainly because your questions and the answer to that last one require some questions of their own," she replied. "First: do you trust me?"
He snorted, before sniffling. "What kind of question is that? Of course I do. Why else would I be here?"
"Do you care for me?"
Theo shuffled his feet, his eyes flickering back over to Sirius and Ginny, and then over to Pritchard. He was a Slytherin, through and through; he didn't like to admit to his weaknesses in mixed company. Still, "More than I probably should."
Pritchard chortled. It made Theo scowl.
Hyleth took that as her cue to not delay things much further. "If I asked you to marry me, right now, and told you that we didn't need your father's permission for reasons that I'll explain, but we would be leaving the country for the rest of the summer, would you tell me 'yes?'"
The male omega didn't just gape at her.
His legs gave out from under him completely, sending him to the floor.
"Master Theo!" Misty shrieked, tending to him immediately. She glared as Hyleth approached them, but did not do anything more for the time being.
"You're joking," Theo said bluntly.
She shook her head. "No, I'm not. If you say 'yes,' I can tell you everything, but only if you do and after we leave. I know it's not giving you any time to think about it; I haven't had much time to think about it, either. I only found out about it and presented two days ago – " Theo choked here, since her pheromones made it obvious she wasn't in rut like she was supposed to be " – and my mind is still spinning from it. It's been suggested to me that you like me, though, and...I like you, too."
Theo was her third crush, there were no "if's" or "what's" about it. He was her friend, regardless of how it would've been very bad for him if the wrong people had found that out. He was snarky, yet ultimately kind, once he warmed up enough to you. He was the one who had proven to her that not all Slytherins were bad, that many of them were far more complicated than they initially appeared.
"I want you to be my Consort for the Founding House of Black," she pressed on. "One day, not once we turn seventeen. Far off in the future. My dad isn't allowed to die until the ripe old age of one hundred and fifty."
Sirius scoffed in the background.
She didn't pay him any mind. "But you know what I mean."
Misty stood up to her entire three foot height. "Master Theo is not going anywhere with you!" she yelled. "Master Theo is too sick to! And how dare you suggest he leave his family without – !"
"Misty," Theo said. "Wait."
The house elf stopped, horror taking over her expression.
Theo was staring up at Hyleth. His golden eyes were sharp, calculating.
"I have no idea what in the name of Merlin you've gotten yourself into. Undoubtedly, it's something stupid, as always," he began. It was Ginny's turn to scoff. "But you're right about one thing: I like you. I've been waiting for some time for you to get your head out of your arse and realize it."
Hyleth fought back a laugh. "Gee, thanks."
She held out a hand. He accepted it, and she pulled him to his feet.
"If this past year hadn't happened, I would've gone to my father and asked for him to arrange a betrothal contract between us, and he most likely would've said yes. I can't do that now. If he's forced to marry me off to somebody before the war is over, it'll be to a Death Eater or one of their kids, and they'll almost assuredly treat me like shit," he continued. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is, yes, I'll marry you."
"Master Theo!" exclaimed Misty.
"Pack my things and bring them here, Misty," he ordered without looking at her. It wasn't because he thought of her as a lesser creature; rather, Hyleth suspected he was afraid that, if he did look at her, he would lose his courage. Besides some of her material things and his memories, she was all he had left of his mother. "Only after we leave, will you be able to tell Father I've left home and won't be back for some time."
Her form quivering, Misty vanished.
"Are you sure?" Hyleth checked.
"You just asked me to marry you," Theo retorted with a deadpan. "Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that?"
"Yes, I think you'll make a fine future Consort for the House of Black," Sirius said, chuckling. He stood and crossed the distance between them, then held out his hand to Theo. "Welcome to the family."
Theo accepted it. "Thank you, Lord Black."
"It's Sirius."
"Yes, I believe so."
"Theo, quit it," said Hyleth.
A few minutes later, Theo's luggage appeared, without Misty. Yet conveniently, seconds later arrived Dobby. "Did Mistress Hyleth's conversation with Theodore Nott go well?" he demanded, his eyes narrow, until he saw that Theo was in the room with them.
"Yes, Dobby," Hyleth replied. "There is one more thing that I need you to do for me, though: I need you to not tell anyone that you were here today or what you did. Not even Dumbledore, until the time is right."
Dobby gasped. "But why can't Dobby tell anyone?"
"I'll explain when we get back." She hated how she was basically using him. It made her feel gross, particularly after Hermione's SPEW campaign last year. "I'm sorry, Dobby. You're a good friend. I promise you I'll tell you what's all going on in September."
"...Dobby understands. Mistress Hyleth Potter has always had the weight of the world on her shoulders," he said after a few moments of consideration. He failed to see how Hyleth flinched back in response. "Dobby can wait until September. Dobby wishes Hyleth Potter well until she returns!"
With that, he left once again.
And after an additional few minutes, Hyleth, her mates-to-be-, her father, and Pritchard were gone as well.
They arrived in Crete courtesy of the signet ring for the Lord or Lady of the Potter House, which Sirius was wearing as its Regent. The ring was a permanent Portkey for all of the Potter family properties, albeit there weren't many: only Potter Manor, the cottage in Godric's Hollow (still untouched; neither Sirius nor Hyleth had had the heart to begin to repair it), a few more properties in the British Isles, and Euphemia Potter's former home here.
They were on the side of the island facing the Aegean, strong, powerful, and a vivid blue. There was a path which led down to a beach, presumably part of the property. Lemon, apricot, and olive trees decorated the estate. The house was obviously far older than the 1930s and Ioannis Metaxas' order to whitewash houses due to the cholera epidemic, as it was composed of older stones and terracotta roofing. It was large, yet not too large.
"Wow," Ginny said.
The weather was hot, albeit not humid. Still, one look at Theo's green-tinged face from the Portkey, and Hyleth knew: "We need to get inside."
They weren't able to make it in time. When they were almost there, Theo stepped off the path and leaned over as he vomited.
Hyleth was by his side in an instant, placing her hand on his back. Ginny hung back not too far away.
Sirius grimaced. "Pritchard and I'll get the luggage in the house," he said. "And I'll let Hedwig out to explore."
"Thanks, Dad," Hyleth said absentmindedly.
"I'm fine," Theo grumbled upon the last of it coming out. He swatted her hand away. "I'm fine!"
"...Sorry," she apologized.
He rolled his eyes, but did not comment on that. He turned to look at the house. "You said that your great-grandmother owned this house before she got married to your great-grandfather."
"Mmhmm."
"It's some house for an unmarried omega woman to own, even if she was older."
"Beta, I think," Hyleth corrected him.
"Still," he said. He sniffled. "Let's go inside. I don't want to die of heat stroke."
Ginny snorted.
They entered the home. Like most wizard homes, its interior was comprised of a lot of wood: the paneling for the interior walls, the floors, the furniture the counters in the kitchen (although their tops were granite)...and etcetera. It was a lighter-brown-colored wood, so the light from the windows was more than sufficient, giving the home a cozy and lived-in feel despite it having been several decades since it was last occupied.
Hyleth's father caught sight of them as he was coming down the stairs. "Right," he said. "There's five bedrooms in the house – a convenient coincidence. Hyleth, I've given you the master bedroom since it's the biggest and, depending on the preferences of you three, it won't be only yours for terribly long." Hyleth blushed all the way to the roots of her hair. "Theo and Ginny, I've given you each your own rooms for now. Molly would have my head if I didn't."
"So you're marrying Hyleth, too," Theo surmised, glancing over at his fellow omega. It was clear he'd already figured it out; this was simply the first time he was voicing it.
"Yeah," Ginny said. "Among others."
Theo looked between her and their future mate. "Wait, what do you mean, 'others?'"
"We might as well get it over with," mumbled Hyleth, running a hand down her face. "Let's go into the kitchen. You're probably going to want to sit down."
They gave Theo the rundown. He took the news remarkably well. "Thirteen spouses," he breathed. He ran a hand down his face. "You're a Daughter of Briganti. Why didn't I put the pieces together sooner?"
Hyleth and Ginny exchanged a glance. "You know about the ritual?" the former asked.
"I've read about it in my family's library. I don't think the book we have is nearly as extensive as yours is," he said. "It talks about Wulfnoð Peverell's lightning-shaped scars because of the ritual and his multiple marriages, including to my ancestor, Synnove Nott, and it makes some sort of comparison between the Child of Briganti title and a Christian religious figure, I think. I was kind of surprised by it; my family's always shunned anything and everything to do with Christianity, like most other Dark families, so I didn't get the reference. But that all should've been enough." His eyes darted over to Ginny. "And apparently I have you to thank for Hyleth proposing to me?"
"I didn't really do that much," she protested.
"You gave her a nudge in the right direction. That says a lot." As the female alpha sputtered, he shuddered in a breath. "I won't lie: I've never really got the inclination that you, your twin brother, or Granger have ever wanted to be my friends. You've never come with Hyleth to the library to hang out with me or anything like that. Granted, my friends haven't either, but...I've always been risking a lot with Hyleth. I wouldn't ask them to do the same."
"But we've never had the same problem," Ginny ended for him. She chewed her lip. "That's probably fair. Ron isn't overly fond of Slytherins and...Hermione, I don't know. I can't speak for her. As for me...I never wanted to intrude, I suppose. Hyleth's always said good things about you; I never thought you were bad."
"Unlike Draco and Pansy?" Theo teased with a grin. "I appreciate your honesty. And a lot of us hate them as much as you all do. I have a feeling that Pansy's definitely going to get the Mark this summer, if she hasn't already."
Hyleth propped her cheek on her hand. "...What about your brother?"
Theo's visage darkened. "Not yet, but that's only because Father threatened to disown him if he got it without the Dark Lord's explicit orders. Theron knows he probably wouldn't, but I think he's too afraid to call him on his bluff on the off-chance that he does. Because then it would go to me, and he knows I'd switch our family to the Light, or at least Neutral, and he absolutely doesn't want that.
"But...if I am going to marry you, then Father will probably be forced by You-Know-Who's orders to disown me," he realized, the comprehension dawning on his features. He became somber. "Then it really will be a bluff. Father won't have any more kids; he loved my mother too much. So Theron will likely take the Mark."
Hyleth's guilt returned. She hadn't really thought about Theo's family when she'd decided to ask him to marry her, only his health. She knew how complicated things had become with his family, since she'd read his most recent letter last night: his father had become a Death Eater again when he didn't want to be one at all, having learned from his wife before she'd died that there were more things to life than what Voldemort could ever promise, and that his prejudices were wrong. At the same time, he was forcing himself to serve Voldemort again, because he wanted to protect his sons. Most of all the one who believed Voldemort full-heartedly.
"I know what I said about not telling you everything unless you agreed, but you don't have to marry me," she spoke quietly. "If you think it's better – "
Theo huffed. "I made my choice, I'm not going back. My brother can make his and learn to live with the consequences." He started to cough then, sounding like he was hacking up a lung.
Hyleth hadn't said anything to him or Ginny yet about her theory – well, it wasn't a theory, it was only a thought – that the ritual magic surrounding her might help him with his illness once they got married. She wanted to talk about it with Pritchard, see what he thought.
She really, really wanted it to be true, though. He deserved so much better than what his current health permitted him.
She got up to get him a glass of water. The male omega glared at her, however he accepted the glass.
When he'd calmed himself down, he acted like the fit hadn't happened. "Anyways, speaking of us getting married: when you said 'right now,' how soon did you actually mean?"
"That was just what I wanted to talk with you three about," Hyleth's father said from the doorway. He'd been giving them their privacy for the past however long their conversation had taken; it was better off that Hyleth and Ginny had explained to Theo everything on their own.
The alpha man sat down at the only empty seat left at the table. They'd have to see if there was an extra chair in the cellar, or otherwise go about getting another one for the total of five, unless they wanted to eat in the dining room.
"I've given it some thought," he told them. "Yes, you do not need my parental permission or the permission of the Weasleys and Tiberius Nott, but there should be some traditions that we follow. The age of consent and marriage with parental permission is fourteen for omegas and female betas in the wizarding world; for alphas, thetas, and male betas, it's fifteen. Presuming Briganti allows it, I think we should wait until after your birthday, Hyleth, for the weddings, even though they'll only be for show."
Hyleth frowned. "I don't get it."
Theo did. "History of Magic class. Three thousand years ago, or whenever the Ritual of Briganti was created, there weren't marriage ceremonies in the British Isles. They only did the bonding," he said. His lips thinned. "It wasn't usually consensual. Alphas often...did as they pleased."
"The Weasleys would most likely appreciate memories of a ceremony to be viewed later," Sirius redirected that particular train of thought, lest Hyleth dwell on it.
Ginny nodded in agreement. "I think, if we can manage it...maybe we should wait until after my birthday on the eleventh, too. It might temper Mum some, that I didn't get married at the minimum age of consent." She snapped her fingers. "Could we do the twelfth?"
It occurred to Hyleth too late that she was the voice of authority on this – unless Briganti somehow wanted to make it known that she approved or disapproved, that is, but Hyleth had a feeling she wouldn't.
The female alpha coughed. "Y – yeah, that sounds fine with me." She was sure that she could get Ginny's and Theo's marriage collars before then.
"If you don't mind, Ginny, I think Hyleth and I should get married on the same day, at the same 'ceremony,'" Theo said, making air quotations when the need arose. "The actual thing itself...well." The two omegas flushed in unison. "But we don't want to seem like we're giving preferential treatment to one hose our the other, since Hyleth is inheriting both. Particularly to the Dark families."
"Quite right," Sirius said. He smiled. "You are indeed a good choice for the Consort of the Founding House of Black."
Theo smiled back at the praise.
"Can you explain why it needs to be for 'particularly the Dark families?'" Ginny requested.
Theo glanced over at Hyleth. "I'm not saying that you have to, but it might be a good idea to consider getting the other Founding families that we can involved. It'll be seen as a good political movie, and it could maybe get some of the Dark families that didn't join You-Know-Who the last time – the Greengrasses, the Runcorns – " aka, his friends' families " – to stay that way, if not join you. That could mean a lot, down the line."
"I think there's four heirs to the Founding families your age, besides Luna," Sirius noted. "Ernie Macmillan obviously isn't a viable candidate, as an alpha."
Hyleth winced at the reminder of her Yule Ball date.
"Remus told me that there are two heirs in Slytherin the year above you," he said. "Lyra Fawley and Isra Shafiq; I think he said they're both either betas or omegas. Then there may be an heir to the Moon family, but it's hard to keep up. They usually spend most of their time across the Pond, with the Yanks. Have since the Revolutionary War. In fact, I think the current Lord married the daughter of Percival and Tina Graves – war heroes from the Great War." He tapped his chin in thought. "The Moons maintain their power here still, if only barely. They've also always been Light."
Theo nodded. "I know Fawley and Shafiq; they're a beta and an omega, respectively. The Fawleys have only very recently gone Dark. If we can convince their fathers that you want to work with both the Light and the Dark families to stop Voldemort, as I said, we might be able to win some others over. More allies means a better chance at winning the war."
"Who knew the way to stop people from joining Voldemort is to practice polygamy?" Hyleth muttered. "Ow!"
As she rubbed at her shin, Ginny smiled cheekily. "'Had to do something to keep your feet on the ground."
Word Count: 4,291