Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OCs. Anything you recognize as not mine belongs to their otherwise respective owners.

Author's Notes: Sorry it's been (another, much longer) hot minute. Chronic illnesses have been kicking my butt this year. But I'm back with another chapter for this fic, at least!

As always, I hope you enjoy. Until next time,

~TGWSI/Selene Borealis

~daughter of briganti~

~meet me in the woods~

~chapter 17~

9 September 1995

Hogwarts, Scotland, Great Britain

The rest of the school week had passed by in a similar fashion: not great.

It wasn't great because Hyleth had done the worst with the Vanishing Spell in Transfiguration on Wednesday, since having more magical power did not equate to having more skill. This had led to McGonagall having forced her to stay behind for the lunch hour to practice it; she'd summoned lunch for them, but still, it was time Hyleth would've rather preferred doing anything else. It wasn't great because the homework for all of her classes had continued to ramp up, and she'd basically had to pull all-nighters on Tuesday and Wednesday in order to make up for the time her detentions with Umbridge had eaten up. And it wasn't great because Angelina was even less pleased with her than she had been for not attending the Quidditch tryouts at all, and had threatened to kick Hyleth off the team.

True, Hyleth did not need to do Quidditch; her decision to continue it this year may have even been an unwise move with her growing responsibilities. But she wanted to, because she certainly wouldn't be able to for her last two years at Hogwarts...and she was willing to put up with Cormac McLaggen, who Angelina had chosen as their Keeper, to ensure her last year of Quidditch would go as well as it could.

Although, if something were to happen to McLaggen, he'd be replaced by their Reserve Keeper, Ron. This had surprised Hyleth; she hadn't known he'd even wanted to try out for the position, but she was happy for him. She may or may not have even been wishing for the eventuality she'd just described to come true, for his sake.

But as for the last and most important reason why the rest of the school week wasn't great, it was because...well, Theo and Ginny had found out what Umbridge was making her do in detention.

Her consecutive detentions had been just as bad as the first one. The skin on the back of Hyleth's hand had become irritated at a quicker and quicker rate, turning red and inflamed. On Thursday, after only two hours, the words I must not tell lies hadn't faded from the back of her hand; instead, they had remained there, oozing droplets of blood. The pause in the pointed quill's scratching had made Umbridge look up.

"Ah," she'd said softly, and she'd moved around her desk to examine Hyleth's hand herself. "Good. That ought to serve as a reminder to you, oughtn't it? You may leave for tonight."

There were so many things Hyleth had wanted to say to her, so many things Hyleth had wanted to call her. As it was, she'd swallowed down her pride, swallowed down her other negative emotions as she'd remembered what McGonagall and Theo had told her, and said, "Thank you, Professor Umbridge."

"Remember to come tomorrow at five o'clock, dear, per our agreement," Umbridge had replied, smiling as widely as ever. "I think we can etch the message in a little deeper with another evening's work."

When Hyleth had gotten back to the married wing, her mates had been waiting for her, awake this time. "You're back early," Theo had noted.

"Yeah," Hyleth had said. "She, uh, said that I could have the rest of the night off."

Theo had narrowed his eyes. "Did she, now?"

"Yeah."

Ginny had looked at Theo, frowning, but the male omega had ignored her and asked Hyleth with faux-innocence, "And what's she having you do, again?"

"Lines," Hyleth had said.

Theo had nodded. "Right."

Then:

"She's making you use a Blood Quill, isn't she?"

Ginny's eyes had widened. "What? Hyleth, she's not – !"

"I don't know what that – "

"She is," Theo had confirmed viciously. "I thought I saw the evidence of it this morning, but I wasn't sure. She's making you use a quill that uses your own blood as ink, that's why it's called a Blood Quill. And she probably let you out early tonight because the wound stopped healing, didn't it?"

Hyleth had hesitated.

"Come over here," Theo had said, patting next to him on the couch with a sigh. "Let us see."

Reluctantly, Hyleth had sat down next to him. It wasn't like she'd meant to not tell her mates about this. Really, she'd been telling the truth when she'd said she would. They'd all simply gotten busy, and Theo had been dealing with his nausea throughout the weak. Madam Pomfrey had confirmed it as nothing more than that, thank Merlin.

But he'd been dealing with the nausea then, too, as he'd taken her hand. A grimace had formed on his face at the phrase I must not tell lies, and his nose had wrinkled at the smell of blood. Luckily, this was the worst the sight and smell had made him feel.

"It's barbaric," Ginny had seethed. "She's barbaric!"

"It's not that bad," Hyleth had deflected.

"You don't get it," Theo had said, letting go of her hand. "Blood Quills...they aren't illegal here, per se, and I don't think she could get in any trouble for using them on students, but everybody knows they shouldn't be used outside of their main purpose for magically-binding contracts. Because you only use them once, and then you're done with the quill. Otherwise, when you use them for extended periods of time like this...you'll get a curse scar. One that won't go away."

Hyleth had looked down at her hand. All of the sudden, she'd felt like she'd been about to be sick. "What? Really?"

"We can try something, see if it'll help. It almost certainly won't at this point," Theo had said bitterly. "You should've told us about this sooner, Alpha."

"I know," she'd said. "I'm sorry."

He hadn't been finished yet. "We're your spouses, your mates. We want and deserve to know about things like this."

"He's right," Ginny had said. "I understand why you might've kept this to yourself, Hy, but we love you. Please, don't shut us out."

"I'll try not to," she'd replied.

Theo had smirked. "For now, that's all we ask. Baby steps, Potter."

Naturally, after they'd found out, they hadn't wasted any time in telling their other friends. Ron had been – and still was – furious, Hermione horrified. The beta girl had stayed in the married wing last night, with a bowl of Murtlap Essence she'd prepared, ready for Hyleth to soak her hand in once she'd gotten back from her detention. It was supposed to both act as a pain-reliever and a mild healing agent; so far, it had only done the former, and it smelled absolutely awful. Hyleth had had to take a shower immediately afterwards in order to get rid of the smell.

With the secret out, she'd additionally had to talk with Luna yet again, worried that she would be worried over how the pictures of their mock wedding would turn out with a bandage on Hyleth's hand, much less the wound on full display. Yet again, however, she'd been assured by Luna that it was fine, with a gleam in her eye which had made Hyleth wonder if she knew something that she didn't.

And this, once more, brought her to the present.

Hyleth had been kicked out of Theo and Ginny's bedroom this morning, Saturday morning, to one of the spare bedrooms in the wing (not the one to become Luna's), so they could help the blonde get ready for the wedding. Fred and George were in the common room, tasked with the specific assignment of making sure Hyleth and Luna didn't see each other.

Sirius hadn't arrived yet, but that was okay, because it was Hermione and Ron this time helping keep her company. Hyleth was already in her bottle green robes, her right hand carefully bandaged; she gave them a crooked grin. "How do I look?"

"Very nice," Hermione said.

"Yeah," said Ron. He scratched the back of his neck. "Look, Hyleth...I'm still upset, but I'm sorry about how I've been acting this week. I've been a right prat."

"You have been," she agreed.

He took the criticism with only a mild wince. "I'm your friend – your brother-in-law now, actually, I guess, and Ginny's my sister. I don't – I don't like how this stuff has turned out, but I should've been supporting you, because really, if there's anybody I should be angry at, it's your mum, not you. You and Ginny were always going to get together. I've known it for a long time."

She raised an eyebrow. He hadn't given her a bad apology; that was not the problem. "Have you apologized to Ginny yet?"

"Well, no..."

"Don't you think you should, since she's your twin sister?"

"Yeah, but – "

"It'll only take a few minutes, and I'll still be here when you get back. Go apologize to her," Hyleth said. "She's been waiting for you to do it. You probably shouldn't make her wait any longer, should you?"

His face flushing, Ron nodded and ducked out of the room.

A few moments later, Hermione stepped forwards. "I think – you have something on your robes," she told her. Sure enough, she did: Hyleth blinked owlishly as Hermione picked up a loose piece of thread from the front of her robes. She didn't know where it had come from; it wasn't like it mattered.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Hermione replied. Except, she wasn't looking at her; when she did lift her eyes, they were watery, and whilst Hyleth couldn't exactly place the emotions in them, they nevertheless took her breath away. Her mouth ran dry; she swallowed roughly. "Listen, Hyleth, I..."

The door, having been shut by Ron, burst open. "Ah, there you are!"

Hermione backed away from her.

"Hello, Hermione," Hyleth's father said to her with a smile; most of his attention, naturally, was reserved for his daughter. "How are you feeling, pup?"

She smiled back at him. "Better than last time."

He laughed. "Yes, I imagine so. By the end of this, you'll be magical Britain's foremost wedding expert besides the wedding planners and the officiants, that's for sure." He patted her on the back. "By the way, I've received responses from both Lord Bones and Lord Shafiq. I was going to write to you about them, but then I figured it'd be better to tell you today, so I'd might as well wait."

"Really?" Hyleth asked. "What did they say?"

"Lord Shafiq and I are having lunch tomorrow, at noon," he said. "Lord Bones wanted to wait until next weekend, so you could come along, too. I wouldn't be surprised if he's arranging for Susan to also be there."

Hyleth processed this. "Honestly, I think...I'd prefer it that way. It'd make sure that we know she knows all the cards on the table."

"That's what I'd thought you say, and I agree," her father said. "You've come a long way in being an Heir Apparent, pup. I know I said it the last time, but I'll say it again, as many times as I want to: I am proud of you."

Ron came back into the room. "Oh. Hey, Sirius," he said. "Uh, Hyleth, Luna's dad has arrived. He was gonna ask Fred and George if you were okay to talk with him for a few minutes, but since I was coming back in here anyways, he asked me."

"Oh." Hyleth clutched at the fabric of her robes, only to release it once she realized what she was doing. A quick look at the clock told her they didn't have nearly as much time before she and Sirius were supposed to be heading over to the chapel as she'd thought. But it wasn't like she was going to say "no" to a meeting with one of her soon-to-be-fathers-in-law. "Yes, that's alright."

Ron went back out, and Hermione followed after him. "We'll see you in the chapel," the beta girl promised.

Xenophilius Lovegood was a tall alpha man, even taller than her own father. He had shoulder-length pale blonde hair, whereas Luna's was a dirty blonde, but he had the same grey eyes on her. Yet on him they were incredibly sharp and piercing, and Hyleth had the distinct impression that he was staring directly into her soul as he walked in.

"Hyleth Potter," he spoke. He was wearing a set of silvery and shimmering robes. Like Ginny's father had, he offered her his hand.

Hyleth shook it. "Lord Lovegood, it's an honor to meet you."

"Ah, you must know that we've already met, not that you would remember it. You were the goddaughter of my wife, Pandora. We always knew that this day would come. I am sure she is looking down on us and smiling, from beyond the Veil of Death." His grey eyes drifted away from her. "Sirius. It is good to see you."

Hyleth's father smiled, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. "It's good to see you too, Xeno. It's been a long time."

"I don't know if Dumbledore told you, but Pandora and I tried to petition the Wizengamot to get you a trial. Alas, my House does not have the reputation that we once did when my great-grandmother was alive. People are more willing to assume that we are mad than to examine their own biases."

Sirius straightened. "No, he didn't tell me that."

"Well, understand that you will always have a friend in me, as you did before," Xenophilius Lovegood responded. The two of them shook hands as well. "I must go; my own daughter needs me. But, Hyleth, some words of advice: the Crumple-Horned Snorkack is an elusive creature, and so too will happiness be if you let it. Happiness must be something you strive for. And as the nifflers have a good nose, so too must you have a good ear to listen to all of your spouses."

"Thank you, sir," Hyleth said.

He bowed his head. "I will see you at the ceremony."

In his absence, she turned to her father. "Well, I can see where Luna gets some of her behavior."

Sirius chuckled. "You should have met his great-grandmother, Selene I. I did only once, but that was enough. And, if my hunch is right, your pretty third spouse may end up being much like her."

Hyleth had been to a muggle church before, for a field trip in primary school to see one that had been built in the medieval period. But while the Hogwarts chapel had some similarities to that church, it was also quite different.

There were no crosses, no Christian iconography whatsoever, although there were pews; the stained glass windows depicted what Hyleth could only assume were ancient deities. One of them, holding a sword in her hands, was a goddess with long, flowing auburn hair and emerald green eyes, wearing a white dress. Hyleth almost paused, looking at her; it was only because of her father's hold on her that she kept on going, walking down the aisle.

The ghost of a laugh resounded in her head, along with, perhaps, the words, You have done well in choosing your mates, my dear.

She did her best to ignore it.

The "officiant" for the ceremony this time was unsurprisingly not Pritchard, since he wanted to protect his identity, but instead Dumbledore. The headmaster smiled at her as she and Sirius stopped in front of him, a merry twinkle in his eye.

Her father took his place in the pews, which were much less than halfway full; the Weasleys, including the parents and Bill, but not Charlie and Percy, were there, along with Hermione, Cedric, Tonks and her parents, McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, Sprout, Sinistra, and the other Gryffindors in their year plus Padma Patil. The last the group had only been told about this going on in the past few days, with the strict stipulation they couldn't tell anyone about it.

Hyleth had been rather concerned at this prospect, afraid they would turn the news into gossip anyways, as was Lavender's and Parvati's wont. But they had kept true to their word to not utter a single peep so far; it was something she was counting her blessings for.

Dobby was also in attendance, standing off to the side; he'd refused to sit in the pews. He was fairly conspicuously crying into a handkerchief, which was at least better than how he'd reacted when he'd first been told the news of what had happened to Hyleth over the summer and his invitation to any and all of her future weddings.

"Dobby is sorry how Mistress Hyleth feels about her mother saving her life, even if he wouldn't have preferred it any other way if it meant her dead!" he'd exclaimed. "But Dobby is happy, so happy to be able to see her married!"

When the doors to the chapel opened, Ginny and Theo walked in first, wearing shimmering bridesmaid and -groom outfits. They held baskets of white rose petals, which they sprinkled around as they walked down the aisle.

Then came Luna and her father. Luna was wearing a white wedding dress with patterned leaves on the bodice, skirt, and sheer sleeves. Like her cousin, she had an opaque wedding veil covering her face, but Hyleth could practically feel her excitement humming in the air. She was holding a bouquet of white roses, lavender, and gypsophila – otherwise known as baby's breath.

For the second time today, Hyleth's breath was stolen.

The ceremony itself was fairly similar to her first one. "Welcome, family, friends, and loved ones of Ms. Hyleth Potter and Ms. Luna Lovegood," Dumbledore began. "We are gathered here today to create and witness a union between these two souls..."

One of the few exceptions occurred after Dumbledore had given his own speech about the sanctity of marriage. "Now, who gives the omega bride away in marriage?" he asked.

Xenophilius Lovegood came forwards. "I, Xenophilius Lovegood, as her father and Lord of the Founding House of Lovegood, do, just as her mother and I have always intended."

Dumbledore nodded, and continued on a little bit further with the speech.

Then, it was time for their vows. They repeated them after Dumbledore this time, since they had a wider audience than Hyleth's first wedding ceremony, only without their wands to prevent it from being prematurely binding:

"I, Hyleth Lily Potter, daughter of James Charlus and Lily Jane Potter and Sirius Orion Black, take Luna Selene Lovegood, as my spouse in the legal and magical bonds, with the understanding that she has designated me to be..."

"My Consort for the Founding House of Lovegood when the time is right. I promise to love, cherish, protect, defend, and honor her, as well as any children that I will bear for her. I promise to support her, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live."

"Then the symbol of this union will now be exchanged, with the understanding that Hyleth's wedding ring is a symbol for all her marriages."

Luna's mating collar was a bit different than Ginny's and Theo's. There were three sapphires, the one in the middle slightly bigger than the others, with pear-shaped diamonds on the silver chain. Hyleth and her father had gotten this collar from a jeweler in Athens, as they'd decided to not go back to the first one to not arouse suspicion. Th rest of her future mates' collars would most likely be acquired in Britain, maybe France. Her father had mentioned it as a possibility.

"With these vows and promises, and the symbolic exchanges for the union, I now pronounce you Ms. Hyleth Potter and Ms. Luna Lovegood," Dumbledore said after she'd clasped the collar to Luna's neck. "Hyleth, you may now kiss your spouse."

Luna was crying outright when Hyleth lifted her veil, but her tears were happy ones. Upon them finishing their kiss, whilst their audience continued to cheer them on, she whispered, "I have been waiting my entire life for this day, Hyleth Potter."

"I know," Hyleth whispered back. "I'm glad I could give it to you."

The festivities afterwards were par for the course: Luna got a dance with her father, Hyleth got a dance with Sirius, and then the newly "married" couple danced together, followed by Ginny and Theo having their turns. There was a proper, though light, wedding meal this time, and cake, courtesy of the Hogwarts house-elves.

"So, what are your plans now, Hyleth?" Lavender asked towards the end. "I mean, you have three spouses, at age fifteen. That has to be setting some sort of record, right?"

"Not exactly," Theo interjected.

Hyleth exchanged look with her three current spouses, as well as Cedric and Tonks, albeit much more shortly with them. Tonks winked, while Cedric tentatively smiled, his cheeks tinging pink.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll see," she said.

She, Luna, Theo, and Ginny made their way back to the married wing after the party was over. "Take care of my cousin, Potter," Theo teased. Per Luna's request, she wanted it to be just the two of them when they bonded.

"I will."

She carried Luna through the doorway to her room, as she had before. Placing her down on the bed, she saw that there was a bottle of wine and two glasses on the nightstand to her right. Something else courtesy of the house-elves, she'd bet. "Do you want some?"

"Yes, please," Luna said.

Hyleth opened the bottle and poured them each a glass. Luna took a sip first, before, to Hyleth's surprise, she downed the remainder in one go. She poured herself another glass. "Can I ask you a favor, Alpha?"

"Of course."

"Can I be the one on top...for most of it? I understand...when the time comes..."

She sounded nervous, more nervous than Theo had been. Hyleth didn't like it. "Whatever you feel comfortable with, Omega," Hyleth told her, brushing her lips up against the other girl's.

Luna shuddered.

They each took off their own clothes. Luna surveyed her, gently taking her in her hand.

She proceeded to do something that Hyleth hadn't expected.

"Luna!" Hyleth gasped.

Luna hummed around her in response.

She went on long enough for Hyleth's knot to just begin to swell, before she sat up and began to lower herself. She cried out when Hyleth had just entered her, and Hyleth was afraid for a brief moment. "What can I do?"

Luna wordlessly shook her head. She allowed herself to fall the rest of the way, and stayed like that for several minutes. Hyleth traced circles on her thighs, her lower back, anywhere that she could reach, until Luna nodded and lifted herself up, then lowered again.

"I...oh, I like this very much," she said.

Hyleth laughed. "I'm glad."

She slipped them when she knew it was time. Luna gave out a squeal of surprise; it quickly turned into a gasp a Hyleth bit down on her mating gland. The taste of blood was one she was going to become intimately familiar with by the time this all was over, she knew, if she wasn't already.

The bond formed once Luna returned the gesture. In the aftermath, as they were basking in each other's presence, there was a knock at the door.

"Come – come in," Hyleth panted, reaching for a blanket and draping it over them.

Theo and Ginny sat down on the edge of the bed. "How does it feel?" he asked his cousin with another smirk.

"Wonderful," she sighed, stretching languidly. "It's everything I've ever dreamed of – besides the baby, of course."

"'Baby?'" Hyleth repeated, mildly amused. "So you knew even before we told you that you'd become pregnant quickly, then?"

"Oh, yes," she yawned. "The Blibbering Humdingers knew it. She will be named after me, as is the tradition in my family, but...we'll call her Selene. She will be a theta, as my great-great-grandmother was. And she will make you more than proud, as all your children will."

Luna fell asleep as soon as she finished speaking, her breathing evening out and her eyes slipping shut. As a result, she did not notice how Hyleth and Ginny paused, nor how Theo's mouth dropped open.

Word Count: 4,057