Chapter Text
“Remember that you are not a pawn in someone else’s game. You are not the beaten and broken boy that he wanted you to be. You are not ignorant of the world you are about to enter like he wanted you to be. You are Lily Evan’s son. You are my brave little fox,” Aunt Petunia insisted.
Harry nodded his head in understanding as he watched his aunt rearrange the things in his trunk for the fifth time. She finally stopped fretting over his trunk and turned toward him with a frown. She gently touched the bruises on his face.
“At least being at Hogwarts means that you will be far away from Him for most of the year,” She said quietly. “Don’t forget your glamour.”
Harry nodded again before he effortlessly hid the bruises and then leaned farther into his aunt and let her hold him tight. She was the only person in the home he grew up in that didn’t hate him or treat him like dirt. The only person in the world who loved him, who knew who he really was.
His Aunt Petunia had always loved him. She was the only mother he had ever known. Not that anyone in the world would ever know that. Harry had learned at a very young age what a secret was and how to keep it.
Harry had been left on the Dursley's door step in the middle of the night the night that his parents had been murdered by a dark wizard. They had taken him in, happily on Petunia's part and reluctantly on Vernon’s.
Dumbledore had come a week later.
Harry had not been told the full details of the conversation only that the old man had broken the Wixen most important law and revealed magic and that Harry was a Wizard to Vernon who had become wary and fearful. Then he had very frankly told them that he only needed them to keep Harry alive long enough for him to join the wixen world and die to save it. Then he dropped a very large stack of money on the table and told them it was a monthly payment for the way he wanted Harry raised.
Abused. Starved. Neglected. Beaten down.
Vernon had locked onto that stack of money with the greed of a man who had never seen so much at one time and had been happy to do whatever the old man wanted them to do to Harry as long as he kept receiving it. He didn’t like the idea of the little freak in his house, but he would happily beat the hell of it to get that amount of money once a month.
Petunia had not. She had simply told the old man to take his money and get out. That she was a mother and even if she wasn’t, that Harry was her nephew and she would never be ok with abusing him for money or raising him so that he could die before he could ever become an adult.
That was when things got really complicated. Dumbledore had attempted to cast a spell over her that would make her compliant. But it didn’t work. Not that Dumbledore or Vernon knew that. Petunia played her part perfectly. A part she had been preparing to play for a year.
Lily had become suspicious of Dumbledore and his motives long before her death and had gone to Petunia. The two had stopped hating each other years before that. Lily had gone to her for help when she started suspecting something was wrong with Dumbledore. She wanted Petunia on standby to take Harry and hide him if something happened to her and James.
Because of this, the sisters had made plans. Plans that included the simple pretty little bracelet on Petunia’s wrist that prevented her from being spelled or potioned into compliance.
So, she sat in silence as Dumbledore explained what he wanted from them in more detail and then let them know that he had placed wards around the home that would prevent anyone from detecting magic within the home so that the ministry couldn’t find Harry when he inevitably had bouts of accidental magic. The wards would also make the home impossible for anyone with magic in their blood to find.
And then Dumbledore turned to Vernon and told him to keep an eye on Petunia. That if it started looking like his compulsions were wearing off or she was showing the boy any sort of positive attention, he was to alert Dumbledore immediately so that he could come and take care of it.
Petunia hadn’t liked the look in his eyes when he had said it. And she knew from her sister’s death and the things leading up to it, that the man wasn’t above murder to get what he wanted. She would have to tread carefully. But tread she would. She wouldn’t allow Dumbledore to use or harm her nephew the way he had her little sister.
And so, Petunia had raised Harry in private. She would tend to every scrape, bruise, or wound Harry received from Vernon and Dudley. She would feed him and care for him when no one was home to witness it. The list of chores that Vernon insisted on, was done by Petunia.
And most importantly, Harry knew exactly who he truly was and what he truly was. Harry knew about magic and how his parents had truly died. He knew about Dumbledore and the sort of person the man truly was. Petunia taught Harry everything that she could about the magical world. Lily had made sure that she had everything that she needed in order to raise him right just in case the worst happened. Petunia had taught him to fight. To be strong.
Harry was brought out of his thoughts when Petunia gently tapped his nose.
“You are lost in thought,” Aunt Petunia said with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to miss you,” Harry said quietly.
“I’m going to miss you too, my little fox,” Petunia said with smile. “But that isn’t all is it?”
“I am afraid to leave you alone in this house with them,” Harry whispered. Petunia tutted at him and pulled him into her arms again.
“I am going to leave as soon as I know you are safe and never going to return to this place,” Petunia insisted. “You know that we have plans for our plans. Once you are safe, I will be too.”
“But what if I can’t find him?” Harry asked her in a small, scared voice.
“You will find him, Darling,” Petunia insisted.
“What if he won’t help me. You said he hated my father,” Harry countered.
“He will help,” Petunia insisted again. “Severus loved your mother. Loved her from the moment he first met her when they were eight. He loved her until the day she was taken from us. Just give him the package I prepared for you. It will tell him everything he needs to know and he will protect you.”
“I hope you’re right,” Harry said and finally pulled back from Petunia when they heard the sound of a loud bike pulling up in front of the house.
“It’s time for you to go, Darling,” Petunia told him and then she pulled her bracelet off her wrist.
“What are you doing?” Harry asked her in confusion. She never took the bracelet off. It was a gift from his mother that had always protected her.
“You are going into the Den of the Lion so to speak. You will need this more than I will and your mother would want you to have this,” Petunia told him as she clasped it around his ankle where it would be hidden.
“You are the only mother I have ever known. If I take this with me, you won’t have anything left here to keep you safe,” Harry stated tearfully.
“It is my job to take care of you and worry over you, Darling. Not the other way around. I will be perfectly fine,” Petunia said and stood up just as there was a loud banging knock on the door.
“I love you,” She whispered and kissed his head again before she straightened her clothes and schooled her face into a scowl and pulled open the door.
“Take him and go before the neighbors see you,” Petunia said with a sneer. “And make sure that Headmaster of yours knows that we don’t want him back here during the school breaks. Keep him there. He is your problem until the school year ends. We don’t want him back here a moment sooner than he absolutely has to be.”
Hagrid just ignored her and smiled brightly at Harry before grabbing his trunk and heading back toward the bike. Harry looked up at his aunt longingly one more time before she smiled at him and shooed him toward the bike. Harry nodded and then turned and joined Hagrid on the massive bike and left Privet Drive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“SLYTHERIN!”
Harry nodded and then waited until the hat was removed from his head before turning and heading toward the table with students all dressed in green. The hall sat in stunned silence right up until the moment he sat down next to a very shocked blonde and smiled at him.
Then chaos erupted around the room.
Shouts of disbelief and anger could be heard along with cries for a re-sort. Harry ignored them all. His aunt Petunia had not raised him to keep his head down and play along. His mother had not wanted that for him. And so, he sat there with his head held high as Dumbledore demanded silence and then asked Harry to return to the stool. That he wanted to make sure there was nothing nefarious a foot.
“No thank you, Headmaster,” Harry responded simply but firmly.
“Excuse me?” Dumbledore said calmly.
“I said no thank you,” Harry repeated a little louder. “Unless you plan on re-sorting the entirety of the first years that have already been sorted? Why is it only a concern now that it may have been tampered with? Is there something wrong with Slytherin? A few others were sorted Slytherin before I was, why didn’t you call foul play then?”
“Of course there isn’t,” Dumbledore answered quickly. “It is only very shocking that you would sort there.”
“Why?” Harry asked him with a curious tilt to his head.
“A Potter has never sorted anything other than Gryffindor,” Dumbledore answered.
“How silly,” Harry responded with a pointed look. And he could hear whispers erupt around the room. “Are you trying to tell me that no child has ever sorted into a different house than their parents? What is the purpose of the Sorting Ceremony then? Why not simply put children in the house their parents were in before them?”
“Be that as it may,” Dumbledore dismissed him. “I am the headmaster here and I have the right to re-sort any student that I feel requires it.”
“Is that an official school rule?” Harry asked him.
“Excuse me?” Dumbledore responded. What was going on? Why was this boy challenging him at every turn?
“I asked if it was an official school rule,” Harry answered him slower and louder as if he were a stupid old man who couldn’t hear him. “If it is, then so be it, but before I agree to it, I will read it for myself.”
“Now see here,” Dumbledore started and began to make his way toward Harry. He was stopped by a hand on his arm.
“I think perhaps now is not the time,” Professor McGonagal stated firmly. “Nor the place. If you truly believe there was a tampering, test the hat so that we can move on and sort the rest of the first years.”
Dumbledore turned toward Harry and the eleven year old could see the rage burning in his once twinkling eyes. Then he blinked and it was gone and he was smiling at the others in the room as if nothing had happened.
“You are right of course,” Dumbledore said and turned toward the hat. He cast the spell and then chuckled. “It seems as if we were all a little hasty because of our shock. There has been no tampering. The Sorting Hat is perfectly fine. Please continue with the rest of the Ceremony.”
Harry relaxed only a little. He knew it wasn’t over. The Headmaster would try again to re-sort him. He could tell by the rage still simmering in the old man’s eyes whenever he would glance Harry’s way. But Harry was ready. Aunt Petunia made sure he was when she had taken him to Diagon to get his school supplies. The Goblins were lovely beings.
“That was brilliant,” the blond next to him whispered once the feast had started.
“It definitely was,” The dark skinned boy across from them agreed.
“I’m Draco Malfoy,” the blonde continued as if the other boy hadn’t spoken. Then he held out his hand. Harry didn’t hesitate before accepting the handshake.
“Harry Potter,” Harry responded with a smile.
“We are going to be the very best of friends,” Draco said eagerly.
And honestly there had been no truer words spoken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry sat on the couch in his professor’s private quarters and watched as the man paced. He was lost deep in thought and Harry remained silent as he worked through his thoughts.
Harry had been over-joyed to realize that Severus Snape was not going to a hard man to find. Was in-fact his head of house and Harry had every right to be seen around him. It made it very easy a week into the school year for Harry to leave the box Aunt Petunia had put together for the man, on his desk after class one day. The sooner things were put in motion, the better.
That had been a week ago.
This morning he had found a note in his dorm room with a time, location, and password. Severus was ready to speak with him.
“We are going to the Goblins,” Severus stated finally after what felt like hours.
“Yes, Sir,” Harry responded and stood when the man turned toward his fire place and indicated for him to follow.
“Have you travelled by floo before?” Severus asked him.
“No sir,” Harry answered respectfully. “I read about it in my mother’s journal, but I have never experienced it in real life before.”
“It will be disorienting and you will likely fall or end up in the wrong place if you did it on your own, so you will travel with me. That means I am going to have to touch you. Are you going to be ok with that?” Severus asked him carefully.
Oh, apparently Aunt Petunia had warned Severus that Harry had a thing about being touched by men. No matter how much she had patched him up after a beating, it still left scars. And not just the physical kind. Harry was very wary of men or anyone larger than him really. No one but his Aunt had ever touched him kindly.
“Yes sir,” Harry answered after a moment.
“Then come here, Child. Step into the fire place next to me. It might help if you simply closed your eyes until I tell you to open them again,” Severus offered.
“Thank you, Sir,” Harry responded and then stepped next to Severus.
The boy suppressed his flinch when an arm was placed around his shoulders and pulled him just a little closer. However, he couldn’t help how tense he was no matter how hard he tried. And he couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes even if it would be easier.
Severus simply called out their destination and password before tossing down a handful of powder. Harry didn’t manage to suppress his flinch this time when green flames rose up and engulfed them.
He should have closed his eyes.
He was so disoriented when they finally stopped moving that he had to push away from Severus before he vomited on the floor next to the fireplace they stepped out of. When he was done, the mess disappeared and a glass of water was held out for him by a silent Severus who was careful not to touch him again.
“Better?” Severus asked after he vanished the empty glass that Harry handed him.
“Yes sir, sorry,” Harry answered quickly.
“The first few times are always disorienting,” Severus responded simply before turning toward the Goblin that had just entered the room.
“Hello Ward, welcome back. What can we help you with today?” the goblin asked gruffly.
“I am here to adopt Harrison James Potter and to file charges against Albus Dumbledore,” Severus stated calmly.
And with that one sentence Severus Snape changed everything for the magical world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours later, Harry was sitting quietly next to Severus while Aunt Petunia carded her fingers gently through his hair and held him to her. It was the first time she had ever been affectionate with him in front of anyone and he was very much enjoying it.
She had been summoned to the bank thirty minutes after Harry and Severus had sat down in an office and done an inheritance test to prove they were who they said they were. A ministry official had been summoned at the same time. Severus was leaving nothing to chance. He wanted every bit of evidence that they could gather right from the start before Albus had the chance to start attempting to erase what he had done.
The goblins, too, wanted nothing left to chance. They had already been given most of this information before the school year started. Petunia had taken Harry straight to the bank when she had brought him shopping for his school supplies. Lily had given her information on a few goblin laws that would make it very easy for them to take Harry as a Ward of the Golbin Nation due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of Vernon and the neglect from Albus as his Magical Guardian.
The Goblins were known for their fierce protection of children.
“I think we have everything we need now,” Amelia Bones said with a sigh and leaned back in her chair. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“We are,” Severus stated firmly. “He has grown too bloated with his own self importance and believes himself above the law. Believes that he is untouchable because of the positions he holds. And now he has finally gone too far. He used underhanded tactics to get the Potter’s wills sealed so that he could illegally become his magical guardian. Then he used the boys own money to pay someone to abuse him. There is evidence that he set the Potters up to die so that he could gain control over the boy. Enough is enough.”
“I agree,” Amelia stated quickly. “Anyone else would be thrown in Azkaban after a very quick trial for doing even one of these many things. But we are talking about The Albus Dumbledore, Defeater of Grindelwald, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. He is a pillar of the magical world and this is going to cause a divide amongst Wixen everywhere.”
“And do you not think it worth it?” Petunia snapped out. She tightened her arms around Harry as if to protect him from this too. “Is my nephew’s life not worth the trouble? Is that it? He is just one silly boy in comparison to the great Albus Dumbledore?”
“Of course he’s worth it,” Amelia insisted. “I only wanted to make sure that you all understood exactly what was about to happen. That because of who he is and the power he holds, he may not be punished at all. He has convinced the world that the Dark Lord will return, and they will fear locking him away because of it. Do you understand? We can do everything right, prove his guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt and he still may never see the inside of a court room, much less a cell. Fear is a powerful thing.”
Harry couldn’t help the feeling of dread that washed over him at those words. He looked up at his aunt’s fierce determination and knew that they were going to do this anyways. He looked up at Severus’ face and knew that Madame Bones’ words were likely to be proven right.
“We understand the possible outcomes,” Severus answered simply.
“But we are still going to do this,” Petunia added.
“Very well, then let’s get started,” Amelia agreed and waved her hand toward Griphook. “We will start with his adoption as per Lily Potter’s wishes.”
Apparently, Albus’ magical guardianship, even if it was court appointed, was illegal and null in void because his mother had made a second will that the man hadn’t known about. She had done it in private with Griphook as a witness and then sealed it before giving it to Petunia for safe keeping to be used when the time was right. In it, she had given Petunia and Severus custody of Harry in the event of her death.
Petunia had declined adopting him at this time because she was still married to Vernon and didn’t want the man to have any chance of getting his grubby fingers anywhere near Harry in the event that something happened to her when Albus found out about everything. So, Harry legally became Harrison James Potter-Snape. Severus was now his father legally and Albus had no control of his life in any way.
Harry never had to return to Privet Drive. Never had to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs again. Never had to go hungry until his aunt could safely sneak him food. Never had to be beaten again.
Not only that, but official charges had been filed against Albus, and he would be served with his papers later that evening or tomorrow morning once they had been pushed through the proper channels.
When it was time to go, Petunia pulled him to the side of the room and hugged him to her tightly. Then she kissed him on the head before fussing with his wild curls.
“I am so proud of you, little fox,” Petunia said with a smile. “You worked much faster than I thought you would be able to. You did very good and now you are free.”
“But what about you?” Harry asked her. “You still aren’t free.”
“Not yet, but I will be. I was waiting to file for my divorce until you were safe and now you are. I am going to try and get Dudley away from Vernon, but he idolizes his father above all others and Vernon has sunk his claws into him so deeply that I don’t know if I can save him. But I have to try. He is my son and I want him to live a better life than he will if he stays with Vernon,” Petunia explained.
“Please be careful Aunt Petunia. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you,” Harry insisted. “What about the summer? Where will I go? Who will take care of me?”
“You will go with Severus. He is going to take care of you,” Petunia stated calmly. “But you must remember that he is not Vernon. You are allowed to ask for things you need, you will never go hungry again or suffer from the abuse and neglect that Vernon and Albus caused.”
“Will I see you again? I don’t want to be somewhere that you aren’t,” Harry countered.
“Being with me doesn’t mean that you can’t be with her,” Severus spoke up. He had been listening to the conversation because Petunia had made sure they stayed close enough to him that he could.
“You will let her stay with us?” Harry asked carefully.
“I will. She is important to you and that is important to me,” Severus answered simply. “Now we must get back to the school.”
“Be good, Little Fox,” Petunia told him and then kissed his head before nodding to Severus. “Take care of him. Lily trusted you to keep him safe. I am trusting you to keep him safe. Don’t let him down.”
“I will not,” Severus promised and then stepped up to stand with Harry as they watched Petunia leave the bank. “Are you ready, Harrison?”
“Yes Sir,” Harry answered and then let the man lead him back to the floo room. He barely flinched when the man once again wrapped his arm around him and they flooed back to his quarters at the school.
“What happens now?” Harry asked Severus.
“Now you return to your dorm and act as if nothing has changed so that we do not alert Albus to what has happened before they arrive to serve him with his papers. Tomorrow you come to me for a medical scan so that I can see just how malnourished you are and if you need any potions for your health. Petunia was right, I am going to take care of you Harrison,” Severus informed him.
“Yes sir,” Harry said quickly.
“I know it is going to be hard to trust me after everything that you have been through,” Severus countered. “But I need you to give me the chance to prove to you that I mean what I say. Can you do that?”
“Yes sir,” Harry agreed with a nod. “I will try.”
“Good boy, Harrison. Now return to your dorm,” Severus stated.
“Good night, Sir,” Harry said quickly and then darted from the room.
Severus sighed heavily and then dropped down into his favorite chair. This was going to take some getting used to. He was going to have to prove to the boy that he would take care of him and that he was someone that Harry could trust to protect him.
Severus wasn’t a soft man. He had never seen himself as a father. Never even allowed himself to contemplate it after he realized that he and Lily would never be together. But he was going to have to change his mindset. His life was forever changed from what it had been. He had another person dependent upon him to take care of him. But no matter how daunting it looked. He would not fail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Where were you today?” Draco asked as Harry entered the dorm the two of them shared.
“I had some business to take care of at Gringotts,” Harry told him. Draco nodded and then indicated the chess board in their room.
“Want to play?” Draco asked. “I’ve been horribly bored without you here today. Theordore spent the entire day in the library and Blaise followed Pansy around like a love sick puppy.”
“I have work to finish before class tomorrow,” Harry stated as he sat down at his desk to start pulling out his work. Draco pouted and sat down on Harry’s desk so that he couldn’t ignore him.
“Please,” Draco begged and flutter his pretty blue eyes at Harry pleadingly. Harry laughed before he relaxed all of his tense muscles and stood up. He flicked Draco on the nose before turning to the chess table.
“One game,” Harry gave in.
“Right,” Draco agreed happily and skipped over to the chess board.
They ended up playing five and Harry had to stay up late to finish his school work. He was going to have to learn how to tell Draco no when he started fluttering those pretty eyes at him.
~~~~~ 6 Years Later ~~~~~~~
Harry laughed when he realized that some things never changed.
Draco had once again fluttered his pretty blue eyes at Harry and gotten exactly what he wanted. Though that was pretty much the only thing that hadn’t changed in the last six years. Draco pretty much ran out of their sitting room. Draco wanted an indoor pool. He wanted to throw a party. Severus was going to hate it.
Harry relaxed into the couch and let his mind drift over the many things that had happened over the last six years.
First year had been pretty uneventful after Albus Dumbledore had been removed from the school because of the charges Severus and Petunia levelled against him. Things were calm after that and Harry learned so many new things about the magical world and what it meant to be a Wixen.
He and Draco had gotten really close and had become inseparable before the second term started. Severus was determined and efficient as he began to prove to Harry that he was someone that the boy could depend on and turn to. He could not have asked for a better introduction to the Wixen world.
Which pretty much ensured that everyone was shocked to their cores when it was announced at the end of the year that a student had died. Apparently, three students had found out about a Cerberus being in the school and decided to investigate why when one of them received an anonymous letter about it guarding something that needed to be protected.
Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom had learned to get around the Cerberus and into a secret area that was guarded by tests the other teachers had put into place. When they got to the final chamber Professor Quirrell had been there with the Dark Lord on the back of his head like a parasite.
Ronald Weasley had died when Quirrell killed him to take the Resurrection Stone. Granger and Longbottom had barely escaped with their lives when Dumbledore had showed up to save them. Quirrell still got away with the stone, but Dumbledore was praised as a hero once again.
After that, it had been easy for him to convince the world that he was the only one that could keep them safe. That a boy had died because they had removed him from the school. He convinced them all that now that the Dark Lord had succeeded in stealing the stone it was only a matter of time before he would be able to return.
Because of this, he had been given his job back as Headmaster with the stipulation that he was to stay far away from Harry Potter.
Which he assured the world he was ok with because he had been mistaken when he assumed the child of prophecy was Harry Potter. He spun a wild tail about the night Voldemort had died and convinced the world that Neville Longbottom was actually The Boy Who Lived.
Harry didn’t care about any of it as long as they all left him alone. He went home at the end of the year with Severus. To a home that Lily had purchased in Harry’s name and warded to the very foundation with the best protections and then never told anyone about until she wrote it in the letter she had given to Severus. It had been awkward at first learning to move around each other and co-exist. It unfortunately only got easier for them when Severus had to comfort Harry through the loss of Aunt Petunia.
Dumbledore had gotten to her by way of Vernon.
He destroyed the entire Dursley family. The papers said Vernon suddenly lost his mind after getting fired from work. That it had just been the straw that broke the camel’s back. The papers talked about how Petunia had filed for a divorce and was fighting for custody of their only son. They called it tragic and then went on to describe how a neighbor had called the cops after hearing the chaos in their home. That when the cops arrived Petunia was already dead and Dudley was very close.
Harry knew it was Dumbledore.
He had seen it in the old man’s eyes at the beginning of the next school year when the man had looked at him as if he were the cat that ate the canary.
Second year had been uneventful. Apart from tension rising because of the rumors of the Dark Lord returning. Well and Ginerva Weasley attempting to follow him around like a lost puppy for the entire year.
Remus and Sirius came into his life during third year.
That had been disastrous. Well for them at least. They had attempted to get Harry to see reason about the war and what a good person Dumbledore was. Harry had been very clear that he wanted nothing to do with either of them as long as they still thought Albus Dumbledore shot rainbows out of his ass.
Things began to get more and more chaotic as fourth year rolled around and another student died. Cedric Diggory was the second casualty of Dumbledore and Voldemort’s war. He had died at the end of the Triwizard Tournament when Voldemort himself appeared before all of them holding the boy’s lifeless body. That had also been when Voldemort informed the world that he didn’t believe Albus’ lies about Longbottom being the Boy Who Lived. That he knew it was Harry and that he was still coming for him.
That had been the last day that Harry had attended school. Severus had insisted that it wasn’t safe for him there anymore and that he would be home schooled from that moment forward. Harry was fine with it, but he missed Draco.
Though he didn’t have to miss him for long. Because two months into fifth year, Severus arrived with Draco and a trunk full of his belongings. His mother no longer thought he was safe from being forced to take the dark mark and begged Severus to keep him safe.
That was also the year that Harry realized he was hopelessly and completely in love with the snarky blonde. It was an awkward and glorious day when he realized that his feelings were not one sided.
Sixth year brought a lot of changes for all of them.
Draco inherited as a Veela on his sixteenth birthday. But he wasn’t just a Veela, he was an Omega. A month later, Harry surprised them all when he too went through an unexpected creature inheritance. Harry was a two tailed Kitsune. A very rare, Prime Omegan Kitsune. It had caused him to wonder about the fact that his aunt had always called him, her little fox. What had she known about him that she had never gotten the chance to share?
That year was also the year they learned Harry was a Horcrux. Thanks to an anonymous letter that was definitely from Dumbledore. It conveniently arrived after Neville Longbottom had been publicly and gruesomely murdered by Voldemort.
It had taken quite a bit of research on all of their parts, but they had found a ritual that would remove the Horcrux from his head and place it in another container. Then Severus took it and began working with the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries to use it to locate the others and destroy them.
Harry was abruptly brought out of his thoughts when Draco dropped into his lap suddenly.
“Oomph,” Harry said and wrapped his arms quickly around Draco before the blonde managed to fall out of his lap.
“I called your name four times,” Draco said with a pout. “Why are you ignoring me?”
“I wasn’t ignoring you,” Harry said with a laugh. Draco was such a princess sometimes. “I was lost in thought.”
“About what?” Draco asked him as he nuzzled at his neck.
He kissed the mating mark that sat there. Harry never covered it. The one time he had, Draco had pouted for days and accused him of being ashamed of him. He had had to grovel for a week before Draco forgave him and made him swear to never cover it again.
“The past and what led us to this point,” Harry answered honestly as he rubbed one hand up and down Draco’s spine and the other gripped the Veela’s thigh.
“You were scowling,” Draco pointed out as he nipped Harry’s jaw. “Were they unpleasant thoughts?”
“Some of them were,” Harry admitted a little breathlessly as Draco moved to straddle his lap. “I thought you were sending off a letter to the goblins about construction for the pool. Did you send one to Charlie Weasley like I asked you to?”
“I already did that,” Draco responded and then mewled just a little when Harry pulled them closer and nipped at his collar bone. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yes,” Harry agreed. “We already talked about this Drake. Your heats are getting worse because I am not an Alpha. I can’t help you the way I could before anymore because your heats are starting to trigger mine. You need an Alpha that we can trust to start helping you through your heat periods.”
“And what about yours?” Draco asked him breathlessly as he ground himself into Harry rubbing their erections together.
“I think I will be ok for a little while longer,” Harry insisted. “Besides, I would need a Prime Alpha to be fully and completely satisfied during my heat, and I don’t know if you have realized this or not but that is even more rare than a Prime Omega.”
“We will find one,” Draco swore. “Now please stop talking and take my clothes off.”
“I would rather he didn’t.”
Both teens jumped at the sound of that deep disapproving voice. They turned to see Severus standing in the doorway frowning at them. Harry chuckled and Draco pouted so prettily that Harry pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“Remove yourself from my son’s lap please and do try to remember that the two of you do not live in this home alone,” Severus grumbled.
“I thought you were going to be running errands all day,” Draco pointed out as he reluctantly got up and moved to sit next to Harry instead.
“I finished them early,” Severus countered and sat down in his favorite chair. “Now what did I hear about an Alpha? Have the two of you finally decided to start courting one? I thought you were perfectly happy with just the two of you still.”
“We are perfectly happy with just the two of us still,” Draco insisted and linked his fingers with Harry’s.
“But his heats are becoming harder for the two of us to navigate together without an Alpha,” Harry added with a slight blush.
This wasn’t really a conversation that he was comfortable having with his dad. They were essentially telling the man that they were going to have a man come over once every couple of months to screw Draco’s brains out during his heat.
“So, you are going to bond an Alpha out of need and not want?” Severus asked with a frown.
“No, we don’t want to bond an Alpha,” Draco stated.
Severus took a moment to understand what they were telling him. Then he looked at the two of them with a frown.
“I don’t like this,” Severus stated firmly. “This can only lead to hurt feelings among other issues. What happens in the event of an accidental claiming? Or if Draco happens to fall for the Alpha you have invited into his bed. Especially one that you have no intention of bedding yourself.”
“There are ways to prevent an accidental claiming. Unclaimed Alphas help Omegas through their heats all of the time. There is an entire branch of the ministry dedicated to this exact thing. This is normal,” Harry insisted. “Draco needs this. I can’t help him through his heats anymore. And I don’t want him to suffer.”
“And do you plan to use the same Alpha for all of his heats?” Severus asked them.
“Yes, that’s why we are aren’t going through the ministry to set it up,” Harry answered honestly.
“There is a reason they don’t allow you to use the same Alpha for multiple heats,” Severus pointed out. “Do you both understand that? Your Omega will begin to form an attachment to an Alpha that repeatedly helps you through your heats. If you are not looking to bond an Alpha then this is not the way to go.”
“He doesn’t want strangers in his bed,” Harry said quietly. “I…I don’t want strangers in his bed.”
“And you Draco? How do you feel about all of this?” Severus insisted. “You have been very silent letting Harry fight this battle for you.”
Draco looked over at Harry and squeezed his hand before turning back to Severus with a serious look. He knew this was something that Harry wouldn’t agree with.
“I don’t want an Alpha to help me through my heats at all,” Draco answered honestly. “I’m ok with suffering through them for a few days every couple of months until we are both ready to start courting an Alpha properly.”
“Harrison?” Severus said and looked at his son pointedly. “Do you hear what your mate is saying to you? He doesn’t want this. Not like this. Why are you pushing for this? Be honest.”
“Dad,” Harry started with a frown and looked away.
“The truth Harrison,” Severus said firmly.
“Draco is ready to start looking for an Alpha,” Harry said with a sigh. Draco looked like he was going to say something, but Severus held up his hand and the blonde fell silent.
“And you are not,” Severus deduced. Harry shook his no and then stopped and shrugged.
“I…I want Draco to be happy. Draco likes Charlie and has made the comment multiple times that he is a good Alpha and that any Omega would be lucky to have him,” Harry stated instead of answering the question.
“And you don’t agree,” Severus asked him. “You don’t think Weasley is a good Alpha?”
“Of course he is a good Alpha,” Harry defended. “I have yet to meet one that is better. Why do you think I picked him to be the one to help Draco.”
“Pretty defensive for someone who doesn’t want an Alpha,” Severus pointed out. Harry frowned at Severus and glanced toward Draco.
“Draco wants an Alpha and I want Draco to be happy. I would rip out my own beating heart if it would make him happy,” Harry insisted. “If they fall in love and decide to bond, I would let them.”
“Harry!” Draco protested. “I won’t do this! I will not let him help me through my heats. I let you convince me to do this because I could see how much it bothered you that I suffered through my heats. But now that I know why you are really doing it I wont do this.”
“Draco,” Harry whined. “You aren’t happy anymore with just me. You need an Alpha.”
“I need you!” Draco snapped back at him. “I am happy with you. I have been in love with you since we were thirteen. You don’t get to decide what I need or how I feel. You are being stupid!”
“Draco, calm down,” Severus said firmly but calmly. Draco huffed and then sat back against the couch with his arms folded across his chest. “Harrison don’t think I haven’t noticed that you have yet to actually admit that you don’t want an Alpha. You have deflected both times I have asked. You are still not being completely honest.”
“I..” Harry started and then stopped. He looked down at his lap and then up at Severus with a pleading look. “I’m afraid.” He finally whispered.
“Oh Harrison,” Severus said with so much love that Harry was undone. Tears began to track down his cheeks and Draco whined in distress before wrapping himself around Harry. “You have not been honest with us about what happened when you were taken.”
Harry shook his head no. Draco whined again and pressed himself closer to Harry. It was like he was trying to crawl under his skin. Harry locked eye with Severus and the man did the one thing he had promised he would never do. He slipped into his son’s mind.
Severus came out of Harry’s mind and his heart shattered.
Death Eaters had taken Harry a few months ago after Voldemort’s death. They had wanted revenge for the death of their Lord. Harry had been with them for a week before he was found and he had never told them what had happened to him there apart from the torture that he had obviously endured.
But it had been so much worse than that.
There had been two Alphas amongst the Death Eaters. They had scented him the moment his scent suppressors wore off. They had violated him over and over again before Harry had finally been rescued. Harry didn’t want an Alpha because he was afraid of them.
Severus stood from his chair and pulled both Omegas into his arms and held them. Harry cried pressed between his father and his mate. He cried until he was exhausted and then Severus lifted him into his arms and carried him up to his room with Draco following close behind.
Draco wrapped himself around Harry the moment Severus was gone.
“I like Charlie too, Draco,” Harry admitted quietly. “I’m ready to start looking for an Alpha too. But I’m so scared.”
“How about we throw my heat out of the equation?” Draco said after a few moments. “We can let Charlie know we are interested in getting to know him better. Go on a few dates, be around him more. Leave sex out of it completely, don’t even bring it up with him. And then we can go from there. No pressure. Just getting to know him.”
“Yeah,” Harry agreed quietly. “I…I think that would be ok.”
“We don’t move forward until we are both ready. We do this together or we aren’t doing it at all,” Draco insisted.
“Alright,” Harry agreed with a smile and snuggled closer to Draco. “Together.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie watched the two Omegas with so much fondness as they played in the lake that he had brought them to for a picnic. Not alone of course, it wasn’t a date after all. Charlie wasn’t interested in taking a mate, not an Omegan one at least. Much less two and they were a package deal.
“You are staring again,” Fred said with a chuckle.
“Of course he is, Fred,” George added. “He’s in love.”
“I’m not,” Charlie said with a roll of his eyes.
“Oh?” the twins said together with identical smirks.
“Then you won’t mind if we ask them out?” George asked him.
“On a real date, not one of these group things,” Fred added.
“They are already mated to each other,” Charlie pointed out. “You couldn’t split them up to date them.”
“Bold of you to assume we wanted to split them up,” Fred countered.
“It isn’t uncommon for twins Alphas to share an Omega or two between them,” George added.
“And we do love to share,” the stated together.
Charlie growled menacingly. His Dracken displeased with the thought of Harry and Draco belonging to the twins. Then he stopped and frowned. Why was he even upset? Didn’t he just say that he wasn’t interested? He enjoyed being single….didn’t he?
He watched unhappily as Fred and George jumped up and headed into the water with Harry and Draco. The twins began to flirt and splash the two Omegas who were happy to join in and give as good as they got. Charlie grew more and more unhappy the longer he watched them.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Think we did enough to make him pull his head out of his ass?” Fred asked his twin as they watched Charlie who was once again watching Harry and Draco as they all played volleyball with Fleur, Bill, and few others that had joined them at the lake.
“Yeah, he hasn’t taken his eyes off of them since we threatened to date them,” George answered.
To be honest he hadn’t been more than five feet away from Harry and Draco since the four of them had come out of the water. Fred and George continued to watch the game before it looked like the shit was about to hit the fan. The twins immediately stood up and made their way towards the others just as a couple of Alpha’s decided to risk death.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie growled low as one of the Alpha’s that decided to join their game landed on top of Harry when they both went for the volleyball. Harry tried to push him off, but the Alpha chuckled and pressed himself harder down on the Omega.
“Get off of him,” Draco demanded and kicked the large Alpha just as the scent of Harry’s fear hit Charlie’s nose. Then another Alpha wrapped his arms around Draco and pulled him back enough that he couldn’t reach Harry.
“Get off,” Harry finally managed to get out around his panic. “Let him go.”
“You have been begging for this since we arrived, you just don’t know how to behave,” The Alpha holding Draco sneered at them.
“But don’t worry, we will help you learn how to submit,” the one on top of Harry said just as he leaned down and took a deep sniff of him. “Yum…I love the…”
And then suddenly the man’s weight was gone. Harry whimpered when someone touched him but stopped when he realized it was Draco.
“It’s ok Harry,” Draco whispered and pulled Harry up into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around him.
“What the hell is your problem man,” one of the men snarled at Charlie who was standing defensively in front of Harry and Draco. “We have every right to play with them.”
“They have been running around begging for it all day,” the other added.
“The two of them have been pumping out mating pheromones since the moment you all showed up,” the first one chimed in again.
“That doesn’t give you the right to touch them without their consent,” Charlie snapped out. “Just because they are Omegas doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to choose for themselves.”
“Oh, we see,” the first one chuckled.
“You want them all for yourself don’t you?” the second one sneered.
“Come on, don’t be selfish, let us play with them for a bit and then you can have them all to yourself,” the first one spoke up again.
“That little green eyed one would look so gorgeous with his pretty little mouth wrapped around my cock,” the second one said with a chuckle.
Harry whimpered and suddenly all he could see was the Alphas that had violated him when he was captured. There had been one in particular who liked to tell Harry how pretty his mouth was all stretched out around his cock.
“Say one more thing and I will rip out your tongue,” Charlie promised. Harry was pumping his panic into the air, and it was putting Charlie on edge. He was about two seconds from losing complete control of his shift.
“We think you ought to listen,” Fred suddenly spoke up from one side of the Alphas.
“Or maybe don’t,” George added from the other side. Bill joined them as well after making sure that Fleur was far away from the potential confrontation.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight,” Bill said and cracked his knuckles.
“You know what, no fuck is worth this much trouble,” the first Alpha said with a grumble.
“Yeah, let’s go,” the second one said and then the two of them took off.
Charlie let his brothers keep on eye on the retreating Alphas. He turned and gave the two Omegas his full attention. Draco was distressed and he was rocking Harry in his arms. Harry’s eyes were a little glazed over with so much panic that Charlie was positive he wasn’t actually aware of what was going on around him.
“What happened?” Charlie asked as he began to pump calming pheromones into the air around them.
“Harry…” Draco started and then glanced up at Charlie cautiously before determination flashed through his eyes. “Remember when Harry was kidnapped?”
“Yeah,” Charlie answered as he crouched down near the two of them to continue attempting to sooth them.
“He..he was violated by a few Alphas while he was there,” Draco admitted so quietly that only Charlie heard him.
“I see,” Charlie said and took a deep breath. This was going to have to be handled delicately. “Harry.”
There was no response.
Draco pressed a kiss to his cheek but that seemed to make the panic spike. So, Draco quickly leaned back away from him. Charlie shuffled closer until he was close enough to touch Harry. Then he slowly reached out until he could cup the back of Harry’s neck. Harry struggled for a moment and his panic spiked.
Charlie didn’t let go. He simply pressed the scent glands in his wrist into the ones on Harry’s neck. Then he began to gently massage the back of Harry’s neck. Then he started a gentle Alpha purr that Harry responded to instantly.
Harry went limp in Charlie’s hold and fell forward until his face was pressed into Charlie’s neck. The Alpha just continued to purr and gently massage Harry’s neck until the scent of panic was completely gone and Harry began to purr as well. Charlie knew he was back to himself when he suddenly stiffened in his hold.
“There you are,” Charlie said gently. “Welcome back, Little Fox. We lost you for a moment there.”
“Draco,” Harry whispered.
“I’m right here, Harry,” Draco said and moved around until Harry could see him. Because even though Harry was now back with them, he had yet to even attempt to move away from Charlie who was still gently massaging his neck. “We have you.”
“Yes we do,” Charlie agreed.
“I’m sorry,” Harry said quietly. “I panicked. Are you ok?”
“Of course I am,” Draco said with a smile and scooted closer to them. “Charlie protected us both beautifully. He is a very good Alpha.”
“Yeah,” Harry whispered his agreement and turned slightly so that his nose was once again buried in Charlie’s neck. “A very good Alpha.”
Charlie made a pleased noise which in turn caused Draco and Harry to mewl in response. Draco shifted closer and Charlie reached out and pulled him closer to the two of them. Harry was still curled up in his lap, but he shifted so that Draco could move closer as well.
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake,” Fred said with a snort.
“And ours,” George added.
“Just kiss already and admit that you like each other,” Fred continued.
“Stop it,” Charlie grumbled at them when Harry stiffened again in his arms.
Draco and Harry shared a look and Harry nodded. The two of them had been getting to know Charlie better for five months now. Harry had been pretty close to sitting down and letting Draco know that he was ready to approach the Alpha about courting. Charlie had proven himself over and over again to be a good Alpha who was willing to look out for them. This situation had pretty much completely made up Harry’s mind.
“We are ready to admit it if you are,” Draco admitted and pulled back to look Charlie in the face.
It was Charlie’s turn to hesitate and tense up, and Harry pulled back when the soothing pheromones Charlie had been pumping out changed a little. Harry frowned slightly when he saw Charlie frown. Oh, maybe he had been reading the entire situation wrong.
“I’m…” Charlie started.
“Draco, I want to go home,” Harry said suddenly and stood up before Charlie could say something that would hurt Draco’s feelings. The Alpha wasn’t interested. He was just a really good person, and they had read more into it than there was.
“Wait,” Charlie said when Harry pulled Draco up and leaned into him.
“I want dad,” Harry insisted. “I don’t feel good. I think I may need a calming draught and a dreamless sleep. Please take me home, Draco.”
“Alright,” Draco agreed after looking into Harry’s pleading eyes. “I’m going to take him home. This was a lot. Thanks for today though, it was a lot of fun.”
“Wait,” Charlie said again and stood up quickly. “You…”
“It’s ok Charlie,” Harry told him with a forced smile. “We shouldn’t have said anything. Thank you for helping me come back to myself and for protecting us. We confused your kindness for something else. We didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“But,” Charlie tried again.
“Oh,” Draco said finally understanding why Harry’s mood had shifted so quickly. “Right. Forgive me for making you uncomfortable. Forget I said anything.”
Then Draco and Harry apparated away and back to their manor home.
~~~~~~~~~~
“What the fuck just happened?” Charlie asked as he looked at the spot where the two Omegas had been only moments ago.
“You screwed up is what just happened,” Bill said with chuckle. “Better get your head on straight and figure out what you want before you miss out on the best thing that will ever happen to you.”
“What?” Charlie asked still confused. His Drakken was restless in his mind. Just as confused as he was about the fact that only moments ago they had been perfectly content with the Omega’s in his arms and now they were gone.
“You tensed up and hesitated when Draco admitted that they liked you,” Fred pointed out.
“And now they believe they read the entire situation wrong,” George added.
“I’m not interested in bonding,” Charlie insisted. Though he didn’t sound as convincing as he was trying to be. There was no conviction behind his words and they all knew it. His Drakken grumbled unhappily at the denial.
“Come on Charlie aren’t you tired of lying to yourself,” Bill asked him with a frown. “What are you so afraid of?”
“Omega’s are fickle and undecisive. Spoiled and only choose an Alpha based on what they will gain from the mating. I don’t have time to put myself through that again,” Charlie said with a sigh.
“I see,” Bill said and grasped Charlie’s shoulder soothingly. “This is about Amber.”
“The Bitch?” Fred and George asked together in surprise. “Why?”
“Charlie asked her for permission to court her,” Bill informed them. “She told him yes and then he caught her cheating on him with a very rich Beta. She intended to have them both.”
“Harry and Draco aren’t like that,” Fred insisted.
“Yeah, you should know that by now,” George added.
“And if you don’t,” Fred continued.
“Then you don’t deserve them anyways,” George finished.
“Listen if you truly aren’t interested then so be it. Leave it alone and let things cool down. But if you are interested then you need to find a way to make it up to them and let them know,” Bill told his younger brother.
“The shit heads weren’t wrong. The two of them were pumping out mating pheromones all day. Have been for at least a month every time we all hang out together,” George spoke up.
"The two of them are ready to find an Alpha to join them. If you aren’t interested then they need to know before it gets to a point that it will seriously distress them to be rejected,” Fred added with a sigh.
“As long as they believe they have a chance with you, they won’t be free to find someone else that is truly interested,” Bill stated.
“I..” Charlie started and thought about someone else holding Harry and Draco in their arms the way that he had been only moments ago. Of someone else’s mating mark sitting proudly on their necks. The thought made his Drakken roar in anger. “I’m interested. The thought of them with someone else makes my skin crawl.”
“Knew it,” Fred and George said together and high fived each other.
“Then I suggest you start thinking of what you can do to apologize for this whole misunderstanding,” Bill said with a chuckle.
“Right,” Charlie said with a lopsided grin. “Any ideas?”
“Come on, lets load up and head to our place,” Bill said with a grin as he wrapped an arm around Fleur. “We will figure something out.”
“Yeah, we Weasley men gotta stick together,” Fred and George agreed quickly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What happened?” Draco asked Harry once they were settled in their sitting room at home.
“He isn’t interested,” Harry said with a shrug. “We wanted something so badly that we were seeing things that weren’t there.”
“I don’t think that’s true Harry,” Draco said with a frown. “He accepted every date we asked him on and even asked us out on some.”
“He has never taken us on a date just the three of us,” Harry countered. “Even when we asked him, he always ‘misunderstood’ and showed up with at least the twins.”
“Right,” Draco agreed with a frown. “But he flirted with us all the time, he is always watching us, defending us like today, and making sure that we are taken care of.”
“He is just a very good Alpha Draco and we are unbonded Omegas,” Harry insisted. “He is just a very good person. That’s why we chose him. But he isn’t interested in us that way.”
“He scent marks us every time we are near him,” Draco attempted again.
“He does the same thing to his brothers, it’s instinct to have your scent on your pack,” Harry countered again. “And we have spent enough time around the Weasleys as a whole for them to see us as pack. Fred, George, and Bill scent mark us as well.”
“I,” Draco started and then frowned. Then he whined and Harry moved to wrap his arms around his distressed mate. “But…Harry…I think I may be half in love with him.”
“I know,” Harry said with a sigh and snuggled closer to Draco. “I think I might be too. But we’ll get over it. We have to. Charlie is our friend and I don’t want to ruin our friendship because we imagined an interest that wasn’t there.”
“I’m going to need time,” Draco said. “Time away from him to work through this so I don’t do something stupid like throw myself at him.”
“As if you would ever do something so undignified,” Harry said with a chuckle. “I’m on board with space.”
“I’m sorry this didn’t work out, Harry. I know how hard it was for you to open yourself up to trust him enough to want to court him,” Draco said quietly after a few minutes.
“Don’t be sorry, Draco. We will find an Alpha that we both want and who wants us back. Someone who will fit with us both,” Harry told him.
Now that he had accepted that he was ready to bond an Alpha, he felt a near constant urge to find one. He knew Draco did to. If Charlie didn’t want them, then that was ok. They wouldn’t push the issue, but they were going to have let go of the thought of him so that they could begin their search again. Though he wasn’t sure how successful they would be.
“Charlie was perfect,” Draco said with sigh. “Everything an Alpha should be and more. I’m so disappointed. I don’t know that we will ever find someone that measures up.”
“I know,” Harry agreed. “Draco I feel heavy.”
Draco began to release a soft rumbling purr and pressed a kiss to Harry’s head. That was Harry’s tell for when he was overwhelmed and after everything he had been through today, Draco had been prepared.
“Come on, Darling. Lets get you into a warm bath and then into your comfiest clothes. I will read to you after you take a calming draught and make sure all of your favorites are prepared for dinner,” Draco told him quietly. Then he encouraged Harry to get up.
Severus was standing in the doorway when they looked up. Draco and he shared a look and a promise that Draco would explain everything after Harry had finally gone to sleep. Severus gently ruffled Harry’s curls when he walked passed him and was not surprised to see his ears and tails appear almost instantly. His little Kitsune was always in his fox form when he felt overwhelmed.
“We will be in our nest if you need us,” Draco told Severus as they continued down the hall.
Severus sighed and then headed to the library to sit in front of the fire and read until Draco came to him later to explain what had happened today. He thought they were out with Charlie Weasley today. Severus hoped the Alpha hadn’t rejected his boys. Harry had worked very hard to open himself up to the possibility of bonding to an Alpha.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“They have declined every invitation I have sent them to visit or go out,” Charlie said with a sigh as he plopped down on the chair behind the counter at the twins joke shop.
“Of course they did,” Fred said with a roll of his eyes.
“They are very likely upset and embarrassed,” George added.
“How am I supposed to apologize if they won’t even see me?” Charlie insisted. “How am I supposed to let them know that I am interested?”
“Charlie,” Fred started and shared an amused look with his twin.
“Perhaps…” George attempted but Charlie wasn’t listening.
“I’m in love with them,” Charlie admitted with certainty. “The very thought of them choosing someone else makes me sick. I don’t know what to do. I would rip out my heart and send it to them so that they understand it will only ever belong to them. It has been two months since I have seen them. Smelled them. Touched them. I’m loosing my mind.”
“Charlie,” Fred called out but it was like now that he was talking he had to get it out.
“I am so distracted by the thought of what I have ruined with them that I am having a hard time concentrating at work. The dragons can sense my distraction. I was burned last week. I haven’t been burned by a Dragon in years,” Charlie stated. “I have had to take time off work.”
Charlie stopped and ran his fingers through his hair absently. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself down and when he did his senses were flood by two lovely scents that he had missed desperately. He snapped his eyes up to the twins who pointed to a place over his shoulder.
He stood and turned quickly to see Harry and Draco standing there looking at him with the loveliest expressions on their faces. Draco with a knowing smirk and Harry with a soft shocked smile. Both were pumping very pleased pheromones into the shop.
“You love us?” Harry said quietly.
“Of course he does, what’s not to love?” Draco responded with a roll of his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Charlie said dropped to his knees in front of the two Omega. Uncaring of their audience or how it would make him look.
“We heard,” Harry said and then chuckled. “Get up.”
“No, let him grovel a bit longer,” Draco said tugged on a strand of Charlie’s tousled hair. “We deserve a bit of groveling.”
“You deserve so much more,” Charlie agreed and then moved a little closer still on his knees. “I’m so in love with you both that I haven’t been able to sleep at night. The mere thought of the two of you smiling at another Alpha or carrying another Alpha’s scent or mark makes me want to rip out the spine of the one who dares think he has the right.”
“Merlin,” Harry whispered and rolled his eyes. “We weren’t searching for another Alpha.”
“You weren’t?” Charlie asked them.
“Of course not, as if anyone would ever compare to you,” Draco admitted.
“We thought about it,” Harry countered. “Even talked about the available Alphas that we know are searching for an Omega, but we realized we weren’t quite ready to move forward when we compared every one of them to you and they all came up short.”
“But Charlie, you understand that there will need to be one more don’t you?” Draco asked him with a frown. Charlie seemed very possessive and that might cause them problems later when they found a Prime Alpha to join them. Harry would need one to be truly settled.
“I know,” Charlie responded quickly. “I would never deny either of you anything that would cause your instincts to be unsettled. I know there will have to be a Prime. But know this, I will test him, ensure that he is worthy. I will not submit to just anyone.”
“We would have it no other way,” Harry said with a chuckle. “Though it may be a very moot point. A Prime Alpha is even more rare these days than a Prime Omega. The likelihood of us finding one at all, much less one that we all like is nearly impossible and I have accepted that.”
“Have I groveled enough?” Charlie asked them. “Or would you like me to begin begging. I will do it if you like?”
“Begging sounds lovely,” Draco stated with a smirk and Harry tsked and elbowed him before dropping down to be eye level with Charlie.
“No begging,” Harry stated firmly. “Never beg, Charlie. Please get up now.”
“Not until you are both satisfied with my apology,” Charlie insisted and looked up at Draco.
“I don’t know if I am. You caused us a lot of pain and distress by rejecting us. You don’t understand how hard it was for Harry to open himself up to even admitting he wanted an Alpha,” Draco stated.
“Draco?” Harry said and turned to look up at the Veela with Charlie. “This is enough, you will not insist that he begs on his knees in public like this. You will not disrespect our Alpha this way.”
“I wouldn’t have made him beg,” Draco said with a roll of his eyes. “I only want him to understand what we have been through.”
“He understands,” Harry insisted. “You heard his confession just like I did. Now enough is enough.”
Charlie and Draco could both smell the Prime Omega’s displeasure in the air. Charlie began to respond to it with calming pheromones. Draco finally sighed and relaxed his defensive stance.
“Fine,” Draco finally agreed and then dropped down so that he was on the same level as the others.
He wouldn’t let his Alpha remain below him in public. He never should have allowed it at all. An Omega should never debase his Alpha like that in public. No one would ever respect them if they didn’t show that they respected their Alpha more than that. Charlie was a very good Alpha and didn’t deserve that disrespect.
Harry smiled and kissed Draco on the cheek gently before turning to Charlie and tipping his neck to the side in very obvious Submission. Charlie grumbled happily before he leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss over Harry’s scent gland before nuzzling him and making sure that his scent mingled with Harry’s.
Then Charlie turned to Draco who went a step further than Harry had. Harry hadn’t disrespected Charlie the way Draco had and he wanted to show is remorse. So, Draco tipped his head back so that his carotid was on full display to the Alpha. It would be too easy for Charlie to simply rip out his throat this way, which is why Draco done it.
Charlie leaned forward and gently pressed his teeth to the vulnerable flesh before pressing a few gentle kisses to the area before moving to kiss his scent gland as well and nuzzling him to mix their scents as well. He rumbled happily when both Omegas now carried his scent mingled with theirs. It was the best he could do right now in this public place to let others know that Harry and Draco were his.
Then Charlie rose from the ground and immediately reached down both hands to assist Harry and Draco to their feet as well.
“Want to come home with us so that we can talk about all of this?” Harry asked him with a soft smile.
“Please,” Charlie agreed.
Just then fireworks went off around the store and confetti rained down over them as Fred and George shouted and the other patrons in the store clapped. Charlie rolled his eyes and shot the twins a pointed look over his shoulder as Draco preened under the attention and Harry buried his face in Charlie’s chest.
“Congratulations!” The twins yelled loudly.
“Obnoxious,” Charlie said with a fond exasperation. “See the two of you later.”
“Hopefully much later,” Fred said with a wink.
“We want details,” George added.
“Not on your lives,” Charlie countered and then ushered Harry and Draco out of the joke shop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbledore grumbled unhappily as he looked down at the picture on the front page of the daily prophet.
‘Wizarding Worlds Golden Boy Finally chooses an Alpha!’
Dumbledore went on to read more about how the little Potter brat and his Veela had finally bonded to their chosen Alpha after six months of very public courting. His victory over Voldemort was brought up and Albus wanted nothing more than to punish that little freak and the Malfoy brat for ruining everything for him.
He had begun to lose the faith of the people when Voldemort open murdered Cedric Diggory right under his nose on school grounds during the tournament and declared Albus a liar and fraud for trying to make Longbottom the Boy Who Lived when he lost control of Harry.
Then Voldemort had very publicly murdered Longbottom and taunted Albus with what he was going to do next now that his fake boy who lived was dead and the real one refused to be his pawn. Then he had dismissed Albus as insignificant. After that, the world began to cry out for Potter to save them.
So, Albus had attempted to get the boy on side. He had written a letter informing him about the Horcrux in his head and how he was the only one that could help him prepare to do his duty to the Wixen world by collecting the others and then sacrificing himself so that everyone else could live.
That hadn’t gone in his favor either.
The boy hadn’t turned to him the way he had expected. Instead, he had worked with Severus to find a way to remove the Horcrux from his head and then they had gone straight to the Ministry with Albus’ letter and the Horcrux. Then they had been granted permission to work with the Unspeakables to find the other Horcrux and destroy them.
Albus had attempted to find the location of each one first so that he could regain the upper hand, but he had failed at every turn. Severus and the Unspeakables had been efficient and quick.
Albus once again attempted to get the boy on side. Offering him a gift. One that had been passed down from father to son for generations in the Potter family. James had let him use it during the first war and he had kept it after James’ death. The boy, instead of being grateful, had accused him of breaking the law by not returning a family heirloom to the vaults after the death of the current Lord and threatened to file charges if he didn’t hand it over and never approach him again as per the restraining order that was still in place.
Then Albus had done something that was admittedly stupid.
He had attempted to compel the boy to gain control of him. But his spells hadn’t worked and he had ended up in a duel with a boy who was far stronger and faster than he should have been. There was so much power in that one small Omegan boy that Albus began to fear for himself if he didn’t do something to end the duel soon.
But the boy took that choice from his hands when he disarmed Albus and gripped the wand tightly when magic pulsed from it and an invisible wind whipped around the boy. Then the teen had tucked The Elder Wand into the holster and his wrist and levelled his wand at Albus once again.
He had admitted defeat and requested his wand back, but the boy had refused him and stated that the wand no longer belonged to Albus that he was claiming it as his reward for winning their duel and told Albus to be grateful that he was sparing his life and dignity by not putting the duel down in public records as was tradition.
Albus had apparated away defeated.
Then the boy had done the one thing that would ensure Albus faded into nothingness. He had killed Voldemort in a duel in Hogsmeade when the Dark Lord had attempted to take control of the school.
Harry Potter became The Golden Boy of the Wixen world and Albus became insignificant. Unimportant. Forgotten.
But it was time for that to change.
Albus had attempted to convince the Ministry and others in power that Harry was the next Dark Lord because of the Horcrux and the fact that he had murdered people but no one would listen to him. So, he would simply get rid of the boy and begin again with a new Dark Lord. He would not die before he was once again praised as a hero. He would not fade into nothingness.
Albus pulled out the ritual that he had chosen to use to completely remove the boy from the equation. A one way ticket into another time. One that he could never return from.
It was time to get rid of Harry Potter forever.