Chapter 15: Two-Sided

Chapter Text

The walk up from the dungeons was easier than Harry had thought. Theo cast a disillusionment charm on him, at his request, and made sure to keep himself close to Harry as they made their way up to the Great Hall. The other Slytherins joined them in the usual, quiet, dignified way that they were, the occasional muffled yawn and quiet conversation filling the air.

As they neared the Great Hall, Theo stepped sideways and gave his shoulder a little squeeze. "I'll see you in Defense." He murmured.

Harry stared at him, the unexpected touch welcome, before he realized the weight of the words. Theo didn't seem to have an issue with him being in Gryffindor, or setting at the Gryffindor table—surrounded by fellow Gryffindors. It was almost as if he didn't care. It didn't matter to him that he'd be with others or that he could possibly be in danger—well, possibly—Harry couldn't be sure, they were his fellow housemates after all, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed. There was a sudden, new emptiness that washed over him at the fact that his new mate didn't want to sit next to him to share their first official meal.

"You don't want me to sit with you?" Harry looked at him in confusion. He didn't know much about any of this whole mate and circle thing, but he was just lucky that Theo had gotten stuck with him. Theo had been nice enough when they were back in the rooms. Yet, now, it seemed like Theo didn't want to be around him. He really must have done something to mess up the entire-

"What?" Theo blinked, staring at him with an equal measure of confusion. "I don't mind if you want to sit with me. I'd be honored, but I do understand that you have your own life and friends and I doubt they'd understand if you decided to visit the Slytherin table or if I returned the favor to your house table. It would simply be less stress all around if we didn't change anything too much right now." His brow furrowed. "Harry, did you want to sit next to me?"

Harry stared at the ground, puzzling through the words. It made sense. Sort of. It wasn't a lack of care, but rather a bit of trust. Theo trusted him to manage on his own and he seemed to mean what he said—at least, with a careful whiff, Harry could tell that the boy certainly wasn't lying. But all the warm, happy feelings he'd had a minute ago had disappeared into nothing. He felt empty and hollow—like he had on the first day of summer just a few months ago when he'd turned up at the Dursleys.

Vernon had beat him black and blue for simply showing his face. Harry hadn't had any choice. There wasn't really anywhere else he could go without causing a fuss and the very last thing he wanted to do was cause trouble for people. The summer at the Dursley's had started out bad and gotten worse. What happened after that was a blur. The kind of blur that Harry didn't really want to deal with it. He squared his shoulders and straightened up. He could do this. He could manage. He'd done it for years and it was almost two months he'd managed with his Dragel Inheritance. He could do it.

He always had.

Always.

"N-no. It's fine. I just wondered. I wasn't sure if this was like, a uh, you know, like Veelas. All possessive and stuff."

Theo smirked. "I can be very possessive if I need to." He murmured. "But I won't smother you, if I can help it and if there's no reason for it."

Harry blinked. He didn't know what to make of that.

The smile on Theo's face upped a few watts and he caught the smaller boy with an arm around the shoulder and drew him close for a quick kiss to the side of his head. "Enjoy your breakfast." The arm fell away and Theo was gone in his usual way as the charm wore off and Harry was now visible. He stumbled, awkwardly righting himself, a sudden, silly grin plastered on his face as he straightened his unnecessary glasses and fumbled to straighten his robes.

Theo had stopped them in a corner where they wouldn't be immediately visible and he was thankful for that little detail. Righting himself, Harry stepped out from the corner and melted into the flow of students heading into the Great Hall. The little, insignificant kiss had said enough—it wasn't some deliberate snog to distract him or a casual peck on the cheek, it was a soft, tender gesture that chased away all depressing thoughts.

Harry grinned, goofily for a moment.

Breakfast sounded like a brilliant thing.

He'd be sure to enjoy it.

"Harry!" Hermione's shriek made him wince. "You're alright! Where were you? What happened? Why didn't you tell anyone you were going away to-"

"Harry!" Ron's voice joined in the babble. "You had us worried." His blue eyes narrowed, suspiciously. "Where were you? What's going on?" He turned to look Harry from head to toe.

"I want to know too!" Ginny joined the fray. "You just disappeared and someone said there were strange noises going on all weekend and I thought that you might've been-" The rest of her sentence was muffled as she threw her arms around him and hugged tight.

He flinched. She didn't let go. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "Er." Harry said, eloquently. Strange noises? He made a mental note to ask about it.

She finally released him, but her dark eyes promised one of those serious kind of conversations that Harry always tried his best to avoid. "I'm fine, Ginny, everyone." He ducked his head. "I was just…really tired."

"Tired?" Hermione pursed her lips. Ginny and her exchanged a meaningful look.

"Yeah. Remember a few weeks ago?" He snapped. Their scents had spiked sharply and he didn't like the look passing between them. They knew something that he didn't think he'd like.

The bushy-haired witch frowned. "Harry…" She trailed off warningly. Ginny frowned.

His actions seemed to be confirming whatever their silent conversation had been about. "I already visited Madam Pomfrey." Harry said, hastily. "I'm fine. She couldn't find anything wrong with me." He hoped his voice didn't sound too off. He was already noticing it seemed to hold a new, almost musical quality to it and he didn't think there was much he could do to disguise it. The best thing to do was avoid speaking as much as possible.

It shouldn't be too hard.

He'd managed to do it for a while anyway.

Hermione looked as if she'd like to say something more, but she didn't get the chance as the Twins made their morning appearance and the usual bustle of chaos settled down at the Gryffindor table. Ron pulled her down to sit beside him and Ginny took her other side, effectively trapping the Head Girl from continuing her interrogation.

"Morning, Harry." Neville smiled as he passed him to take his usual morning seat. "Good to see you again."

"Morning, Neville."

"Harry!" The twins chorused.

Harry was all but physically lifted and rearranged as the twins inserted themselves beside him, one on each side, prompting all the others to have to move and shuffle to regain their original seating order with the new additions.

"Harry." One voice whispered in his ear. "We were worried."

"Very worried." The second voice whispered in his other ear. "Eat some fruit."

"And toast. Toast is good. Tea?"

The voices were very quiet and very serious.

Harry gulped. He'd never heard the twins break out of their twinspeak before. There was something vaguely terrifying about it.

"Moring, Fred. George." He said, softly.

"Morning, Harry." They both repeated the greeting, in unison. "Eat."

Harry wished he could turn invisible as the taller redheads began to reach around him and the table, filling his plate in their usual way. He was starting to wonder if it was some odd quirk of theirs, but knew better than to call them out on it. He liked having someone to worry over him, every now and then, it was nice.

It made him feel wanted.

Just like Theo did.

He snuck a glance towards the Slytherin table, squinting to make out faces, so his eyes would adjust through the glass lenses. He spied a sleepy, yawning Draco sandwiched between a cheerful Blaise and Theo. The brunet looked up for a split-second and his face shifted, changing expression as he winked and then returned his attention to his place.

Harry felt a rush of heat dancing up to his face. Hastily, he crammed in a mouthful of applesauce.

The morning blurred through. Harry didn't remember much of it. Transfiguration was a bit odd. He was privately excused by McGonagall at Madam Pomfrey's orders and with Dumbledore's explanation—and so was given two essays to write instead. Harry had accepted with a grateful smile that the stern witch hadn't called him out on his lack of magic, nor had she made a big deal of handing him an alternate assignment.

It didn't seem that anyone but Hermione noticed that something had happened.

Harry pushed that away for later thought. He didn't want to deal with her and the questions that were sure to come. He'd avoid it as long as he could. Charms was about the same, just extra essays and no deliberate special attention and Harry knew that the Headmaster had certainly had a hand in it. He wondered how he'd fare in his other classes if this was how it was all turning out.

When that was over, he trailed along with the others to the next class and slunk into the DADA classroom and find that Theo had taken up the desk to his left. The tall brunet greeted him with a warm smile that immediately sent his nerves packing. Harry slid into his seat and managed a tiny smile in response, before hurriedly focusing on his things, just in case Hermione was paying closer attention than he wanted. It was none of their business what he did—it wasn't like they'd really cared that much, lately.

His thoughts were jolted elsewhere when the classroom door banged open to show a certain, scowling professor.

Terius entered, his face set in the same scowl as he'd worn back in the hospital wing. He snapped out orders and soon everyone was standing and the desks were moved to the side and stacked and he was setting things out on the floor before them. "Today is going to be a practical example. I trust you will all be sure to pay attention and keep you awareness about you at all times. Today's example will feature a protection spell, known as a protection circle or tattoo, depending on how you wish to view it. It can be transferred to another surface, such as skin—the reason it is noted as a tattoo—or it can be placed in the main room of a house to protect all who enter and those who reside within its walls. I will repeat this again—pay attention!" Sea-blue-grey eyes roamed over every student, nailing them where they stood, a silent reminder that nothing was to go wrong during this class period.

Nothing did.

They learned how to create a temporary protective tattoo that would guard the wearer from harm or provide additional defenses to a home when a spouse was traveling. Harry had to admit there wasn't anything dark about the ritual, just the fact that blood was required from the one leaving the home or the possible protector and then from the ones left at home or the intended wearer. It was rather brilliant and Harry tucked the thought away for later use, remembering a vague memory and the taste of something deliciously exquisite…

"Class dismissed!"

The class ended too soon, it seemed and Harry began to pack up his things. He felt awkward in the classroom, having occasionally felt the professor's gaze resting on him and being unable to do little more than recall the final, cold words spoken in the hospital wing.

"I do not acknowledge you, because you do not acknowledge yourself."

It echoed hollowly in his mind and sat heavily in his stomach as if he'd eaten something that didn't agree with him. He didn't know what to do about it and his Dragel instincts didn't help much in their general consensus that he apologize to get into the good graces of the older man.

"I can't believe we have to learn this as if it's real magic." Hermione fretted. "Blood magic is so unpredictable, suppose the protector was protecting someone that didn't want-"

"Oh come off it, Hermione." Ron sighed. "What's it matter? It was kind of cool." The bushy-haired witch shot him a look and continued to grouse about it all the way out of class, so caught up in her fumings that she didn't search out Harry the way she'd been doing for the past week.

Harry somehow found himself tucked up against Nott and hidden from view as the classroom quickly emptied. He was about to protest when Theo silenced him with a warm kiss. "Be nice." He admonished, catching Harry's wrist and drawing the other boy forward.

Harry quickly understood the words when he realized that they weren't quite the only ones left. The names that Terius had called out on the first day—all of them were there, Ryan Henry and Jennifer Dawn from Gyffindor as well as the respective Slytherins, Blaise, Theo and Draco. They all looked at him curiously as Theo pulled him up to join the uniform line that had formed in front of the DADA professor's desk.

When the sea-blue-grey eyes raised towards them, inquisitively, the entire group made a two-fingered salute and cross over their hearts, before offering a formal bow from the waist up. Theo stood beside Harry, motioning for him to do the same. Harry did—somewhat awkwardly. He was rewarded with a smile for his efforts.

Terius gave a curt nod in return as he turned his attention to the chalkboard over his shoulder. He waved his hand and it was instantly cleaned. "How are you faring today?" The question was simply phrased and innocent enough.

Harry wasn't prepared for any of the answers.

"I have a stomachache."

"There's something wrong with my back and I didn't sleep at all last night."

"I want a hug."

"Do you have any meat?"

The headache was Malfoy—Harry could pick out his specific whine virtually anywhere—and the rest were a bit of a quick jumble. Blaise wanted meat, Ryan had back problems and Jennifer wanted a hug. Theo hadn't made any request, but rather, he drew Harry close to him, holding the smaller figure from behind and resting his chin on one deceptively slender shoulder.

"Would you object to a potion first, Mr. Henry?" Terius suggested. "You are still more used to wizard means and if you are receptive to them, I do not wish to interfere just yet with Dragel methods. It would cause unnecessary stress."

The Gryffindor shrugged. "I guess a potion's fine then. I'm used to them."

"How used to them?" Terius wanted to know. "If you have used them and they have not worked, then I will fix this right now."

Ryan shrugged. "Used enough. I mean, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't and sometimes, I don't like them." He shuddered, visibly.

"They lock you in dreams you want to escape from." Terius corrected. His gaze softened. "I shall ask Severus for something and you will find it on your pillow tonight. Try it and let me know tomorrow. If that does not work, I'll carve a pendant for you this weekend and we shall see what can be done of it."

"Thank you, Teacher." Ryan shot the man a grateful look as he stretched, gingerly. "What about my-?" He turned his neck slightly and winced at the movement the taut muscles prevented.

"Lean on the desk to brace yourself and let me move your arms." Terius instructed. He waited while the boy did as he was asked, then took the unresisting limbs and twisted and pulled them together. "Breathe in" there was a sharp, quick yank and an audible crack in the room.

"Ow!" Ryan yelped.

"And breathe out." Terius said, smoothly. He released the arms and rubbed them briskly, before allowing them to fall back to the boy's side. He ran a steady hand up and down the length of the boy's spine, pausing to press in two places. Ryan winced for both moments and then brightened. "Better?"

"Much." Ryan rotated his shoulders and leaned back a bit. "Thank you!" He leaned forward into the hand that ruffled his hair.

"You're quite welcome. Pay a little more attention the next time you decide to lend a hand to the Quidditch team. Don't let them take advantage of you and just because you have the strength, does not mean you need to use it, hmm?"

"Yes, Teacher." Ryan grinned and repeated the salute from earlier and scampered from the classroom.

"Meat?" Blaise asked, hopefully. His fangs peeked over the corners of his plump, pink lips and his purple eyes glittered as he stood next in line, waiting, expectantly.

Harry found himself licking his lips at the thought of meat, his gums aching, a warning that his fangs might make their own appearance as well. He could remember every tasty morsel from Theo that he'd traded chocolate frogs for. Theo chuckled softly in his ear as if following the same train of thought. "Don't worry. I'm sure Terius will share."

Harry stiffened at that and then worried his lower lip between his teeth. He seriously doubted that. The DADA professor really seemed to hate him and as far as he could tell, he hadn't done anything, beyond exist. He shrank back into Theo's arms. The taller boy frowned down at him, but rubbed one arm reassuringly.

A sizeable stash of jerky was produced from the deep desk drawers and Blaise happily helped himself. "Eat it slowly and chew carefully." Terius instructed. "Make sure you eat dinner in your room tonight and order what you want. I cannot hunt for some time, you will have to make do with this."

"Mmmhmm." Blaise mumbled. He tore into strips with a new light in his eyes chewed quickly. It didn't seem as if he'd heard anything the professor had said the moment he'd taken the first bite.

"Miss Dawn?" Terius opened his arms and allowed the young woman to literally throw herself forward. He held her tight and murmured several soothing endearments in her ear. It seemed to do the trick, because she straightened a moment later and teary-eyed, thanked him. He offered her a clean kerchief and suggested that she eat more fruit. "It will balance your energies for now. You have to remember your element is very delicate, once you have it aligned, you should do your best not to upset it."

"I know, Teacher." She sighed. "It's just hard and I wish…I wish that I had my own…" She bit her lip and looked away. "I wish I had my mated circle. Is it wrong of me to want something I can't have?"

"Depends on what you speak of. You fill find and have your circle soon, I am sure, if you desire it greatly enough, then it will happen sooner than later."

"W-what if I don't want a Dragel mate?"

Terius gave her a long, good look. Then he shrugged. "Then that is your choice."

She blinked. "That's it?"

"That is your choice." He repeated. "You need not take another Dragel as a mate, though it is best if you do. There will be certain things you will never experience because of it."

"But it's not…bad, is it?" She fidgeted under the

"That would depend on your definition, Miss Dawn. Your magic will bind itself and never fully reach its full potential. Your Dragel self will understand that you have cheated it in some way or another, because it craves the bonding and acceptance of others of its own kind. Any children that you may have run the risk of becoming squibs, the Dragel gene will be somewhat suppressed, unless you choose to carry the child, instead of your partners." He frowned. "As a dominant, you would survive it, but it would wear heavily on your magic and your physical self, if you choose to do so your partners would not be able to provide you with the necessary…things. It is entirely your prerogative, however. There are no taboos against it in our kind. You would, however, need to defend them a little more vigorously than usual and there will be different, family dynamics rather than those respective to a mateship circle." He paused. "I would be willing to speak to you of it later, if you feel you have any further questions."

"Thank you." She whispered. The girl then turned and fled the classroom without another backward look.

The next in line was a certain blond Slytherin. "Terius." Draco's whine repeated itself and he rubbed his stomach with a pout. The childish expression made him appear younger than his sixteen years.

"That was for eating something out of turn." Terius scolded. "You know better than to eat something that isn't on your list. I didn't write it all down to torture you." The older man studied him for a moment and then sighed. "I can't give you a potion for the stomachache and you know it." He said, at last. "Come here." The blond readily did so, unbuttoning his robes as he approached and the buttons on his jumper. By the time he reached the desk, his smooth, white stomach was on view.

Harry started when the older man drew a shining, silver knife from the folds of his teaching robes and laid the flat of the blade on the unmarked stomach. Theo's hand immediately found its way up Harry's shirt and to the mark on the side of his neck. It traced the edge, faintly, sending soothing spikes of calmness through him. "He's fine, Harry, he's fine." Theo murmured. "Terius won't hurt him. He loves him." Harry squeezed his eyes shut. The Slytherin eyed him in concern and twisted so he could better hold Harry, tucking the dark head securely beneath his chin.

Draco whimpered.

Terius hummed soothingly.

A thrum of magic rippled through the room.

"Better?" Terius prompted. He wiped the blade clean with a cloth from his desk and waved a hand that sent a wandless spell to right Draco's clothes to their original state. Relief showed plainly on Draco's face and he hugged the older man in thanks. Terius responded with a hug in return and a light kiss pressed to the perfect blond strands.

Harry stared, painfully aware of the contrast between the figure before him and the man he'd seen in the hospital wing. He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see more or to even consider it. This was too much and too confusing. Everything the man did was contradictory. He didn't like it. He wanted this day to be over already.

Theo reached a hand towards Blaise who held out the sack of jerky. He selected a piece and waved it temptingly under Harry's nose. One emerald eye popped open and tracked the movement of the snack with surprising clarity. Theo inched it closer and without warning, Harry gave up his snuggle to take a large chomp out of the treat, his fangs closing with and a quiet click.

Honey-gold eyes shimmered with laughter, but Theo waited for the rest of Harry to catch up to what he'd done. A moment later, he saw it. A rich pink blush that dusted across the younger man's face and the green eyes grew wide. "Impressive." Theo praised. "You even managed to avoid my fingers." He nodded towards the bag in Blaise's lap as the other pureblood perched on the edge of Terius' desk and happily gorged himself. "Blaise will share. Go try some." Harry shook his head.

"Theo." Terius said, quietly. "And your grievance?"

"Harry said he didn't have a mentor."

Those piercing eyes immediately drilled into the younger boy being held protectively in the pureblood's arms. "Did he now?"

"Yes." Theo frowned. "I thought you said everyone had one."

"They do. It is impossible for it to be otherwise." The eyes continued their dark look at Harry, who now studiously fixed his emerald eyes on the sack of tempting jerky beside Blaise.

Theo growled, faintly. "Harry wouldn't lie. He has no reason to." He wrinkled his nose.

Terius scowled. "I was not implying that he did, merely that it was impossible for a mentor not to have arrived." The student perked a brow. Terius sighed. "Knowing what you do of Dragels, child." He turned away. "What possible, conceivable reason could you offer me for a mentor not showing up?"

Theo paled rapidly in a matter of seconds. He swallowed. "I see your point."

"Indeed." Terius frowned. "That does not excuse him, however. Did you need anything else?"

Theo released his lovely armful, giving Harry a nudge towards the relaxing Blaise. "I wish to ask you to excuse, Harry."

The older man didn't answer straight away.

Blaise slid off the desk and met Harry halfway, taking pity on the boy, whose conflicted emotions seemed to scream out loud, before being slowly and meticulously locked away, behind a smooth, expressionless mask. The Italian offered the bag, wordlessly.

Harry eyed him, warily, then tentatively reached a hand towards the bag. He hesitated, but the bag remained. He then quickly stuck his hand inside and withdrew with three fat strips.

Blaise winked. "This batch is very good."

Harry blushed, but quickly polished off his retrieved handful, chewing thoughtfully as he tried to reason whether he should eat more or save room for lunch. The twins were sure to notice if he didn't eat as much as he usually did and the last thing he wanted to do was give any of them reason to suspect that something was different.

"Will you overlook it, this once?" Theo prompted. "He is my mate."

The head snapped up at once and Terius frowned. "You took him?"

Theo tilted his head slightly in confirmation.

There was a muttered string of words in another language and Terius finally glared at the young pureblood wizard. "What did you have to do that for?"

"I could not resist his heartcry." Theo returned, solidly. "Will you? Please, Terius."

There were a few more muttered phrases and finally, the older man shrugged. "Do not interfere." He said, abruptly, wheeling about to scowl at Harry. "My dominant would have me apologize to you, Mr. Potter." He began. "On the grounds that my words may have been harsher than necessary. Your dominant would have me forgive you as well on the basis that your mentor has not taught you how to avoid the social blunders you have already made. Exactly what do you have to say to that?"