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The Rise of the Drackens	By : StarLightMassacre Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 769941 -:- Recommendations : 73 -:- Currently Reading : 222
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights for the creation of the Harry Potter novels go to J. K. Rowling. I make no money from this piece of fictional writing

Chapter List
- 125
- 126
- 127
Last Time

Harry stayed where he was, and watched the kids playing. He was happy, and relaxed. Tomorrow was going to be a little bit stressful, it usually was when they invited Dain and Kailen around for a chat, but they’d deal with it. As long as they were gone before their Valentine’s Day meal, which Harry was sure that they would be, everything would be fine. He hoped that everything would be fine, because the last thing any of them wanted was an upset Nasta going into their special meal. Harry sighed, he had to hope that everything went well, and that the Faeries didn’t tell them that something was wrong with Leolin, because that would be his worst nightmare.

Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-Six – Valentine’s Curse

Dain and Kailen had agreed to come and visit them as soon as Nasta had asked them, yet due to the problems in the city, they had had to put it to the court and receive permission to leave the city before they could actually come to visit them. Though their immediate agreement had proven that they very much wanted to come and visit them. Harry was sure that they would bend over backwards for Nasta if they thought it would keep them in his good books.
It was that which saw Harry vacuuming the carpets at seven in the morning, neatening up piles of books and magazines, and actually polishing the tables and cupboards. He found three wilted grape halves, a pile of mush that had once been a rusk that had hardened into the carpet that had required magic to remove, a slice of brown apple between the settee cushions, and the pink dummy that had gone missing a few weeks ago that they had all looked for and hadn’t been able to find.

“You’d think royalty was coming.” Blaise grumped, having not appreciated the very early morning wakeup call after being on the night feeds.

“Blaise, stop being a bitch.” Harry demanded. “If you’re not going to help me, just sit and say nothing.”

“Harry, is it okay for the kids to come in? They’re getting restless stuck in their booster seats and there’s only so many grapes I can throw at them.” Max’s desperate voice called from the kitchen, and Harry grinned and looked around the two rooms for anything he might have missed.

“Harry!” Max called out even more desperately.

“Okay, okay! Let them in.” Harry called back, laughing.

The two rooms were clean and smelt fresh, the kids would drag all of their toys out, but at least the carpet under them would be clean and there would only be a few sticky hand prints all over the tables, and not a mass of them.
Calix was first into the room, running as usual, and he dived onto the toy box and tipped it over in his haste to empty it. Harry sighed, but he smiled too. He’d known that it was going to happen, and he didn’t really mind.

“I love you.” Harry told him, bending to kiss his little boy.

“Love, Mummy!” Calix said back distractedly as he hunted down the toy he wanted.

“Me too!” Tegan hurried over, already puckering her lips.

Harry kissed her and then rubbed their noses together. “I love you, Tegan.”

“Harry, go and eat breakfast, Dain and Kailen will be here soon.” Max came into the room to hurry him along, a tea towel over his shoulder, and his dark green apron stuffed with all manner of things. “I want to wash the dishes before they get here, move!”

Harry was pushed into the kitchen and sat in front of a plate of pancakes. He started eating, even as his gooey eyes were locked onto Nasta feeding Taren. He loved watching his mates feed their babies.

“I can feel your heated gaze from here.” Nasta told him, flicking his eyes up to look at him.

Harry grinned cheekily. “Well maybe you should stop being so sexy.” He said, giving Nasta, who was only wearing boxer shorts, a slow, pointed once over.

“Is this the spark coming back?” Max asked eagerly, wrapping his arms around Harry and nuzzling into him.

Harry giggled and moved his shoulder to try and force Max’s face from his neck. “No, not yet. But I am feeling so much better today. I think it’s all that excitement for later on.”

“Ah, our special meal without the little monsters. That would make anyone feel better.”

Harry snorted a laugh, and shoved Max’s head away from him. His mate dived back in for a kiss before leaving him alone to eat while he started the dishes.
They had invited Dain and Kailen over for eight thirty in the morning and Harry wanted everything to be ready by that time, which meant all the kids up, fed and dressed, and his mates all up, fed and dressed. So far everyone had been fed, but Harry was the only one dressed, and Leolin and Regan were both still asleep. Taren would be joining them in sleep after he’d had his morning feed, though Harry wasn’t much bothered by Taren sleeping through the visit, he was only eleven days old after all.
Nasta placed the bottle down on the counter and hefted Taren over his bare shoulder, rubbing his back to bring up his wind. Harry watched with love filled eyes, and his Dracken took over for a small moment to demand a new baby.

“No!” Harry screeched at himself, startling both Nasta and Max.

Blaise came skidding into the room and had Harry wrapped in his arms and wings in two seconds flat.

“Harry, what is it?” Nasta asked him.

Harry sighed and wormed his head out of Blaise’s protective shield.

“It’s stupid.”

“Nothing that makes you act like that is stupid.” Max told him, pointing a soaking wet, soapy spatula at him.

“My Dracken wants a new baby.” Harry said softly. “Taren isn’t even two weeks old yet. We do not want another baby!” He said that last mostly to himself.

Blaise’s arms loosened around him, and his wings were pulled back in, before Blaise bent to kiss him.

“Whatever happens, happens. We’ll deal with it.” His mate told him.

“No, I don’t want another baby! I’m not recovered from Taren yet!”

“Harry, your Dracken is always going to want more babies, this doesn’t mean you’re going into your breeding cycle.” Nasta soothed him, coming to throw his free arm around him.

Blaise nabbed Taren as quickly as his opportunistic hands could manage, leaving Nasta free to cwtch Harry tight in both arms.

“What if it is a sign that I’m starting my breeding cycle?” Harry asked.

“As Blaise said, we’ll deal with it if it happens and just because you start your cycle, doesn’t mean you’ll get pregnant.”

“Yeah, because my track record is stellar in that department.”

“Harry, everything will be fine, we love you.” Max told him. “Nasta’s always right, so listen to him. Just because your Dracken is craving a new baby, doesn’t mean shit. Your Dracken is always going to crave a new baby, it’s its entire point of existence. To create more little Drackens to take over the world. Now finish your breakfast and shout at us useless dominants to jump in the shower. You know I find it hot when you go all prison guard on us and order us around.”

“Speak for yourself, I’m dressed and ready.” Draco said, coming in to the kitchen freshly showered and impeccably dressed. “What happened?” He asked, taking them in and hurrying over to check for injuries. “Is it Taren?”

“No, it’s me.” Harry said, smiling a little and reaching out to hug Draco to reassure him that nothing was wrong. “My Dracken had a wobble.”

“What sort of wobble?” Draco asked.

“It wants a new baby.”

Draco blinked. “Well, as long as it’s mine this time.”

Max laughed. “Hey, no fair putting in an order for a baby so soon.”

Harry chuckled, but he kissed Draco. “I’m sure the next one will be yours. You’ll at least have a fighting chance with those potions. Speaking of, have you had one this morning?”

“Yes, I had it with breakfast, as always.” Draco assured him.

“Good. We can’t have you forgetting that potion and not giving me any sweet, blonde babies.”

“Is that even possible with this black mop?” Draco asked him with a smirk, fingering Harry’s nest of hair.

“I’ll get back to you on that.” Harry laughed.

Deciding to have a bit of fun with his mates he put his hands to his hips and turned.

“Uh-oh.” Max muttered.

“Nasta! Blaise, go and shower, and get dressed! Honestly, we have guests coming!”

Nasta chuckled and came to kiss him, before leaving the kitchen to do just that. Blaise reluctantly handed Taren over to Draco before following.

“No shower sex either!” Harry called out after them. “You don’t have time!”

“Does Taren need anything?” Draco asked.

“Likely a change in the next half an hour, but other than that, seeing as you are dressed and breakfasted, go and have a cuddle.” Harry insisted, turning back to his cold breakfast.

It took another forty minutes before they were all ready, and that was including Regan waking up and wanting breakfast, and Leolin waking up wanting a bottle, and then Taren dirtying a nappy in between.
Harry didn’t know why he was so nervous, it’s not as if Dain or Kailen hadn’t visited before, but for some reason this visit seemed so much more important than the others, at least to him. He did reason that perhaps he was just worried that something might be wrong with Leolin, or the best possible outcome, which was his eyes were more sensitive and he could see things that they couldn’t. Maybe that was why Leolin was never captured by the cartoons that seemed to hold his brothers and sisters captive. Perhaps the screen was just too bright for him to look at?
The Faeries were right on time, as usual, and Dain flooed through first. As expected, they had guards, but none of them were Warren, which was unusual, the two guards were both unfamiliar and that put Harry on guard. Neither Dain nor Kailen looked happy, in fact they looked stressed and positively downtrodden. It seemed Ezrah had escaped the city at exactly the right time, but Harry’s fear went to Eitri, who had sworn in Harry’s very living room that he would be willing to die a martyr rather than abandon his home city, and all the defenceless Faes residing there.

“It is wonderful to see you again.” Dain said, and he sounded tired. His voice was hushed, and husky, as if he had had several sleepless nights. It was almost grave, and Harry wondered if the ill Sindri had finally died.

“It’s been a while.” Harry said, smiling, and indicating the settee.

Dain and Kailen didn’t even arguing about preferring to stand this time, they just sat and though they were perfectly postured, there seemed to be the hint of a slump to them.
The two guards took up position behind the two Faeries, their gazes were sharp and very focused on Leolin, which made Harry uncomfortable. It must have made Max uncomfortable too, as he stood and closed the doors leading into the smaller living room, and the access to the floo.

“We don’t want these rugrats to run around everywhere.” He said, explaining his actions as he hefted Calix into his arms and settled him back in the nest of kids on the floor. Calix who had been about to run into the other room.

“They have all grown so big.” Kailen said, smiling at them all. It was a genuine smile, and that made Harry happy.

“How is the newly born babe Taren?”

“Oh he’s coming on so well.” Harry said. “He’ll be two weeks old in a few days now.”

Harry stood and went to pick up Taren, who was unsurprisingly fast asleep after he’d filled his little belly with warm milk.

“I still can’t get over how much he looks like Leolin.” Harry chuckled, as he handed Kailen the sleeping Taren.

“How is Leolin? We believed that this call was about him?” Dain asked.

Harry’s eyes flicked to the two Faerie guards.

“These are Nanus and Lantor.” Dain introduced. “They are our new personal guards who we have personally hired to keep us safe.”

“How are things in the city?” Harry asked.

“Difficult.” Kailen admitted. “Sindri has worsened and the healers do not believe that he will make any sort of recovery.”

“That’s terrible, I’m so sorry.”

“What will happen now?” Nasta asked.

“There have already been several who have come forward to claim the head position of the court, we must convince as many as we can to vote for Kailen.” Dain said.

“You’re running for the head position?” Harry asked, sending a look to Nasta.

“I feel that I must.” Kailen said softly. “The situation in the city is moving swiftly into chaos and lawlessness. Several dozen Faes have sought sanctuary in the House of Worship and cannot leave for fear of being attacked or imprisoned. Those who remain in the city are being violated in the worst ways and it makes me feel sick to even think of it being legal treatment.”

“Wait…wait a second, that…that behaviour is legal in the Faerie city?!” Harry demanded.

“It wasn’t.” Dain assured him. “Not until recently. Donella has made it legal.”

“Why would she do that?!” Draco hissed.

“She has become a puppet of her bonded, Talfryn. Donella is three hundred and forty, she is still young by Faerie standards, and Talfryn is much older, and much wiser. We believe that he is destabilising the city, using Donella as a cover, so that he can take over himself. He never forgave Sindri for selecting Donella to sit on the court instead of himself.”

“There were rumours that he was taking his grudge out on Donella, whispers that that was why they had lost three babes in the womb, as the gods punished them. There are also whispers of Fae lovers on the side, which has made Donella spiteful and bitter to all Faes.”

“She wants to see them hurt and attacked, because of that.” Harry whispered, feeling sick. “She would see them attacked, raped, maybe even killed, because her bonded is cheating?”

Dain and Kailen both nodded gravely.

“Donella wishes for Talfryn to be hers, only hers. She is passing all of these laws, despite meaning it removes her own rights also, in an effort to please him. She doesn’t see what is truly going to happen.”

“He’s going to force her to remove all the rights for the Faes, then he’ll just lock her up in their house and take her place as the head of the court.” Nasta sighed.

“That is what we fear will happen. Eitri has even told her this, but she refuses to listen. She told him, in front of us all, that she wishes for him to be the next victim we hear about.”

“When was this?”

“The day before last.”

“How is Eitri?” Harry asked desperately.

Dain and Kailen shared a look. “Warren is doing all he can to guard him at all times.”

“But…?” Harry queried, hearing the little inflection that told him that Dain had meant to say more.

“Eitri has been attacked, he is seen as a pariah by those who wish to go back to the ancient ways, by those Valkyries who have lusted after him and been rejected, those that want him for themselves, or just a taste of him. He has made himself the biggest target in the city, and Warren alone is not enough to hold the horde at bay. Nothing serious has happened as of yet, he has been cut and bruised, he’s had things thrown at him, but he lives, and he is whole.”

“The other Faes are counting on him. If it was not sacrilege I would say that they see him as a living embodiment of the gods. He is the only one still strong enough to raise his voice, to call out all Valkyries for the horrors they are committing. The other Faes flock to him for protection, look to him to make things right, but Eitri is so very young. He can’t protect them, he cannot even protect himself, he has had his rights stripped from him, the same as they have, his voice has almost been snuffed out entirely. It won’t be long before Donella removes all Faes from the court, herself included. Eitri will be hunted down at this time, and the fate that will befall him is too terrible to say aloud.”

“You have to do something!” Harry told them, feeling choked and tearful. “You can’t let this carry on!”

“As we have said, Kailen is aiming to be voted into the head position of the court.” Dain said. “This is all that we can do. Eitri is willing to sacrifice himself as a martyr, he will not consent to be smuggled out of the city, and it is almost too late for him to do so. All those wishing to leave the city now require permission from the court, we barely managed to get the votes we needed to come here today. Ezrah has been recalled several times to face his ‘crimes’ and has thankfully ignored them. He would be ripped to pieces the moment he entered the city now.”

Harry felt bile climb up his throat at the very thought of the sweet Fae who had been sat in this very room just a few days ago being physically ripped apart for the horrors his father had committed while he’d been just a child.

“They…they’ll take Lathen. They’ll hold Lathen prisoner and force Ezrah into the city that way.” Harry said, his voice wavering.

“We have warned Lathen of this.” Dain assured him. “As of yesterday he no longer comes to the city. He took Ezrah’s mother with him. They are safe and will remain so.”

Harry took a deep breath at the thought of Ezrah being safe, but it didn’t last. Eitri wasn’t safe, and was in fact in grave danger. One of his friends might be safe, but the other certainly wasn’t.

“You have to get Eitri out of the city.” Harry said, tears welling up.

“He will not go, Harry. We’ve tried, we swear that we have tried. Eitri is willing to stand by his words, he will die a martyr before he gives up on what he believes is right. He would never abandon the other Faes to their horrid fate. If he left the city, and stopped making himself the biggest target for the ire of the Valkyries whom he is fighting against, those Valkyries would turn to other activities…they would target other Faes, who for the moment are being somewhat shielded by Eitri’s very public protests, which is drawing the attention of almost everyone in the city.”

“If Eitri were out of the way, then the other Faes stand no chance. I fear that the Valkyries would even storm the House of Worship, to make playthings out of the Faes seeking sanctuary there.” Kailen added, his voice low, and full of pain. “Please believe that we are doing all that we can, there are just too many Valkyries who believe that they are far superior to the Faes, and that it is the natural order of things that they should be mere playthings to use and discard as they please.”

“How is Narilla?” Harry asked, remembering how kind and sweet the woman had been. How gently she had looked at Leolin.

“Narilla is one of the pillars of the city.” Dain told him. “Her bonded adores the very bones of her, and he refuses to allow her to leave the house for fear of any harm coming to her. Her family, and his, have taken refuge in their home, and they are protecting her day and night, along with fifteen other Faes who Narilla managed to round up before things got too bad.”

“That’ll make their home a target, if there are sixteen Faes in the one house.” Max pointed out.

“There are twenty-three Faes in the house, and it is a big target because of that, but as I said the house is very well protected, and while Eitri still lives, he is still the biggest target of attention. The catalyst will be Eitri’s death, if and when it comes. The city is being held together by a single thread, and Eitri has a firm hold upon that thread. If they manage to remove Eitri…” Kailen shook his head, and he had to swallow hard before he could carry on speaking. “If they manage to remove Eitri, it will be the beginning of the end. They would storm Narilla’s home for the Faes hidden inside. They would even storm the House of Worship for those Faes seeking sanctuary within. Our gods will be desecrated, our Faes will be passed around as if a mere trinket, and the city will go back several hundred years, back to the ancient ways.”

“We won’t let that happen.” The guard introduced as Nanus said firmly. “My precious daughter will not become some Valkyrie’s pet!” He spat.

“We must be ready to fight any take over.” Dain insisted. “We must be ready to put Kailen in position.”

“You don’t think they’ll have a vote, do you?” Harry asked worriedly. “You think, when the time comes, they’ll just put Talfryn in the head position.”

Dain looked hesitant, but then he nodded. “Yes, that is what I fear. It will come down to a fight then, and we must execute Talfryn before he can do the same to us, to Kailen, who will be the one opposing him.”

“I will give my life if need be.” The other guard, Lantor, insisted gruffly. “Not all of us want a return to the ancient ways. Not all of us are sick, perverted wretches who feel that the only way to be superior to Faes is by abusing them, and taking away their voices and free will. I want to keep heading the way Sindri taught us! I want equality between all citizens of the city.”

“We are fighting to make that possible.” Kailen insisted. “I will carry on Sindri’s work, not abolish it and make a return to the ancient ways. I too agree with equality between citizens.”

“Do you have enough people to oppose Talfryn?” Nasta asked.

“We are part of the minority.” Dain admitted. “Those Faeries who are older than four hundred vastly outnumber those who are younger. Those who are older tend to want this change back to the old ways that they all remember. There are only a few of us within this group over four hundred who are fighting this chaos. Those who are too young to even remember the ancient ways are rightfully terrified of something they thought had been abolished for good. They have never been treated in such a way before, and do not know how to protect themselves, which is why they are looking to Eitri, whom they see as a kindred spirit, to fight for them.”

“That’s a lot of pressure on him, while he is so young.” Kailen added. “He has always been a Fae above the others. It was how he managed to gain Sindri’s patronage, and a seat on the court so very, very young. He has always been outspoken, and an activist. He is strong, well spoken, and if anyone can survive this, it will be him.”

“Help him.” Harry all but demanded.

“We are helping him.” Dain said calmingly. “Eitri is doing things his own way, and it involves making himself the biggest target by being the only Fae fighting this chaos the hardest, by being out in the open, and refusing to hide. He is almost provoking the Valkyries by walking the streets as he usually would, trying to go about his business as normal, and refusing to allow the Valkyrie upstarts to do what they please. He is holding them all accountable for their actions, and he is shouting out their crimes in public, naming and shaming them, and promising that justice will be swiftly coming. He is pinning all his hopes on Kailen being voted into the head position, as are we all.”

Kailen swallowed heavily, and Harry all but saw the pressure crushing him. It reminded him of how he had felt when he’d been told that the wizarding world looked to him to defeat Voldemort. That much pressure was crushing, and it made the uphill struggle feel impossible to achieve, yet the alternative was impossible to accept.

“If…if Eitri is the catalyst to everything ending, are…are you waiting for him to be killed to act?” Harry asked.

“No, certainly not.” Kailen told him sharply. “We are doing all we can currently to ensure that Eitri remains alive, that this devolvement in the laws and statuses of all Faes is reversed. Please believe that we are doing all that we can to fight this, Harry. We are outnumbered, and those of us who are fighting these changes are fearing for our lives, but that does not mean that we will give up.”

“We will fight with our lives if need be.” Dain said seriously, the two guards nodding. “We are prepared to die for this cause, Harry, the same as Eitri.”

“Is Leolin at risk?” Draco asked them then. “Is this issue with the laws going to put our son at risk?”

Harry watched with a racing heart as Dain and Kailen shared a look, and his stomach sunk.

“He is.” He said breathlessly. “He is at risk!”

“They cannot get to him here.” Dain soothed. “We are just worried that perhaps they will use us, Kailen and I, to get to him.”

“Whatever you do, Harry, Nasta, please do not go to the city, even if the invite looks as if it is from us, do not come, and never take Leolin there, please.” Kailen pleaded.

Nasta stood and went to pick up Leolin from his bouncer, and he stood there, holding the two year old tight.

“Da!” Leolin complained, using a tiny hand to shove at Nasta’s face, little nails digging into his skin.

“He is certainly growing.” Kailen said, making an effort to force a smile, but the worry creases did not ease from his face.

“Was there an issue with him? Not that we mind just visiting, but your message sounded rather urgent.” Dain said, looking even more stressed.

“We…we were just wondering how sensitive his eyes were.” Harry said, but it sounded so trivial now compared to the chaos of the Faerie city. “He seems to be recognising us by our eye colour more than anything, and he seems to be able to…almost count us by looking at our eyes. He doesn’t recognise any of us if we close our eyes, though he now knows me by smell.”

The Faeries all nodded. “Yes, this is well documented in Faeries. The bond of love is created through the eyes.” Kailen said.

“It is exceptionally common in Faerie babes to memorise the eyes of those they deem as safe, starting with family members.” Dain agreed.

“How does this work with people who have similar eye colours? We’re all quite different.” Harry said, looking at his mates. “But Tegan and Regan have eyes that are almost identical, and they’re very similar to Nasta’s.”

“None of your children have remotely similar eyes.” Dain said, sounding confused.

Harry shared a look with his mates, and Max went and dug out Tegan and Regan, holding one in each arm.

“These two.” He insisted, holding them so that the Faeries could see them.

The Faeries shared another look.

“They…they don’t look the same to you?” Harry asked.

“No.” Dain said shaking his head. “Little Tegan’s eyes are vastly darker, and Regan has more of the Faerie gold.”

Max looked down at the kids, then turned to them. Harry looked at Regan and Tegan, and they’re eyes looked the exact same shade of hazel to him.

“So Faerie eyes are definitely more sensitive than ours.” Nasta said, sighing.

“They look the same to you?” Dain asked them.

They all nodded. “Yes, they look exactly the same to us.” Harry said. “They’re pretty much identical. Oh…”

Harry stood this time and he went to pick up Eva and Ave.

“What about these two. They’re identical twins, are their eyes the same colour to you?”

Harry showed the Faeries Eva and Ave’s bright blue eyes, so similar to Max’s.
Kailen looked almost like he thought that they were having them on, and Harry knew before they shook their heads that to the Faeries, Eva and Ave had different coloured eyes to them.

“This is little Eva, she has more blue to her eyes.” Dain explained, reaching forward to touch Eva’s foot. “We have been able to tell them apart from the moment you introduced them, because their eyes have always been different.”

Harry looked at Eva himself, recognising her through scent, and her eyes looked the exact same shade of blue as Ave’s.

He shook his head. “They look exactly the same to me.”

“So Leolin’s eyes are definitely more sensitive.” Nasta said, looking into the Faerie gold eyes of the baby in his arms. “He can see colours that we can’t, or at the least see differences that we can’t.”

“Was this what you were worried about?”

Harry nodded. “It wasn’t so much a worry, but we were wondering about the sun, if his eyes are more sensitive, should we take more precaution when outside?”

Dain and Kailen both shook their heads. “Faeries do better with unobstructed exposure to nature.” Dain explained. “Do not block his sight or touch to nature.”

“What about burning?”

“Protect him from that.” Kailen said. “He will do just as well in shaded areas.”

“He noticed things lighting up before I could see it.” Harry said.

“Again, this will be because he can detect more light than you can. I had not known there was a difference. We knew there was with humans, just not with Drackens.” Kailen told him.

Nasta sighed, and he kissed Leolin, who blinked in surprise, before Nasta handed him over to Dain, as Kailen was still cradling the sleeping Taren.
Dain smiled at the tiny Faerie in his lap, and stroked the jet black hair.

“We…we also had a question, but it’s rather personal.” Harry said, looking at the two of them, being forced to put the twins down as they squirmed, wanting to play.

“We will answer anything you ask if it is within our ability to answer.” Kailen said seriously.

Harry looked at Nasta, wondering if he was still okay with this. It was his family after all. It was his call to make in Harry’s opinion.

“I wanted to know which of you I was related to.” Nasta said seriously, straight to the point.

“You are related to us both.” Dain said fiercely.

“We understand that, we do.” Harry said calmly. “Drackens have very blended families after all, but where did Nasta’s line start. Which of you is he blood related to?”

“Would it make a difference to you if you knew?” Kailen asked, almost sadly, as he held Taren tighter to him. Harry knew from the way that they were both acting that Nasta had come from Dain’s blood.

“No.” Nasta said with a shrug of the shoulder. “I see all of these babies as mine, despite that only four of them are actually mine by blood. If you don’t want to say, that’s fine, I was merely curious.”

“You’re related to Dain.” Kailen said. He had an almost dejected air about him, as if he truly believed that things would change now, but that wasn’t how Drackens thought. Not about family.

Dain looked at Kailen, and reached out a hand to support him.

“Our first born, my son Delwyn.” Dain said softly. “He is the only one who had babes of his own before…before…”

“Before that monster tore apart our family forever.” Kailen finished when it seemed that Dain would be unable to. “Delwyn and Abiela had two babes, Kian, and then Daire. My first born son, Neifion, he was the only other who had bonded to anyone, but…his little babe, Karin, died less than half a year after she was born and his bonded, Kasen never forgave himself for the loss. He stopped speaking to us when Neifion died also, just a year later. He is now bonded to another Fae, with two beautiful babes. None….none of our others had even met a person that they wished to bond with. Our girls, Rhonwen and Keri, our twin boys Darin and Kyrin, they were too young, they had not even thought of those sorts of things when…”

Kailen trailed off, his voice strangled with grief.

“How old were Kian and Daire?” Harry asked softly.

“Eight and two.”

“Why didn’t Abiela take care of them, you were grieving too.” Blaise pointed out.

The fierce looks on both of their faces was actually terrifying as the Fae was mentioned.

“That selfish, heartless crone!” Kailen spat.

“I told you that she was too weak for our Delwyn. He needed a good, strong Fae, and she was not that.” Dain added. Faerie gold eyes looked up at them, as Dain stared at them in turn. “Abiela couldn’t bear the thought of life without Delwyn. She did not even try!” He hissed angrily.

“She had two sweet babes, who had just lost their father, they were confused, particularly Kian, who was older. He was eight, and had formed a strong attachment to his father in that year. That selfish, weak Fae killed herself. Even knowing that Daire was only two, the same age that Leolin is now, and that he had a very strong attachment to her and could not even sleep if he was not in her arms, she killed herself. She ripped all the warmth and comfort that those two babes could have had with the loss of their father because she was not strong enough to try for them.”

“Those early years with them both…” Dain trailed off and had to look away from them. “Daire would not settle without his mother. He cried morn, noon, and dusk for his mother, calling for her endlessly, hitting and lashing out at us and his brother Kian, crying himself sick, refusing food, using excess sleep to escape reality. He did not settle with us until he was six.”

“Over four years with a babe grieving as hard for his beloved mother as we wished that we could. Kian was little better. He missed both his mother and father, his uncles and aunts whom he had come to know as safe. He withdrew from all social interactions, and he was scared of every shadow after having all of those people he had come to know as safe ripped away from him.”

“We were so busy coddling Daire that we did not see it at first. Narilla was such a huge help to us in this time. She was so calm and loving, Kian adored her and came to see her as a surrogate mother. Daire eventually came to see us as safe, and he bonded with us, though there was always a part of him that missed his mother dreadfully. We believe fully that his broken heart was the reason he died suddenly in his sleep, when he was only one hundred and ninety.”

The heartbreak on Dain’s face as he told them that almost choked Harry. He thought of Eitri, who was one hundred and ten, how young he looked, how full of life. He looked almost the same age as himself, if not perhaps younger. One hundred and ninety was exceptionally young for a Faerie to just die in their sleep, and it made him ache to hold Leolin tighter. He couldn’t imagine putting his son through such a thing, he couldn’t imagine knowingly breaking any of his children’s hearts.

“Daire did have his Nesta first, before he died, and he showered him with such love that we had hoped that perhaps…” Kailen trailed off and turned instead to stroke Taren’s face.

“We’d hoped that he was healing his own heartbreak with love for his son.” Dain carried on. “But he was never the same. His life was changed, ruined almost, when he was just two years old, when his mother killed herself at the pinnacle of his attachment to her. We often wonder what sort of boy he would have been had she not…ah, but it is useless to speculate on such things, of course.”

“Our beautiful Nesta then met and married Urien, at which point the Dracken blood was introduced to our line, and then your line, as you no doubt know, was carried on through Nesta’s oldest son Dai, who took the full Dracken blood of his other father, Urien.”

“His only son, Hywel, is my grandfather. He and his mate, Poppy, also had a daughter, Drysi, but she was stillborn, and Poppy died trying to birth her. My great-grandfather never mated again.” Nasta said.

“Wait, hold up a second. Your great-grandmother died in her nest?” Draco demanded.

“I…yes.” Nasta said, frowning at the blond. “Drysi was stillborn, and Poppy couldn’t birth her properly. She tried to give herself a caesarean, but it was too late.”

Draco and Blaise shared a look, then looked at Harry. Harry pulled back and frowned.

“What?” He asked them.

Max it seemed had cottoned on to what Draco and Blaise had, but Harry was still very confused. It seemed that Nasta was as well.

“Does your line have a history of…of submissives dying while giving birth?” Max asked Nasta.

Nasta looked offended. “It’s only happened twice, Max. My great-grandmother, and…and my own mother, with my birth.”

“Yeah, but if what Dain and Kailen are saying is right, then your family is only four generation Dracken. To have two of those generations have submissives dying in their nests…”

“Technically our family is now five generation Dracken.” Nasta said, the hint of a growl to his tone.

“None of your babies so far are Drackens, only Leolin has creature blood and it’s full Faerie.”

“What are you trying to say?!” Nasta demanded furiously, as he and Max squared up to one another.

Harry didn’t wait. He was too afraid, and after what had happened during the last fight, he wasn’t willing to risk it as he screeched, high and loud, letting a distressed note come through, calling for help from all family members.
He held his arms out to stop his mates clamouring him, as they went full Dracken, which likely terrified the visiting Faeries, and Harry slipped away from Max’s strong grip and huddled on the floor.

“What are you boys doing this time?!” Myron’s roar cut through all noise. “What is wrong with you all!?”

Harry was picked up from the floor and he threw his arms around Myron and clenched tightly, probably too tightly, but he didn’t want to let go.

“What caused this?” Xerxes’ voice cut above the silence. The babies had gone deathly still, and deathly silent, even Leolin and Taren, who was now awake, his gluey blue eyes squinting.

No one said anything.

“Speak, or so help me I will show you exactly how I kept your father, and uncles, in line, Max.” That was Alexander, and he sounded more furious than Harry had ever heard him before.

“Those three believe that Harry and I shouldn’t have any more children.” Nasta growled, and Harry heard the edge of feralness to his voice and shivered, trying to burrow deeper into Myron.

“What nonsense is this?” Aneirin asked of them. “How can you even possibly have control over that?”

“It would work if we killed him.” That was Blaise, and Harry would never have expected it of him. The tears came unbidden.

“As if you even could!” Nasta snarled. “I’m top dominant for a reason!”

“What in the name of Merlin started you on this train of thought?” Richard demanded. “Why would you want Nasta out of your mateship?”

“Because my mother died in her nest, and Poppy died in hers, they seem to think there’s a link!”

“Fourth generation Drackens and two of those generations’ submissives have died. That is a link!”

“Five generations.” Nasta hissed.

“Are you all so stupid that you would fight over something like this?” Aneirin demanded. He sounded furious too, Harry reasoned it was his mate’s death being brought up, and the thought that the others wanted Nasta dead, his youngest son, when he had already felt the heartbreak of losing a child when his only daughter, Angharad, had died.

“Aneirin is right, you boys are just too much.” Alexander told them. “How dare you even think of turning such tragic circumstances against Nasta! You are supposed to love one another!”

“I don’t want Harry to die!” Blaise hissed.

“I’m not going to die!” Harry screeched. The distressed note was still there.

He tried to turn in Myron’s arms to face them all, but the man had him held tight and secure. It was comforting…more so when a huge hand pressed against his back and rubbed soothingly.

“I can’t even believe any of you!” Harry shouted, ignoring the tears falling, turning to look at them as much as he could. “How dare you do this to me again! You swore to me that this would never happen again. How dare you make me feel so scared in my own home! I hate all of you, get away from me!”

“Do you want to come with me, sweet one?” Alexander asked him.

“No, I’m staying right here. They’re the ones leaving.”

“Harry…” Max whispered, taking a step towards him.

“Get away!” Harry yelled. “I mean it, Max. Stay away from me. How dare you talk so easily about killing one of my mates! How dare you!”

“You just never learn.” Myron said, glaring at the four dominants. “You take a step forward, and two steps back. You need to be better, some separation will be good.”

“No!” Blaise cried out.

“You’ve done this all off your own backs.” Aneirin said angrily. “Harry has asked you to leave, for once why don’t you do as he wants?”

“We have reservations for tonight.” Draco said quietly.

“Do you think I want to be anywhere near any of you now?!” Harry demanded. “You’ve ruined everything. Why do you all just ruin everything! I was so excited this morning about…about tonight. I was looking forward to having a quiet meal with you all, just us, and you’ve ruined it like you ruin everything!”

His mates had enough self-preservation to stay silent, and look shamefaced too. They knew how much he’d been looking forward to Valentine’s, and now all he wanted was them out of this house. All of them.
Nasta didn’t protest at all when his father told him to go and pack a bag. Draco and Blaise argued until Myron threatened to drag them out by their collars. Max tried to argue, but Alexander shot down all protests immediately and demanded that his grandson complied…or else.

“Harry, we don’t want to leave you here with all the kids alone.” Aneirin tried.

Harry shook his head. “I need to be alone with them for a while.”

“Call us if you need anything.” Richard told him, just as Nasta came back into the room, an overnight bag packed.

“Harry. I am sorry.” His mate told him.

Harry nodded, but he couldn’t even look at Nasta. His mate went and kissed all of the still quiet babies, and then he left. One down, three more to get rid of.
Max left quietly, but Blaise did not. Draco was visibly fuming, but Harry didn’t want to hear it. He wanted an empty house, and quickly.

“I’m sorry you had to see this.” Harry said to the Faeries, after all four of his mates had left.

“Are you going to be okay?” Dain asked, still holding Leolin.

“I’ll be just fine.” Harry answered stiffly.

“Will…will they be back?”

“Undoubtedly. Until then I’ll enjoy keeping them on their best behaviour.”

“We are sorry that our talk is what caused this. We would never want you to fight, nor to break your relationship.”

“You didn’t, they did that all by themselves by being idiots. This has happened before and we got through it, there’s nothing to suggest that this won’t be the same. Unfortunately I was looking forward to our plans this evening, and they knowingly ruined that, so I am…disappointed, more than anything. They knew how excited I was about tonight, and still they did this. I won’t forgive that so easily, but I will eventually forgive them…once I’ve let them grovel for a while first.”

“Good on you, sweetheart.” Alexander told him. “And well done on calling us so quickly to help you.”

“I…I had a flashback to the last fight, and I had to call you all. I couldn’t let it escalate like it did the last time.”

Myron held him tightly, rubbing a hand over his head and back, comforting him and soothing him.

“We don’t want to leave you like this.” Dain said.

“I need to be alone.” Harry insisted. “Please, just for a while. I’m just sorry that those idiots ruined an otherwise pleasant visit. Please don’t think badly of us.”

“No, we understand.” Kalen assured him. “Haven’t we told you that Dain and I would attack one another, that we almost killed one another during our grief? We understand and think no less of you.”

It took a while before everyone left, and Myron really didn’t want to leave him alone, but he eventually relented, but swore that he would be back first thing in the morning.
Harry distracted himself for the rest of the day by looking after all nine kids by himself. Maybe he should have accepted some help, he was still recovering from giving birth, but he wanted, needed, to be alone. So he managed all of Taren’s feeds and changes by himself, did the same for Leolin, he sorted out lunch, and then dinner, for the older kids, and then he struggled through bath time by himself by using the nursery as a playpen.
Taren was back in his routine, sleeping, and Harry held Leolin on his lap as he read a group story to the others. They weren’t too upset over the change to their routine, or by not seeing their daddies, but Harry was sure that would change by tomorrow, when they realised that this change was more permanent.
Harry hadn’t done any of the night feeds thus far, his mates hadn’t let him, so Harry knew exactly what was to come, and he hated them for that too. He hated them for putting him in this position.
He smiled sadly as he tucked Braiden into his little toddler bed, in his own room, and he brushed the black hair from his sweet little face. He kissed his son and went back to his bedroom, picking Taren up and carrying him downstairs.

“Just us for now, love.” He said softly, aware that the newborn was sleeping.

He sighed and headed to the kitchen, putting Taren in the tableside bassinet, and unclipping the collection of baby monitors from the waistband of his jeans. He opened the fridge and tried to force himself to make something to eat. All he could think about was the upscale restaurant they had had reservations for tonight, and he wanted to cry again. He really had been looking forward to that, he’d been excited for some quality time with just his mates, everything had been planned, and then in the next moment everything was in ruins. It would take a lot for him to forgive them for that, when he’d been so excited and almost on the edge of being aroused.
Now he was cooking a solitary meal for himself, on Valentine’s Day, and he didn’t even have anyone to snuggle with in bed later. He’d have that to himself as well.
He understood that Drackens were a rather aggressive species as a whole. That they were territorial, possessive, and some would even say violent, and he could see their point, but he’d thought that after the massive fight, which was almost a year ago now, that his mateship had grown past all of that.
He supposed he was just disappointed to find out that that wasn’t the case. All the therapy, and anger management, hadn’t meant shit when it had come down to it.
Harry stabbed a piece of pasta and chewed on it angrily. This wouldn’t break them up, he mused, but neither would he allow them to get away with threatening to kill one another. They were his dominant mates after all, it was supposed to be his decision, and his alone, on who he had picked to mate with, and they had to like it if they still wanted him as a mate. Maybe he should have spent more time considering all of their different personalities, and how much they would clash, when he had been choosing his forever mates, but he couldn’t even think on which one he would have excluded. He loved them all with all of his heart. His Dracken did too, because of their babies, but that love was different, he could feel the difference in his heart.
Harry didn’t finish half of his plate before he stood and scraped it off. He was done eating. He picked up Taren and carried him, and the baby monitors, into the smaller living room. It didn’t make him feel quite so alone when he was in the smaller, more intimate room.
He sat down and cradled Taren in his arms, unsettled by the silence around him, uneasy with the thought that he was the only one here to protect nine babies.
He shook his head, he was still a wizard, and he had his wand on him. He had defeated Voldemort, and anyone who dared attack him was going to be blasted into a hundred pieces before he allowed anyone to harm his babies.
Harry lasted until Taren had had his last feed for today, his next one would be at around one in the morning. He went to bed early, casting a barrier ward over the stairs to stop anyone from coming up them. He felt slightly paranoid doing this, but he reminded himself that he had nine babies, and he couldn’t hold them all at once. He was doing it to protect his babies.
He brought four bottles up with him, two for Taren, one for Leolin, and one spare, just in case. He was alone in the bedroom, so he wouldn’t have to hurry the baby out of the room to allow anyone else to drop back off to sleep. He could sit in the warm, cosy bed and feed Taren in comfort.
Or at least that is what he tried to tell himself, as he set everything up, and laid Taren in the bedside bassinet and went to get himself ready for bed. He wasn’t doing anything other than sitting downstairs and thinking too hard, he could easily do that in the comfort of his bed.
The issue was Harry hadn’t really realised how big the bed was until he was lying in it alone. It was odd, and he didn’t like it, and that pissed him off too.
There were no elbows digging into him, no knees knocking into him, no arms squeezing him, there were no grunts or snores, no other noises to prevent him from sleeping, but he found himself missing all of it, and he couldn’t drop off to sleep.
He rolled onto his stomach carefully, and buried his face in his pillow. The tears came before he even realised that he was upset. It was hard and messy as he cried out everything that he was currently feeling, damning his awful luck once again for what had happened, cursing all four of his mates for ruining everything, for fighting and threatening one another. Harry did eventually cry himself to sleep, his eyes puffy and sore, much too cold in the big bed, and due to get up again in a few short hours to feed Taren, his Valentine’s Day utterly ruined.

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A/N: Poor Harry can’t catch a break, but thankfully things aren’t as bad as they were back in May during the fic timeline, when Blaise was on his deathbed and Harry thought he was mated to centaurs. But these boys seriously test my patience. I had a lovely Valentine’s meal all planned for them, and then they’ve gone and done this. It’s so bad that I’m actually going to ‘re-use’ the meal idea at a later point in the fic, once this has all blown over, because I worked hard on that scene. So I’m definitely with Harry on this one, they ruin everything, especially my plot lines.
This is all for now, I will be back in exactly a week with chapter 127 for you all. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well as all the others,
StarLight Massacre. X
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The Rise of the Drackens