Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Restoration of Magic	By : Bickymonster & CelticKitsune Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 10397 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. We are not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Okay, for this chapter we would like to thank a couple people. First, A HUGE thank you to Emily for beta reading this for us! And second, we would also like to thank peruvianprincess, (From Fanfiction dot net), who provided a great deal of information about the uses of Empathic and Empathetic. It was a genuinely interesting read, though I think we are both happy with our choice of using Empathetic. This is because we wanted to separate it slightly from the magical power kind of Empathy that has become a bit of a trope, and make it more a serious condition that happens to some Fae.
March 1995

The other witches and wizards at the home seemed relieved that Harry was back to himself by dinner that evening; particularly Blaise, who had hugged him close, and Draco, who had clipped him around the ear and told Harry never to scare him like that again. Draco and Pansy had also taken great pleasure in showing Harry the bruises he had given them during his night terror.

Harry had apologised profusely to all of them, and hung onto Blaise for dear life, taking great comfort in his mate. He had also gone with Draco and Pansy to get them treatment for their minor injuries. He was thankful that by the next day things seemed to have more or less returned to normal. There was something that was playing on his mind though.

“You still haven’t told me what Kire told you,” Harry said with a grin, as he sidled up to Draco on the way to lunch. “And you did promise.”

“And to think I was worried you wouldn’t get back to yourself,” Draco said dryly, smirking sideways at his friend. “I should have known better than to think you would ever give up on driving me crazy.”

“Of course, Draco,” Harry said, wrapping his arms around Draco’s, and looking up with wide, innocent eyes. “I know you would miss me. But don’t you worry your pretty face about it because you are never going to be rid of me.”

“You think I’m pretty?” Draco asked with false shock, his hand raised to his lips as he gasped.

Harry laughed. “You’re gorgeous and you know it,” he said, giving his friend a playful shove. “Now stop fishing for compliments and start talking. I want to know what Kire told you.”

“This isn’t the kind of conversation we can just have out here in the open,” Draco said rolling his eyes at Harry. The smaller boy only grinned, holding tightly onto Draco’s arm as he changed their direction and started dragging the blond back to their room instead. “Harry!” Draco yelped, stumbling while Harry continued to drag him along. “What about lunch?”

“We can skip one meal, I want to know everything you do!” Harry said with a wide grin.

“Bestowing my vasts amount of knowledge on you will take longer than a lunch break,” Draco said. He couldn't help but smile when he heard Harry laugh. Although he really did want to avoid having this conversation with Harry, it was really nice to see his best friend back to normal.

They arrived back at their room fairly quickly, despite Draco’s protests, and mostly serious attempts to change Harry’s mind. However, Harry was very insistent about wanting to know what Draco had been told.

“If there is a good reason why I can’t always be with Blaise, I want to know,” Harry said, letting Draco’s arm go and turning to face the blond boy.

“Alright, alright,” Draco said in surrender. “You might want to sit down for this though.” Draco watched as Harry grinned before bouncing onto Draco’s bed. “And you have to sit still!” Draco huffed as Harry continued bouncing slightly on the bed. The smaller boy giggled but sat as still as was possible for him.

“Good enough I suppose,” Draco mumbled, he grabbed a chair from a nearby desk and pulled it over so he could sit in front of the fidgeting boy. “I’m not really sure where to start first,” Draco sighed running a hand through his hair.

“Where did Kire start first?” Harry asked tilting his head curiously.

“Well, he… he explained why you and I sleep here with the girls, and not over in the boys dorms,” Draco said and Harry frowned.

“It’s ‘cause we’re like girls, right?” Harry asked, and Draco blinked at him in surprise.

“How do you know that?”

Harry giggled at Draco’s shocked expression before answering. “Alais told me. I asked her why you and me had to sleep over here, and why our mates are also boys, and she told me that it was ‘cause we were more like the girls than the boys,” Harry said. The answer was so simple, the kind of answer someone would have given a small child, which he was compared to most of their other yearmates. Harry was more childish than all of them.

“Okay, well that is a good start, do you know why we’re more like the girls though?” Draco asked.

“Because we are so little!” Harry said excitedly, proud of himself for having figure that much out.

“What? I’m not little! I’m taller than you,” Draco pointed out.

“So is Pansy, and she IS a girl,” Harry retorted smugly, crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his nose in the air.

Draco gave an exasperated huff, and shook his head. “That’s not why we are like the girls,” he explained. “It’s… more complicated than that.”

“How so?” Harry asked, his curiosity coming to the forefront now he realised he might actually learn something new.

“We can have babies, like the girls can,” Draco told him, watching Harry carefully for his reaction. As much as Harry wanted to know the truth, Draco didn’t want to end up traumatising or upsetting him. Draco was also hoping he wouldn’t have to go into too many details like Kire had.

"I can have babies?” Harry asked curiously, tipping his head to the side as he mulled it over, but he just ended up looking confused. “How does that happen?"

"With the help of your mate," Draco said, being as vague as he possibly could be.

"So Blaise gives me babies?" Harry questioned, and Draco nodded. He waited to see what question Harry would have next because he knew there was no chance that his friend would leave it at that. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Harry opened his mouth again. “Where does Blaise get the babies from?”

Draco let out a surprised laugh, before managing to stifle it, realising that Harry was actually serious. "No, Harry,” Draco said sweetly, “it doesn’t quite work like that. You and Blaise have to have sex, and then you have babies. You make them together."

“Oh,” Harry said, nodding his head as if he understood what Draco had just told him. "When do we have sex?"

“You don’t!” Draco said quickly, taken by surprise by Harry’s question. He was rather alarmed by the thought of Harry and Blaise having sex, not when Harry was still so very innocent.

Harry frowned in confusion. “But you just said…”

"I know what I just said,” Draco said, taking a deep breath. “You’re not going to have sex for a VERY long time,” Draco paused before adding, “or never; never would be good for me,” he shuddered at the memory of his talk with Kire.

"Why?" Harry huffed in irritation, feeling as if this conversation was going nowhere, or at least he wasn’t getting answers from Draco.

"Do you even know what sex is?" Draco asked, giving Harry a pointed look.

"No, but that's why you're going to tell me!" Harry said, with a nod of his head, as though that settled the matter.

“I am not telling you how to have sex!” Draco exclaimed incredulously. It had been hard enough listening to Kire talk about it, he certainly wasn’t ready to teach Harry about such things.

Harry pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Then what’s the point of this talk?”

“To tell you what Kire told me,” Draco said, too used to Harry’s miniature sulks to actually be swayed by one of them. He knew that he and Harry were basically the same age, but Harry really did seem so much younger, and it seemed wrong for him to know about such activities. Plus he didn’t think that Harry knowing how to make a baby with Blaise was a particularly good idea, because, knowing Harry, he might just give it a go.

“But Kire told you what sex was!” Harry insisted stubbornly.

“And how do you know I didn’t know what that was before I talked to Kire?” Draco challenged.

Harry snorted derisively. “Because you wouldn’t have had to talk to Kire if you already knew,” he stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Draco smirked at Harry; he could be just as stubborn as Harry about this. “Well I’m not telling you what it is,” Draco said, crossing his arms over his chest too.

“But how is Blaise going to give me babies if I don’t know how?” Harry all but whined, looking as though he was about to cry. Draco knew better than to fall or that one though.

“I am sure Theo will have explained it to Blaise,” Draco said dismissively, he was more than ready to be done with this conversation. As far as he was concerned, if Harry and Blaise really did want to have sex at some point, Blaise would be able to explain what Harry needed to know then.

“Fine,” Harry huffed standing from the bed. “I’ll just go ask Blaise then.” Harry grinned and was out of the room before Draco could even register what the smaller boy had said.

-------------x

Blaise was just finishing up his lunch when his small mate landed in the seat next to him. “There you are; I was wondering if I was going to have to hunt you down, and make you come eat something,” Blaise said with a small grin.

“I will eat something, but I have a super important question for you,” Harry said quickly, his eyes darting toward the door. Blaise turned and followed his gaze, smirking when he saw that Draco had come running into the dining hall.

“Alright, ask away,” Blaise said, turning back to face Harry.

“Do you know what sex is?” Harry asked, blinking in confusion when Pansy started laughing, and Theodore was coughing after nearly spitting out his drink.

“Who taught you that word?” Blaise asked, looking horrified and quite embarrassed.

“Draco,” Harry told him unashamedly, “he was telling me that’s how you give me babies.”

Theodore and Pansy both laughed at that, mostly at Blaise’s shocked expression. “Blimey, Draco, what were you telling him all that for?” Theodore asked with amusement, as the blond reached them.

“You know what he’s like when he wants to know something,” Draco said huffily, as he dropped himself into a seat next to Theodore. “And then he wanted me to give him details,” he added in a scandalised whisper. Theodore laughed harder, wrapping an arm around Draco’s waist to pull his mate closer to him.

“So… does everyone know what sex is?” Harry asked looking across to Theodore and Draco, then turning so he could see Pansy and Neville. Pansy seemed just as amused as Theodore was, though Neville had a light blush coloring his face.

“I don’t know what sex is either,” Hannah piped up, having been listening curiously to the conversation.

“Will you please stop saying that word, at least while we are in the dining hall?” Blaise requested, glancing around the Dining Hall nervously to see who might have overheard. Thankfully it seemed that no one was paying them any mind.

“What word? Sex?” Harry asked and Blaise nodded. “Why? What’s wrong with that word?” Harry asked feeling even more confused than he had been before.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Pansy said, reaching over to pat Harry’s arm. “And don’t worry about these stuck up guys, if they won’t tell you what sex is, then I will,” Pansy said helpfully, earning a huge grin from Harry.

“Really?” Harry asked excitedly.

“No you will not!” Blaise insisted, glaring at Pansy. He was sure that once his little mate knew what it was, Harry would get all sorts of ideas about trying it out for themselves, and he was pretty certain that neither of them were ready for that yet.

“Not like you can stop me,” Pansy said with a shrug, not fazed at all by the glare aimed at her. “I share a room with him after all, remember?” she reminded the tan boy. “Besides, why are you so against Harry knowing this? He’s going to have to know it eventually,” Pansy pointed out.

“But he doesn’t need to know NOW,” Blaise pointed out firmly.

“Oh, calm down,” Pansy said dismissively. “It’s not like Harry is going to jump you the moment he finds out.” Blaise scowled; Pansy really was not helping matters at all. Harry, however, was confused again as he looked between his mate and his friend. Pansy waved her hand dismissively.

“But I jump Blaise all the time,” Harry told them innocently. Theodore snorted his drink again and Pansy laughed loudly once more.

“That’s not what she meant,” Blaise explained, his blush obvious even with his darker complexion. Harry said, tilting his head curiously.

Leaning over, Pansy wrapped her arms around Harry’s shoulders. “Oh Harry, don’t ever change,” she said grinning and looking over at Blaise. “So, do you want to tell him, or should I?”

“I don’t think either of you should tell him,” Theodore said.

“Why not?” Harry pouted. “Other people know. Why can’t I know?”

“First of all, I never said you shouldn’t know,” Theodore pointed out. “I just don’t think Pansy or Blaise are the best people to be asking, and Draco really was the worst choice to ask about this too,” Theodore said, giving his own mate an amused look, before turning his attention back to Harry.

“But Firo already said he wasn’t going to tell me,” Harry said with a huff.

“If you really want to know that badly, I can tell you,” Theodore offered, earning surprised looks from the others around him.

“Aw, I wanted to be the one to tell him,” Pansy said sitting back in her chair, crossing her arms in disappointment. Theodore chuckled, looking at her.

“I really don’t think you could explain what Harry wants to know. You know the basics of how YOU would go about doing it, but I get the feeling that things are a little different for us,” Theodore pointed out.

Pansy looked at him for a moment, her eyes going from Theo, to Draco, Blaise and finally back to Harry. “Ah, yes, I see what you mean,” she said, another smile forming on her lips as she turned her attention toward Hannah. “If you want to know, I can explain everything to you,” she offered.

Hannah looked hesitant for a moment, not sure why Pansy was so eager to talk about something that the mentors thought most of them were still too young to know. But she nodded her head slowly in agreement.

“Wonderful!” Pansy said, grinning happily, she wasted no time jumping up from her seat and heading over to pull Hannah to her feet too. “Come on, we can find Susan and have a real girly chat,” she suggested, as the two of them linked arms. The others watched as the two of them headed out of the Dining Hall.

“Can we go now too, Theo?” Harry asked excited.

“Please eat something first,” Blaise requested, already dishing up some food for Harry.

“I’m not hungry,” Harry said.

“Blaise is right, you need to eat something,” Theodore insisted. “You’re not hungry right now because you’re excited about getting your questions answered. I promise though, I’m not going to change my mind,” Theodore said, and Harry sighed but started eating. Blaise gave Theodore a grateful smile as he sat back and watched Harry eat. He glanced over when he saw Neville and Ron come join them at the table.

“We just saw Pansy dragging Hannah out. Is everything okay?” Neville asked.

“I think they went to go find Susan,” Draco said, as he picked at his own food.

“What do they want with her?” Ron said, taking the now empty seat next to Harry.

“Harry has started an epidemic,” Draco said with a small huff as he pushed his plate of food away.

“An epidemic?” Neville asked curiously.

“I just wanted to know what sex was, and no one will tell me, so Pansy said she was going to tell me,” Harry said cheerfully. “But then Theo said she wouldn’t know what I needed to know, so he’s going to tell me insead, and Pansy really wanted to tell someone apparently, so she dragged Hannah off to go find Susan so all of them can talk,” Harry grinned and went back to eating, ignoring the shocked looks he was getting from Ron and Neville. Draco was doing his best to keep his head lowered to hide the blush coloring his cheeks.

“You could have just asked me,” Ron said, sounding upset that Harry hadn’t even thought to ask him. The smaller boy turned and looked at him with a confused expression.

“Why would I do that?” Harry asked curiously. Though his expression became a frown when Ron actually looked upset.

“Because we’re friends! But you never talk to me any more,” Ron growled, blinking in surprise when Blaise suddenly pulled Harry out of his seat and onto his lap.

“You haven’t been Harry’s friend since we were ten,” Blaise said, keeping his arms wrapped protectively around Harry, as the petite brunet leaned back against him. “You’re the one who stopped talking to Harry first; you have no right to complain that he doesn’t talk to you any more.”

“Blaise, don’t fight,” Harry said, looking up at the taller boy. “We’ll get in trouble if you two start fighting,” he said softly. Blaise could feel the shudder run through Harry’s body while Theodore and Draco could easily see the flash of fear that crossed Harry’s face.

“If Harry’s had enough lunch, then maybe we should just get out of here,” Theodore suggested. Harry nodded his head, but Blaise didn’t seem entirely convinced as he looked at Harry’s still half full plate. “At least Harry’s eaten something, Blaise. I am pretty sure he will make it to dinner,” Theodore pointed out as he got up, helping Draco to his feet as well.

“It was only because all Harry talked about was you,” Ron grumbled bitterly, glaring at Blaise.

“I’m his mate!” Blaise argued back.

“Blaise, don’t,” Harry pleaded as he got off Blaise’s lap and tugged on his mate’s hand. Blaise turned to look at him, his expression softening when he saw how anxious Harry looked. “Theo’s right. We should just go. Please don’t fight.”

“Alright, Harry, I won’t fight,” Blaise promised, as he let Harry pull him to his feet. His full attention was now on his mate instead of the fuming redhead at the table as they headed out of the Great Hall, Draco and Theodore just behind them.

“Now you can tell me all about sex,” Harry said happily, turning to grin at Theo.

-------------x

Theodore led Harry outside to sit on the grass in one of the many gardens that surrounded their home. Out there, Theodore answered all of Harry's questions to the best of his ability, while Draco, who had not wanted to listen to the talk again, dragged Blaise off to play a game.

“So...” Harry started, as he waved his hand over a flower, watching it bloom before making it close up again, “I’m not allowed to be alone with Blaise, ‘cause people don't want us to have a baby,” Harry said.

“Yes,” Theodore confirmed. “They don’t want any of us to have any babies yet, because we are all still too young,” Theodore said before Harry could ask the next question. Harry gave Theodore a small smile, his attention turning back toward the flower he was still playing with.

“Do you think they’d let me and Blaise be together if we promised not to make a baby?” Harry asked, his focus still on the flower.

“That is something you would have to ask Firo, and probably the Elders as well, since I think it was the Elders who originally set the rules,” Theodore said. He frowned as he watched Harry, who seemed far less eager about this conversation than he had an hour ago.

“I don’t want to see any of the Elders, ever again,” Harry insisted firmly, the flower he was playing with catching on fire. Theodore blinked in surprise at Harry’s anger; it wasn’t very often he saw the smaller boy’s temper. Though, the handful of times that he had seen it, had been enough for Theodore to know he never wanted to be on Harry’s bad side.

“Harry?” Theodore couldn’t keep the concern from his voice.

“I’m fine,” Harry said, watching as the flame slowly died down and went out. He turned to Theodore and smiled brightly. “I want to go find Blaise now,” he said, jumping to his feet and hurrying off leaving a stunned Theodore still sitting on the grass.

With a huff, Theodore hefted himself off the ground and back to his feet, intending to follow after his friend; however, a movement at the edge of the garden caught his attention. Turning in that direction, he was rather surprised to see Alais stepping out of the shadows of the woodland. He hesitated, waiting as she approached him.

“Good afternoon, Theodore,” she greeted warmly.

“You just missed Harry,” he told her, gesturing off in the direction that Harry had disappeared. “I know he would like to see you. We can probably catch up,” he suggested, but Alais quickly shook her head.

“No, it’s okay,” Alais assured him, even as she looked somewhat longingly after the teenager. “I just wanted to make sure he is okay, after everything.”

Theodore chuckled. “Well, you know Harry, he has bounced back to his usual untamable self,” he told her with great fondness. “Though he has anger about it too.”

“I did see what he did to that poor flower,” Alais said wryly. “I can understand him being angry though, that is a lot for anyone to endure. I know that Itham is very worried about Harry, and I just had to come and make sure that was coping okay.”

“Blaise, Draco and I are taking care of him,” Theodore said, frowning at the mention of Itham. The Elder had some nerve being concerned about Harry after he had been the one to actually bind Harry’s magic in the first place. “I think he would really appreciate it if you would come speak with him though.”

“No, I can’t,” Alais said quickly. Theodore looked really confused by her refusal, knowing how close Alais and Harry had been for as long as he could remember. “I don’t want to give the Council reason to question anything Harry is doing,” Alais explained. “Itham and I will both need to keep our distance for a while.”

“What do you want me to tell Harry?” Theodore asked incredulously, frowning slightly. He knew it was only a matter of time before Harry started asking after Alais.

“Nothing,” she said, sounding regretful at her own suggestion. “You can’t tell him anything,” she insisted, “if he knows we are staying away, then he will try to come to us. And I won’t risk him sneaking out again.”

“Okay,” Theodore said with a sigh. He was not at all convinced that this was a good idea, but he also knew that Alais was right; if Harry knew that Alais and Itham were staying away, he would likely try to go to them. “But I won’t lie to him.”

“Thank you, Theo,” Alais said with relief. “I know you will all take great care of him, and just trust me when I say, this will all work out in the end.”

Theodore looked at her curiously, thinking that there was something more to her words, wondering if Alais was up to something. She said nothing more, but Theodore was sure that she wouldn’t have said anything if she didn’t mean it. He nodded his head, and headed off after Harry, before Draco, Blaise and Harry started to wonder where he was.

---------------x

“Draco. Pansy,” Harry said hesitantly as they were getting ready for a bed a few weeks later. He wanted to discuss something that he had been thinking about more and more since Draco and Theodore had told him about sex and babies. “Do you think we have parents somewhere?” he asked, when they both turned to face him.

Pansy shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe, but what does it matter?” she asked in return, pausing to carefully take in Harry’s expression. “Is this about the sex stuff that Theo explained? And about how babies are made?” she asked with exasperation; it had been something that had been a point of discussion on and off for several weeks now. While Pansy hadn’t minded offering to tell Harry, she thought that the smaller boy was putting way too much thought into the whole thing.

“I was just thinking that if that’s where babies came from, and we were all babies once, then who made us?” Harry said, determined that they were going to talk about it, even if Pansy’s curiosity wasn’t as piqued as his was. “Do you think that there are older witches and wizards that did all that sex stuff and made us?”

“Well if there are, then they apparently didn’t want any of us,” Draco snapped a little irritably. He knew that it was a fair question, and with Harry being curious by nature, it was one that would have come up eventually. Draco was also curious, and had put some thought into it as well, but Draco wasn’t too fond of the idea that he hadn’t been wanted, that none of them had been wanted.

“Do you really think that they just didn’t want us?” Harry asked, a hurt expression on his face as he sat down on the edge of his bed and pondered that carefully.

“I don’t know,” Draco said dismissively, apparently uncomfortable discussing this. He paused at the sight of Harry’s sad eyes and sighed wearily. “Assuming you are right, and we do have parents out there, they have never been here for us at all, so I don’t see why we should bother wondering about them.”

Pansy came over to sit next to him and taking his hand in her own. “There is no use in getting upset about it, Harry, because even if they exist, we don’t know them and they don’t know us,” she pointed out.

“And besides, we have each other and, as far as I am concerned, we don’t need anyone else,” Draco added stubbornly.

“Awww, we love you too, Draco,” Susan said teasingly from the other side of the room, causing Hannah to break out into giggles at her side. Harry and Pansy attempted to hide their amusement at Draco’s obvious discomfort. Harry failed at this as he was unable to stop a giggle from escaping.

“I was just curious,” Harry said, smiling once again now. Hannah and Susan came over, expanding the bed before joining Harry and Pansy on it.

“You’re always curious,” Draco pointed out. Harry chuckled, and gestured for Draco to come join them and the blond huffed before giving them a crooked smile and heading over to them as well. Harry grabbed him by the hand and Draco yelped as he was pulled down in the middle of the others. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco, snuggling up to the blond boy he saw as a brother. They both laid back on the bed; Pansy, Hannah and Susan following them as the five of them all cuddled up together.

“Is it wrong to be curious though?” Harry asked, his smile fading as he looked at Draco. The blond boy sighed, reaching up and ruffling Harry’s hair.

“It’s not wrong. You’ve always been curious about one thing or another, and I should have expected that you would also end up curious about where we came from,” Draco said with a small sigh.

“It doesn’t matter where we came from,” Pansy added, having an idea of what point Draco was trying to make.

“But…” Harry turned his head slightly to look at Pansy, “what if they’re still out there? What if they did want us, but they couldn’t keep us?” Harry questioned.

“Why wouldn’t they have been able to keep us?” Susan asked, looking sceptical.

“Well, all I can think is that if I have a baby, I wouldn’t let it go willingly…” Harry pointed out. “So if they are still around, then they probably wouldn't have wanted us to go,” Harry said.

“Then maybe they aren’t still alive?” Hannah suggested with a frown. Harry shook his head stubbornly.

“They can’t ALL be dead, with how many of us there are here? Some of them still have to be alive, even if mine aren’t, or yours… some of them should be…” Harry insisted, hoping to get them to understand what had been going through his mind the past few weeks.

“Are you going to suggest we go looking for them?” Draco asked with a worried look.

Harry sat up suddenly with an excited gasp, turning to grin at Draco. “We should go look for them!” he exclaimed. He had been so caught up wondering, trying to figure out what might have happened, that it hadn’t occurred to him that they might be able to do something about it.

“What?” Draco also sat up staring at Harry in disbelief. The girls had had to move quickly to keep themselves from being knocked off the bed. “No, Harry!” Draco said firmly. “That is a bad idea!”

Harry pouted. “But…” he started to say, but Draco didn’t want to hear it.

“But nothing, Harry,” Draco interrupted. “It is a bad idea. We’ll get caught, and end up in trouble,” Draco said firmly. “Whatever idea you’re getting into your head, stop it right now,” Draco narrowed his eyes trying to convey how serious he was. Harry opened his mouth to continue arguing, but Draco covered it, shaking his head.

“Draco is right, Harry,” Pansy said, reaching up to pull both Harry and Draco back down with them. “Now both of you stop talking. This is a stupid idea, and it’s not going to happen, so it’s pointless to argue.”

Harry reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled back down, his mind still going a mile a minute, but it was clear to him that even if he wanted to keep talking about it, Pansy and Draco were done with the conversation. Letting out a small sigh, Harry curled up between Draco and Pansy deciding that maybe he could talk to Blaise about it later.

---------------x

“It just wasn’t a good idea, Alais,” Itham said, as he watched her bustle around her kitchen making them both dinner. She had accidentally mentioned the conversation that she had had with Theodore a few weeks earlier, and Itham had been unable to hold back his annoyance. “What if Harry had realised you were there? Or worse, what if Arnaldo or Tinasia had seen you?”

“No one other than Theo saw me,” Alais huffed, throwing a glare over her shoulder at Itham as she flicked her wrist and summoned the vegetables she needed. She let out a slow breath, leaning on the edge of the worksurface and hanging her head. Itham was right, she knew that, but she couldn’t just ignore her love for Harry. “I needed to see for myself that he was okay, Itham.”

“I know,” Itham said with a sigh, as he approached Alais and rested his hand on the middle of her back. Alais let out a shuddering breath that nearly broke Itham’s heart; he could practically feel how much she cared for the petit fourteen year old. “I know,” he repeated softly, “it’s just that I worry about you too.”

“When I found out what happened… I was so scared,” Alais admitted, still not looking at Itham. They hadn’t had much time to talk in the past few weeks, and what little time they had had was spent going over Itham’s plan, trying to explore every option they had. Alais hadn’t really told anyone how worried she had been for Harry.

“That kid is stronger than he looks,” Itham pointed out, leaning his hip against the worksurface, trying to meet Alais’ eye, but she was deliberately focusing on chopping vegetables.

“He is only fourteen, and smaller and more innocent than even that,” she insisted, slamming her knife down and turning to glare at Itham. “I know that you have a plan, but I am not going to let Harry get hurt in the process.”

“He is a perfectly healthy little boy, though, Alais,” Itham pointed out. “He is small because he was brought here more than six months early, when he was far too young. You know this, you were there, you sat with him yourself many of those nights, desperately trying to get him to eat.”

“Like I could ever forget that,” Alais snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “It is still a miracle that he survived at all.”

“Were you aware that the woman who had fetched him, had been pushing more of her magic into him for a whole week before bringing him to the city?” Itham asked curiously and Alais’ look of surprise answered for her. “She wanted to help prepare him, but was out of time.”

Alais continued to stare at Itham in surprise; she moved over to the kitchen table so she could sit down and think over what Itham had just told her. “No wonder Harry is more connected to magic than any of the others,” Alais gasped out.

Itham nodded in agreement. “We also believe that she is the reason for his Empathetic abilities,” he told her, moving over to take a seat at the table next to her.

“What makes you believe that?” Alais asked. “A stronger connection to magic makes sense, but how is she responsible for his ability?” Alais asked.

“Her name is Kaylin. She is Firo’s older sister, and most interestingly, also Empathetic,” he explained, when Alais looked sceptical.

“And so you believe that she accidentally gave her talent to Harry?” Alais asked, and Itham nodded in confirmation. “I assume they are going to check the other children and make sure none of them have picked up other abilities?” she asked, with a look that promised trouble if they weren’t.

“Of course,” he assured her. “The mentors have already been discreetly checking each of their wards over the last weeks.”

“That’s good to know at least, but I honestly didn’t think something like that was possible,” Alais said

“None of us did,” Itham told her. “The other Elders and I were at a loss as to how this could have happened, at least until we met with Kaylin. Her empathetic abilities were just too coincidental though. And then when she explained more about how much magic she had pushed into Harry…”

“If this really is what caused his abilities, we can’t let it become public knowledge,” Alais pointed out. “If it was known that children could be deliberately given such abilities this way, some might try it themselves, and we don’t know how a Fae infant would react.”

“I am more concerned about the fact that Arnaldo now knows how Harry got his ability,” Itham said sounding concerned. “He is not happy that a ‘mere wizard’ has such a talent.”

“You don’t think he would do anything to hurt Harry, do you?” Alais asked looking horrified at the thought.

“I think Arnaldo is capable of a lot of things,” Itham said seriously. “I also believe that if he is given the chance, he just might do something to hurt Harry. If it had been his decision alone, Harry might not have been given his magic back at all,” Itham said. “That is why I was the one to bind Harry’s magic; if Tinasia had been allowed to do it, there would have been more of a fight,” Itham let out a long sigh. “That is why we must follow through with my plan; it is not safe for Harry to remain in the city,”

“But they’re still too young,” Alais said, and Itham shook his head.

“No, I believe that within the year, Harry and his mate will be old enough to leave the city. They will be able to survive in their own world, where they belong. They are old enough, and have a far better understanding of magic than anyone in the World of Wizards. That is what they were brought here for,” Itham reached out and took Alais’ hand in his own. “That is why we must distance ourselves from Harry now because he will never let go of our world if you and I are his safety blanket.”

“You want to scare him away,” Alais said, her eyes wide and shining lightly with unshed tears as she fully realised that Itham was right. She had been there for Harry since day one, had fought for him when most of the other Council members had given up on him, on the far to small and fragile baby, on the baby that had grown into such a loving, caring, and innocent boy.

“In a sense, yes,” Itham nodded his head in confirmation. There was a sudden knock on the door and they both fell quiet. Alais brushed away the tears she had forming and made to stand up to go answer it; however, Itham put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “I’ve got it,” he said, standing and heading toward the door.

He was rather surprised, though, when he opened it and found himself face-to-face with his fellow Elder. “Rosario,” he said, feeling a little awkward at the assumptions that she was likely making due to finding him there at such a late hour.

“We are needed at the home,” she told him seriously, her tone all business. “Something is going on with several of the wizarding children.”

“Is it Harry?” Alais asked as she came to stand next to Itham. Rosario gave her a small reassuring smile.

“No, your young one was not involved this time,” Rosario said, her expression becoming serious once again. “But we must be going, now,” she said turning to leave, knowing that Itham and Alais would follow.

---------------x

Harry felt as if he hadn’t been asleep for very long, when someone was suddenly shaking his shoulder, and he could hear Draco almost frantically whispering. “Harry, Harry we have to get up,” Draco said. Harry cracked open one green eye to glare at the blond boy.

“Wha’ tim’s it?” Harry mumbled sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.

“It’s still nighttime,” Pansy said, also sounding tired as she pulled herself up off Harry’s bed where they had all fallen asleep a few hours before.

“Then why are we getting up?” Susan asked, rolling off the bed.

“All the children are being gathered downstairs,” Kire said from where he was stood by the doorway.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Harry said as he sat up to look at Draco and Theo’s mentor.

“No one is saying that you did,” Kire said, “but you all must hurry.” Kire watched as the five children all got out of the bed that they had been piled on. Susan waved her hand at the bed to shrink it back down to it’s normal size before moving over to get her clothes. “Do not bother getting dressed; there isn’t any time. Hurry, all of you,” Kire said, sounding more impatient than normal.

“What’s happened?” Hannah asked sleepily, rubbing at her eyes as the five of them moved over to Kire and followed the man from the room. In the hallway, they could see other witches and wizards being gathered together by other mentors and herded towards the dining hall.

“One of the Council members will explain everything,” Kire told them, earning soft gasps and mutters of surprise. They knew it must be something serious for the Council to have become involved.

Harry remained close to Draco as they walked down to the dining hall. He was confused, and a little disoriented from being dragged out of bed so suddenly. Looking around the hallway at the other students from the girls’ dorms, Harry was able to see he wasn’t the only one. He could see Luna, who didn’t seem all that confused about what was going on, though he wondered if that was to keep the two youngest girls calm as they clung to Luna’s side.

“Do not dawdle. Please keep moving,” Syndra said sternly, as she had taken charge of making sure Liam and Wilbert, from the year above them, kept up with the rest of the group. The two boys turned back to glare at her, but continued moving anyway.

Harry looked back at Draco. “I don’t like this,” he said holding onto the other boy’s arm.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get down there and find Blaise and Theo,” Draco reassured him and Harry smiled. They made their way down the stairs and joined the line that had already formed outside the dining hall.

“Please do not push your way inside! We would like you all to enter one at a time!” One of the other mentors said, which caused even more confusion as they had never gone into the dining hall single file before. Harry stood on his tip-toes trying to see what was going on; he could see Firo standing over by the door, standing with Ron and Susan’s mentor, Torin.

“What’s going on?” Draco asked turning back to look at Kire, who seemed a bit preoccupied with keeping the other students in line. “Kire!” Draco snapped, not used to being ignored by his mentor.

“You will know soon enough, Draco, now keep quiet and keep moving,” Kire said, and Draco looked a little taken aback by the tone of voice his mentor had used with him. Harry glared at Kire, taking Draco’s hand and pulling the blond boy away.

“Stressed or not, he shouldn’t talk to you like that,” Harry huffed, clearly agitated as he started pushing his way through the crowd of other kids.

“Harry! Don’t push people; we’re going to get into trouble,” Draco hissed, but allowed the smaller boy to pull him along anyway, still shocked at the way Kire was acting, and frightened about what was going on.

“Don’t care,” Harry said back and managed to push their way to the front of the line. He felt a little bad for leaving Susan, Hannah and Pansy behind, but Harry didn’t want to stay in the over crowded hallway. Even with his magic, the surge of emotions there was already getting to him, and Draco wasn’t much help to calm that down, as the blond was just as upset and confused as the other kids.

“Harry,” Firo snapped when he saw the small boy trying to push his way into the dining hall. “Wait your turn,” the mentor said, and regretted his harsh tone as soon as green eyes looked up at him.

“I need Blaise,” Harry said, holding on tighter to Draco’s hand as they were jostled slightly by the other kids, everyone trying to get into the room, some of them not happy with how Harry had shoved passed them to get to the doors. Firo closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head.

“You have to wait your turn, just as everyone else does,” Torin said, and Harry turned to look at the other mentor for a moment, then looked back at Firo. Something bad must have happened, for all the Mentors to be so stressed, and even Firo had snapped at Harry.

“Get back in line, Harry. You will see Blaise soon enough,” Firo said through gritted teeth, though Harry wasn’t able to tell if the annoyance was aimed at him and Draco, Torin, or the situation in general. Harry and Draco were forced to the back of the line, still holding tightly onto each other’s hands as they slowly made their way into the dining hall.

The line was slow moving, and it was quickly apparent that almost everyone was as upset and confused as they were, and many of them trying to find their mates as well.

“I don’t like this,” Draco told Harry quietly, his eyes still darting around in what he now knew to be a vain hope of finding Theo. He was pretty sure at this point that the other boys in their year must already be in the dining hall because there was no sign of them in the hallway.

“Nor do I,” Harry said sullenly, glancing around as they took a few steps closer to the door into the dining hall. “No one else around here does either,” he added in a whisper. It had been decided that they would keep the news of his empathetic abilities quiet and so it really was only those closest to him that had any idea.

It took several more long minutes before they reached the doorway, where Torin and Firo were standing, crossing names off a list. “Harry… and Draco,” Torin said as he put two marks on the list.

“You can go in now,” Firo told them, with a rather forced smile. Harry, who was still holding Draco’s hand, huffed in annoyance at his mentor and practically pulled his friend into the room, leaving Firo and Torin to deal with those next in line.

Harry paused just inside the door, scanning the room for Theodore and Blaise. He found Pansy sitting with Neville already, Hannah was sitting on Terry’s lap, while Susan was trying to take what comfort she could get from Ron, who was doing his best to ignore her. But Blaise and Theodore were not at their usual table; there were four empty seats for them.

“Harry.” Strong arms wrapped around Harry from behind, and Harry sighed, instantly recognising Blaise. “We were waiting for you two,” Blaise said, watching as Theodore wrapped Draco up in his arms as well. Harry waited another moment before letting go of Draco’s hand, sure now that his friend was going to be okay.

“Firo wouldn’t let us in,” Harry said softly to Blaise as he turned in his mate’s arms and looked up at him.

“I know; we saw,” Blaise said and Harry shuddered, curling up closer to Blaise when he could feel the other boy’s anger.

“Blaise… please, I… I can’t…” Harry tried to explain, hiding his face in his mate’s chest.

“I’m sorry,” Blaise said, resting his head on Harry’s. “Let’s go sit down, and hopefully this will all be over soon.” Blaise looked toward Theodore, who waved them on ahead. Draco was still clinging to him tightly, and, even though the pale boy had his face hidden completely in Theo’s chest, from the way the blond was shaking, Blaise knew that Draco was crying.

“Is Draco okay?” Hannah asked in a whisper as Blaise sat down next to her and Terry, and pulled Harry onto his lap.

“He will be,” Harry assured her. “He is just a little overwhelmed, and you know he doesn’t cope without a full night’s sleep.”

“Can’t have helped, Kire snapping at him like that,” Susan pointed out. “All the mentors seem to be in a horrible mood. Torin barely even said a word to me as we were coming in. But I have never seen Kire talk to Draco that way.”

“Do we have any idea what happened?” Neville asked, his arms securely around Pansy, holding her close. “I was going to ask Cedric, as he usually has some idea, but I haven’t seen him.”

“I haven’t seen him or Angelina,” Harry realised, and now they were all glancing around the room, trying to spot the older children. “Roger and Alicia are over there, with Stephen, Mercia, Charity, and Cassius, but I can’t see Lee or Adrien either.”

“Do you think this has something to do with them?” Pansy asked, her own eyes now darting around the room, taking stock of who was and wasn’t there.

“Not everyone’s in the room yet,” Blaise reminded them, motioning toward the door where the other kids were still filing in. “Draco and Harry didn’t come in with you guys, so maybe they were just separated, and are at the end of the line or something,” Blaise didn’t want to jump to conclusions yet, but he too scanned the room, and looked back toward the door. He could easily see the end of the line, and there was no sign of Cedric or the others.

As the last of the children were filed in, the doors to the hall were closed, and Blaise was sure that he saw Torin wave his hand toward the door. He turned his attention toward Theodore, who had picked up Draco and was now carrying him over to their table; the blond was still clinging to him tightly, even as the tall boy sat down. “Torin locked the door,” Theodore whispered so just their group could hear them.

Blaise went to comment on that, but stopped and turned towards the front of the room, as the general buzz of conversation dropped off. Many of the mentors had gathered together there, but Lorn was standing on the mostly-black marble steps that lead up to the small raised area where the mentors usually ate. There was a serious expression on his face as he looked over them all. He was one of the senior mentors, responsible for two of the oldest children in the home, Roger and Alicia, and he had earned the quiet respect that he now held.

“It has only been a little over two weeks since the High Elder himself was here,” Lorn said, his voice calm but stern. “He warned you then of the importance of our rules. He demonstrated the consequences of failing to do so.” Lorn paused to glance in Harry’s direction, mutterings breaking out around the room. Blaise’s arms tightened protectively around his mate as Harry huddled closer.

“But tonight, five students thought they knew better,” he went on as the hall fell quiet once more.

Harry and Pansy shared a look before both started glancing around the room, trying to work out who the fifth missing person was. It didn’t Harry long to realise that Cormac’s mate was missing. “Cho,” Harry mouthed in Pansy’s direction, and she nodded her head sadly, having come to the same conclusion.

“Five of our older students decided to sneak out after hours. They have put themselves and this very city in danger,” Lorn told them, sounding extremely disappointed. “Four of them have been found safely, but I am sorry to report that one is still currently missing.”

“Will they have their magic bound too?” one of the older boys called out.

“That has yet to be decided, Cassius,” Lorn answered. “Our first priority was making sure that the rest of you were all safe. It will be up to the Council to decide the consequences of their actions, but I assure you, there will be consequences.”

Thank you for the amazing responses we have had so far. See you in three weeks!
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Restoration of Magic