Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

There Be Dragons, Harry	By : Scioneeris Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Slash - Male/Male Views: 58493 -:- Recommendations : 9 -:- Currently Reading : 28
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of its characters. I make no money by writing this story..

Chapter List
- 62
- 63
- 64
RECAP: Quinn uses a SOUL CAST on Theodore and summons Ilsa and Bharin to come and help with the procedure. The results show that Theo has been suffering from mental and psychological issues relating to stability and security, as well as his ability to be a good alpha. Harry had a nightmare and Kyle went to tend to him. Ilsa and Theo recover enough to have an important and necessary conversation of their own, while Charlie and Harry have some special time.

Character Note: Blaise and Shadow turn up at the house where Dahlia's military circle resides. He is looking to be trained as GHEYO (fighter).

NEVARAH : ILSA'S VOID

Theo retreated back into his mind where things were clear cut in black and white. He sectioned off the portions designated as "Charlie" and "Harry" and threw up a mental barrier to protect them. It wasn't his finest work, but it was there for a reason and he hoped that his Caspers weren't too angry to process it. He would gladly endure whatever they threw at him, so as long as their punishment did not cross over to his blameless mates.

Well, mostly blameless.

He had a feeling Harry using his password would have resulted in a little bit of backlash.

Just a little.

The kind of little that Harry, himself, didn't deserve. He had been through enough and Theo would not let him suffer for more while it was within his power to change that. There was a small part of him that fussed and whined over the fact that if Harry was exempt, then he ought to be too—instead of shouldering Harry's portion of the blame and punishment. It was the part of him who had never quite settled into the Alpha role that he now, could no longer afford to embrace half-heartedly.

He willed himself to push such thoughts away and out of his head. He reached for the instinctive curl of raw magic and the slender thread that upheld his mental connection to Ilsa, summoning the confidence and drawing security from it. He could handle this. He was more than capable of handling this.

It worked.

Theo tempered his breathing and checked his magical reserves, both wizard and dragel.

Harry invoking his password was part of a deal wrought with Death herself. Caspers had the ability to dodge Death—at a terrible price that none would ever voice aloud. Theo had absolutely no doubts that something dark and personal would be required of him tonight. He bit his lower lip, nibbling in contemplative thought. He could bargain. He could wager. He could bribe.

Or, he could grow up and deal with it.

A wry smile painted itself across his face.

Growing pains—what a truly accurate description—they would surely never stop, if one kept on growing.

The young Alpha coughed and winced. Then he took a careful, cautious breath. "…Sukey? I am…sorry. Please…I need to speak to you." He felt a rush of cold behind him, near his shoulders and knew the casper had come, even though it owed him nothing. "Harry." He managed, bracing himself inward and outward.

Terris Sukey appeared over him, her face a solemn, sorrowful view as a golden scepter in her hand twirled around idle fingers. "Shall I spare him?"

"Always." Theo choked out.

"You understand that this will cause him pain anyway, yes?"

"Stop arguing with me." Theo sucked in a breath. "Do it."

"It will cost you."

"It is nothing I cannot pay." Theo countered. "Stop stalling. I know this has to be filtering over to them—to Harry, if not Charlie."

With a sign born from centuries of patience, the wispy figure wrung her hands together. "As you have said," she droned. "It shall be done." Her white figure brightened to a shimmering golden hue and then intensified until she was nothing more than a brilliant, blinding ball of light.

Theo braced himself for the incoming onslaught.

Theo's eyelids fluttered open, golden orbs staring up into equally golden eyes. He blinked at the proud expression that hovered above him and did not protest, allowing himself to be lifted and carried, by the strong arms of his mentor. He felt completely shattered, torn apart and fused back together. He trembled in her arms and she hushed him with nonsensical words.

He had done it.

He didn't think that he would have lived, but then, when he had stepped forward, it was with the knowledge in mind that he would not leave Harry alone. Not Harry and not Charlie. It had anchored him in the blinding pain that had followed. He had struggled to try and block it from filtering through the bonds, unable to do so completely, but able to mute it somewhat.

He hoped that Quinn and Kyle were close on hand to help, should the bonds rouse Harry and Charlie. He hoped it wouldn't. Harry had been through enough in his life and he knew Charlie had been through enough pain from just recently. It was most likely that Charlie wouldn't feel much of anything, because their bond hadn't yet completed itself. It was something he made a mental note to take care—as soon as possible—tonight, kind of soon as possible.

Theo resisted the urge to squirm. The feeling of little hands and feet crawling all over him, had yet to subside. His magic had come back in full, fighting force and with three caspers behind him, no longer muting the raw power, but rather channeling through him right along with it, Theo had to admit that he felt positively wicked in a thoroughly delightful way. He tested his range of movement in careful twitches of his fingers and toes, until he was assured that he could move, safely, without any negative repercussions.

A groan slipped through his lips as he felt a very familiar ache he hadn't known in a handful of years.

He'd grown and it had hurt. It felt as if every single fiber of existence in his body had been burned out by acid, cauterized by flame and then refilled with ice.

It hurt like a bloody-!

"You will be fine, little one." Ilsa chuckled from behind. "I suppose growing up quite literally was not what you had in mind?" She took in his new two-inches of height and examined his building energies by way of an examination spell, quickly cast.

He dodged it half-heartedly. "I feel fine, Oretta."

"You look dead on your feet." She countered, holding him still with one firm hand. Several minutes later, satisfied as to his current wellbeing, she backed away, a ball of golden fire crackling to life at her fingertips.

Theo's lips twitched, a faint ghost of a smile summoned to his face. "I suppose it is only wishful thinking to hope that this might not be what it seems?"

Golden eyes gave a spectacular roll. "Really, Theo." Ilsa said, mildly. The golden flames morphed into a simple, bright ball of magical energy. It crackled, fizzled and danced along the palm of her hand. "I am ready whenever you are." There was a faint smirk playing about her face. "You know the words of binding?"

"I do not believe you have ever allowed me to forget."

"Good boy. Remember, this is your turn now. I will not interfere unless you are dead and if you are, then I shall see to a splendid funeral."

"Tassels and wailing graveseekers?"

"Aracle can supply the mints." Ilsa shot back.

"No tears?"

"I shall cry an ocean."

"Ah, now I feel loved."

She smacked his bum with a little more force than necessary. "Off with you. Before I decide you could use a little more encouragement."

Theo laughed, gathering up his magic around him like a thick cloak. He didn't need any more encouragement or incentive. Ilsa was right—she usually was—he had wonderful things already in the palm of his hand and even more to come. It would be a lovely, beautiful future.

Be there in a little while, Harry…I've just a few things to straighten out first.

"Quinn? Quinn, what are you doing?" Kyle's panic was tempered—but barely. "Bharin!"

"Channeling, I think." The older Gheyo hovered nearby, careful to keep from approaching the snappish duo of Charlie and Harry. He did not want to be in the way, nor did he wish to incur a young Beta's wrath. Charlie was charmingly protective of the agonizing Harry, whose pain was not yet fully siphoned off.

"Channeling?" The forest-green eyebrows arched upwards. "How in Arielle's name is he channeling—oh." Light brown eyes grew comically wide. "Oh, heavens no." He growled. "Don't let him do that! He can't handle holding-"

The Medic's words were cut off as Bharin glided forward and rested his large hands on Quinn's slender shoulders. He held them there as the Healer fairly trembled under the channeled stress and pain. Kyle immediately glided forward, resting his own hand on Bharin's steady arm. He winced when the backlash crackled through in the form of raw magic. He held out his free hand, blindly, relieved when Wikhn took it.

Pain coursed through him in its rawest, most primitive form. Kyle shuddered, thankful that Quinn at least had been able to share the burden among them, rather than watching helplessly as Harry tried to absorb it himself. He wasn't particularly happy that Quinn thought he could shoulder the pain on his own, but he resolved to have words with him later.

The minutes seemed like hours of agony until, just as abruptly as it had begun, it ended. Harry was left as a gasping, trembling mess in Charlie's arms, while Quinn sagged backwards into Bharin's welcome embrace. Kyle stood, dumbly, unprotesting when Wikhn moved forward to gather him in a soothing, congratulatory hug of his own. He was relieved for the stronger arms curving around him and the knowledge that something horrible had just passed.

When he could speak again, Kyle glowered at Quinn. "What," he nearly spat. "Was that?"

The blond head lifted wearily, the teal light momentarily dimmed in those eyes. That was what it feels like to cheat death.

Kyle swallowed hard. "Cheat death?" His voice wavered. "I beg your pardon?" There was too much to read into that and Kyle, quite frankly, wasn't sure that he truly wanted to know. He twitched, irritated.

Quinn made a faint sound that might have been a sigh. He was not about to explain about passwords and blood promises and magically binding contracts. Kyle was bright. He'd figure it out on his own. Quinn turned, allowing Bharin to lift him up onto the newly vacated examination bed. He braced, carefully, leaning against his favored guardian for comfort and strength. I think that Theo has straightened a few things out.

"Things that resulted in this?" Kyle huffed. He leaned forward and then rolled his eyes, before stomping a foot backward to have Wikhn release him. The younger Gheyo's arms dropped back to his sides without comment. Kyle stalked forward to cast the necessary diagnostics over the newly relieved pair. He gave a thin smile to Charlie. "I believe you are fine for the moment," He snapped his fingers, throwing up a new ward for privacy and ignoring the painful ache that blossomed in his exhausted arms at the effort it required.

Caspers. Quinn explained, his own exhaustion coming through. I did not splice them back into his Soul Cast. His mentor assured me that I did not need to. He looked to Bharin and directed a thought at his guardian, hopefully.

The Jamaican gave a small smile and turned to Wikhn. "Something warm to drink?" He suggested.

The pink-eyed Fae tipped his head lightly in answer and exited the room. Quinn watched him leave and then beckoned Kyle over.

"I already threw up a ward." The Medic grumbled. He bit back a yelp when Bharin suddenly leaned over and hefted him up to sit on the examination bed beside Quinn. "Ow. Hey." He couldn't duck the swat that tapped him lightly on the head. "I wasn't-"

"Sit and relax for a minute." Bharin scolded. "Both of you!" He sighed. "Really…must all of you healers be so self-sacrificing?"

"I didn't do it on purpose." Kyle grumbled. He elbowed Quinn when the Healer jabbed him in the side. "I didn't know caspers could have that kind of effect on a new triad."

Not a triad. Quinn interrupted. A bonded pair. That was a perfectly normal reaction for a bonded pair. They have not completed their mating, remember?

"Huh? Oh. Right." Kyle frowned. "So that's why sir redhead was all fine with this?" He gestured towards the duo on the examination bed several feet away. Charlie had turned his back to them and now cuddled a slowly reviving Harry, close to him.

Something like that. Remember Harry's threads?

Kyle frowned. The ones all wrapped around the cast?

Yes. Remember that they were wrapped around it, not through it?

…oh. Kyle blinked. He did remember, actually and he could see proof of it now as he stared at Charlie's broad back, the wing tips jutting through the pale skin, the tattoos half-faded. The redhead would probably need another wing massage before the day was over. Charlie had retracted his wings, unable to keep them properly coordinated and out of harm's way, when Harry had first started screaming. Kyle couldn't blame him, but he did hope that Theo could pull his Alpha act together rather soon. Both Charlie and Harry could use some flight lessons—if only for the wing care sessions—along with some native schooling, for Nevaraean customs, etiquette and what to expect for the present Hunting Season.

The Medic shook his head with a sigh. Charlie was more hands-on and actively engaged in both of his mates, most likely due to his personality. It would explain why his thread ran through Theo's while, Harry's was more subtle and cautious, wound around Theo, with the ability to dissolve at a moment's notice, if he was no longer desired or wanted—yet strong enough to hold his own Alpha together. Kyle almost hadn't been able to believe what he'd been seeing.

Casts never lie. Quinn projected, solemnly. His head lolled to the side and nestled comfortably on Kyle's shoulder.

The Fae rolled his eyes, but subtly listed to the left, enough to bear Quinn's weight without discomfort. "Did you exhaust yourself there?"

Nothing that lunch won't fix. Quinn stifled a yawn.

"And a nap." Kyle added.

The teal eyes flickered toward him, faintly disapproving. I don't need a nap!

Shall I tell Bharin that?

…I hate you.

The feeling is mutual. Kyle swallowed his chuckle. Now close your eyes for a few minutes. I doubt they'll be ready for anything so quickly, anyhow. He checked his own power reserves, they were fairly within their usable range. He'd probably be able to get the diagnostics together and cross-check their vitals with a few other charts…

Waking up to pain wasn't an unfamiliar thing, but Harry hoped that one day it would be. He knew he wasn't quite awake yet, but that he would soon be, if he continued on with the usual things that led to waking.

At present, he didn't quite want to reach there.

Harry tried not to grimace or groan at the spikes of pain that rippled through him then dulled, considerably. He really did need to stop waking up that way. His mind flickered back to a recent memory—waking up sandwiched between warmth and gorgeousness—Charlie's sleepy snuffling and Theo's possessive arms wrapped around him. That was a much better way of waking up than this.

Trying to take stock of his physical inventory was a little more complicated, but he was relieved to find that he could manage it decently enough. He automatically took store of everything he could understand in the usual, methodical thought process that he'd worked out years before. Yes, sometimes things could be confusing, but only when one did not slow down enough to properly translate it.

Harry fitted together the memory—and reality—of the pain flickering through his body with the strange dream that seemed as if he'd been Theo and that Theo had somehow grown. He'd been Theo, suffering through a jury of three and their painful judgment and then of a reward for enduring his punishment without protest. Here, Harry wasn't entirely sure he'd been dreaming, because it had all seemed so very real. It was as if he kept watching, the dream would morph and shift and he would discover that he really was Theo.

But then it had dimmed.

The entire dream had dimmed, fading away from its vibrant colors and magical lure, until a filmy white curtain seemed to force his consciousness apart, until Harry knew for sure that he was a spectator and that Theo stood apart from him. He watched, with growing worry and apprehension as Theo hung suspended and magic, in rich, vivid golden strands twined around him, strangling, stretching and comforting, all at once.

Harry watched, transfixed, unable to participate and too horrified to look away at something that seemed terribly private and horrifically vicious. That was when the pain had first transferred to him and Harry slipped into the little mental box where he sometimes retreated to block out the unwanted physical sensations. It helped—a little—not much, but that little bit was always what he needed in order to gather his wits about him.

Once he had sorted through the mess that something had happened and consequently been fixed with Theo, Harry felt the first stirrings of his temper rumbling from where he'd buried it last. He made a mental note to have words with his Alpha as soon as possible—one, to verify the dream, two, to verify that morbid truth of his password and three, because he rightfully deserved to be on equal footing.

Yes, Dragel life was considerably more complicated, headache-inducing and magic-wrecking than he could have ever expected in his wildest dreams, but there were limits to everything and ways to enforce said limits and deal with them. Harry rooted through his own mind, searching for the precious little stashes of sanity that he had to be so very careful about it.

Ah, there they were. He'd had to hide them when this Dragel business had all started up.

Now that he could mostly sort of think—after all, thinking was far better a distraction from the pain than anything else—he found himself settling into the idea with relish. His earlier convictions and acceptances seemed to pale as Harry finally drew out the little thing in the back of his mind that identified itself as his dragel self, very much in the shape of a baby dragon. He poked at it, cautiously and when it uncurled itself, creeping around him and purring with happiness, Harry knew that he would no longer bother to keep them separate.

It was giving him enough of a headache anyway.

He coaxed it towards him and showed his depleted magic. The little thing hummed from where he cradled it in his arms and together they went walking. At some point, they stopped and Harry found himself staring up at a giant, barred door, heavily chained and fairly radiating with darkness. He hung back, his grip on the little dragel thing, tightening. Those doors were dangerous. They'd have to be careful.

The little dragel thing wrinkled its pointed snout and then nudged his elbow, as if in encouragement. Harry felt it slip out of his hands and he watched as the thing grew larger until its chin was now even in height with his shoulder. Together, then? Harry thought, wryly. This could be fun…and dangerous.

The moment he laid his hands upon the door, a brilliant seal of gold and pink-red flared to life, a magical medallion imprinted across the massive, black doors. There were runes and shapes that he didn't know at all, carved into the inner and outer circles, while other markings seemed to dim as he cautiously passed his hand over them.

What is this?

…bad things… The dragel side of him explained. It nudged his shoulder.

Harry automatically reached up one hand to chuck it under the chin, scratching deeply and methodically, aware that his human hands were probably a mere tickle to the thick scales. The head thumped heavily on his own and Harry leaned forward under the weight, with a soft laugh. No, no, no. you're too heavy.

…No… The protest was an almost whine.

Stop it. Harry scolded. He ran his free hand along the still-glowing symbols again. Is it a seal? Is this one of them? Quinn said I had seals, lots of them. His hand trembled, then steadied as he brushed his fingertips very deliberately across one vaguely familiar symbol. It flared brighter beneath his touch.

Seal. His dragel agreed. Big seal. Important.

I saw this somewhere, before. Harry thumbed the red-gold mark. Where? Where did I see this? He leaned to the side, craning his neck to watch his dragel side think. I know you remember. He reminded it.

His dragel side whuffled, a moment later, Harry winced as he felt his two selves twist, blur and then mesh together. He stood, surprised, a few seconds later, surprised it had been painless, surprised it had been that easy. A fine smattering of scales decorated his arms and hands, running further up beneath his clothes. He shifted, impressed when the movement held no stiffness and more fluidity that he'd ever thought himself capable of.

So this is what togetherness feels like… The thought lingered, comfortingly and Harry rubbed at his right shoulder. The itch did not subside and irritated, Harry yanked the shirt sideways and stopped. The tattooed mating mark on his shoulder was definitely familiar. He stared at it. Then at the door. Then back at his arm and slowly sank down to the floor to continue connecting the dots.

Theo's mark…why is Theo's mark in me? No, that's fine. It would be in me, but why is it here? Why is it on a seal?

"You are very lucky, Submissive." The voice was feminine, but icy cold.

Harry jerked about faintly, searching for the source and digging deeply into the newly connected bond between himself and his dragel magic. He was slightly relieved to note that while it was also running low from whatever he'd done with it—he could not remember what—that it was still present should he need it.

"Do not trouble yourself." The voice continued and the seal shuddered, the golden-red lights flickering again, the magic continuing its hum through every carved speck. "I do not mean any harm to come to you…I cannot."

And this time, Harry saw her. A lovely young woman—from the waist up—dressed in a handful of colorful silks and a golden scepter in one hand, with a spiked circle adorning the top. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but Harry couldn't yet put his finger on it. He couldn't tell the colors of her, beyond the silks that twined into a makeshift bustier, everything else about her was white, grey and the palest of blues, lending credence to her spirit form as her lower half was nothing more than a swirling mist and her hair, of the same matter.

His fuzzy mind sifted through the collection of confusing memories from recently and belatedly placed her. Harry sucked in a breath. He hoped this wasn't hurting Theo. "You're Theo's."

There was a very unladylike snort from the filmy young woman. "I am Sukey." She said, stiffly. "I am no one's."

"What are you doing…inside of me?" White eyes gave a spectacular roll in a nuance so Theo, that Harry had to bite back the words hovering on the tip of his tongue. She was definitely Theo's and on that basis, he would grudgingly trust her.

"Helping."

"…helping do what?"

"This." She waved a hand at the thick black doors. "Do you know what lies beyond here?"

"N-no." Harry's brow furrowed. He couldn't piece that part of the puzzle together, but he did think it would come to him if he kept thinking of it. "Can you open the doors?"

"I can." She folded her arms over her chest. The scepter stuck out at an odd angle. "I probably should not."

"…This is weird."

Her filmy-white lips twitched in something that could have been a smile. "Indeed." She moved, floating with ease as she turned to hover before the engraved medallion on the black doors. "Do you know what this is?"

"I already said-"

"What it is and what lies beyond it are two entirely different things." Sukey interrupted. "Think quickly, little Submissive."

"Harry. My name is Harry."

"Mmm." She murmured, noncommittally.

"It's a seal, isn't it?"

"Well of course it's a seal, but do you know what kind of a seal?"

"No. I didn't know anything about seals until I came to Nevarah—until Quinn told me about it yesterday."

"Hmm." Sukey hummed again. She caressed the dim marks, coaxing them back to their full potential. "It is a Soul Seal."

A jolt of coolness stabbed through him and Harry held his breath, waiting for the shock to pass. "I have a soul?" He inquired, mildly.

This time, she really did smile. "You almost did not." Her arms fell back to her sides and she twirled the scepter absently in her hand, as if it were a toy. "There are forces bargaining for your soul."

"Really?" Harry met her unnerving gaze, steadily.

"There was one here already, before I came." She reached for the door and rubbed it gently.

Harry could have sworn it trembled beneath her touch. "A little girl?" His mind caught up to the implications. "There was a little girl—in my head. I don't know who she was, but she—Voldemort—I think they fought or talked. I don't know what happened. Everything was—so fast, a blur—and it hurt."

"What an ugly name." Sukey wrinkled her nose. "I do not know this Voldemort of which you speak, but a shred of darkness embedded itself in the heart of your soul. You were lucky it did not consume you at once."

A mother's love…her sacrifice…Lily was a gifted witch…Mum…!

The thoughts mingled and smashed together in his head and Harry shook himself, to clear it. A mother's magic was a powerful, potent thing and perhaps he had her to thank for his life and his soul. "Is it still there?"

"Hmm? Oh no." Sukey twirled the scepter lazily. It glowed, faintly. "The—little girl, you said?—she took it."

"What?"

Sukey effected the closest thing to a shrug that a Casper could. "I did not ask her what she wanted with it, I supposed it was a blessing in disguise, so I let her have it and then I sent her out where you could argue with her."

Harry's green eyes narrowed, dangerously. Arguing was most certainly not what had happened during that intense mental battle. He'd never endured something like that before, it hadn't sat well with him at all and now, he wasn't exactly any happier to hear that part of it had been engineered. He scowled. "How long have you been in here?"

"In here?" She sniffed. "I am not exactly here, little Submissive. I am everywhere and nowhere. I merely happen to be here right now, because you are antagonizing this." She tapped the glowing seal with her scepter. "And I am not sure that you should be doing that." The filmy white-grey edges of her caspered forms began to tinge with the rosy-golden hue that the medallion gave off.

That was the final clue that Harry needed, he lunged to his feet, his hands passing harmlessly through her. "You put this seal on me!"

"In place of another, yes." Sukey inspected her nonexistent nails. "And stop that, it tickles. I do not feel much like laughing."

"Take it off." Harry felt his magic freeze and shift according to his tumultuous emotions. He took a hasty breath, attempting to calm it, before the flicker of rage resurfaced. Seals. Pointless, bloody seals! "Take. It. Off!"

"…No." Sukey leaned down to press her face hair's breadth away. "Not yet. It is not complete."

"Complete?" Harry hissed. "This is my soul. I have more right to it than-"

"Who is Albus Dumbledore and why did you let anyone of Torvak decent meddle with your magic?"

Harry blinked. His mouth opened and closed, mind working to connect the dots to the newest puzzle the casper had thrown at him. It didn't make anywhere near as much sense as he had hoped. "What?"

"I did not place this seal on you with good intentions, little one." She swirled teasingly around him the smile turning dark and malicious. "I should have swallowed you alive the moment you breathed those forbidden words. Her wispy fingers pretended to close about Harry's throat.

Surprisingly, he felt it this time as a distinct coolness circling about him. "What are you talking about?"

"Ah, so you do know them? Well, then. That does change things now, does it not?"

"Stop speaking in riddles." Harry felt his magic roil and rumble.

Sukey's pale eyebrows arched upwards. "A cretin by the name of Dumbledore crafted a seal to lock away your soul." Her white eyes drilled into him. "The penalty for the words you spoke, makes your life forfeit. I came for it." The scepter glowed. "And I was denied, because there are seals upon your soul, however, this seal in particular caught my eye."

Harry squared his shoulders and met her gaze. "You're welcome to my soul, if I owe it to you, then." His eyes hardened. "But I have things to do before you can have it."

She laughed, long and loud. "I cannot have it, as it is no longer mine for the taking." She pretended to yawn, as if bored. "But, as I no longer need to kill you, then you are welcome to have this back, except…" and here, she sighed.

"Except what?"

"Except that in trying to remove the original seal, it ah, latched onto me instead. So I sealed it back." She waved the scepter at the wall. The medallion flared. "I could undo it, but it would bring about a host of painful things and some physical discomforts."

Harry snorted. "I doubt it could be any worse than what I have already been through." He informed her. "Take it off. Now!"

"Now?" And this time, there was weight in her words.

Harry swallowed. He could hear a foggy echo of Theo's words in the back of his mind. Words that he hadn't been able to make sense of at that time, lying helplessly in Charlie's arms. The memory replayed as he stared up the hovering Casper, both terrifying and beautiful in its existence.

"Terris Sukey. Brindus. Terris Makindor. Brindus. Terris Alomath. Brindus. By the honor of my soul and the stake of my life, to the three guardians of the earth that protect me, I beg of you to spare the life of my disobedient mate. The contracts with you are upheld by my hand and mine alone. I gave access, but meant no disrespect by it. Judge as you wish. I speak no dishonesty. Exact your price upon my body alone. I offer my innocence and accept your binding. Brindus!"

He lifted his chin. "Now."

"So be it." The scepter twirled again and Sukey pointed it at the medallion. "Terris Sukey—Brindus!"

Harry clenched his teeth and retreated to the little happy place. Something flitted over him, a touch of coolness and he could have sworn, she'd patted his shoulder.

Could have.

He grimaced, bracing himself for the expected onslaught. He'd have a lot of explaining to do when he woke—and he was not particularly looking forward to it.

"Harry?" Charlie rolled to his side, keeping his arms around the trembling figure, his grip never loosening. "Harry, it's alright. It's over now. Shh." He shushed as gently and comfortingly as he could. It pained him to see the slender form still twitching and flinching in alternate moments. "It's alright. It will be alright." Charlie found himself mumbling a soothing litany of nonsense in Romanian—a habit he'd picked up from some of the other Tamers when they worked with the younger, injured dragons.

"Char-?" Harry's sleep-slurred address came a few minutes later. He started to stretch, then whimpered and curled in on himself, his arms sluggishly moving to curl around his stomach. "Ow." The brunet murmured, very quietly. A moment later, he relaxed, the stiffness bleeding away.

Charlie's eyebrows arched upwards in a mixture of surprise and worry as he took in the reaction and the expression on Harry's face. "Harry?"

"It hurts-?" But this time, there was a hint of wonder in his voice as Harry froze again, his brow knitting in confusion. And now it doesn't…what's happening? The thoughts jumbled and swirled over each other as Harry continued to stare. "What happened to me?" He held up an arm, ignoring the minute sparks of pain to see that his shirt-sleeves were a bit shorter than he could remember. Harry blinked, his mind scrambling to put the pieces together, there had been quite a bit to process in his mindscape. "Theo-!"

"Harry?" Charlie nearly sat up, but he caught himself in time, as not to send Harry tumbling to the floor from the magically enlarged bed. His brain connected the dots at the same moment that Harry did. He nudged him over a bit, so he could see.

The brunet held up a hand in wonderment, the shirt-sleeves short enough to speak of a few inches of growth. Green eyes grew round and Harry sat up, unheeding of Charlie's hands attempting to keep him still. "Ow, ow, ow." He muttered, wincing as the painful aftershocks rippled through him, but faded almost at once, the moment they were over. He stared at his hands and then down at his feet, his legs, halfway tangled in the sheets and Charlie's own long limbs.

Charlie sat up, belatedly, his own blue-eyed gaze following Harry's as they stared at the evidence of skinny legs suddenly too long for their trousers. "Well," Charlie swallowed, after a moment. He reached over and hugged the smaller teen to him. He tucked the dark-haired head beneath his chin and bent to nuzzle along Harry's cheek. Magic was strange. But it was also a beautiful thing. This, he could whole-heartedly agree with.

"Theo." Harry repeated, a moment later, a little more firmly. "Where's Theo?"

"He was with Quinn." Charlie tightened his grip on the lovely armful.

"Quinn's over there with Kyle." Harry leaned away from Charlie's happy kiss. "M'fine, Charlie." He protested, half-heartedly. "It was Theo. I saw him, he was—he's alright? I-I need to see him. I feel like—I need to, can I?" He wriggled, faintly, wanting to slide off the bed and stand on his own two feet. The words were not coming out as simply as he wanted them to, but it seemed that Charlie could understand him.

Charlie hesitated. "Slowly." He released him with cautious hands.

Harry slid off the bed, testing his weight on legs that seemed to be all out of coordination—again. "Whoa!" He grabbed backwards, steadying himself with a hand on Charlie's arm. A few careful breaths later, Harry stared down at himself, having the faintest feeling of déjà vu, remembering his sixteenth birthday. While he hadn't grown for his inheritance—and he had wondered about that—it seemed as if the mystery growth had finally caught up to him.

A giddy smile danced across his face, fading a second later, when he turned on Charlie. "Theo." He said, quietly. "I want Theo now, Charlie."

His beta opened his mouth and shut it a few times, before he finally effected a half-shrug. "Theo. Right. I'll ah, see what I can do."

"Good." Harry tested his arms, stretching them in and out, grimacing at the popped buttons on his shirt-cuffs. That was yet another reason to avoid wearing button up shirts. Pesky buttons. "Charlie?"

"Hmm?" Charlie stood up, rolling his shoulders forward and back, attempting to settle his slightly rippling wings, hovering beneath the surface of his skin.

"Could you?" Harry gestured to the outfit.

Charlie flashed a grin. His wand appeared in his hand with a half-thought and with a flick of his wrist, he transfigured the clothes into larger, neater versions of daywear.

Harry gifted him with a brilliant smile for his efforts. The smile beautiful and bittersweet. "Thanks."

"Harry?" Charlie reached a hand backwards to feel along his side. He frowned. These wings were complicated…

"I never thought I'd ever grow any taller." Harry said, softly. He smiled down at his bare feet. He didn't know where his shoes had gone and when it had happened, but he couldn't actually care. He could feel the aches in the right places—growing pains indeed—but somehow, it didn't matter. He could feel and see everything as if it were newer, brighter somehow.

Funny how a few inches could do that.

"Truly spectacular." Ilsa congratulated him, later.

Theo roused to find himself staring up at her from the cool, damp ground. He couldn't recall much, but it seemed as if a great deal of time had passed over him somehow. He grimaced, finding his limbs virtually useless due to the pain singing through his body and the lack of energy to spare for movement. "That bad?" He croaked.

"Oh do waste your voice, why don't you?" Ilsa drawled. She uncorked something from her waist and a moment later, dribbled cool water at the corner of his mouth. "I sincerely hope you worked everything out, because I am not a casper therapist to be-"

"S'fine." Theo twisted away from the bottle. "We did. We're fine."

"Good." Ilsa screwed the cap back on and returned it to her utility belt. "It was quite spectacular you know," She repeated. "Lots of flashing lights, explosions and such. Very pretty."

"You have a horrible sense of humor." Theo coughed and winced at the jarring movement. "Show it to me sometime." He rasped. "How long?"

"Long enough." She settled beside him, stretching out on the cool, damp grass.

Together they stared up at a dark, starry sky.

Theo sighed. "Aracle's void?" He questioned. It was the only place he could think of and he'd long since decided, years before, that he would never count the places that his mentor chose to secret them away. Ilsa had her secrets and she allowed him his own. It was something of an understanding between them. Aracle's penchant for spellwork, especially those of a time-altering nature, was a worthy secondary gift to his own earth element. One of his courting gifts to Ilsa had been a little floating patch of earth in a place where time was slowed to the outside world. Theo could make an educated guess when the situation called for it.

Ilsa snorted. "That obvious?"

"If I am away too long, I'm fairly certain something will explode on the other end."

"Charlie or Harry?" Ilsa quipped. "They'll be fine."

"I still need to see them." He returned.

"I am not stopping you."

Theo shifted to look at her. He turned his head enough to take in her profile, deceptively relaxed, staring straight up at the sky. Ah. He knew that look and he had known, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he would not emerge from this ordeal unscathed. "Of course." He sighed.

"Working up the nerve?" Ilsa inquired, lightly.

Theo half-laughed. "When I can feel my hands," he promised. "Right now, I think my feet itch."

Her laughter mingled with his and Theo tried to let the sound of it comfort him. What would come next would be brutal and very real for both of them. It was part of their understanding.

He swallowed hard.

To leave the void, he would have to fight her—and he would be entirely at her mercy as to whether his winning or his submission, would grant him the passage he sought. He sighed, mentally gathering and pulling himself together for possibly the third time for this session. He would not protest this—mostly because he knew he deserved every minute of it.

Her hand, rough, calloused and warm, slipped into his as they lay on the grass. It squeezed—once—gently and nothing was said.

Theo understood it as all the things they didn't need to say. He squeezed back.

It would be horrible, terrible and entirely wretched—and then, it would be over and they could return to their usual roles, routines and relationship. His lips quirked unwillingly into a smile. He stared up into the sky, seeing the shining specks of stars blurring as his eyes refused to cooperate, hot tears stinging at the corners. He'd almost given this up.

Almost.

And it hurt to finally understand.

He willed his body to function, drawing himself up on shaky arms and legs, relieved when threads of strength settled into his bones. Evidence of his caspers working with him, proof of his increased power, resolve that he had missed. Theo managed a smile this time, tinged with a hint of bittersweet reality. He waited while his mentor rolled fluidly up to her own feet, her hands crackling with her elemental gifts.

His own magic leapt to life as he cupped his hands together, summoning out a light-cream-colored orb. He rolled his shoulders back and settled into a bracing stance, the positioning feeling right, the reason feeling even better. He had missed this.

"Count of three?" Ilsa hummed, her own golden eyes snapping brightly in anticipation. "Three!"

Theo threw himself forward, mouthing the first spell that came to mind.

A/N: Sorry for the delay with the chapter folks. I think I'll have to switch to biweekly installments at the rate uni is going.

Lisa--thanks. Fixed it. :)

unneeded--Yep, Charlie's lucky. Harry will be fine tho. It's half his fault as we can see here. Aiden won't endanger Hermione 'cause it'll reflect badly on him and he's very picky about that. ;)

Jan--thanks! ch 64 should be a little happier/fluffier.

Lady_Arachne--LOL. Well, I hope you enjoy the story, no matter where you review. There's not too much difference in either fic yet, save for a minor scene in ch 61, I think. ff always is updated first, just because their system doesn't hate me. :P There's a lot going on for Harry in this fic, enjoy!

~Scion
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There Be Dragons, Harry