Taking a Gamble
Of course this was beta'd by the ever so lovely Vittani.
Hun, I wish you knew how much you are worth! To me you are priceless
Taking a gamble
The next day greeted the group of elves with sunshine and every single one of them seemed to feel refreshed and well rested.
It was a strange occurrence, since all of them had been through a rough time the day before.
Only Narcissa seemed to know why they all felt surprisingly well.
She explained that the Mairn had healing powers of its own.
Draco remembered that his cuts had healed overnight, when Harry and he had been in a fight over dominance a few days prior.
He asked his mother how she knew about the healing powers of the Mairn, but she told him it was a secret she was not to reveal to anyone.
Severus had taken a bath in the spring and was dressed in clean clothes.
He wanted to have some breakfast and then talk with Harry about the bonding ceremony.
They only had a day and a half left and there was no time to spare.
He summoned two female Elders from his Realm and asked them to bring prerequisite ingredients for a Ritual Bathing and the Bonding attire for himself and his son.
Walking over to the group of people gathered at the tree stump, Severus cleared his throat and signalled to Harry that he was to follow his father.
“Harry, how much do you know about the Bonding?” Severus asked in a serious voice.
Harry told his father what the Mairn had told him
Severus nodded his head and asked if Harry also knew about the last stage, he and Draco were going to go through when they bonded.
Harry paled considerably; surely they weren’t going to fight yet again, were they?
Picking up on Harry’s distraught thoughts, Severus immediately put the young man’s mind at ease.
Harry and Draco were not going to fight, but Harry was going to change one last time.
This transformation was the final stage of growth for Harry, as it would determine what Harry would look like for the rest of his life.
He could take on more feminine features, grow more muscular or even revert to his former self.
Severus said there was no way of knowing how the change would affect Harry.
There was one other thing to be considered as well; never in the history of the Elvin race had there been a completed Bonding between two princes before.
It was unknown to anyone what that meant for the bond between Draco and Harry.
Were they going to stay within the Dominant-Subservient roles, or were they going to be both dominants, one being a bit less hostile than the other? They just didn’t know.
Harry’s mind was swimming with all the information he had received.
Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks “Dad? Did you just tell me I could look like a girl, after the change?” he asked, a bit scared of the answer.
Severus chuckled and nodded slightly, at which Harry looked at him with big green eyes.
“Oh hell no…I am most certainly not going to look like a girl! I like the way I look just fine.” The youth said in an exasperated tone.
“You have but little choice, Harry. You either do or you don’t, but there is no choice here” his father answered truthfully.
Harry glared at the man in front of him and stated “Yes there is. You’ll see” walking away angrily.
Severus shook his head, amused by his son’s conviction.
If anyone could get away with something like that, it would be Harry.
Rejoining the group of elves, Severus cleared his throat and began the meeting.
Harry hadn’t joined the others, still fuming about the possibility of looking like a girl.
Finally he was worth looking at and now it could be reversed?
Not in this lifetime, he swore to himself.
Draco had left the group, when he noticed that Harry hadn’t joined them for the meeting.
He was a bit worried, because he could feel his mate’s angry state.
Walking over to the spring, he saw Harry sitting on the grass, looking lost in thought.
“Harry? Is everything alright?” he asked softly.
Harry shook his head slightly and told Draco what his Dad had told him.
Draco thought about it a while and answered ; “It does not matter to me, you know? You will still be my Harry, no matter what you look like.”
Green eyes looked up surprised at Draco; “Really?” Harry asked a bit insecure.
Draco nodded his head and sat next to Harry on the patch of grass.
“Harry, I couldn’t care less what you look like, as long as I have you by my side. Don’t worry so much. You are not even certain that you will change” the blonde stated firmly.
Harry had to admit, it was a much better way of looking at things and he said as much.
They were startled out of their thoughts, when two female Elders walked into the Mairn.
Harry recognized them as being Elders from his Realm.
They were both carrying a basket, covered with a shining piece of cloth and Harry was curious.
He nodded his head slightly to the two women and stood up to join the others.
Holding out his hand, he helped Draco to stand up.
It surprised Draco, because he was always the one to hold out his hand.
Draco was accustomed to the role of ‘the male’ in their relationship.
Maybe it was a sign that Harry would change into a Dominant himself?
Draco didn’t know what to make of that and he decided he needed some counselling.
They walked over to the group and Draco asked his father for a moment of his time.
Lucius nodded his head and excused himself from the meeting.
They were finishing up anyway, so he didn’t have to attend anymore.
Leaving certain details to be discussed between the females.
Walking over to a copse of trees, father and son were lost in thought for several moments.
Draco paused and looked at the older Malfoy who was stood on Draco’s right.
“Draco? You seem worried. What is troubling you son?” Lucius asked carefully.
“Dad, have you noticed certain changes in Harry?”
Lucius thought for a moment, before nodding his head a bit reluctantly.
Draco heaved a sigh, he had been right then.
“I think Harry is going to change into another Dominant and it scares me Dad”
There were so many possibilities for things to turn sour and Draco’s head was helpfully supplying them.
He wasn’t sure what to make of them though.
What if Harry left him? What if Harry would realize Draco was not worthy of him?
The change would start after the bonding and an Elvin bonding was for life, until one of the partners died and Harry could easily kill him and seek out a sub for himself then.
Draco shuddered to think of what might happen.
Lucius saw his son struggle and tentatively placed his hand on the boy’s arm.
“Draco, Harry loves you. Do not ever think otherwise. You know him better, than you know yourself. You know he is not capable of ill thought towards you. Why would he leave you, when he knows you and he are meant to be together?” he said quietly.
Lucius’ logic struck home and Draco relaxed a bit.
Of course Harry wouldn’t leave him on a whim, it would go against everything his beloved stood for.
Still, the little changes that were now noticeable, were worrying Draco a bit.
“Dad, will we need to fight each other, if Harry turns into a Dominant?” he asked.
Lucius shook his head and stated that bonded elves adopted traits from one another and by doing so, became one. Something akin to merged souls.
They would retain their respective personalities, but certain ‘adopted’ traits would soften or define the inane traits of the other.
Harry would most likely become a bit more secretive and Draco would most likely develop a stronger sense of justice, Lucius explained, amused after seeing the look of horror passing over his son’s face.
“Dad, I really didn’t want to hear that” Draco said exasperated.
Lucius laughed heartily at that admission.
Calming down he asked Draco; “Is that what is bothering you? That you will gain a few traits yourself? Or is it more to do with the fact that you will become more equal in the relationship?”
Pondering the question, Draco had to admit he rather liked Harry to be dependent on him a bit.
Not that Harry was really depending on Draco that much, but the somewhat defined male/female structure was something Draco was familiar with and he didn’t want to give that up very easily.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, he asked his father to walk back to the group.
There were fourteen hours left and in about two hours the Rituals would begin.
Draco stated he just had to wait and see what would happen.
If Harry’s actions were anything to go by, they had little to worry about.
Lucius was proud of his son’s reasoning; it would make everything so much easier.
The next two hours were going by in a flurry of nervous activity.
Every person in their group had something or other to do and Harry and Draco spent their last hours of being bachelors, together.
The Mairn seemed to shift and change and both Lucius and Severus came to collect their respective sons.
Poppy Pomfrey appeared in the middle of the Mairn and was whisked away by two female Elders, to the spring immediately.
She didn’t get to say a word, because there were Dominants arriving already and tension was rising, you could feel it in the air.
Severus grabbed a tight hold of his son’s wrist and yanked him towards a group of boulders, not letting anything stop him from reaching the wretched place.
He saw two Dominants following them that were sending thrums and spelled the place under a ‘confundus’ charm, knowing how to do magic had it’s perks, he mused, because he had no time for this.
His son and only heir was going to be bonded with Draco today, if it was the last thing he would get done in this godforsaken place, the king vowed to himself.
Harry had lost a bit of colour in his face, he had felt the seductive thrums sent to him by those Dominants that were following earlier.
Still the black haired prince was nothing, if not persistent, though.
He would not react to the other Dominants, he was Draco’s mate and nobody else would do!
He thought about Draco and all the nervous thoughts from receiving those thrums, ebbed away.
He was going to be bonded in twelve hours, he thought dreamily.
He was startled out of his musings when they reached the bathing site and his father had stopped walking and turned to look at Harry.
Harry was taken aback by his father’s face.
The man’s eyes…they were a radiant violet.
The man growled low in his throat and began advancing slowly towards Harry.
Harry was completely confused. How was this possible? Why? What happened?
“Dad? Why are you looking at me like that? You are frightening me…DAD!” Harry screamed, looking on in horror as he saw his father struggle with something that seemed to Harry as if he was convulsing.
The two Elders that were supposed to bathe Harry, came running hastily.
They knew what was happening and it did not bode well for the young prince.
One took Harry’s hand and ran off with him, while the other tried to restrain the king.
The man was for all intents and purposes still a Dominant and not bonded yet, so he was lured towards his own son, because of the scent.
It had taken too long for them to get to the bathing site, the king had taken a gamble and lost.
Severus fought with all his might against the alluring scent, trying to tell himself that this was his son, he was reacting to, but his body wasn’t listening and he tried to fight the Elder, after succumbing to the pull.
The Elder was prepared though and took the king out with one mighty blow.
She had bathed hundreds of Elves and knew every trick in the book, because she had been through this almost every time, when an un-bonded Dominant father or uncle delivered a male subservient to be bathed for the bonding.
Throwing the man over her shoulder, she walked to the edge of the site, dropped the man outside and asked the Mairn to keep the site hidden.
A gentle rustle of the leaves was her answer and the Elder wasn’t worried anymore.
The Mairn would see to the safety of the three of them, of that she was certain.
Meanwhile Lucius had grabbed Draco by his arm and practically ran towards the bathing site of his own son and only heir.
He knew what to expect, but he wasn’t in any danger of being lured to his son.
He was, after all, bonded and happy himself.
There were, however, a lot of Dominants on their side of the Mairn, because their Elders were mostly men and many were not bonded.
Luck was against them, it seemed, as a big part of the group were standing just outside of the bathing site and Lucius knew he needed a bit of help.
He called for Narcissa and sent his thoughts fast, to convey his worries to her.
The queen understood the dire situation and arrived just in time to see one of the Dominant Elders make a move to grab a hold of Draco.
If this ‘threat’ was taken care of, the sub would be fair game again and the bonding would be cancelled.
Narcissa thought fast and raised her palms to the skies.
“By the Dragon’s Light
On this night
I call to thee
To give me your might
By the Power of Three
I conjure thee
To protect all
That surrounds me
So mote it be!
So mote it be!”
A flash of light erupted from her hands to surround Lucius and Draco.
When the light vanished, so did Lucius and Draco.
The Dominants weren’t very happy with the outcome of the spell, but there was nothing they could do.
Lucius and his son appeared inside of the bathing site and the Blue Oak king let out a heavy sigh.
He had been certain that they would need to fight, to get here.
Still he was thankful that his wife was so quick to assess the situation and handled it accordingly.
Hugging his son, Lucius wished him well and left the site, where he was greeted with the sight of a deadly pale and shaking Severus.
Thinking his old friend was nervous for his son’s bonding, Lucius looked at him a little amused, but the smile on his face faded quickly, when he took a better look at the dark haired king.
“Severus, whatever is the matter with you? Are you nervous of the bonding?” Lucius asked cautiously, only to receive a glare in return.
“Lucius…I-I…GODS…” Severus bellowed, quite effectively scaring half of the people around him.
Now this was something you didn’t see everyday…Severus looked positively horrified.
“What happened?” Lucius’ tone was a bit icy, because he had a rough idea of what it was.
Severus turned to him, his eyes big and shining with unshed tears.
“I nearly took advantage of my own son” he whispered in a small voice.
Lucius had thought as much and asked; “How ‘nearly’ was it? Did you harm him? Harm anyone?”
Severus shook his head, but admitted to trying to fight one of the Elders.
The fair haired king sighed, but suddenly looked up as an idea struck him.
It was a stroke of genius, if he said so himself.
“You were going to get bonded Severus. Why not do so today?” Lucius asked with a big smile.
Severus hadn’t thought about that, it was a good idea; he needed to ask Harry, though.
He wanted his son’s approval and it was actually Harry’s day to shine.
Severus didn’t want to take that away from him.
“I need to ask Harry if he has any objections.” Severus said and Lucius looked a bit angry at the statement.
“You are not going anywhere near that boy, until he is well and truly bonded. Do not even think about it. It is far too dangerous. I will ask him for you” Lucius ground out.
He needed to ask Draco the same question, so it was no problem to tackle the same thing twice for him.
“You just ask Eve if she is willing and if so, send some people over to our Realms to collect the required items” the blonde ordered and left to find his son and soon to be son-in-law.
Finding Draco had not been a problem at all, as Lucius had just left him and with a bit of help from the Mairn he was inside the bathing site in a second.
Finding Harry proved to be quite more challenging, though.
After twenty minutes of searching, Lucius began to grow impatient, before realizing he could ask the Mairn for assistance again.
“Mairn, where is the prince of White Elm?” he sent to the Mairn.
“I can not answer that, fair king. There is too much risk of someone picking up the image. However, I can take you to him, as you pose no threat. There is one condition, though. You must keep your eyes closed at all costs” the Mairn answered whispering.
“Keep my eyes closed? Whatever for?” Lucius asked incredulously.
“If you are to look at the young prince, your heart will forever belong to him. After you have seen him, you will lose your eyesight, for his beauty will steal the light in your eyes” was the reply.
Lucius was very reluctant to go to the black haired man that had captured his son’s heart, after that message, still he had made a promise to Severus and he was a man of his word.
Spelling his eyes temporarily blind, Lucius asked the Mairn to take him to Harry.
Severus had been in search of Eve and found out she was one of the assistants in Draco’s ritual.
He asked the Mairn to pass a message to her, so there would be no ‘accidents’, he was sure would follow if he set as much as one foot inside the bathing site.
Because the sites were hidden by Ancient Magic, Severus could not establish a mind link with a person inside the bathing site, though it could be done the other way around.
This was to make sure someone could be called in case of an emergency.
Eve entered his mind at last and said she would be honoured to bond with him on this special day.
Severus was over the moon with her reply and gathered two Elders to assist him in his own ritual.
It would not be as tedious or prolonged, like the first time.
He had been bonded before, so this bonding was not a bonding of Blood- Mates.
It would take six hours to complete and Severus explained he wanted to begin his own ritual, when Harry and Draco were halfway through theirs.
Eve said she could enter the ritual inside the site where Draco was being bathed and two other Elders would help her, if needed.
It would be a bit risky, but Eve told Severus she could pull it off.
A Bathing Ritual was far more than sitting in a large amount of scented water.
That would take only thirty minutes at most.
There would be several rituals, that needed careful execution or the Ritual itself would be void.
They were a combination of spell castings, massages with scented oils, giving offerings to the Founders, a series of wishes to elves that had passed on to the other side and finally the grooming.
The massages in themselves already took nine and a half hours to complete.
They were the hardest part to complete, for one of the Elders needed to do the massage, while the other was casting the right spells, using complex hand movements, incantations, incense, candles and oils to invoke love, prosperity and fertility.
Each part of the body was being massaged in a specific order and the spells were also cast on that particular moment.
After said body part was finished, the bride or groom made an offering and a wish.
Over and over it went, until the entire body was finished and the bride or groom was ready to be dressed, groomed and painted with runes.
Only the Elders were knowledgeable in those rituals and once started, there was no way to stop the process, unless one of the Elders failed in their task and he or she would be sentenced to death by the one receiving the Ritual.
The Elvin Laws were very strict that way, but it served its purpose.
There had been only one death in all the years the Elves existed.
Lucius had been dropped off at Harry’s bathing sight and stood there listening to one of the Elders finishing an incantation.
He could hear Harry’s voice, while he was offering something to the Founders, but was startled when he heard a voice thanking the prince for his offering.
Clearing his throat a bit Lucius started to ask his question, only to be cut off by Harry.
“The answer is yes, Lucius” Harry said in his melodious voice.
Lucius nodded his head gracefully and asked the Mairn to take him away again.
He didn’t like to be in the dark, literally.
Once again standing outside, he spelled his eyes to see again and questioned the Mairn about the answer Harry had received for his offering.
“Fair king, the Founders, in all their wisdom, have decided to join your son and his betrothed on this magnificent day. The Bonding is a truly blessed one” came the swift and rather amused reply.
Lucius was a bit suspicious, the Mairn sounded…well, for lack of a better word; smug.
“Show yourself, I want a word with you” he demanded and in a blink there stood the huntress.
“Explain” was all the blonde king said and the huntress shrugged.
“You know this is the first time that two princes will bond. The Founders are pleased by the fact that they are from opposite Realms and still found love, even if all odds were against them. The Founders will come to the Bonding in their ‘mortal’ forms, to bestow upon the two princes some of their gifts”
This piece of news made Lucius even more suspicious.
“What gifts? Are they going to get trouble from those ‘gifts’ you mentioned?” he asked sharply.
The Huntress laughed softly and shook her head.
“Do not worry, fair king. The young ones are going to get genuine gifts, not troublesome ones”
Lucius wasn’t completely reassured by this, but kept his worries to himself.
He would just have to wait and find out what would happen.
Suddenly his thoughts struck him as funny…it sounded an awful lot like what Draco had said to him earlier in the day, about his own worries.
He thanked the Huntress for the explanation and felt it would all work itself out in the end.
Making his way to Draco he received the same answer and heard another voice thank Draco for his offering, but he was no longer worried about it.
Six hours had passed and Severus was inside his bathing site, after he had received answer from Lucius that Draco and Harry both were pleased with the double Bonding.
Poppy, on the other hand, was having some trouble with her bathing.
She was very set in her ways and was accustomed to ordering others around to get things done.
Now, she was the one who had to do what others asked of her and it didn’t sit well with the medi-witch.
She wanted to complain about the fact she needed to be bathed and massaged, but the Elders looked at her as if she was a petulant child and the medi-witch took the warning looks to heart.
It was the same look she would give her charges, when they were behaving badly or moody.
The massages were very relaxing and the spell casting was rather interesting, so she didn’t grow bored.
Shanya, the one that was massaging Poppy, explained in a very soft voice what the spells, massages and offerings were all about.
Poppy asked why she needed to offer things, because she wasn’t an elf.
The Elder chuckled and asked; “Are you sure?”
Poppy didn’t know how to respond to that, she knew that she wasn’t one, but if she said so she might make the Elder angry or disturb the ritual.
Shanya picked up on her thoughts and said; “I am not easy to anger, Poppy. My question is a valid one, because in all my life I have never encountered one single human able to enter FeyholdMairn, ever.
Therefore it is only natural to think you have elvin blood. Don’t you think it is a strange coincidence you were named after a flower?”
To say Poppy Pomfrey was stunned, would be an understatement.
How could she be an elf? She had never had any experiences with them, except for what she went through with Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy.
“I have a theory. You have lived your entire life in the human world, have you not?” Shanya asked.
After Poppy’s nod she continued; ”I think your elvin magic was concealed somehow. If you think of your profession, who did you take to the most?” Shanya asked again, still speaking softly as to not disturb the spells that were being cast.
Poppy answered without hesitation; “Severus, he was and still is my dearest patient”
The Elder nodded her head, she had thought as much.
“After the king, who comes next?”
“That would be Harry Potter and then Mr. Malfoy” came the soft reply.
Poppy realized she had been favouring three elves.
The rest of the ritual was done without anymore interruptions; they all had a lot to think about.
