Follow Me

A/N: Thank you to all that have reviewed the story so far, and a thank you in advance to all those that will continue to do so. I have to admitt it does an ego good to see the number of people that are enjoying this story.



A/N2: I am sorry this site wont let me respond to the reviews or your questions. I have seen alot of people who take up page after page of their chapters to respond to reviews and it has always frustrated me when I am reading so I wont do it myself. However, if you have a question...I can respond through the yahoo group that I set up so feel free to ask anything you wish. Primarily it is to give me a place that I can post my stories to, and hopefully get some useful feedback on chapters before they are posted elsewhere on the net. By the way there is a picture of Norische on the group... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Of_Pens_and_Ponders/?yguid=104171974







[...] or {...} = mindspeak

~...~ = parseltongue

\'...\' = thought





Chapter 33



“Well I think I kinda have an answer to at least a couple of the questions.” Harry mumbled, as if he was not sure he wished Norische to hear him.



“Oh?” Norische turned to look at Harry. As soon as his head turned Norische felt the touch of Harry’s soft warm lips graze his own. After a moment of shock, Norische returned the kiss. It was soft and gentle, yet almost timid…as if he were unsure of what he was doing.



Norische gently placed his hand on the back of Harry’s neck and pulled him to him. He began to trace Harry’s lips with his tongue, memorizing his taste, his touch. As Norische felt his body begin to respond to Harry’s touch he realized that he now had the answer to the most important question. Harry was indeed his mate. The throbbing in his loins told him that he was definitely attracted to Harry, and the hardness that he felt pressing against his thigh told him that the feeling was quite mutual.



[Nori… where are you? Everyone is getting worried.]



Norische heard Chris whisper in his mind, tearing his focus away from Harry for the moment. He groaned as he pulled away from Harry’s soft lips.



[I’m ok; I am down by the lake. Harry is here with me…we are…talking over some things.]



[Oh? Talking hey? So have you figured out anything?] Norische could hear Chris snickering even in his thoughts.



[Actually yes. You were right. Harry is my mate. I am a little busy right now though…perhaps we can talk about it later.] Norische smiled as he looked into Harry’s eyes. The sunset was reflecting wild colors of red and purple in those exquisite emerald eyes. Norische was transfixed by the emotions he saw in those eyes right now.



[Busy…I’m sure. Ok. Be careful Daniel said there have been a few sittings of Centaurs around the lake recently.] Chris whispered.



[We will be, oh and use your discretion as to what you tell Draco. I am not sure how he will handle this.] Norische whispered as he leaned in to place another kiss on Harry’s swollen lips.



[I think it best if we are all together when we talk about this. I know he is afraid you will send him away.] Chris couldn’t keep the sadness from his voice.



[I know. But I will not be sending either you or him anywhere. You are all my mates, my strength, my harmony, and my heart. We will figure this all out…together.] Norische allowed Harry’s scent to fill his senses. Such purity, such a sweet innocence… it practically took Norische’s breath away.



[Chris, you might tell father and dad though… just to kind of give them a heads up, oh and Pari, she will kill me if she isn’t told immediately.] Norische thoughts were distracting him and right now he wanted to focus on the male that was sitting only inches away from him.



[No problem. I will let them know but don’t be surprised if they try and contact you as soon as they find out.] Chris chuckled.



[Ah…crap… ok, tell them anyway. That will so suck though.]



[Ok luv. I will see you when you get finished…talking…with Harry.]



[Wise ass!]



[Thank you…] Norische could hear Chris chuckling in his mind and then the following silence.



Norische turned all of his focus to Harry. Reaching his hand up he brushed aside a stray lock of Harry’s hair that fell over his eye. Then traced his lips with his fingertips, ghosting over the swollen flesh still hot from his kiss.



“Now what?” Harry whispered.



“Well I think you have resolved the ‘are you into guys’ question and the ‘do you find me attractive’ question.” Norische smiled gently at Harry. “Now we have to work on the other ones.”



Harry closed his eyes as he allowed himself to float along on the sea of sensations brought to life by Norische’s touch.



“What’s the next question?” Harry asked, doing his best not to allow his voice to tremble.



“Mmmm, maybe the ‘is this something you would want’ question.”



“Tell me about it. If I am your mate, tell me what it would mean.” Harry moved so that he could lean on Norische, which is exactly what he did. As Harry pressed his body close, Norische was actually surprised at how well that Harry fit into the curves of his body. Harry’s closeness did not help his excited state but the warmth of the body snuggled close to him was too good to complain about.



“I think you are indeed the human that I have been looking for. I know I have been attracted to you since the first day we met in Diagon Alley. I was honestly attracted to both you and Draco that day. Although I focused most of my efforts on Draco, you were never very far from my thoughts.” Norische confessed, hoping that Harry understood his words as he intended them.



Harry kept silent and listened, watching the sunset before them.



“If we bond you would become not only my mate, but Chris’ and Draco’s as well.” Norische started. Harry nodded and waited for Norische to continue.



“With the bonding you would receive what my people call gifts, as part of the bonding. Normally you would receive a diluted form of my abilities, and if the bond became a life bond at a later time then you would also come into your own abilities as well, and the ones you would have inherited from me would be strengthened.” Norische explained.



“Do you know what ‘gifts’ I would get? I mean is there any way to tell?” Harry remembered some of the changes that Draco had gone through since he had bonded with Norische and Chris.



“It depends. Chris and Draco both received mindspeak... where we can talk to each other telepathically. Chris got wings just like mine, normally wings, even for my people are rare, he didn’t have them on his own. Although Draco hasn’t shown any signs of getting wings yet, but that isn’t abnormal… Chris didn’t get wing flaps for almost three years. Chris can apparate through any ward or barrier, and unlock doors or bindings without a problem, we haven’t checked Draco on that one yet. Chris also has the healing touch, Draco hasn’t shown anything along that line yet either. We honestly haven’t worked a lot on Draco’s gifts so I am not sure what he has received in full or partially. I know that his empathy is almost off the charts though…I think he got a major dose of that from both of us. From what Draco said, it has made some spells a lot easier to cast and has dramatically increased his skill in mind magic as well.” Norische smiled gently as he pulled Harry closer to him. “Things like glamours are almost second nature to him now as well. He has mentioned that previously he was good at it, but now it is as if he doesn’t have to put any effort into the spells at all.”



“So Draco got something from both of you guys. Did you get any ‘gifts’ from Chris when you bonded with him?”



“Actually a couple. I can whisper now, oh and just incase you didn’t know…whisper is where you can speak with any vampyre using a mist link. It is interesting to experience but it isn’t as personal as mindspeak. It also tends to be one way. Almost like you put a note on someone’s mind for them to read. My healing abilities have changed quite a bit, and my empathy has hugely increased.” Norische thought about it and smiled.



“So if I bonded with you all, then I would get something from each of you?” Harry contemplated out loud, trying to figure things out.



“That’s the way it has been explained to me at least. The gifts would be very weak until the individual learned how to use them properly but they would be there none the less.”



“So did you get anything from Draco?”



“You mean something beyond being pregnant?” Norische chuckled, and then got serious again. “Well sort of. My talents in transfigurations seems to be more focused, and I have found recently that I am able to cast darker spells and curses without the drain that I had before, and my ability to understand languages is sharper too.”



Harry contemplated everything that Norische was telling him. “So if I bond with you guys I could get this mindspeak thing, and maybe healing, and empathy. Plus in time I might get wings.”



“Yeah, and there is also the possibility of being able to change. All vamps are also an animagus. So you could be able to change into an animal, you’ve seen my wolf, and Chris has a gray wolf, Draco hasn’t been able to change yet but I am not sure if he has really tried yet or not.”



“I wonder what you would get from me?” Harry thought about the possibilities.



“Well you are well known for your skill at flying, perhaps we shall gain your extraordinary sense of balance. Plus from what father has stated you are a skilled Occlumancer, so that is a possibility. And from what I saw that day at Hogsmeade you are also quite powerful and capable in defensive spells. So those are all logical.” Norische explained.



Harry nodded, although he was a little shocked that Snape would give him such a compliment. “So in a way we would all gain quite a bit if we bonded.”



“In truth, yes. Even if we weren’t attracted to each other…it would still be a strategically beneficial move, especially with that megalomaniac out there after you. If bonding with us gives you even the slightest advantage I would say lets do it. I have to admit that I say that for purely selfish reasons though. The thought of that monster hurting you is very disturbing, and the fact that I can do anything to make sure that you are as strong as possible is one that I have no intention of letting pass by.” Norische turned to Harry and placed two fingers under his chin, lifting his face. Leaning down Norische placed another gentle kiss on Harry’s lips. Even though the response was tentative it was still immediate, which filled Norische with warmth.



[Norische! Where are you young man!] It was Severus and he sounded furious.



Norische pulled back from Harry and with a deep sigh stated. “Sorry, father is calling through mindspeak…”



[I’m over by the lake with Harry…what’s wrong?]



[What’s wrong indeed! Chris just informed me that you have come to the conclusion that Mr. Potter is the human that you were searching for. Something about Draco being chosen by your heart and that he is not the human you needed after all.] Severus was clearly frustrated.



[Yes father. Draco can’t be my human mate, because he isn’t human, he is veela. But he is my mate nonetheless. Harry is the human that I have sought for so many years.] Norische really didn’t want to have this discussion telepathically but apparently his father wasn’t about to wait until he was present.



[How can you be sure? How can you have three mates? I thought you only required two!]



[Father, please… I am talking with Harry and we are trying to figure some of those things out right now. When I get it all sorted out you will be the first to know. But right now I need to focus on Harry and the questions that are racing through my mind right now.]



Norische could practically feel the irritation radiating off of Severus even through the distance. [Very well, but I expect an explanation soon.] Severus growled.



[Yes father.] Norische sighed and turned to look at Harry again.



“Professor Snape is upset?” Harry asked questioningly.



“You could say that. He is just as confused as I am and he is concerned as well.” Norische realized that Harry was worried as well. “Father knows how difficult it was to get approval from the Council of Elders to get permission to bond with Draco… and a four way bond with vampyre is almost unheard of. But if we bond and the council hasn’t authorized it then the Ministry can demand that the bond be relinquished. Depending on the length of time we are bonded, something like that could very well drive us all mad or even kill us.” Norische really didn’t want to have to face these possibilities but he knew that he must.



Harry shuttered at the thought. They may not be bonded yet, but he and Norische had become close friends and he honestly didn’t like the idea of loosing him… not now.



“Ok then… what’s the drawbacks. I mean…if we bonded.” Harry decided to move on and think about the other stuff later.



“Well the first thing is that I am already pregnant. I am not sure how you will handle my having a baby from the other two and not you.” Norische tried not to sound insecure about it but it was honestly something he had worried about with Draco and Chris… before he found out he was carrying twins that is.



“Babies are babies. It doesn’t matter whose they are. I have always wanted a family, and if we do this, we can always have more babies later.” Harry smiled, he couldn’t help but remember the day that he had gone with Norische to the healer and found out that Norische was pregnant. It was a shock but he had been thrilled too. It was an amazing feeling.



Norische smiled at Harry. “Who knows, but the next batch…someone else is carrying. I don’t do the bottoming thing well.”



Harry looked a little sad but nodded. “Your grandfather….”



Norische didn’t answer at first; to be honest he really didn’t know what to say. But he knew that if they were going to bond that some things had to be discussed, unfortunately. “Yeah. You know basically what he did to me already. When I was eight, he… well… that barrel that he had me chained too… that is where he did it. Same bloody barrel too.”



Norische closed his eyes at the memories, fighting the turmoil that was trying to overcome him. “I don’t know what made him do it, at first I thought he was just going to punish me for something. I never really knew why he would go into his rages, sometimes he would beat me, and sometimes he would beat my mother. But that day…that day was different. He hadn’t spoken all day, which was actually pretty strange for him, since he normally went around ranting about one thing or another. He chased me around the dungeon until he caught me then chained me down to the barrel. The next thing I know is that all my clothes are gone and he is touching me. I could hear my mother screaming from her cage for him to stop, but he acted like he didn’t hear her at all.”



Harry could feel Norische trembling next to him but he stayed quiet trying to let Norische say what he needed to say. “He started by spanking me, then he squeeze my ass for a while. The next thing I knew he had his finger inside of me. He had never touched me like that before. I started screaming, that only seemed to excite him. Then he was inside me, it hurt so much I couldn’t breathe. I know I passed out right after he entered me, when I came too he had finished, I could feel blood and cum running down my legs but he still hadn’t released me. He did it three more times that day; at least those are the times I can remember. I know that the last time he did it; I passed out again, because when I came too Pari was carrying me up the stairs out of the dungeon. She took me to a healer and they fixed me up. Unfortunately, what he did still haunts me sometimes. I try not to let it, but….”



Norische’s voice trembled as he spoke the last few sentences, his words heavy with emotion. Harry reached around and wrapped his arm around Norische, trying to show his support. Then Harry cleared his throat. “Can I tell you something, something that I have never told anyone before?”



Norische looked down at Harry, unsure but curious. “Of course, you can tell me anything.”



“No one knows, I think that Hermione and the Weasleys suspect, and maybe Remus but no one really knows. When my parents were killed, Dumbledore took me to my mother’s sister and her husband and left me on their doorstep. My Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and my cousin Dudley hate magic, and so they hated me. I spent my first ten years of my life living in a broom cupboard under the stairs of my Uncle’s house. My first letter from Hogwarts was addressed to Cupboard under the stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging. So Dumbledore had to know at least part of it.” Harry sighed as he thought. “I didn’t even know I had a name until I went to grade school, not a real name anyway. I thought my name was freak or boy. It took me months to remember to answer to Harry or Mr. Potter.”



“My uncle would… beat me anytime I did anything wrong. Saying the word magic was worse than saying the word fuck in polite company. Anything magical, even on accident got me beat really bad. Madame Pomfrey knows about some of it, she had to re-break my arm once because my uncle had broke it and wouldn’t let me go to a doctor to get it set, so it healed wrong. I went to Poppy because I had numbness in my fingers, that was when she found the break and fixed it.” Harry sighed, as he looked down at his arm. Harry remembered the pain, then the embarrassment when Poppy had found out. “I tried to tell her that I had fallen in the garden and hadn’t realized I had broken it, but she said it was a ‘spiral fracture’. She said she could tell from the type of break that the only way I could have broken my arm like that was if someone had twisted my arm so heard that it broke. She was right. Uncle Vernon had caught me nicking a banger from the trash and had twisted my arm behind me until I dropped the banger. I kept screaming that it wasn’t like I was stealing anything…Aunt Petunia had thrown it away. But he was still furious.”



“That’s when he decided to lock me in. After they had gotten the letter from Hogwarts saying ‘the cupboard under the stairs’ they thought they were being watched so they gave me Dudley’s second bedroom. It wasn’t much more than a storage room for his broken toys and stuff, but at least it was better than the cupboard. Uncle Vernon put a bunch of locks on the door and cut a cat hole in the bottom so that they could slip food in, if they felt like it that is. They kept me locked in there most of the time; only let me out twice a day to go to the loo. Uncle Vernon even put bars on the window, so that Hedwig couldn’t go out and ‘sneak messages to my freaky little friends’. Thankfully I managed to get one of the panes loose and she could slip out through it and hunt for herself. If I hadn’t been able to do that she would have died. Sometimes they forgot to feed me for days… maybe they forgot, I think it was more they just didn’t want too. Hedwig even brought me back apples every now and then. I never did find out where she got them from but they tasted so good…”



Norische felt rage building up inside of him at Harry’s words. He tried not to let his emotions show, he didn’t want to make Harry regret telling him about his relatives.



[Nori? What’s wrong? I can feel so much anger coming through…are you all right?] Chris called out to him, concern thick in his voice.



[Yeah…what’s going on? Are you ok?] Draco’s voice echoed Chris’ concerns.



[I’m fine. Harry and I are just talking about some things that are a little hard to deal with right now.] Norische whispered back to his mates.



[Things? What things?] Draco asked suspiciously.



[My grandfather, what he did to me. And his relatives, and how they treated him. Oh Draco they hurt him so much, they beat, starved and abused him…it’s horrible. That’s why I’m so angry.] Norische knew that Draco was worried they were talking about him and that Harry was telling him stories about some of the stuff that he used to do to him.



[Sweet Salazar… he never said… I never knew.] Draco sounded worried.



[Yeah he said he never told anyone before. I think he was able to tell me because of what happened with my grandfather. Do me a favor, don’t let on you know anything, I really don’t have his permission to talk to you about it.]



[No problem. If you need us, just call.] Chris sounded sad, he knew how hard it was for Norische to talk about his grandfather and he wished he could be there to hold his mate but he knew that Norische and Harry needed to bond right now. If they could find a common ground in their pain, then perhaps they would both be able to heal a little.



[I will. I am sorry for worrying you guys.] Norische knew that he would have to talk about his grandfather with his mates when he returned, he had managed to breach the subject with Harry…but he needed Chris and Draco too.



“Dudley is a fat walrus, my cousin… I don’t see how one person could eat as much as he did. He used to beat me up all the time. He has a gang of guys from his school and they used to chase me around and when they would catch me they would all gang up on me and beat me up. Once my cousin broke my nose, and my Aunt Petunia took a belt to me for getting blood on Dudley’s school uniform.” Harry continued.



Norische let his mates listen in to what Harry was telling him, as soon as they heard his words they got incredibly quiet. Norische pulled Harry close to him, encouraging him to say what ever he wished.



“Every year I would ask Professor Dumbledore not to send me back, every year he would tell me about some blasted blood wards and that was the safest place for me to be.” Harry paused.



“You mean that the headmaster knew about the abuse?” Norische asked tentatively.



“He had to have. Ms. Figg, she’s a squib that lived just down the street from my uncle and aunt and used to watch me whenever they decided to go out of town and leave me home alone. She told him about it more than once, and he had all the records from Madam Pomfrey.” Harry pondered, he had never really thought about it. But Dumbledore had to have known.



“One time when I was twelve, Dobby got me in a lot of trouble. He dumped a cake on my uncle’s boss’s wife’s head. Uncle Vernon blew up. As soon as they left, he beat me with a belt until he was out of breath then he started using his fists. When he got tired he had Dudley start hitting me. I passed out long before they finished. When I came too I was in the basement, covered in blood. I crawled out the basement window and crawled over to Ms. Figg’s house. She took me to the A & E at Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital. My uncle had broken five of my ribs, and both of my arms, and my nose. The doctors sent for a constable and they were going to press charges against my relatives. But Aunt Petunia rushed into the room crying hysterical acting all concerned saying that I had been missing since last night and that I must have been jumped by some of the local hoodlums. She made such a fuss they dropped everything just to get her to shut up and leave. Since I had to stay with them until school started I kept my mouth shut. Not that I had a lot of choice, since my jaw was wired shut at that point.” Harry picked up a pebble that was nearby and tossed it towards the lake.



“After that they were ok to me for a while. Uncle Vernon took down the locks from my bedroom door and removed the bars, just incase family services would come by. The next year they found out about Sirius, the mass murderer that had escaped from Azkaban prison, who just so happened to be my godfather. They were terrified that he would sneak in at night and murder them all in their sleep. So they pretty much ignored me, which was actually a pretty good year. Well at least Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia ignored me. Dudley kept up with his gang; they would beat me up a couple of times a week. Most of the time it wasn’t too bad but every now and then they would get in a good shot, at least until that day that they were chasing me down the street and a big black dog jumped out of the bushes and started chasing Dudley. It bit him a few times on the butt before Dudley could get back home. Aunt Petunia took Dudley to the A & E and it ended up he had to go through the rabies shots since they couldn’t find the dog that bit him. I told them about Sirius’ animagus form and that it was probably him and that Dudley had better never try and hurt me again or else Sirius would probably kill him next time.” Harry chuckled a little at that. “What’s funny is that it wasn’t even Sirius. It was just a dog that I used to give scraps to that lived in the drainage pipe near the park.”



Harry sat there quite for a while before he continued. “So you see, I may not have been thru what you went through, but I know what it is like to have someone you are suppose to be able to trust betray you. I know what it is like to pray every night that somehow, someday, someone will love you.”



Norische closed the connection between himself, Chris and Draco. Taking Harry in his arms they sat in silence as the sun disappeared. Trying desperately to take away the others pain, to give just a little comfort and if possible…hope.