Arcane Academy

Chapter 9

When Harry awoke, he saw Zenith hunched over his desk sound asleep. He checked the time and was surprised to find that he’d only been asleep for a couple of hours. It was just a little after midnight. He was still dead tired, but he didn’t want to inconvenience Zenith anymore than he already had. Besides, the poor Dracken looked extremely uncomfortable in his current position.

Harry climbed out of bed, shoving the blankets to the foot of the bed, and gently levitated the sleeping demon onto the bed. He pulled the blankets up to Zenith’s chest and kissed the demon’s forehead. “Thank you for keeping me safe, Zenith. Sweet dreams.”

Leaving a note on the desk, telling Zenith where he’d gone, Harry silently left the room and headed toward his own dorm room. Fortunately, it was Friday so he could sleep late this morning to replenish his depleted store of magic. Once he reached his room, he slipped silently into the room, trying not to wake Tristan, but he needn’t have bothered. The faerie was still wide awake and scowling at him.

“Where have you been? You were supposed to be back hours ago. And don’t even bother trying to tell me your tutoring session ran late because you weren’t in the library when I checked,” Tristan demanded.

“You went looking for me?” asked Harry, blinking at the faerie in surprise. “Why?”

Tristan blushed slightly and looked away. “I thought maybe Octavius had managed to get his hands on you or something.”

“Well, you’re close, actually. Instead of Octavius, though, it was Sheila who attacked me,” said Harry ruefully.

“That bitch attacked you? Are you hurt anywhere?” asked Tristan quickly, looking at Harry intently to see if there were any visible marks or wounds.

“My scalp suffered the most damage,” said Harry dryly, remembering the claws wrapped in his hair and digging painfully into his scalp. “But Sheila’s the one who suffered the most. I’m afraid I let my temper get the best of me, and Sheila paid the price.”

“What did you do to her? Did you set her on fire, too?” asked Tristan curiously.

Harry stared at Tristan in disbelief. “What good would that? She’s a bloody fire demon. No, actually, I took a page from your book, and I froze one of her hands enough to give her a bad case of frostbite.” Harry looked down at the floor in shame. “I even taunted her about losing her hand if it was left untreated.”

Tristan saw the guilt on Harry ‘s face and groaned softly. “Let me guess. You felt bad about the idea of her losing her hand and just had to heal the bint.”

Harry smile sheepishly. “To be fair, she really would have lost her hand if I hadn’t done so. When I got to the infirmary, she was crying because the nurse had already told her there was nothing she could do except amputate her hand to keep the damage from spreading. The damage was almost too extensive for even me to heal, and I ended up passing out from magical exhaustion. Fortunately, Zenith was with me, and he took me to his room to rest. I woke up just a short while ago and came straight here.”

“You’re entirely too soft-hearted for your own good,” said Tristan with an exasperated scowl.

Harry ignored that comment and decided to change the subject. He pulled Remus’ letter out of his pocket and waved it in the air. “I have good news, though. Remus said it was alright for you and Zenith to spend the holidays with me.”

“He just had to invite the damn dragon, as well,” muttered Tristan softly, speaking too softly for Harry to hear. Some of his bitterness must have shown on his face because Harry was looking at him in concern. He forced a smile and said, “That is good news. I’m looking forward to it.”

Harry wasn’t convinced. “Are you upset that I invited Zenith?” he asked bluntly. He immediately saw the redhead tense before forcibly relaxing his muscles and knew he’d hit the nail on the head. “Zenith is my friend, too, Tristan. I don’t want him to spend the holidays alone, either.”

“Waverly doesn’t want to be just your friend, Harry, and all you’re doing is encouraging that thought,” snapped Tristan, scowling at the brunet. Why couldn’t Harry see what was right in front of him?

“What are you talking about?” asked Harry in bemusement. “Zenith-”

“Wants to be your mate,” growled Tristan irritably. “And the very idea of that absolutely infuriates me.”

Harry could only look at Tristan in shock. “Why-? Does that mean you-”

“Want to be your mate? Yes, damn it, it does,” said Tristan with a frustrated sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know how you could have possibly missed that fact. I’ve never felt this way about anyone but you. And I know for a fact, Zenith feels the same way.”

“I-” Harry broke off what he was saying and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to say right now, Tristan. Just give me a little time to think about all of this, okay.”

“Okay, Harry,” Tristan reluctantly agreed. However, as much as he wanted an answer now, he was also relieved that it was out in the open now. His chest felt ten times lighter now that Harry knew how he really felt about him. Now he could hope that Harry could return his feelings.

XxX

Harry walked to the dining hall in a daze. He’d barely slept last night after Tristan’s shocking confession. Lost in the maddening whirl of his thoughts, he almost walked into the door. Fortunately, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop before he could do so, though.

“Are you alright, Harry? You seem a little out of it today.”

Harry looked up at the voice and saw Zane staring at him in concern. “I’m fine. I’ve just got a lot to think about.”

Zane gave him a shrewd look and smirked slightly. “Either Tristan or Zenith confessed, didn’t they?”

Harry gaped at the Incubus in shock. “How did you-? You knew they both liked me, too?”

Zane just snickered at the spluttering teen. “Harry, everyone could see how much they liked you. You were the only one completely oblivious to it. It was very entertaining to watch, I’ll tell you that much.”

Harry blushed and rubbed his burning cheeks. “Merlin, I feel like such an idiot. I was totally blindsided when Tristan told me he wanted to be my mate. With all that’s been going on in my life lately, I honestly hadn’t given the idea of having a mate a single thought.”

“You have to be the only teenage male in the school who doesn’t think about it,” said Zane dryly, tugging lightly on one of Harry’s ears.

Harry blushed again and scowled at the Incubus. “Well, excuse me for not being sexually driven like the rest of you animals. This is the first year I’ve had where I haven’t had to deal with Voldemort or his Death Eaters or Death Eater children trying to kill me. I’ve been too busy trying to stay alive to worry about sex. I only had my first kiss this past year, and quite honestly, it didn’t impress me all that much.”

“You just didn’t have the right partner. I can show you the difference,” Zane offered, leering slightly at the Kitiara.

Harry stared at him blankly for a moment before grimacing slightly. “I’ll pass, thanks. You’re like a big brother to me.”

Zane laughed softly and ruffled Harry’s hair. “You’re much cuter than my actual younger brother. Maybe my parents will let me trade him for you.”

“I’m afraid you’re out of luck on that account. Remus is rather attached to me,” said Harry teasingly. “Werewolves are possessive of their cubs, or kits in my case, you know.” He suddenly grinned impishly at the Incubus. “So tell me about your betrothed. What’s she like?”

“I don’t know much about her as we’ve never met, but I’ll tell you what I do know. Vivian Kartelli is a Succubus from Russia. She’s only ten at the moment, but we won’t be getting married until after I graduate Arcane Academy with a Masters,” said Zane.

“But that should only take another three to four years. Isn’t that a little young for her to be getting married?” asked Harry.

“If she were anything other than a Succubus, I would probably agree. However, sex demons mature a lot faster than most creatures. She’ll probably go into her first heat before she turns twelve,” said Zane calmly.

“Are you happy with the arrangement?” asked Harry tentatively.

“You obviously don’t know much about Incubi,” said Zane wryly.

“Just that you feed through sex,” said Harry sheepishly.

“Yes, and if we feed from the same person too often, we can completely drain their life away. That, unfortunately, makes fidelity impossible, especially between two creatures of like nature,” said Zane. Seeing the dawning realisation on Harry’s face, Zane nodded. “Exactly. The marriage is merely a formality . Both Vivian and I will require lovers outside the marriage to feed on to keep from draining each other.”

“Oh, I see,” said Harry. “So even with Grey…” He trailed off abruptly, deciding he didn’t really want to know. It was none of his business. “Never mind. Just forget I said anything.”

Zane smiled sadly. “Grey tried to convince me that he was alright with me feeding on others, but I could see how much it hurt him every time he smelled someone else’s scent on me. I couldn’t stand to see him hurting like that, so I ended the relationship.”

“And yet you’ve remained best friends in spite of all that,” said Harry.

“Yeah, we couldn’t remain lovers, but we just couldn’t stay away from each other altogether, either,” said Zane ruefully. He smiled slightly and draped his arm over Harry’s shoulder, leading him into the dining hall. “So, little brother, what do you plan to do about Zenith and Tristan? Personally, I say you should thoroughly enjoy them both before making a decision. You wouldn’t want to make a commitment before knowing whether or not they can fully satisfy you in bed.”

“Zane!” hissed Harry, blushing furiously.

Zane just snickered at Harry’s reaction. It was so much fun making the little kit blush like that.

XxX

Bill walked into the cottage with a weary sigh. The past few days had been absently gruelling as they tried to finish the dig in time for the holidays. Unfortunately, they still had quite a bit to do before they were done, and he only had one day off before he had to be back at the dig site. First order of business, though, was a long, hot shower to wash the grit and grime he’d accumulated on his sweaty body. The next thing he planned to do was sleep.

However, as he stepped inside, Bill’s plans were completely forgotten. What the hell? The living room was brightly decorated with Christmas decorations, and a huge Christmas tree blinked merrily with lights. It wasn’t even December yet. Why in Merlin’s name was Remus decorating the house for the holidays now?

Bill headed upstairs, looking for the manic werewolf, and found him in Harry’s room, enlarging the room and adding two extra beds. “What are you doing?”

Remus jumped in surprise and turned to face Bill with a bright smile. “Harry asked if Zenith and Tristan could spend the holidays here, so I’m adding some extra beds for them.”

Bill raised a brow at that statement. “Are you sure you want to put those three in a room together?”

Remus frowned slightly. “Why wouldn’t I? They’re Harry’s friends.”

Bill shook his head in exasperation. He’d only met them once, and even he could see how they felt about Harry. "Well, I guess Harry has to grow up and become a man sometime."

Remus smirked at the redhead. “Not in this house, he won’t. I spelled the room to dump cold water on those two if they tried anything with my kit.”

“Ah, so you did notice,” said Bill with a grin.

“I’d have to be dead not to,” said Remus dryly. “I could smell it a mile away every time either of them got near Harry.”

“What about the blond? Grey, was it?” asked Bill curiously. “You’re not worried about him sniffing around Harry?”

“Nope,” said Remus firmly. “That boy was lusting after someone entirely different. I think he was only chasing after Harry to make that person jealous. Fortunately, Harry didn’t take him seriously because if he’d hurt my kit playing with his feelings like that, I would have skinned him alive and used his pelt as a rug.”

‘Okay, never hurt Harry and let the werewolf find out about it,’ thought Bill nervously. He liked his skin right where it was. “Why are you decorating now, though? It’s not even December yet.”

“But there’s so much to do,” said Remus quickly. “I have to enlarge all the bedrooms and add beds to accommodate everyone. I figured I would put the twins and Ron in a bedroom, Hermione and Ginny in a room, your parents in a room, and you, me, and Charlie in a room.”

“What about Percy?” asked Bill curiously.

“According to your mother, Percy is still refusing to acknowledge his family as long as they are associating with Harry. Therefore, he will not be spending the holidays with us,” said Remus.

Bill sighed wearily. “I can’t believe Percy is still being such a prat.”

Remus snorted softly. “Prat is the kindest name I could come up with for him. How dare he treat my kit like that! Harry’s done nothing but help your family, and he acts like Harry’s the enemy. If I ever get my hands on that tosser, he’ll beg for the chance to apologise to my kit before I’m done.”

Bill shook his head in amusement. An overprotective Moony was an entertaining sight. “Well, I’ll leave the arrangements to you, then. I am going to take a nice long shower and an even longer nap. I’m exhausted.”

“Yeah, I’ll handle the arrangements. You get some rest,” said Remus softly. “When do you have to go back?”

“The day after tomorrow,” sighed Bill. “Hopefully, we’ll be done within the next two weeks. If we can swing that, I’ll have at least two months free.”

Remus smiled at that thought. It would be nice to have Bill around again. For the last month and a half, he was lucky to see the redhead once a week, and that was usually only long enough for Bill to shower, eat, and sleep “That’s good. Your mother will probably storm out to the dig site and drag you back by your ear if don’t manage to finish in time.”

Bill paled slightly. “And she would, too.”

“Maybe she’ll be too busy cooing over Harry and his prospective mates to notice,” Remus offered helpfully.

“I can always hope,” said Bill drolly.