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Chapter Text

Harry barely made it out of the Chamber of Secrets conscious. Fawkes’ tears had healed the wound the basilisk had left on the surface, but they were still working on purging the venom from his body. As a result, it felt as if his blood was boiling beneath his skin, like he would burst into flames at any time.

It must not have been noticeable to the others, however. Ginny was sent to the Hospital Wing, accompanied by her very relieved, very protective parents, but Dumbledore decided that Harry simply needed food and sleep after his ordeal.

Despite how everything felt, Harry wasn’t going to protest the decision. The Hospital Wing had always made him uncomfortable and he’d already been in there several times this year. Even when he was just visiting others, it wasn't a place he wanted to be. 

Besides, he was clearly fine. The basilisk venom hadn’t killed him yet and he doubted that it would, now that he had phoenix tears in his system. The boiling sensation would stop eventually.

The days got harder, however. Harry was grateful that exams had been cancelled because after a few days, it was clear to him that he wouldn’t be able to focus on an exam. All he wanted to do was sleep, but sleep was hard to come by when it was impossible to get comfortable. His pillows and comforter gave him rashes until whoever did the laundry replaced the down materials with something else. The dorm room was too hot, too stifling. After the first few nights, Harry found himself slipping under the invisibility cloak and going in search of someplace cooler.

One night, he made his way up to the owlery and spent the night cooing over Hedwig and the other owls, distributing treats liberally, enjoying the sensations as they pressed their feathers against his skin up until the point where his skin started prickling, like something under them wanted to burst free. Fawkes had even dropped by, close to the dawn hours, though the owls had been less than welcoming to the brightly-colored bird.

Fawkes had seemed to sense their attitude, so he’d only stayed for a few minutes—just long enough to run his beak through Harry’s hair a few times and accept a treat from the wizard. Then, the phoenix had taken to the air, flying well out of sight of Hogwarts.

Well, maybe he was delivering a message for Dumbledore, Harry guessed, though one hadn’t been present as the phoenix left.

Another night, he made his way down to the Black Lake and soaked his feet. The cold water did nothing for the constant heat he felt, however. And yet another night, he ended up in one of Professor Sprout’s greenhouses. Herbology had never been his favorite subject, but during that particular night, there was nowhere else he’d rather be. Greenhouse two held cold-weather plants, so cooling charms kept the air pleasant. The large piles of dirt in the back of the greenhouse also made a particularly comfortable bed, Harry learned when he’d gotten too tired to look over the plants. He’d probably gotten the most sleep that night, definitely more than he had in the dorms.

Hermione and Ron didn’t seem to notice Harry’s predicament, though they did notice that he was growing increasingly irritable as the final weeks of summer term dragged on, prone to snapping at them when he was too hot, too tired, too uncomfortable. Mostly they chalked it up to his reluctance to return home at the end of term, back to the Dursleys. However, Hermione suggested a few times that Harry go to the Hospital Wing, if only for some fever reducers, but Harry never listened to those particular suggestions. He wouldn’t willingly consume a potion—they all tasted nasty—and he just knew that fever reducers wouldn’t help in this case. Besides, thanks to Potions, he knew exactly which ingredients went into a fever reducer and he wouldn’t consume a single one of them by itself willingly, let alone a brew made with all of them combined.

Harry forced himself to enjoy the last few hours on the Hogwarts Express at the end of June. He used a liberal amount of cooling charms and picked Hermione’s brain on how to place extended cooling charms on all of his clothing in his trunk. He played Exploding Snap with Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny, and set off the last of the twins’ Filibuster Fireworks, taking a surprising amount of joy in seeing the things accidentally set fires all over the train. The twins had a talent for pyrotechnics, it seemed, as did Ginny. It matched well with their red hair, he supposed. If elemental magic existed, he would definitely peg them all as fitting within the Fire element.

And then he was back at the Dursleys, his extended family decidedly not happy to see him again. He was sure they enjoyed his absence during the school year just as much as he enjoyed not having to live with them. Privet Drive had never been home and honestly, he would do anything to never go back there again.

But he had failed in doing so for the second summer in a row.

The many number of locks were still on the door to his room. The cat flap was still there as well. Harry supposed he should be grateful that Uncle Vernon had never gotten around to replacing the bars on his window.

Like always, it was sure to be a miserable summer.

Not only was it a miserable summer, but it was a hot one as well. The Dursleys ran the air in their house liberally during the day and every window was opened at night, for some sort of relief from the heat.

A relief that Harry could never quite find. As the days and weeks passed, he felt himself getting weaker and more tired, barely managing to eat. After the first few weeks, the Dursleys didn’t bother to give him chores, not wanting him to collapse in the midst of doing them. He wasted away to the point where Aunt Petunia was considering taking him to a hospital, only stopped by Uncle Vernon’s warning that they would likely do blood tests and figure out there was something freakish about him from that.

Harry didn’t want his blood drawn or any tests to be run on him, so he was thankful when that was the end of that particular conversation. Instead, he just sat in his room, even though he wasn’t locked in there like he had been last summer.

It was only at night when Harry could muster enough energy to move around and to try to eat. He made sure the Dursleys were sound asleep before he sneaking down to the kitchen, searching for things that he wouldn’t have to heat up. Bread, a few vegetables, ice cream when he was sure that neither Uncle Vernon or Dudley would notice. Fruit. Lots and lots of fruit. His favorite thing, he discovered, was to coat apples in cinnamon.

He was sure that his Aunt Petunia had noticed, since she was the one that did the shopping, but surprisingly, she never complained. Never said a word about it, not to Harry, not to Uncle Vernon.

Small mercies, Harry decided.

It all changed the early morning of July 30^th, however.

Harry had fallen asleep against the refrigerator, the coolness of the appliance granting him a few hours of rest. He only started to stir when the dawn light began to trickle in the kitchen.

Quietly, he cleaned up his mess. The jar of cinnamon went back into the spice cabinet, the apple cores and seeds buried under the garbage left behind from dinner the night before. The knife and plate were run under water for a quick moment before being hastily dried.

A sharp knock on the door prevented him from going back upstairs, however.

It wasn’t loud enough to wake the Dursleys, but the last thing Harry wanted was for the bell to ring. Because if it rang now, there wouldn’t be enough time to sneak back in his room. Uncle Vernon would see him wandering about the house and his reaction to that would be decidedly less than pleasant.

Reluctantly, he peered out the peephole, wondering who would visit the Dursleys at this early hour. He promptly grimaced at the sight of the woman on the other side of the door. Judging by her attire, it was not a visitor for the Dursleys, because they would definitely not consider that normal.

It was a visitor for him.

His stomach twisted nervously, but he opened the door, staring at the woman apprehensively.

She was unlike anyone he’d ever seen before, with her dark skin, red hair, and red-gold eyes. A few scars covered her visible skin, scars that looked quite fresh to Harry, as if they barely had time to heal. There were probably more scars he couldn’t see, considering she was wearing armor. Lots of armor. A sword hung at her side, as did several iron fans. Harry had the feeling that if she unfurled the fans, the edges would be as sharp as any blade.

Her eyes swept over him briefly and she cursed under her breath. “Arielle, I thought you would be older,” she muttered. She turned her head to the side and for the first time, Harry spotted the bird on her shoulder—Fawkes, he realized, though he wasn’t sure why the phoenix would be with this stranger and not with Dumbledore. “This is him?”

To Harry’s surprise, the phoenix bobbed his head in a nod-like action.

The woman cursed again. “Lovely,” she said, reaching across to grip the door, preventing Harry from even attempting to close it. She stared down at him, red-gold eyes burning, a solemn expression on her face. “Let’s talk.”

Chapter Text

“Talk about what?” Harry asked warily. “And I don’t think now’s a good time. My relatives don’t exactly like it when I have visitors and they’ll be waking at any time—”

The woman rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath, snapping her fingers when she finished. Harry felt the magic pulse out of her, racing to cover the entire house. 

He trembled under the force of it. He’d never felt anything of that strength, never felt magic that pure before. So much of it, too…

“No, they won’t,” the woman said, a cool smile plastered on her face. “Now are you going to invite me in, little fledgling?”

“Not if you don’t tell me who you are,” Harry countered. “Stranger danger and all that.”

To his surprise, the woman laughed, the sound just as musical as the song Fawkes sang. “Inanna,” she said. “I’m like you, apparently.” She tipped her head to the side as a thought occurred to her. “Well, mostly like you. The elements might not match up.”

“Like me, meaning what exactly?” Harry prompted. 

“Phoelix,” Inanna said calmly.

The word meant absolutely nothing to Harry and that must have shown on his face, because the woman sighed and pushed the door open even further, stepping inside without invitation. She looked around the house, peering into the living room and kitchen, then promptly grimaced. “Horrid place you have here.” Her nose wrinkled in slight disgust. 

“Isn’t it?” Harry said, tone mild but bemused. His comment drew a sharp look from the woman. 

“I’m really not one for conversation,” she started, after a moment of silence. “And clearly you’re not a natural-born Phoelix, if you have no idea what that word means, which means explanations are probably in order. But first things first—when’s your next birthday?”

Harry’s mouth quirked at the question. Odd way to start things off. But he’d seen and heard plenty of odd the past two years. “Tomorrow.”

Inanna cursed at his answer. “I suppose I should be glad that I got here in time,” she sighed. “And that explains why you’re barely able to stand—”

“I’m standing just fine!” Harry interrupted, not wanting to reveal any weakness to the stranger.

She gave him a look, one that said she clearly didn’t believe his lie. “You were treated with phoenix tears after an injury that should have been fatal?” she asked.

Harry nodded. “By Fawkes there,” he said, gesturing to the phoenix on her shoulder. 

“And since then, you’ve felt too hot, as if you’re going to burn alive?” Inanna asked. “Can’t stand feathered pillows and blankets? Skin prickling as if there’s something under it? Getting weaker and weaker by the day?” Harry nodded reluctantly at each question and the woman grimaced at each nod. “Phoelix then,” she announced. “Elemental humanoid phoenix, if that makes things easier to understand.” At Harry’s blank look, a small scowl crossed her face. “A creature, if you will—disgusting term, by the way—like a—Arielle, what kinds do you have here? Probably not dragels. Vampires? They’re everywhere, right? Were-kind?”

“How?” Harry asked. “I thought I was a wizard!”

Inanna’s nose wrinkled. “Definitely not,” she responded. “The only way you would have become Phoelix was if there was some sort of creature inheritance lingering dormant in your blood, waiting for your magical majority. Probably something elemental, because I’ve never known phoenix tears to corrupt other types of inheritances. There has to be some possibility there, I guess.”

For a minute, Harry couldn’t think of what to say. What did one say when they learned that they weren’t human, when they discovered that they were something different than they always believed? This was like when Hagrid came to visit that hut on the rock in the sea and Harry first learned he was a wizard, but this time, there had been no warning signs.

Or maybe there had been. Inanna had listed his condition pretty well. Harry just hadn’t known what it was. 

“An elemental phoenix then?” Harry repeated, voice weak. “But—I don’t have any feathers.” He grimaced at the words. Of all the things to say.

Inanna rolled her eyes. “You will,” she promised. “You definitely will. That’s something we’ll have to talk about. There’s a lot we have to talk about.”

Clearly. 

Red-gold eyes scanned the room and Inanna’s nose wrinkled again. “This isn’t the place for that type of conversation, though. Just looking around makes me break out in hives. Are you willing to go somewhere else with me?”

Harry was surprised she was even asking. Adults didn’t ask if he was okay with the things they did or wanted. They just told him what to do. 

“Yes,” he said, because he was. He would do anything to leave Privet Drive. It didn’t even matter that Inanna was a stranger—though she had Fawkes with her, which was something definitely in her favor. “For how long?”

Inanna’s face darkened at the question, as if she could read just how eager he was to leave this place. “At least for a few days. We’ll talk about longer later, kid. Go pack a bag.”

Harry hesitated. “Do you know how to pick locks?” he asked. “Non-magically, I mean? Some of my stuff is locked in the cupboard under the stairs.”

Inanna’s face darkened even further. “I’ll get them,” she said. Red-gold eyes narrowed. “Can I see your room? I want to confirm a theory.”

Confirm a theory, not test one. The way she worded it made Harry uneasy, but he nodded slightly. Despite all of the armor she was wearing, she moved silently up the stairs behind him.

She took one look at his bedroom, eyes sweeping over everything fairly quickly, but lingering in a few places—the locks on his door, the cat flap, the marks on his window where bars used to be. 

“Change of plans,” she said, barely-contained rage causing her voice to waver slightly. “Pack everything. You’re not coming back here.”

Harry swallowed hard. For so long, he’d dreamed of hearing those words. But he wanted to make sure. “Ever?”

“Ever,” Inanna confirmed.

She was an angel, Harry decided then and there. An absolute angel, taking him away from his hell. Before he could think about it, he had thrown his arms around her armored waist, hugging her tightly.

Inanna stiffened at the contact. “Mind the blades,” she muttered a bit awkwardly. “Don’t cut yourself on them.”

The tips of Harry’s ears were pink as he pulled away. “Sorry,” he muttered. “It’s just—”

Inanna’s gaze softened. “I know, kid, I know.”

“Where are we going?” Harry asked as he dragged his bag down the stairs. It wasn’t particularly heavy, but he wasn’t at full strength. He grimaced when Inanna plucked it from his hands as if it weighed practically nothing and tapped at something embedded in the hilt of one of her fans. It disappeared, as did the trunk she had gotten from the cupboard.

There was no longer a door on the cupboard, Harry noticed. That had been thoroughly destroyed, the wood along the frame looking like it had been ripped apart by—talons?

Probably talons. 

“Storage spell,” Inanna muttered at his look. “Most Gheyos have one somewhere on them—belt, earring, a weapon’s hilt. Makes things simpler.”

That … meant absolutely nothing to Harry, one word particularly unfamiliar. He was sure he would learn in time, though. 

“Where are we going?” he repeated.

Inanna shrugged and glanced at the phoenix on her shoulder. “I haven’t been here in a while,” she grumbled to the bird. “I hope you have some ideas. A place for a burning day.”

A burning day? Harry didn’t like the sound of that. 

Fawkes trilled and extended his wings. Harry yelped when Inanna gripped one of his arms, pulling him tight against her in a sudden move. 

She was much stronger than she looked, he realized. She had to be a warrior of some sorts, given her armor, her weapons, her scars, and now that hidden strength. Were all Phoelixes warriors? He could only hope, since that would make fighting Voldemort a lot easier.

Harry wasn’t naive. He knew that Voldemort would be back. First the philosopher’s stone, then the spirit in the Chamber of Secrets. It was only a matter of time. 

Fawkes’ wings closed around the pair and flames burst into the air around them.

And then they were gone. 

Fawkes took them to a derelict two-story building on the edge of a small village. Hedges and a small gate surrounded the front yard, and a plaque stood next to the gate, golden letters visible even from a distance.

Inanna grimaced, not sure if this new location was better or worse than the previous one. She was no stranger to traipsing around ruins, thanks to her Circle, but she usually avoided doing so outside of archeological digs. At least there was a visible air of magic around the place. A quick sweep revealed numerous privacy and invisibility spells, as well as several preservation charms. The upper portion of the building was burned, the walls of one room visibly consumed by an explosion of some sorts. 

A magical explosion.

Well, at least they wouldn’t have to worry about repairing the damage if her new charge did literally burn the next day. 

Burns and scorch marks resulting from phoenix flames were always a pain to cover up and conceal, much more than the dragon kind. 

“Lovely,” she muttered, releasing her grip on the boy’s arm. Lovely, as in at least it wasn’t the Pits. She turned her head to the boy. Harry, the phoenix had called him. “Do you know where this is?”

Harry shook his head, but already he was wandering over the the plaque, the surest way to find that information out. 

He paled as he read the sign.

On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981,
Lily and James Potter lost their lives.
Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard 
ever to have survived the Killing Curse.
This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left
in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters
and as a reminder of the violence
that tore apart their family.

This was the place where he had been born.

Inanna stepped up behind him, reading the plaque as well. “Lily and James Potter,” she murmured. Her red-gold eyes sharpened and flicked to Harry as she read the next line.

“My parents,” Harry admitted quietly at her look. “I guess this was where we used to live before—” He cut off abruptly, throat tightening to the point where it was impossible to get anymore words out. 

“Survived the Killing Curse,” Inanna continued to read. She snorted indelicately. “I suppose that answers the question of why you, more than just a future elemental inheritance. You’ve already escaped from Death once, which means you’re never going to be her friend. I suppose being Phoelix will make things both easier and harder now when it comes to her.”

“You talk about Death as if she’s a person,” Harry noted, grasping at any distraction he could from all that he had just learned. He wasn’t quite sure how he felt being in this place and he didn’t want to focus on those emotions long enough to label them. 

“Not a person, but very much a Being,” Inanna grumbled. “Capable of walking and talking and being a general pain in the arse.”

The comment startled a laugh out of Harry. “You know from personal experience?” he asked.

Inanna scowled. “I am Phoelix and I am Gheyo,” she said, scuffing the metal toe of her boot against the ground. “Impossible not to know her, as long as I’ve lived.”

“And how long is that?”

Her scowl deepened. “Longer than you, fledgling. Now let’s get inside. I can’t cast wards until we are.”

Her tone demanded that he listen, so Harry ducked his head and opened the gate, shivering as he stepped inside the front yard. He couldn’t understand how a place felt familiar yet strange, simultaneously welcoming and unwelcoming. 

They shouldn’t be there.

But yet, they didn’t really have any other choices. 

He continued to shiver as Inanna cast the wards, as she called them. At the feeling of her magic, pure and raw, something suddenly occurred to Harry and he whirled around to face her. “The Dursleys!” he blurted out once she was done. “Back at Privet Drive. You cast a spell on them—did you remove it?”

The woman’s nose wrinkled, as if she was disgusted by the reminder. “I didn’t,” she said with a shrug. “Don’t worry. It should wear off in twenty-four hours at most.”

“It should wear off?” Harry echoed.

The woman shrugged again, looking entirely unconcerned by the situation. “It probably will. It’s never failed to wear off before. Besides, why do you care? It’s not like you’re going back there.”

Harry didn’t reply. 

“Sixteen hours until midnight,” Inanna muttered to herself after a quick spell revealed the time. She turned to Harry. “That gives us sixteen hours to do whatever—sleep, relax—”

“Talk?” Harry suggested. “Because I still have no clue what’s going on.”

“Sure, we can do that,” Inanna agreed. “As long as you promise not to run away. That’s why I was going to save it for when you're recovering from the burning—so it’d be easier to keep you in one place.”

“Should I be running?” Harry countered. 

Inanna shrugged. “Never know how a person is going to react. And I’m going to guess that this all is quite the shock.”

“That’s an understatement,” Harry muttered.

She grinned. “Wait until tomorrow. That’s when the feathers will come in.”

“So there actually are feathers?” Harry raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have any.” There was absolutely nothing feathery or soft about the woman—rather, it was quite the contrary. Inanna was all hard edges, rough demeanor, and snarky comments from what he could tell. 

“I don’t wear them visibly if I can help it,” Inanna said with a small sigh. “Feathers are—special, to us. They can be used for tracking, or to recall one of us at a second’s notice, anywhere at anytime. There’s a reason wixen use them as cores for their focus objects.”

Harry nervously fingered his wand, one such focus object with a phoenix feather core. Sharp red-gold eyes caught the twitch and Inanna smiled grimly.

“The magic weakens in the feathers, the more that are given or taken away,” she explained. “As does the magic in us. So they aren’t to be given away lightly and you’ll need to either destroy or keep any feathers you molt under every sort of protection you know of.” She glanced at him. “Small as you are, you can’t afford to give away more than a single feather until after your first century.”

“How many feathers have you given away?” Harry asked quietly.

“Three, technically,” Inanna replied. “Though one was a replacement, because my Alpha had need of me in a moment of great peril and burning it was the only way he could get me there in time.”

“Your Alpha,” Harry echoed faintly, brow wrinkling at the words.

“And that is not something you need to know about right now,” Inanna decided. “Because that is something dragel, not Phoelix.”

“Dragels?”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Fledgling, he’s a fledgling,” she muttered under her breath, the words barely audible to Harry. “Just a fledging.” Her voice rose to a more normal level. “Elemental dragons. Similar to us, just … with dragons. And a lot of other quirks.” She scowled. “Very annoying quirks sometimes.”

Harry tried not to smile. “So tomorrow then?” he asked. “What’ll happen tomorrow?”

“We’ll find out which element is yours,” Inanna said simply. “By how you—burn, for lack of a better word. Do you know about a phoenix’s regenerative process?”

Harry nodded at Fawkes. “I saw one of his burning days,” he said. “He burst into flames right before my eyes. Scared me, until someone explained what was going on.” He grimaced. Those had not been a good few moments, when he believed that he was a killer, something that could kill other creatures just by looking at them. 

“Brat,” Inanna told Fawkes, turning her head to glower at him. “That was very rude.” She held up a hand to block the phoenix’s pecks aimed at her head. She glanced back at Harry. “That makes things easier, I guess. It’ll be similar, though the actual form the burning takes will depend on your element. You’ve felt yourself getting weaker over the weeks?” She waited for Harry’s nod before continuing. “Preparation for the burning day. It sucks.”

Harry couldn’t help but agree. “How often do they happen?” he asked, silently hoping that it wouldn’t be a frequent thing. He hated the weakness, the discomfort he had experienced these past few weeks. 

“Every year on your birthday until you reach your magical majority,” Inanna replied. “Then every five years until your fiftieth birthday, every decade between the fiftieth and the hundredth birthdays, and then the frequency will depend on your magical strength.”

“How often is yours?” Harry couldn’t help but ask. 

Inanna scowled at the question. “Less often than yours will be,” she retorted. “Don’t be stupid.”

Harry winced internally as he realized that had probably been a very personal question. “Sorry,” he muttered. 

“And you’re still being stupid,” Inanna grumbled. “Don’t apologize, just move on to the next question.”

“Sor—” Harry started to say, but he cut himself off when red-gold eyes glowered at him. He smiled at her sheepishly before doing as she said—moving on to the next question.

They talked for over an hour, before the heat and the general feeling of weakness caught up to Harry again. Inanna’s presence had helped for a short while, but he wasn’t lucky enough for those issues to disappear for good. 

Quite the opposite, really. 

It came back in full force, resulting in Harry feeling twice as awful as he had before. In a matter of moments, he was dripping with sweat and he barely had the energy to remain sitting upright. Inanna’s eyes were soft as she watched the rapid deterioration. 

“Does it always feel like this?” Harry asked, not protesting when she finally reached over and pressed down on his shoulders, urging him to lie down. At some point during their conversation, they’d located and settled inside the cellar, ignoring the cobwebs and dank smell. It was cool down there, and the floor was partly dirt still, a detail that relaxed something deep inside Harry. 

“I won’t say something stupid like the first one is always the worst,” Inanna murmured. “Because they all suck. You just learn how to handle them better. You learn what works and what doesn’t. I will say this, though—you definitely won’t be a firebird.”

“What element do you think I’ll be?” Harry asked. “Is there just the four or are there others?”

“Just the four for us,” Inanna said. “Fire, Water, Earth, Air. The dragels have two other elements unofficially—Shadow and Storm. And if we go just by the eyes, probably Earth. It’s not necessarily a guarantee, but eyes are a pretty good indicator. Hopefully not, though.”

Earth. Harry hummed under his breath. That would make sense, he guessed. After all, the best sleep he’d gotten at Hogwarts after the Chamber ordeal was that night he had spent in the greenhouse. Then Inanna’s final words struck him.

“Hopefully not?” he repeated, arching an eyebrow.

The woman grimaced. “The hair and eyes are the obvious tell in my case,” she said, gesturing at the traits. “My element is Fire, as are the elements of those I surround myself with. There’s some things that can only be taught, element to element, so we’d have to search out another Earth Phoelix.”

“And you don’t know any?” Harry asked, guessing at what the likely problem was.

Inanna scowled at him. “Don’t be stupid,” she retorted. “Of course I know Earth Phoelix.” She grimaced. “The one I know just isn’t my hugest fan,” she admitted after a few heartbeats. “And she comes with some very annoying baggage.”

Annoying. In the hour they’d spoken, Harry had come to realize that the word was Inanna’s preferred adjective for people in general. He turned over on his stomach to look at the woman better. “What did you do?”

Her scowl grew. “What makes you think I’m responsible?” she snapped. “I didn’t do anything.”

“But if she’s not your fan, then why? Difference of personality?” Harry prodded. 

Inanna snorted. “Something like that. Mostly difference of opinion.” She glanced at Harry, red-gold eyes quickly assessing his condition. “You should get some rest. It’s only going to get worse in the last few hours.”

Conversation over, Harry noted, internally rolling his eyes. At least he could be grateful that Inanna was fairly obvious when she didn’t want to talk about something or when the conversation was getting a bit too personal for her. She didn’t outright lie like some adults had done in the past. 

And she was a lot more intuitive than her abrupt demeanor let on, he realized as he yawned, now feeling his eyes starting to droop. With their conversation, he likely wouldn’t have noticed how tired he was until he fell asleep in the middle of asking a question or listening to one of her answers. 

Within a minute, he was sound asleep.  

Chapter Text

He slept for hours, well through the hottest part of the day and into the night. It was probably the most he’d slept in a single stretch since the whole Chamber of Secrets ordeal. The heat was still there, but it was made more bearable by Inanna’s presence. Because of her element? Because she was Phoelix? Or was it something else?

When he awoke, Inanna was still there, but this time there was food in easy reach. Harry’s nose twitched. Even from this distance, he could smell plenty of cinnamon. 

The cellar was dimly lit with orbs of fire that hung in the air. It was probably best that they were in the cellar, otherwise Harry would learn that the lights would draw the attention of the resident of Godric’s Hollow. At least this way, they could keep their presence in the house a secret still. 

“Where did you find food?” Harry asked, wincing as his voice came out as more than a croak than anything else. Everything felt extremely dry. A mug floated over to him and Harry sipped at the contents. His body relaxed at the taste. It was garnished with walnuts, but other than that, it tasted like pure cinnamon and sugar. Maybe a little bit of ginger. “Oh, that’s good, what is that?” he asked once he’d drained the mug. To his delight, it was refilling as he spoke. 

“Iner,” Inanna said softly, her voice tinged with—sadness? “I’ll teach you how to make it. It’s easy enough, after all.”

“I didn’t used to be this fond of cinnamon,” Harry remarked. The spice had been okay, but he hadn’t craved it like he had since the beginning of the summer.

A sound that was half chirp, half snort slipped out of Inanna’s mouth. “You don’t know much about phoenix lore, do you?” 

“Only what I was told about Fawkes there,” Harry said, tilting his head at the phoenix. 

Inanna quirked an eyebrow. “So, nothing then?”

“Pretty much,” Harry agreed, recalling that brief conversation with Dumbledore. He had a feeling that he’d learned just enough to be helpful in down in the Chamber, when he was fighting for his life, but nothing more than that. Just enough to survive…

“If I had the patience, I would tell you some of it,” Inanna said, voice quiet. “But quite honestly, I’m not cut out to be a—mentor. I’m not suited for the long-winded explanations that are usually necessary. I’ll make sure you get one, though.”

Harry frowned at her words. How could he tell her that she had been more helpful than most of the adults in his life, bar maybe Hagrid? She’d answered most of the questions he’d had in a straightforward manner and the few questions that she hadn’t answered, she’d been fairly upfront about the fact that she wouldn't be answering them. “I’m not one for long explanations anyway,” he replied. “I’d be happy just to know if it’s normal or not.”

“The cinnamon thing?” Inanna asked. “Yeah, that’s completely normal. You’re as normal as they come.”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh softly at her words. “If only.”

As the hours ticked by, Harry became glad that there wasn’t a clock anywhere nearby. There was nothing he could focus on, watching as the minutes passed and midnight approached closer and closer. 

He wasn’t particularly fond of birthdays, but now he was starting to realize that he would have a new reason to dread them. The weakness he’d been experiencing the past few weeks seemed to increase tenfold in the last few hours and he felt so vulnerable. Too vulnerable. If it wasn’t for Inanna and the fact that he was no longer at Privet Drive, he would have been terrified out of his mind to barely have the strength to sit up, to do something as simple as lift his head. 

Harry coughed, his throat suddenly feeling dry.

No, it wasn’t just his throat. All over his body, it felt as if all moisture had seeped from him, like he had dried out, about to become dust at any second.

Inanna glanced at him and grimaced. 

It was starting.

The first burning was always the worst, because the elemental type could be rather unpredictable. Eyes were a good indicator, but that wasn’t a guaranteed method of determining someone’s element. She’d seen blue-eyed individuals consumed by flames and brown-eyed individuals collapse into a puddle or disappear in the midst of a whirlwind. 

Even if the element could be predicted, a burning wasn’t something that could—or should—be described. It wasn’t something that could be understood or even comprehended until a Phoelix had gone through it for the first time. 

So, she hadn’t even tried to explain it to Harry, and he hadn’t asked, likely already able to tell that how deeply personal the experience was. 

Harry raised a hand to clutch at his head, pain lancing through his forehead. He coughed again. “Ina—Anna—I don’t—” he started to say, but cut off as his voice warbled and wavered. “I don’t feel so good.”

“You’re alright, you’ll be fine,” Inanna murmured, voice strangely tender. “Just close your eyes. It’ll be over in a minute.”

Harry let out a pitiful whimper and did as she said, but not before he caught sight of his hand crumbling away into dust.

Earth, then. 

Well, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about setting the cottage or Godric’s Hollow on fire. 

Inanna sighed to herself as she watched the boy crumble away, leaving only a heap of dust and dirt behind. She knelt beside the small pile and waited a few minutes for the head of a baby bird to emerge. A very ugly baby bird, if she had to be honest, but then again, all phoenixes and Phoelixes were ugly at this point in the burning process. “Into the garden with you, then.”

The more dirt, the better.

She scooped the tiny bird into her hands, as well as the small pile of dust and dirt that had formed around it, and moved carefully, the baby bird peeping curiously at her actions. 

She’d prepared for this while Harry had been napping earlier in the day. Four spots, for four possible burnings, even though she’d been fairly sure that she wouldn’t need to use the bath.

After all, she hadn’t felt the urge to kill the kid yet and that was always the sure sign of a Water type. 

She could tolerate the other two elements fairly decently—decently for her, that was—and she could handle the two unofficial dragel elements. But Water types were difficult, difficult to the point where it was easier to kill them straightaway or give them a very wide berth. 

Aside from one unfortunate exception that she was obligated to make. One that she refused to think about until it was absolutely necessary.

She’d dug a hole in the garden, reminiscent of a shallow grave, too small for an adult, but decently sized for the boy and the likely growth spurt that he would have once he regained human form. She could have dug it in the cellar, but outside was always better when it was an option. There were more plants around as well, just in case Harry’s element leaned more towards the green side of earth than the brown. 

She deposited the baby bird and the small heap of dirt in the dug out area, before promptly filling the hole.

And then she settled down to wait, wincing as the thoughts she’d been pushing away for several days now finally caught up to her.

She’d been in the Pits when the phoenix had shown up, seeking the closest Phoelix that he could sense. There’d been a little over three years left of her initial ten-year contract, but she’d already been considering extending it for several months. After all, it was supposed to break right at the beginning of the next Hunt and that was a headache she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to deal with. She’d been planning on leaving the Pits if someone from her Circle came for her, but she probably wouldn’t have left on her own accord while the Hunt was ongoing. 

Already there had been signs that her Circle would be hunting again. Not a surprise, since they’d participated in a good number of the Hunts since the main triad had first been formed, adding a Pareya here, a Gheyo there. But them hunting meant being polite and sociable and many times it was just easier to keep her distance and her head down until it was all over. 

Then Fawkes had arrived, the blasted phoenix. He’d had horrible timing too, appearing in the middle of the dueling ring, just as she’d been about to land the final blow. His appearance had resulted in a number of fines and penalties being slapped on her win—more than usual, that was. 

Honestly, Inanna was surprised that she’d been the closest Phoelix to the Earthen realm, given the distance between Earth and Nevarah. But she supposed that Nevarah was closer to Earth than Avaellia, the Avian realm, and most Phoelix didn’t make a habit of traveling outside their birth realm. Her former nest had really been the only ones to do so and that was more out of necessity than anything else.

Her soul ached at the thought and a melancholy chirp slipped out. The sudden sound broke through the memories before they could truly start and she shook her head.

She’d broken her contract in the Pits with barely a blink of an eye when she’d heard that there was a newcomer in their midst now, just a fledgling stranded amongst those that the phoenix considered predators. She hadn’t even heard the full story before breaking the contract, nor given any explanation before leaving.

Impulsive and rash, yes, but that tended to be her modus operandi. 

There was a reason she’d chosen a pure Fire Circle to bond into.

Well, that and a certain kind of flames that the Alpha wielded, the byproduct of a lovely little curse. 

Her ACE was going to be furious when she got wind of Inanna’s stunt, and the fine that accompanied it. Inanna could only hope that Sarai wouldn’t be angry enough to demand that she be recalled via feather. 

That likely wouldn’t happen given she hadn’t been recalled during the time it had taken to travel to the Earthen realm, but Sarai’s temper was known to simmer for days before it finally boiled over. 

A shiver ran down Inanna’s spine and she stiffened as she felt a distinct tug on her magic. Not quite a recall—not yet, anyway—but she could feel the silent question in the intent. 

Don’t do it, she silently warned, sending a sharp burst of magic through the strained bond she shared with her Alpha, a bit of caution as she felt him poking into things that shouldn’t be poked. She was bonded only to the Alpha, so it wouldn’t affect others in the Circle.

There was a second tug on her magic, quickly followed by a wave of mild curiosity and acceptance—for now. The matter wouldn’t be pressed if she returned home within a certain amount of time.

Inanna rubbed her forehead.

For an Alpha, Malachi was rather patient—he had to be, his twin Submissives being who they were. When they were courting, he and Inanna had also talked about what would happen if she disappeared off-realm suddenly, when the migratory call became too strong. She’d told him at the time that while she would try to give him a warning when the urge to migrate struck, but that she couldn’t guarantee one. In return, he’d said he’d allow a year and a day before summoning her back with a feather, if she hadn’t checked in sooner. 

With luck, that’s what her Circle would assume happen. If that’s what they believed, then she was given a guaranteed time frame.

A year and a day.

Hopefully she wouldn’t need that long to sort everything out with her new fledgling, though. 

When Harry came to, his entire body felt weighed down, something heavy pressing against his limbs in a comforting way. Dirt, he realized as he attempted to open his eyes and a few pieces rubbed at the corner of his eyes. He’d been buried, though thankfully the area around his face had been largely cleared away. 

He stared blankly at the now-bright sky, the sun almost directly overhead, wondering what would come next. He also wondered how much effort it would take for him to move, to unbury himself. He wasn’t in any pain, but he didn’t think he could muster that amount of energy right away.

Besides, the dirt was nice and cool. He didn’t want to leave it to return to constantly feeling too warm and uncomfortable. 

A dark-skinned face appeared in his line of vision, casting a shadow over his face. “Finally.”

Harry sighed as he felt the dirt being cleared away from his chest and arms, before Inanna picked up one of his hands and pulled him into a sitting position. He jerked back in surprise as a spark passed between their hands and nearly fell backwards, feeling strangely top-heavy.

For her part, Inanna merely rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’ll happen for a while,” she said. “Until your body gets used to new levels of magic within it. From the feel of things, yours probably doubled during the burning.”

Double the magic? It sounded too good to be true, Harry thought. He turned his hand over in front of his face. He could feel the magic coursing through his body and he was half-expecting it to be sparking visibly. It wasn’t, but something else about his hand had changed.

Instead of a hand, it resembled more like a talon. His fingers had taken on a scaly, ridged texture and the nails and fingers had merged into something gray and sharp.

Inanna grimaced as she followed his gaze. She’d explained about the feathers, but she’d forgotten about the talons since hers normally didn’t come out unless she felt they would be more effective than her blades. “Ah, about that…”

“Are they what I think they are?” Harry asked abruptly. 

Inanna sighed. “Yes.”

“Will they go away?” Harry asked.

“Of course they will. Don’t be stupid.”

A small smile crossed Harry’s face at the phrase that was slowly becoming familiar. “Did my feathers come in?” He grinned at the woman’s flat look, already knowing that it was a question she deemed to be ‘stupid’. “Do you have a mirror?”

Inanna ran a hand over her face in mild exasperation. “You don’t need a mirror,” she replied. “Just bring your wings forward.”

“Wings too?” Harry asked. “You never said anything about wings.” A startled squawk emerged from him as two appendages swept forward, surrounding him and nearly hitting him in the face. The wings would explain why he felt so top-heavy.

“Where did you think the feathers would—Oh, forget it. Apparently there’s a lot I forgot to mention,” Inanna grumbled, mostly to herself.

Harry ignored the comment, too busy inspecting his new wings and feathers. They weren’t particularly striking, in his opinion, a mottled mixture of browns, yellows, and greens, all with an iridescent hue at their tips. Definitely Earth then. They were sore to touch, however, and there was an unnatural dull look to a good portion of the feathers. 

“You’re in need of a preen,” Inanna remarked, on a similar wavelength to his thoughts. “Let’s go inside first, though. You’ll just get more dirt in them if we do it out here.”

“Dirt wouldn’t be such a bad thing,” Harry muttered, though he flapped his new wings a few times to shake the dirt loose after being buried in it. He vaguely wondered if he could fly with the new appendages, but didn’t bother to ask. He suspected he already knew the answer—“Yes, of course, don’t be stupid.” Reluctantly, he unburied the rest of his body and got to his feet, relieved when standing was much easier than it had been for the past few days. It seemed that most of his energy was back.

Now that he thought about it, the ever-present sweltering heat had seemed to fade away. He felt normal—or as normal as he could be with wings, feathers, talons, and twice the amount of magic he had before.  

“Floor,” Inanna said once they were inside, gesturing to a space large enough for Harry to lay down in. 

“Isn’t there dirt on the floor?” Harry remarked. “I thought you wanted to avoid the dirt.”

Inanna glowered at him. “Don’t be a smart-ass,” she snapped. 

“Don’t be smart, don’t be stupid,” Harry muttered under his breath. “So there’s a nice middle ground in there somewhere?”

Red-gold eyes narrowed. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m your mentor for the time being,” Inanna said slowly. “Which means I’m responsible for taking you to task, if need be. And since you know nothing about Gheyos, I should warn you that we’re a lot more physical than others you’ll meet.”

Harry tried not to flinch at her words. Still, he couldn’t help but ask. “Which means what, exactly? Spanking, the strap? A cuff ‘round the head? A ruler across my hands?” He promptly grimaced as the words came out more sarcastic than he intended.

Inanna’s expression darkened. Then she moved, too quickly for Harry to see.

He yelped as a pair of fingers pinched his upper ear—not exactly hard, but unexpected—and he felt himself being dragged carefully to the ground. He braced himself for impact, green eyes shooting open when it was much softer than he expected.

A cushioning charm, he realized belatedly. 

Deft hands stretched his wings out, making sure they were as flat as possible. A light form settled on his back, making it near impossible to get back up. 

“No more than that,” Inanna murmured softly, leaning forward so that her words were more easily heard. “Never more than that.”

Harry breathed a small sigh of relief. 

“Unless you go down the Gheyo path,” Inanna continued idly. “Then some bruises and cuts are necessary for learning how to survive—but even then, you’ll never receive them outside of a training ring or battle.”

“What is a Gheyo, exactly?” Harry heard himself ask. “You’ve used that term a lot, but I don’t quite understand what it means.”

“Loosely translated, it means fighter,” Inanna said, starting to run fingers through the newly grown feathers. Underneath her hands, Harry relaxed. “It’s a dragel rank. Dragels bond in Circles, not in the pairs or threes that you might be used to here on Earth, and there’s different ranks within a Circle—Submissive, Alpha, Beta, Pareya, which is otherwise known as a protector. A bonded Gheyo is responsible for a Circle’s offense and defense, the front line if somethings happens.”

“Did you choose that as your rank?” Harry asked. His eyes drooped closed as hands continued to run through his feathers, straightening them out. Inanna’s fingers were slick, as if coated with some sort of oil. “Or is the rank decided for them?”

“Some ranks are solely dragel or a person would need a certain percentage of dragel blood to take on that rank,” Inanna explained. “Submissive, Alpha, Beta, usually Pareya. Definitely Royals. With other ranks—Gheyo, Mage, Companion, Medic—you don’t necessarily need to be dragel. The rank itself … it’s defined by a combination of personality and experiences. You can’t necessarily choose it, but there are certain decisions you make that’ll decide a rank for you. As for me, Gheyo was really the only choice. I lived for the fight, even before I started associating with dragels.”

“Is it the same for Phoelixes?” Harry wanted to know. “The whole rank thing?”

Inanna sighed. “Traditionally, no,” she admitted. “Which is probably why I left when I did. I was never really one for tradition.” It was, in fact, not the reason why she’d left others of her kind behind, but she’d read the writing on the wall at that particular time. She’d been on the wrong side of things, many believed. Supported the wrong person. “Phoelixes have nests, just as dragels have Circles, but our nests aren’t defined by certain ranks. Ultimately, it comes down to whether or not you want to be loyal to someone, if you’ll stick by their side no matter what. If you’re loyal to someone, they’re part of your nest. Beyond that, it doesn’t matter what type of relationship it is—familial, platonic, romantic.”

“Phoenixes are very loyal creatures,” Harry murmured, recalling what Dumbledore had said to him during the last school term. “What happens when those in your nest are on different sides of things?” he asked. “If it’s impossible to be loyal to both at the same time?”

Even lying down, he could feel Inanna flinch.

“Then it’s one of the most painful decisions you’ll ever make.”

The rawness in her voice kept Harry from asking any further questions. He let her preen his feathers in silence and eventually, the combination of the silence and the comforting feeling of fingers running through his feathers lulled him to sleep.

When he awoke, he was on a musty-smelling couch with faded fabric, downy feathers piled neatly next to his head, tucked inside a bag that he could sense was tied to his magical signature. A familiar friend sat on the back of the couch, amber eyes staring at him warmly.

Harry jerked into a sitting position. “Hedwig!”

“Showed up half an hour ago,” Inanna said, her voice coming from the other side of the room. She stretched as she got to her feet and strode over to Harry, dropping a handful of cards on his lap. “Had these with her.” She paused and coughed awkwardly. “Happy birthday, by the way. Probably should have said that earlier.”

Harry’s throat tightened. Birthday cards. His first ever birthday cards. 

With trembling hands, he opened them.

Each card contained a letter and a small gift. Ron was in Egypt and had sent him a Pocket Sneakoscope, designed to light up and spin when someone untrustworthy was around. For the time being, it was dark and silent. Hermione was in France and had sent him a small trinket from there.

Hagrid had sent him a book, one that seemed very much alive. The Monster Book of Monsters. 

Harry nudged it in the direction of Inanna. It seemed like something that would entertain her for a few minutes. He just hoped that she wouldn’t destroy it. 

He swallowed hard as he realized that under the birthday cards, his annual Hogwarts letter had also arrived. He glanced over at Inanna, who was perching on the far arm of the couch. “I can’t go back, can I?” he asked. “To Hogwarts, my school,” he clarified.

“You can,” Inanna replied. “You usually always have a choice, even if it feels like you don’t. But I can’t follow you there.”

Behind her, Fawkes let out a series of sharp chirps, making his opinion clear—Harry should not go back there, back to a place where he would be groomed to die, to sacrifice himself for those that weren’t and would never be as loyal to him as he deserved. 

Ah, so that’s how Inanna had understood Fawkes all of this time. Now that the inheritance was complete and the first burning was over with, Harry could understand the phoenix just as clearly as he could understand any person. 

Inanna flicked her fingers at the firebird. “You don’t get to make his choice for him,” she said idly. “What if that place is his physical nest?”

“It’s not,” Harry said automatically. He frowned as the words came out. “I mean, it’s—not,” he tried again and promptly groaned in frustration. “I want to say it is, or that the Burrow is, but they’re not. It would feel wrong to say that they are.”

“If it’s not, it’s not,” Inanna said. “It’s as simple as that.”

“Is it, though?” Harry returned. “Because up until now, Hogwarts was the closest place that felt like home to me. How could it not be my—nest?” His voice cracked as he spoke. 

“Because if it was truly your home, you would have never been sent back to that place where I found you,” Inanna said quietly. “Or because you know that there’s a place that’s more like home out there for you.”

No, that wasn’t quite it, Harry realized. It was because he didn’t want to be ostracized again, something that he was sure to happen if his classmates ever learned about his new inheritance. They’d done it once, back in his first year, after he, Hermione, and Neville had lost all of those points for Gryffindor. They had done it again last year, when everyone thought he was the heir of Slytherin. Fawkes was right, those at Hogwarts would never be as loyal to him as he deserved. They'd already turned on him several times in the two years he'd attended there and he was sure that they would do so again, given the right circumstances. Knowing that, he didn’t want to be the only one of his kind around when the truth came out about his inheritance. 

And Inanna had said that she couldn’t follow him to Hogwarts.

Which meant there was really only one option. 

He would just have to follow her, no matter where she went. 

“Where’s your nest?” he asked after a moment. 

“Nevarah, I guess,” Inanna said with a small shrug. “It’s another realm, a sanctuary realm where nearly everyone is welcome, no matter what they are. I think you’d like it there, if you ever wanted to go.”

“And if I did?” Harry asked. 

Inanna smiled, an action that was both soft and sad, as if she understood what he was trying to ask for without actually asking for it. 

“You can stay with me—with my Circle, my nest.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Harry said. “When do we leave?”

“Whenever you want,” Inanna returned. 

“Now?”

“Sure,” Inanna agreed. She paused, glancing over Harry and looking him over. She frowned when she spotted the scar on his forehead—that shouldn’t be there. The burning should have gotten rid of all of his scars, unless there was some serious Dark Magic at work. “We might have to make a side-stop, though.”

Chapter Text

The side-stop was to Avaellia, the Avian realm, Harry learned. A side-stop that took four weeks’ worth of portkeys, transportation portals, phoenix flames, and transportation medallions set up by Rune Masters.

If they’d been traveling by normal means, Harry knew that they would have stuck out as a group—a teenager, an armor-clad woman, a phoenix, and an owl. But aside from the few points where they’d needed the Rune Masters, no one else knew that they were traveling or where they were traveling to. 

A few good things came out of the long journey, however. It was definitely quite the learning experience. Harry learned the basic transportation portal that he would find useful in Nevarah, though apparently there were element-specific portals that he would have to be taught later by someone with an Earth element. He got several crash courses in runes and swearing, the latter mostly thanks to Inanna. 

He was also starting to learn how to fly with his new wings, whenever they took a break for a few hours during the day. 

Unfortunately, it did not come as naturally as learning how to fly with a broomstick, though Inanna had been quick to tell him that he had a talent for this type of flying as well, that he was picking it up quicker than expected. That if he had been dragel, he likely would have had an Air element or affinity. 

There were still a lot of crashes and sore wings, however. But it kept them occupied, something that was very necessary because despite all the different modes of transportation and the fact that they were traveling between realms—something that Harry was still struggling to comprehend at times—the journey itself was rather boring. 

Avaellia, on the other hand, was anything but. 

The realm was more nature than anything else. Not to say that there weren’t buildings or any form of civilization, but even those were built into the trees, if possible. Forest, jungle, woodlands—everywhere he turned, there seemed to be a different climate, the trees that reached up into the clouds the only thing constant. Every shade of green seemed to exist on the ground, as did every color of flower. At night, Harry realized just how much of the fauna was bioluminescent. 

Even more striking were the stars, which could be seen even in the middle of the day. If he looked up, he could see thousands upon thousands of stars, of all colors and sizes, as well as the galaxies that they were a part of. 

It was beautiful—too beautiful. Harry couldn’t understand how Inanna had left this place behind and it made him wonder exactly what Nevarah looked like, what exactly it had to offer, to make leaving worth it. 

It was a question he didn’t voice, though.

The Gheyo was tense, constantly on alert. More blades appeared after they’d entered the realm, adding to her sword and fans. One was lent to Harry, after instruction on how to draw it and wield it in a way where Harry wouldn’t end up stabbing himself. It was like Inanna was expecting to be attacked at any moment, even though most of the other Avians they encountered seemed friendly and curious. The vast majority kept their distance, though. 

“No, it’s not because of me,” Inanna grumbled when Harry asked. “Most of them could care less about the armor and the blades. It’s because of what we are.”

“What we are?” Harry repeated.

“Look around,” Inanna murmured, dropping her voice so others nearby couldn’t hear. “Feathers, feathers, feathers. Everyone’s a bloody poofball of feathers.” She nodded in the direction of several individuals subtly. “Phoelixes are pretty much the only ones that don’t wear their feathers so openly. It makes us stand out a bit.”

Harry’s hand twitched towards the bag he’d kept on him at all times since he’d woken up after his first preening. He’d expanded the bag and it was now where he kept everything irreplaceable to him—those feathers, his invisibility cloak, the photo album of his parents Hagrid had given him at the end of first year.

“Is it really so strange to see Phoelixes out and about?” Harry asked. 

Inanna shrugged. “It wasn’t when I left, but that was at least several centuries ago,” she said. “Things might’ve changed. Ah, here we are.” She stopped in front of a multi-storied structure built into one of the larger trees in the immediate area, and drew her sword. 

“And here is where, exactly?” Harry muttered as they entered the building. 

“Welcome to Gryffinvale Family Clinic,” a voice echoed once the door closed behind him. “If you need emergency treatment, please proceed to the right. If you are here for an appointment or would like to be seen at your leisure, please ring the bell at the desk.”

Harry let out a disgruntled chirp and glared at his mentor. She’d said absolutely nothing about this when she talked about their side-stop. “Really, we came all this way for a check-up? I feel fine!”

“Even if you’re physically fine, it doesn’t mean that something isn’t wrong,” Inanna returned evenly, starting to trim her talon on her blade after ringing the bell. “Your burning should have gotten rid of all of your scars, but you still have at least one. That alone means that something’s wrong.”

Harry huffed and pushed down his bangs, trying to hide the annoying lightning bolt scar. He’d wondered about that, but Inanna hadn’t made any comments about him still having it being strange up until now. He let out a disgruntled chirp again and promptly scowled at the man who had appeared on the other side of the desk.

Inanna scowled similarly at the man. “Nnenne,” she snapped out immediately.

“She has taken an inter-realm detail that was recently extended for another two years,” the man said, tone placid. “And it is anticipated to be extended again. We have another Phoelix Healer on call, however, if you would prefer that.”

Inanna’s scowl darkened. “Yes, unless their names are Ayaz or Yara,” she said, tone much less brusque. Harry’s green eyes flicked over her at the sudden change. 

“The Healer on call is Vitali,” the man returned. 

Inanna’s shoulders slumped in faint relief and she nodded her acceptance. 

“Are you not on good terms with some Healers?” Harry asked idly once the man left to fetch the requested Healer.

“We’ve got … complicated relationships,” Inanna replied, voice now dull. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Very complicated relationships.”

“And you took me here anyways?” Harry wasn’t sure if he should feel pleased or upset about that decision. 

Red-gold eyes rolled. “Nnenne is an Earth Phoelix,” she explained. 

“The one who isn’t a huge fan of you?” Harry asked, starting to suspect where this was going. “The one with the very annoying baggage?”

“That one,” Inanna confirmed. 

“She’s a Healer, then?” Harry asked, starting to look around. Slowly, his distaste for the situation was fading away, though he still wasn’t happy that Inanna had deemed a healing appointment necessary without asking him about it first.  At the very least, it was interesting and a surprisingly contrast to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, the only other experiences he’d had with anything healing related. High ceilings, a large room as a waiting area, with large spaces between the various seating areas to accommodate wings of all sizes. There was one detail that set him a bit on edge, however—they were the only ones there.

“Only out of necessity,” Inanna said, and yawned. She didn’t seem to be concerned about the lack of others in the waiting area. She had put away her blade as soon as she’d heard the name of the Healer who would be treating Harry. 

“Necessity?” Harry repeated, making a point to look around again. 

Inanna shrugged. “Family clinic,” she said. “Probably wanted to slow down for a few decades—and promptly got bored, given that she’s now on an inter-realm detail.” She snorted. “Typical.”

“A few decades,” Harry murmured. His brow furrowed. “But if she’s only been here a few decades, how did you know she’d be at this particular clinic? I thought you hadn’t been here for a few centuries.”

“We exchange holiday cards every year,” Inanna said, though her tone and the look on her betrayed the fact that such a thing, in fact, did not happen. “Complete with a nice letter filling each other in on what’s all happened since the last one. Moves, employment changes, body counts, the usual. Hers has been higher than mine the last few years, the jerk.”

Harry snorted. “Funny,” he said dryly. “Absolutely hilarious.”

The other Phoelix shrugged again. 

“I do hope I’m responsible for seeing only one of you,” a light voice called across the room. “And that my patient is the fledgling among you, considering my speciality is in pediatrics.”

Harry turned around, ducking slightly behind Inanna at the man’s sudden appearance. He hadn’t been that distracted by his conversation, but he hadn’t heard the Healer arrive, nor the door open. 

The Healer stood tall and had long white-blond hair tied back in a neat braid, practically blending in with the white cloth of his uniform. His skin was only a few shades lighter than the clothes, which made his dark blue eyes even more striking. 

Inanna sighed and tilted her head forward so she could pinch the bridge of her nose. 

Blue eyes.

The Healer chuckled, the sound light. “My element is Air,” he announced, reading the reaction correctly. “Before you assume the worst. The eyes are from my father—he was the Water one in my family nest.”

Air? Harry peeked his head around Inanna a bit further to look at the healer more closely. While he hadn’t quite forgotten that there were other elements besides Earth and Fire, the other two elements had simply existed in the abstract until now.

“You’re Vitali?” Inanna asked carefully, glancing over the man. She held in a small grimace as the closer look revealed more details about him. He was so young—young enough to be more open-minded than others possibly, but also young enough to lack experience. His magic was strong, but he definitely wasn’t out of his first century. 

“I am,” the Healer confirmed. “Might I have the name of my patient, so I can see if we have any records on file?”

Inanna stepped away from Harry and nudged him forward. The younger Phoelix scowled at her before he responded to the question. “Harry Potter. And there won’t be. We just got here yesterday.”

“From?” Vitali asked, tone disinterested as he gestured for them to go through the door he had come through. 

“Earth.”

The Healer’s blue eyes sharpened at the words. “Earth?” he repeated.

“Earth,” Harry confirmed. 

Vitali hummed. “How interesting.”

Harry did not like the way the man said those two words. 

“He’s burned once,” Inanna cut in, voice clipped. “About a month ago, a day after I took him into my nest.”

Harry started at her words. Took him into her nest? His green eyes grew wide as he understood what she was claiming and he swallowed hard at the implicit meaning in them. 

Even more striking than the words had been her lack of hesitation. It was just a simple statement of fact, as easily as she’d given her name. 

“And which nest is that?” Vitali asked.

Inanna hesitated, her red-gold eyes narrowed as she assessed the healer carefully. “Prewett,” she said finally. 

“Not one I’m familiar with,” Vitali said. “Of course, then again, I wouldn’t be familiar with any nests located on Earth since last I heard, there weren’t any there.”

“Never said my nest was located on Earth, just that we came from there,” Inanna returned, voice terse. 

“Might I ask what your final destination is, then?” Vitali’s voice was even and measured as he spoke. 

Inanna’s lips thinned. “Nevarah,” she said simply. 

Blue eyes blinked once, twice, three times at the unexpected answer. “You are an interesting pair,” Vitali remarked. “I can see now why you originally requested Nnenne.”

“An elemental match between healer and patient is always preferred,” Inanna said, keeping her tone bland. She ignored Vitali’s sharp look at her comment. 

The exam room, like the waiting area, had high ceilings and was spacious enough for even the largest type of wings to be fully extended if necessary. Harry wrinkled his nose as he looked around the room. It was worse than the hospital wing at Hogwarts, he decided. It was much too clean, too sterile.

There was also nothing in the room that hinted at elemental magic or an elemental preference. 

That was probably the most unnerving part of the area. 

He’d only known that elemental magic existed—truly existed—for just over a month, but since his burning, he could sense it everywhere, even when it wasn’t his element. Even when they’d been between realms, he’d constantly been surrounded by Inanna’s flames—they were a comforting presence now, as well as all sources of heat, since his burning. Apparently, the sweltering heat and constant discomfort had been a symptom of his inheritance coming in.

But in this room, there was nothing. It was just—artificial. 

Even stale, stifled air would make this place feel more alive, Harry thought, feeling his wings start to shift uncomfortably under his skin. 

“I saw the scar, so I assume that is why you sought a Healer’s attention,” Vitali said as he shut the door and flipped a switch to signal that it was occupied. 

“One of the reasons,” Inanna agreed, promptly hopping up on the nearest counter and perching on it. “He wasn’t one of us by birth, so I also wanted to see if someone could pinpoint down what his inheritance would have been had a certain phoenix decided not to get involved.” She leveled a look at Fawkes, who trilled innocently. 

“I’m personally rather glad he got involved,” Harry said, reaching for the phoenix as he rose to his defense. “I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him.”

“And why did a phoenix need to get involved?” Vitali asked, interrupting the pair with a delicate cough. “What sort of death did he save you from?”

Harry grimaced. So far, he’d managed to avoid telling that story but now it seemed that his luck had run out. Even if he didn’t want to, the look in Inanna’s red-gold eyes made it clear that he would be answering the question. And if necessary, she would hold him down until he answered it.

“It’s complicated,” he said slowly, warily. “But there was a basilisk at my school. The—thing—controlling it took my best friend’s sister into its lair. We went to rescue her and it ended up with me, a sword, and Fawkes against the basilisk. Fawkes took out its eyes and I stabbed it through the mouth with the sword, only a fang got stuck in my arm.” Harry rubbed at where the wound had been, glad that there was no scar left. Even if Fawkes’ tears hadn’t taken care of the scar, his first burning definitely had. “I knew what phoenix tears could do, but I’d forgotten about it until Fawkes started to heal me.”

Vitali had a disapproving look on his face, but Inanna looked—amused?

Definitely amused, Harry decided after sneaking a quick second look at her expression.

“So, first a killing curse, then a basilisk,” the woman remarked. “Any other escapes from Death I should know about?”

Harry grimaced, but nodded. At Inanna’s arched eyebrow, he elaborated. “I don’t know if this one counts, but last year, my friends and I were attacked by a troll, though Hermione probably came closer to death than I did.” The troll’s club, along with pieces of smashed sink, came very close to hitting Hermione that night, after all. “And a professor tried to strangle me last year as well, after being possessed by the same thing that was controlling the basilisk this year.”

Vitali was pinching the bridge of his nose by the time Harry finished talking, but Inanna merely stared at him, red-gold gaze calculating. 

After a moment, she hummed. “Well, even if you decide to take up a rank other than Gheyo, I should probably teach you how to wield a blade anyways, given all those adventures. Properly wield one, that is. You didn’t happen to keep that sword you killed that basilisk with, did you?” She sighed when Harry shook his head. “Well, we’ll go fetch it in a few years,” she decided. “It’s probably too big for you right now, anyways. But a blade infused with basilisk venom—that’s always handy to have around.”

Harry snorted. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised by her words. 

“Phoenix tears. Escape from Death several times over. The destruction of a snake. Loyalty to a friend, even in the face of Death herself. Our magic rarely chooses to give itself to those who are not born with it, but when it does, there is no doubt that the individual is worthy of it,” Vitali murmured. He sighed. “Please have a perch, Patient Potter. Let our work begin.”

Harry’s nose wrinkled at the words, but he pulled himself up to sit on a counter in the exam room, much like Inanna had.

A small breeze started to twist around the room, swirling first around Vitali, then Inanna, and finally Harry. The brunet shivered as the cold air brushed against him and he grit his teeth to keep his feathers and wings from exploding out. 

“Decent control,” Vitali murmured as he drew the breeze back slightly. “Especially given that you’ve only had your inheritance for just a month.” He twisted his hand absently and the breeze became a small dust-spinner, swirling in his palm. The healer waited a minute for it, allowing it to grow a tad larger, picking up spare pieces of dirt, dust, and hair that had been tracked in from the outside. “Now, this should not hurt, given that it is a combination of both of our elements, but if it does, know that it’s only temporary.”

Behind the Healer, Inanna rolled her eyes.

Harry barely held back a flinch as the dust-spinner was tossed at him. He gagged as it passed through his chest, the sensation similar to a ghost passing through his body, just not as icy cold.

A minute later, the dust-spinner returned to Vitali, spinning faster than it had before. The healer hummed as he examined it, poking at it here and there with a slender finger. After a long moment, his blue eyes glanced up at Harry. “Normally, we advise those not born to our magic to remain here in Avaellia until they can control it and their feathers. At the very least, until they come of age,” he said softly. “However, in your case, I think that Nevarah is definitely the better fit for you.”

“Why is that?” Inanna asked sharply, eyes trained on the dust-spinner. 

Vitali’s blue eyes turned to her. “He comes from dragel roots,” he explained. “He would have been dragel, had an inheritance come in. However, I’m not sure that it would have, given the number of seals that my scan revealed.”

Dragel. Inanna was part of a dragel Circle and even though she hadn’t revealed much about her Circle itself, she had told him as much about dragels as she had about Phoelixes over the weeks. When she had talked about her Circle, there was a reluctantly fond tone in her voice.

He would have been part of that? Or at least, something like that?

Harry swallowed hard and pushed those thoughts away. It was impossible now, so there was no point in thinking about it. He was Phoelix, not dragel. Instead, he focused on Vitali’s other words.

“Seals?”

“Seals,” Vitali echoed. “Some still present and doing what their caster intended, some merely residue after your new inheritance came in.”

“Plural,” Inanna noted. “How many?” The question itself was phrased innocently, but there was a dark tone to her voice.

“Seven originally,” Vitali said. “Four now that he’s burned and fully come into our gifts.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry broke in carefully, grimacing even as the apology left his lips. He hadn’t realized how many times he said those words daily until Inanna had come into his life and made her distaste for those words known. “But can someone please explain what a seal is?”

Vitali’s lips twitched. “A bit of magic that helps an individual control or manage their power, usually,” he explained. “Each type of seal has a different function, however. You’ve got quite the set.”

Harry grimaced. Of course he did. 

“The ones that are merely residue right now were the standard seals that a newly-inherited individual might bear,” Vitali said. “Parental seals, one from each side, I’d wager, to help you try to handle your magic as you grow without it overwhelming you. Since you’ll be going to Nevarah, you might want one of their healers to take a look at the remainders of those seals, if only to locate possible family connections. One seal to bind your inheritance altogether—I would guess that there was someone who did not want you to become something other than human. I would say that it was because of that seal, the Phoelix transformation was triggered. With no easy way to become dragel, your body adapted.”

“Who?” Harry demanded. Who would dare interfere with something as important as a magical inheritance? It seemed unfathomable.

“That I can not say,” Vitali murmured quietly. “Because I do not know any wixen personally. I can say that it was someone who was wixen, but not quite fully wixen, and that is all.”

Harry’s hand clenched into a fist. 

“And the four he still has?” Inanna interjected. 

“One parental seal is left,” Vitali answered. “Most likely because it was put into place using runes. Runic seals are always a bit more—permanent.” He made a face as he spoke. “Quite honestly, I couldn’t tell you more about that particular seal. Runes have always been the bane of my existence.” He shook his head slightly. “As for the others, I really would recommend seeing a specialist—it may take some time to remove them. They seem to be interconnected, a triad of seals, if you will. Quite a complex piece of magic—and quite Dark.”

“Dark?” Inanna murmured. “How so?”

Vitali tossed the dust-spinner in the air. The dust particles in it hung in the air, glowing and shifting to take the form of a triquetra. “Prophecy,” he said quietly, voice nearly a whisper. “Soul. Death. Three seals, all bound together, connected by the scar that remains on your forehead, Patient Potter.”

Harry’s heart sunk, already understanding. 

Voldemort. 

“A Death Seal?” Inanna asked, voice sharp. “Can it be transferred? One as young as him shouldn’t have to bear something so—” She cut herself off, jaw clenching. 

“Not by me,” Vitali said quickly. “And I should warn you not to be reckless if you go down that path. If you reckon with one of the three, you reckon with them all. As I said, they are interconnected.”

Inanna scowled. “Lovely.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said quietly. If there was any time for an apology, this was it. Even now, several realms away from Earth, he would still have to deal with Voldemort. He was still connected to that madman. And his issues would burden others such as Inanna.

“It’s not your fault,” Inanna responded immediately. She drew a blade and began to trim her talons on it. “Though I’d like to know who would dare put that sort of magic on you—on any kid, really. If I ever meet them, my talons will make my thoughts on the matter quite clear.”

Harry gave her a grim smile. The words were oddly reassuring, somehow.

“I shall give you my report on the seals my scan found,” Vitali murmured. “And a few suggestions as to nourishment, to ensure that your body grows fully over the next few years. I’ve heard that the healers in Nevarah are decent, but I doubt they could fully understand our bodies and what they need, what they are capable of.” His nose wrinkled slightly. “I shall also make sure that one of the healers on our inter-realm details checks in on you and your progress for the next few years, since you are so young and were not born to your inheritance.”

“Nnenne,” Innana said curtly. “No other healer.”

Vitali inclined his head, but a curious look formed in his blue eyes. “I will add Patient Potter to her patient list and update the list of realms she covers to include Nevarah,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me?”

Harry waited until the door had closed behind him before turning to face Inanna. “I really don’t understand,” he said. “You’re so insistent on Nnenne, even though it sounds like she doesn’t like you and you certainly don’t seem to like her. Why her and no one else?”

Inanna smiled sadly. “It’s complicated, kid,” she said. A heartbeat later, a resolute look entered her eye. “And I don’t have to like her. I just have to trust her and there’s only been two individuals that I’ve ever trusted more.”

“So how far do we have to travel this time?” Harry asked as they left the clinic, Vitali’s report in hand. It was much longer than Harry had expected, given how short the actual appointment had been. He wasn’t looking to going through it later—no matter if it was alone, with Inanna, or with another healer. 

Inanna hummed and plucked the report from Harry’s hands, flipping through it and scanning it quickly. “That’s a good question,” she said off-handedly. “A very good question.” Because, truthfully, she wasn’t sure where to go to next. Her Circle spent most of their time off-realm, really only returning to Nevarah for the Hunt. But she wasn’t particularly inclined to join them on whatever expedition they were currently on, especially when she knew that they wouldn’t be prepared for her and her new charge. On the other hand, she didn’t really want to go back to Nevarah and an empty manor.

Nevarah would be easiest, she knew. It would provide Harry with some stability and it would be best to surround him with dragels as soon as possible, given all that they learned about his roots and seals. Nnenne was sure to visit the realm sooner rather than later once she was alerted to the fact that she had a new patient. 

But Nevarah would be tricky, especially once her Circle started showing up—and they would, once the twins or Malachi were alerted that someone had entered the manor. Returning to Nevarah meant explanations and playing nice with others. It meant attention—both giving it and receiving it. 

In short, a headache. 

However, if they went to Nevarah instead of directly to wherever the Circle was currently stationed, it would give everyone time. They would meet on their own terms, instead of her and Harry just showing up and catching the Circle off-guard. 

Inanna sighed and tapped on one of her fans, turning it into a portkey with a small piece of magic. “Three days?” she guessed. “Taking into account the time differences. Two portkeys and one portal, all with stop-overs.”

Harry made a face. He didn’t mind the portal, but he still wasn’t a huge fan of portkeys. Pretty much any mode of transportation was preferable than portkeys and he was including his disastrous experiences with the floo and flying cars in that list. “Let’s get it over with, then.”

Chapter Text

Three days later, Inanna froze, staring up at the manor. She chirped, the sound disgruntled.

There was a light on inside. 

Someone was already home. 

They weren’t the first to arrive.

Inanna rubbed at her forehead. They should have come here straight away and taken care of registering Harry as her mentored student tomorrow, like she’d originally anticipated. But on their way in, they’d passed by City Hall and it had seemed only logical to register him then and there, instead of having to back-track. She hadn’t planned on it to take several hours. 

Dragels and their paperwork. She clucked her tongue against her teeth in irritation just thinking about it. It made her want to stab something. Or someone. 

She also hadn’t taken into consideration that Malachi or Sarai might have placed a monitoring charm on her name so they would be alerted as soon as she arrived back in Nevarah and passed through the realm’s gates. A rookie mistake, in hindsight. Not one that she was prone to making, but she was still adjusting to the new instincts that had cropped up from having a fledgling around. They took more of her focus than she had expected.

Beside her, Harry chirped curiously, green eyes glancing between her and the manor. 

In response, Inanna shook her head, red hair flying about her face. “Don’t worry about it,” she muttered. “I just … wasn’t really expecting anyone to be home.” She grimaced. 

Hopefully, it was Malachi. She would much rather deal with her Alpha instead of her ACE. Her relationship with Sarai was always rocky—to put it simply. Very simply. 

Inanna sighed as she stepped through the wards, a dark-skinned hand on Harry’s shoulder to guide him through them as well. Tension drained out of her shoulders upon the mere fact of being home, returning to her physical nest. 

It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced for seven years. Seven long years. 

She hadn’t realized how badly she’d missed it until now. 

Harry looked around the manor as he was led inside. Everything was done in warm hues and it was all very spacious, similar to how the clinic had been back in Avaellia. 

Both Phoelixes tensed as two curious chirps rang through the hall—not bird-like, as Harry’s chirps were, but something slightly different. After a second, Inanna groaned and rubbed at her forehead a second time, before pinching the bridge of her nose. 

Harry ducked behind Inanna and watched silently as two red-haired men appeared, regarding Inanna just as carefully as she regarded them. Her reaction to their presence wasn’t quite what he had expected. Definitely less warm than she’d ever treated him. His green eyes narrowed as he looked them over. Identical twins. They even looked familiar, very much like what he could imagine Fred and George looking like as adults. 

“Don’t,” Inanna warned when one of the twins stepped towards her, not in the mood for their herding games. She let out a light warning rasp for good measure. 

“We can’t even say hello?” One of the twins asked—Fabian, Inanna realized. Really, that comment was enough to tell the twins apart. Gideon was the twin that didn’t try nearly as much to push the boundaries of their relationship. 

Inanna rasped again, red-gold eyes narrowing. 

Gideon’s lips twitched. “He’s in his study,” he said to keep the peace, holding his hands up. “With Sarai.”

Inanna’s shoulders slumped at the words and she quietly trilled in an unhappy manner. 

Fabian snickered. “It won’t be as bad as you’re thinking,” he told the Gheyo. “She’ll hear you out. I’m sure it’s a fascinating story, given your dramatic departure and that you’ve arrived with company.” He paused. “Do we get to meet said company?”

Inanna hesitated with a tiny grimace. The answer was yes, naturally, but she’d been really hoping to discuss things with Malachi first, before the twins or Sarai got involved. Still, she nodded once after a heartbeat. “Harry, this is Gideon and Fabian, the Submissives of my Circle.”

The twins exchanged a look at the introduction, though they were careful to keep the frowns off their faces. Just once, they wished she would say ‘my Submissives.’ They knew it was unlikely, however. She was a very particular Gheyo, after all. An asset to their Suite and undoubtedly loyal to the Circle as a whole, even if she was sworn only to Malachi, but there were certain lines that she wasn’t ready to cross yet. 

“And Harry is?” Gideon asked mildly, stepping to the side to encourage the newly-arrived pair to continue into the manor and down the hall, to where his Alpha and ACE were waiting. 

“Mine,” Inanna replied tersely.

The twins exchanged another look. 

“Sunbird.”

Inanna immediately huffed at the familiar nickname, stopping as soon as she heard it. Her lips quirked slightly as, behind her, Harry bumped into her back, having not anticipated the sudden stop.

His confused grunt drew the eyes of everyone in the room—the twins, Malachi, Sarai, the Circle’s Beta.

Inanna arched an eyebrow when she realized just how many individuals were home. “Since when do I get a welcoming committee?” she asked. 

“Since you disappear without a word and without a trace,” Sarai quickly snapped. 

Inanna scowled and opened her mouth to retort, but barely held back the words when Malachi raised a hand. A heartbeat later, she turned her scowl onto the twins, having spotted Fabian slipping a few coins into Gideon’s hand.

“Who’s your friend, sunbird?” Malachi asked lightly, ignoring the twins’ antics. 

The Gheyo sighed and took a step to the side, nudging Harry forward as she did. The brunet fidgeted under all of the attention. “This is Harry,” she introduced. “He’s a Phoelix new to his inheritance.”

Warm eyes swept over Harry once again, this time considering him in a different light. A soft smile crossed the man’s lips. “Another one of you? That’s a delightful surprise.” Malachi’s eyes shifted over to Inanna. “Are you his mentor?”

“It’s not really as organized as you all make it,” Inanna muttered, nose wrinkling at the thought. “But essentially, yes—one of them. The others will come in time.” As she spoke, she kept her eyes carefully on the other Gheyo in the room. Red-gold eyes blinked in confusion when some of the hostility seemed to fade out of her ACE’s posture. 

Harry fidgeted awkwardly as the attention of everyone in the room seemed to shift onto him. It wasn’t nearly as bad as his first trip to the Leaky Cauldron or those first days at Hogwarts, but it was still more than he was accustomed to. Rarely did good things happen when he had such undivided attention from adults. 

“Harry, was it?” Malachi said. “Welcome to our home.”

Unsure of how to respond, Harry simply nodded, green eyes flicking between all the unfamiliar adults in the room. Without realizing it, he took a small step towards Inanna. 

“I’ll look forward to hearing about how this all came about,” Malachi continued. “But first I think some tea and snacks would be appreciated, and maybe some rest, depending on how long you two have been traveling. We only just got home ourselves last night.”

Inanna’s red-gold eyes narrowed as she tried to determine whether that was mere coincidence or that Malachi could feel her bond stronger than she thought after seven years away. “Four,” she corrected automatically as her mind tried to work through it all. “We left the phoenix and the owl outside.”

“You left the—” Fabian started. He smiled widely at the news. “An actual phoenix? Can we meet—him? Her?”

“Him,” Inanna replied, rolling her eyes. “And if you want. Take Harry with you so he can make the introductions because I won’t be accountable for what happens if introductions aren’t made.”

Harry startled at her words and he frowned. He really didn’t want to be separated from the older Phoelix, not when there were so many strangers around. And it wasn’t like Fawkes would mind strangers approaching him—the phoenix had a fairly easygoing personality, after all. 

On the other hand, if it meant getting away from the awkward atmosphere hanging over the room…

In the end, he was reluctantly coaxed away from the study by the twins with the promises of hunting down some cinnamon tea after his stomach started rumbling. The only thing that helped with the separation was that it seemed like Inanna didn’t want him there for whatever conversation would happen next—though even that detail ruffled the feathers under his skin.

“Don’t think too much on it,” Gideon murmured quietly as he let his twin lead the way to the kitchen, idly taking note of their Beta slipping out of the study behind them. Probably to go update their Pareya and the rest of their Gheyos, who were still off-realm. “It was more about us being there than you. When we’re around, she—holds back.”

Harry’s brow furrowed. Inanna had never seemed like the type to hold back, from what he’d seen in the past month. “Why?”

“Why indeed,” Fabian muttered darkly ahead of the other two. “Where’d you come across a phoenix? I thought they tended to stick to only three or four realms.”

“Earth, I guess,” Harry replied. “He was at my school and then something happened and Fawkes intervened, but I guess doing so triggered … what happened to me and he sensed it, so he sought out the closest Phoelix out there, which was An—Inanna, I guess.” He grimaced as he nearly slipped up and called Inanna by the shortened name he’d taken to referring to her in his mind, though he’d yet to call her by that name to her face.

Unfortunately, the twins picked up on the slip.

“Anna?” Fabian guessed, his lips twitching upward into a smile. “That’s—”

“Don’t even think about it,” Gideon warned his twin. “You will end up regretting it.”

“She doesn’t mind nicknames,” Fabian waved off the remark. “She lets Malachi call her 'sunbird,' after all. And Sarai’s got plenty of names for her when she thinks we’re not listening."

“Malachi, not you,” Gideon pointed out, shaking his head slightly. “And remember what happened last time she caught wind of Sarai’s nicknames?”

“They made up,” Fabian returned.

“For a year or so. And then it came up again and ended up with Inanna taking up in the Pits.”

“She’s—” Harry spoke up, feeling the need to defend his mentor, but he stopped, unsure of what he was defending her against. 

“She’s Inanna,” the twins said in unison.

Gideon smiled down at the boy. “Don’t worry over it,” he said quietly. “She’s ours and we’re quite fond of her and all of her quirks. Fabi just likes pushing buttons. Drives Malachi mad.”

“I drive him mad?” Fabian protested. “You’re one to talk. Who was on the receiving end of his last lecture?”

“Only because you sold me out!”

“I did no such thing!”

The pair continued to playfully bicker, even once they arrived at the kitchen and started going about various tasks, including making tea and snacks. 

Harry couldn’t help but smile.

Once the door to the study closed, it turned into a waiting game. Malachi stepped back so he could easily watch both Gheyos in the room, wondering which of them would break the silence first. It wouldn’t take very long for one of them to do so, given that particular ACE-Joker dynamic. 

He loved them both, but they were both very explosive and loud, especially when they were together. The similar personalities probably contributed to the tension that tended to crop up between the pair until they got the chance to fight things out. 

After the first few minutes, Malachi sat down at his desk and started making a list of what they would need to do to end their current expedition as soon as possible and to recall the rest of the Circle back to Nevarah. He’d already started making plans for doing so, but Harry’s presence indicated that it would have to happen quicker than he’d been anticipating. He smiled inwardly as his action drew two sharp looks.

Definitely similar personalities.

They would accuse him of manipulation later—and maybe it was, but he was an Alpha and such things could be expected of him. But he wouldn’t start the conversation this time. As far as he was concerned, the biggest issue was currently between Sarai and Inanna; everything else could be handled later.

Eventually, Sarai huffed, blowing blunted red-and-yellow bangs off of her forehead. “Fine,” she snapped in Malachi’s direction. “I’ll start, if you’re not going to say anything.” She turned to Inanna. “You couldn’t have left a message—written or verbal—to explain what was going on?” 

Inanna opened her mouth to reply almost immediately, but then she paused and tilted her head, her brow furrowed as she processed the question. “Wait, what?”

“Do you have any idea how scared I was when the report came in that you broke the Pits contract? The full report, not just the original notice, talking about how some creature suddenly appeared in the midst of a fight, forced things to end early, and then you just—disappeared. No explanation, no goodbyes, no supply stops. They said it appeared and then you just burst into flames!”

Inanna’s head slowly tilted to the other side. “I’m a Fire Phoelix,” she said carefully. “It happens—quite frequently, if you remember.”

“I remember!” Sarai snapped. “You still owe me a desk from the last time something like that happened—proofed against your particular type of flames so there’s not a repeat. We thought you burned.”

Inanna’s lips twitched slightly, amused. “Really?”

Sarai’s red-and-yellow hair burst into flames and she threw an orange from a nearby bowl of fruit at the other Gheyo. Malachi sighed. There was fruit laying all around the manor for the twins, thanks to their Pareya, but the Gheyos tended to use them when their tempers flared. It always created such a mess.

On reflex, Inanna caught it, and then the pear that followed almost immediately after. 

“What were we supposed to think?” Sarai demanded. “We’ve never seen you burn, we have no idea what it looks like or what happens in the lead-up!”

“If I had felt a burning day approaching, I would have come back here after breaking the contract, not left the realm,” Inanna returned. 

“Without leaving a message?”

A frustrated screech escaped Inanna. “That’s seriously what you’re concerned about?"

“How am I supposed to care for my Suite or act as their shield when I don’t know where they are or what they’re up to? When I have to go to the Alpha to figure something like that out when they’re supposed to come to me?”

“I don’t need a shield!”

“No, you apparently don’t need anything except a good—”

Malachi stifled a sigh and added another level of silencing wards to his study than he typically had around the room. The room grew warmer and warmer as the pair threw words and flames—and the occasional piece of fruit—back and forth and he made a note to have the carpet replaced, because he could already tell that they wouldn’t be able to get rid of the scorch marks. He also made a note to double-check what element Harry had, because while their entire Circle could handle the temperature changes and flames that came with a Fire element, it didn’t necessarily mean that the boy could. 

After several minutes, he looked up when Inanna let out a particular type of screech, one that was probably the closest thing to an apology as she would get. A heartbeat later, the original orange thrown went flying across the study again in Sarai’s direction. 

There was silence for a minute as both women caught their breaths and the flames in the room began to simmer down. 

“How old is he?” Sarai asked, straightening and pulling out her claws to peel the orange in her hand. “Harry, I mean.”

“If you meant someone else, I’d be concerned,” Inanna snarked automatically, grimacing after the words left her lips. “Ignore that. Thirteen,” she answered. “He turned thirteen the night I found him. So no, I couldn’t leave a message. I barely got there before he burned as it was.”

“And his family?” Sarai asked. 

“What about his family?” The tone in Inanna’s voice turned low and dangerous.

“Are they going to be a problem that I’ll need to send my Queen to take care of?”

Malachi let out a warning click upon hearing the question. “Let’s try not to take care of anyone,” he said. “Especially if they’re his family.”

“They’d deserve it,” Inanna muttered. “You know, normally if you go up to a child and tell them you’re taking them away from all they know forever, they’d throw up at least some form of protest. He just hugged me and looked at me like I’d given him all the realms. I think that should say enough about the situation.”

“It does,” Sarai agreed, taking on her own dark look. 

“But…” Malachi prompted knowingly.

Inanna scowled at being so easily read. “There’s no magic in his—relatives—no magic around them except for Harry. They can’t find Nevarah and they’ll be dead in less than a century.” 

“Taking bluntness to a whole new level, I see,” Sarai muttered. “Really, nothing magical? Absolutely nothing? Yet they somehow managed to give birth to one of your kind?”

Inanna made a face. “Relatives, not parents,” she corrected. “His parents are dead.” She grumbled something along the lines of ‘stupid phoenix’ under her breath. “And I’ll go back in a few years to check on the situation, to see if any latent dragel blood shows up, since I want to pick up something anyways. There was … evidence that the use of phoenix tears corrupted a dragel inheritance into a Phoelix one.”

Malachi’s eyebrows raised and he was suddenly glad that the twins were distracting Harry. “Really?”

“Unfortunately,” Inanna muttered and then tapped at the storage charm on her weapons belt. She dropped a stack of papers in front of the Alpha. “Medical report. Give it to the Pareya or the twins, there’s some nutrition information in there for Harry. It should also explain about the inheritance situation.”

“So you can take Harry to a Healer but you can’t go yourself, even when your intestines are exposed to open air?” Sarai grumbled, mostly to herself. 

Malachi hummed and started flipping through the papers, scanning for key words. Basic nutrition, specialized nutrition to combat malnourishment, something about a killing curse, seals—some familial, some made with Dark Magic…

He paused on one page to read the information about the familial seals closer. There were no names, but he could recognize the basic designs that had been sketched out on the paper and pinpoint them to specific clans—clans that could cause a headache for their Circle if custody over Harry became an issue.

“You registered him at City Hall already?” he asked instead. “Did they ask about any dragel connections at all?”

Inanna snorted and crossed her arms. “I’m not dragel, his blood is Phoelix, not dragel, the only blood relatives that he knew of were non-magical and no one there knows anything about Phoelixes and barely anything about dragels, so they probably just thought that it was latent Phoelix blood, his only biographical records came from Earth and Avaellia, two of the few realms known to host phoenixes. What do you think?”

So they had time then, but probably not much. They would have to amend the registration records after taking Harry to a dragel Healer, which would undoubtedly happen at some point in the next few years. The remaining seals on him would ensure such an appointment, if nothing else, since no one in their Circle would allow seals made with Dark Magic to exist on a child without ever attempting to remove them. 

He could put it off until tomorrow, though. Or until the weekend was over and the entire Circle was back together again. There was no point in trying to get anything done tonight, since City Hall would be closed by now. In the meantime, he could talk things over with his Beta and they could try to make plans. Normally, he would get the twins or Sarai involved in the plan-making as well, but he had a feeling that the twins would be occupied with settling Harry in, given their current lack of Pareya, and Sarai and Inanna would need some time alone, without even him around. Their issues were resolved for the next few hours, but they needed that time alone to actually get their claws—or talons—in each other before everything was truly sorted out. 

The biggest thing would be timing—the records would have to be updated almost immediately after they took Harry to a Healer, so the Circle couldn’t be accused of hiding anything. And given the seals on him—unnecessary seals, in his opinion and in the opinion of the Phoelix Healer who had issued the report—the Pareya would insist on the appointment being sooner rather than later. But Malachi still needed to ensure that they had sufficient time to plan and prepare, in case any issues arose.

Well, there was a Runes Master and a Medic in their Circle. They could deal with that seal first internally and then deal with the other three later, something which would give them a bit of extra time. 

“What’s Harry’s element?” Malachi asked absently, as his mind started to work. 

Inanna shifted. To anyone else, it might have appeared as an idle movement, but the two dragels in the room could easily read it as a nervous tick. “Earth,” she muttered after a moment. 

Malachi simply made a noncommittal noise. It wasn’t ideal, given that they were a pure Fire Circle, but it wasn’t something to make a big fuss over either. It would just require a few additional accommodations. 

It was also something that worked in their favor slightly, because that meant that they could take Harry to a Kalzik Healer. The Kalziks were always in high demand, so there would likely be a bit of a wait before Harry could be seen. 

Sarai tsk’ed when she recognized the look on her Alpha’s face and she rapped the top of Malachi’s head gently with a claw. “If you’re going to scheme, either do it out loud so we know what you’re planning or go do it in another room so we can plead plausible deniability until you need the Suite.”

Malachi chuckled at the words. “Go on then,” he said. “I won’t keep you.”

Both Sarai and Inanna snorted under their breaths at his words, before they promptly glared at each other. Malachi made sure to hide his smile behind a hand until they were both out of the room. Then, and only then, he didn’t bother to hold back his laughs.

Similar personalities indeed. 

Earth

The Sorting feast at Hogwarts was particularly somber for two reasons. The first reason was owing to the presence of dementors lurking around the edges of the school grounds, the creatures having been assigned to keep watch for Sirius Black, since the common belief was that he would be coming after Harry Potter, the boy who had caused the downfall of his master, You-Know-Who. Even those who were aware of the lesser-known details—that Sirius Black had been good friends with James Potter and had been named Harry’s godfather—were expecting him to come after Harry at some point. 

The second reason was more noticeable among the Gryffindors, and at least one of them was wondering if the dementors’ presence at Hogwarts was even necessary because of the other reason—Harry Potter hadn’t been on the train. He hadn’t arrived at Hogwarts. None of the students knew where Harry currently was—and Hermione was wondering if any of the professors did either. There were a number of troubled looks on the faces of the professors, including those who she wouldn’t have expected—Professor Snape, for one. The new Professor Lupin, for the other, which was strange because as far as she knew, he had never even met Harry. 

Even Professor Dumbledore seemed trouble by Harry not being present, Hermione noted, given how often the Headmaster looked over at the Gryffindor table with a tiny frown on his face, a frown that was almost nearly obscured by his beard. 

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Ron muttered through a mouthful of food, when Hermione tried to voice her thoughts. “It’s Harry, after all.”

“It’s Harry,” Hermione echoed, though she rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean anything. Or have you and I lived entirely different school terms the past two years? Remember the troll? And the curse on his broom? Or the whole situation with the philosopher’s stone? Or Dobby and his bludger? Or—”

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Ron grumbled. “But if he was dead, we’d know about it by now. Try sending him a letter first, before you start jumping to conclusions. Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?”

Hermione flushed angrily at his words but she couldn’t dispute anything he said. “Stop talking with your mouth full,” she snapped instead.

Albus Dumbledore tapped his index finger lightly against his desk once he retired for the night after the Sorting feast. He’d made plans for the upcoming year to keep Harry Potter safe once he’d learned of Sirius Black’s escape from Azkaban, trying to account for all possible scenarios, since it was only a matter of time before Sirius showed up at Hogwarts.

All of those plans and scenarios had been under the assumption that Harry would be at Hogwarts for his third year. 

All of that work was out the window currently, because Harry hadn’t arrived at the school. 

It didn’t bode well, he was forced to acknowledge. Hogwarts was more of Harry’s home than Privet Drive, something which the boy had made clear since his very first year, when he’d asked to stay over the summer holidays. He would go to extremes to come back to Hogwarts—something which he had proven last year when he’d arrived after missing the train and driving a flying car to the school. 

So there wouldn’t be much that would keep Harry from attending Hogwarts, ultimately. 

At least Albus had various ways of tracking Harry down, if need be. Most of them he wouldn’t be able to use until the winter holidays, when it would be easier to leave the school for several days unnoticed or unremarked on, but there was one he could use in the meantime.

Fawkes.

With some cajoling, he could convince the phoenix to track down Harry—or at least his wand. That had been a lucky stroke of fate, Harry’s wand being the one that used Fawkes’ feather as a core. It was something that definitely worked in his benefit now.

Or at least, it would work in his benefit, once Fawkes appeared. The stand the phoenix preferred was currently empty.

Albus’ brow wrinkled as something occurred to him. When was the last time he had actually seen Fawkes? Not since after Harry had dealt with Voldemort’s spirit and the basilisk down in the Chamber of Secrets. 

The Headmaster’s blue eyes lost their twinkle and hardened for a moment as he looked inward. When Fawkes had first come to him, a magical bond had been established, one not dissimilar to that between wizard and familiar. For decades, it had been an ever-present bond, something that he had stopped noticing over the years, simply because it was always there, never changing. 

A lapse on his part, he realized now. He’d stopped noticing it, which meant that he also hadn’t noticed when it had been severed. Something had happened, something which had caused Fawkes to switch loyalties to someone else.

But what?

Chapter Text

That night, Harry found himself tossing and turning on the large bed that he could now call his. 

It wasn’t just a bed, either. After giving him a tour of the large manor, Gideon and Fabian had given him an entire room to call his own, one that was much larger than he’d had at the Dursleys. Harry was sure that if he wanted to, there would be enough room to stretch out his wings to their fullest extent without knocking anything over. Several perches had been placed next to the window for Fawkes and Hedwig, which had been another surprise.

Down the corridor was something they’d called the resting room, a room that Harry was welcome to sleep in during nights he didn’t want to be alone, where the twins said that a good portion of their Bonded tended to sleep, especially the Pareya.

But down the corridor meant that he was in the family wing of the manor. It wasn’t any old guest room that had been given to him and Harry…

Harry didn’t quite know what to make of that. 

Surely, it wasn’t that simple. Surely, he wouldn’t be considered family just because Inanna had taken him under her wing. It was never that straightforward. 

After all, the Dursleys had never considered him family, despite Harry living with them for nearly twelve years—and full-time for over a decade. They’d only given him an actual bedroom because they’d been forced to out of fear of wizards watching them and it hadn’t taken them long to resort to locking him in that room whenever they didn’t want to deal with him. 

That was one of the first things Harry had noticed about his new room—there was only one lock on the door and it was on the inside. He could lock others out, but they couldn’t lock him in. 

Hopefully that wouldn’t change. 

He knew it was irrational, but Harry sat up in his bed anyway, glancing at the door to make sure things hadn’t changed in the past hour or so. 

It hadn’t.

Of course it hadn’t, Harry knew, but a small sense of relief coursed through his body at the visual proof. 

Unfortunately, sitting up resulted in him feeling more awake than ever. It would be impossible to sleep, especially now that he’d gotten a good look at his room in the dark. Despite the presence of Hedwig and Fawkes in the room, it was too large, too empty. 

Not that surprising, Harry thought. He should have expected this. After all, he spent most of his year sleeping in a dorm, surrounded by four others. And for the past month or so, he’d been sharing space during the night with Inanna wherever they could find a place to rest—whether that be a spare room with whatever Runes Master they were seeking help from or out under the stars, next to a fire.

Holding back a sigh, Harry made his way to the edge of the large bed and carefully placed his feet on the floor. It took more steps than he liked to reach the door, but once he did, he pushed it open slowly, hoping that it wouldn’t make a sound. He noted the charms on the door, if only because it was a type of magic he wasn’t accustomed to yet, despite being constantly surrounded by it once he and Inanna had set foot in Nevarah. Dragel magic, most likely. 

Once he stepped outside his room, Harry moved as quickly and as quietly as he could. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, he just knew that he didn’t want to be in there alone anymore. And yet, he didn’t want to go to the resting room that the twins had pointed out. That felt too strange, considering he had just met everyone only a few hours ago. 

He wasn’t sure if wandering was allowed—probably not—but he could always claim that he was looking for a bathroom or the kitchen if he came across someone. Even though the bathroom was in the other direction and the kitchen was down, not up like he was currently heading. 

He might have actually considered finding the kitchen again for a warm drink, but there was something more appealing to his nose on the upper floors. He followed the scent, knowing that there was probably only one place it would lead.

Who needed a feather when all it took was following the scent of cinnamon to find Inanna?

His nose led him to a set of rooms at the top of a small turret. It was only then that Harry hesitated, starting to second-guess everything.

He wasn’t given much time to do so though, because after a minute, the door opened on its own, revealing Inanna on the other side.

“Took you longer than I thought it would,” she grunted.

The tips of Harry’s ears pinked at her words. “I’m not that predictable,” he tried to protest, but Inanna simply gave him a knowing look.

“You kind of are,” she returned. “Not that that’s a bad thing.” 

She stepped back to let Harry into the rooms.

Harry instantly liked this set of rooms much better. One part of the wall looked to be entirely window, spanning from floor to ceiling, and there was an open door that led to a balcony that circled the entire turret. In a smaller room—a study maybe—a fire burned low. Incense burned next to the bed—the source of the cinnamon scent. Harry was momentarily disappointed until he spotted the teapot next to the incense holder, a now very familiar drink in one of the two teacups. 

“These are yours?” he asked, gravitating to the large windows. 

Inanna snorted. “No. It’s the ACE’s lookout. I usually crash on the roof or in the Gheyo’s resting room.”

Harry stiffened at the implications of her statement. He turned and took note of the bed for the first time. There was another red-haired woman lounging in it, watching him as unobtrusively as possible. He vaguely recalled her from those awkward few minutes in the study when he and Inanna had first arrived. 

“They can be yours,” she drawled lazily to Inanna. “You know I split my time between here and the other lookout.”

The Fire Phoelix snorted and crossed her arms. “Pass. The current set-up is fine.” She glanced down at Harry and hummed. “I guess since formal introductions weren’t made earlier, Sarai, Harry. Harry, Sarai.”

The ACE among the Gheyos, Harry recalled. Other than that, all he’d learned from Inanna was that the two had a complicated relationship.

Not like that really meant anything. Inanna had complicated relationships with everyone, he’d realized. 

Inanna bumped him lightly with her hip, pushing him closer to the occupied bed. She closed the door with a foot. “Don’t worry, we were done,” she said. “And Sarai won’t bite—you, at least.”

“We were?” Sarai asked lightly. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. 

Inanna scowled. “Hours ago,” she said snippily. 

“So you were staying around for what? The conversation?”

“Because my options were you or Malachi and I don’t want to put up with his scheming right now,” Inanna grumbled, still nudging Harry closer to the bed with her feet.

Harry scowled at the woman and her treatment of him at that moment. “I get the idea,” he huffed, but he fell short of actually telling her to stop. He was still hesitant. “It’s fine?”

“More than fine,” Inanna muttered. “Didn’t I say I was waiting for you?”

“Not in so many words, no,” Harry returned readily. 

Watching the pair, Sarai rolled her eyes and settled further into the bed, sending a pulse of magic at the door to trigger the light that signified that the room was occupied by more than one individual. 

“Why am I in the middle?” Harry questioned when he realized that Inanna was waiting for him to get in the bed first. He balked a bit at the idea of sleeping next to someone who was practically a complete stranger, though he didn’t really feel that uncomfortable with the situation—at least not when Sarai was pretending to sleep and wasn’t watching him with those curious orange eyes. 

“Because you actually get cold,” Inanna said. “And because I’m only in the mood to tolerate one person clinging to me tonight, not two.”

“I don’t cling!”

Inanna didn’t bother to respond to that particular claim.

In retaliation, Harry picked up the mostly full teacup and downed its contents before he crawled into the bed. This one was larger than the one he’d been given, which he hadn’t really thought was possible, but it apparently was. He jumped slightly when Sarai snickered, her eyes slit open just enough to see what he’d done. 

“You’ve really only known each other for just over a month?” the ACE questioned. 

Inanna scowled as she waved her hand, turning off the lights and banking the fire in the other room. “Shut up,” she muttered. 

“It’s cute.”

“You’re really lucky I can’t kick you right now.”

Harry was up at dawn, a side effect of his body being much more sensitive to the presence of sunlight since his burning. If he’d been any other teenager, he’d probably complain, but he was used to waking up early at the Dursleys and cooking their breakfast. Sleeping in was a luxury he had never really known. 

Luckily, he wasn’t the only one up at that time. Both Sarai and Inanna had woken before him and they were already snarking at each other, though he couldn’t be sure what about, since one of them had cast a silencing bubble over him so their conversation wouldn’t disturb him as long as he was sleeping.

Conversation, snarking, arguing—he had the feeling that all of those things were the same to the pair. It had to be absolutely exhausting to those around them and he wondered how long it would take him to adjust to such a dynamic. He was still adjusting to Inanna, despite having known her for over a month, and now there were more people to get used to. 

Fifteen more, if he remembered correctly. Inanna had once said on their travels that it was a Circle of sixteen, including her. It seemed large to him, but she had also commented that it wasn’t particularly large when compared to other Circles with twin Submissives or a High Alpha. 

Which still didn’t really make sense to him, but he had a feeling that it wouldn’t make sense until he’d seen the full Circle and had met a few other Circles to compare their interactions to. 

The bubble of silence fell away as soon as Harry moved to sit up. 

“En suite,” Inanna grumbled, pointing at a door that Harry had overlooked the night before. “Go shower and take your time, since it’ll be a while before—”

“I’m going, I’m going,” Harry said immediately. “Go stretch your wings.” From her immediate order to him, he’d already gathered that the other Phoelix was still in the process of waking up and therefore was cranky as a result, so there would be no dealing with her until she’d stretched her wings a bit. He briefly wondered why Sarai had even bothered to engage with Inanna before she’d done that part of routine—wasn’t that something she should know?

He didn’t understand adults. 

The shower did wonders, though. Not only in helping wake him up a bit more, but also for his back and shoulders. As friendly as everyone had seemed, last night had been very tense and awkward for him, and that had carried over physically during the night, especially to his wings.

Like he’d been told, he took his time—not that it was a hardship. It was probably the fanciest shower he had ever seen, very spacious with a number of shower heads pointing in different directions. The towels were also the softest he had ever felt and warm to the touch. Keeping warm definitely wouldn’t be a problem while he stayed here, he realized. Everything was designed to retain or handle heat and while he wasn’t sure it would be beneficial for his particular element in the longterm, it was something he could definitely appreciate. 

When he exited the en suite, Sarai quickly ducked in, muttering under her breath and shaking her head. From the wing tips he could just barely see out the large windows, Inanna was on the roof of the turret. 

Well, if Inanna was outside…

Harry slipped outside as well, taking advantage of the balcony that circled the turret. He sat on the edge of it, kicking his legs lightly as he enjoyed the view. If he looked close enough, he could see the city in the distance. It seemed so peaceful out here, but the memories of the bustling streets and stores from the day before were vivid in his mind. It had been busier than he could ever recall Diagon Alley being, even right before the Hogwarts school year started and everyone was rushing to get their supplies at the last minute. 

His heart ached a little at the thought of not going back for his third year—classes would have started a week or so ago, if he remembered right—but it was too late to regret the decision. 

Besides, it wasn’t like his education would end. While he hadn’t gotten many details about each member of Inanna’s Circle specifically, he had gotten some general information, including about what the Circle did. They specialized in magical archeology and finding magical artifacts, and there were several academics and lecturers among the Circle. He could get lessons from them or tutors could be hired. He could have practical lessons, do something hands-on instead of sitting behind a desk and learning theory.

There might not be homework, a thought which would definitely brighten Harry’s mood if it turned out to be true. 

Behind him came a click, which was probably the only reason why Harry didn’t flinch when the pat to his head came, followed immediately by a drying charm for his hair. “Flying lesson?” Inanna asked lightly as she sat beside him. “It would beat going down all those stairs.”

“Is it really flying if all I do is glide in the air?” Harry asked.

The Gheyo shrugged. “We all start somewhere,” she replied. “You’ve got about two minutes to make a decision, because once Sarai gets out of the shower, it’s the stairs.”

Harry glanced down at the ground. The kitchen was on the ground floor, which was at least six floors down. It would be a lot of stairs.

He pulled out his wings and stretched them for a heartbeat. 

“One minute,” Inanna murmured. 

Harry took a deep breath and jumped.

If flying on a broom was wonderful, flying with his own wings was absolutely exhilarating. Harry could feel the wind whistling through each and every feather, knew that he could mold the currents of air around and under him if he flapped his wings, even though this was strictly a gliding lesson. Not even that—it was more like learning how to do a controlled fall with wings to slow him down enough so that he could land steadily on his feet. 

A larger set of wings quickly covered his in shadows and Harry knew that if he glanced up, Inanna would only be a wingbeat away, ready to catch him with her talons if anything went wrong.

Halfway to the ground, the shadows of Inanna’s took on a more pointed appearance and a loud roar shook the air. Startled by the sound, Harry’s wings started to fold in and his fall became much less controlled.

He braced himself for impact, but he was still twenty feet from the ground when a set of warm arms wrapped around his torso, folding his wings in even more.

Harry yelped when a set of armored wings appeared in the corner of his eyes, one on each side. They were brightly colored, orange and yellow like any flames he would see in a fire.

Dragon wings.

The ground shuddered as the pair landed. Harry couldn’t help himself and peeked down, wincing slightly when he saw that a small crater had been formed under Sarai’s feet from the impact. 

Less than a second later, there was a second impact, which Harry could only assume was Inanna. 

“Arielle’s breath, what do you think you’re doing?” Sarai snapped. Her arms tightened around Harry when he attempted to wiggle and try to free himself. “Are you trying to scare all my scales off?”

“It’s just flying lessons,” came Inanna’s voice, barely audible through Sarai’s wings. “He has to learn somehow.”

“There’s flying ranges for that!”

“Yes, because that would go so well,” Inanna drawled as she delicately started to pry open Sarai’s wings from their protective cocoon. A moment later, she was carefully pulling Harry away from the other woman, tutting as she straightened a few feathers here and there. “There’s quite a few differences you see.” Harry grimaced as she pulled one feather completely, an action that still ached no matter how loose the feather was. “First and foremost being that we have feathers, not scales.” The feather went up in flames. “It’s a completely different flying technique.”

“One that you’re qualified to teach?” Sarai snapped. “Somehow I doubt that.”

Inanna’s lips twitched. “I actually am,” she said. “Have been for roughly five centuries.”

“And what were you doing for the other half of your life?” Harry muttered, unable to keep back the comment. 

“That’s been less than half my life, thank you very much,” Inanna remarked. “You’re still guessing too low.”

Harry simply made a face and stuck out his tongue.

Guessing Inanna’s age had become a game of his over the weeks, given how tight-lipped she was about it. She hadn’t given him much information to work on, so the closest he’d gotten was somewhere over a millennium. Older than Hogwarts, probably. 

“Stop antagonizing each other!” 

Harry twisted his head around at the call and spotted one of the twins standing at an open window. 

“We’re going out for breakfast and you’ll be left behind if you can’t leave each other alone,” they continued. 

“We are, are we?” Sarai called back. “Does Malachi know?”

“Define leave each other alone!” Inanna added.

Harry sighed and elbowed the other Phoelix, making another face when she didn’t even flinch.

Both questions were ignored for a minute until both twins came out and joined the trio. 

Gideon’s nose wrinkled as he glanced over both Gheyos. “Actual armor, please,” he requested. “Since we’re going to be out and about.”

There was a set of muttered complaints, but both women complied, Inanna tapping at one of the bracelets she had put on for the day and letting the armor stored in it wrap around her body while Sarai used a switching spell.

“And of course Malachi knows,” Fabian said, finally answering one of the questions asked. “He and Terje will meet us there, they wanted to take care of a few more things. There’s not really another option, anyways. There’s no breakfast stuff in the house, even if we felt like cooking.”

“We can’t eat out every single time you and Gideon don’t feel like cooking,” Sarai ground out. “You should have brought Adi back with you if you were going to do this.”

“She’ll be back later,” Fabian returned, keeping his voice light. “And we’re not going out just to eat, if that makes you feel better. We need to go shopping for Harry.”

Harry started at the comment. Shopping? For him? For what? “But I don’t need anything.”

Sure, he just had his trunk, but he’d lived out of that for two years at Hogwarts. And it was fuller than it had ever been, since Inanna had insisted on picking up a few sets of clothes on their journey to Avaellia.

“Yes, you do,” the twins said together. 

A strangled sound escaped from Harry’s throat. He turned to Inanna, but her face was suspiciously blank. 

“Yes, you do,” she repeated. After a minute, her lips started to twitch, especially once she caught sight of Harry’s betrayed expression. “Stop being stupid. I told you weeks ago that we would get more things for you in Nevarah.”

“No, you didn’t!”

“Pretty sure I did.”

“Pretty sure you didn’t,” Harry returned mulishly. “I don’t have any money for anything.”

A hard look entered Inanna’s eye at his words, though she only tapped him lightly on the nose in response. “Still stupid,” she remarked. Her eyes flicked to Gideon and Fabian. “Since that’s the case, go wild,” she told them. 

Harry groaned. 

“Why are you calling your fledgling stupid?” Fabian asked, a small frown on his face. “That’s not—” He made a face. 

“Because he has stupid moments,” Inanna returned. 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Because that’s what she does,” he said. “Everyone’s stupid and everyone’s annoying. It’s the only adjectives she knows, I think—the only ones fit for polite company, that is. I don’t take it personally.”

Fabian sighed. 

“I feel like a goose,” Harry grumbled as one of the twins gestured for him to turn around and show off the fit of the clothes he was turning on. He’d given up trying to tell them apart for the day, though Sarai and Inanna didn’t seem to have the same trouble that he was. 

“I’d say that a peacock would be more accurate, but the feathers don’t fit,” Inanna commented idly from her perch on the top of a chair, where she was watching everything with a bored look. After a few seconds, she snickered. “Actually, no wait, they kind of do, since you’ve got that brown edged with green.”

“Do not compare your fledgling to a female peacock, of all things,” one of the twins drawled. “And why is that even a thing I should have to tell you? You should know better!”

“But it’s not an insult?” Harry said, shifting uncomfortably. He couldn’t wait to get out of this particular set of clothes. They fit—and rather nicely too, if it was up to the twins’ standards, but the fabric felt off to the feathers under his skin. Too much magic on it that wasn’t his own or that hadn’t been cast by someone he trusted. “A female peacock is better than a goose.” Because at least a peacock was flashy and had feathers that were useful for more than just stuffing pillows. Geese were just annoying. 

His comment received several incredulous looks, but Inanna simply grinned. “See, he gets it,” she muttered.

Harry gave her a small, hesitant smile in return.

“I’m not going to even try to understand that one,” one of the twins muttered, before snapping his fingers and switching the clothes Harry was trying on to the clothes he had been wearing that morning. “Alright, Harry’s done.” He smiled at the brunet. “If you don’t want to hang out with us anymore, Sarai can take you back home.”

“Harry’s done?” Inanna repeated, eyes narrowing. “Not we’re done?”

“Harry’s done,” the twin repeated. “You, on the other hand…”

“Gideon!"

Ah, now Harry could keep them straight again for a short period of time. 

“It’s been seven years,” Gideon returned. “And you bulked up in the Pits—even grew a few inches, as far as I can tell, but I don’t know how that’s possible, since you’re supposed to be fully grown. New clothes are necessary.”

Inanna trilled unhappily, even as Sarai stretched and got to her feet. 

“Have fun,” the ACE told the twins and wrapped her arm around Harry’s shoulder—or rather, closer to his neck, so that he was nearly in a headlock. “We’ll head out. Go wild.”

Inanna hissed as her words from earlier were echoed.

Given Sarai’s grip on him, Harry could only offer up a few token protests as he was dragged away. He didn’t want to leave Inanna, the one truly familiar face he knew, but he also didn’t want to be dragged into more shopping.

They’d already been at it for hours, after all. 

He’d have struggled more, but something inside him told him it was okay to trust Sarai almost as much as he trusted Inanna. After all, of everyone in the Prewett Circle, she’d been the one he’d spent the most time with so far. 

“We’re going back to the house?” he asked once they were outside and Sarai’s grip loosened a bit.

The Gheyo snorted. “Of course not,” she said. “The others should be back by now and I know better than to try and introduce you to all of them without Inanna there. She’d probably try to gut me if I did. No, we’re going to pick up pastries.”

“Pastries?” Harry asked, eyebrows arching. That was the last thing he would have guessed.

“Blood and sugar,” Sarai said simply. “The two best things for a dragel when they need to heal or to get an extra boost of energy or magic. Not sure if it’s the same for you, but they’re rather crucial for us, so you should keep it in mind as long as you live here. Now, the rest of my Suite has just come from off-realm and rather abruptly too. Our lovely sunbird is going to be in a foul mood because she absolutely hates any of us trying to give her anything and the twins can be rather fussy about appearances, if you haven’t picked up on that already. Pastries are going to be the best way in making sure that no one dies once they’re all in the same room again and I’m going to be completely unashamed about using your bond with Inanna to make sure that I pick out something that I know she’ll actually eat, because the last time someone tried to buy her cinnamon rolls—with extra cinnamon—she refused to touch them.”

Harry frowned. That didn’t make sense at all. 

“Pastries,” he repeated.

“Pastries,” Sarai agreed. “Two dozen should do it. Two for you, two for me, eight to go around and a dozen to repeat the whole thing tomorrow—or after dinner. Actually, probably after dinner.”

“Cinnamon pastries?”

“I can’t believe there’s two of you now,” Sarai muttered. “The spice merchants are absolutely going to love our Circle from now on.”

Harry grinned.

Chapter Text

Harry wasn’t sure how she did it, but after picking up the pastries and running a few other errands, Sarai managed to have them back in front of the shops—an armor shop, this time—only a few minutes before Gideon and Fabian exited, followed by a scowling Inanna. Her timing was impeccable. 

Sarai clicked her tongue against her teeth. “Most Gheyos would be absolutely thrilled if their Submissives bought them a new set of armor,” she muttered under her breath. 

Harry pretended not to hear the comment. He was sure that Inanna would be pleased eventually, and that she would have a different way of showing it than other Gheyos.

She wasn’t dragel, after all. Her instincts—and his—meant that their emotions and instincts would be portrayed differently sometimes.

Not that she would portray that stuff normally in the first place, even for a Phoelix, Harry felt. Her two most commonly used adjectives for people were “annoying” and “stupid,” after all. 

Inanna’s eyes were more red than gold as Sarai and Harry fell into step with the trio, which was Harry’s cue to stop her from saying anything and possibly putting her foot in her mouth. Not to mention, he’d already had enough of the snarking between the ACE and Joker for the day. He readily reached up and shoved a cinnamon-vanilla breakfast cookie in her mouth when she opened it to snap at Sarai.

“I thought you were going home,” one of the twins remarked to Sarai. 

“I took it as a suggestion,” Sarai countered. “Apple or raspberry?”

“Cherry.”

Harry ignored the trio, his attention focused on his mentor, as unofficial as the title currently was—was it mentor even? Or was it something else, something like … adopted parent? Maybe? 

Pastry shopping with Sarai had been enlightening, as Inanna had forgotten to mention a few things.

“Good, right?” he asked. “It was Fae-made. Fae.”

Inanna swallowed her mouthful of cookie. “So?”

“Fae,” Harry repeated. 

The older Phoelix rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, Fae exist,” she said, figuring out what he was hinting at. “And so do Elves and Vampires and Werecreatures and Dryads and probably every other sort of magical creature or being that you’ve heard about. Legends exist for a reason.”

“Elves?” Harry repeated. Dobby came to mind, but he had a feeling that Inanna meant something other than house-elves.

“Elves,” Inanna drawled. “I already told you that I’m not the best with explanations. It’s learn-as-you-go with me, remember?”

Harry waved a hand and shoved another breakfast cookie in Inanna’s mouth. He knew that and it wasn’t something that he normally minded, but after this morning, he was starting to realize the drawbacks of such a teaching method. It hadn’t been an issue while they were traveling, but now they were in Nevarah and he was surrounded by dragels and so many other types of creatures apparently, and he was starting to feel out of his depth. 

“You’re thirteen,” Inanna said once she swallowed the cookie, reading his face correctly. “You don’t have to know everything. Even when you’re as old as me, you don’t have to know everything.”

“Not even the basics like Fae and Elves existing?” Harry countered.

“A month ago, you didn’t know that Phoelix or dragels existed,” Inanna returned. “I think you can be excused for not knowing about Fae and Elves and—do not shove another cookie in my mouth!”

Harry laughed. 

“Everyone’s aware of Harry, yes?” Fabian asked. Harry had eventually caved during his time with Sarai and asked for tips on telling the twins apart. She had obliged and now it was much easier to keep them straight in his head. “We’re not going to be surprising anyone with his presence, unlike last night?”

“I already said that I hadn’t expected anyone to be home,” Inanna grumbled. “I would have given some warning if I’d known otherwise.”

The twins beamed. “You called it home,” Gideon pointed out. “You never have before.”

Inanna gave them a strange look. “What else would I call it?” she asked. “And just because I’ve never said it in your hearing…”

“You never have before,” Gideon stressed. 

“Because we only really stay there during the Hunt or a few months at a time before moving on to the next expedition or grant or—” Inanna cut herself off and huffed loudly. 

“Yes, everyone’s aware,” Sarai cut in, gesturing for Harry to give the Joker another cookie, since she’d deemed it to be a very effective tactic. At the rate they were going through them, she was going to place an order for another several dozen just to get through the weekend. “Malachi and Terje would have made sure of that. Give them some credit.”

“We give them plenty of credit,” Fabian replied cheerfully. “And gratitude. We’ll make sure to thank the both of them very nicely for calling everyone back and filling them in on things while giving us time to shop, don’t worry. Very nicely. You can even stop by and make sure that we do so.”

“I normally would, but I think I’m going to take advantage of the entire Suite being back and make sure that everyone settles in.” Sarai’s orange eyes settled on Inanna as she spoke. “Everyone.”

Inanna twitched and took it upon herself to shove another cookie in her mouth.

“But if we’re already deciding on tonight’s arrangements,” Sarai continued. She abruptly switched to speaking in dragel-tongue.

It involved him somehow, Harry knew, given how Sarai’s eyes flicked to him from time to time, but dragel-tongue was something that he hadn’t picked up or received a knowledge transfer for yet. So whatever it was, he would remain clueless until someone bothered to fill him in.

Hopefully Inanna. Judging by the other Phoelix’s smirk, she knew exactly what was being discussed. Harry tried to pin her with a look, but she simply kept eating the cookies and said nothing. 

Finally, he decided to sigh dramatically and glared at the woman. 

“It’s nothing bad,” she said eventually. “She’s just calling attention to something she noticed that they haven’t yet and—wait, what?” She turned her head towards the other three and her red-gold eyes blinked in confusion.

“Just because you’ve never used it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” Sarai tutted. “Honestly.”

“Seriously?”

“Do you honestly find us that lacking?”

“But—”

“Cookie, kid, I’m starting to get the urge to strangle her. She’s being stupid.”

“You know I can easily—”

“Twenty-eight minutes,” Gideon remarked to his twin. “I think that was a record for the two of them.”

All too soon, they arrived back at the Prewett Circle’s home and Harry felt his insides twist nervously as they stepped inside the protective wards. Already he could sense the presence of others—many more than there had been last night—and he wasn’t sure he was ready to meet everyone yet. 

“Kitchen straight away,” Gideon said cheerfully. “Since we’ve got food.” He gave a pointed look at the baskets of pastries that Sarai was carrying and the small, nearly-depleted bag of cookies that Inanna had. The Joker had finally had enough of Harry shoving the baked goods in her mouth and had commandeered the bag for herself, returning the favor to Harry from time to time. “I hope you’re both prepared if Adi or Anja have already staked their claims.”

“No one’s ever prepared for Anja,” Sarai muttered, but her lips twitched faintly.

Reluctantly, Harry followed the adults into the house, his good mood from earlier starting to fade slightly. He grimaced when Inanna nudged him in front of her for once, so he couldn’t duck behind her like he’d been doing. 

There was another woman in the kitchen when they stepped inside the large, open-concept room, flitting from counter to counter, cooking and utensils surrounding her and hanging in the air.

The closest anything had to compare was Mrs. Weasley’s easy command of housework and cooking spells, but this was on a larger scale and all of the magic was wandless. 

Unlike the other adults, who all had some form of bright red or orange hair, the new woman’s hair was more of a brown-red and tightly curled, to the point that when she moved, her curls literally bounced all around her. She had warm amber eyes, but the spark in them dimmed slightly when she turned and saw the basket hanging off of Sarai’s arm. 

“I hope you haven’t spoiled your appetite,” she tutted, and all activity in the kitchen came to a sudden stop. “I just got done making lunch.” 

“Nothing could ever spoil our appetites if you’ve been cooking,” Sarai replied, setting down the basket of pastries on a counter. 

The other woman’s lips twitched upwards. “Flatterer.”

“I’ve got more if you need to hear it.”

The woman laughed. “Maybe later. But right now it’s distracting.” But the spark had returned to her amber eyes as she nudged the ACE out of the way. 

Harry shifted nervously when those warm eyes landed on him. 

“This is Harry,” Gideon said, voice bright.

“He’s Inanna’s,” Fabian added, though he was fairly sure that everyone in their Circle already knew that particular detail. “Which means he’s ours.”

The Pareya shot him a look. That hadn’t been quite what Malachi had said, but right now, she was more inclined to listen to the twins instead of her more cautious Alpha, especially when it came to a nervous youngling whose green eyes practically screamed that he wanted to be accepted at whatever cost. 

“Harry, this is Adi,” Gideon continued. “One of the Pareya. As you can see, the kitchen is her domain—hers and Anja’s, that is. Anja makes the meal plans while Adi does most of the actual cooking. So if you’re ever hungry or want a snack, she’s the one to find.”

Harry let out a startled chirp when he was pulled into a warm, tight hug. Soft breaths ruffled the top of his hair and under it, he could feel a protective scent start to drape over him. 

It felt like a mother’s hug. 

“You’ll have to let me know what your favorite foods are when you have a minute,” Adi said when she drew back. “We rotate through everyone’s and I’ll make sure that Anja incorporates them into the meal plans.”

“I-I don’t—” Harry stuttered. 

“Cinnamon,” Inanna drawled, off to one side. 

Adi gave the Joker a look. “Cinnamon is a spice, not a food,” she stated before she stepped in front of the Gheyo to examine her. A glimmer of approval appeared in her warm eyes. “Thank you for not coming back completely covered in scars,” she said. “It’s very refreshing for once.” As she spoke, she very pointedly ignored the other Gheyo in the room, who had a tendency to come home with scars even when she was only supposed to be turning in paperwork and not actually fighting.

Inanna quirked a brow. “I can’t scar,” she couldn’t help but point out. “If I could, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

“And I’m going to pretend that you didn’t say that just now,” Adi returned. “And if you want what I’ve made for dessert, you’ll give me those cookies right now and not tell me how many you’ve eaten so far.”

Inanna considered her bag of cookies, giving the Pareya a suspicious glance. “…What did you make for dessert?”

“Fruit salsa.”

The bag of cookies was promptly dropped on the counter.

Harry couldn’t help but smile. 

Adi smiled as well. “Perfect.” She glanced at her twins. “Everyone is in the War Room.”

Harry stiffened. War Room?

An arm draped around his shoulders and Adi pulled him tight into her side. “It’s just a name,” she said, tone soothing. “It’s more like a Circle-sized study than anything else, since not all of us can fit into Malachi’s. No one wants to overwhelm you, so it’s going to be very quick, just enough so you can learn everyone’s names and put the names to faces. And then you and me can lark off back here and you can help me figure out what the two birds in the garden eat.” At the irritated chirp, the Pareya amended her last sentence. “You, me, and Nana.”

“What did you just call me?”

“I think it’s an adequate nickname,” Adi said brightly. “You’re as old and as fussy as a grandmother.” Off to one side, Gideon and Fabian sucked in breaths as Inanna’s eyes blazed. “But if you don’t like it, I guess I can stick with Anna.”

“Of course I don’t like it!” Inanna snapped, and then she caught on to what had happened a second later with her name being shortened. “And you can’t just—”

The Pareya quirked a brow. “I can’t?” she asked. “Can’t what?”

“Addae!”

“If that’s going to make you feel better about it.”

“Addae!”

Harry didn’t even try to hold back his laughs. 

As they made their way through the house, Harry found himself tucked up against Adi’s side. It was a bit awkward, walking, but he didn’t fight against it. Adi’s presence reminded him a lot of Mrs. Weasley last summer—just maybe not as loud.

He snuck a glance at the twins, who were leading the way. As more time passed, the more he thought they were a prime example of how Fred and George would turn out in a few years, once they were out of Hogwarts. 

There were so many similarities and it was making him wonder…

He had no time to ask though, because he was led through a door and faced with the full Prewett Circle for the first time. 

“Fabian, Gideon? Do you want to do the honors?” Adi murmured. “And quickly please. I left the burners on.”

Fabian gave the Pareya a look, but didn’t call her out on the white lie. Only a few minutes prior, she had literally said that she’d finished making lunch, so no burners should be on.

But it was an easy excuse in case things got too overwhelming for the youngling in their midst. 

“This is Harry,” he said. “A Phoelix, like another pretty bird that we all know and love.” 

Inanna blushed and Harry let out an amused chirp when he saw the ends of her hair start to shift into feathers, not having seen that kind of reaction before. 

“Harry, you’ve already met Malachi and Terje—” Fabian waved his hand in the direction of the Alpha-Beta pair. “Next to them is Anja, our Medic, and Tiran, a Pareya like Adi, but while her thing is cooking, his is more of logistics and planning. On the other side of Tiran is Shai, our Runes Master, and then…”

One by one, Fabian introduced his Bonded and their ranks. In addition to Adi and Tiran, there were two other Pareya—Niall and Reese. The remainder were Gheyos. Two, Parlan and Yaron, were Joker ranks like Inanna, though they were both dragel. The other two, Kaja and Dane, held the ranks of King and Queen, which Harry didn’t completely understand because other than ACE and Joker, Inanna hadn’t explained the other sub-ranks. He supposed it meant that they worked more closely with Sarai, but if there were other differences, he wouldn’t know it at that moment. 

Looking at the group, one thing was very obvious—they all had red hair. Different shades, of course, and many of them had two or three tones of red or orange in their hair, but Harry’s own dark brown hair was a very stark contrast to their mostly cohesive appearance. 

Even Inanna looked like part of the Circle, even though everyone besides her was dragel.

All Fire elements, he realized. 

Unconsciously, he pressed closer to Adi and a finger reached up to tug at his dark hair. 

“And that’s everyone,” Adi interrupted Fabian’s rambling cheerfully, tightening her arm around Harry’s shoulder reassuringly. “I want to see everyone eating lunch within the hour—there should be no excuses, since everyone’s here. Come on, Harry.” She led the teen out of the room, with Inanna trailing behind them, practically right on their heels. 

There was silence for a moment after the trio left, before privacy and silencing wards went up around the War Room. 

“I can see why you called everyone back,” Tiran murmured. “I’d never expected anything like this to happen—not involving Inanna, of all people. It’s rather adorable, though—the way he’s always looking to her and her hovering.”

“It’s extremely adorable,” Sarai drawled. “To the point where I’m tempted to recommend starting to adoption process now and for everyone to start working on their mother hen jokes.”

“It’s not going to be that simple,” Malachi tutted. “You were there last night, you heard he has dragel roots.”

Sarai quirked a brow. “So? He’s not dragel, despite those roots, and he’s never met any of those who might lay claim to him. And as the Circle with the only Phoelix Bonded in Nevarah, I challenge you to find a court that won’t say we’re in the best position to raise him.”

“It’s not that simple,” Malachi repeated. “And before anyone tells me to make it that simple—” Here he gave his twins a look, already anticipating they were about to do just that. “I’m going to tell everyone who those dragel roots are, because I recognize the crests built into those seals and Shai’s confirmed them a few minutes ago—Peverell and Evanson.”

“The main Circles or branch ones?” Tiran asked.

Malachi sighed. “Yet to be determined, so someone will need to go to the archives—you or Nye, please.” He ignored how the twins, Gideon especially, practically deflate as he designated the task. “He was found by Inanna on Earth, so whatever part of the Clans have connections to there, most likely. I get the sense that family is a sensitive subject, so if you have to ask for names…”

“Don’t?” someone suggested. 

“Try a blood trace first,” Malachi finished, giving their Medic Anja a pointed look. She and Shai would probably need blood for the seal removal, so it should be easy to collect some and set it aside for a blood trace. 

Should. 

As touchy as Inanna was about her feathers, Malachi wouldn’t be surprised if blood was treated similarly by Phoelixes. Inanna had been hesitant to be marked, even by him, and he still had the scars from when she realized that fangs were usually involved. In the end, they’d chosen a different route to establish their bond. 

And yet, she had no issues with her blood being spilled in the midst of battle or a fight.

“I hate to be the one to ask this,” Niall spoke up after a minute. “But someone needs to ask—are we prepared to have another child around? I thought we planned on waiting a few more years due to all the upcoming expeditions and grants and I don’t know if he’d be comfortable coming with, if his element is Earth—he’s going to need roots and honestly, I think some of the issues Inanna has is because she doesn’t really have a physical place to call her nest—and did I seriously understand Sarai right when she said that Inanna believed she didn’t have her own bedroom?” The Pareya looked distressed at the last thought. 

“For someone who’s always snapping at others to stop being stupid, she has a lot of stupid moments herself,” Sarai grumbled. 

“It’s not ideal and yes, we did agree to wait a few more years before having another, but we can make do,” Terje answered. “None of our current projects require all of us to be there, so we can condense our groups. One or two Pareya and one or two Gheyos, not everyone. Even when we all go, half of us end up getting underfoot anyways. And on the extremely unlikely chance that we’ve got multiple things going at once, I think there’s a good chance he’ll still have someone to stay with if he wants to stay here instead of come with.” The Beta shrugged when he received several surprised looks, including from the twins and Sarai. “I listen. When she first introduced Harry last night, Inanna said that she was one of his mentors. That implies that there will be more eventually. It’s just a matter of when they’ll show up.”

A small smile crossed Malachi’s lips. He had caught that too and it pleased him to know that someone else and reached the same conclusions. 

Niall simply nodded. “We’ll start making arrangements then. It might take a few days, though—it’s been years since we’ve had a teenager in the house.”

“We gave him a bedroom between the resting room and the Pareya rooms, like we’ve done with all our children, but Sarai thinks we should switch it to one that’s up a few floors, next to the one we gave Inanna—that she apparently never knew about—and put a connecting door between the two,” Fabian said.

Reese made a faintly distressed sound. “The Gheyo floor?” he asked for clarification. “Is he Gheyo-kind then?”

There was silence as the five who had been present since the very beginning of the situation traded looks. 

“I think it’s too soon to tell,” Malachi said slowly. “And he’s too young for a rank to have  fully settled yet. Even if he’d been dragel from birth, he would just be starting to settle into a rank.”

Tiran grunted as something occurred to him. “Someone might want to ask how that’s going to work,” he said. “The rank and when Phoelixes are considered of age—because if we go by dragel standards right now, he’ll be of courting age during the Hunt. The math adds up and while it’s one thing to have a child in the house again, it’s completely different to have an actively courting youngling when that time comes.”

The twins started bristling at the idea of Harry courting, much like they had when their very first child had wanted to start courting, and Malachi hid a smile. They’d unofficially adopted Harry already, it seemed, and he hoped that any possible blood relatives didn’t challenge any adoption efforts on their part. It wouldn’t be ideal for anyone involved, especially Harry. 

“Wait, did you say that Inanna didn’t know she had her own room?” Reese asked sharply, finally processing the others’ words from earlier. “She didn’t—”

“I think there’s been a lot of miscommunications over the years,” Gideon remarked. “We knew there would be some, because she doesn’t have any dragel in her and there’s next to no public records about Phoelixes that we’ve been able to find, but I think there’s been more than we suspect. We’ve all seen her contract with Malachi—” In a few cases, some of them had even memorized that particular contract. “—but because she’d already been in Nevarah for several centuries by then, I think there were a lot of—” He grimaced, not sure of what the right word was. He didn’t want to say that they’d assumed certain things, but he wasn’t sure what word would fit better. 

“We’ve tried,” Sarai grunted. “All of us, including her. Malachi and I have even gone over her contract with her every single decade since she bonded to him to address the more frequent issues. It just—I think half the time, she doesn’t even realize what the issue is. Or she didn’t in the past. Maybe with Harry, she’ll pick up on it more because she has to actually explain the cultural nuances, which means actively thinking about them for once. Which is why I’m going to reiterate my previous point—we’re in the best position to raise him because she’s the only other Phoelix in Nevarah that we know of.”

The twins gave the ACE an approving look and on the other side of the room, Terje tipped his head back to rest it on his Alpha’s thigh. He understood why the Alpha was being cautious—the Peverells had Clan Chief status and the Evansons had held that status in the past, while the Prewett Clan had never, not caring for that level of political maneuvering. But their twins could be a powerful force when they put their mind to something, like they’d clearly done when it came to adopting Harry. And that was before Sarai’s involvement. “I’ve got a plan,” he murmured. It would take pulling on a few connections he normally tried not to utilize and exchanging a few favors, but it would minimize the stress on everyone involved. 

Malachi quirked a brow. “Already?” he asked. “I thought you said last night that it would take a few days, because you had to wrap up the final details of our expedition.”

“You’ve been scheming, I’ve been multi-tasking. Trust me?”

“Without question.”

Chapter Text

The rest of the day was a whirlwind, with Harry just trying to find his place amidst the bustle of activity. 

Despite the large number of dragels, the Prewett Circle moved as a seamless unit, working around each other with ease no matter what room they were in or what they were doing, either because it was a routine they’d had for years or because they were so hyperaware of where the others were as they moved.

It would be easy to feel underfoot, but they adapted to his presence and moved around him just as easily, unpacking and cleaning and banishing objects to their specific area of the house. 

Still, after a few months of dealing the Dursleys and then a month of it being just him, Inanna, and two birds, it was a lot to suddenly deal with and Harry couldn’t help but retreat to the edges of the room, watching as lunch was served in the midst of everything and laundry was sorted and various items were accounted for.

It was all very domestic. 

Harry hesitantly perched himself on top of a table that was pressed against one of the walls, mildly worried that he would get yelled at or scolded for doing so, even though he logically knew the chances of that were low—Inanna was already perched there, observing quietly, a plate of crackers beside her and a bowl of something in one hand. For once, he couldn’t detect the scent of cinnamon. The others had barely given her a second glance when she claimed the table as a perch, let alone scolded her for it, so he doubted that they would scold him for imitating her. 

“It’s not always like this,” she remarked idly, once Harry began to relax. “Just the packing and unpacking days are this bad.”

“Shouldn’t you be helping? Or unpacking yourself?” Harry asked.

Inanna shrugged. “What’s there to unpack?”

Fair enough, Harry decided, especially given that he practically lived out of his trunk even at Hogwarts—there wasn’t much that needed unpacking in the first place. Most of Inanna’s stuff was kept in her various earrings or utility packs that had bottomless storage spells attached to them. 

So, the two of them just sat and watched.

The rest of the day proceeded in much of the same way, Harry observing—and admiring—the easy routine that others had. It spoke of years together, working and living as a cohesive unit—as a family.

For the first few hours, he remained on the outskirts, just content to observe, to figure out if he was going to fit in.

It would be easy to, he realized. Everyone was so accepting and warm and affectionate, much like the Weasleys.

There probably was some sort of family connection, Harry decided the more he thought about it. There were just too many similarities. But he wasn’t going to outright ask what the connection was, especially if they didn’t mention it either. 

Family could be a sensitive topic, he knew, and the last thing he wanted to do was mention something if there happened to be tension between the Prewett Circle and the Weasleys. He didn’t want to risk anything in his new situation, his new—home?

He hoped it was home—a permanent one, that was. 

Dinner was a much more formal, louder affair than lunch, with everyone sitting around the same table. Harry had been wedged between Inanna and Sarai, with Adi directly across from him, resulting in his plate being piled with food until he was so full that he was almost sick.

It reminded him very much of the welcome feast at Hogwarts in terms of atmosphere and the amount of food, a thought that brought about a twinge of guilt.

He didn’t regret going with Inanna and coming to Nevarah, but he probably should have tried to leave a message, to let Ron and Hermione know that he was safe. He’d been a bit impulsive with Inanna’s offer and hadn’t really thought things through. 

But it was too late to do anything about that now. He had Hedwig, but she couldn’t travel between realms. 

Dinner left him sleepy and ready to turn in early, so Harry didn’t protest much when Anja, the Medic, recommended that he go to bed.

Meeting people wasn’t normally so exhausting, but he supposed that he must still be tired after traveling for the past month or so with Inanna. 

And that was when he finally learned what Sarai had talked to Gideon and Fabian about at the end of their shopping trip. 

“This isn’t the way to my room,” Harry remarked as he followed Inanna. He distinctly remembered that the bedroom Gideon and Fabian had set aside for him was at least one floor down.

“Sarai pointed out a few things they overlooked, so they moved it,” Inanna grunted. “It’s the same room, just a different location.”

Harry opened his mouth to ask how, but then he remembered the obvious answer—magic. “What sorts of things?” he asked instead.

“That you’re not a dragel, so they can’t treat you like they would their other dragel children.”

Something in Harry’s chest tightened at the words. Their other children.

If only.

As they reached the top of the stairs, a disgruntled screech left the back of Inanna’s throat, the sound muffled as her jaw clenched shut. Harry’s head snapped up and he craned it around the taller woman to see what had drawn such a reaction.

He promptly burst out laughing.

At the far end of the corridor, there was a brightly decorated door, with a name plastered all over it—Inanna.

“I’m never going to live this down,” the other Phoelix muttered, making a disgusted sound as she glared at the door. “And I don’t get why they’re being so ridiculous over this. It’s not like I ever complained.”

“You never complained about not having a room of your own?” Harry questioned. Then something occurred to him. “Did you … not want your own room?”

Inanna shrugged. “Never exactly had one,” she said. “I’ve always shared.”

“Always?”

“Always.” Inanna began ticking off examples on her fingers. “Parents, siblings, various companions and bed partners, these—” She gestured vaguely at the door to indicate who she meant. “Fledglings now…”

“Oi,” Harry said automatically, though he sort of understood. Since his inheritance had come in, he hadn’t spent a night alone and had no desire to. He’d thought it was because he’d gotten used to the dorms of Hogwarts and sharing a room with Ron at the Burrow. He’d been miserable at the Dursleys, but then again he was always miserable there. But maybe it was… “Phoelix thing?” he asked. 

Inanna thought about it for a minute before she shrugged. “Maybe.” She pointed to the door next to her newly-decorated one. “Your room,” she said. “Don’t feel obliged to sleep in there, though, There’s mine. Or Sarai’s, I guess. Or the resting room in general. Just … make sure to mind the lights.” She tapped on the edge of the doorframe to indicate what she meant, even though it was unnecessary. One of the Pareya had already explained what the lights meant. Red for occupied and no interruptions, green for interruptions and visitors welcome, no light for an empty room. 

Harry’s chest righted again and his breath caught in his throat as he opened the door. 

Hedwig and Fawkes were already inside, perched together and Hedwig preening her feathers. The far wall was made of entirely windows.

He slowly crept forward until he was staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows with wide green eyes. Unlike the lookout tower, there was no balcony to step out on, but the view was nearly as good. It looked over the entire backyard, across a garden, several areas that looked like dueling rings, and out to a stretch of tall trees that signified where the property stopped and the neighbors’ property began.  

The best thing was the height. He wasn’t on the top floor, but almost. It was a small detail, but one that was very noticeable, if only because of how freeing it felt. From this height, he felt like all he needed to do—all he would ever need to do—was stretch out his wings and take flight.

His element was Earth, but he was still a phoenix—he needed the air, needed to fly, needed the freedom.

“This is mine?” he asked, hating how small his voice sounded at that moment. When he received a confirming nod, he swallowed hard. 

It stung a bit, that people he had just met that day were treating him far better than the Dursleys ever had. The same thing had happened back on Earth too, with the Weasleys.

Maybe it was just a Fire element thing. Elemental magic didn’t really exist among witches and wizards, but if he had to assign an element to that family, it would definitely be Fire.

Especially after meeting the Prewett Circle…

They noticed things more too, more than anyone else ever had. He’d been there one night and as soon as someone noticed that he might not be completely comfortable with the room he had originally been given, they’d adjusted and he was given a new room instead. 

It was far kinder than he was used to. 

He sat on the bed and sniffed against his will.

A flicker of panic crossed Inanna’s face, so obvious that it nearly made him laugh. 

“I’m fine,” he quickly assured her. “I just … need a moment, I think.”

Things were silent for a moment, and then Inanna approached him hesitantly. 

“I don’t understand it,” Harry whispered as she sat beside him on the bed. “My own relatives didn’t want me. They’ve never accepted me at all, let alone as easily as everyone here has done. I really would have been fine if it was just you, but it’s also been Sarai and the twins and Adi and…” He trailed off. “And I don’t know what I can do in return.”

“You don’t need to do anything in return,” Inanna replied. “You’re a kid. And while there’s certain aspects about dragels that drive me absolutely mad, they tend to get the unconditional acceptance thing right when it comes to family more often than not.”

Harry frowned. He’d heard it talked about before, but he’d never really believed in the concept of unconditional acceptance. He’d never seen it with the Dursleys, had never really seen it while he was at Hogwarts—at least not directed at him. He’d started to get a sense of it last summer when he stayed with the Weasleys, but since he’d never personally experienced anything like it, it remained too abstract to believe in. 

“I’ve debated about mentioning this,” Inanna continued, pulling out one of her fans. She opened it and began to wave it idly. “Because it’s very simple at the heart of it all—you’re a Phoelix, not a dragel. And given your age, if you aren’t with other Phoelixes, your instincts are going to end up all screwed up. But you’ve got dragel-roots, so Malachi is going to insist on doing things ‘properly,’ especially because of those family seals you had, even though they’re gone now. He’ll track down those clans—if he hasn’t already, knowing him.” She let out a series of irritated-sounding chirps, which revealed more to Harry than any words would have. It was complicated to describe, but the Phoelix dialect of whistle-speak—and whistle-speak in general, he supposed—conveyed ideas and feelings, more than actual words. 

What she was trying to say, he surmised, was that he possibly had blood-family connections in Nevarah. Dragel connections. That could lay claim to him if they wanted—adopt him, take him in instead of the Prewetts.

Harry warbled in return, already fairly sure that he didn’t want that. The Dursleys had shown him that blood didn’t really mean anything. Blood shouldn’t create an obligation to take anyone in. Back on Earth, the Weasleys had treated him more like family than the Dursleys ever had. But even that paled in comparison to how Inanna’s Circle was treating him—most of them hadn’t even known him for a full day yet, but they’d given him a room and clothes of his own. They wanted to know his favorite foods, so they could make it for future meals. They’d already started picking up on cues he hadn’t even known he was giving, so they could give him exactly what he needed before he had to even consider asking for it. 

Maybe his dragel relatives would do the same, but maybe they wouldn’t. Harry didn’t want to take that risk, not after dealing with the Dursleys all his life. The Prewetts were safe. Inanna was safe and Harry already knew that she would fight to keep him at her side. 

And he would do the same, if it ever reached that point. 

Several weeks passed and Harry fund himself settling in fairly easily with the Prewett Circle—almost too easily, he sometimes worried. It took a while for him to stop waiting for it all to end—after all, anything good in his life never lasted for long in the past. 

A routine sort of developed over those first few weeks. He was signed up for introductory courses for various things—Nevarean culture, magic, that sort of thing. Three times a week, he was dropped off by Inanna at one of the parks near Nevarah’s library for his lessons, which were overseen by a Circle of Pareya—Pareyic Coven was the official term—belonging to the Hartwood Clan, an Earth Clan known predominantly for the scholars it produced. 

Then, as it neared lunch, someone from the Prewett Circle would come pick him up. A fair amount of the time, it was Gideon and the Submissive would take him out for a pre-lunch sundae in return for Harry smuggling in whatever new books had been purchased in his book bag. They would explore the city as they ate and half the time, one of the Pareya or Gheyos would appear to drag them back because they were in danger of skipping lunch after getting distracted by something.

Fabian would often accompany Gideon and when that was the case, Harry knew that he wouldn’t be able to expect anything for the next hour or so, except that maybe he would meet an extended family member—so far he had met the twins’ mother Sadara and a few of their other parents, as well some of the twins’ older children, who had Bonded Circles of their own now—and that it would likely be a Gheyo dragging them back home and away from whatever chaos the twins had managed to create.

Occasionally, one of the Pareya or Gheyos would pick Harry up from his lessons and then he would accompany them on whatever errand they had left to run before lunch. When that was the case, Harry preferred the Gheyos because their errands were more interesting—dropping off paperwork in the Pits, picking up the strangest of materials for an experiment or invention, or actually testing out one of Fabian’s inventions or theories. 

There were a surprising amount of explosions. The first few had severely startled Harry—he’d broken out in feathers, even—but now he was used to it.

After lunch were the unofficial lessons—more practical ones that kept him active. Sometimes it was flying lessons with Inanna. Sometimes it was helping Anja in the front garden, where most of the herbs for potions and food grew—the back garden was reserved for the Gheyos and ended up destroyed once a week or so. Sometimes he spent the afternoons with the Gheyo Suite as they ran through training drills, learning how to fight—without weapons for now.

Training with a blade would come later, if he wanted. But when he got the chance, he observed the Gheyos and after just a few times, he had realized how incredibly lucky he had been down in the Chamber of Secrets.

And sometimes, it was learning how to use his new magic with Inanna and Fawkes. 

Well, Fawkes really wasn’t much help. He just tended to steal Harry’s wand, so Harry couldn’t rely on that at all while practicing magic, and made vague remarks like Harry was trying too hard or being too obvious or that he and Inanna were pushing too hard, too fast.

Inanna was slightly more helpful because she’d been around Earth Phoelixes before and knew what their magic could do—Fawkes had only met a few other phoenixes before and since he’d been on Earth, they’d all been fire phoenixes like him. Still, the magic lessons were largely trial and error—and a few explosions, since Fire and Earth wasn’t the safest combination for their particular brand of magic—and Harry was starting to realize exactly why he needed a Phoelix of his own element involved in his magical training. 

After the unofficial, practical lessons, there was dinner and the evening to just relax. No homework to worry about. No detention.

No housemates for Harry to worry over what their current opinion was of him.

Just easy, pure, unconditional acceptance. 

It took a few weeks, but eventually Harry realized he was being doted on just as much as Aunt Petunia doted on Dudley.

Like he always wished she would dote upon him when he was younger. 

When he’d made that realization, Harry’s heart ached for a minute. Blood didn’t make family, necessarily. The Prewett Circle now was more his family than the Dursleys had ever been.

That had been one of the first nights he slept in the Circle’s main resting room, surrounded by nearly the entire Circle. 

And then, roughly a month after arriving in Nevarah, on one of the mornings he didn’t have lessons in the park, more steps were taken to solidify him as a member of the family—though he didn’t know it at the time.

Chapter Text

Harry glared at the two women standing on either side of him. One of Anja’s arms was wrapped around his shoulders, half a comforting hug, half a way to keeping him from running.

Not that he would have tried running. Inanna was on the other side of him and Harry was well aware that he wouldn’t even make it out of the room before she caught him.

Every wall of the room was white, from floor to ceiling. The floor was some type of stone that made his Earth element practically hum as it grounded him. It was nearly as good as being buried in the gardens—something that Inanna, Anja, and Adi had ended up doing a few times when his magic got too imbalanced or increased in sudden surges, becoming too overwhelming in those particular moments.

The amount of magic he had at his disposal had doubled during his first burning and would likely do so with future burnings, but since then, it also increased randomly, much to his annoyance.

The downside of being a teenage Phoelix, he was learning. As soon as his body adjusted to a certain amount of magic, the magic increased, slowly training his body to learn how to handle the vast amount of magic he would have as an adult. It would be wonderful in a century or two, but until then, it sucked.

“I want it to be known that I’m here under protest,” Harry hissed quietly to the other Phoelix. “Since I’m fine. Didn’t the last healer appointment confirm that?” He was specifically referring to the healer appointment that Inanna had surprised him with on Avaellia, when he’d met Vitali.

“All it confirmed was that you weren’t in immediate danger of dying,” Inanna said, inspecting the bladed edge of one of her fans to see if it needed sharpening. “Which most people seem to agree is far from being ‘fine.’”

“You agree that it means I’m fine, though,“ Harry returned, already picking up on what the Gheyo wasn’t saying.

“She’s not allowed to determine if something is fine or not,” Anja said, voice flat and unamused. “Not after she insisted she was fine with four broken ribs, both of her lungs punctured, a broken spine, and a nearly severed leg.”

Inanna arched a brow. “I healed, didn’t I?”

“That’s not the point!”

“What did you do?” Harry asked, slightly amazed that someone could survive all of that.

“Rampaging chimera. I’d say it was fun, but the bedrest after the fact certainly wasn’t and I’m not in the mood to hear that particular lecture—again.”

Anja gave Inanna a Look.

“And how exactly did you end up in the path of a rampaging chimera?” Harry wanted to know.

What followed next was a wondrous story that put his own adventures to shame. No wonder Inanna barely batted an eye when Harry had explained all of his close encounters with Death—her story was just one of many she had.

Harry interrupted the tale numerous times with questions. With anyone else, he would be worried that he was asking too many or was being annoying, but Inanna had never once used the word ‘annoying’ to describe them—which was really saying something, considering that was one of her two favorite adjectives.

After a few moments, a quiet, hesitant whistle interrupted their conversation.

Harry’s head twisted so he could regard the newcomer. At some point, the door had opened to reveal the Healer designated to greet patients.

Dragel, he noted immediately, a blond one which was surprising for an Earth element. And a rather young-looking one at that—not that that particular detail really meant anything.

The whistle-speak was unusual for a dragel, but Harry quickly guessed the reason why—the greeter’s neck was covered with scars. His uniform covered a lot of them, but there were still a few visible. 

Deep scars—deep enough that his vocal chords had probably been damaged in the attack.

Because only an attack of some sort could cause those types of injuries.

It had probably been a miracle that the man had survived at all.

As soon as he noticed the scars though, Harry made sure to move his gaze away from them and not stare. He’d always hated others staring at the scar on his forehead and he was sure that the Healer probably felt the same.

Inanna had noticed the scars as well, because she replied to the greeting with a whistle of her own.

“Hello, Quinn,” Anja greeted as well, recognizing the other dragel. The Prewetts’ preferred Healers were the Griffiths, a Fire Clan, but some of the Kalziks had greenhouses that she liked to buy new plants from and she knew most of them on sight, even if she didn’t typically speak with them. “We have an appointment with your mother today, whenever she’s ready for us.”

“An unnecessary appointment,” Harry grumbled, wondering what was so important that Anja couldn’t take care of it herself. She was a talented Medic, just a few qualifications away from becoming a Healer herself if she ever wanted to take the tests.

She preferred her gardens more though, he knew. She’d rather spend time there, indulging her Earth affinity, than spend the time fulfilling the daily requirements fully-certified Healers had.

More and more, Harry was joining her there in the afternoons, if only for an hour or so  right after lunch before someone came and got him for his other practical lessons. It was the easiest way to indulge his element and he noticed on the days he didn’t spend time in the gardens, he was crankier than normal.

“She’s just restocking a couple of things, but I can show you to the room,” the greeter, Quinn, said. His teal eyes glanced at the two Phoelix curiously, but his gaze didn’t linger, much to Harry’s relief. “Her last appointment was an hour ago, so her energies should be back to a normal level and the wait shouldn’t be longer than a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Anja murmured. The three of them followed Quinn down a corridor to an available examination room. “I sent over his file earlier, so his medical records are already here. No allergies or declarations.”

Quinn nodded, relaxing further. He hated being the Healer on duty designated to greet patients due to his lack of voice, but everyone in the Clan had to take turns doing it. If he wanted to practice his healing at the family clinic, he had to be the greeter at least once a week.

At least things were going fairly smoothly. Everyone in the small group seemed to understand whistle-speak, which made communicating easier, and they had come prepared.

He would have liked to take this appointment himself for those reasons alone, but they’d specifically requested an appointment with his mother—nearly two months ago, at that. It was rare that it took so long for someone in his family to see a patient, but apparently it hadn’t been a high priority case and the Submissives of the Circle involved had made it very clear that there was no rush.

Just a formality, they insisted.

Which made Quinn even more curious, but he had his own patients.

“I’ll be back with Mama in a few minutes,” he whistled, and reluctantly left the room.

Harry eased slightly when he glanced around the exam room and saw that it was nothing like the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, or even the clinic in Avaellia. While there was a curtained examination table and a wall of medical equipment, it felt comfortable, despite the large size.

It had been built to accommodate dragel Circles and dragel wings, he realized, and it had been built by those who shared an element with him.

He could tolerate this, though he still wasn’t convinced a healer appointment was necessary, no matter what Anja and Inanna said.

He could also tolerate the Healer he was to see, when the woman entered the room, though he would always prefer Anja. Surajini Kalzik was welcoming and an experienced Healer, whose reputation was well known among all of the elements, not just the Earth Clans, but she wasn’t part of his nest like Anja.

For that reason alone, he tried one last time to convince Inanna that this wasn’t necessary while Surajini was looking over his medical records quickly.

“We’re in the process of filing a notice of intent to adopt,” Anja informed Surajini quietly, watching with one eye as Harry tried once again to convince Inanna that he didn’t need another healing appointment. “But there’s some indication that he has dragel-roots and extended family here in Nevarah. In the interest of keeping everything as quiet and private as possible, we’d prefer to send those notices directly to those specific Clans, but we also want it to be formal enough so they’re aware it’s not some random notice or claim.”

“And a statement from a Nevarean Clan known for its healing talents goes a long way to verify any claims being made,” Surajini supplied knowingly. “What sort of indication?”

“The first Healer that saw him said it looked like some inheritance seals had been placed on him at birth. Two of the three are off now, so there’s only magical residue, but one was reinforced by Runes.”

Surajini frowned. “Most seals reinforced by Runes—inheritance or otherwise—can only be removed by a Runes Master or Mistress. There might be someone in the extended family—”

“We have one ourselves in our Circle,” Anja said quickly. “So please don’t go to any trouble in that regard. Between Shai and I, we’re fairly confident it can be removed. It’s mostly been left on for evidence so far. Once permanent custody has been determined, we’ll remove it.”

Surajini nodded. This would be a fairly simple and straightforward appointment then.

On the one claw, she was relieved, but on the other, she was somewhat disappointed. The vast majority of her patients were dragels, with some Fae or Were-creature inheritance mixed in. Never any Phoelixes. Harry would be her first patient of that kind.

There was a natural curiosity that was piqued whenever she had a new type of patient. Like any decent Healer, she had a constant desire to learn, improve, and hone her talents to not only be able to better help her current patients, but also be able to help a large number of possible patients in the long run.

But at the same time, there was some hesitance—not much, but it was there. After all, she knew of The Phoenix’s reputation. Most Gheyos, Healers, and Medics in Nevarah did. Now, finally in the same room as such a notorious Gheyo, ready to examine her ward—soon to be adopted ward from the sounds of things—Surajini wondered what the boy would be capable of once he was grown.

Not the first time she had wondered something like that. She’d started wondering the same thing about her own son, when Quinn had inadvertently brought Bharin into their lives. She’d also wondered something similar when she learned that her friend Thomas’ daughter had taken on a mentored student a few years prior.

“Harry?” Surajini called lightly and gestured to her exam table when green eyes glanced her way.

Harry gave Inanna a withering glare before he grumblingly perched himself on the table.

The Kalzik Submissive tried not to smile, suspecting that, like most teens, her newest patient wouldn’t appreciate hearing that his actions were more adorable than whatever he was trying to go for.

“I don’t imagine this will take very long,” she informed him. “A few basic scans to confirm that Anja is on the right track with her nutrition plans, based on your previous history, and just to confirm what the other Healer you saw said about those seals, to identify the families involved. Very boring stuff, really.”

Maybe. There was a set of three seals that she wanted to discuss some more. It horrified her that anyone, let alone someone so young, bore that particular combination of seals.

“Yes, two of the inheritance seals were from the Peverell and Evanson Clans,” she confirmed quickly, magicking a sketch of the seals onto the appropriate pieces of paper and magically signing them. “The runic seal is a variation of an inheritance seal from the Evanson Clan as well.”

An interesting combination, but not a particularly surprising one. The main Peverell branch had a scion who had forsaken Nevarah out there, so there were constantly claims being made to their clan, and the Evansons hadn’t appeared publicly for several decades, with rumors hinting that both the former Clan Chief’s Circle and his daughter were off-realm. When the timeline was decades and generations, it wouldn’t be unheard of for the two to have crossed paths at some point.

Stranger things had happened.

“Any sign of a Third?” Anja asked.

Surajini shook her head. “I’m sure there was one at some point, but there’s no seal to speak of who that might have been and any other trace was washed away with his Phoelix inheritance. Magic can only do so much. The only way to find the identity now would be for the Third to make a claim at some point.”

A stricken expression crossed Harry’s face. “And if they do? They wouldn’t be able to take me away, would they?”

The feathers under his skin settled a bit when all three women shook their heads.

“They can make a claim, but I doubt it would be a very successful one,” Anja soothed. “Not after we’ve taken responsibility for you and not after they essentially abandoned you, no matter what their circumstances were.”

Surajini waited a moment for the Medic’s words to sink in and Harry to settle a bit more before she continued with the appointment.

“What are your plans for the remaining three seals?” she asked, as gently as she could. “Removal?”

“It’s an ongoing discussion,” Anja replied. “We’ll try to separate them first, which might take some time. The Death Seal we’ll likely transfer to one of our Gheyos—either Inanna here or our ACE.”

“The Kadels should the best the best ones to address the Prophetic Seal if you manage to separate the three,” Surajini admitted. “I know they’re Air, but they are the best when it comes to those things and as whimsical as they may be, I don’t believe even they would leave such a seal on someone so young. I can put in a request for a consultation, if you’d like?”

“Don’t bother,” Inanna said before Anja could answer.

Surajini arched an eyebrow. “You know of another way to remove a Prophetic Seal?”

“If it’s a problem, the Oracles will remove it when his time comes,” Inanna responded. “If it’s not a problem, then…” She shrugged.

A deep frown etched itself across Surajini’s face. “And when will ‘his time come?’” she asked, voice cooling.

Inanna shrugged again. “Whenever it comes,” she said. “Varies from individual to individual. I was around thirty. The youngest I’ve heard of was twenty-three.” A dark look crossed her face at the recollection.

“You can’t possibly be okay with leaving a Prophetic Seal on for that long,” Surajini snapped. “It should be removed sooner rather than later, seeing as those type of seal were outlawed eons ago.”

“Under dragel law,” Inanna replied coolly.

Anja glanced between the two women, a small frown on her face.

“Why don’t you go out into the hallway for a few moments, Harry?” she suggested. “While they’re figuring this point out?”

Harry didn’t even hesitate.

He never liked it when adults fought. His Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had fought several times and while they had never struck each other, the area around them wasn’t necessarily safe to be in. Vernon had liked to hit walls and Aunt Petunia had thrown things.

If a photo frame fell on Harry or if one of the objects thrown had accidentally hit him in the course of their disagreements—well, they always said that it was his fault for not getting out of the way fast enough.

Still, he sighed when, as soon as the door closed behind him, privacy wards and silencing spell went up around the exam room.

A questioning whistle caught his attention.

“No, not quite done, I think,” Harry said, turning to face Quinn. “Just … cultural differences, I think.” He rubbed at the scar on his forehead absently.

Quinn frowned at the sight of it and gave another questioning whistle.

“I’m fine,” Harry said automatically, though he sighed a moment later. “I think I need to go outside,” he admitted.

Magic-wise, the Kalzik Clinic was lovely, with all of the Earth Magic imbued in it. Outside of his classes in the park with the Hartwoods, it was the first time he’d been around so much of his own element. But being surrounded by Earth Magic was no substitute for actually being outside, dirt and stone and grass beneath his feet and able to see the sky.

Maybe he should try convincing Inanna to give him a flying lesson later today.

At the request, Quinn brightened.

Thirty minutes later, when Anja and Inanna emerged from Surajini’s exam room, they found the two in the gardens of the Kalzik estate, Harry half buried in the dirt and showing Quinn how many types of flowers and plants he could grow with his magic.

That night, Harry staked out Inanna's room and hoped that she hadn't decided to bunk elsewhere. He never really knew where she would end up, just that it was never alone.

He really wasn’t much better, in that respect. He tended to start his nights in the tower with whoever was on watch duty and when they switched out in the middle of the night, one of the Gheyos or Pareya would bring him back down to his room, before spending the rest of the night there with him. A few times, he had tried the resting room but … that many Fire elements in one room? It got very stifling, very fast.

But some nights it was just him and Inanna, especially when he needed to talk or had questions about Phoelix things, and she was pretty good at figuring out when he needed those sorts of nights.

"I'm a bit worried we're becoming predictable," Inanna grumbled as she stalked in, carefully balancing two mugs of cinnamon tea and a bowl of fruit in her arms.

No, not just fruit—fruit salsa, with extra cinnamon.

Harry sat forward eagerly. Predictable or not, he wasn't going to complain if it meant getting that specific snack.

"The prophecy seal?" he asked, once the snack was divided equally between the two of them.

"It's a rite of passage to visit the Oracles, one of the marks that you're fully fledged. Usually a mark that you're ready to fly the nest as well, and ready to find your own, based on your own terms.”

Harry frowned. "So the Circle…?”

"You'll know when the time comes, though it's really not that complicated," Inanna said, rolling her eyes. "Friend, family, Bonded, lover, all can fall under the nest classification. It's just easier to view someone as part of the nest or not part of it."

"But the Circle?" Harry prompted because that didn't completely answer his question.

Inanna rolled her eyes again. "It's very, very rare that a Phoelix completely abandons the nest they grew up in and builds an entirely new nest for themselves," she said. "The original nest and the new one usually overlap in some way."

"Yours don't," Harry said softly.

"Actually, they unfortunately do," Inanna responded, tone dry.

"Before I came into the picture and you needed to reach out to Nnenne?” Harry raised an eyebrow knowingly.

Inanna gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Before that," she said. "Anyways, you'll know when the time is right. It's a journey you'll have to make yourself, with no help and just because you get there doesn't mean they'll do anything for you. You still have to petition to know your possible fates, and there's no guarantee you actually have one. But you'll probably have better luck than others with that prophecy seal still on. They're not outlawed by avian law like they are with dragels, but the Oracles…” She shrugged. "The Oracles supposedly know best and at least one will go out of their way to prove it. Their interpretation of the prophecy needs to be the interpretation."

"I don't even know what the prophecy is," Harry said, bemused.

Then Inanna winked and he caught on. It didn't matter if he knew or not, he would get at least one interpretation, one that she would likely trust more than a dragel or wizard interpretation of it.

"The Oracles—are they Phoelix?" he asked.

"Oracles are Oracles, no need to make it complicated."

"So … are they Immortals then?" Harry asked. He'd heard of a few, like Death and Fate and the Hellhound and the Necromancer, while living in Nevarah. The Oracles sounded like something that would be a part of those ranks.

"Oracles are Oracles,” Inanna repeated, leaning over to flick his forehead lightly, right over his scar. "And don't bring up the Immortals. They're a headache no one needs to deal with—ever."

Chapter Text

Shortly after his appointment with the Kalziks, the Prewetts filed an official Notice of Intent to Adopt at Nevarah’s City Hall, sending copies to the Peverells and the Evansons.

Harry really didn’t expect much to come of it—the Dursleys hadn’t wanted him, so why would other relatives? Especially ones that, as he understood things, were several times more removed than the Dursleys in terms of generations and blood relations.

Therefore, it came as a large surprise when a week after the notice was filed, Kaja, Sarai’s King, picked him up from his morning lessons with the Hartwoods one day and mentioned something about possible relatives visiting and staying for lunch to meet him.

Harry immediately lost his appetite upon the announcement and shrunk in on himself, to the point where not even the bribe of frozen hot chocolate with a cinnamon stick straw perked him up.

“They just want to meet you, see you for themselves,” Kaja murmured to him, wrapping a strong arm around his shoulders when they reached the edge of the Prewett estate and Harry started dragging his feet. “Nothing’s being decided yet. And remember, this is our property. Even if they decide to claim you and ask for custody, they can’t remove you from here without the courts intervening first.”

Harry wasn’t completely convinced by her words—wouldn’t be completely convinced until this was all over with.

He usually didn’t think much on the adoption process he was about to undergo—it was enough for him just to know that it was happening—but he found himself wishing that there was a way to speed the process up.

Kaja sighed at his silence. “Kitchen,” she told him, nudging him lightly in that particular direction. “If you’re not going to drink that right now, go stash it in the cooler before Inanna sees and steals the cinnamon stick from you.”

Harry hesitated for a second. “Adi’s going to see it.”

Kaja’s lips twitched as she squeezed Harry in a light hug. “She won’t lecture you, if that’s what you’re worried about. And I’m perfectly capable of handling her scolds if she decides to fuss at me for buying it in the first place.” She pressed a soft kiss on top of his head and released him from the hug. “Now kitchen, because I’m starting to hear a certain pretty bird approaching.”

Harry bolted for the kitchen.

As always in the final hour preceding any of the meals at the Prewett household, the kitchen was a flurry of activity. As much as it was considered Addae’s domain, she had no shortage of help from Anja and the other Pareya in the Circle, and occasionally from Fabian and Gideon as well if they were hosting guests.

Harry didn’t think too much of all the activity as he slipped in among everyone else to stash his drink in the already-full cooler. He chirped quietly a few times when someone he passed reached over to affectionately ruffle his hair or huffed out an unsurprised laugh at the sight of his treat.

He didn’t notice the stranger until he closed the door to the cooler and turned around.

Honestly, he wouldn’t have noticed her even then, but she drew attention to herself, breathing out a surprised “Oh!”

He blinked a few times, taking in her dark purple hair, golden eyes, and dark skin—though it wasn’t nearly as dark as Inanna’s.

Adi paused in her bustling, resting a hand on his shoulder. “This is Heather of the Evanson Circle,” she said lightly, though Harry could hear how forced the tone was. “Pareya rank. Heather, this is Harry, the one that you and yours came to meet.”

Heather smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Harry,” she said, her voice wavering a bit. Her hands fluttered at her sides for a heartbeat. “We’re going to be very happy to welcome you into the family,” she finally settled on saying.

Harry stiffened at the words.

“You’re certain of a connection then?” Adi asked, squeezing his shoulder lightly. “We’re sure there’s one, but we weren’t sure how direct of a connection it is.”

Heather swallowed hard. “Fairly direct, I think. It’s his eyes—they’re the same as our Alpha’s.”

Harry clenched his hands into fists to prevent from reaching up to his eyes. The same as their Alpha’s?

Everyone always said that he had his mother’s eyes…

“Lunch is ready,” Anja declared loudly, interrupting the moment—rather purposefully. “Plating up.”

Harry knew that cue and darted for one of the doors—not the one Heather was standing nearest—to go wash up.

“Shy dear,” Heather remarked once he was out of earshot.

“Stressed dear,” Adi corrected, with a small frown. “He’s gone through a lot of change and a lot of uncertainty and was just starting to settle before…” She trailed off with pursed lips.

“Before me and mine threatened to uproot everything with our existence,” Heather acknowledged quietly.

Adi nodded curtly, before she decided to give a bit of leeway at the other Pareya’s saddened expression. “It’s not just you and yours. There’s another Clan he might have blood relations to as well.”

“I won’t speak for what Briar and Rian might decide, but if the connection is through our Alpha, we won’t need to get Lord Evanson involved,” Heather said. “If that’s even possible—we haven’t heard from him or any of his Circle in decades, not after Lady Evanson passed away. No matter what happens, that will at least make it go faster and take some of the uncertainty away.”

Adi simply nodded again.

When the notice had arrived, with the Prewetts declaring their intent to adopt someone of Evanson blood, Briar had been skeptical, even though the notice had been accompanied by two sketches—one of the Evanson family seal and one that was more specifically Jun’s own seal. As a prominent Clan and as a renowned Runes Mistress, both of those seals were a matter of public record and could be replicated by even those who weren’t related to the Evanson Clan. The family seal wasn’t anything special, and there was nothing to suggest in the notice that the family member being adopted carried one of the many Nameless talents in the Evanson family—Empathy, Telepathy, etc.

Seeing Harry for himself, Briar suddenly wasn’t as skeptical as he’d previously been.

Seals could be replicated, but those eyes… That shade of green…

It was Jun, through and through.

“Arielle,” he breathed, as soon as he saw them.

Under the table, Heather reached over and squeezed his knee. “I know,” she murmured. “I thought the same thing when I saw. He’s definitely hers in some way.”

“Hers?” Fabian asked lightly as Harry took his place at the table—among all the Gheyos, Briar noticed with an internal frown.

He was too young to officially claim a rank—that would be many years away yet, Briar suspected—but the rank of Gheyo didn’t necessarily seem to fit Harry in the way that it fit the other Phoelix in the room.

“Juniper, our Alpha,” Rian answered for Briar.

Harry frowned. “My mum’s name was Lily.”

Briar forced a smile on his face and this time, it was Rian’s hand that reached for him under the table.

They’d been talking about having more children before Jun had left on her assignment and then never returned. If they’d proceeded and the child had been a girl, Lily was one of the names they’d been considering.

“Any other names on your mother’s side that you can recall?” Rian asked once the food had been distributed and the traditional blessing of “Shoksaneh” had been spoken over it. “Grandparents, maybe?”

Harry picked at his food. “I was raised by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon,” he said, his tone dull. “My cousin is Dudley. They don’t have magic. Aunt Petunia never mentioned anything about her parents, only that they died before me and Dudley were born.”

And Petunia had been the other name they’d considered. Between those two names and the eyes, neither Submissive nor Beta felt that they could deny a connection.

“No magic?” Briar asked, head tilting to the side. “None?”

Harry shook his head. “They don’t like magic either,” he said, and stabbed a piece of meat on his plate with a sharp knife.

“I’ll confirm that,” Inanna added from her spot next to him. “His magic was the only source of magic I felt in the house. There were a few weak wards around the house with a different signature, but they’d been placed over a decade ago. There was nothing magical, let alone dragel, about the other three who lived there.”

“Weak to you or weak as in anyone with some inkling of magical ability could tear them down?” Malachi asked. “Because there is a difference, dear sunbird.”

His question drew a scowl from Inanna. “Weak to me,” she answered. “Weak, as in anyone with a brain and some understanding of wards could dismantle them.”

Her terse comments drew smiles all around, even from the Evansons.

After a moment, Briar nudged Rian, indicating for him to explain their half of the situation.

The Beta sighed. “Several decades ago, our Alpha Juniper took an assignment from the Earth Courts to investigate some Torvak sightings,” he started. “We had a longstanding arrangement that her assignments wouldn’t last more than a month—I don’t know what went wrong this time. We haven’t heard from her since we left and if her father and his Circle have heard anything, they haven’t told us. But before she left, we’d been talking about children—Lily or Petunia if it was a girl, Wistar if it was a boy. If I had to guess, I would say that based on that and what Harry here has told us, we’d be Harry’s grandparents.”

He traded a look with Briar, who nodded. Rian’s eyes then flicked over to Heather, who nodded as well.

“And we’re very happy to stay as grandparents, if that’s what’s best for Harry,” he finished. “We’d gladly take him in—and we’re even prepared for children for once, because Wistar was just born—but Jun is an Empath. We all know the importance of emotional stability and anyone with eyes can see he’s comfortable and settled here. As long as it’s what Harry wants, we have no issues with him remaining with you and yours, so long we can visit.”

“Of course,” Malachi agreed.

And with that, the tense atmosphere over the table faded away and Harry could breathe easily for the first time since he’d been picked up.

By the time the three Evansons left, Harry had started to warm up to them. It was easy to do, once he was sure that they weren’t going to change their minds and suddenly try to take him away from his nest.

It was fine if they wanted to be his grandparents. He hadn’t had grandparents before and had a hard time thinking of Sadara's Circle as such, so it would be a nice change for once.

He did not want them to take the place of his nest, however.

And neither did Inanna, given the way she hovered over him for the rest of the day.

Harry could already see the benefit of having some extra family connections around. Briar Evanson was a hellhound, and offered up Death’s Court when it came time to deal with his Death and Soul Seals.

They would also reach out to the Earth Courts—first to see if the Earth Royals could recall their missing Alpha, Juniper, and second, to make the official introductions that the Prewetts couldn’t.

A necessary evil, Harry had been told. As an Earth element, he needed connections among his own element, ones that could speak for him in Nevarah. When he was grown and making a name for himself, he wouldn’t be able to fall back on the Fire Courts.

The Evansons would also take care of the Dursley situation. If they were truly non-magical and absolutely unable to accept the idea of magic, Nevarah would never be an option for them—something that would be painful if Petunia was truly their child, but for the best overall. If Petunia or Dudley were magical though, or if Dudley came into a dragel inheritance around his sixteenth birthday … well, Harry would have to cross that bridge when it came.

Hopefully he never would.

The Peverells showed up a few days later, again while Harry was at his morning classes.

He sighed when he heard the news.

Well, at least with both families visiting so quickly after the notice had been filed, it meant the adoption process would move along rather quickly now.

That was, as long as the Peverells decided they were fine with the Prewetts raising Harry.

Things would get more complicated if the Peverells wanted to raise Harry themselves.

Hopefully his Earth element would act in his favor, though. They were a pure Air Circle, Harry had learned. He would likely never be comfortable with them on an elemental level.

Maybe.

There was something Inanna had mentioned in passing that gave him pause though, when she’d been explaining how Phoelix grouped elements versus how dragels grouped them.

For dragels, Earth and Fire elements were complementary, which gave way to the Shadow element. Water and Air were complementary as well, giving way to the Storm element.

For Phoelixes, however, it was Earth and Water against Fire and Air. 

Of course, those were generalities. It didn’t apply to every Phoelix. Inanna had made it clear that in the majority of circumstances, she would rather go diving in the Merrow Waters than deal with an Air element. Brief encounters like Harry’s appointment with Vitali was tolerable, but any extended contact…

The fact that Earth opposed Air was something that should work in Harry’s favor, but then Inanna had mentioned that Phoelix didn’t necessarily have an issue with their opposing element when it was family involved.

Case in point—Phoelix twins.

They were always of opposing elements. Unlike Gideon and Fabian, who were both Fire elements, a set of Phoelix twins would be either one Fire, one Water, or one Earth, one Air.

So if there actually was a family connection between Harry and the Peverells—and there likely was—he might not be totally uncomfortable with them. With a family connection, he might be able to actually tolerate living somewhere, surrounded by only the Air element.

Thus, the uncertainty remained.

Like with the Evansons, three of the Peverell Circle had come—Lewis, the one with the missing family connection; Henry, the Alpha; and Cora, their Submissive.

Harry had had some exposure to the Air element from his appointment with Vitali and being around the Circle’s Gheyo Queen, Dane, but those experiences were nothing compared to the way the Peverell Circle wielded and carried their element.

It was almost unnerving how gracefully and delicately they moved.

Cora smiled as soon as she saw Harry. “I think I would recognize that head of hair anywhere,” she said, and crouched down a bit so she was more on Harry’s eye level. “If they’re trying to convince you to grow it out, don’t bother. It doesn’t help.”

Harry gave her a weak smile.

“Cora,” Lewis protested quietly. “Mine’s not that bad.”

“Not anymore, not after Vincent, Desmond, and I all figured something out,” she replied, straightening. “But it was rather unfortunate when we first met.”

Harry was about to ask to be excused, to go to his room before washing up for lunch, but Hedwig soared down to greet him before he could.

In her talons was the object he’d wanted to get.

“Thanks,” he muttered, and tried to ignore the fascinated looks that his and Hedwig’s interaction garnered from the Peverells as he opened up the photo album to one of the first pictures.

The one with his both of his parents holding him as a baby.

Lewis was almost an exact replica of his father.

“I don’t know the names of my grandparents,” Harry said as he showed the photo to everyone standing around. “Or any other members on that side of the family. I just know that my dad’s name was James.”

Lewis looked at the photo almost reverently. “You’re from Earth originally?” he asked.

Harry nodded.

“He made it then,” the Pareya murmured, a sad smile crossing his face. “I always wondered, but I never knew for sure.”

“He?” Harry questioned, remembering how Fabian had prompted the Evansons only a few days earlier.

“Aldor Peverell, my brother,” Lewis said. “He and his Bonded claimed Solitary, because her family did not approve of him and in light of the social slight, my parents rejected her in turn. They chose to leave Nevarah to avoid causing complications for either family.”

“Sounds familiar,” Fabian muttered and winced when Gideon elbowed him sharply for the comment.

“I never agreed with the decision,” Lewis said. “And I always hoped that they managed to make a decent life for themselves. If there is a blood connection, I’ll be glad to know that my hopes were not in vain.”

“If?” Gideon asked sharply. “I would hope that the visible proof in the form of Harry and his photo is enough.”

“I agree that there is visible proof, but there have been a lot of claims made to Lewis and Aldor,” Henry replied smoothly. “To the point where anyone making the claim has to be tested thoroughly, to spare the Peverell Clan the heartache of a false claim. Our Clan Chief, Tauria, affords no discretion—everyone must be tested. In light of Harry’s age though, we are willing to forgo the formal testing and be satisfied with a blood trace.”

“He is Phoelix, not dragel,” Gideon reminded them. “I’m not sure if a blood trace will work.”

He glanced over at Inanna as they spoke, who had forgone her meal—much to the Pareyas’ irritation—and was perching on a table against the wall, practically hovering behind Harry.

She gave a one-shoulder shrug, her mouth in a thin line. “Might work, might not work. When you say ‘rejected,’ what sort of consequences did that entail?”

Her tone was unusually sharp, Harry noted. Something about what the Peverells had said hadn’t pleased her.

Or she was just as touchy about this whole situation as he was and only just starting to become obvious about it now, when there was only one more barrier left to an uncontested adoption.

“I was studying to become a Medic at the time, so I was not around and familiar as the situation as I would have been otherwise, but from my understanding, my father made it clear that he did not approve and would not allow Aldor to use the Peverell name for the new Circle, if he happened to have the highest social status in it—I know something like that is seen as a political move here closer to the main city, but for us pure Air Circles, it’s custom to take the highest social name, not the Submissive or the Alpha’s name,” Lewis explained.

Inanna frowned. “So his name was stripped from him. He was basically disowned. Was it just unofficial or was he blacklisted? Was the disownment legal or magical?”

All three Peverells bristled at her tone.

“Legal disownment and blacklisting are the same thing,” Terje, the Prewett Beta, murmured to Inanna. He inclined his head towards the Peverells to try and indicate that no true offense had been meant. “And as blacklistings become public record and I never heard of one such case surrounding the Peverell Clan, I don’t believe they ended up going that far, let alone as far as magical disownment.”

“We would never go so far as to magically disown someone,” Henry growled. “No sane dragel would. It’s barbaric—more so than letting a Prophetic Seal remain on a youngling!”

He might not have meant to let so much slip out, but it did, making it clear that the Peverells knew that there was more to Harry than just his blood ties to the Peverell Clan and that he once bore their family seal.

A fake smile plastered itself on Inanna’s face, one that was all teeth.

Harry let out a hesitant warble when he saw her expression, a quiet sound that he couldn’t help but make.

Much to his relief, it diffused some of the tension in the room.

“Fledgling,” Inanna clipped out, the unnerving smile still on her face. “Not youngling. Phoelix, not dragel. So while it may seem barbaric to you, please remember that different customs and laws apply. And it had to be asked. I know of a blood trace that will work, but only up until a legal or magical disownment in the family line.”

“My father was heavy-handed when it came to Aldor,” Lewis said. “But he left before it could get to that point. Maybe he would have blacklisted Aldor if the situation had carried on, but like I said, Aldor and his Bonded left Nevarah as soon as it became clear that neither family would accept their bonding, to avoid causing more complications for everyone. The blood trace you mentioned can be performed now?”

Inanna’s fake smile didn’t fade. “After lunch—and dessert. No talk about blood during mealtimes, Circle rule.”

“Technically the rule is no talk about death and killing,” Fabian corrected, one side of his mouth quirking. “But I can see how it’s all one and the same for you, sunbird.”

Harry held his breath, but thankfully, the comment drew a laugh from Inanna and the air in the dining room lightened a bit more.

The trace only took a minimal amount of blood, a fact that surprised Harry more than it should.

It made sense in a way. Phoenix tears, phoenix feathers—both were potent items, magically speaking. Of course phoenix blood would be the same.

Well, technically it was even more potent than tears or feathers, especially when it came to dragels and other creatures borne of Blood Magic.

Given his Earth element, the spell was cast in the dirt, a single drop of blood placed in the center.

For a moment, the blood glowed ruby red and hardened into a small pebble.

In the next heartbeat, the pebble shattered.

Everyone jumped, before Harry watched, fascinated, as the blood came pouring out in three directions, almost forming a Y.

It was a lot more blood than he had contributed to the spell.

The spell had been tailored to stop at certain points—four generations on Harry’s father’s side, three generations on his mother’s side, and a similar number of generations on his Third’s side. One prong stopped at the first branch, while the other two branched off even further, showing additional generations.

“You could have mentioned this earlier,” Fabian grumbled to Inanna, as he watched the second prong stop with the names Juniper, Briar, and Zephyranth. The last name wasn’t familiar, but he assumed that it was a member of the Evanson Circle he hadn’t met. “Could have shown this to the Evansons.”

“You didn’t ask,” Inanna replied. “And they didn’t insist on anything more than what was right in front of their faces.”

Both twins frowned at her barbed comment.

The Peverells were the most distant connection by far and the one that Harry was paying more attention to. He traced it from him, to his father James Potter, to his grandfather Charles Potter, to his great-grandfather Aldor Potter née Peverell.

“Is that to your satisfaction?” Malachi asked.

“Very much so,” Henry said. “Though I question why this adoption process is necessary in the first place, given that.” He nodded towards the third prong of the makeshift family tree, the one that had stopped at the first generation.

A single name was written.

Inanna.

“A quirk of the magic,” said Phoelix explained, voice dry. “Phoelix blood was used for the spell, so it assumes that there must be a Phoelix parent. In the case that there is none, it’ll use the closest Phoelix around or the name of the Phoelix that oversaw the first burning—in this case, me.”

Harry’s brow arched at the explanation, not entirely convinced by it.

But he wouldn’t ask in front of others. She was too prickly right now.

If he wanted a more direct answer, he would have to get Inanna alone, out of earshot of anyone else.

Cora moved to embrace him, wrapping him in a tight hug—tighter than he expected, given how delicate she looked and moved. “Welcome to the family,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry for what my Bonded put you through today, and what you’ve gone through up until now. But rest assured, you’re welcome to visit anytime—and we’ll make sure to teach you how to fly properly. Trick flying, even. I don’t think they teach that here on the lower parts of the city.”

Harry chirped inquisitively at the offer. Trick flying? With those two words alone, he was already sold.

“To visit?” Fabian asked, trying not to show how anxious and optimistic those two words made him.

“We’re a pure Air Circle,” Cora said, Submissive to Submissive. “He’s an Earth element. It would be cruel to take him away from his element and, Lewis notwithstanding, my Pareya and Gheyos would not consent to leaving our home in the sky. Aside from the earlier comments, which I hope we can agree that we were both at fault for, I can tell that Harry is in good hands with you.”

“We’re definitely both at fault for the comments,” Fabian agreed, giving Inanna a pointed look. “Thank you. And please feel free to visit Harry at any time. We don’t intend to keep him from his blood family; all we ever wanted to do was ensure that he had a place to stay where we knew he would be loved and content in.”

“That’s all we ever hope for when it comes to our young—fledglings,” Cora corrected and gave Inanna a shiny smile. “It’ll take a bit, but we’ll learn.”

The Gheyo simply snorted and crossed her arms.

Practically out of reflex, Harry elbowed her.

Still, both of them didn’t breathe easy until the Peverells had been shown out, the meeting officially over.

Harry glanced at the family tree in the dirt one last time before it was cleaned up by Anja and Shai. “Why’d it stop with you?” he wanted to know. “Wasn’t it supposed to stop at three or four generations like the other two?”

“I’m ancient,” Inanna said flatly. “And maybe the chicken came before the egg.”

He scowled at the woman. “The realms are millions of years old,” he retorted. “You’re old but not that old.”

“You sure about that?” With that, Inanna started to turn away and to go back inside.

“Nana!”

There must have been something in Harry’s tone, because Inanna stopped and glanced back at him. “It’s complicated, okay? Please don’t ask me to explain. I honestly don’t think I can.”

“I want one,” Cora decided on their flight back to their home in the air. Like with most Air dragels, they flew instead of taking a portal.

Both of her Bonded gave her long looks of consideration.

“A Phoelix?” Henry asked after a moment.

The Submissive’s nose wrinkled. “Arielle’s breath, no. I’m not inclined to hunt anytime soon. I meant a child. I’m ready to have a child. He was cute. Can you imagine how small he must have been in his early years?”

Lewis held in a laugh as Henry missed a beat of his wings and faltered in his normally smooth flight. “I’m not opposed,” he said, to give his Alpha some time to recover. Truth be told, he’d been ready for their Circle to have children for years now. “But I think that’s a conversation we need to have as an entire Circle.”

“Definitely a conversation we need to have with everyone else,” Henry agreed, a tad desperately.

Cora simply hummed in reply, a sound which both of them knew intimately.

She would have her way. Their Circle would be adding children to it, and likely in the next year or so.

Harry thought that with the Evansons and the Peverells both agreeing to let the Prewetts maintain custody over him, that would be the end of it all. The three families would sign off on the arrangement and the Prewetts would officially adopt him.

Instead of being raised by a family that didn’t want him, he would have one that did and also gain more extended family than he knew what to do with. End of story.

But because he was Harry freaking Potter, of course that wasn’t the end of it.

Chapter Text

The Gheyos had Harry doing wing extensions—his ability to fly had increased exponentially with the Peverells giving him advice whenever they could, so now it was just a matter of building up his wing strength—when they came one afternoon, a couple of weeks later.

Harry’s attention was immediately drawn to them, if only because they had an Avian in their midst.

No, not an Avian.

An Avian-dragel hybrid.

He was one of the largest, fluffiest figures Harry had ever seen, wearing his feathers out and proud—feathers so black that they held a blue tint.

The Pareya were already outside, greeting their guests—much like the kitchen was Adi’s domain, the entire estate was Tiran’s domain and no one got on or off of the Prewett property without him knowing about it.

As soon as the Avian noticed Harry, however, he flew over to him, covering the ground in only a few strokes of his wings.

Harry tried to push down the jealousy that arose when he saw how easy it was for the other man.

One day, it would be just as easy for him.

“Harry? Harry Potter?” the Avian chirped.

Hesitantly, Harry nodded.

The man gave a proud ruffle of his feathers before he turned to the dragels that accompanied him. “Found him!” he announced, with a loud chirp. “Found Harry!”

Found him? Who had been looking for him? No one should be looking for him, especially because the Evansons and Peverells had already met him.

A suspicion crossed his mind. If this was his Third or his Third’s Circle…

A frustrated squawk escaped him at the mere thought.

His squawk had the unfortunate side effect of summoning Inanna, whose hovering had just barely abated a few days ago.

With pinpoint precision, she dropped between him and the unfamiliar Avian from the sky, feathers out and shielding him.

Harry sighed when he saw the crater her landing had left.

The poor ground…

Inanna rasped in warning and Harry blinked in surprise when the sound was met with a similar warning rasp, followed by a sharp click.

The Avian was a Gheyo?

But he looked so harmless with his fluffy feathers…?

It piqued his curiosity just enough to poke his head around Inanna’s wings to get a better look, even though he knew he would get lectured for it later.

“Beaker, get back here, you big piece of fluff!” a sharp voice called. “You can’t just—”

Harry couldn’t help but smile at the new man’s clear exasperation, shown both in his voice and on his face.

“But Maury—” Beaker’s feathers rustled again, this time in protest, before the Avian shrunk slightly under the new man’s look and Inanna’s glare. “Found him,” he repeated, a tad stubbornly.

“And I said we needed to explain the situation,” Maury said, approaching closer, not seemingly bothered that the Prewett Pareya were close behind on his and his Bondeds’ claws. “He’s still a child and this is a dragel Circle. Dragel Circles are protective of their children and no one’s going to be happy if you get in a fight before we can explain why we’re here.” He glanced in Inanna’s direction meaningfully.

Beaker gave the other Gheyo a considering look. “Could take her,” he decided, with a definitive chirp.

“You really, really couldn’t,” Inanna returned, voice smug.

“Could take you,” Beaker repeated.

“No one is taking anyone,” Maury huffed. “Honestly.” He turned to the Prewett Pareya. “I apologize for him. He’s just back from migration, and before that, we had him trying to track down Harry on Earth. I suppose he’s a bit overenthusiastic now that we’ve actually found him.”

“And why were you searching for our Harry, Mr. Elswood?” Tiran asked.

“It’s a very long story, but to sum it up—I was assigned as Harry’s mentor.”

Everyone present on the Prewett estate gathered together to hear Maurice’s story.

As it so happened, if Harry had come into a dragel inheritance, he would have had a mentor come to him a few weeks or months before said inheritance. Maurice Elswood had been assigned to his mentor upon his first display of magic after his birth, the notice and assignment occurring automatically in the depths of Nevarah’s City Hall.

Maurice had also been notified when Harry’s parents died and had been trying to find him ever since, without any luck. He and his Circle hadn’t given up, not even after they received the notice only a few months ago that Harry no longer needed a mentor because he would not have a dragel inheritance. They’d only managed to find him because Alcrowe, Maurice’s ACE, had seen the Intent to Adopt notice the Prewetts had filed three weeks back on one of his more … not-so-legal information-gathering excursions.

Once they found out he was staying with the Prewetts, they descended in force. In addition to Beaker, Maurice was accompanied by his Alpha Ryuusen, his Beta Llevan, and his twin Pareya, Cole and Shar.

Harry reeled a bit at the admission. Someone had been looking for him since the beginning. Someone other than the Dursleys would have taken him in—taken him in willingly, even. They didn’t even know him, but like the Prewetts, they had been willing to take him in without question.

It also raised a series of questions. Namely…

“What I don’t understand is how you were able to find Harry when none of mine could,” Maurice said to Inanna slowly. “And we tried. We searched for years—another of my Jokers is being recalled right now from one of his searches. There was nothing to trace, no hints of where he could be. I even went as far as asking for a tracker from the Cunningham Circle and what they found led us to a destroyed house in Godric’s Hollow, but no further. Do you know what it says when Gheyos like mine can’t trace any further?”

Images of the small, burned cottage flashed in Harry’s mind. They’d gotten so close.

“I followed the bird,” Inanna said, with a small shrug.

“The bird,” Maurice repeated flatly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Harry cleared his throat quietly. “Fawkes,” he clarified. “He’s a phoenix. My wand—my focus object contains one of his feathers. Those with our feathers can summon us when needed and I guess it kind of works in reverse? It sounds like when we give a feather away, we still have a general awareness of where they are. I think.” He glanced at Inanna, not really understanding how it worked since he hadn’t given away any feathers of his own, but the Gheyo simply scowled and refused to elaborate further than what he had said.

“A convenient twist of luck,” Maurice’s Alpha, Ryuusen, muttered.

Inanna’s scowl twisted into a sharp smile. “Harry’s got a very strange sort of luck,” she agreed. “It’s something that’s ended up suiting my Circle but it’s not something every Circle out there could handle.”

Ryuusen bristled at the words, but before the other Alpha could react, Malachi stepped in. “We promised not to antagonize,” he chided softly, reaching out to pinch Inanna’s ear lightly in reprimand, reminding her of the promise he’d gotten her to make when he and Maurice finally managed to get her and Beaker to stand down and not start a fight.

Before he could make contact, however, Inanna ducked and twisted out of reach. Her red-gold eyes glared at the Fire dragel. “Don’t,” she warned. “They’re trying to take him and I’m tired of this. There’s no right to him—not anymore. He’s not dragel, in case you’ve forgotten. And he doesn’t deserve to keep being dragged through ridiculous things like this. It’s stressful and he’s a fledgling—one with very specific needs at that.”

Harry quirked an eyebrow. Aside from the feathers and the burnings and the occasional odd manifestation of his magic, he didn’t feel like what he required was too out of the ordinary. But with Inanna in a mood, he wasn’t going to verbally question her statements—not now, anyways.

“If you’re implying that we couldn’t take care of—” Ryuusen started to say, but Inanna cut him off.

“Actually, let me clarify something first—he’s not just a fledgling. He’s my fledgling and—” She cut off, forcing herself not to say the words that would be taken as a direct challenge, but everyone had a sense of what she wanted to say.

Harry would only leave the Prewett Circle over her dead body.

The young Phoelix’s cheeks pinked at being so directly claimed. He’d known that he and Inanna didn’t have the traditional mentor-student type of bond by dragel standards and that he’d been part of her nest ever since she’d taken him away from the Dursleys, but it was still relatively rare that either of them would lay it out in such blatant terms for others.

A sharp whistle of “Enough!” cut through any reply that Ryuusen or Maurice might have had to Inanna’s words. The warning in Malachi’s eye was enough to make the Gheyo retreat a few steps back, though she looked entirely unapologetic. By stepping back, however, she also pointedly put herself between Harry and every dragel in the room.

“We won’t take,” Beaker said. He exchanged a series of looks with both his Submissive and Alpha. “That would be a bad idea. But visits, yes?”

“Of course,” Malachi answered smoothly. “We wouldn’t deny something like that. After all, we want Harry to have as much support as possible here in Nevarah. He might not be dragel, but he does come from dragel-roots, which means there hasn’t been a straightforward answer to much of this. We’re still trying to find the right balance for it.”

Harry sensed more than heard Inanna’s silent snort and he elbowed her before it could be repeated in a more audible fashion. He wasn’t sure how much effect it had through her Flexi-suit—he really had to find something else to do when he felt she was about to put her foot in her mouth—but she remained quiet, thankfully.

Maurice gave Harry a soft look. “I’m so happy to know that you’re safe, little one, and in a good place now,” he said. “And I’m so sorry we didn’t manage to find you sooner.”

Harry could only nod, his throat tightening. “Thank you for looking for me,” he finally managed after a minute. “And for letting me stay here. I’m very happy here.”

And he was. It wasn’t strange to realize that anymore. He had thought that Hogwarts was his home, but it was nothing compared to his life now with the Prewett Circle.

“Visits?” Beaker chirped again. “Flying lessons?”

“Already taken care of,” Inanna answered. “He’s building up his wing strength.”

“Sword lessons? Fighting?” Beaker tried again.

“We’re working on it. He’s … not awful.”

Harry huffed a laugh at the strange compliment.

The Avian-dragel tried for a third time. “Pancakes?”

Maurice rolled his eyes skyward. “Pancakes? Is that all you ever think about, you great fluff? Pancakes and fighting?”

As Harry would come to learn, when it came to Beaker, the answer was largely, “Yes.”

With too much extended family to count now, Harry’s routine started to change and get busier.

He still had morning lessons three times a week with the Hartwoods in the park. It didn’t seem like a lot, but he had been informed that it would gradually increase to four, then five times a week, or he could opt to attend one of the three traditional academies in Nevarah.

On the days he didn’t have morning lessons in the park, he now had his unofficial, practical lessons with the Prewett Circle, his primary tutors still being Anja, Inanna, and the other Gheyos. Those lessons had just shifted from afternoon to morning because now, most of his afternoons were spent with the extended family, be that the Evanson Circle, the Peverell Circle, Fabian and Gideon’s mother and siblings, or Maurice’s Circle.

He ended up learning a wide variety of things, far more than he would ever learn at Hogwarts. Healing, from not only Anja, but also Heather and a few more of the Evanson Circle. Magical creatures from the Evanson Circle—a large focus was on Fae and the creatures of Death’s Court, but he also learned about other beings like Elves and merfolk and vampires and were-creatures. Flying, from Inanna, Beaker, and the Peverell Circle—Cora was making sure to follow through on that particular promise. Gem crafting, magical stones, and magical technology from the Peverells as well. Excavation, magical artifacts, and history from the Prewett Circle. Shai had started teaching him about runes. Not to mention fighting, from the Prewett Gheyos and now Maurice’s Circle, which was a highly trained Military Circle known as Ryker’s Bane.

His skill, both in hand-to-hand fighting and now with blades, was increasing exponentially under their tutelage. He still struggled a bit with the blades, because that had been a recent development in the past few weeks. The Prewett Gheyos had still wanted to hold off on introducing him to blade-fighting, but the Gheyos of Ryker’s Bane had no such qualms. 

The only concession that Ryker’s Bane made was that they started Harry with daggers and knives, not swords. It seemed that particular skillset was still a ways off in his curriculum.

And of course, phoenix magic from Inanna and Fawkes still. Their current struggle was teaching Harry how to use his phoenix flames and flash from place to place, with limited success.

He could use flames, but they didn’t feel completely natural. And neither Inanna or Fawkes knew the alternative ways Earth Phoelixes traveled.

Water Phoelix used waves and waterspouts. Air Phoelix used dust-spinners. Fire Phoelix relied solely on their flames.

Earth Phoelixes supposedly used sinkholes, which was just different enough that neither Inanna nor Heather and Llevan knew where to start in teaching that particular trick.

It was a bit annoying, if Harry had to be honest, but it wasn’t like he was lacking for things to do. He was kept busy—just as busy as he would have been at Hogwarts.

There was just no homework, much to his relief.

As busy as he was though, mealtimes were sacred. Lunch usually depended on his extended family and whoever he was spending the afternoon with. Breakfast and dinner were spent with the Prewett Circle, and Harry grew to look forward to those times, because everyone was there, no matter what they were doing. It was a time of day when they could all touch base and spend time with each other.

Those meals reminded him a lot of the Weasleys and how close they were.

The only exception to those meals was whenever Beaker showed up for pancakes.

The first few times it happened, the Joker spirited Harry and Inanna away with everyone else who was up at the time, with Maurice tagging along to soothe over any ruffled feathers.

Eventually, it happened enough that Addae incorporated pancakes into her standard breakfast menu, to spare both the Prewett Circle and Ryker’s Bane the expense of eating out. And when she realized just how early Beaker would show up and how early Harry tended to wake up most days, she would make the pancakes the night before and keep them under a warming charm throughout the night.

They weren’t cinnamon pancakes the majority of the time—those were a once-a-week treat—but that was probably for the best.

If they’d been cinnamon pancakes, they wouldn’t last through the night.

It was a wonderful life, one that Harry greatly enjoyed. He was very content with his living situation.

All that was left was to make things official.

The end of the year was approaching when the next big change in Harry’s life came.

It had been a fairly quiet morning. No lessons with the Hartwoods, and Inanna had been on library duty, so Harry had gone with her and Gideon. Maybe not the best idea, given the Submissive’s love for books, but Harry had been in the mood to read for a few hours.

He would never love it as much as Hermione did, but he didn’t loathe the task.

In hindsight, maybe the morning had been too quiet. Maybe his routine had become too settled.

“You’ve got guests,” Niall grunted, greeting Harry and Inanna at the door after they’d convinced Gideon to leave the library for the morning. He immediately started fussing over the red-haired Submissive, but he spared a glance at the two Phoelixes. “In the backyard. Figure out if they’re staying for lunch.”

“Me? Or Harry?” Inanna asked.

“Both of you,” the Pareya replied, before bustling away.

Inanna’s brow furrowed for a moment as she tried to think of who it could be. Guests? Plural?

“I’ve got no idea,” Harry said quickly, before she could ask him. It was one of the few days he was scheduled to spend the entire day with the Prewett Circle, so it wasn’t the extended family. The only person who ever seemed to want to see both him and Inanna at the same time without prior warning was Beaker when he wanted to spar with his fellow Joker. As tense as their first meeting had been, the two now got on splendidly, especially when their friendship came with an implicit agreement that they would agree to a spar against their fellow Avian at anytime.

It couldn’t be Beaker, because the Pareya all knew the Joker by now. If it had been him, they would have just said so

Inanna thought for a minute more and Harry could see when she possibly figured it out, though he was still clueless. Her face twisted into one of absolute rage, the likes of which he hadn’t seen before. “Oh, absolutely not!” she snarled and promptly started storming her way through the manor, towards the backyard. There was a distinct sound of a blade being drawn.

Harry followed after her, rolling his eyes. He might not have seen that particular reaction before but he could easily see how things were going to progress. Inanna had been spoiling for a fight for a few days now—Sarai had put her on library duty and restricted her from the Pits again—and she’d just found her target. He pitied the poor soul, despite his curiosity—they were his guests as well, after all.

“Get out!” Inanna screeched as soon as she saw two familiar faces—one expected, one less expected. There had been a fifty-fifty chance the latter would show up and she’d lost that particular gamble, it seemed.

Harry just barely heard the snide reply before there was a flurry of feathers exploding around him and the sound of metal meeting metal. He sighed as the fence around the backyard patio splintered into pieces, Inanna and her target spilling onto the dirt.

“Mind the garden!” a woman’s voice called from the shaded area of the patio.

Harry glanced at the speaker and was immediately startled by her striking resemblance to a certain other Phoelix. Switch out the red hair for black hair, red-gold eyes for dark brown eyes, and add a few more inches of height and there was Inanna 2.0.

Sneaky, sneaky Pareya. They must have guessed who the guests were—or at least one of them—but there had been no hint.

There was a set of screeches that reminded Harry distinctly of nails on chalkboard and he winced. The woman grimaced as well. She glanced at Harry. “Ignore them,” she sighed. “That’s relatively normal—for them, anyways. As soon as they land eyes on each other, they revert back to acting like children, no matter how many centuries have passed.”

Harry simply hummed, not sure how to reply to a statement like that. He wasn’t particularly surprised, but the ferocity of Inanna’s reaction was still startling. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened in the past to prompt an immediate reaction like that.

“Are you Nnenne?” he asked instead, crossing his arms and tucking his hands into his wide sleeves. Despite being on the manor grounds, the aura of Phoelix pulsed around him, overpowering the dragel. It was a very distinctive pulse, especially since usually it was only a sensation that he felt in Inanna’s set of rooms. It didn’t take much to put it all together.

“I am,” the female Phoelix replied, a small smile appearing. “And the idiot you haven’t met yet is my brother, Kai. I take it that you’re Harry, my new patient.”

Harry nodded. Technically, though he knew that there would probably be layers added to that. Patient, likely future student, possible nest-mate…

Nnenne patted the seat beside her. “Why don’t you come over here,” she suggested. “You’re still within their wingspan.”

Harry cast a skeptical look over at Inanna. He’d never seen her wings extend that far, but he’d also never seen her fully transform. The feathers floating in the air seemed to suggest that she might be close to doing so, however.

“Four forms,” Nnenne said when Harry slowly edged his way over to her. “Human, as you’ve seen. Human with wings. Avian, phoenix-sized. Avian, thunderbird-sized. If there’s a fight, especially with those two, it’s always best to stay out of range of the largest form.” She winced as a large wind shear tore up a good section of the yard—thankfully well away from the garden and any trees. “I hope our hosts don’t mind the destruction. I forgot to ask when we were led back here.”

“She’ll just be responsible for putting it back together and cleaning things up,” Harry said with a small shrug. “It’s seen worse.” He already could name several occasions when the entire backyard, garden included, had gone up in flames. There were several permanent scorch marks in the ground closer to the Gheyo training areas.

Nnenne’s nose twitched at the response. “Without magic, I hope. They’ll never learn otherwise.” As she spoke, an annoyed glimmer appeared in her dark eyes.

That was … a very good idea, Harry decided. Hopefully one that wouldn’t get passed on to the Pareya or the twins or Malachi or Sarai. They didn’t need ideas like that. The ones they had were already effective enough, more or less.

“We’re supposed to ask if you’re staying for lunch,” he recalled.

“It’s probably a good idea,” Nnenne decided, not thinking too hard on the offer. “Neither of them have enough manners to go somewhere public.”

Harry tried not to laugh.

He wasn’t very successful.

Nnenne patted the seat beside her again. “Come, tell me about yourself,” she said. “I’m very curious to know why my—why such an irritable fluff of feathers has become so fond of someone finally.”

“Inanna’s fond of a lot of people,” Harry said, taking care not to default to one of the nicknames he sometimes called her. It felt odd to say her full name. “Even if she doesn’t show it in a typical fashion.”

“Not fond enough to reach out to me,” Nnenne countered. “Up until very recently, I thought there was only one person she liked enough to do that for.”

Harry arched an eyebrow. “Who’s that?” he asked.

“Hopefully someone you never meet.”

Harry waited, but no more information came. He suppressed a sigh. So much for learning more, though he was starting to formulate a few suspicions.

None that he would ever voice aloud though. It would be like his suspicions about the Prewetts and the Weasleys somehow being connected or related—something he would ponder on his own, but never actually ask about, to avoid broaching a sensitive subject.

And it was a sensitive subject, if someone like Inanna avoided it.

Gideon stuck his head outside and Harry bit his lip to hide a smile when the Submissive’s eyes widened and he promptly called for Fabian.

“Twins?” one of them muttered to the other.

Nnenne shifted a bit and pulled out a fan to hide her own expression. Harry was fascinated to see that the edges of the fan were bladed and that the spines of the fan were made of metal. “Yes, Kai’s my twin,” she said, voice clear, her words slow and deliberate.

Both of the twins gave her a skeptical look. “Not twins?” Fabian asked, gesturing between Nnenne and Inanna.

Inanna let out an aggravated screech as she pinned the male Phoelix, Kai, to the ground. “No, we’re not twins!

Nnenne simply started fanning herself, brown eyes twinkling with mischief.

Harry couldn’t help but laugh.

Chapter Text

A few days after Nnenne’s arrival, Harry was summoned to the Earth Courts.

They’d been expecting a summons to come for some time now, so it really wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t even a surprise that it came from the Earth Courts instead of the Fire Courts. There’d been some back and forth between the two Courts but with Harry as the one being adopted and being an Earth element himself, the Earth Courts had managed to claim jurisdiction over his adoption.

Harry’s stomach twisted in knots when the summons came, early in the morning, accompanied by Briar and Heather.

It was the next step in the process. He would have to meet with someone officially from the Earth Courts, to discuss his situation.

Just a formality, he’d been assured, but that didn’t go a long ways in soothing him. While he’d wanted the adoption to go quickly, he really wished that this particular meeting could be pushed off for another few weeks, because if things went poorly, it was going to ruin his Christmas.

Unfortunately for him, a good portion of Nevarah didn’t celebrate Christmas—they celebrated something called Starspun in the days after the new year.

The Prewett Clan celebrated both, because both holidays emphasized family and connections, which boosted their Family Magic.

But for many in the Earth Court, the primary holiday of celebration was Starspun and there was a great push to get things done before the end of the year, before everyone scattered for their family celebrations.

Hence the summons a few days before Christmas.

At least Harry wouldn’t be going to the Earth Courts alone. Not only would he have Heather and Briar, but he would also have Addae and Anja and all four of the Prewett Circle’s triad. Not to mention Inanna and Nnenne. Maurice and Llevan too, since their Circle’s most recent assignment finished the night before.

It seemed a bit much, but Harry couldn’t bring himself to protest the numbers. Not after the past two years, when he’d spent a good portion of the train ride back to London wondering if the Dursleys were going to even show up to take him back to Privet Drive.

He also wasn’t going to protest when it meant stopping for snacks on the way to the Earth Courts—specifically snacks in the form of Fae-made snickerdoodle cookies, with extra cinnamon dusting.

“Do I want to know how much cinnamon you end up going through?” Heather murmured to Addae when they stopped and orders were placed.

The Pareya gave her a long-suffering look. “There’s four of them living with us for the time being. I love them all, even Nnenne and Kai, as new as they are, but Tiran suggested the other day that we invest in spice stocks. Or a cinnamon farm. I don’t know how your realm functions, given the amount that just four of you use.” The last comment was directed at Nnenne.

The Phoelix shrugged. “We’re not the only Avians that live in the realm,” she said delicately. “There’s many different types there, more than what you know here in Nevarah. And not all of us go for cinnamon. Some nests prefer other spices like chili powder, paprika, cassia, or sage. Some go for the aromatic resins instead of spices, preferring frankincense or myrrh. It’s all a matter of taste.”

Wedged between Nnenne and Inanna, Harry’s nose wrinkled at the list she gave. He didn’t mind chili powder or paprika—the Prewett Circle was fond of peppers and spicy food, so he’d gotten used to it over the months—but cinnamon would always be his favorite.

The City’s public entrance to the Earth Courts wasn’t far from the Fae bakery they’d stopped at, so not too long after their break, Harry found himself staring at a sectioned off area of the City, heavily guarded by Gheyos.

The walls sectioning off the Earth Courts were mostly made of stone, but thick vines hung off of them and wove their way into the few gaps in the stone. No buildings were visible beyond the walls, but Harry had been told to expect that. Most of the Earth Courts’ rooms were under the surface of Nevarah, connected by a wide maze of tunnels. Any buildings above the surface tended to be low to the ground or built into mountains and cliffs, if the terrain allowed for it.

Fabian shared a grimace with his twin. “We can’t go any further,” he informed Harry. “Earth elements and affinities or Nameless only, beyond the wall. Not to mention, they’ll want to talk to you alone, to make sure you aren’t being pressured into anything. But we’ll be waiting for you when you come back out.”

Harry nodded in understanding. It had all been explained to him earlier.

Beside the Prewett twins, Maurice shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll be waiting out here too. Normally I’d gladly go in with you, little one, but I can sense another Empath not too far away and having two of our strength can be too overwhelming, especially if no precautions have been taken ahead of time.”

Briar and Heather traded looks. “Another Empath?” the Submissive asked tentatively, a guarded look in his eyes. Maurice nodded and Briar smiled grimly. “I was going to stick with the original arrangements, with you being accompanied by just Heather, Addae, and Nnenne, but I think I’ll come with you now, see what that’s about.”

“Your Alpha?” Gideon asked and frowned when Briar bobbed his head.

“Could be. If it is … well, we’ll stick around and make sure that Harry rejoins your group, but then you might not see us for a while, especially if Juniper and I need to have … words.”

Everyone winced, even Harry. There had been a few occasions over the months when Malachi and the twins argued or didn’t agree on something. It never lasted for very long and the Circle made sure to keep him away from most of it, but those occasions were never enjoyable for anyone in the manor.

He imagined that it would be so much worse for the Evanson Circle, given how long their Alpha had been away and Briar’s hellhound nature. Even more so if their Alpha was an Empath like Maurice was, as he was now learning.

Yeah, he didn’t want to be anywhere near that.

“Someone should let Rian and the others know,” Heather murmured as they started to make their way into the Earth Courts, showing Harry’s summons to the Gheyos on duty, as well as the Evanson crest they carried.

“They’ll know, even if we don’t tell them ourselves,” Briar countered, starting to feel emotions trickling through a bond that had been closed for decade.

Yes, Jun was back. And if she was just starting to reopen her bonds, reach out to them, she had just gotten back that morning.

As usual, her timing sucked.

But a vindictive part of Briar was looking forward to telling his Alpha exactly how much she had missed in her long absence, as well as getting answers for Harry.

Maybe it would make up for a fraction of the pain he’d felt over the decades.

Harry didn’t get a chance to meet, or even see, the Evanson Alpha because almost immediately, their group was separated—Briar and Heather to go find their Alpha, Harry to be interviewed by the Earth Courts, and the others to wait for them. Nnenne hadn’t been expected, but as he was led to a small study connected to the main waiting area, Harry could hear someone asking if they could interview her as well, to get another Phoelix’s perspective on the situation.

He wondered what she would say, if she agreed to be interviewed. He’d only known her a few days, after all. Not nearly enough time to get settled, let alone comprehend the sheer chaos that surrounded the Prewett Circle and Harry’s extended family, especially since most of the time he’d known her, she’d been needling at Inanna and Kai, with them sniping at her in return.

The three adult Phoelix had an odd dynamic. On the surface, they didn’t get along, taking every opportunity they could to bother each other. While Inanna and Kai’s fight at first sight had surprised them the first day, the Prewett Circle had already learned that they could probably expect a similar interaction on a daily basis.

At the same time, however, Harry only needed to take one look at the three of them together to realize that the bonds between them ran deep.

Nest bonds.

He’d realized long ago that Nnenne was part of Inanna’s nest, but with her way of describing Kai as “annoying baggage,” he hadn’t realized that the Air Phoelix was as well.

They fought—a lot. They couldn’t spend more than five minutes in the same room without dissolving into hair-rising and feather-ruffling screeches.

And yet, they were still part of the same nest.

Sometimes, Harry wondered if there was a Water Phoelix out there as well, to complete the quartet of elements.

He hadn’t dared ask that yet, though. Maybe he would in the future, eventually.

The study he was taken to was small, but comfortable, decorated in muted browns, golds, and blacks. There was a hearth, with a fire burning low in it.

That small detail alone relaxed Harry, more than any words could.

The one interviewing him was also surprisingly young, not some old stuffy councilman like Harry had been expecting.

“Hello, Harry. My name is Raspen,” the man said. “Thank you for coming today. I know it was rather short notice.”

Harry gave an awkward shrug. “We’ve been expecting one for a bit. It was just a matter of when.”

Raspen smiled softly. “Yes, I can imagine. I’m sorry it took so long. Normally we wouldn’t have let it go on for so long when it was agreed that the adoption would be uncontested, but in addition to your blood relatives signing off on it, their Circles’ Submissives and Alphas need to do so as well.”

“Which couldn’t happen until Alpha Evanson returned,” Harry stated. “Briar was … looking forward to seeing her again.” It was a bit awkward to refer to him by his name, but the other option was referring to him as his grandfather and Harry wasn’t quite ready to take that step yet. He could acknowledge that they were his family and be pleased to think of them as such, but actually giving voice to such terms was still a bit odd, after just having the Dursleys for so long. 

Raspen chuckled. “That’s one way to put it,” he agreed. “There’s still some unanswered questions regarding their situation, but she signed off on your adoption when she saw Briar and Rian’s names, trusting that they were more informed and knew what was best. So for now, let’s focus on that and get this next formality out of the way. Why don’t you start by telling me exactly how you came to the Prewett Circle.”

Harry shifted uncomfortably. He’d been told to be as honest and detailed as possible, including how his Phoelix inheritance came to be. Inanna had taken it in stride, but somehow, he didn’t think the Earth Courts would react similarly.

Reluctantly, he started from the Chamber of Secrets being opened the previous Halloween.

Raspen sat back with a frown when Harry finished speaking. In addition to explaining how he’d come to the Prewett Circle, Raspen had also had him explain what he’d been learning since he came to Nevarah and what his day-to-day life looked like, including his interactions with his blood relatives.

It was uplifting to know that despite his Phoelix inheritance, Harry was still making connections to his dragel-roots.

They’d missed out on a promising young dragel, Raspen decided. A powerful one as well, given the power he could already feel surrounding Harry.

But that didn’t mean that they would forsake him now, just because he was Phoelix instead of dragel. He was still of their element and part of Nevarean society.

“One last question,” he finally said. “You’ve met your blood relatives now, have started forming relationships with them. In time, you’ll get to know them as well as you know the Prewett Circle. So who would you personally like to stay with and why?”

Harry frowned. He’d been expecting this question, though he still wasn’t looking forward to answering it.

At least they asked it, though. No one had ever asked with the Dursleys.

“I’ve stayed with people who were related to me by blood, but who have never treated me like family, so blood means nothing to me when it comes to determining such things. And from the very beginning, the Prewetts have treated me like family, despite not being related to me. They’re my nest now—all of them, not just Inanna. Maybe I’ll consider the Peverells and Evansons as part of my nest in the future, but that’s no guarantee. So I’d like to stay with the Prewett Circle. I’d like to stay with people who I know will treat me like family, rather than people that just happen to share blood with me.”

Raspen nodded, not really surprised by the answer.

“That’s it, then. Do you have any questions for me?”

Harry didn’t even hesitate. “What’s next? When will everything be finalized?”

“One last review of the claim, mostly to make sure that all of the paperwork was correctly filled out and filed,” Raspen said. “Once the Courts signs off on it, an adoption certificate will be given to the Prewett Circle and registered with your records at City Hall. It shouldn’t take any longer than a week.”

Harry bit his lower lip. “Do you think…”

Raspen raised an eyebrow. “Do I think what?” he prompted, when it didn’t seem like the boy would continue.

Tentatively, Harry made his request.

Raspen smiled when he heard it. “Yes, I think that’s possible,” he said.

He’d personally make sure it happened, if he had to.

On Christmas morning, Harry woke up far earlier than he normally did, after a night of barely sleeping at all.

It wasn’t the dawn light that woke him up, surprisingly. Instead, it was Nnenne, who was starting to get ready for the day. Instead of Inanna or one of the Prewetts, Harry had bunked in her room for the night, worried that his eagerness for the next day would give something away. In on the secret, Nnenne had agreed to it.

“Where are you going?” he asked her.

She gave him an amused look. “Where do you think I’m going?”

Harry grinned.

He waited until she left, then got ready himself.

For a long while, he debated about what to wear. He’d probably end up in dress robes at some point, given that they were going to Sadara’s estate later for the whole Prewett Clan to gather together, but he wouldn’t spend the whole day in them.

After some consideration, he threw on a pair of nice trousers and the jumper Mrs. Weasley had given him for Christmas his first year at Hogwarts. The jumper needed resizing and a few cooling charms—long sleeves around a Fire Circle was just asking for trouble and getting overheated if cooling charms weren’t used liberally—but it felt fitting to Harry.

Dressed, Harry darted down to the kitchen, greeting Niall and Kai with a chirp. No matter how early he woke, there was always someone else awake. Neither of the two individuals were a surprise, either. Kai was always awake before dawn, to get in a first flight as the sun was coming up, and Reese and Niall tended to switch off taking the night guard.

“French toast is on the stove, under a charm,” Niall said as he ruffled Harry’s hair. It had officially been deemed a lost cause, so no one thought twice about messing it up even further anymore. “We figured there would be some early risers today. One piece only—you still need to eat a proper breakfast in a couple of hours and there needs to be enough to share.”

Harry raised a brow, but the obvious question was answered when he lifted the lid on the pan.

Cinnamon french toast. He chirped again, happy by the discovery.

“Nnenne already left,” he said as he summoned a plate from the stack beside the stove, with barely a second thought. “She probably won’t be back until after breakfast at the earliest.”

Niall chuckled. “Nice try. One.”

Harry’s shoulders slumped.

His good mood couldn’t be erased, however. He had a feeling that nothing could ruin his mood today.

When Nnenne returned, she gave no indication of where she had gone.

The morning proceeded much as it would on any other day, with the exception that Harry didn’t have lessons. Instead, the manor was busy, preparing for the afternoon with the entire Prewett Clan and receiving gifts from the other Circles in Nevarah who celebrated Christmas. The Circle’s gifts to others had been delivered the day before, so that was one less thing for them to do.

Right before lunch, Harry was finally able to open the first of his presents. All of the others would be opened at the Clan gathering, but everyone in the Circle could open at least one ahead of time. It was a traditional gift, one that remained constant year after year, the combination of a favorite treat and something functional for them to use in the year ahead.

A new set of armor or a weapon for the Gheyos. Books for Gideon. New equipment for his laboratory for Fabian. New cookware for Adi, new plants for Anja’s garden.

Even Nnenne and Kai received something, for all that they showed up only a few days prior. A part of the grounds had been sectioned off for Nnenne’s own garden, while Kai received access passes to Fabian and Shai’s labs, so he could do his own experiments.

Harry had a feeling that the number of explosions heard around the house would increase significantly in the next year.

Harry himself received protective gear for his more practical lessons, specifically the ones that would take place in a lab, workshop, or clinic. He also received cinnamon-dusted chocolate truffles, one of which he unwrapped immediately and popped in his mouth before anyone could tell him to save them for later.

They’d probably be gone before dinner.

Tucking the truffle between his teeth and his cheek, Harry wedged himself between Fabian and Gideon, giving them grateful hugs for his gift. Then, he gestured for Nnenne and Inanna to come over as well, so he could give the Prewett Circle his own gift.

“Straight from the Earth Courts!” he chirped as the twins unwrapped it. Nnenne had gone one step further than just picking it up for him, going so far as to get it framed and wrapped.

The twins froze for a heartbeat as they stared at it. Then, Harry squawked loudly as several pairs of arms descended upon him at once, squeezing him in tights hugs all around.

“They told me a week!” Gideon said. “Not three days! Those little—”

Harry laughed and then squawked again as he got pulled into another set of tight hugs, this time from the Gheyos as they caught a glimpse of the framed adoption certificate, Harry’s name proudly displayed on it.

Harry Potter-Prewett

Almost immediately upon arriving at their mother’s home, the twins were proudly showing off the adoption certificate and Harry was resigning himself to a nonstop train of hugs from every single Prewett, even the ones that had bonded into the Clan instead of being born with the surname.

He’d known the Prewett Clan was large—even larger than the Weasley family—but it was his first time seeing them in full turn-out, from parents to grandparents and great-grandparents to siblings and cousins to children. Less than a third of the faces were familiar from his visits to Sadara’s home over the past several months.

It was overwhelming but in the best sort of way. From the moment he’d seen it in the Mirror of Erised, Harry had wanted a large family, one that cared about him.

He’d finally gotten it.

He beamed when Sadara managed to make his way over to him finally, to give him another hug. She’d given him one nearly as soon as he came through the door, before starting to fuss over the twins in her typical fashion, but he supposed that one hug wasn’t enough for her.

His smile grew even larger when she tucked a bag of sweets in his robe pocket. “We made up a series of smaller gifts for you,” she explained. “But I think today’s news means we can give you the bigger gift instead, rather than saving it for Starspun or your birthday.”

Harry chirped curiously at her comment. A bigger gift?

“I would have been fine with something small,” he said. “With the exception of a few things, all of the gifts I’ve gotten have been small.”

“Normally I’d agree,” Sadara replied. “Small and thoughtful, or homemade. It’s hard to go wrong with homemade sweets, especially among dragels with our fondness for sugar.” Her red-orange eyes flicked over him. “Or a sweater,” she continued with a knowing smile. “That’s a very lovely sweater. Who made it?”

“A friend’s mother,” Harry answered, tugging on the hems of his sweater a bit to straighten it out.

“Wonderful knitting,” Sadara praised. “I’ve tried to teach my lot, but only one managed to pick it up and she never stuck with it long enough to finish a project. The closest I’ve managed to get is Camiestra with her fondness for lace, but she prefers to buy it instead of make it. Anyways, as I was saying, I tend to agree, but this is a spoiling occasion, I think. And my sons would agree.”

They definitely would, Harry knew.

As it turned out, his gift was big enough that it couldn’t be wrapped, so when it came time to open presents, Harry and then twins were brought upstairs to a spare room, where a wardrobe awaited him.

“A trip to Narnia?” he asked, only partially joking and hoping that the others would understand the reference.

Gideon, unsurprisingly, snorted in amusement. “Let’s hold off on discovering new realms until your second or third century,” he replied, before nodding to his mother in thanks, already knowing what was inside the wardrobe.

Harry tentatively opened the wardrobe, and his jaw dropped open when he saw the sheer number of clothes and robes inside, with something for almost every occasion conceivable. They all displayed the same crest.

“The twins and their Bonded will be responsible for your courting clothes, when you feel that you’re ready to court and bond,” Sadara said. “But in the meantime, as head of the Clan, it’s my responsibility to ensure that you’re properly kitted out with our crest and colors. Happy Christmas, Harry.”

While Harry’s Christmas may have been the best he’d experienced by far, the same could not be said for those that remained back on Earth, in Britain’s wizarding world.

With the students returning home for the winter holidays, news had finally broken that Harry Potter had never shown up at Hogwarts for his third year. Investigations were started, both into his disappearance and into Dumbledore’s reasons for keeping the news from the public.

One proceeded better than the other.

Dumbledore’s reputation had taken a hit the year before, with his insistence on keeping the school open even though there was something in it attacking and petrifying students—parents weren't generally happy to think about their children being in danger—but many in the wizarding world heralded him as a hero, the great defeater of Grindelwald, so the results of the investigation into his actions surrounding Harry’s disappearance got buried after a few weeks and ultimately, nothing ever came of it.

The investigation into Harry’s disappearance got a little further. His magic was traced to his parents’ destroyed house in Godric’s Hollow, where a child-sized grave was found in the garden. There was no body in the grave, but experts were called in from all over the world and they reached the same conclusion—there were no more traces of Harry after that. Some of the ashes discovered in the grave were Harry’s ashes. Their best guess was that he had been kidnapped during the summer by someone, taken to Godric’s Hollow, killed, and then his body had been burned to hide the evidence.

And with Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban that same summer—a few days before, those who looked closer at the timeline realized—the one responsible for the Boy-Who-Lived’s death was clear.

Sirius Black had not only betrayed his two friends, the Potters, turning them and their location over to You-Know-Who, but he had finished what he started and killed their only child as well.

The news broke in a special evening edition of The Daily Prophet on Christmas Eve, so for the Christmas of 1993, the wizarding world mourned the loss of their savior.

Chapter Text

Starspun occurred only a few days after Christmas, the week-long holiday taking place between the end of the year and the beginning of the new year. The entire week was spent on the Prewett Clan’s main estate, where the Family Magic the Clan was known for was at its strongest. Now that he was officially a member of the Prewett family and bore their name, Harry benefited from being enveloped in that magic, though he barely noticed it. It was there, a constant hum, but for most of the week, he was more concerned with eating and running around with others his age, learning all the different games that were typical in Nevarah. 

Large as the Prewett Clan was, it was unsurprising that there were a couple dozen other teens and pre-teens around—some of them were now technically Harry’s cousins, while others were technically his nieces and nephews, the children of Fabian and Gideon’s older children. The thought crossed his mind once or twice, and it was a strange thought, but he quickly pushed it aside in preference of the Phoelix way of thinking of things—they were his nest. 

It was that simple. 

It was a bit weird, not seeing the Evansons or Peverells or Ryker’s Bane that week, but they were all celebrating the holiday in their own way and they made sure to send messages every few days. Harry was sure he would have been welcome at those celebrations, but apparently it was important to spend the entirety of his first Starspun with his primary family, the Prewetts. 

Besides, it was only a week—and one that passed very quickly at that. Harry was actually disappointed when it was over and they had to return home, if only because it meant he would have to go back to his routine of lessons and it would be a bit harder to visit his new friends.

Not that much harder, though. Sadara had managed to wrangle out a promise from the Twins to attend the Clan’s weekly feasts a couple times of month, since they couldn’t promise to attend weekly. Most of the Prewett Circles did, but they mostly lived on the outskirts of Nevarah and traveling to the main estate was easier for them than it was for the Twins’ Circle, who had often been off-realm in the past.

With the adoption formalized and Starspun over, the Prewetts began picking up off-realm engagements and contracts once again. From Harry’s understanding, they were shorter than they’d been in the past and not everyone went, but he’d gotten so used to everyone being around that it was a noticeable difference at first. It was a bit odd when a few of them were gone, but it was never longer than a week—or in one case, a couple of weeks—and there were still a few constants around that made the transition easier. For example, Inanna and Adi never went with, staying with him in Nevarah instead. 

There were more changes after the adoption too—one of the seals on Harry was finally going to be removed. Originally Shai and Anja had planned to remove it when the time came, but Juniper Evanson’s return changed all of that, since it was believed that she placed the original seal. 

And so, Harry met Jun.

“Arielle,” Jun breathed as she caught sight of emerald green eyes. Her eyes, in a boy too young to be one of hers.

One of Lily’s, she recalled, from all of the earlier discussions among her Circle. The younger of her twins, twins that had never made it to her Circle, despite her passing them over to her father to deliver them to Nevarah.

Her missing father, from everything they’d been able to find out. An entire Circle gone—a former Clan Chief’s Circle—and no one had noticed until Harry had been brought to Nevarah, until Jun herself had been recalled to answer a few questions. 

It was chilling to realize that no one might have noticed, if Harry had never inherited as any type of creature. If his dragel inheritance had been suppressed when he came of age, as one of the seals on him had intended.

The investigations had commenced, however. Hopefully whoever was behind the plot would be found in short order.

Harry’s breath also caught when he saw the woman. Her red hair was curly instead of wavy, she was older, her angles a bit sharper, but aside from that, she was nearly the spitting image of his mother—or at least, the pictures he had of her. 

“Harry, this is our Alpha, Jun,” Rian introduced quietly, carefully.

Harry nodded carefully in greeting. “Hi,” he said, a bit awkwardly, and breathed a silent sigh of relief when Shai came over and led the subsequent conversation. He understood some of it, since he’d picked up a basic understanding of runes the past few months, but plenty of it was over his head and he retreated to where Anja and Inanna had gathered, aware of Briar following him.

He chirped when the Submissive’s hug in greeting was a bit too tight, but beyond that, he didn’t protest, sensing that his grandfather needed that bit of contact. 

“How’re things?” Anja asked quietly when Briar eventually let go. 

The man’s face clouded over, taking on a dark look. “A mess.” He cast a look behind him at his Alpha and Beta, where they were still talking with Shai. “A pretty mess, but still a mess.” His dark eyes flashed red. “The Earth Courts aren’t allowing us to join any of the hunts. They don’t want anyone else disappearing and apparently the Evansons have a history of going missing off-realm.”

Harry bit the inside of his cheek and hoped that Inanna wouldn’t say anything to set off Briar’s temper. It seemed that Anja had a similar concern, because the Medic all but shoved a fruit slice into the other woman’s mouth, before offering the platter of fruit to Briar. 

He took some and chewed slowly for a minute, before shaking his head. “They’ll talk forever and nothing will get done,” he decided, before whistling the others over. 

Harry made a face because he wouldn’t have minded delaying for a few hours. The seal removal would ideally be painless, but there had been several times he’d heard that in the past and things hadn’t been painless. 

Shai looked disgruntled when he came over, something that didn’t put him at ease either. “We’ll have to make a few adjustments to our sequence,” he said as he sat beside Anja, several papers in his hand. “It’s an inherited Clan seal, not just a parental seal.”

“What does that mean?”

It was Jun that answered Harry’s question. “The original was placed on my girls and it used Clan magic strong enough that it got passed on to the next generation—you. It wasn’t my intention when I placed it but the magic of the pocket-realm I was using as my base must have strengthened the magic. It was a more mischievous realm than most.”

“One mishap doesn’t mean mischief,” Shai countered. “It could just mean an error in the magic.”

“I used time spells to compress a year into a month and ended up gone for over thirty years. A pregnancy of one became twins. The manor I was in randomly added rooms and moved them around to different areas of the building. I tried to save someone with a bound dragel inheritance and ended up with a Torvak Bonded. Believe me, randomly strengthening the magic in my spells and runes was some of the more subtle mischief for that realm.”

“Should have come home at the first sign of mischief,” Briar grumbled.

“…twins?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow when Inanna echoed the question in the same heartbeat, a mildly horrified look on her face. He didn’t think the idea warranted horror, but he was startled to learn that his mother and aunt were twins—he’d always known that his aunt was older than his mother, but she had never mentioned anything about twins.

Jun wrapped a hand around Briar’s. “I should have, but I didn’t really have a choice,” she said calmly. “The Royals needed that information.”

The dark look on Briar’s face grew even darker.

“Seal,” Anja reminded everyone. “Is it just the sequence that needs adjusting or is it the materials as well?”

“The materials will be fine,” Shai answered. “Since she’s here, Juniper will be the one to do the actual removal. I could manage it, but as a member of the Clan and as the one to actually place the original seal, the magic will respond better to her commands.”

“Does the paint need to be spiked?”

And that was the key question, Harry knew. It was a dragel seal, but he was Phoelix, so if the paint needed to be mixed with blood, no one was entirely sure whose blood was needed. There were theories, and there’d been several debates, but as far as he knew, no conclusion had been reached about that particular issue. Kai had been asked, but the Phoelix was less than helpful, since his general approach wasn’t so much based on theory, but trying things repeatedly with minor modifications and plenty of explosions until it eventually worked—his advice had been to try it one way and if that didn’t work, try it one of the other ways.

When the Prewetts had learned about Kai’s method of testing things, Harry had gotten several lessons on the importance of theory and, when it came time to put theory into practice, how to do so safely. 

“Is there any risk of contaminating the paint if we proceed one way first?”

Anja shook her head. “I made four batches, just in case. The other three are in the greenhouse, under the usual storage charms we use for potions.”

“Mixed blood first,” Jun decided. “I’ll be one of the donors, since it’s my seal.”

Harry snuck a glance at Inanna, wondering if he needed to offer or if the donor for Phoelix blood had already been decided. His green eyes narrowed when she withdrew a vial of blood from a storage charm embedded in the hilt of one of her blades. With training, a Phoelix could determine who had donated tears or blood, if they’d met that individual before. He’d practiced a bit—enough to know that when tears were involved, they were likely from Fawkes—but it was just something he’d started learning since Nnenne and Kai had come to Nevarah and he’d only ever met a handful of those like him. As the vial passed hands, all he could determine was that it had been freely given and nothing more.

He sat back with a huff and ignored Inanna’s amused glance in his direction. 

“Is there a second vial or is this all I get?”

“There’s a second one,” Inanna replied, her tone making it clear that she wouldn’t give it over until the first had been used up. 

Anja simply nodded and looked at Harry. “It’s time.”

He made a face and took a few steps away from the rest, dropping the robe wrapped around his body. They needed as much skin to paint the runes on, so all he could wear was a pair of swimming trunks, but at least it wasn’t his underwear or required him to be completely naked. If it had, he probably would have protested a lot louder. 

The space needed for the runic circle was quickly marked out and then the two Runes Masters began working in tandem, Shai painting the earth with runes and Jun doing the same on Harry’s body. 

“Why’d you send them away?” he couldn’t help but ask as they worked, his voice quiet.

There was a brief pause in the brushstrokes on his skin. “I was on a mission and unprepared to take care of children. Nevarah was the best place for them. And at the time, nothing seemed off. The pocket-realm resulted in twins, but the passover was on Earth and I tested my father’s identity. Whatever happened, it was after I gave them to him.”

“Why didn’t you bring them to Nevarah yourself? It had been longer than a month by then.”

“Briar asked that too. Unfortunately, there’s no good answer and not doing so is something I’ll regret every single day. Arm.”

Harry lifted his arm and didn’t ask anymore questions, because the rawness in Jun’s voice was too uncomfortable. Instead, he focused on the runes that Shai was painting on the ground and tried to identify them, frowning when it was only one or two out of every ten or so.

“Candles?” he asked when he saw them being spaced around the circle. “I thought the idea was nothing potentially explosive.”

“Candles aren’t supposed to be explosive. If they’re exploding, then something is seriously wrong.”

“Maybe not explosive, but they’re flammable,” he pointed out. “I’m not a firebird, so if something goes wrong, it’ll still burn.”

“Nothing’s going to go wrong,” Jun and Shai chorused together.

Harry raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything more. At least if anything happened, Inanna was there. Of everyone involved in what was currently happening, he trusted her the most to react if something went wrong.

“Eyes closed, head down,” Jun said once they were finished painting. 

Reluctantly Harry complied. A few heartbeats later, he felt the spell brush over him more than heard the words Jun uttered. He choked as the magic rushed through him and fought to stay as still as possible, knowing that something could go wrong if he smudged one of the painted runes on the ground. 

He’d thought he was strong, that he had plenty of magic at his disposal, but it was nothing compared to the pure force of Jun’s magic.

“And open,” the Alpha said a moment later, once the magic faded away. 

Harry blinked open his green eyes and started at how vivid and clear everything was, like a veil had been removed from his eyes. After his Phoelix inheritance, he hadn’t needed his glasses anymore, and it was like reliving that moment over again. “… what exactly was that seal doing?” he asked, because he couldn’t remember if anyone had actually explained that before. All he’d known was that it should be removed, because it wasn’t necessary after his inheritance.

“When I gave birth, I could sense that both girls had inherited some degree of my Empathy. I didn’t know how much, but growing up as an Empath can be difficult. It also sometimes makes itself known before a dragel’s inheritance and, if it’s as strong as mine was, can be very overwhelming. So I placed the seal to dim the ability somewhat, until they were of age and ready to handle that type of gift. If you’re picking up on any changes, then that may be an indication that you could have been an Empath as well if you were dragel, but for Phoelix…”

“I don’t think such gifts exist,” Harry said, glancing at Inanna as he wrapped himself in his robe again. Her answering shrug wasn’t really an answer and he frowned in reply. 

“Anja?” Shai called.

During the next few minutes, Harry tolerated the necessary checks to make sure the seal had been completely removed, barely paying attention to the others as he was too busy taking in everything with newfound clarity. 

“What are the plans for the other three seals?” Jun asked once it was confirmed that the Evanson seal had been removed. “Separate, transfer, break?”

“Yes,” Anja said blithely. 

Briar snorted at the look that crossed his Alpha’s face. “Still working on it,” he translated, since it seemed that none of the Prewetts were going to. 

“Nothing is going to happen today involving them, in case Harry’s magic needs to make any adjustments. We’ve reached out to a few specialists and Mages and are coordinating possible dates. The first priority is separation, because that’s what makes them more complicated than usual. If we can separate them, then they’ll be transferred and taken care of one by one. If separation is impossible, we’ve got a couple that are willing to take on all three if we can transfer them and break them then. Breaking them while they’re still on Harry is the last-case solution.”

Harry scowled because he was well aware of who had volunteered to take all three seals if separating them proved to be impossible. He knew that the three seals had something to do with Voldemort and while he was starting to realize that dealing with the Dark wizard wasn’t his responsibility, it wasn’t necessarily a burden he wanted to put on another in his nest. 

“Once a date is set…” Rian started.

“We’ll let you know,” Anja agreed.

After the Evansons left, Harry followed Inanna into the house. Of all the adults involved, he would have the best chance of convincing her. 

He followed her deep into the house, into areas he normally didn't have cause to go into. The rooms weren't forbidden to him but they were mostly storage rooms for some of the things that the Circle had picked up on their expeditions.and he preferred Fabian's current inventions and experiments over dusty old artifacts. But when following Inanna led him to a heavily warded armory, he started thinking he would have to re-evaluate that statement. 

He watched silently as the Joker went to stand in front of one of the more heavily-warded weapons in the room. He waited for her to say something—he wasn't naive enough to think she hadn't noticed him following her—but instead she kneeled in front of the large, gleaming trident.

After a few minutes, he carefully approached and kneeled next to her. He stared ahead at the trident, examining it. It was behind some very powerful wards—it was probably the most heavily warded thing in the house—but even from where he was kneeling, he could feel its power. 

A titled blade of some sort, given what he’d learned of Gheyos. Or maybe a blade of a different caliber—none of the other titled blades he’d encountered through the Prewett Suite and the extended family were that powerful, except for maybe the blade that gave Ryker’s Bane its name. 

"My courting gift to the twins and Malachi," she eventually explained, as he looked over the trident. "On the condition that possession of it was temporary and that eventually someone with a better claim to it would come along." 

Harry gave the weapon a considering look. A better claim...? 

It was easy enough to make a few conclusions. A trident was normally the type of weapon associated with Merrow—with Water. Phoelix had four elements, but he'd only met three. Kai and Nnenne, Air and Earth, were twins, but Nnenne and Inanna looked enough alike that there was some sort of blood connection there, even if magic prevented them from acknowledging it. It was a sensitive topic, just as the Water Phoelix was a sensitive topic. 

Twins could run in families. Earth and Air, Fire and Water. 

“When?" he asked. 

“Within a decade or two, probably," came the answer. "I haven't been keeping track of the years as carefully as I should have, so I can't be more specific than that." Inanna paused. "Until then, it's not to be mentioned outside this room. No one knows it 's here and it should stay that way." 

"Is it that much of a secret?" Harry couldn’t help but ask. If he could put it together, surely others would as well. 

"It was something entrusted to me, but others believed they could do better. It was an insult I eventually got tired of putting up with, especially when they forgot their duty and started claiming its power for their own." 

"You stole it," he realized. 

"I returned it to its rightful place." 

Harry fought back his smile, pressing his lips together in a thin, straight line. When he regained control, he tentatively ventured a question. “Why...?" 

"It's not a weapon I can wield. To wield it with all its power is the burden for a single individual." 

He tilted his head to one side, not understanding until Inanna continued. 

"Some burdens are singular, but some can be shared. Sometimes a burden starts out as singular, but then the option to spread it around comes. My burden was to guard, but I'm not the only one guarding it anymore." She nodded towards the many layers of wards. Then her red-gold eyes focused on Harry. "Your burden may have been to bear, but it's not a singular burden anymore. The thing about help is that sometimes you get it, whether or not you actually want it."

Harry scowled. "But—“ 

"When you live thousands of years, there are going to be many singular burdens. You’ll deal with plenty of your own. But this doesn’t have to be anymore. If you insist on making all of your burdens singular ones, you'll break. Break too many branches on your way down and the entire nest falls and breaks too. Understand?" 

Harry refused to answer. Yes, he did understand, even though the lesson was more metaphorical than he was used to from the other Phoelix. But admitting that felt like acceptance and he wasn’t ready for that—yet.