Chapter Text
Epilogue
The sea outside the Nott-Delmar estate was calm as Harry drank his morning cup of tea knee deep in the surf. The breeze was constant, wetting his scales enough for the day ahead. He had multiple meetings with the courts about the upcoming Hunt.
It would be his third hunt since moving to Nevarah. His second as the Head of the Peverell Clan. It had been twenty-six years since he left Earth and he rarely found time for himself, between his bonded, his children, his siblings, his job, and the courts, he had a full schedule.
Theo did try and keep everyone away from him for around forty minutes in the morning if they could manage it.
It was the same way that Harry would always make sure Theo had quiet time after dinner. While a lot of their circle were extroverts, Harry and his dear Alpha needed space and quiet time to recharge.
He sighed as he felt a magical signature swimming through the water towards him. The quiet morning was officially over. A familiar head of long black hair and blue eyes popped out of the water. She fumbled up from deeper end of the water, through a sand bar, stumbled back into the water face first and then landed with a splash at his feet.
“Good morning, Alyssa,” Harry greeted as she spat a bit of seaweed out of her mouth. She lacked the grace all three of her parents had in spades. Dad, Al and Lir were all a bit lost on how to correct it, though after twenty years, it seemed like losing battle.
Her magic was strong, but walking without tripping was never going to be something she’d accomplish. Sirius loved it and he had always doted on their oldest daughter. Alyssa groaned and sat in the water, her blue scales rippling as the sun started to dry her shoulders. “Hi, Harry…lovely weather, right?” She said as she rubbed the back of her neck.
She looked so much like dad when she did that.
Harry gently splashed her with a flick of his foot. “As much as I love spending time with you, Aly, I have to deal with the landwalker courts today,” he warned.
Time tended to slip away from the two of them if he wasn’t careful and his appointments today were nonnegotiable.
She bit her lip and gazed towards the sea. Quiet wasn’t her default setting. That had Harry banishing his cup and sitting in the water next to her. He was going to have to change his clothes before he left anyway. They both had dad’s messy hair, but Alyssa looked a lot like Al, fine royal lines and Lir’s keen sense of right and wrong. She was the unofficial crown princess unless one of dad’s other children wanted the throne.
No one was jumping for it, but the others were still uninherited. “Do you think I should publicly court this hunting season?” She asked and Harry raised an eyebrow.
This sounded like a conversation she should be having with dad or Al, but Harry remembered being twenty. Speaking about his feelings with his parents was the last thing he wanted. “I thought you were seeing someone already? The cartographer that Alec thinks is blowhard, but I think he’s just being a pain in the ass to annoy you?” Harry asked confused. He thought he was up to date on Alyssa’s love life.
His sister was an alpha, but a shy one, despite being a princess. “Yes, Jay and I are still courting. A submissive has started showing interest in both of us…and I don’t’ want to force them to hide because of my status,” she admitted, her cheeks blushing a light lilac. A publicly courting royal was always a spectacle unless they kept it quiet.
Harry’s courting had always been public, but no one had really known who he was above the waves at the time. His sister’s taste leaned more towards a water heavy circle and the merrow courts would always be ruthless. “It’s up to you. The Aqua-kin’e courts knew I was courting Alec and Cove for years. You just need to be up front with your potential bonded. If you need, I can vet them,” which he had done for two other less than genuine suitors.
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I feel like such a guppy. I’m turning twenty and I’m nervous about courting. By my age you had an entire circle,” she grumbled.
He flicked her on the side of the head. She hissed, but didn’t move off of him. “None of that,” he chided, “If I hadn’t inherited at fourteen, I doubt I would have had nearly that many bonded by my first Hunt. Enjoy the Hunt and if that submissive shows promise and interest, I promise to help with Sirius and Al.”
She groaned and flopped back into the water. Sirius was very protective of the kids. He always had been a bit of guard dog, but now that the oldest were starting to think about bonding he was getting a bit territorial and nervous.
Harry hadn’t had a bad time courting and bonding, but things had been simpler…family wise. The dark lord and coup issues aside.
“Thanks,” she grumbled before he heard Theo call him from house.
He ruffled her wet hair. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow at dinner, Aly. Send the twins, Carter and Tali my love,” he said as she all but vanished under the water. Her magic washing back out with waves.
Harry stood and stretched as he made his way back to the main house. Theo was waiting for him, fully dressed for the day. “Talking to someone out there, Treasure?” He asked as Harry pressed a kiss to his cheek.
He nodded as a wry smile pulled at his lips. “Alyssa has pre-Hunt jitters,” he replied as he gave a small nip to his Alpha’s chin.
Theo let out a hum as the sound of small feet and Fred’s shouts of surprise could be heard upstairs as he woke up the monsters for school. What was the saying? Let you have children just like yourself?
Luckily, his children seemed to mellow with age. His oldest was already off to school to get in some studying before classes picked up for the day. She was very much their alpha’s child. Theo pressed a kiss to the crown of Harry’s head. “I’m just glad that ours are still uninherited. The next hunt is going to be…interesting.”
That was one way to put it. Their two oldest would be more than ready to court by then and their parents were protective to say the least. Hadrian was going to be a nightmare, Harry knew that much, but that was a future problem.
“I’ll change and then we can head out?” He asked as a crash sounded from upstairs and Rai’s call of “Nothing’s broken!” came soon after.
Perry was at the table, a report in hand, scars along his arms were painted with the bioluminescent paint Beck loved to use. The joker was training this morning. They had bonded over their cursed scars together. Harry was just glad that Perry had someone to relate to over the years. Harry had made it a mission to show his lovely royal just how much he appreciated him and the horrors he had overcome.
Quinn was in the kitchen making breakfast, Wikhn and Blaise were leaning over the pot of whatever he was stirring. Hadrian and Ariki were discussing something in the corner. George was setting plates at the table for breakfast before he and Fred took their youngest to school before heading to their shop.
Ethan was upstairs wrangling the children with Fred and Rai before he went to the archives for the afternoon. Harry made sure he had time away from the house. Everyone deserved to have their jobs and hobbies outside of the children. While pareya were typically the ones that watched them, Harry knew all three of his were very career driven and he made sure they hadn’t given that up when they decided it was time for kids.
Alice was out at an early morning appointment. He was recording his fifth studio album and preparing for its release was taking up his mornings, but Harry loved hearing him practice at home or sing the kids to sleep in the evenings.
Cove and Alec were already at court. Al was preparing for the Hunt and driving both of them mad with the preparations. It didn’t help that Harry suspected one of Al’s bonded was expecting. Al was really only ever this agitated when he couldn’t be around during a pregnancy. Harry would no doubt find out in the next few weeks.
Desten was out setting up classes at his parents’ compound. There was a particularly feral child that had been dropped off recently. He would bite everything and thought murder and maiming was the answer to all his problems.
Corbin had an early morning dealing with one of Aiden’s meltdowns. Hermione had been keeping him on his toes recently, which always brought a smile to Harry’s face. Death had been pushing Harry since he reunited her hallows.
He was her emissary and one of the appointments he had was with her grumpy hound.
Theo wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist as he took in the chaos before him. His bonded were up and causing trouble, the children were running amok and all was well.