Return of the Heirs

Harry Potter and the Return of the Heirs By J.C. Vascardi

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling, various publishers, and Warner Brothers. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places and characters that are not in the books.

• • • Chapter Twenty-Three * * *

It wasn't an easy task, but after hours of feverish spell casting, Draco's wounds were healed. Severus poured two more potions into Draco's mouth, a Blood Replenishing potion and a Dreamless Sleep potion, before falling into a nearby chair, completely exhausted. Poppy and Asheera sat down nearby and one could clearly see the exhaustion that both of them felt.

"Thank heavens he's going to be okay," Poppy said.

"Yes," Severus said as he gazed at Asheera speculatively. "That was some fancy spell work you exhibited and without a wand."

"You mustn't let this leave the room," Asheera said, "but Atlanteans are masters of Wandless Magic. Professor Dumbledore wants Valen to teach a course on it to a select group of students at some future date, so we're keeping it a secret."

"Most likely a good idea," Severus nodded. "I suppose Potter will be one of the select students."

"We didn't discuss who would be in the class," Valen said, as he sat down on a nearby empty bed, "but yes, I assume that Mr. Potter will be in the class. I should think all of the heirs will be."

"What do you mean all the heirs?" Poppy asked. "Have they been discovered?"

"Oh, I forgot it wasn't common knowledge yet," Valen said in a sheepish voice. "Yes, all four of the heirs are known to the Headmaster and a select group of students close to the heirs themselves."

"Well, who are the heirs?" Severus asked.

"Ryan Cromwell is Ravenclaw's heir," Asheera answered. "Zacharias Smith is Hufflepuff's heir, Nicolas Delaney is Slytherin's heir, and Harry Potter is Gryffindor's heir."

"It figures that Potter would be Gryffindor's heir," Severus said rather bitterly.

"I sense you don't like Mr. Potter," Asheera said.

"Oh really and what was your first clue?" Severus asked sarcastically.

"I haven't known him long," Asheera said, "but he seems like a perfectly lovely young man to me."

Severus made a grumbling noise, but otherwise said nothing and Asheera decided it best to drop it.

Early the next morning, Ryan was sitting at the head of the dining room table in Rowena's private quarters. Matthew, Oliver, Justin, and Corelian were sitting around the table with him, enjoying the breakfast that Dobby had brought up for them.

"Matt, Oliver, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Ryan said.

"What's that, Ry?" Oliver asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about your wedding," Ryan asked. "I want to sponsor the two of you so that you can legally marry in Atlantis."

Matt got a confused look on his face and said, "What are you talking about, Ry?"

"Well, you know I'm Half-Atlantean," Ryan said, to which both Matt and Oliver nodded. "Well, what you might not know is what that means. Atlanteans are eternally youthful and very long lived. As a Half-Atlantean, dad and Asheera tell me that I can expect to live an average of 500 plus years."

"Damn, 500 plus years?" Matt asked, clearly shocked. "Wow. That's quite awhile."

"Yes, well, it'll also be rather painful," said Ryan. "I mean, watching people I love grow old and die, while I stay young and alive. That's why I want to sponsor the two of you."

"What do you mean sponsor us?" Oliver asked.

"Sponsor you so that you can get married in Atlantis," Ryan answered. "I'd have to donate a few drops of blood and you two would have to agree to an Atlantean wedding ceremony and wear the traditional Atlantean wedding jewelry, but in turn, you'll both have my eternal youth and lifespan. Then I won't have to watch you get old and die, so I'm really hoping you'll agree."

"Well," Oliver said, "Ryan, we're honored to be asked and all, but Matt and I were planning on being bonded."

"Bonded?" Corelian asked. "Are you referring to the completely idiotic and totally selfish human Wizarding practice of going through a soul-bonding ritual?"

"Yes, he was," confirmed Matt. "And I don't think it's idiotic and selfish."

"Yes, actually it is, Matthew," Corelian said. "Answer me this question, if you please. Do you and Oliver plan on having children?"

"We haven't really talked about it," Matthew said, "but, yes, I think I'd like to have children at some point. What about you, Oliver?"

"Yes, I want to," Oliver said. "I'm an only child myself, so I've always wanted a few kids. I always thought that seven was a good number, because then the kids could have their own Quidditch team."

"So, let me get this straight," said Corelian. "You intend to bring seven children into this world after performing a soul-bonding ritual that will bind your souls together for eternity?"

"Well, I'm not sure on the seven kid part," Matt said as he looked at Oliver, "but then again if it makes Olli happy then I'd probably be amenable to it. But, yeah, we want to have kids and do the soul-bonding ritual."

"Then you are both selfish idiots," Corelian said, "and you will be barred from marrying in Atlantis if you go through with that ritual."

"Why are we selfish idiots?" Matthew and Oliver asked in unison.

"Think about it for a minute, would you?" Corelian said. "The soul-bonding ritual you wish to partake in would bind your souls together for eternity. However, your souls being bonded poses one very distinct problem: if one of you dies, the other one will also die. Now, hypothetically speaking, Oliver is playing in a Quidditch match, is hit with a Bludger, falls off his broom, and dies of a broken neck. That means that, you, Matthew will also instantly drop dead."

Ryan got a sudden look of understanding as he realized where his father was going with this and said, "The soul-bonding is a bad idea because if you have children and the unthinkable happens and one of you dies, both of you will die, leaving your children orphaned."

Corelian nodded and said, "Yes, Ryan, that's exactly right. The soul-bonding will insure that neither of you has to spend a single second alive without the other. It will not take into consideration the fact that you may have young children who depend on you. Matthew, if the scenario I've mentioned played out, you could be in the middle of feeding your newborn baby a bottle and you would drop dead, leaving him or her helpless and unprotected."

Matthew and Oliver turned to look at one another, the color draining from both of their faces, as they had obviously never even thought of such a scenario when discussing their plans for the future. Finally, Matthew said, "You know, I never really thought of that. I mean, the idea of the soul-bonding seems romantic and like the ultimate commitment, but when you put it that away, I can see why you say that it's idiotic and selfish."

"Well, I mean no offense," Corelian said, "but you short-lived humans can be rather short-sighted at times. You tend to live in the moment, without really considering the ramifications of your actions. I'm not trying to say that Atlanteans are superior, because we certainly have our shortcomings, but our long life spans do force us to look at the big picture a bit more often."

"Hmm, well, then," said Oliver, "the soul-bonding is definitely out. So, what exactly is involved in an Atlantean wedding ceremony?"

"It's basically the same as a human ceremony," Corelian answered. "There are a few differences of course, the biggest being the jewelry involved. There's more jewelry involved then a human ceremony, but it is acceptable for those who prefer not to wear much jewelry to use concealment charms to hide it from sight."

"What kind of jewelry?" Ryan asked.

"One moment, I'll be right back," Corelian said as he stood and walked out of the dining room.

Covered with his invisibility cloak, Harry made his way down to the entrance to the Hospital Wing. Looking on the map, Harry could see that Draco was alone in the room. Madame Pomfrey was in Professor Dumbledore's office, so Harry was confident that he could spend a little time with Draco, undisturbed.

Entering the room, Harry stepped into a shadowy corner, removed his cloak, deactivated the map, and stowed them both in an inner pocket of his robe. Walking over to Draco's bed, Harry could see that the blond was sleeping peacefully.

`I was so worried about you,' Harry thought as he looked at the blond; he wasn't sure if he should talk, for fear of waking the boy.

Pulling out his wand, Harry performed a simple diagnostic spell that Madame Pomfrey had taught them in the Basics of Battlefield Medicine group.

"Ah, Dreamless Sleep potion," Harry said. "You'll be out of it for awhile yet."

Even with the knowledge that Draco wouldn't awaken anytime soon, Harry simply pulled up a chair, sat down next to the bed, and just began to watch the blonde's chest rising and falling. He was so mesmerized by the movement that he didn't notice the other person enter the room.

Since he didn't have his wand yet, Corelian exited the dining room in order to perform the countercharms for the concealment spells that he wore on his jewelry. He had never been much of a man for jewelry, but the Atlantean marriage rites had three main pieces of jewelry, plus two other optional pieces. Both Corelian and Asheera wore all five pieces of jewelry, but some couples chose to use only the main three.

Taking a few minutes to make it seem like he had gone to use the restroom, Corelian returned to the dining room and sat back down.

"Sorry about that, call of nature," Corelian lied, as the others just nodded. Ryan knew that his father was lying, but Matthew and Oliver had no reason to suspect Corelian of any duplicity.

"So, what jewelry is involved in an Atlantean ceremony?" Ryan asked again.

"Similar to human weddings," Corelian said as he held out both of his hands, "there are rings involved. Although, humans usually only wear a ring on the third finger of the left hand, whereas Atlanteans wear a ring on the third finger of both."

On Corelian's hands, Matthew, Oliver, and Ryan could see a pair of fancy silver rings, engraved with what they assumed to be a family crest, although the crests on the two rings were different. The crests were surrounded by a circle of alternating diamonds and rubies.

"As you probably noticed," Corelian said, "the engravings on the rings are different. The engraving on the left ring is the Laitannen family crest and the engraving on the right ring is the Lasinius family crest. A marriage is after all a combining of two families, so in Atlantis, we feel that married couples should wear the crests of not only their own family, but also their partner's family."

"So, is that the only difference in the jewelry?" Matt asked. "That you wear a ring on both hands, instead of a ring on only the left hand?"

"No, actually it isn't," Corelian said. "There are actually three mandatory pieces of jewelry which are worn by every couple, plus two optional pieces that don't have to be worn, but the couple must decide if they are going to wear the optional pieces at the wedding because all of the jewelry has a spell cast on the pieces to prevent them from ever coming off."

"So, you mean you can't take those rings off?" Ryan asked.

"No, I can't," Corelian said. "The only way that the rings and the other jewelry will come off is if Asheera were to die. In Atlantis, there is no such thing as divorce. Death is the only thing that can dissolve an Atlantean marriage, so you have to be very sure that the person you are committing to truly is the person you want to spend your life with. Because once the ceremony is over, you will not be able to change your mind."

"So, what is the third piece of mandatory jewelry?" Oliver asked.

Pushing back his left sleeve, Corelian held out his arm to reveal a silver bracelet that was engraved with both the Laitannen and Lasinius crests, in addition to another crest in the center.

"The center crest is the official seal of the Kingdom of Atlantis," Corelian explained. "It's engraved on the bracelet as a way of signifying that the two households have officially been joined together according to the laws and customs of Atlantis. Now, in addition to the spells cast to prevent the jewelry from coming off, each piece has an additional spell that provides the couple with certain benefits."

"What kind of benefits?" Matt asked.

"The ring bearing one's own family crest," Corelian said, "allows one's partner to always know where their partner is, so that they can Apparate to their location. The ring bearing your partner's family crest imparts the ability to use any special abilities possessed by your partner. As an example, as Slytherin's heir, Nick Delaney can speak Parseltongue. If he married in Atlantis, his partner would also be able to speak Parseltongue. In the case of Animagi, the ring allows married couples to transform into their own Animagus form but also their partners'."

"If a person gains a new special ability after the wedding," Oliver asked, "would their partner automatically be able to use it as well?"

"No," Corelian said. "Only the special abilities that existed at the time of the ceremony are shared, but through a vow renewal ceremony, new abilities can be shared."

"What does the bracelet do?" Ryan asked.

"The bracelet does two things," Corelian said. "If Asheera was ever in danger, my bracelet would heat up to alert me to it. If she ever cheated on me, my bracelet would become ice cold to alert me of her infidelity."

"So, which piece of jewelry grants the lifespan and youth to non-Atlantean couples?"

"The rings," Corelian answered. "For non-Atlantean sponsored couples, the rings are slightly different then mine. For example, Matt, Oliver, your rings would bear the Cromwell and Wood crests, but both rings would have two small versions of Ryan's family crest, that is the Laitannen crest, engraved on both sides of your own crest."

"Ryan mentioned something about blood?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, during the wedding ceremony," Corelian answered, "a few drops of your partner's blood is dripped onto each piece of jewelry. The spells on the jewelry allows it to absorb the blood. The blood is necessary for all of the benefits granted by the Atlantean marriage ceremony. In the case of sponsored couples, an additional spell is cast upon both rings to allow for the absorption of the sponsoring Atlantean's blood in order to give the lifespan and eternal youth."

"What are the optional pieces you mentioned?" Ryan asked.

Corelian pulled back his long blond hair and held it back, revealing that he was wearing a silver stud earring in both ears. Each earring had two silver chains attached that looped up to connect to a silver ear cuff.

"These optional earrings," Corelian said, "are what most Atlanteans use concealment charms on. It's illegal to conceal the rings and while you can conceal the bracelet, clothing generally covers it, so few wear a concealment charm on it. The earrings, however, can be concealed if you don't want others to know that you opted to use the optional jewelry. For those who do use the optional jewelry, they can choose to perform that part of the ceremony in the privacy of a back room, so that only the couple and officiate knows that the optional jewelry was used. At which point the concealment charms would be used. For those who don't care if other people know about it, they can do it in front of the wedding guests, although they can still use the concealment charms if they don't want people who were not invited to the wedding to know. As I mentioned earlier, vanity may also play a part and people will conceal the earrings simply because they don't like wearing jewelry."

"So what do the earrings do?" Oliver asked.

"Their function is the reason they're optional," answered Corelian, "and why some couples choose not to wear the earrings. The earrings are actually telepathy and empathy receivers. That is, they allow the couple to speak to one another telepathically and be able to sense the emotions of their partner. You can block your partner from your mind with Occlumency, but it's very tiring to do it and your partner then may also get angry with you for hiding things, so some couples simply decide not to use the earrings to avoid that altogether."

"Hmm, I think it would be cool," Ryan said. "Plus, it could also be useful because if your partner was ever kidnapped, you could talk to them telepathically to try and assess the danger level before just Apparating to their location unprepared."

"Yes, that is an advantage," Corelian agreed.

"Well, Matt what do you think?" Oliver asked. "Should we get married in Atlantis?"

"Sounds good to me," Matt answered. "We picked the 23rd of December as a wedding date, if that's okay Corelian."

"Yes, that's fine," said Corelian. "You can get married on any day you wish and anywhere you wish. All you need is the jewelry and a qualified Atlantean officiate."

"So, should we contact a silversmith and have the jewelry made then?" Matt asked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that," Corelian said. "While the jewelry may look like it is made of silver, it's actually made primarily of mythril. Mythril is a rare metal, but it's abundant in Atlantis. It looks like silver, but it's also indestructible and feather-light. For the wedding jewelry though a combination of mythril and orichalcum is used, because alone mythril is resistant to magic. Orichalcum looks like gold in color, but it is inferior in value. We charm it to look silver and put a layer of it under the mythril when the jewelry is crafted. Without the orichalcum layer, the jewelry would resist the spells cast on it during the ceremony."

Matthew and Oliver nodded, at which point, Corelian said, "I'll do some research later and I'll get my hands on the Cromwell and Wood family crests. I'll then send a work order to the top jeweler in Atlantis and he'll get started on your jewelry so that it's ready for December. Did you two want the earrings or not?"

"Could we get back to you on that?" Matthew asked, after a moment of conferring with Oliver. "We'd like to sleep on that decision."

"Of course, that's not a problem," Corelian said.

"Hello Potter," the newcomer to the Hospital Wing said as he pulled a chair over and sat down next to Harry.

"Hello Zabini," Harry said as he nodded to the boy.

"So, how is Drake doing?"

"Near as I can tell he's fine," Harry said. "According to the diagnostic spell that Madame Pomfrey taught us, he's under the influence of a Dreamless Sleep potion."

Blaise nodded, "Yes, I can understand why he would need it after the spells that were cast on him."

"What spells were cast on him?" Harry asked. "And how do you know about them?"

"The Discrucio and Eviscero curses," Blaise said as he explained what each of them did. "Professor Snape told me."

Horror-struck, Harry gulped, and said, "Yeah, I can see why Dreamless Sleep was a good idea. Give his mind some time to rest without any dreams."

Blaise nodded and said, "Precisely. So, what brings you here, Potter?"

"You can call me Harry. Or Aarik, I suppose."

"Aarik?" Blaise asked as he arched an eyebrow.

"I recently found out that Aarik is my real name," Harry answered. "It turns out Harry is just a nickname. I figure I'll use Harry for now, at least until the war is over, but I figured I'd let a select group of friends call me Aarik if they want to."

"We're not friends, though," Blaise pointed out. "Not that I'm saying, I'd be averse to the idea, but, I think this is probably the first conversation we've ever actually had."

"True," Harry agreed. "I've become good friends with Draco though and I figure I'll be spending a fair amount of time with you because of that. I'll probably let Draco call me Aarik, so I might as well let you do it as well."

"Why would your being friends with Drake mean spending more time with me?"

"Well, you are his boyfriend," Harry answered.

Blaise laughed, prompting Harry to give him a strange look, before Blaise said, "Draco is not my boyfriend."

"He isn't?" Harry asked.

"No, he isn't," Blaise confirmed. "Whatever gave you that impression?"

"Well, you two went to the Ball together," answered Harry. "And you were stuck to each other like glue every time I saw the two of you during the course of the night."

"Draco and I are just friends," Blaise clarified. "We went to the dance together and acted like more than friends though to annoy Pansy Parkinson. She wants Draco, badly, but she refuses to believe that he's gay."

"Ah, I see," said Harry. "Well, since I told you, the offer still stands. You can call me Aarik if you want, but only privately. If there are several people around, then don't."

"All right then, Aarik. You can call me Blaise, then. So, back to my question, what brings you here, Aarik?"

"I just wanted to make sure that Draco was okay," Harry said. "I was in the Headmaster's office when Professor Lasinius appeared in the Floo to tell Professor Dumbledore about Draco's injuries and I was worried."

"So, it was just friendly concern?" Blaise prodded. "No other reason?"

"What other reason would there be?"

"None, I suppose," Blaise answered. "You are dating Granger after all."

"No, I'm not," said Harry. "Hermione and I are just friends and we went to the dance together as such."

"Oh," Blaise said. "Couldn't get a date? I'd imagine you having to beat the girls off with a stick."

"I'm not that popular," Harry said. "A few girls did ask, but I wasn't interested."

"Not your type?"

"Nope, definitely not," Harry answered. "No girl is my type, Blaise. I'm gay."

"Wow, you're gay," Blaise said.

"Yeah, I am," said Harry. "It's not something I've told many people, just a few close friends, but I figure I can tell you. I assume you're gay?"

"Yeah, I'm gay," confirmed Blaise, somewhat absently, as he was deep in thought.

"Is something wrong, Blaise?"

"No, nothing is wrong."

"I'm not sure I believe you."

Blaise remained quiet for a few minutes and then said, "Oh what the hell; Draco won't be happy if he finds out I told you this, but I'll deal with it. Draco and I are occasional lovers. We use one another to satisfy our libidos, but neither of us thinks about the other while doing it. Up until yesterday I didn't know who Draco thinks about, until he said the person's name as he came."

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry asked.

"Because it was you," Blaise answered. "Draco said your name when he came. I talked to him afterward and he admitted that he likes you."

`Draco likes me?' Harry thought.

"Blaise, I'm going to kill you," Draco said. The Dreamless Sleep potion had obviously worn off, Draco's eyes were now open, and he was sitting up in bed and looking quite angry at Blaise.

"Now, Drake, you don't really want to kill me, do you?"

"Yes, Blaise, I do," Draco said. "Why did you have to tell him that?"

"It slipped out?"

"It slipped out?" Draco repeated. "Bloody hell, Blaise, I've just managed to become friends with him. Thanks a lot, Blaise, because I'm sure he probably wants nothing to do with me now that he knows about my feelings."

"Draco?" Harry asked.

"What?" Draco asked as he turned to look at Harry, fear clearly showing in his eyes. Fear that he had just lost Harry as a friend.

Harry just looked at the blond for a moment, before he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Draco's lips. Pulling away, he said, "I like you, too."

To be continued...

There's more Harry/Draco coming in Chapter 24. In the meantime, please review! I love hearing what y'all are thinking!