| SERENITY |

Chapter 9 [Discovery]

I quite like this chapter, although, it was supposed to have a gigantic scene at the end that I just wasn't in the right mindset to write then, so I've instead moved it to take up the vast majority of the next chapter. Saying that, this one is still 4.1k, so it's not like it made it short. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter ;)

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14th October 1997- Tuesday

Harry awoke, unwillingly, to the faint sound of birds chirping in the distance. Their tweets, usually sweet and pure, felt sharp to his sensitive ears. He groaned at the room's harsh brightness from behind his eyelids, visible now that he was conscious. He shifted, whining as the movement brought his attention to the aches and pains of his body, and he hissed as an especially tender bruise was knocked by his flailing hand.

It was then that his mind registered his urgent need for the toilet, and he vaulted out of the bed, taking the covers with him in his mad dash to the bathroom, still half asleep. The noise obviously alerted one of his mates to his awakeness, because a knock on the door sounded whilst he was washing his hands.

"Harry, are you alright in there?" It was Elian, sounding concerned. He opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was an unintelligible grunt. A second knock came, this one sounding more frantic. "Harry?" This time, the door handle jiggled ferociously. "Harry?! I'm coming in-"

"I..." He swallowed, the words grating on his throat like sandpaper. "I'm fine...give me a sec."

Elian's sigh of relief was audible even through the door and he stopped trying to force it open. "Alright, as long as you're okay?"

"I'm fine, stop worrying." He flapped his hands dry and opened the door, meeting his mate's concerned stare. It almost made him want to roll his eyes, but he was feeling so out of it that he simply huffed as an arm was slung over his shoulders, Elian grinning down at him. "Why'd you get so worked up? I was only using the loo."

"You've been out for quite a while, I didn't know if anything was wrong, and you were so silent in there."

Harry tilted his head back to stare up at his mate's face. He was as handsome as ever, if a little ruffled looking, his golden curly shining in even dampened sunlight. "How long did I sleep for?"

He shrugged "Over half a day, I'm not sure. At least, we woke up quite a few hours ago, and it felt like I'd slept for ages."

"What time is it?"

"Oh, only mid-morning, we just woke up in the middle of the night. Actually, you're up much earlier than I expected." He got a concerned look on his face. "But, anyway, Tom's making breakfast."

That stopped Harry short. "Tom?"

"Yeah, none of us can be bothered to go down to the Great Hall, and we're especially not forcing you to, and we're all a bit on edge at the moment, so a..." He paused, seeming to think about his next words. "House Elf wouldn't be a very welcome sight. And apparently, he can cook! I was surprised, too!"

He sped up his pace to the kitchen, and lo and behold, there was his eldest mate, looking terrifyingly domestic with a spatula in one hand and a spoon in the other, staring down at the frying pan as if it was his mortal enemy. At their entrance, he looked up, red eyes scanning Harry intensely. He waved his hand, and both utensils floated in the air whilst he approached him.

"Harry, how are you?" Tom asked, a hand brushing over his shoulder and the side of his neck in a comforting gesture.

Instead of immediately blurting out that he was fine, Harry pondered on the question for a few seconds. "I'm good, a bit achy though." And he refused to think further as to why that was, he was feeling too queasy to be embarrassed currently.