Slughorn greeted them all, however it was obvious that he was most excited for Harry. "Harry, m'boy!" Slughorn said, jumping up at the sight of him so that his great velvet-covered belly seemed to fill all the remaining space in the compartment. "Good to see you, good to see you! And you two must be Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini!"
At Slughorn's gesture, they moved to sit down, and Harry saw that they were not the only ones invited. There were two seventh-year boys that Harry did not know, squished in the corner beside Slughorn and looking as though she was not entirely sure how she got there, Ginny.
"Now, do we all know each other here?" Slughorn asked. "I take it you obviously know Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini here," he motioned to Draco and Blaise. "This is Cormac McLaggen, perhaps you've come across each other—? No?"
Cormac, a large, wiry-haired youth, raised a hand, and Harry nodded back at him.
"And this is Marcus Belby, I don't know whether—?"
Belby, who was thin and nervous looking, gave a strained smile. "and this charming young lady tells me she knows you!"
Ginny grimaced at Harry and Draco from behind Slughorn's back. "Well now this is most pleasant, a chance to know you all a little better. Here, take a napkin. I've packed my own lunch; the trolley, as I remember it, is heavy on sugar, and a poor old man's digestive system isn't quite up to such things. ...Pheasant, Belby?"
Harry looked at Draco as the Alpha served them both. He pointed at Belby and said quite loudly so the whole compartment can hear him, "Marcus Belby, Ravenclaw. His uncle is the inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion. That earned him an Order of Merlin."
"And that was just wat I was telling young Marcus here about how I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles," Slughorn chuckled, amused at Draco's explanation. "Tell me, do you see much of your uncle, Marcus?"
"Not… not much of him, no," Belby said. "My dad and him don't really get along, you see, so I don't really know much about…"
Draco leaned into Harry's ear, "Homophobic," he whispered. "Along with his award and creating the Wolfsbane Potion, Damocles Belby is also know for having a very long string of male lovers. He even bedded three vampires at once apparently."
"Sounds like a man who has a lot of stamina," Blaise chuckled. Apparently he was louder than expected as Belby's face turned rather red.
"Like father like son," Draco whispered.
"Alpha, shut it," Harry returned. Slughorn turned to Cormac, who was more than pleased to talk about his trips with his own uncle, a man named Tiberius McLaggen. Once again Draco leaned in and whispered context to Harry as the two went on. "Tiberius McLaggen isn't a very smart person, but he does know how to talk. Highly influential, if only he had the brains to use it. He's close friends with our new Minister of Magic."
"Someone needs to fill in your father's slot of being an influential," Harry muttered before he could think. That earned him a sharp glare and a pinch on his thigh.
"Watch it, Omega," Draco warned.
"And now we move to Mr. Zabini," Slughorn said when he was done interrogating McLaggen. "Harry, I wonder if you knew that your friend here had a famously beautiful mother?" he said, looking at Harry, who shook his head. "Stunning woman, truly the essences of beauty, some people say. Sadly beauty has its cost. How many times have she been married, Blaise?"
"Seven, until she decided to stop searching," Blaise said. He looked at Harry and explained, "Every time my mother married, her husbands would die mysteriously and suddenly. My own father, who was her first, was actually killed by a muggle."
"That's horrible," Harry said.
"Truly tragic, yes," Slughorn nodded, "and so we turn to Draco Malfoy. Here is a name that needs no introduction!"
"Clearly," Ginny muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Please try not to get into trouble before we even get at Hogwarts, Weasley," Draco drawled.
"Careful now Draco my boy! I saw this young lady perform the most marvelous Bat-Bogey Hex as I was passing her carriage! I wouldn't cross her!" Slughorn said. "Now as for you, I remember your grandfather very well Draco, he was a good man. A shame that dragon pox got him. Terrible way to go. But he did have his flair in life. I hope that the grandson has it as well," Slughorn's eyes sparkled as he turned from Draco to Harry.
"And now," he said shifting massively in his seat with the air of a compere introducing the main act, "Harry Potter! Where to begin? I feel I barely begun to scratch the surface with you when we met over the summer!" Harry sighed and prepared himself for Slughorn going over everything the Daily Prophet mentioned about him. The only thing he was thankful for was that there was no mention of Greyback's attack.
The afternoon wore on with anecdotes about illustrious wizards Slughorn had taught, all of whom had been delighted to join what he called the "Slug Club" at Hogwarts. Harry could not wait to leave, and it was only when they exited a long tunnel, that Slughorn blinked around, seeing twilight.
"Good gracious, it's getting dark already! I didn't notice they lit the lamps! You'd better go and change into your robes, all of you. McLaggen, you must drop by and borrow that book on nogtails. Harry, Blaise, Draco—any time you're passing. Same goes for you, miss," he twinkled at Ginny. "Well, off you go, off you go!"
"Finally," Harry groaned when they pushed free into the corridor. "I thought he would never end."
"Me neither, though I am surprised to see you in there, Weasley," Draco commented, his arm going around Harry's waist as he stared down at Ginny.
"He saw me hex Zacharias Smith. He kept going on and on about what happened at the Ministry and in the end I got annoyed and hexed him—Slughorn came in and I thought I was in trouble until he asked me for lunch," Ginny said.
"She was one of the best when I taught the D.A.," Harry commented. "So give more effort being nice to her, Draco." The blonde just rolled his eyes at Harry's little threat. "Anyway Ginny, I'll see you at dinner, okay?"
"Sure, Harry," Ginny said shortly and left.
"So," Blaise said as they returned to their compartment. "About this Alpha/Omega stuff?"
"We'll explain fully once we are inside," Draco said, and kept it at that.
Harry opened the door for them when they reached the compartment and walked in only to feel a sour tension in the air. Draco followed in while Blaise stayed by the door. Everyone was silent, glaring at one person who was currently sitting in Harry's seat. It was a girl with a piggish nose and long hair with split ends. She looked up to see them. "Potter! What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded.
"You're in his seat," Daphne said.
"No I'm not, he doesn't belong here," Pansy said. "He's a Gryffindor! And we always sat together!"
"Well today it's couples only plus the single lesbian Parkinson, so if you would, get out," Theodore Nott drawled, looking at her with an extremely bored look. Harry couldn't help but chuckle as Pansy stared at all of them. "Exactly," she said, "So why is Potter here?"
The room sighed, and Harry answered, "Because I'm dating Draco and in it for the long-term, so please, get out of my seat," he pushed in and stood in front of Pansy, glancing back at Daphne to utter a "sorry" before looking back at Parkinson. "Now," he stressed.
"No! I'm not going anywhere," Pansy said. "I belong here, you do not! And I don't believe you for a second that you're dating my Draco!"
"You are extremely below even me considering telling you my personal life but fine," Draco drawled as he walked in. He grabbed Pansy's arm and forced her to stand, giving Harry a silent look that commanded him to sit down. Harry obeyed and Draco pulled down his shirt and robes, revealing the scar of Harry's bite. "We bit each other very hard when we had sex over the summer," Draco stated. "Now get out." He pushed Pansy out of the compartment, and quickly closed the door as Blaise slid in and back next to his submissive Theo.
"So," Blaise smiled, "Alpha and omega, what is that all about?"
Harry frowned and looked at Draco. "I didn't want to tell them about it without you," he said.
Draco nodded and looked at the compartment, "I trust them, pet," he said.
"Okay," Harry sighed, and turned to them. "It's a long story, and the reason why Draco never responded to your letters," he began. He told fully about Greyback's attack in every explicit detail he can remember, how he and a muggle boy were about to hook up before he attacked, Greyback almost killing the muggle boy and turning him before being chased away by Aurors. As he talked, Harry's hand found Draco's and he never let go as his story went on and on, about being a werewolf, a new kind of werewolf that Greyback called Omega. When it was Draco's turn to tell how he turned into an Alpha, Harry still held his hand, supporting his lover with his presence as he leaned against the Alpha. They talked about their meeting, their time in the Weasleys' home and mating. When they were done, the train was almost in Hogsmeade.
"That's a lot," Blaise said, looking a bit bashful, "I thought it was just a sex thing like our collars."
"It's that too, but yeah it's more than a sex thing," Draco said. "We're boyfriends, yes, and I am courting Harry for marriage, but above all that, I am an Alpha and he is my omega. And I will be damned if I let that disgusting mutt even think of touching him again."
Harry sighed and stood up, "we should change," he said. Draco agreed and the Slytherins and him changed into their robes, Harry feeling a little special to be wearing red in a sea of green. The train slowed down and pulled into Hogsmeade station. "Come on pet," Draco said, holding Harry close as they joined the crowd leaving the train.
The others followed, and Draco led them towards the carriages pulled by thestrals. Harry was amazed that they were able to pile in, him and Theo sitting on Draco and Blaise's lap respectfully. "When are you going to collar Potter?" Goyle asked Draco, glancing at Harry as though he was just a pet or puppy.
"Later, when I find the right collar," Draco shrugged. He smirked at Harry and petted his hair, "You're going to love it.'
"I better," Harry purred. The two stayed close together as the Slytherins all talked, sometime pulling Harry to join in their conversations. It was nice, relaxing, and Harry almost drifted off to sleep as he breathed in his Alpha's scent.
The carriages stopped, and Harry and Draco continued to hold hands until they were in the Great Hall. They glanced at each other, looking somewhat sad. Draco pulled Harry's chin up and kissed him fully. "Be a good boy, Harry," he said warningly.
"Yes, Alpha," Harry said. They turned and walked away. Harry never noticed how long the Great Hall was. Though he knew that it was always the same size, large enough to fit the four long tables, the room seemed to be getting longer and longer with each step he took towards the Gryffindor Table. He was about to stop and turn around to see how far he walked when he spotted Ron and Hermione already sitting.
"So, how was the train ride with the snakes? They didn't do anything to you, right?" Ron asked.
"No they didn't and it was interesting," Harry smiled. "Draco's friends seemed nice—and I got Crabbe and Goyle to promise to stop bullying people. Though I don't know if they'll keep their word."
"If they don't I'm going to curse them with every hex I know!"
"Ron!"
"I'm kidding Hermione," Ron said. "I'll just deduct points and give them detention. Imagine them doing lines!" Harry laughed and smiled at Ron's depiction of Crabbe writing lines while Hermione just sighed and shook her head. The rest of the school was seated, and soon the first years were escorted up to be sorted.
As Harry paid attention to the song and sorting, clapping along with his fellow Gryffindors, he figured that he was starting to get tired as he had a very small and dull ache in the back of his head. He yawned and was grateful for food as he reached for the more rarer meats. "Harry, vegetables," Hermione reminded him. Harry stopped and stared at Hermione.
"You have nothing but meat on your plate," she huffed, looking annoyed at Harry's look. Harry frowned confused and looked down to see that it was true. "I'll eat some later," he muttered and quickly worked through his first plate. He made a show to Hermione of adding carrots to his second which got an annoyed "Honestly," from her. He just grinned innocently at her before starting to eat again, leaving the carrots for last.
The strange ache returned when he was done eating. Harry was convinced that it was an exhaustion thing as he yawned. He barely had strength to fight off Ron and Hermione's looks when Professor Dumbledore announced that Professor Slughorn was here to teach Potions, however he did find enough energy and hatred to scream "NO!" when Professor Snape was revealed as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Harry and Draco did not see each other when the school was dismissed for the night, and all Harry wanted was to get into his bed as his headache started to get worse and worse the further up they climbed. When they reached the common room, it felt as though his head was throbbing against his skull, and he went straight to the dormitory, changing into his pajamas and went to bed.
It felt hot. He groaned as the throbbing continued, his head pounding against itself as he couldn't get comfortable. It hurt to close his eyes, and it hurt even more to keep them open. He was still wide awake, groaning and shifting in his bed when the other boys came in. "You alright Harry?" Dean asked. "You don't sound good."
"I'm fine," he forced himself to say. "Goodnight."
One by one, the others went into their beds and though Harry could hear them sleeping, it still eluded him. The pounding in his head gotten worse. He felt as though he was sticking his head into an open fire as an earthquake happened around him. His body felt as though it was being picked by pins and needles everywhere as he failed to get comfortable. He started to sweat. The room felt burning, and with every breath Harry felt vomit building in his throat. He forced himself to sit up, gasping for clean cold air that would push the vomit down. He groaned and clawed at his skin, wishing for it to stop. Tears welled and fell across his cheeks. "Fuck," he groaned, and he opened his curtain. All the other beds were closed, and everyone was still sleeping.
Harry forced himself to get out of bed. Water, that's what he needed. Yes, water will help. Convinced that he needed water, he took his wand went into the bathroom where he summoned a simple cup and filled it with water from the faucet and gulping it down. The water helped slightly, but he still felt sickly, the sensation of vomiting still bubbling inside him. He cried and leaned against the sink. "What is happening?" he asked the empty air around him.
A second wave of heat and bile rose inside him, and Harry needed to run. He needed to get away from everything around him. Without thinking or even considering to grab his Invisibility Cloak, Harry ran out of the dormitory barefoot. He pushed the door behind the picture of the fat lady open and sped down the stairs without even looking back to apologize. He needed to get away from the pain, the heat, and the sickness that build up inside his bed. It worked, somewhat. He found that by the fifth floor, he no longer felt as though he was going to throw up at any moment. However, everything still hurt, but when he turned a corner on the third floor, he stopped.
There, on the other side, was Draco, dressed in his pajamas and barefooted like him. Immediately, the two ran towards one another and grabbed on for dear life. The pain went away immediately. Drenched in sweat, they stared at each other, panting. "You felt horrible too?" Harry asked.
"Like everything was on fire and I was going to puke," Draco said. Harry nodded.
"What the hell is happening? Does this mean we can't be separated or some bullshit like that?" Harry asked.
"I don't know love, but for now we need sleep," Draco said. Harry nodded, and smiled softly. "This is the first time you called me love," he mentioned.
"Well it's true, I love you," Draco smiled, "but I think we can talk about how much we love each other in the morning."
"Okay, and just for you to know, I love you too," Harry smiled. They stared at each other for a moment. "So since we can't sleep apart…"
"My dormitory," Draco said. "It's closer. Come on," he pulled Harry. The two walked quickly, the pain fully gone now. Draco escorted Harry down to the dungeons and towards a dead end. He yawned the password to the wall and pulled Harry in quickly. Harry did not have time or energy to look around the Slytherin dormitory as Draco pulled Harry into his dormitory.
Everyone else were already asleep, and Draco lifted Harry, carrying him bridal style the remainder of the way to his bed. He laid Harry gently in his bed and joined Harry. Being a little minx, Harry quickly pulled his pants off before doing the same with Draco's. "Better, he hummed, hugging his body against Draco's.
His Alpha chuckled and closed the curtain. Alone, they finally were able to drift off to sleep.