Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/9946520.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage, Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence
  Category:
      M/M, F/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling
  Relationship:
      Draco_Malfoy/Ginny_Weasley, Harry_Potter/Severus_Snape
  Character:
      Albus_Dumbledore, Fred_Weasley, George_Weasley, Ginny_Weasley, Harry
      Potter, Hermione_Granger, Lucius_Malfoy, Other(s), Severus_Snape, Draco
      Malfoy, Original_Character, Voldemort
  Additional Tags:
      Explicit_Language, Chan, Mpreg, Out_of_Character, Sexual_Content,
      Spoilers, Action/Adventure, Alternate_Universe, Drama, First_Time,
      Romance
  Collections:
      HPFandom
  Stats:
      Published: 2008-05-03 Completed: 2010-09-26 Chapters: 4/4 Words: 13715
****** when demons walk Amongst Us ******
by vbollman
Summary
     After the events in his Fifth year, Harry is sent away to heal both
     mind and body. Along the way he is adopted into three very different
     families.
Notes
     Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally
     archived at HP_Fandom, which was closed for health and financial
     reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its
     works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I
     e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but
     may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator,
     please contact me using the e-mail address on HP_Fandom_collection
     profile.
***** Chapter One *****
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury
Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is
being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Thanks to Kei for her lovely Beta work.... If not for her my work would be a
true mess...
A/N... Yes I know I have other stories that need to be updated. I just wanted
to get this up now, while I'm waiting for the three chapters I had sent off to
my beta. Hopefully they'll be back soon.
 
Chapter One
Hogwarts, Spring of sixth year
An emergency meeting of select members of the Order of the Phoenix met together
in the Headmaster’s office the day before Spring Break was due to start. For
the first time in memory, a Muggle couple sat in attendance, whose only link to
the Order was their daughter.
Albus Dumbledore sat quietly in his chair and let the arguments flow around him
as he contemplated the newest developments brought to him by his spies.
Hermione Granger’s father Greg sat quietly next to his wife Jane, trying to
make sense of what was going on around him. Finally losing hold of his
patience, he stood from his chair and gave the room sweeping glance. “That is
enough!” His voice, though not loud, swept through the room, cutting off all
the arguments. When silence finally reigned, his eyes swept up and held the
Headmaster’s. “Can you please explain to me what is going on, and why my wife
and I are here?”
The twinkle in the old man’s eyes dimmed even more, if that was at all
possible, as he sighed heavily. “Mr. Granger, I'm not sure how much your
daughter has told you over the holidays other than maybe the fact that our
world is at war,” he said with a questioning tone in his voice, and waited for
some kind confirmation of what they knew.
Jane Granger looked around the room quickly before nodding her head. “Hermione
has told us the basics and maybe a little more. We know the story behind Harry
Potter and what he means to your world and a few of the… misadventures… her and
her friends have found themselves in over the years.” She stated, giving the
Headmaster a disapproving look when she said “misadventures”. “She told us as
much as she felt was safe, after being injured at the end of the last school
year,” she confirmed.
Albus nodded relived that he didn't need to explain everything to them, knowing
that it would waste valuable time. “That’s good to hear, very good to hear.
This way I can start with the events that took place this past summer.” Taking
a sip of his ever-present tea, the Headmaster used it as an excuse to take a
moment to gather his thoughts. “What I'm about to say will come as news to most
of you, in fact all of you but Severus,” he told the room’s occupants. “I ask
that you please not repeat anything that you learn here today,” Dumbledore
stated, and waited for the nods of acknowledgment before continuing.
“A few days after school let out for the year, I received an urgent owl from
one of our student’s guardian. It seems that the abuse that her nephew suffered
at the hands of her husband and son, and to a lesser extent herself, began to
get out of hand, in her opinion. That summer, she didn't notice it at first
because her nephew did not come out of his room at all, and her husband told
her that he was taking care of the boy.” Pausing slightly at Severus's snort of
disgust, he allowed the room to fall quiet once more before continuing. “She
became suspicious after she hadn't seen him for four days, and when her husband
and son were both out of the house for the day, took the offered chance to find
out what was going on and entered his room. What she found finally made her see
reason when it came to their treatment of the boy.”
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Albus let his mind drift back to that
Merlin-forsaken day. He must have remained quiet for a little longer than he
thought, for he found Severus at his elbow with another cup of tea, gently
urging him to drink, and tasted the distinct flavor of a calming draught laced
in with the sweetness of the tea. With a second deep breath, he continued, his
voice trembling slightly in rememberance of that day. “She found him bound,
gagged and bloody. The wounds covering his body, along with the amount of blood
around him, made her very much aware that he was very close to reaching the
point of no return. Immediately knowing that she needed help, she took his owl
and sent a letter to me. To prove that she was telling the truth she smeared
some of the boy’s blood at the end of the letter and sent it off. Now when the
owl appeared here, she was exhausted, having worked herself extremely hard to
get here, in time to save her master, by the looks of it, she made the trip in
about half the time it normally would have taken. After reading the letter, I
sent for both Poppy and Severus, who for the first time ever, to my
recollection, didn't argue when I said that we needed to go immediately. There
is no point in giving you all the details, for I know that the student in
question would not want anyone else here to know exactly what happened,
needless to say, though, the boy was brought here to be healed by Poppy with
help from Severus, while I received a some what true accounting of his life
from his Aunt.”
Here the Headmaster stopped and braced himself. He was sure that he didn't know
the full story, but what he did know was horrific. “Once again, I will not go
into details with any of you as it's not my story to tell. I can tell you that
by the end of the day, I had signed paper work leaving me Harry Potter's legal
guardian. I can also say without any doubt that the Dursleys will not even
think a bad thought about young Harry ever again.” Here, he held up his hand to
stop the cries of outrage by the Weasleys, even as his own eyes flashed in
fury. Gathering himself once again, he continued, “Knowing that I could not
give him the attention he needed or the training he required, Harry and I
discussed what to do, and we finally agreed on a course of action. I sent him
to a much smaller school in North America that, along with year round
schooling, had the help Harry needed to deal with not only the years of abuse
at the hands of those who should have loved him, but also what had happened to
him here. Harry made the request to stay where he was for now, to get the
training he needed from a few people who had befriended him, at least for the
remainder of this school year.” Dumbledore paused and took another sip of his
tea as he waited for what he said to sink in. “And that brings us up to three
weeks ago,” he said, not allowing anyone to really dwell too long on what had
happened to Harry or what the two of them had decided. Merlin knew the
arguments with Severus he had had about the decision were enough, he still
wasn't sure what caused Severus to back down, but had a good idea that Harry
himself had something to do with it.
“Three weeks ago, two of our spies were discovered and barely escaped with
their lives. It was only with the help of a third spy that they were able to
escape and make it back here with some very important information; information
that directly affects your children. We unfortunately had to wait for the three
of them to wake up from their healing before we could get the information, and
get a plan of action put together.” Here, Dumbledore gave everyone a piercing
look. “Voldemort has plans to take out everyone that Harry holds dear in order
to bring him out of hiding. On top of that, the Malfoys and Professor Snape are
now being hunted down as traitors to the Dark Lord.”
The room remained silent for a few minutes before Arthur Weasley spoke up. “Who
exactly is being targeted and what is being done to protect them?”
Albus locked eyes once again with everyone in the room for a moment before
answering. “Voldemort is targeting all four of the younger Weasley children,
Hermione, Lucius and Draco Malfoy, and Severus Snape. At the moment we are
doing the only thing we really can do. With your permission, we are planning on
sending everyone to Harry as he is not ready to come back home just yet. Now
don't get me wrong, the only ones who have no say in this matter are the
Malfoys and Severus. If you would like your children to remain close to home, I
will do my best to keep them safe, no matter where they are. However, it is my
belief that the only way for them not to be used against Harry is for them to
be with him.”
The two couples in the room shared a long look between themselves, silently
communicating as they had done many times over the years. It was the Grangers
who answered first, though.
“Hermione will go to Harry. We will do anything to keep our daughter safe,”
Greg said, pain for Hermione as well as the other children clear in his eyes.
“We agree,” Molly said, Arthur nodding his head beside her.
Albus let out the breath he had been holding and saw both Severus and Lucius
relax from their spots. Lucius, though, was not happy just sitting quietly.
“When do we leave, Albus?” he asked softly.
The twinkle reappeared in the Headmaster’s eyes as he looked around the room.
“We will take a portkey tomorrow, after the other students leave for the
holidays.”
“We, Headmaster?” Severus questioned.
“Of course, my boy. I had planned to check on Harry over the break anyway. What
better time then when you all go over?” Albus chuckled.
~~hp~~
The group of nine arrived at their destination in a small valley located
somewhere in California near the end of the school day. The Headmaster turned
to study the group, before he spoke about a few things they all needed to know.
“There are a few things you need to know before I lead you up to the school.
First, the laws for underage use of magic no longer apply to any of you, as the
restriction is removed on your fourteenth birthday.”
“And second Headmaster?” Snape sneered, already dreading the mischief the
students around here could get into.
“Secondly, Harry Potter does not exist here. In his place is James Evans. The
only difference in appearance is the glamour hiding his scar.”
“Are there any other surprises we should be aware of, Headmaster?” Hermione
asked, her tone of voice making all of the school-age boys wince.
“We'll just have to wait and see now won't we?” he replied before walking
directly into the side of a hill and disappearing.
“How utterly typical,” Hermione snorted before following.
Severus and Lucius exchanged looks of disbelief even as the Twins, Ron and
Draco exchanged looks of amusement. They all knew what Hermione thought of the
Headmaster not sharing relevant information. To many times information that
could have saved everyone a lot of pain had been kept away from them. Seconds
later, they all jumped when she reappeared, causing Ginny to fight back her
laughter. “Well, are you coming? I for one can't wait to see my best friend
again,” she snapped at them.
A chorus of “Yes, 'Mione” echoed through the valley before the teens also
disappeared.
Lucius and Severus both shared another long look, before Lucius voiced what
they were both thinking. “Did I just see my son go off with the Weasels and a
Muggle born? Happily?”
Severus just nodded his head in response, as he also could not believe what
just happened. “Remind me to take that bunch and sit them down so we can figure
out what’s going on around here,” he grumbled.
“Indeed.”
The two of them entered the barrier, their longer strides making it easy for
them to catch up with the rest of the group. In truth, this wouldn't have been
hard to do anyway, as the rest of the group had stopped to view what looked
like a bustling village and not the school they had been expecting.
No one bothered them as they made their way through the village to a building
at the center that was the actual school until they passed the wards that
protected others from dangers of misfired spells, amongst other things.
Severus, who had been walking slightly to one side of the group, found himself
being pushed into the twins just as he felt the wash of magic over his skin and
the sound of a barely perceivably gasp of pain come from whoever had shoved
him.
“Lower your wand, Mr. Masterson,” came a firm voice from behind him. With the
help of the twins, Severus regained his footing and turned to see what was
going on, a small shiver running down his spine at the sound of that voice.
“But Sir, do you know what that one and at least one more in that group are?”
said a tall, well-built teen, his longish sandy hair rumpled and his dark blue
eyes blazing with anger.
“What I know, Mr. Masterson, is that you attacked a man from behind with 'that
curse', which I do believe has been banned from use for the foreseeable
future.” The young man who had pushed Severus returned. Even with his short
stature, he oozed authority and power that those around him could actually
feel. “Now, I shall say it one more time. Lower. Your. Wand,” he ordered in a
drawl that sounded like a certain Potions Master to any and all who had ever
met him and causing the niggling sensation in the back of Severus' mind to
confirm that this was one Harry Potter.
“You don't understand, Sir!” the teen tried again, frustration coloring his
voice.
“What I understand is that you now have a month’s worth of detention, for both
attacking someone who has been invited here by the Headmistress, and for
disobeying me. Tell me Mr. Masterson, would you like to make it two?”
Tyson Masterson paled dramatically for a moment before flushing in both shame
and embarrassment. Bowing formally first to the young man and then to Severus,
he made his apologies. “My apologies sir, I never thought before I acted, and
that is an extremely poor excuse,” he offered to Snape. “Professor Prince…” he
started, only to trail off and lower his head in misery when he couldn't find
the words.
“Tyson Masterson, I fully expect a three foot essay on the proper etiquette,
treatment and respect due to visitors, that we demand from the students from
this school, to be handed into me before class tomorrow. After that, I will
inform you on just what you will be doing in all your spare time for the next
month. Dismissed.”
“Yes, Sir.” Tyson turned to walk away, only to find himself face to face with
his mirror image, along with a shorter female version of himself. Groaning in
dismay, he half turned around to see if anyone else was watching, only to find
that most of the school stood watching the show, even if they were to far away
to hear what was actually being discussed. Turning back to his siblings, they
made a decision in the split second allowed them before all three distracted
the students with the beginnings of one of their legendary fights.
“Tyson, how could you? Attacking visitors, and from behind at that! Don't you
dare try to argue that fact with me, either. I saw what you did,” the female
started loud enough to be heard by those watching.
“Oh come on Tylan, can you honestly say that he doesn't look like Uncle Daniel?
You agree with me right Tyrill?” Tyson argued back, turning to his brother.
Nodding his head Tyrill turned to face his sister, shoulder to shoulder with
Tyson. “He's right, ‘Lan. Even you can't argue with the fact that Uncle Daniel
was one mean SOB.”
‘Lan looked between the two of them and allowed tears to gather in her eyes,
although inside she was laughing her head off. “You… you always do that,” she
stuttered, holding back a “sob” that was more like laughter than anything else.
“The two of you always gang up on me, especially when you know I'm right,” she
continued and finally let the crocodile tears flow down her cheeks. Pushing
between the two boys, she moved into a set of waiting arms. “Jamie…” she
whimpered.
James Prince, better known as Harry Potter, wrapped his arms around the crying
girl and hid his smirk of amusement in her hair until he could control his
reactions enough to scowl at the other two. “I will be seeing the two of you
out on the field bright and early tomorrow morning. Don't worry, I'll supply a
wake up call,” he promised them both and was rewarded when they winced at the
applied threat.
“Yes, Sir,” they said together, turning on their heels and marching off with
matching strides.
“Come on 'Lan, dry your tears and walk with us up the Headmistress' office,” he
whispered to her and, with a motion of his head, indicated for the others to
follow him and the still shaking girl.
The trip to the Headmistress's office was made in silence, only occasionally
broken by a barely suppressed sob from Tylan, mostly heard whenever they passed
another student. As soon as the office door shut behind the last visitor, Harry
pushed the girl away and grinned, “Alright 'Lan let it out, it's safe now.” He
watched amusedly as she broke down in laughter before turning to his friends.
“Um… hi!” he said with a sheepish smile.
Hermione was the first to break out in a smile and, with a shake of her head,
walked over to give him a tight hug. “Oh Harry, what have you gotten into this
time?” she questioned.
Returning her hug with one of his own, he sighed. “Long story 'Mione, very
long.”
This was all it took for the Weasleys to pile around them in one giant group
hug that started to take Harry's breath away.
“If you don't let Scarhead go, the Boy Who Lived will become The Boy Who Was
Smothered To Death By His Friends,” Draco sneered, effectively making everyone
back off.
“Yeah right, Ferret; you just want everyone to get away from Harry so you can
get him to yourself!” Ginny tossed back at him.
Rather then prove her wrong, Draco Malfoy, The Ice Prince of Slytherin, walked
over and pulled Harry into a long hug, which was returned whole-heartedly.
“Merlin I've missed you Harry,” he said as he buried his face in the smaller
boy’s neck, much to the shock of the adults in the room.
“Me too Dray, more then I can say,” Harry whispered back. He gave Draco another
squeeze before pulling back and turning to his Headmaster. “Albus?” he
questioned softly and was answered by a set of arms opening to accept him.
Without a second thought Harry was in the old man’s embrace, soaking up the
comfort and warmth that he remembered from so many months earlier.
Feeling his knees start to go weak, Harry tried to pull away, only to feel
himself be lowered to the floor, still wrapped in those arms. Forgetting
everyone else around him he finally, after many months of concealing what he
was feeling, let go of his last walls and cried himself out.
Other than Harry's muffled crying, no other sound was heard in the room. The
only one not affected (as he had had the least amount of contact with this
teen) was Lucius Malfoy, who with a glare from the Potions Master, kept his
mouth shut.
A knock at the door brought everyone’s attention away from Harry and Albus, and
with a flick of her wand, Headmistress Anastasia Colbine had both Harry and
Albus covered with both a sight and sound shield. “Enter,” she called out.
The door opened and two identical faces came into view and, at Anya's
beckoning, they both came into the room, closing the door behind them once
more.
“We're sorry to intrude Ma'am, but we were wondering if you wanted us to help
settle the others into the dorms or if you had other arrangements made for
them,” Tyson asked.
“No, Mr. Masterson, what you truly wanted to know was where Harry wanted his
friends placed and if what he said about them was true,” she replied with a sly
grin
Tyrill gave her a sheepish grin and nodded his head. Glancing around the room a
worried look crossed his face. “Where is Harry?” he questioned.
Not looking at the spot the two men were, she said, “At the moment he's
indisposed.”
“Is he alright?” Tyson questioned.
“I'm fine,” Harry's voice said from the corner as he dispelled the shield
around him and Albus, wiping the last of the tears from his face.
Tylan came and stood between her brothers, who looked at him in disbelief. “No
you're not, but you will be now,” she said and snapped her head to the side
when she heard a snicker. “Yes?” she drawled out.
Hermione slapped both Ron and Draco before they could say anything. “Ignore
them, they're just being prats. I'm glad to see someone is looking after
Harry's wellbeing. Hopefully, he'll listen to you, more than he does me,” she
said with a smile.
Harry glanced at Hermione before turning his head and leaning towards the
others. “Great, that's all I need, more Molly Weasley act-a-likes,” he mock-
whispered, which caused all of them to break out laughing while he grinned.
“Alright, now, before I get into trouble for being rude,” he said with a glance
at Snape, “Let me introduce everyone.” Once again, Harry was full of
confidence.
Everyone nodded in agreement and Harry looked towards the Headmistress with an
arched brow. Fully aware of a set of black eyes that followed his every move
and who saw the mask for what it was, he motioned everyone into a chair, when
Anya waved her hand to allow Harry to continue what he was doing with a small
grin of amusement.
“Alright then, first, only in private am I known as Harry Potter, and yes
everyone in this room is aware of who and what I am. I use to be known as James
Evans, but due to things I’d rather not get into at this particular moment, I'm
now called James Prince, although I get called either Jamie or Professor
Prince.” Without looking at her, Harry held out his hand. “Yes, 'Mione, I'll
explain as we go. Next we have Headmistress Anastasia Colbine or Anya;
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore; Potions Master Severus Snape—yes Tyson, you heard
me correctly— Lord Lucius Malfoy; Draco Malfoy; Hermione Granger; Ron, Ginny,
Fred and George Weasley—don’t bother trying to tell Gred and Forge apart: they
answer to the other’s name. And, of course Tyson, Tyrill and Tylan Masterson
who are triplets, in case you were wondering,” he finished.
“Mr. Potter, one question if you please,” a silky voice asked after everyone
was acknowledged.
Knowing what was coming, Harry suppressed a smirk and bowed his head slightly
towards the other man. “Of course, Professor Snape, if it's within my
abilities, I would be most pleased to answer your question.”
Snape raised his eyebrow at the teen for his answer and sneered slightly. “Pray
tell, ‘Professor Prince’ what do you teach?” he asked, stressing both the title
and the name.
Checking the distance between him and Snape, he walked over until he stood
behind Dumbledore for added protection. “Why, Defense and Potions, of course.”
Snape contemplated going after the teen regardless of his position behind
Albus. “That, young man, is not something you should be joking about,” he
started, only to be interrupted by someone clearing their throat.
“Actually he's telling the truth. He's been teaching those classes since the
Fall. In fact, he took one look at the potions classroom and refused to step
into it. He then compared both my Defense and Potions professors to someone
named Lockhart, and when they challenged him on it, proceeded to knock them
down in a duel, repeatedly, until they could no longer got back up. The worst
part was he took them on at the same time,” Anya told them all.
“Surely the weren't that bad,” Draco murmured in the shocked silence.
“Neville would have been a better instructor then those two combined when he
was in his first year,” Harry replied dryly.
Harry watched as all those who knew Neville winced in horror at the thought,
and nodded his head happy that they understood just what he thought of the
morons who had taught the subjects he had taken over.
Ron shuddered deeply, before looking at Harry. “Why wouldn't you go into the
classroom though mate?” he asked.
Making sure the coast was clear, Harry settled himself and curled up
comfortably in the only available chair: the one next to Snape. “Have you ever
wondered why we hold potion classes in the dungeon?” he asked instead.
Ron looked puzzled but Hermione answered for him. “It’s because sunlight can
damage many of the ingredients.”
Harry nodded his head, before explaining the reason behind the question. “The
potions classroom, before I moved it, was located in a bright and airy room on
the third floor. And just to let you know, Anya was very much mistaken. I
entered the room long enough to grab the vial of basilisk venom that Jones was
waving around in front of a class of second years, canceled the class and
dragged the twit up here.”
Snape jumped to his feet and started pacing along the length of the room,
swearing under his breath. “BASILISK VENOM!! He allowed that… that…”
“Extremely rare and the most lethal of poisons into sunlight in front of
unprotected, unprepared students?” Harry suggested calmly.
“Precisely.” Turning to look at Harry, his eyes seemed to glow in fury. “Tell
me you disposed of it properly,” he growled.
“Of course I did. I also tried to find out where the fool got it from, but Anya
stopped me.”
“I stopped you, young man, because you where ranting at Jones with the vial in
your hand still. We all thought that you were going to use the venom on him.
Merlin knows it took us a half an hour to calm you down so that we could
understanding what you where saying. All we could hear was hissing.”
“Of course I was hissing! I was holding a vial of venom, and all I could think
of was thisss huge sssnake!” Harry exclaimed, the words drawing out slightly in
Parseltongue, as fury once more colored his voice.
Both Malfoys shuddered slightly holding back the slight fear they felt at the
sound of Parseltongue hissed in anger. Severus, for his part, took a good look
at Harry and walked over to calmly place a hand on his shoulder.
Feeling the contact Harry took a few deep breaths and nodded his head in thanks
as he felt both his anger as well as the Potions Masters anger drain away from
them both, and then looked around the room. He was the only one who saw the
calculating expression on Anya's face. “Sorry about that. It's not often I
think about snakes and get angry at the same time.”
Albus waved it away as he shot a questioning look between Harry and Anya. “Who
is we?”
Harry winced and turned pleading eyes on the Headmistress, clearly asking her
not to say anything at the moment. Unfortunately for him, she just smiled at
Albus, totally ignoring Harry.
“Thankfully, this room is large enough to hold everyone,” she mused softly,
before brightening. “Who I'm talking about is a group of… people… who took an
instant liking to Harry. Such a strong liking that they adopted him into each
of their families,” she explained, and then asked cheerfully, “Would you like
to meet them?”
“We would be delighted to meet Harry's family. Myself more so then the others I
believe as I am his legal guardian,” Albus said. The twinkle in his eyes could
not hide the slight sadness in his voice.
Harry slumped in defeat, before getting up from his spot. Touching the old
man's shoulder gently, he gave a silent apology before he folded himself on the
floor by Snape's feet, so he was between both him and the elder Malfoy. “Thank
you so much Headmistress. I was hoping to put this off for at least another few
hours,” he said, sarcasm dripping off his tongue.
“You are very welcome Harry,” was the sweet reply. “Now if you would be kind
enough to call the others in for me please”
Rolling his eyes, Harry leaned back against Snape's chair. “May I introduce to
you my Lord Father, K'lal Overlord and King of the Demon Realms; his eldest son
and Heir, as well as my eldest brother, Lord Bane; my lady Mother Azera Queen
of the Fae, and her eldest son and heir, as well as my brother Lord Haze; my
lady Sister Iris Queen of the Elves and her Heirs and our sisters Lady Shay and
Lady Jedzia,” Harry said with a sigh, waiting for what he knew would be utter
chaos.
***** Chapter Two *****
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros,
Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement
is intended.
Once again many thanks to Periculum for her beta work. Without her I’m sure
everyone would be out for my head.
I DO APOLOGIZE FOR ANY FORMATTING ERRORS. SOMETHING WENT WRONG WHEN I UPLOADED,
AND I MIGHT NOT HAVE CAUGHT ALL THE MISTAKES!
Chapter Two
As Harry stated names, much to the amazement of his friends and family from
back home, each of the beings shimmered into focus within the room. K'lal,
being the first, had the most time to assess the others within the room and
focused immediately on the dark magic rolling off two of the men. As the last
of those called materialized into the room, he threw a fireball in their
direction and was surprised when it met a woven fire and ice shield. Looking
down at his son, he growled, only to have the young man growl back at him in
anger.
Not bothering to lower the shield until his father’s temper had cooled
slightly, Harry turned to Anya. “And this would be the reason why I didn't want
to introduce them, until after I had talked to K'lal. If Tyson picked up on the
Dark Mark as quick as he did, I have no doubts that Father would have as well.”
“And here I thought you were just avoiding the subject all together,” Tylan
laughed.
“Yeah well, it would have been nice if I had been allowed to explain it to both
sides without anyone losing their tempers,” Harry grumbled, lowering the shield
but keeping his eyes on the Demon Lord.
“Dark Marks? You brought servants of the Cursed One into my school?” Anya
demanded, outraged, glaring between Harry and Albus.
Sliding his eyes over to the Headmistress, Harry barely suppressed another
growl when he saw a hint of fang peeking out of Anya's mouth. “Control
yourself, Headmistress! No harm will come to anyone within this school. They
are not the servants you think them to be.”
Calming down slightly, Anya sat back in her chair and narrowed her gaze on
Harry, who still sat on the floor at Snape's feet. “You trust them?”
“With my life!”
“And you will vouch for them while they remain in this school?”
“One hundred per cent. Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy are both honorable men,
who have risked their lives many times as spies for the light.”
“Very well then. Gentlemen, you both have my apologies. I take the safety of my
school seriously. On the other hand, I must also remember that Harry would not
risk anyone around him, and trust his judgment.”
“Your apologies are unnecessary, Madam,” Lucius stated calmly, while Severus
inclined his head briefly.
“Good then, that's settled. Is it safe for me to move, or must I defend them
once again from any more attacks?” Harry asked, sending a glare towards K'lal.
A musical laugh sounded as Azera conjured herself a chair made out of ice and
sat down. “No, Ishal, I do believe that you have made your point abundantly
clear.”
“Thank you, Lady Mother. Then perhaps we can get down to business once again,”
Harry replied and stood smoothly, moving over to reclaim his chair.
“Yes, of course. Let’s get the children settled and perhaps they can be given a
tour. Maybe by these three students?” Albus questioned, knowing that the
conversation to follow would be hard for Harry to take.
“Of course, Albus. I have gone over the transcripts you had sent over earlier,
so that I had a clear idea on where to place them all.
I found it best to enroll all of them into the sixth year here. I'm sure it
won't take them long to catch up with the other students, and Fred and George
will fit in perfectly with them as well,” Anya stated.
Harry's head snapped up from where it had been resting against the back of the
chair and his eyes grew wide in horror. “Are you insane, Anya? I know that
Albus is off his rocker, but I honestly thought you had more sense than that.”
“Whatever are you going on about, Ishal?” Iris asked in confusion.
Harry wasn't paying any attention to her. Instead, he had taken up pacing
across the length of the room, muttering to himself in a mixture of five
languages, and finally settled on Parseltongue as he ranted.
“ISHAL!” Bane demanded. “Would you please explain to us, in a language more
than just you can understand, what exactly has you so worked up?”
Harry turned and looked at his older brother, before glancing at the others in
the room. “I had forgotten that you were not here when I introduced the
others.” Taking a deep breath, he continued. “Anya has just decided to put the
Weasley twins in the same year as the Masterson triplets.”
Haze's eyes grew round in dismay before turning on Anya. “How could you?” he
whined.
“I fail to see what the problem is, Mr. Potter,” Severus drawled.
“Let me put this in terms that everyone will understand. Anya has just combined
the Marauders of Hogwarts with the Marauders of Haven.”
Anya went pale, Snape's mask dropped, Lucius twitched and Albus twinkled. All
in all Harry was most satisfied with the results of his little announcement. In
the silence that followed, Harry looked over to see the twins and the triplets
looking at each other in glee, while Ginny, Ron and Draco tried to contain
their smiles.
Looking at the clock, Harry then looked over at the triplets.
“There are three extra rooms in the dorm. If you three would be kind enough to
show these guys where to go and give them a brief tour before dinner, I would
greatly appreciate it.”
Tylan smiled warmly at Harry before standing, once more slipping into the names
that they used outside of a warded room. “Of course, Jamie, we would be
delighted.” Linking her hands around the arms of the Weasley twins, she
directed everyone out the door, talking all the way. “I’m sure you will all
love it here, although it will come as a huge shock. I was positively appalled
when Jamie first explained the House system you all have at Hogwarts. Here we
are not kept away from the others the same way, as all students in single year
share the same dorms...” Her voice faded away as the door closed behind them.
Harry sighed softly as he turned back to the adults and gave Albus a small
smile. “Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here, and it's wonderful to see the
others once again, but why are you here?
“Straight to the point, my boy,” Albus chuckled softly, glad that
Harry had not changed too much. “A few weeks ago, Severus and Draco were both
found out as spies. Lucius managed to get them out before permanent damage
could occur, but in the process he blew his own cover. The last piece of
information that they were able to bring out was Riddle's plans to draw you out
of hiding.”
“And those plans are what, exactly?” K'lal demanded to know.
“It seems Riddle was going to actively seek out and kill those closest to
Harry. It was deemed safer to bring them here for protection rather than
leaving them in England.”
Harry had gone pale by the end, only to flush with the beginnings of anger.
“Who decided? Were there other options, other than here, or did you just tell
everyone without giving them a choice? I warn you now, Albus, I will not allow
anyone to stay unless they are here by their own free will!”
“ISHAL!” Azera exclaimed, horrified at the accusation.
“No, no, My Lady, he has a point. Throughout his life, I had been making
decisions of this sort on Harry’s behalf without consulting with anyone else,”
Albus placated, “but I guarantee that everyone here but Severus and the
Malfoys, has been given a choice on what to do. I also had the agreement of
their parents, after I had explained the matter to them.”
Before Harry could react to this statement, Snape placed a calming hand on his
shoulder. “Relax. I knew the moment I woke up from Poppy's care that I would be
coming here. In fact if Albus had not ordered it, I would have suggested it
myself.”
Lucius also wanted to reassure the young man. “Severus is correct. As soon as I
was told where we were going, I understood that it was the safest place for us.
Mr. Potter, we may not have gotten along with each other before, but I do
understand the best way through this, for both myself and my son, is to be at
your side.”
Grumbling slightly under his breath, Harry nodded his head in understanding.
“Alright,” he agreed, “now we just need to figure out how to keep the two of
you occupied during your stay.”
“Don't worry, Harry, I'm sure we'll find something for them to do while they’re
here,” Anya grinned at him.
Sending a quick glare her way, he almost growled once again at her amusement
but gave it up as a lost cause. “I’m not going back as a full time student,
Anya.”
“Oh, don't be such a worrywart! I wouldn't do that to you.”
“As you say, Anya. Just giving you a friendly warning.”
Twin sets of tinkling laughter that sounded more like a playful breeze dancing
among the trees caught the attention of all the adults. “Ishal, our dear
brother, you do realize that if she does make you go back to being a full time
student, we would just steal you away and teach you everything that they didn't
want you to learn, yes?” Shay commented, while Jedzia gave the 'they' in
question an evil grin.
Bane, catching on, gave the girls a mockingly blank look, and glanced over at
Haze. “Aren't we already doing that?”
Playing along with the others, Harry cast a fearful look at the adults and
whined to his brother. “Baaane, we promised we wouldn't mention that.”
Unable to keep it up once Snape smacked Harry upside the head, Haze broke down
in helpless laughter and the others shared an amused glance before joining him.
Albus allowed Harry's carefree laughter to wash over him, and knew he had made
the right choice to send him here. He had, after last summer, feared that he
would never hear it again. Clearing his throat softly, he sent a fond smile at
his young charge. “Harry, my boy, perhaps you can explain to us how you became
a family with these wonderful people.”
The laughter immediately died, and Harry's eyes became shuttered as he curled
himself up in his chair. His siblings didn't even think before moving to
surround him with gentle touches, letting him know that they were there.
Severus, seeing his distress, also laid a calming hand at the nape of the young
man's neck and gently started rubbing. A faint whisper of sound from Iris had
Harry nodding, and without dislodging Snape's hand, he moved so he was lying
with his head on the arm closest to the Potions Master.
Clearing her throat, and drawing attention away from Harry, Iris started the
story. “When Harry first came here, he had only one thing on his mind: find a
way to destroy the evil that plagued his life. Days turned into weeks, and
during that time he rarely left the Library. No one really questioned it, until
one day when he was walking through the woods, and he collapsed. I found him,
shortly after, and I knew that if I had ignored my feelings that something was
wrong, I never would have found him in time to save him.” She paused.
“What had happened?” Albus questioned.
“He was dying. He had started out having headaches, which progressed to being
unable to eat or sleep, and finally his magic just refused to support his body
any longer. The only thing that was keeping him even remotely on his feet was
the fact that if he died he needed to take the Cursed One with him.”
The hand slowly giving comfort to Harry stopped, and with a low growl he swept
the young man out of his chair and into his lap. “Why, Harry?”
Dull green eyes looked up at him, filling with tears. “I didn't know, Sir.
Honestly, I was trying to kill myself, and it wasn't until I woke up with Shay
and Jedzia lying on either side of me that I realized something was wrong,” he
answered quietly, his voice hitching as he tried to swallow back the tears.
“Can you tell us what was wrong with him, Lady?” Lucius asked.
“Ishal?” Iris questioned, and only received a nod of the head in response.
Sighing softly, she continued. “I had my healers go over him, but nothing was
showing up with the scans. We were slowly losing him, a little more with each
hour that passed, and I finally decided to call in help,” she said, motioning
to Azera and K'lal. “After they examined him, we still could find nothing
wrong, and with his magical levels falling quickly, we knew we had to do
something fast. It was decided that we needed to boost his levels, but as we
are not human, the only way to do so was to adopt him to our blood, and then
use the bond formed to bolster his magic with our own.” Conjuring a glass of
honey mead, Iris took a few sips and motioned for Azera to continue, while
keeping a careful watch on her brother and the man he was curled around.
Picking up the tale, Azera leaned forward in a bid to gather everyone's
attention. “What you must realize is that for us to boost his magic we had to
share our blood. Blood, no matter what kind, records a Being’s history.
Everything that they are is recorded within it, you but have to be able to
'read' it. With our blood we gave Harry our history, customs, and language; We
also gave him the building blocks needed to secure whatever talents he received
from us and the knowledge that our children are given in their early years. In
the reading of his blood we found out his history. Everything that was done to
him, every obstacle that he was forced to overcome, much too early in his young
life. And much to our joy and horror, we found out what was wrong with him.”
K'lal, knowing this part would be the hardest for the ladies to tell, waved
Azera to silence. “When a traumatic experience happens to someone, they
automatically seek out the one thing that will help keep them balanced. In
Harry's case the balancing force was the one place that could ever be called
home. When the decision was made to move him here, he once again lost his
'balance', even though it was his own choice to make. What he didn't realize
was that his soul had also taken it upon itself to find its one true mate. The
combination of losing his balance and his mate almost destroyed him.”
“Harry, my boy. Why didn't you ever tell me?” Albus asked sadly.
Turning his head so he could look the older man in the eye, Harry had the grace
to blush. “Once you found out, you would have either pulled me home, or made my
mate come here. I didn't what them to feel they were being pressured into a
situation that they didn't want.”
“I would never…” Albus tried to say, but at the knowing look in Harry's eyes he
stopped.
“Yes, you would have. We all know it. You have made it your job since that
Halloween to keep me safe and happy, or at least you've made that attempt. This
would have been one more of those decisions you would have made for the
'Greater Good'.”
Knowing that the teen was right, Albus elected not to contradict him. Everyone
knew there was nothing he would not sacrifice to keep Harry from becoming hurt
once more.
Lucius followed the conversation closely, one question repeating in his mind.
“Obviously, since Harry is here, alive and healthy, you managed to do
something. Can you tell us what it was?”
Haze snorted in amusement. “That was both the easy part and the hard part. The
easy part was convincing his soul that his mate had not abandoned him, and was
actually just waiting for his healing and training to be complete. The hard
part was keeping him distracted so that he didn't dwell on it and slip into
depression.”
“And how did you do that?” Severus asked in a soft growl.
“We tormented the poor boy. Wouldn't leave him alone for a minute. Every time
he started to think he was alone, someone or other popped up,” Haze told him.
Grinning madly, Bane continued. “We even managed to get the animals and wood
sprites to keep an eye on him. The look on his face the first time one of the
drakes came into the room with him was priceless.”
“Don't forget the hellhounds and hellcats,” Shay added.
Shimmering green words formed in the air where everyone could see them. /I'm
surprised the tribe is not here with him now./ Jedzia finally added to the
conversation.
“They're outside the door,” Harry mumbled, clearly not impressed with his
siblings’ antics.
“Ah, that would explain it,” Shay answered for her sister.
“Well, that certainly is interesting,” Albus said, trying to take everything
in. “I have only one question that I would like to clear up at this time.”
“And that would be?” Azera asked, although she had a suspicion on what it was.
“My boy, do you know who your mate is?”
Everyone with non-human blood turned and glared at the headmaster, not pleased
with the question.
Clearly not expecting the question himself, Harry shot out of Snape's embrace
and started looking for an escape route.
“Harry?” Albus questioned.
Not looking at his guardian, Harry slowly nodded his head.
“Do you care to tell us who it is?”
“No,” Harry stated firmly. “I don't want him to feel obligated.”
“You can't really think…” Albus tried again.
“I don't know what to think,” Harry replied, cutting him off. “I'm sorry, I'm
not ready for this conversation.” Turning to Anya, he pleaded with his eyes for
an excuse to leave the room.
Smiling sadly, Anya looked up at the clock. “Dinner will be served in little
bit. Why don't you show Professor Snape and Mr. Malfoy to their rooms, if they
so choose?”
Nodding gratefully, Harry turned to the two men in question. “If you wish, I
can take you both now. Or you can stay here and someone can show you the way
after dinner.”
Lucius declined the invitation, but Severus stood right away. “Lead the way,
Mr. Potter.”
Quickly leading the way out of the office, Harry stopped for a moment when he
was surrounded by a dozen small animals. Shooing them off, Harry indicated the
hallway to the right and set an easy pace. “Anya believed it would be best to
put Mr. Malfoy in the family wing. You, on the other hand, she put with the
only other professor that does not already have a roommate.”
“And who would that be?”
“Me.”
“I see. And must I put up with the friends you have amongst the students as
well?”
“No, actually. The hallway leading to the teachers’ rooms is actually charmed
so that no one can find it unless they are personally keyed in by a professor,
especially the students. Even Mr. Malfoy will be unable to gain access to them
unless led here by someone else.”
Nodding once to indicate his understanding, Severus continued keep pace with
the young man in silence, trying to see how far he could push to get the
answers that he wanted. “James?”
“I know you want answers, but can it wait for a few minutes. We're almost
there.”
Minutes later, Harry grabbed hold of his companion’s arm and before Severus'
eyes, an archway formed, leading off to the left. A quick gesture and he felt a
cold shiver run down his spine that he realized keyed him into the wards.
They moved down the hallway and presently Harry stopped in front of a heavy
wood door. “It reads your magical signature so that you don't need a password.
All you need to do is place your hand on the door,” Harry explained, and waited
for the older man to do just that.
Leading Severus into the apartment, he pointed out the different rooms.
“There's really not much here since I have a cottage on the other end of the
Village were I stay. Over there you have the three bedrooms, the middle one is
mine so you have your choice of the other two. Bathroom, dining room, this
sitting room, and in the kitchen are the stairs leading down to the lab.”
Checking out the bedrooms, Severus glanced inside Harry's before picking the
one on the left for his stay. After un-shrinking his bags, he stepped back out
and found Harry gazing out of the sitting room window, lost in thought. He
joined Harry by the window and wrapped one arm around the young man, pulling
him close. “Will you answer a few questions for me?”
Leaning back into the warmth, Harry nodded his head. “I'll try.”
“Is Draco your mate?”
“No. Unless things have changed since our last letter, he's going out with
Gin.”
“When did you become friends?”
“He started writing to me during the summer before fifth year.
When school started, we put aside our differences and started to become
friends. The others didn't like it much to begin with but over that year,
despite Umbridge, we all became friends.”
Turning Harry around so that he could see his face, Severus became serious.
“Why are you calling me Sir again? I thought we had at least become friends.”
Harry allowed his head to drop and rest on Severus' shoulder. “I wasn't sure
how you wanted to handle it here, so I decided to go with caution.”
“I can understand that, as long as you remember that by all rights you are no
longer my student. In fact you can say that we are now colleagues.”
“I guess we are.”
“Why do you sleep in a ritual room?”
Harry snorted softly and pulled away. “Not just any ritual room, but the most
heavily warded ritual room that we could come up with,” he said with a small
laugh.
“You still haven't told me why.”
Harry sobered up quickly. “My nightmares, when I arrived here, were really bad.
It came to the point that I couldn't keep a hold on my magic. It was decided
that I needed to be placed in a warded room to protect those around me. After I
was adopted, we found out that even a warded room wasn't safe during the night,
and that was with a dreamless sleep potion. The family came together and
created this ritual room for me. It takes any magic that leaks out in my sleep
and redirects it somewhere useful like the wards around this village. On a bad
night, the magic actually gets transferred first to the wards and the extra to
a focus stone in the demon realms. It keeps things here calm.”
Severus' eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Merlin, Harry, how much magic can you
leak?”
Harry's eyes turned troubled. “On a bad night I would be able to tear down and
then rebuild the wards around Hogwarts in about ten minutes. On a good night I
would be able to recharge them to full strength. I have the magic to bring down
the Dark Twit, I just can't bring it up while I'm awake,” he explained in a
soft voice.
Severus stared at him in surprised silence for a few minutes before he closed
his eyes and took a deep breath. “No one has found a way to ground your magic
yet?”
Needing something to do with his hands, Harry motioned for his former professor
to follow him down to the lab. He checked the time and realizing he didn't have
enough of it to start a potion before dinner, he started going over lesson
plans for the next day.
Severus allowed him to work in silence for a few minutes while going over the
lab, nodding his head in satisfaction as he went.
After several minutes had passed, he stopped beside Harry once more and gently
covered the younger man’s hands with his own. “Harry?” he questioned softly.
Sighing at the question, Harry looked up into those onyx eyes and tried to
smile. “The others have tried many different ways but none of them worked.
K'lal, Azera and Iris are now of the opinion that only one other thing will
actually do the job properly.”
“Your mate?” came the oh–so-calm question.
“Yes, my mate!” Harry sneered. “At the moment, everything rests on him. But at
the same time no one knows exactly what else may happen. My magic may finally
settle down and remain at the same level it is at now, or I might come into a
full non-human inheritance. And if that happens, which one will I get, or will
I get them all...” his rant finally trailed off into a whisper.
Severus stepped fully around the lab table and pulled the smaller man into his
arms once again. Allowing the shaking teen time to regain his composure. When
Harry calmed down again he drew away slightly and tilted Harry's chin up so
that he could see the brilliant green eyes. “I know answering my questions is
hard on you, but I'm just trying to understand what's going on so that I can
help you better.”
“I know that, Severus, and I trust you. If I didn't we wouldn't be talking
right now,” Harry replied softly, tucking his head back under Severus' chin.
“How much power do you have control over at the moment?”
“I have complete control of all of it separately. It's only when all four
aspects of it blend together when I sleep that it scares everyone.”
“And terrifies you, too,” Severus added, knowing the young man in his arms well
enough to understand what wasn't said, and felt Harry nod his head in
agreement.
The two of them stood like that for a few minutes before another thought
occurred to Severus. “How does your power work with your emotions?”
Laughing softly, Harry pulled away and started cleaning up the mess he had made
of his work area. “One of the ways that the others used to try and ground me
was an amulet that they empowered with a bit of themselves. We found that it
works best to ... absorb ... the magical backwash created by my emotions, so I
only appear slightly less powerful then I really am.”
“How Slytherin of you, Harry,” Severus drawled in amusement.
Before Harry could reply, a deep voice rumbled through the room in a barely
controlled growl. “Ishal is the ultimate Slytherin. After all, he is my son.”
Chuckling softly when he noticed Severus stiffen in surprise, Harry walked over
and gave the demon a one armed hug. “Is Albus still alive?” he questioned,
ignoring what K'lal said about being Slytherin.
“Of course your grandfather is alive,” K'lal sneered.
“Uh huh,” Harry smirked back. “Mother and Iris threatened to stomp on you if
you didn't behave, didn't they?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, K'lal glared at his son. “I have a message
from your brothers. They said if you're not up for dinner in five minutes, they
are going to come hunting in order to defend your honor.”
Harry glared at the demon even as he blushed. “And how long ago did they give
you this message?”
His answer came in the form of Bane and Haze appearing in the lab, facing
Severus. Both of their hands glowed as the each brought forth their own
elemental powers to bear. Bane moved towards the Potions Master, and Haze
started to move Harry towards the door, further away from being able to help
Severus if it was needed.
A surge of anger swept through Harry, and without conscious
thought a deep growl rumbled from his throat, causing everyone to freeze. “Step
back, Bane,” he ordered, his voice taking on the texture of rough gravel.
“Ishal?” Bane questioned nervously.
A warm wind whipped around the lab when no one moved. Harry's eyes started to
tint red, glaring at his brother as his anger starting to drive the power that
he held. “Back away from Severus now!” he demanded once again.
Severus, seeing that no one wanted to become a target, took the situation into
his own hands and moved directly in front of the furious young man. “Mr.
Potter, this behavior of yours is most unwelcome. Please refrain from repeating
it in my presence,” he sneered in his silkiest voice, while placing his hands
on Harry's shoulders.
Harry's anger drained away in a matter of seconds as he processed what was
said. “Does that mean I'm allowed to have a fit when you're not here?”
“Yes,” was the immediate answer, “now tell me what set you off this time.”
“They threatened you,” came the matter of fact statement.
“They were protecting you,” Severus stated.
“I don't need protection from you. I never have.”
“Be that as it may, you shouldn't loose your temper like that.”
Bane, who had moved to stand with his father, snorted. “Yeah, Ishal, when you
lose your temper, it's downright scary.”
Severus dropped one arm and wrapped the other one so it lay around the smaller
man's waist. “Imbecile! Of course that's not the reason. He uses up too much
energy and his sugar levels drop far below where they should be. The only thing
keeping him on his feet is my arm. Now if the three of you don't mind leading
the way, I do believe that you mentioned something about dinner,” he sneered.
Haze and Bane shared a glance and looked back and forth between Harry and
Severus. Much to the dark wizard’s disgust, the answer was not in a any
language that he could understand. One was in the light tinkling language of
the Fae, and the other in the guttural growls of the demonic. Both had K'lal
laughing and Harry groaning in dismay. “Would one of you like to repeat that?”
Severus questioned.
“Not if they know what's good for them,” Harry half growled. Summoning a small
flask from across the room, he popped the top off and drained the energy
booster. Seeing Severus' questioning look, he explained. “Both Jones and the
idiot Jarvis will be at dinner tonight. If I appear weak in any way they'll
attempt to rip me apart.”
“It will be the last such attempt,” Severus stated calmly, much to the
amusement of K'lal.
“There is that, I suppose,” Harry said thoughtfully. “I'm just going to love
the looks on their faces when they find out who came for dinner.” He snickered,
and refused to say more on the subject as he led the way to the dining hall.
***** Chapter Three *****
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros,
Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement
is intended.
Once again many thanks to Periculum for her beta work. Without her I’m sure
everyone would be out for my head.
Chapter Three.
 
Harry allowed Severus to continue to hold him up on the trip to the Dining
Room, for two reasons. First, he really could not have made it all the way on
his own, and second because being near Severus once again was too much of a
temptation. Much to his disgust, his two brothers had decided to walk in front
of him and Severus and his father slightly behind, all of them boxing Harry in
case he needed help in some way; more likely it was to make sure that Severus
didn’t do anything. Even with Harry’s word that the older wizard would do
nothing to hurt him, and in fact had saved his life on more than one occasion,
they really didn’t want to trust him due to the Dark Mark branded onto his left
arm.
Growling slightly in frustration, both from the comments his brothers were
trading too low for Severus to hear, and the slow pace that they had been
forced to travel at due to his weakness, Harry focused his will, and pulled his
legs up so that he was floating on nothing, much to the surprise of his human
companion.
“James!” Severus hissed in concern, reminding himself not to say Harry’s real
name where others could over hear. “You really shouldn’t be doing that right
now; you’re just needlessly draining what little of your reserves you have
available to you.”
Smiling slightly at the older man, Harry laid a reassuring hand on Severus’
shoulder. “Relax Sev’rus; I’m not using my own power to do this. I only used
enough to actually weave a web from the elemental energy that naturally flows
off my brothers, with a touch of Father;s to keep everything stable,” he stated
softly. “If my sisters were here right now, I would be able to use their
elemental powers as well, in order to recharge my own reserves.”
Thinking that through for a moment, Severus could not a fault with the idea. “I
take it your…sisters… have different elemental powers?”
Directing the weave holding him mentally, Harry shifted so that he was floating
backwards. “Exactly, Jedzia is an Earth Mage, and Shay is and Air adept. Haze
and Bane are also at the adept levels in their respected elemental powers,
Water and Fire.”
Severus watched as Harry’s eyes lit up with an inner fire and did his best to
hide the smile he could feel coming on, not realizing the softening of his own
eyes. “And what of your parents and Eldest sister?” He questioned softly,
sliding a hesitant glance at K’lal.
Seeing the look, Harry laughed softly. “Masters in their areas of expertise.”
Seeing a slightly confused look, Harry explained further. “Each elemental has
control of different parts of the element themselves. For instance, Shay is a
Mage, and can control the very ground you walk on, but she has problems with
plants of any kind which also are found under the things that are associated
with an earth element. Jedzia on the other hand, loves to create storms, but
would rather spend her day conversing mentally with the beasts of the Air.”
Nodding his head in understanding Severus gave the young man a searching look.
“And you?”
Blushing slightly Harry turned around so he was facing forward again. “I dabble
in a little bit of everything.”
“He’s a genius with animals, no matter what element they are stronger with.”
K’lal stated with obvious pride
“He’s figured out how to weave all four elements together in their most raw
form to do pretty much anything he wants.” Azera stated, shimmering into view
beside K’lal, and startling Severus slightly with her sudden intrusion into the
conversation.
“Plants twine around him whenever he walks outside.” Shay stated quietly,
adding in her opinion.
/He plays tag with the flying animals without any other support then the
cooperation of the air. / Jedzia’s words glimmered gently in the air where the
potion master could see them.
Iris, having arrived with Azera, Shay and Jedzia, watched from her own set of
shadows, as the family allowed their pride to speak with such honesty about
their newest family member, without taking into effect what their words were
costing the young man they were so proud of. A young man who strived hard every
day to come across as ‘normal’ to ever one – both humans and non humans -
around him. Watching the frustration mount in Harry’s eyes, she focused briefly
on the potions master and could see a slight sense of awe forming, and realized
that she needed to be the one to protect her little brother from this newest
kind of fame.
Stepping out of the shadow and directly beside Severus, she gently laid one
hand on his arm and gave him a chiding look, silently asking him not to change
the way he viewed Harry. “Like Ishal has already stated, he dabbles in a little
bit of everything.” Turning she allowed the air around her to grow slightly
warm in a clear warning to the others to drop the subject. “Anya was wondering
what was taking you so long. It appears that Jones is here and he has brought a
most distinguished guest with him.”
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Harry allowed his original weave of fire and
ice to combine with the energies his sisters freely offered, and boosted
himself back up to full power, leaving him with an extremely hallow stomach
that demanded to be filled real soon. “Do you know who?” He asked softly,
allowing his feet to touch the ground once again, and sent Iris a thankful
look.
Eyes lighting up slightly in malicious humor, Iris allowed herself a small evil
grin. “Someone who you supposedly know. I would tell you more, but I really
don’t think I should ruin this surprise.”
Narrowing his eyes slightly at his sister, Harry finally shrugged his
shoulders, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get anymore out of the elf, and
fell into step with Severus, and allowed his senses to bask in the love his
family was sending his way, and that he in turn was subconsciously allowing
Severus Snape to feel as well.
The ruling members of three of the non human races shared grins before fading
away, only to reappear moments later and alerting the stuff to be aware of the
fun that was about to begin.
~~OoO~~
Harry soaked in the genuine feelings of caring and love his siblings sent to
him, and allowed them to bolster his already fragile emotional control. The
events from earlier that day had sent his mind spinning and he wasn’t sure if
he would be able to control it without having to withdraw into his own little
haven. Sending a furtive look towards the dark wizard walking beside him, he
wondered just how much he would need to hide from the older man, knowing that
something’s were better left unsaid. Turning into the last short hall way that
lead to the dining room, Harry almost choked in surprise, and grabbed hold of
Severus, pulling him back the way they had just come. “Dear Merlin, doesn’t the
man ever quit?” He hissed to his siblings.
Jedzia carefully looked around the corner, and quickly turned back to her
siblings, a look of unholy glee in her eyes. /is that who I think it’s supposed
to be? / She asked her words dancing in the air.
The other three double checked, and nodded their heads before trading sly
looks, their own eyes lighting up to match Jedzia’s.
“What is going on here?” Severus demanded to know, grabbing hold of his temper
with all his self control.
Slightly unfocused green eyes settled on him, and Harry held up one finger in
bid for silence. “I told you that Jones and Jarvis were coming for dinner
tonight right? And that if I showed up in a weakened position they would
attempt to ripe me apart?” Receiving a raised eyebrow in answer, Harry
continued with his explanations. “Those two have been taking turns over the
past few months to attempt to win back their jobs. It looks like this time that
Jones is going to try and pass of an imposter, I assume the imposter is suppose
to tell Anya that he has never seen me before, therefore making what I told her
about my education a complete lie.”
Narrowing his eyes in anger, Severus glared at the five siblings. “Who exactly
has he brought with him?”
Harry’s eyes cleared completely when he heard the anger in dark voice, and
stopped paying attention to the conversation he had been bringing to his ears
on the air currents. “Promise me that you will let us deal with this imposter,
and I’ll tell you.” He stated grimly
Severus stared at Harry for a few moments trying to see if the young man would
back down, so he managed to notice the way that Harry eyes flickered back in
forth quickly. Glancing around at the others he found the same thing happening
to them, and realized that they were speaking to each other in a way he would
never be able to understand. When Harry’s eyes stopped flickering and looked at
him with determination, he realized that they had been discussing what to do
with him if he decided not to agree with them. “Yes.” He finally answered.
With a subtle flick of a finger, Harry placed of the strongest silencing charms
he knew around the group of them and smiled. “The man following Jones like a
love sick puppy will be going by the name of Severus Snape.”
***** Chapter Four *****
It's late. I know that and I apologize. No excuse I can give will do justice to
this little fact, especially since I've had the beta'd version on my computer
for awhile now.
Once again many thanks to Periculum for her beta work. Without her I’m sure
everyone would be out for my head.
And finally….
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros,
Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement
is intended.
 
Chapter Four
With a growl that had Bane step back slightly in respect, Severus tried to push
his way past Harry and his sisters, only to meet a solid wall of air that kept
him in the circle the five siblings had created. “Let me show this imbecile
what it means to be me,” he snarled.
Harry calmly placed his hand on the centre of Severus’ chest and pushed
slightly, rocking the potions master back half a step. “You promised to let us
deal with this, Sev’rus,” Harry stated, green eyes darkening with determination
and anger.
“What exactly do you plan on doing, Harry? What could be more effective than
allowing me to take him on?” Severus sneered.
“Utter humiliation,” Harry told him, his eyes finally lighting up to match his
siblings’. “Since he is on our territory, we will deal with this as we see fit.
It’s about time these fools realize that I’m not playing games here.” A slight
smile crossed his face, as he gave Severus a sly look. “I promise to let you
have your say, if you promise to stay right next to me, and allow one of us to
do the talking first.”
Severus considered it for a moment before nodding his agreement, a slight
shiver going down his spine at the unholy light that flashed in the eyes of all
five siblings. “As you wish.”
Harry grinned slightly. “I’m going to place a slight notice-me-not spell on
you,” he said, waving his hand slightly over the Potions Master, “nothing
drastic, but it’s going to be enough so that no one will think twice over who
you are. Then it’s just going to be business as normal.”
“You really don’t have a plan do you, James?” Severus asked, realizing that the
silencing ward had come down at the same time the spell was placed on him.
“Kinda hard to make a plan when I don’t know how the idiot is going to play
this,” Harry answered.
Jedzia, who had been keeping track of the impostor, looked over at Harry. //It
looks like Albus is just about to confront them.//
“Perfect,” Harry purred.
The group of six continued towards the main hall, seemingly not noticing Jones
and his friend, until Harry heard Jones raise his voice, garnering the
attention of everyone in the hall.
“This is the young man I was talking to you about, Severus. He claims to have
been taught by you?” Jones questioned, his voice slightly on the smug side.
“I have never seen this adolescent before in my life,” ‘Severus’ stated in a
raspy voice, trying and failing to produce a sneer.
“Good evening, Mr. Jones.” Harry said politely. “Who is your friend?”
“You don’t recognize him, boy?” Jones asked, a faint triumphant note entering
his voice.
“Was I supposed to?” Harry asked, gritting his teeth at being called ‘boy’.
“Why, this is Severus Snape, the Potions Master you claimed to have been taught
by.”
Whispers of disbelief flew through the hall, with a few snorts of laughter.
Feeling Albus coming up behind him, Harry had to fight down his own laughter.
“Really? Are you sure about that, Jones?” Harry asked.
“Of course I am,” Jones snapped.
“That’s really funny, because this isn’t the man I know from Hogwarts. What do
you think Headmaster Dumbledore? Is this the man who’s been in your employ for
the past fifteen-plus years?”
The group of people who originally came from Hogwarts watched in wide eyed awe
as the veneer Dumbledore kept around himself was sweeped away, and in its place
stood a powerful wizard who reminded them all of why exactly Voldemort was
afraid of him. “No, James, it is not. I have never seen this man before,” Albus
stated, his voice cold.
Jones paled drastically, before gathering himself once again. “Another bid for
attention, boy? Using someone's likeness to bolster your own story?” he managed
to squeak out.
Harry's laughter was tinged slightly with a malicious undertone. “Why, Mr.
Jones, I was under the impression that that was exactly what you were doing!”
Jones' face went red in anger and, forgetting that they were surrounded by many
of the students, and by this time all of the faculty as well, he drew his wand.
“How dare you, an insignificant child, accuse me, a respected member of this
community, of such a crime?” he hissed. “I have had more than enough of your
pithy comments and juvenile behaviour. It's time someone took a stand and put
you in your proper place!”
By the time he was done, his voice had reached a mild roar, and Harry rocked
back on his feet slightly as his mind flashed back briefly to his uncle. Jones,
seeing his advantage, raised his wand, his magic swirling around him with his
rage, and cast it forward with no real spell, just clear bad intent.
In the split second following this movement, several things happened at once.
Harry's magic reacted to the threat with a crystalline wall, which was
overlapped with several protection shields cast by various people in
attendance. The notice-me-not spell covering Severus vanished, revealing his
presence to the impostor, as Severus' arms wrapped around Harry and turn them
both away from the danger. The students cast a variety of jinxes and hexes at
both Jones and the impostor, bringing them down to the floor, and Anya locked
down the entire building so that the two men had no chance to leave, despite
the spells they were under.
All of this paled in comparison though, when the shadows in the hall started to
come alive, flickering with hellish flames, while the temperature around the
two men dropped dramatically and the air stilled completely before it started
to compress around Jones and his companion, and the ground beneath them rolled
and started to fissure where they were standing.
Coming back to his senses completely when he felt the elementals’ rage, Harry
pulled himself away from the shelter offered by Severus, and started to gather
the wild magic dancing through the hall. “Stop!”
With that simple command, everyone froze, and time itself seemed to stand
still.
His eyes burning with a dreadful intensity, Harry looked at his family. “Go to
the Glade, and take our new arrivals with you. I will be there as soon as I
clean up this mess.” Sharing a look between them, K'lal, Azera and Iris nodded
their heads, and along with those indicated disappeared.
Harry next looked to Anya, and with a whispered word of regret, used the Fae
magic he had been granted, and wiped the memory of this confrontation from the
minds of everyone in the school, sending them all back to their dinner, leaving
only the memory of a message from Jones and Jarvis, sending their regrets for
not being able to make the meal, with the headmistress. He watched as the
students and staff drifted back to whatever they were doing before.
Breathing deeply to control the rage he could still feel from his family, Harry
stood still for a few moments, before turning to Jones and his 'friend'. A
quick glance through the impostor’s mind indicated that it was truly Jarvis
under a heavy glamour, and Harry felt his anger spike once again. “The two of
you truly do not know when to leave things alone, do you?” he asked softly. “So
far, I have treated you like an annoyance, something that just buzzed around my
awareness, but no more. I have up to this point been downright benevolent with
the two of you, but it ends today. I am going to show you exactly what could
happen if you do not stop this infantile behaviour,” Harry told them, his voice
no more then a whisper.
Redirecting the magic swirling around him to the focus stone in the Demon
Realm, Harry rested his hands on their foreheads, and envisioned where he
wanted to go, using the magic of the focus stone for a safe passage for the two
humans.
The three of them arrived within a blink of an eye, and Harry immediately
directed the humans to a specific holding cell. This cell had been designed
more as a warning than anything else. Once inside and the door closed, the
wards surrounding the room played out the worst nightmares of whoever was
incarcerated within. After playing out those nightmares, various torture scenes
followed, driving home the point that the Being they had managed to piss off
was not playing games, and if that specific Being didn't follow through on the
techniques shown, there were plenty of others willing to do it for them. The
best part of the room was that it wouldn't allow for the mind to break. Once
you left the room, you left it whole, exactly how you entered.
Sighing softly, Harry sealed the door with his personal mark, allowing everyone
to know that those inside were not available for 'play-time', and turned to the
guards. Dragging a hand through his hair, he gave a sad smile. “Ka'laz, once
they're done could you do me the honour of returning them to their homes?”
“Of course, Ishal.” Ka'laz smiled, showing a row of sharp teeth. “Perhaps with
an urgent impulse to leave the area entirely and find another line of work?”
Laughing softly, Harry nodded his head. “Sounds good to me.” Casting one last
look at the sealed door, Harry sighed again. “If anyone comes looking for me,
I'll be in a pool. I need to relax before I join the family for dinner.”
Without waiting for a response, Harry turned and opened another door, letting a
blast of super heated air into the containment area. Shedding the mask of
humanity he wore, Harry walked toward the nearest Lava pool, and dropped in,
allowing the molten rock to embrace him as he slowly sank to the bottom.
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