Hybrid Destiny

Chapter 10

When they entered the Malfoy suite, they found that Lucius had already left. Shrugging their shoulders, Draco and Harry just made their way to the Great Hall for dinner. By the time they got there, Albus, Minerva, Lucius, Snape, and Poppy were already there so they just made their way to the table and sat down.

This was the first time Lucius had seen Harry in full elf mode. He had to admit that Draco hadn’t exaggerated his description at all. It was a little embarrassing to find a man his son’s age that attractive. He finally looked at his son in greeting only to find him smirking. In typical Malfoy fashion he just sneered, put his nose in the air, and turned back to his dinner.

Draco thought it was hilarious that Lucius had been that affected by Harry’s presence. It wasn’t often that he got to see his father disconcerted like that. Of course, if he openly enjoyed the state his father was in too much, he might just be murdered in his sleep (ha ha).

Harry, on the other, was completely oblivious to the stares and undertones between Lucius and Draco. He was solely focused on his food. Apparently depleting your magical reserves as much as he had was conducive to a healthy appetite. He finally looked away from his food only to find Draco, Lucius, Snape, and Poppy all staring at for various reasons.

“Why are you all staring at me?” he asked in confusion.

“I’m just glad to see your appetite is still so healthy. You have to replace your energy and I don’t want to have to see you in the infirmary again before school starts,” said Poppy.

“I just think you’re sexy and Father just hasn’t seen you without the glamours,” said Draco to a blushing Harry.

“I heard about what happened at Diagon Alley. Are you planning on practicing to develop your newfound powers or just wing it and hope for the best?” asked Snape seriously. Fortunately for Harry, Snape had forgiven him for the pensieve incident in 6th year. Of course, it have had something to do with the fact that Harry had found him in the Forbidden Forest after a Death Eater meeting on the verge of bleeding to death with a multitude of broken bones. He had managed to get him to the infirmary in time and stayed with him over the next three nights when they were sure he would live. After that, the pettiness went to the wayside, in private at least. They still maintained the façade of hatred for the benefit of the Slytherins but it was just that, a façade.

“I plan on practicing, of course, but you know Poppy would kill me if I didn’t at least get my energy levels back to normal before I started depleting them again. She would make Voldemorte’s torture look tame in comparison,” said Harry teasingly while smirking at Poppy. She just smacked him in the back of the head. “Ow, see what I mean?”

“Just as long as you are planning to train those powers. Just call if you need my help,” said Snape.

“Hey Severus, can you come with me to the Forbidden Forest? I want to test the control over predatory beasts and how far that control extends but I don’t want to go by myself in case something goes wrong,” asked Harry.

“I can’t tomorrow because I have to restock Poppy’s potions for the infirmary but I should be able to help the day after that,” he replied.

“That will work. This way I can finish up the rest of my homework tonight and tomorrow and devote the rest of my time to practicing,” said Harry enthusiastically.

“And me. Don’t forget to devote some time to me,” said Draco. “I want to explore those feathers some more.”

“Feathers? Harry, did your wings emerge again?” asked Poppy.

“No ma’am. Draco said the tattoos felt like real feathers,” he said.

“You just touched his tattoos and you felt feathers?” Poppy reiterated.

“Yes ma’am. It was really cool because I would feel feathers and when I moved off the tattoo I felt skin,” said Draco.

“Is something wrong, Poppy? You look a little worried,” asked Harry.

It was a good thing everyone had finished eating by this point because Poppy stood up and said, “All of you follow me. I want to check something and I need all of you there.” When they reached the doors of the Great Hall, they saw Remus Lupin coming in the doors to the entrance hall.

“Moony!” Harry yelled and took off towards the werewolf. Remus turned at the sound of his name and caught Harry as he literally threw himself into the werewolf’s arms for a big hug. When Harry finally let go and stepped back, Remus could only stare at Harry in shock.

“Wow Harry, you look so different. That elfin inheritance really agrees with you,” he said.

“That’s not the only inheritance I received. I also managed to come into a fae inheritance. Do you know which side of the family donated that into my lineage?” asked Harry.

“A fae inheritance. I know for a fact that the Potters have only elfin and wizard blood in their family. It had to have come from your mother but I don’t really know how because everyone thought she was muggle born,” said Remus.

“Well since you’re here, you may as well follow the rest of us to the infirmary,” said Poppy as she started back towards the hospital wing fully expecting the rest of the group to follow.

“What’s wrong? Who’s hurt?” asked Remus looking at Harry.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not my fault,” said Harry defensively. “Why does everyone always stare at me when someone says infirmary? It does not always involve me.”

“No, not always. Just 99.99% of the time,” teased Draco.

“Ha ha, you are so bloody funny,” said Harry. He then promptly put his nose in the air in perfect Malfoy fashion and stalked after Poppy leaving everyone else in his dust.

The rest of the group just snickered and followed at a more leisurely pace. By the time they had reached the infirmary, Poppy had managed to take Harry’s shirt and had him seated on his bed. She also had her wand out running tests to see if his energy levels were completely normal again. “Your energy levels are actually higher than they have been in the past. As long as you don’t drain them as much as you did yesterday, you shouldn’t have any problems.”

“What happened yesterday and why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” asked Remus.

“Yesterday is a long story and I will talk to you later and tell you all about it. The reason I’m not wearing a shirt is because of these,” he said as he turned around and showed Moony the wing tattoos on his back.

“When did this happen?” he asked as he reached a hand to touch the tattoo. The skin felt perfectly normal to him.

“They appeared when I came into my inheritance. They are actual wings but I’ve only sprouted the wings once and I was really angry. I imagine if I practice enough, I’ll be able to call them out whenever I want,” explained Harry.

“What do you feel when you touch the tattoo, Remus?” asked Poppy.

“I just feel his skin. Why?” he replied.

“Albus, you try,” she said.

Dumbledore touched the tattoo and said, “I just felt his skin.”

“Severus”

“Skin”

“Draco”

“Feathers”

“Lucius”

Lucius tentatively reached out and touched the tattoo. When he felt a feathery sensation he almost jerked his hand back. He caressed Harry’s back from one side of the tattoo to the other delighting in the feel of the extraordinarily soft feathers. He was so engrossed in the sensations that he didn’t immediately respond. Instead Draco, who had been watching the entire time and had experienced a similar reaction, answered for him, “Feathers.”

“What does that mean?” asked Harry. “Why do some people feel feathers but others don’t?”

“I don’t really know. I’ll have to do a little research. I’ll let you know when I find out something,” said Albus.

“Okay Lucius, you can quit touching his back now,” said Remus.

Lucius just reluctantly pulled his hand away before turning to sneer at Remus. Remus just growled and went to stand in front of Harry. Draco just rolled his eyes and said, “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”

“Good night, Draco. Mr. Malfoy,” said Harry.

As soon as the Malfoys were gone, Remus turned to Harry and said “What in the world is going on? What happened yesterday and what is going on with you and the Malfoys?”