Copy Cat

Chapter 2 – Intermediary vs. Primary

A/N: Holy crap. Still more feedback!! I’m so thrilled. You all have been making my day. As was the case last time, I will personally address your feedback at the end of the chapter. Additionally, it has come to my attention that some of you, dear readers, would like to be notified when I update. If that is the case, please just put it in a review and include your email address so that I may tell you that the story is updated. Thank you muchly. ^_^

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Severus Apparated himself and Harry (how could he not? The boy was still firmly attached to his person.) to the doorstep in front of 12 Grimmauld Place. The soft black ears on top of Harry’s head, now more pronounced than before, swiveled around, picking up the sounds of birds and the general noise of the surrounding city. Severus frowned in distaste. From a streetlamp, Hedwig hooted at them. Severus was sure the owl was laughing at the sight they made. Refusing to be more of a spectacle, he went ahead and entered the building.

“-rius, be reasonable. You know as well as I do that Harry has to stay with the Dursleys until tomorrow. They think that you’re a criminal,” the weary voice of Remus Lupin reached the visitors’ ears as soon as they were in the house.

“But, Moony…” Sirius pleaded back, cutting off the protest, presumably because of a look Remus had shot him.

Severus curled his lip. He should never have let slip that he knew how to get someone back from behind the Veil. Since he’d done so and since the subsequent rescue of the bane of his existence, life in the Order had become most insufferable. Still, though he would never willingly admit it, it was good to have the mutt back. Lupin was more tolerable, for one. And the year it had taken to get Sirius back had shown Severus one thing – he never, EVER wanted to have to deal with a depressed werewolf again.

“We can…” Remus broke off whatever he was going to say. “Harry!”

Harry’s head perked up at the sound of that familiar voice. He purred and nearly shot out of Severus’s arms. The potions master had enough sense of mind to catch him by the back of his collar first. Remus, and consequently Sirius, shot around the corner from the kitchen and took in the sight of Harry practically running in place with a slightly put-off Severus holding him in place. Remus started laughing – a rich belly laugh. Sirius frowned and immediately marched over to his taller nemesis and pried the man’s hand off Harry’s collar.

“Unhand my godson, Snivelly.”

Unexpectedly, Harry growled at Sirius. All three adults looked at the small teen.

“Harry?” Sirius bent down a little to look Harry in the eye.

“Don’t call him that!” Harry said sharply.

Sirius looked taken aback. “Harry…” He looked to Remus for support. Remus simply crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“What do you want me to do about it? I’ve been telling you the same thing for years, Sirius. You need to get over this childish vendetta against someone who, by all rights, should have a vendetta against you.”

“Who’s to say I don’t?” Severus interjected.

“Like you’d do anything about it,” Sirius said.

“I could. I just choose to exercise maturity and refrain from doing so.”

“Oh, so implying that I’m immature is greatly mature, is it?” Sirius sneered.

“Gentlemen, would you please stop this bickering?” Remus tried.

“Stay out of this!” Sirius and Severus said simultaneously.

“Don’t copy me, Snivellus,” Sirius snarled.

“Don’t copy me,” Severus mocked, intentionally egging the other man on. “Please. I didn’t copy you in school, why should I do so now when your idiocy has only managed to increase?”

“I really think we should all just calm down,” Remus continued to try and stop the arguing. He went unheard as wands were drawn and hexes prepared.

“Finally have the guts to face me, eh?” Sirius taunted.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to ask that? After all, you’re the one cowardly enough to have to send an enemy off to a werewolf in order to off them,” Severus kicked his billowing robes backward out of the way.

“What do you mean by that, Severus?” Remus narrowed his amber eyes, his expression suddenly cold and harsh.

Before the fight could escalate further, the three adults found their wands out of their hands and their bodies bound by coils of silvery green light. The source was, as they found out, a rather irate Kuronegato. Harry’s eyes were a bright luminescent green and his hair stood on end, cat ears flattened against his skull. Pointed canines were bared menacingly and from beneath his fingernails had emerged sharp-looking claws.

“Stop. Fighting. Now.” Harry hissed out. “I chose all three of you to care for me in unison. If you can’t handle that, I will rend you limb from limb and proceed to go about my business alone.”

Amber, black, and blue eyes remained fixed and unblinking on the frightening little figure in front of them. Slowly, after a few minutes of silence, they blinked and looked to one another for suggestions, support, or pretty much any sign of life, unwilling to be the only one facing down this creature. When they looked back to Harry, he was still glowering and still ready to rip them apart.

“Can you handle it?” Harry asked in a low voice – a predator’s voice.

Another exchange of glances passed between them all. An unspoken agreement, and truce, occurred in the moments that passed. They looked back to Harry and nodded their agreement. As if someone had flicked a light switch or extinguished a Lumos charm, Harry was all smiles. Their wands clattered to the floor, and the Kuronegato bounced off to the kitchen, only to stop halfway in transit and look at the floor with a faint blush and signs of discomfort all across his face.

Sirius, muttering to himself about how James had never been so much trouble with his Inheritance, had just picked up his wand when he caught sight of his godson shifting his weight from foot to foot. Concerned, he strode to him in long, easy steps. He bent down and searched Harry’s face for signs of true pain.

“Harry? You all right?”

Harry bit his lower lip and gestured for Sirius to lean closer. Sirius did so warily, hoping to avoid his eyes being clawed out. Harry put his mouth close to Sirius’s ear and whispered, “I… tail…”

Sirius, most helpfully, replied with, “Huh?”

Harry blushed again, this time a little angry. “I think my tail’s come in!” He snarled a little louder than intended. When Remus and Severus looked his direction at the news, Harry glowered at Sirius, as if it was his godfather’s fault that the other two now knew about his uncomfortable discovery.

Sirius chuckled and ruffled Harry’s hair, rubbing the base of one ear gently. Harry practically melted, immediately purring. Sirius could see the outline of Harry’s tail swishing underneath the fabric of Harry’s pants. With a flick of his wand, a neat hole was created so that Harry’s tail could avoid being cramped within the jeans, baggy hand-me-downs though they were. Harry sighed in relief and continued to push his head into Sirius’s hand, eager for more of the petting.

Severus sighed to himself. This was going to be a loooong rest of his life.

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In Whitshire, a distracted young blond picked at his nails absently. Something was different. He could feel it in the air. Sure, he had felt a change in the air after his birthday back in June, due to the noble and glorious tradition of Inheritance passed down from generation to generation. Bitterly, he glowered at his father, though really, he was grateful that the man had kept him away from Voldemort since that day. Ryuugon were known to be particularly rare and intensely powerful, nearly unmanageably so.

He had, of course, undergone a great deal of training immediately after the ordeal. He could extend and retract his great, leathery dragon-like wings at will, and he was able to control the ice fire ability of his particular clan. It was this, more than anything, that gave his family such a reputation of being cold and indifferent. His father had been there for him every step of the way and understood the very real possibility that his mate might be on the other side of the war. His mother had been relieved. They’d made the switch to spies in private not too long ago, greatly alleviating Severus’s burden in the process, though the man had been a bit prickly about them endangering themselves quite so recklessly when simple neutrality would serve them better.

In any case, he had gained quite a bit of control in the last month and a half. There should be no reason why something suddenly felt off. Unless… He looked to his father.

“Father?” Draco asked in a calm, confident tone, despite the inner turmoil he felt.

“Hm?” Lucius replied, taking time to mark his place in his book before looking up at his son’s furrowed brow. “Wrinkles, Draco.”

Draco wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes. “Old wives tale, Father.”

Lucius smirked. “It wasn’t too long ago that you believed me when I said that. What’s troubling you?”

Draco clenched and unclenched his fists a couple of times before speaking, choosing his words carefully so as not to worry his father. “Something feels… off.”

“Off?” Lucius managed to keep the worry out of his tone, but as a father, love for a child, particularly an only child, tends to overcome the need for control. His ice fire bubbled just at the surface, ready to attack whatever threat was nearby.

“I… can’t explain it. But… it’s like… there’s a heavy presence. Not near, but it’s there.”

“Heavy in what way?”

“I don’t think it’s dangerous… I feels… almost… welcome?” Draco looked his father in the eye, not hiding his question.

Lucius relaxed with a sigh. “Merlin, Draco. I thought it was something serious.”

Draco looked a bit put off and bared his teeth at his disease being called something less than serious.

“Relax. It is serious, but not life-threatening serious.” Lucius chuckled. His son had such a flair for the dramatic at times. “It would appear that your mate has reached maturity somewhere.”

Draco perked up at this, well, at least the Ryuugon part of him did. The part of him the remained firmly ensconced (the part that his parents and Severus were trying to merge with the Ryuugon nature with much swearing and difficulty) decided that his life was over and that he should jump off the roof of the manor or let himself drown in the tub during a nice long bath. Yes, best to be comfortable and beautiful when dying; he wasn’t a Gryffindor after all.

“Lovely.” Draco said, somewhere between enthusiastic and absolute dread.

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When Harry was tucked in bed, having been fed, bathed, and suitably pampered, the adults in the house slumped into chairs in the parlor, alcohol firmly in hand.

“Well, Sirius, you got your wish. Harry’s here now,” Remus said softly.

“Yeah. I just… I’d hoped he’d have been more like James.”

“You mean a complete dickhead?” Severus asked, unable to stop the comment. A coil of silvery green wrapped around him tightly without warning. “Dammit! Harry… Potter, I didn’t mean it! It just slipped out.” The coil relaxed and disappeared after a moment. They all sighed. This was going to be incredibly difficult.

“Anyway, before that little interruption,” Sirius spoke carefully, not wanting to be punished by a short-stack cat boy, “I was going to say that I’d hoped he’d have been more like James in terms of the Inheritance department – mellow.”

“Keep in mind that James was raised knowing he’d have a mate and being trained to recognize said mate even before receiving his Inheritance. Thus, when it happened, he’d known who his mate was for a year and a half.” Remus said softly.

They all shared a moment of silent, pained remembrance.

“Lily was also part magical creature. Not as strongly as Potter, but strong enough.” Severus said.

“What?! Are you sure?” Sirius asked, sitting up straighter in his chair.

Severus nodded and downed half his glass. “That Dursley boy got too close to Harry… Potter during the thing and Potter’s magic triggered a slight transformation in him.”
Sirius and Remus both arched an eyebrow.

“Did the lard a bit of good, I’d say.” Severus said indifferently. “Told him to bother that Figg woman about the Floo if he experienced anything abnormal.”

“Hm.” Was all Remus could manage to say on the matter.

Sirius was still reeling from the fact that he had never known that Lily was also a magical creature. Not all magical creatures only mated with another magical creature. But, he supposed it made sense – the intense eye color, the way she could control James so easily once they were married… Sirius was all for men being the head of the household, but if ever a woman had exemplified that the wife was the neck, it had been Lily. Sirius used to joke that James may be the one on top, but Lily was definitely the Dominant in their relationship.

“No wonder Harry’s acting up,” Sirius said at long last.

“What are you talking about?” Severus said through his pained headache.

“James was Submissive.”

Severus blinked. “How do you figure?”

Remus just rolled his eyes and said, “Duh.”

“Well, Submissive Kuronegatos respond to discipline only from their mate or from their primary guardians or intermediaries. James didn’t have his guardians or intermediaries at school, so he tended to act up a lot, unless he was around Lily.”

Severus thought about it for a moment, trying to remember if he’d read that anywhere in his research into finding out more about what Lily was. He did vaguely recall something along those lines, but Lily had never confided that she was the Dominant mate. He smiled faintly to himself. He allowed himself the satisfaction of knowing that, as much of an arrogant asshole as James Potter had been, the man had definitely had to defer to someone else somewhere.


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Whew! Another chapter done! Yay!! I'm so proud of myself... LOL. AND we got a glimpse of Draco. Woot woot! Next chapter will skip ahead a bit, I think... We'll see what the story compels me to do though. Also... I don't think I've mentioned this, so I will now:

Kuronegato - completely made up by me. It's a catlike, humanoid creature whose name is a cross between the Japanese for black cat and the Spanish 'gato'.
Ryuugon - also made up by me; a dragonlike, humanoid creature whose name is derived from the Japanese for dragon and the Spanish, again.

I happen to like anime and I speak Spanish as a second language. So sue me... ^_^
Reviewers' Address below.
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Reviewers' Address:

Vittani: Hope this chapter satisfied. Your support and encouragement are most welcome here. Ah, my returning reviewer... first one so far on each of the other two chapters.

butterpie: I'm glad you like the fact that Dudley's got a bit of creature in him. I've read so many fics where they say that Lily was part creature, but they rarely address that she'd have gotten it SOMEWHERE, and thus Petunia would likely have it, too, so Dudley might be affected as well. Please continue reading. ^_^

Kermit: I will do my best to update. I'm on a week-long break from school, though I do have some hw to work on. I should be able to update really well in December when it's the month break between semesters.

Ataeru: You returned!!! Yay!! I'm doing something right! LOL. So glad you're sticking with me. ^_^ And there will be something more with Dudley at some point, especially since I've opened this whole can of worms with Dudley being part creature and all...

Tina109: Thank you very much. I like when Dudley's nice, too.

Jacq: Glad you like this well enough for me to email you about the updates. ^_^ That's a great ego boost and motivation to keep writing. Hope this chapter holds up to your expectations.

Lilith: I ship HPDM all the way, baby! Plus, the rules of the challenge made it so that Draco had to be Harry's mate. Dudley is part creature. And Harry's magic only triggered the transformation because Harry's so powerful. If Dudley had left Harry alone, nothing would've happened. PS... I LOVE catboys.

Draco_Harry_lover: I know exactly what you're saying about writers responding to their reviewers. As a reviewer, it lets me know that the writer is at least taking into consideration what's been said, whether or not they actually use the feedback given. And I do hope you continue reading. Your feedback is most welcome.

Moonlight Black Rose: Ah, the lovely muse of the story! ^_^ Without you, I wouldn't be at over 1,000 views because I wouldn't have such a plotline to go off. So, my hat's off to you, dear. Thanks for the challenge and giving me the opportunity to try my hand at this. And I do hope this satisfies your fangirlism. It does mine. ^_^