Bonds that Tie

Disclaimer 1: 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 Five

~thoughts~

Harry woke slowly from a solid sleep, when a shaft of sunlight slanted across his face. Turning away from the light, he burrowed deeper into the surrounding warmth, and felt more then heard a soft chuckle. “He's awake, Albus.”

“So I see, Lucius, so I see,” he heard from further away. “Good morning, Harry.”

Groaning slightly, knowing that he wouldn't be allowed to go back to sleep, Harry twisted his upper body around to face the direction the headmaster's voice was coming from. “Morning,” he grumbled before turning his head back to the darkness in front of him.

Another chuckle from the other side greeted this action, and a hand slid through to rest against his cheek, forcing his face back up to the light. “None of that now, it's past time that you were awake. Your friends are asking for you.”

Opening his eyes to the sight of Lucius Malfoy, images from the night before played across his mind’s eye. Sitting up completely, Harry ran a magical scan down the blond, asking questions all the way. “Are you alright, are you sore anywhere, what happened?”

“I'm fine, Severus has already dosed me with his potions, and you and the Dark Lord happened,” Lucius replied, amusement glittering in his eyes.

“Me? What did I do?” Harry asked in confusion.

Severus sighed softly, and wondered how to break the news to Harry in a gentle manner, knowing that this was, to Harry’s mind, just one more thing to set him apart from everyone else. “Do you remember ever being told about what happens when a powerful wizard comes into their inheritance?” he asked finally.

“Ron said that he felt sore and tired the day before and slightly drained the day after. Hermione said she felt the same way.”

“And that is true for the regular witch or wizard,” Albus answered, “but for the more powerful of our world, like yourself, the day you come into your inheritance becomes something even more. Instead of just the general day, it becomes the exact time of our birth. With the normal change in our magic also comes any creature inheritance as well.”

“Wait, stop right there. Creature Inheritance? What creature inheritance? Did you go through the same thing?” Harry asked, clenching his fists in panic. A flash of pain against the palm of his hand had him looking down at his hands in surprise, flexing his hands he saw the inch long claws the tipped each of his fingers. “Dear Merlin, what have I become?” he finished on a whisper.

“We’re not sure,” Albus started to explain. “It’s going to take some research into your family lines in order to find out what kind of creature blood existed within them. But no need to worry my boy, we’ll figure it out,” he finished, trying to reassure the young man.

Harry’s uncertain gaze travelled between the two wizards sharing the sofa with him, begging for reassurance that what his family had called him all his life was not actually true.

Severus, seeing more than the other two did in the young man’s eyes, gave Albus a significant look. “If you would be kind enough to start going through the information that you have at your disposal, Albus, we would greatly appreciate it.”

“Of course, Severus, I'll do anything within my power to help. I will be off, but please, Harry, if you have any questions at all contact me. Lucius, Severus, I will be seeing the two of you at Hogwarts later this evening,” Albus said in the way of parting.

As soon as the door shut firmly behind the headmaster, Severus had Harry’s face cupped in the palm of his hands, insuring the teen could not look away. “You are not now, nor have you ever been a freak. I don’t want to hear you ever refer to yourself in that way again. Those Muggles you grew up with were disgusting human beings, and nothing that they said to you was ever true.”

Tears started to gather in Harry’s eyes, and he let them fall. “How can you say that when we no longer even know what I am?” he cried.

“You are Harry. You always have been and always will be. It doesn’t matter how anyone else in the world perceives you as long as your family and friends know who and what you are,” Lucius said, coming to stand behind Severus and brushing one finger gently across Harry’s cheek. “And before you ask, those that you lived with are not to be considered family. It’s only those here that matter,” he continued, before Harry could protest, laying one hand over Harry’s heart.

Closing his eyes, Harry allowed himself to believe that these two men were correct, even if it was only for a few seconds. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes once again and nodded. “How do we figure out what exactly I have become?” he asked softly, his voice holding a very slight tremble.

Severus gave Harry one of his rare smiles, before caressing the face still held in his hands and stepping back. “We start by making a list of the attributes you now have, physical, mental and everything in between,” he told Harry.

“Then we start going through books to find out what matches, while keeping an eye on any other changes that may come up,” Lucius added, brushing his fingers along Harry’s cheek once more and conjuring up a blackboard and chalk.

Harry allowed himself a moment of gratitude to these men, before giving himself a mental slap ~come on, Harry, keep it together.~ “I think the more people we have actually watching out for changes the better off we will be,” he said softly.

Both men stopped and looked at him thoughtfully. “Only if you believe that is wise, Harry,” Lucius commented softly.

“Only those who you trust completely, Harry, and I’m going to have to insist that they take a vow to keep all information learned to themselves. There’s no reason to give the Dark Lord a way to get to you,” Severus added.

Harry looked at them thoughtfully for a few minutes. “How many of the DA now know the two of you are spies?”

“Just those that were here when I brought Lucius in to be healed by you. All of them are still here, demanding to know how you are doing, and refusing to leave until they have spoken to you personally. They seemed to be under the impression that Albus would lie to them in order to get them to stop asking questions,” Severus answered.

“You mean he wouldn’t?” Harry said in annoyance, well aware of the Headmaster’s schemes. ~ That means Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and more than likely the twins will still be here. ~ “How many Order members are in residence?” Harry asked, before Severus and Lucius could answer his previous question.

“Just the wolf, and maybe Shacklebolt and my niece,” Lucius answered. “Draco is also here.”

Rolling his eyes at the mention of Draco, Harry gave a single nod and turned towards the door, and stopped in surprise. “Wow.”

“What is it?” Severus asked in concern.

“Nothing to worry about.” Harry was quick to reassure the older wizard. “It’s just that I could always sense the wards around this house due to the blood bond between it and all the Heads of the Black family, but now I can see them as well. The ones cast by the previous Heads are all different degrees of red, mine I know are blue, and it seems that the Headmaster’s are green. He’s warded the room so no one can enter until we let them in,” he explained. “It’s like reading a preschoolers’ primer on colors, almost.”

Lucius and Severus shared a long look and Lucius spelled the chalk to record the fact the Harry could now see magic, or at least the magic of wards. Severus just looked at Harry for a moment. “We’re going to have to test you, to confirm how much magic you can actually see,” he said quietly.

Harry nodded in acknowledgement, and waved the wards away. His first step out the door caused a slight pain in his chest; the second one was worse, and by the fourth step Harry almost dropped to his knees, crying out in pain. Within seconds his friends had surrounded him, searching for the two wizards they thought were to blame for cursing him. Grabbing hold of the closest person, Harry directed them to help him back into the room he had just vacated. Each step closer eased some of the pain Harry was feeling, until he was finally able walk on his own, only keeping a hand on the other person’s arm to keep his balance.

Entering the room in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione both had their wands pulled ready to curse the one that hurt their friend, only to find the two wizards already there in the same boat as Harry. Both were steadying themselves on items of furniture, faces twisted in pain. Glancing at each other quickly, Ron and Hermione rushed to help the older men onto the sofa, in time to see Harry reenter the room with the help of Draco and stumble his way onto the sofa and in between the two men.

Reaching out to establish physical contact between the three of them once again, Harry looked up to thank whoever it was that helped him back into the room, and met a concerned set of grey eyes. “Thanks, Draco,” he said quietly. Leaning back into the soft cushions, Harry whispered, “What the hell was that?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but I have an idea,” Lucius muttered in turn.

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Severus growled.

“Give me awhile to puzzle it out further,” Lucius returned. Rotating the wrist that Harry held, he tried to get the teen to loosen his grip slightly. “Harry, if you continue to hold on that tightly, you’re going to draw blood,” he stated softly.

Gentling his grip slightly, Harry muttered an apology, but refused to break physical contact completely. Sighing softly, he finally looked up at the rest of the group. “I refuse to do that again. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s not going to happen again.” He felt rather than heard Severus and Lucius agree.

“Are you alright, mate?” Ron asked, casting concerned glances at all three people on the couch.

“Yeah, Ron, I’m alright now.”

“What happened to your eyes, Harry?” Hermione asked.

“And what exactly did my father mean when he said you were going to draw blood? I told you before; I won’t allow you to hurt him, especially in my house.” Draco added.

Harry snorted in a mixture of disbelief and amusement. “My house, Ferret, get it right. You are not Lord Black, and if you keep annoying me like this, you’ll never become even so much as the Heir to Lord Black. I do believe I told you last night that I wouldn’t hurt your father, and I don’t go back on my word. Besides, Luc is a big boy, I’m sure he can take care of himself, especially against me.”

Shrugging his shoulders when he heard the dual snorts of amusement, Harry had to smile himself. “And what do you mean what happened to my eyes?” he asked Hermione.

Sharing an uneasy glance with the others in the room, Hermione cleared her throat. “Well you see, Harry…Well…Um… they’re slitted, just like a cat’s. Or maybe a snake’s?” she finally managed, a slight questioning note in her voice.

Sighing, Harry released both older wizards and rubbed his eyes, noticing for the first time that he wasn’t wearing his glasses. With a wave of his hand he added those two facts on the blackboard as well as the fact that he had claws. “Anything else the two of you didn’t tell me earlier?” he murmured.

“No, I think that about covers it. Anything after this will be a surprise for all of us,” Severus answered dryly.

Harry looked back up at his best friends and then glanced around the rest of the room. “Apparently I came into some kind of creature inheritance last night, but we don’t know what kind. I would like your help in finding out what exactly I have become.”