Familiar

A/N. Hey guys just thanking people again so if you want you can skip this bit and get to the good stuff.

Melodelic: You’ll have to wait and see. I think Draco wouldn’t be opposed to it.
Rachel: thank you for understanding. I am glad you like Krai; I wanted to try something that I hadn’t come across before. I’ve seen plenty of stories with familiars in but no one seems to explore the relationship between them and their masters. Draco will be mentioned again but you won’t really see him until they get back to Hogwarts.
Argo: Thank you so much for pointing out my little mistake, I have corrected it and I apologize to anyone who thought that I had added another chapter when I hadn’t, my summary is too long so I would have had to delete some warnings to let you guys know and I didn’t know if that was a good idea.
HentaiZaru: This is for you, hope you like it.



Chapter 5: Potter Manor

Harry fought the urge to close his eyes as thousands of fireplaces streamed past him. It was probably like being on a muggle rollercoaster; he didn’t know that for sure he’d never been on one. And that was probably the reason why he felt so sick and disorientated, his body, particularly his stomach and his head were complaining loudly. He couldn’t help thinking that if he’d have been on a few rollercoaster’s he wouldn’t be having this bad a reaction to it. The next thing he knew, he was flying out of a fireplace and smacking face first with a resounding crack into a white marble floor.

Hedwig was hooting shrilly somewhere high above his head and something was struggling beneath him. Realising who was beneath him, he quickly rolled to the left and nearly had a heart attack when a little craggy face appeared above him. Once he got over the shock he realized that the little old house elf who had scared the life out of him was laughing and very loudly.
‘I…is…sorry sir, When Manny…saw your face…’
He smiled at her and then remembering that he had actually landed on Krai got up to look for the poor familiar and hoped that Krai wouldn’t strike at him. He didn’t have any anti venom and hoped his familiar remembered that, needless to say his familiar will have just realized why floo powder was not his favourite way to travel.

When he found Krai he was wrapped around an ornately carved table leg, it had taken him awhile because the legs of the table were carved into two entwined snakes. He wouldn’t have noticed Krai if it hadn’t have been for his shimmering scales which glowed in the light of the freshly stoked fire. It appeared Manny had recovered enough from her laughing fit. After hissing a quick reassurance to Krai, he turned to the waiting house elf.
‘I knew I would be seeing Master Harry soon. I have prepared your room. If you like we could take a quick tour of the main rooms now and then I can show you to your room. I can bring your dinner up to you and then you could have a nice long bath to relax yourself before your transition.’ All of this was said a little bit fast and it took Harry a moment to realize that she wasn’t actually offering a choice.
‘Will Master be removing his glamour? Manny would like to see what master Harry looks like. Manny has heard he is so much like his father but has his mother’s eyes. There are very strong wards round both the grounds and Manor so there is no need to worry about the Ministry sensing you.’ Thinking that it would be better not to answer her, he just waved his wand and the glamour disappeared. She walked up to him, her eyes raking him and began to circle him like a shark.
‘Definitely like Master James, but the eyes are definitely Mistress Lily's. Very thin though and Master James wasn’t quite as short. But that should be fixed tonight. Hhmm if Master would follow me…’
‘Ummm, my Owl…’
‘She has already left to go hunting sir, I am sure you will see her later as her perch is in your room.’ He took a quick look around the room he was in, as Manny seemed intent on rushing him off. He was in the entrance hall; an ornately carved black fireplace stood behind him, above it was an old fashioned woodcut of a forest filled with Unicorns and Gryphons. As with the portraits the figures moved, the trees rustled and the Unicorns poked their heads out from behind the trees. The carving was unending, being done by a master on a cherry red wood panel that stretched in a ribbon all around the large room. At the far end were two curving staircases made of the same cherry red wood as the panel, again ornately carved to resemble leafy tree branches. It was strange how natural it appeared, almost as though it had grew that way. Around the room were placed several straight backed chairs varnished almost black with white cushions, the tables were also darkly varnished, all of the legs were elaborately carved but the tabletops were as plain as the chairs. Maybe that was because the carved snakes on the table legs weren’t in fact stationary, as he watched one or two slithered over the tabletop and curled around their mates on other legs. The floor as he had come to know personally was of white marble veined with black and a grey that was almost silver. The ceiling was high and curved and simple silver chandeliers hung like clouds with non drip floating candles that cast a mottled glow over the ceiling as if it were patterned instead of plain. The furniture and the cold black and white colours should have made the room uninviting but this was not the case. He didn’t know whether it was the cherry wood of the woodcut and the banister that made it seem so warm or the figures themselves. He did know that if the room had been even slightly smaller it wouldn’t have worked, it would have looked too cluttered and he knew that if the room had been any bigger it would have been cavernously empty, it was perfectly matched. He noted absently that a cherry read carpet that appeared to be as soft as velvet led up the stairs. He followed Manny through a cherry wood door with carved panels, he didn’t really have time to notice what the carvings were, but he saw more snakes and something with wings maybe a Gryphon, which would make sense. They walked through into a beautiful light blue room with a hardwood floor, sanded so smooth that you couldn’t see where one board ended and another began. The sofa’s were those corner ones, they looked so comfy he was hoping Manny would let him just fall into one and sleep but he thought there was no chance of that happening before he had a bath. The sofas were white with cushions of light blue covered in soft white lace. The walls were white, but there were paintings of poppy meadows and blue bells in a wood, that were all blowing in a non-existent breeze, they made the room. The ceiling was curved again but had sharpened arches of mahogany wood closing a quarter of the way to the centre like teeth.
‘This is the receiving room, for when you have visitors, they will be met in the entrance hall and brought in here. These two rooms were specifically designed to impress business clients and important people. The rest of the manor is less grand baring of course some of the suites for important guests.’
‘Where’s the kitchen?’
‘You don’t need to know that young Master. Now follow me…’
She led him back to the entrance hall.
‘You will be able to explore the grounds another day when you have recovered from your transition.’ She said pointing at a large double door he had somehow missed earlier, this time carved with vines. She led him up the stairs to step straight out on to an arching corridor. The cherry carpet carried on down the corridor, the walls were cream and the doors were golden brown, every so often was a fine latticed window that showed the night sky. He remembered the illusion windows in the Ministry and knew that these were the same, it must have been a powerful charm to create such an image, but then again it wasn’t nearly as impressive as the ceiling at Hogwarts.
‘As you seemed to be eyeing the couch downstairs I thought we had better skip the library, study, dining room, smoking room, Ladies solar (not that you will ever need to enter there, that’s strictly for your wife and daughters), galleries, ballroom and conservatory. The magical rooms will have to wait also, you look about ready to drop, you should have come earlier I was expecting you at tea time; you only have an hour to bathe and eat before midnight. Your familiar really should have got you here earlier, I am surprised he waited so long… you need to rest before a transition; your magics are already building up. You will have to make do with a tea that’s been under a stasis charm for…’ at that point he just turned and looked at Krai, who just stared at him and shrugged, if a snake can shrug that is. He liked Manny, she was a little gruff, but he could tell that was mainly from worry and nerves, there must be other house elves, it was kinda obvious she was used to ordering people about.
‘…Now this is the Master suite, it hasn’t been refurbished since your parents left, so once you have recovered from your transition we will discuss redecorating it.’ Until she turned around to face him, he hadn’t even realised they had stopped, he cursed himself when he realised they were in a different corridor entirely (reminded him of first year at Hogwarts when he hadn’t paid attention on his first journey to the Gryffindor common room and had subsequently gotten lost for days afterwards), he hoped Krai had noticed which doors they had gone through. But he had no such luck Krai was fast asleep on his shoulder.
‘Now then Master Harry you go in there and have a nice bath, my daughter Lynny will have run you a bath and laid out some night things for you. I am going to go down to the potions store and find you some of the stronger pain blocking potions, they will have to do until the morning as I am sure that you have not had chance to brew any of the recommended ones…’ she gave him a disapproving look that reminded him of Hermione ‘I will send my daughter to master Remus with an order for some pre-made potions from the apothecary in Hogsmeade, he should be able to get there without trouble and send them here. The merchants in Diagon Alley would tell anyone who asked what you had bought and we don’t need that information to appear in the prophet do we. Manny hates that paper for what they say about Master, forewarned is forearmed as they say and their wand search puzzles are the best…’ she was just mumbling to herself as she walked off now, so he thought he’d better get in to his room and close the door before she turned around to berate him for something else.

When he turned around, he found himself in a large room that was easily the size of his Aunt and Uncles house, doubled. It was absolutely breathtaking, as with most of the rooms something moved, in here it was the paint on the walls. The room itself was two stories high, two curving staircases of wrought iron painted white reached down to surround an enormous four poster bed, trimmed in blue and white velvets and satins. At the top of these stairs was a small landing with a latticed double door surrounded by latticed windows seeming to open the room to the elements. This led out onto a balcony overlooking the grounds, the view stretched for miles, directly below was a manicured garden and a maze but behind that was a large wood that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, it surrounded the manor on all sides, there was a lake quite near by and a mountain in the distance.

The carpet was of light blue and so soft it felt like you were walking on air; it came down the stairs and flowed over the floor like a waterfall. He took his shoes and socks off just to check the softness of it. The rest of the room continued this theme, the bed was on a raised dais and was so high you had to use a small set of steps just to get on it. In the centre of the room were two circular couches surrounding a large oval coffee table. On the far side of each staircase was a double door, the one on the left led into a walk in closet that he would need a marauders map to get out of and on the right was an en suite bathroom with a sunken tub the size of a small lake, it had around twenty or so taps with multicoloured jewels in, just like the prefects bathroom at Hogwarts. Once you closed the door it was almost like there was nothing to stop the outside world from looking in on you. It was almost like a gilded glass house, the window illusions showing stars and the surrounding wood, the glow of the candle light gave it an almost romantic glow. Hot, steaming water was rising from the tub in clouds, without further thought he stripped, ignoring the faint bruises all over his body that protested at the movement. He slid into the water great fully and a moment later, Krai joined him. He complained for awhile about their being no salt in the water but said the warmth reminded him of home. Harry allowed himself to relax he was finally away from the Dursleys and shortly he would be an adult and Dumbledore couldn’t force him to go back. He could request, order and manipulate but he couldn’t make him, he wouldn’t listen to the order anyway.

Unfortunately those thought made him think of his coming transition and he worried.
~Do not worry Massster, the elf isss fussing ssshe hasss had no one to tend to for ssso long. The pain for you thisss night Massster will be non-exissstent. Your magic will increassse firssst and will then protect you from your body, tomorrow morning you will be in ssslight discomfort asss the changesss will be complete and the magic will have ceasssed to protect you ssso that it can be ussed for other thingsss.~
~What changesss can I expect~
~Nothing sss ssseriousss yet, Massster. I believe your body will change into what it ssshould have been if you had lived with your parentsss. The environment in which you live affectsss you, you sssee. And finally you will be the perssson you are meant to be~
~Sssso I will not become a creature, I have no hidden blood~
~That I cannot anssswer we will have to resssearch, you may have, it isss very posssssible but creature blood manifesssstssss ssslowly, you will see no visible change for monthsss yet if there isss one~
~Well thatsss one lessss thing to worry about for now~

After a while he stirred enough from the dose he had fallen into to realise he’d better get out before he drowned himself. After putting on the black robe with green borders that had the initials HP on the left breast, he went back into the bedroom where he found Hedwig asleep on a perch he hadn’t noticed before next to a rock pool surrounded by sand and soil with a few grassy plants growing on it that he also hadn’t noticed before. Feeling too tired to think about it he crossed to the coffee table where he noticed a covered tray. He ate his fill of the pasta dish provided, which was absolutely gorgeous and read the note that had been tucked under his plate. The two bottles on the tray were pain suppressing potions, he was to take one now just in case and leave the other for the morning. He did as he was told and crossed to his bed noting that Krai was buried half way in soil and his tail dangled in the rock pool. He smiled at both of them, out for the count and then got in his bed and joined them in sleep.

Krai was right, Harry only felt a small twinge for a moment before it subsided, he didn’t even wake from slumber. But Krai had awoken before midnight and had settled on Harry’s pillow to watch over his charge as the changes began. And when the change was done he hissed in approval, his snake Lord would have no problems. No problems at all. Such power. It wasn’t time to tell him about the creature blood yet, he would reject it. Soon though, soon… his snake Lord would come into his own and the Dark Snake Lord would fall.
‘Yesssss…’ he said approvingly, before curling up to sleep, he would wake his charge in the morning, he couldn’t wait to see the pleasure on Harry’s face.