A/N: Disclaimer: You all know the drill. Any characters you recognize aren't mine, any you don't recognize are mine. Harry Potter and the world of Wizardry were invented by J.K. Rowling, not me. I don't own any rights to the characters. You can read this if you want. If you don't want to, just carry on to the first chapter. This is here for those who wish to know the character's backgrounds.

Underlying Secrets takes place in Albus Potter's 5th year at Hogwarts.

Chapter1:

Journal exert one; Natsuo Marineer's Journal (September 1, 2020)

My name is Natsuo Marineer. I am 15 years old, my favorite color is pine green, and I hate peas. Wait. What the hell am I doing? This is a journal, not a memoir. (He sighed, shaking his head.) Before my mum died, she was always telling me about Hogwarts. Four years ago, I started attending that wonderful school. However, even though I'm happy about it, my school carrier didn't start off that well. For starters, I was never part of the starting ceremony. Due to my condition, I wasn't allowed to. I was sorted into Gryffindor the day before.

Even though they were confused, and still are for that matter, my roommates never really had a problem with it, until my best friend –he's actually a bit more than that now- Albus got curious about why I wear a hat all the time. Usually, that's not something someone would wonder, right? But the thing is, I wear one all the time to keep my condition hidden, therefore I never get in trouble for it. So, he cornered me one day and asked me about it. What was really insulting though – still is, really - is that he thought I wore it because I was bald. I was outraged. How can an eleven-year-old kid be BALD?! In fact, I was so outraged that I wasn't thinking and I pulled off my hat so hard that I even managed to pull out a few of my hairs with it. He was, needless to say, shocked. My condition tends to have that effect on people, seeing as I'm a were-fox.

Actually, I'm not a full were-fox. I'm a hybrid, born between the union of a were-fox and were-cat, if you can imagine that. I made my friend swear not to tell a soul, including his siblings and parents. If he did, I'd never be able to trust him again and Oneesan and I would have to go into hiding. Which would piss me off because I hate hiding. Hopefully he'll have enough sense to keep it a sec-

"Natsuo! Hurry up! You're going to miss the train!" Natsuo flinched as his ane called down the hallway, speaking in their native language: Japanese.

"Ok, Oneesan!" he responded in the same language. He looked back down at his journal and sighed again. Every 1st September started the same. Natsuo would stay in his room until his "mother", who was actually his ane Ayuki, would start screaming at him to hurry up, which was usually around ten o'clock. His real mother had died along with his father and his baby sister Sakura had gone missing when he had been nine. His ane looked after him, posing as his mother. He closed his journal and put it in his desk. He wanted to take it to school, seeing as it was new, but he couldn't risk losing it and having his secret exposed. He stood and took one last look around his room, making sure he didn't forget something. Then, finding nothing, he walked down the hall and into the kitchen. Ayuki was standing at the sink washing the dishes from breakfast, which had been scrambled eggs, sausages, and pancakes. She always went a little crazy when it came to making breakfast on the first. Natsuo smiled and walked over to her.

"Do you need any help?" he asked. She smiled at him, and then moved him out of the way, reaching for a pot still on the stove. She looked a lot like Natsuo, at least currently. They had the same light auburn hair and bright green eyes. She used to have dark brown hair and black eyes when she was younger. He thought it was weird that she had changed her appearance, but he supposed that she had done it to look more like his mother. Her hair was long, going down passed her waist, but she always kept it in a ponytail, which made her second ears stand out more. Natsuo's hair was long as well, but his only went down to the mid-point of his upper arm. Same condition, although she was a full were-fox. She hated hiding, even more so than him. She didn't like wearing a hat and a long coat or a robe every time she was in public. Natsuo didn't either, but it wasn't like they had a choice. If they walked around without disguises, they would be shunned and publicly humiliated, then probably hunted down by the ones that were looking for them.

"Is your trunk in the car?" Ayuki asked, drying the pot she had just washed.

"Yeah." Natsuo grabbed his glass off the table and refilled it with the juice Ayuki had left out on the counter, drinking it quickly. Ayuki smiled again and put the pot up.

"Good. That means we're actually on schedule today." She bustled past him, putting away the other dishes. Natsuo set his glass next to the sink, and then wandered into the living room, looking there for any books he might have left out when he was doing last minute homework. Not finding anything again, he drifted off to the door that lead down to the basement. He hadn't been there since his parents had died, but something had been nagging at him. It bothered him that Ayuki put everything their parents had ever touched down there, including Natsuo's most prized possession; his father's violin. He had his own violin, but his father had been planning on giving him his when he turned 15, which would be in October.

He opened the door and started down the stairs, sliding his hand against the wall to keep from falling. He knew he shouldn't be down there, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to get the violin out of the basement. It shouldn't be down there anyway. Instruments are delicate and if they're left neglected for too long, they lose their tune and beauty. He reached the bottom of the stairs and switched on the light, revealing a treasure trove of books, photos, electronic equipment and other valuables, every bit of it covered in thick layers of dust.

He looked through the area rather quickly, finding what he was looking for within five minutes. He lifted the case onto the writing desk it was next to and opened it carefully. Despite the wood being dulled from of being covered with dust for six years, the violin was exactly the way he remembered it. Same ivory body and ebony finger board and chin rest. Of course, the body was now more gray than white, but it was still beautiful. Custom made by a friend to be perfect for his fathers side of the family, the violin had been an heirloom since it had been created, and it was well over a hundred years old. It had spells on it so that it was perfectly in tune at all times and also so it wouldn't fall into disrepair. The strings were made of spider wire and the bow was actual horsehair. It was made of the same ebony wood as the fingerboard and chinrest. And the sound it made when it was played was, to Natsuo, almost heavenly. In his opinion, no other violin, especially new ones, could match its tone. Not being able to resist, he plucked one of the strings and closed his eyes as he listened to the sound resonating around him.

"I thought I heard you come down here." Natsuo jumped, looking behind him. Ayuki was standing there, leaning against the wall, with a weird smile on her face. Natsuo looked away guiltily, shutting the violin case. "You aren't thinking of taking that with you, are you?" Ayuki asked as Natsuo lifted the case off the desk and headed back up the stairs.

"It'll be mine in October, so why not take it now?" He heard Ayuki sigh and then follow him up the stairs after shutting the light off. Once she was back upstairs, she locked the door. "I'm sorry, Oneesan."

"For what?" She asked, avoiding his eyes, placing the key on top of the doorframe.

"For going down into the basement without permission." Ayuki smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it. Come on, we have to get going or you're going to miss the train." She walked over to the door and picked up her keys and purse. She already had her hat and coat on. Natsuo set the case down and put on his coat and hat on, making sure it covered his hair; it was still too warm to have his coat and hat on while having his hair down. "You ready?" Ayuki asked. Natsuo nodded, picking up the case. Ayuki opened the door and let Natsuo walk out ahead of her.

On the car ride to the station they didn't say much to each other, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Natsuo sat in the seat next to Ayuki, staring out the window and clutching the violin case to his chest as much as possible. When they pulled up to the station, Natsuo hugged her goodbye and entered the station alone, the violin and his trunk on a trolley. Ayuki hadn't come into the station with him since his first year. He didn't like her to, it made him feel awkward. Approaching the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Natsuo broke into a run. Even though it was his fifth time doing it, going through a seemingly solid wall still made him nervous.

As usual, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was already packed with students and parents. Natsuo worked his way through the crowd, finally getting close to one of the cars. He managed to find a compartment and was just going out to get his violin after getting his trunk onto the train when he heard his name being called.

"Hey, Marineer! Wait for me!" Natsuo turned around to see who was calling him and smiled. Though it wasn't the person he had been hoping for, this individual was a close second. Scorpius Malfoy was weaving his way through the crowd, trying to catch up with him. Even though the boy was a Slytherin, he formed a tight-knit group together with Natsuo and Al, although Al and Scorpius's dads didn't quite agree with this.

"Hey, Malfoy," he said when Scorpius finally managed to catch up with him. As usual, he immediately reached for Natsuo's hat, but Natsuo grabbed his arm, frowning. "You never give up, do you?"

"Heh, of course not. I am a Malfoy, after all."

Natsuo let go of his arm and ruffled his hair, making the other boy shrink back. "No! Marineer, stop it!" Natsuo laughed, retrieving his violin case from his trolley.

"Come on, I already have a compartment," he said, stepping onto the train. Scorpius followed, his own things in his hands.

* * *

After putting their things in the overhangs, Scorpius stepping off for last minute good-byes to his parents, and the train had departed from the station, Natsuo and Scorpius started talking about their summers. As usual, they didn't really have anything new to talk about.

Scorpius's parents were always busy with work, but even with their busy schedules, they still managed to find time to spoil him. This summer, they had gotten him the latest broom; the Starfall. It far outstripped any other broom in its class, and the reviews had said it was probably the best-made broom since the Firebolt. He was hoping that Al didn't already have one, because he wanted to beat him this year at Quidditch. Knowing Al's parents though, he probably already did have one.

Natsuo, of course, couldn't really tell the other boy about his summer out of risk of being exposed. He had gone to Japan again with Ayuki, like they had done when his parents were still alive. This is what caused him to think about the violin, because every time they had gone to Japan, his entire family -the Marineer family and the Abell family, his mothers' side - would perform for the royal were-cat family, which the Abell's were very close friends with. He did mention his violin though, and even showed it to the blonde, but he didn't seem very interested. Instead, keeping with the start of the year tradition, Scorpius asked Natsuo why he wore a hat all the time.

"How many times must you ask me that?" Natsuo replied, putting his violin up and then glaring at him. Scorpius frowned.

"When are you going to tell me the answer?" he retorted. But before Natsuo could answer, the door to the compartment opened and Al along with his cousin Rose Weasley came in.

"Would you give it a rest, Scorpius? He's never going to tell you. At least not willingly," Rose said.

"Where were you two?" Natsuo asked Al, who had taken the empty seat next to him.

"Prefects carriage," he stated, sounding annoyed. Natsuo smirked. Al hated attention, and being made Prefect gave him a lot of it. Rose looked happy though. She had taken the seat next to Scorpius, positively glowing with pride at being a prefect. As usual, Scorpius blushed. It was no secret to Al and Natsuo how Scorpius felt about the cute Ravenclaw, but it usually went unnoticed to her. This time though, she noticed Scorpius blushing.

"What's wrong, Scorpius? Do you have a fever or something?" she asked, concerned. She reached out to touch his forehead, but Scorpius jerked back.

"What?! No, of course not! What makes you think that?" he asked loudly. Natsuo and Al bit their lips to keep from laughing. Unfortunately, Natsuo's second ears, having a mind of their own as usual, twitched, almost throwing his hat off. His hand immediately flew to his head, trying to keep it still, but of course it didn't work. He looked pointedly at Al and then, after getting his attention, removed his hand. His hat twitched again and Al's eyes grew wide. He nodded once, then turned to Rose and Scorpius, Rose still trying to check if Scorpius had a fever.

"Hey, Rose, Scorpius? Why don't you go look for Hugo?" he suggested, using Rose's little brother as a diversion to try and get them to leave. They both stared at him for a second, and then Rose nodded, smiling again.

"Alright. Come on, Scorpius," she said, getting up and grabbing Scorpius's hand. This caused the blonde to blush more, but he didn't protest as Rose dragged him out of the compartment. As soon as they had left, Al stood and closed the curtains on the window in the door so that no one could see inside. He then turned to tell Natsuo the coast was clear, but it wasn't necessary. By the time he had turned back around, Natsuo had already removed his hat and was shrugging off his coat. He threw it on the seats across from them and sat back down, his fluffy black tipped auburn tail curling against his legs like a cat's. His second ears were just above his normal ones and were wide enough to touch the top of his head. They were shaped like a fox's ears, and were the exact same color as his hair and tail. Like his tail, they were also black tipped. He was reaching up to feel one when he noticed Al staring at him. He smiled a little.

"What? Still can't get over the fact that I have fox ears hidden under that thing?" He indicated his hat, which lay neglected on the floor. Al shook his head.

"No, it's natural, considering what you are," he said, sitting down next to him. Natsuo's smile widened, massaging the tip of his left ear. Al looked at him sympathetically.

"Why do you hide them?" He reached out and massaged Natsuo's other ear. Natsuo jumped slightly, then relaxed to the touch. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling for a moment before answering.

"I don't like people staring at me," he muttered. Al frowned, then turned Natsuo around, making him face him. He looked into the other boy's eyes for a moment before kissing him roughly. Natsuo's eyes widened briefly, then he moaned softly and kissed him back. This is what he had missed the most over the summer: being able to kiss Al. His reaction was much the same as it had been the first time Al had kissed him. Natsuo had had a crush on him since second year started and one night last year, he saw another boy from their dorm, Leo, kiss Al. Out of jealousy, Natsuo had punched Leo on the nose and ran from their dorm. Al followed and stopped him in the Gryffindor common room and Natsuo, still angry, had told Al his feelings. Al had responded by kissing him and telling him that he felt the same. The kiss had been long, soft: perfect. This one was rough by comparison, but Natsuo didn't mind. He enjoyed being kissed by Al, although this time it was too short for Natsuo's liking. Al pulled away and looked into Natsuo's eyes, his own filled with a strange sort of possessiveness.

"You never minded me staring at you," he said softly. Natsuo blushed and looked away.

"W-well, you've known my secret since first year. There was no reason for me to care," he mumbled. Al turned his face back towards his.

"Liar. Tell me the truth. Why do you hide them?" he repeated. Natsuo turned away again, this time closing his eyes.

"If I don't hide them, the ones who killed Kaname will find me. Or at least that's what Becca tells me," he replied.

"Kaname? You mean your father?" Al asked. Natsuo nodded. Al didn't know that Ayuki was actually his ane, nor did Professor McGonagall for that matter. Ayuki wanted them to think that she was his mother, and she even told him to call her Becca, which had been his mother's nickname. She hated him calling her "mother" or "mum": she said it was weird. To avoid any questions about why he referred to his ane as "Becca" and not as "Mum", he called his father by his given name as well. He hoped people supposed it was just something his family did. He never called Ayuki "Becca" when they were at home, though; it wasn't proper. It wasn't proper to do so in public either, but he did it to make her happy.

After another few minutes relaxing and massaging his second ears so they wouldn't twitch again, Natsuo sat up.

"I should put my hat and coat back on, before someone sees," he reached for his hat, but Al grabbed it first and started twirling it around on one finger. Natsuo watched him until he got bored, which didn't take very long, then reached for it again. Al moved it away and Natsuo glared at him.

"Give me my hat back," he said, trying to keep his patience. Al shook his head.

"Not yet." He continued to fiddle with it, not looking at Natsuo.

"Albus, give me my hat." Natsuo looked slightly irritated and held out his hand. Al looked at him, and then gave him the hat. Natsuo put the hat in his mouth while he put his hair up, then put it on his head.

"You should get rid of that thing. You don't need it anyway."

"Believe me Al, I want to. But if people find out what I am, I'd probably be kicked out of Hogwarts," Natsuo stated, shrugging his coat back on.

"I doubt you would. I mean, think about Remus Lupin. He was a were-wolf and people accepted him." Natsuo looked at him, and then looked away shaking his head. "What?"

"Why do people always compare me to him?" Natsuo asked under his breath. Seeing Al's shocked face, he quickly added, "Not that I mind, seeing as he was a war hero, but…" He trailed off, staring at the floor blankly. Al turned his face towards his again, more gently this time, holding his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it," he said softly. Natsuo closed his eyes, smiling.

"I know," he replied. Al smiled and was about to kiss him again, one of those slow, soft kisses that made Natsuo melt, when the compartment door slid open.

Al moved away quickly, almost falling out of his seat in his haste. Thankfully, Lily Potter, the one who had opened the door, was talking to Scorpius, who was behind her.

"I really don't think that's the reason," she said. Scorpius grumbled something that Natsuo couldn't hear. Not that he would have heard him if he had spoken louder, because the moment she saw him, Lily let out a high pitched squeal that matched a banshee's perfectly.

"Suo! I missed you!" She ran over and hugged him so tightly that it knocked the wind out of him. Lily was the punk of the group, and a rather rambunctious punk at that. Natsuo guessed it was her age that made her so hyper; she was 13 after all. She loved wearing things that other people wouldn't approve of, such as spikes and ripped clothing. She also liked dying her hair odd colors, such as green, blue and purple. This year it was a bright red, brighter than her actual hair color, with green streaks in it, reminding Natsuo of Christmas. It drove her father stark-raving mad when she did this. Her nails were also painted weird colors, alternating between black and neon green. One of her habits was giving people nicknames. 'Suo' was Natsuo's nickname that Lily had given him, and it sort of stuck to him since she got everyone in her year that knew him calling him that. He didn't really like it at first, but when Ayuki had heard Lily say it, she started calling him it, so he got used to it after a while. He later heard from Rose that the only reason Lily gave him a nickname was because she had a crush on him, but he didn't know what to do with that information, so he kept quiet about it, even though he was more interested in Al than her.

"Hi, Lil," he said, coughing slightly. Lily let go, looking concerned.

"Oh! Did I hurt you?" she asked. Natsuo shook his head and Lily muttered an apology.

"Don't worry about it, Lil."

"Just tone the energy level down a notch or two," Al added, making his sister glared at him. Al just smiled back, unfazed. Scorpius and Rose walked in, Rose closing the door behind them. She sat in the seat across from Natsuo and sighed.

"We couldn't find Hugo," she said, running her hand through her bushy brown hair. She was a lot like her mother in a lot of ways. She loved books and school, and she had her mother's bushy hair and brown eyes. She hated being in crowds and preferred reading over anything else. At least that's what everyone believes. Lily got up and sat next to her cousin, frowning.

"Quit acting like that, Rosie. You didn't even look for him. You and Scorp were too busy-"

"Shut up, Lily!" Rose shouted. Lily bit her lips to keep from laughing at the sight of her cousin turning red. Scorpius was blushing as well, his pale skin turning a deep shade of pink.

"What were they doing?" Natsuo asked, slightly perplexed. He'd never seen Rose so flustered.

"Oh, I walked in on them kissing," Lily stated, covering her head as her cousin moved to smack her. Natsuo and Al looked at each other, and then started laughing.

"About time. We've been wondering when you'd get around to it," Al said, still laughing. This made Lily burst out laughing, and also made Rose and Scorpius blush even more. They continued to laugh and, unfortunately, like earlier, Natsuo's hat moved, not as much as before, and this time he didn't notice. Lily did though, and her eyes narrowed. She didn't say anything on the matter, however, and things carried on like they usually did at the start of term.

* * *

A short while later, the trolley lady had stopped by and they had all gotten an abundance of their favorite things. Natsuo got an armful of Blood-Flavored Lollipops. They all relaxed and tried to guess what classes would be like this year, since they'd be taking their O.W.L.'s. Any ludicrous suggestions were responded immediately by the others pelting empty wrappers at the person who said it. Then, about an hour after it had gotten dark, Lily turned to Natsuo, who flinched a little at the look she was giving him: A look of suspicion.

"So, Suo, are you ready to tell us what's under that hat of yours?" The others looked at her, wondering why she decided to bring the topic up all of a sudden.

"What's with the abrupt change of subject, Lily?" Al asked, frowning at his sister and glancing at Natsuo, worried for a moment. Lily looked at her brother.

"Because I noticed something weird earlier." She waited a little, then sighed and stood. "Fine, if you won't tell us…" She grabbed the bottom of Natsuo's hat and started to pull it up. Natsuo grabbed her wrist, looking at her with shock. Al stood as well.

"Lily, stop it!" he demanded, glaring at her. Lily paid no attention to him and continued to look at Natsuo. Natsuo stared back, his eyes still wide. Then he sighed.

"Fine…" he muttered, sounding like he was already regretting what he was going to do. "I'll take it off." Lily's eyes widened and her hand dropped. She stepped back.

"What?"

"You want to know, right? The only way you guys are going to believe me is if you're actually shown." Al looked at him, stunned.

"But, Natsuo, you said earlier -" Natsuo's eyes snapped back open and he glared at him, causing him to shiver. Something had been different about Natsuo's eyes when he'd opened them for a split second, but the change had left so quickly Al decided that he had been imagining it. Whatever it was bothered him though. Greatly.

"Forget what I said, Al. I think it's time for them to know," he said. He reached up, his hands shaking. "However," he added, looking at the other three very seriously, "if you ever, ever, tell anyone else, even your parents, I will never trust you again, understand?" They nodded. Natsuo started to pull his hat off, then the train jolted and the lights went out. The jolt had forced Natsuo's hand forward, pulling the hat off, but since no one saw, he put it back on hurriedly.

"What the hell? Are we at school already?" Scorpius asked no one in particular, going over to the window and squinting through the darkness. "No…we must have stalled or something because there's nothing going on outside."

Natsuo stood and looked out as well, his eyes seemingly glowing in the darkness. Scorpius was right, there was nothing going on outside.

"Maybe there's something on the tracks," he muttered.

"Like what, though? We're out in the middle of nowhere. The only reason we would've stopped is if something the size of a car was on the tracks." Rose stated.

"Or if someone was trying to commit suicide." Everyone looked at Scorpius with shock.

"What? It's true…" Natsuo shuddered and sat back down.

"That's a disturbing image," he said. Lily smirked.

"A human pancaked to the side of the engine." She said with a disturbing look as the lights came back on. Everyone exclaimed sounds of disgust and proceeded to throw their candy wrappers at her.

"If someone did commit suicide by jumping in front of the train, we could be here for a while and we'd be late to school," Rose said, sounding a bit too much like her mother. Al stared at her.

"You make it sound like it would be some sort of tragedy," he stated, making Natsuo and Scorpius laugh.

"To her it would be." Lily said, pulling a chocolate frog wrapper from her hair. Rose frowned as everyone laughed, then she proceeded to pout heavily.

"Fine. Make fun of me, you prats. You can do your own notes this year," She said, still pouting. Lily poked her cheek.

"Aw, come on. You know we were only kidding. Honestly, Mum says you act too much like Aunt Hermione sometimes, Rosie."

"Leave my mum out of this, Lil," Rose said, smiling. The others smiled too and Scorpius went away from the window to sit next to her. Next thing they knew, the train jolted and started moving again.

"Well, it must not of been too important. We weren't sitting there for too long. Ten minutes tops," Al said, glancing out the window.

"Yeah, I wonder what it was, though," Natsuo agreed. Rose gasped, making everyone look at her. She was looking at her watch. "What's wrong?"

"If it's this late, then we'd better get our robes on! Come on, Lil." She grabbed her cousin's hand and, ignoring her protesting squeaks, dragged her out of the compartment. Al let out a long dramatic sigh.

"What is wrong with my family?" he asked no one in particular, staring at the ceiling with a depressed look on his face. Natsuo and Scorpius smiled at him.

"Absolutely nothing, Al," Scorpius stated. He stood and grabbed his robes from his trunk. "I'll see you guys when we get to school. No doubt you guys want more time alone." He winked at them and left the compartment. He was the only one out of the group who knew that Natsuo and Albus were together. Natsuo suspected that Rose knew as well, but she never said anything about it, so he didn't mind too much. She was smart enough to know that they didn't want people knowing just yet. And he didn't even want to imagine what Lily would say about it. Natsuo let out a long sigh, making Al look at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, taking Natsuo's hand in his. Natsuo shook his head and smiled brightly.

"Nothing. I'm just relieved that the train stopped when it did. I almost gave in and showed them why I wear a hat." Al's eyes widened as he remembered.

"Oh yeah…I completely forgot about that." Natsuo snorted with laughter, squeezing Al's hand briefly before letting go. He stood and took his coat off.

"Come on, we should get our robes on." Al nodded and stood, grabbing his and Natsuo's uniforms and robes from their trunks. As they started getting dressed, Natsuo couldn't help but worry. He had almost let out his biggest secret. He couldn't do it again.

It could cost him his life.

A/N: Please R&R. ~Renrin