Hehe, I'm baaaaaaack with chapter 2! YAY! And a HUGE thanks to my beta, fragonknight01.

Chapter 2: Truth and Realizations.

Harry looked around the narrow alley but didn't see anyone. After making sure he was alone he set his bag down and using one hand, as his other still had a grip on Hedwig's cage, he pulled out his blue silk cloak and pulled it on and quickly arranged the hood to cover the crown of his head.

Harry looked around again and recognized a few buildings. The alley fed into Diagon Alley so he would have to go down the lane. He picked his bag back up and began making his way past filthy shops full of who knows what.

After taking a few sharp turns in his stroll, Harry stopped and checked once again to make sure no one was following him. When he turned back around to study the wall though, somebody was there.

A tall dark skinned man was standing in front of the wall. He was an arresting sight; his bald head seemed to draw attention to the fact that he had cold, piercing eyes, and along the side of his face was the same writing that decorated Harry's cloak. He was also wearing a cloak identical to Harry's.

The man spoke. "Name?"

Harry blinked. The man wasn't speaking English, but Harry understood him perfectly. It was a language rather like parseltongue.

"Harry Potter."

At the mention of his name the man nodded and stepped aside to reveal a black door. "She's been waiting; just keep walking till she finds you."

Harry nodded numbly and proceeded through the open door. The corridor was hung with black silk draperies that extended from ceiling to floor and was dimly lit by guttering candles. He didn't walk too far until he came to an entrance, again, black but this one had dark blue beads hanging down. Behind them, Harry could see a room draped in blue silk.

Harry pushed past the beads and made his way into the large crowded room. Loud music was playing and lights were flashing; Harry's first impression was he had just stumbled into a disco.

He noticed that everyone appeared to be dressed in the same dark blue cloaks. There were people everywhere; dancing, sitting in the lounges, or hanging out at the bar. It seemed more of a muggle place than magic.

Harry noted curved staircases that led to doors, or platforms, with lounge areas seemingly everywhere. As he stood there, not knowing what to do, Hedwig hooted in annoyance at the volume of the music.

He was ready to turn back when someone grabbed his arm and spoke. "I've been waiting for you."

Harry spun around and came face to face with a girl around his age, maybe a few years older. She had black hair that flashed purple under the lights, grey-blue eyes rimmed with black eyeliner, and creamy white skin. Her slender body was hidden under the standard blue silk cloak.

She offered a bit more as she pulled him up one of the flights of stairs. "I'm Aura, come with me." The stairs wound upward until they reached one of the many lounges. Her curt, "Sit down." Had Harry sinking into a plush leather couch. He wasn't completely sure of all of this. Hedwig sat on his knee and hid her head under her wing.

"Did you send me the letters and the cloak?" Harry asked as Aura returned.

"Yes." She stated as she handed him a crystal tumbler full of fire whiskey.

He accepted the drink but did not raise it to his lips.

"Look, Harry, I know you hardly trust me at all, but your mother trusted me. At least give me a chance?"

Harry looked up into her grey-blue eyes and nodded without thinking.

"Good!" She sat across from him and sipped her whiskey.

"Why am I here?" Harry blurted out.

Aura looked up and smiled. "You're here because this is where you belong. Not with those wizards, or even the muggles, but with us, your kind."

Harry gave her a confused look and she sighed. "Do you know Harry that your mother wasn't a full blooded witch? I mean besides the muggle blood. She was a part of one of the oldest races of all. In fact, more than half of the Wizarding world believes our race to be extinct. You, Harry, inherited your mother's genes. You are, I think, the third male of our species in all history. You, Harry Potter, are a Harpy."

Harry sat there in complete shock. That had been too much information at once. "What?"

"A Harpy; you know, very rare species. Usually only females though there has been as I said two males and now you makes three!" Harry blinked.

"So my mother was a harpy too?"

"Yes, she was, her mate was James Potter, your father, they made a nice couple." Aura smiled brightly.

Harry blinked again.

"I don't have enough time to explain everything to you, I'll give you a book. It will probably be easier to read than listening to a lecture. However, I think I'll just explain some of the basics regarding Harpies anyway."

Harry only nodded. He was reeling from all the information.

She began, "Ok, the first thing is the looks. Over a period of

about three weeks tops, your appearance will change. You'll become more feminine and you'll also grow wings."

He blinked.

"Your wings will be either black, bronze or amber, and you'll only grow them after you meet your mate-"

"MATE!" Harry jumped up in shock, startling Hedwig who hooted angrily

and wouldn't settle down until Harry released her so that she could fly to the back of Aura's chair.

"Yes, Harry, your mate. Every Harpy has one mate. And the mate is always male. Now your mate is the main priority, because if you don't find him by your seventeenth birthday you'll both die.

There is no other way to remain alive. You have to find him."

Harry was about to break in with a question when she answered it. "And you will have to bond with him. Your Harpy magic will help you find him."

Harry huffed and slid down in the seat.

Aura smirked at his tantrum but kept on speaking. "You'll have this kind of allure, like a Veela's, only when you come in contact with your mate, it'll instantly turn off, until you're bonded though it'll keep coming back, unless you're in contact with your mate of course. Also, your mate will have to help you with flying."

By now his tantrum had turned into a full blown glare that only made her smirk more pronounced. "Now, moving on to your powers. Every Harpy develops new powers. You will be able to read minds, see long distances, fly of course, and you'll have the power to conjure a shield for yourself or your mate when either of you is in trouble." She rubbed her hand across her forehead as she thought for a second then added, "I think that's all the basics. If you have any questions please consult the book first. It will help." She pulled out a thick leather book; its front cover adorned with a pair of golden wings.

"Um…Aura?"

"Yes?" Aura looked up.

"Why does everything have a pair of wings?" Harry asked, tracing the golden wings on the book.

"Oh, that's our Harpy sign. It kind of means that anything with the wings on it is Harpy base." In the middle of her explanation she stopped and changed the subject. "That reminds me," She pulled out a small box. "You'll need this."

Harry took the box and opened it. Lying inside the box on a bed of

blue silk, was a golden anklet chain with black stones set into it. The clasp was, of course, a pair of golden wings.

Aura spoke, "It's a kind of magic tracking device. Once you put it on, we'll be able to find you no matter where you are. The bracelet is virtually indestructible. Fire, water, rust, wind, none of them can't damage it. It won't break and whenever you're in danger it'll alert us and we'll come help. Every Harpy has one. You are also going to need the tattoo."

"Tattoo?"

"Yeah, it's just a sign that states you're a Harpy." She pulled up her left trouser leg and showed Harry her identical anklet and a tattoo above her ankle of golden wings.

"Is all this really necessary?" Harry asked nervously.

"Yes. Harry Harpies are rare. Wizards use us in horrid ways so we

need to protect ourselves. You are going to need to be careful of who you tell." She warned. "Now the last thing before you go."

When she stood up, Harry stuffed the anklet box and the book into his bag and stood up as well.

"Follow me." She led him to a door behind the lounges and opened it to show a large room full of clothes.

Harry had never seen so many clothes and stared around the room in wonder.

"Stand on this please." Aura instructed.

Harry stood on the stool uncertainty.

"Lift your arms." As she spoke she pulled out a tape measure and proceeded to size him. "You're going to change soon so we'll have to guess your measurements." She stood for a few minuets looking Harry as the measure wound around him just like the one in Madame Malkin's shop did.

When it was finished she grabbed the parchment and disappeared into a rack of clothes.

Harry looked around more and admired the racks hung from the ceiling covered in clothes. Boxes bursting with clothes were piled up high against a wall; it was a fashion conscious person's dream.

Aura appeared again with an arm full of clothes. "We don't have many male clothes, but Sarah Gwen thought she was having a boy, turned out to be a girl, but we made him some clothing before we knew it was a girl. Here they are." She dumped them at Harry's feet.

Harry stepped down from the stool and began looking through the clothing. Everything was tight fitting and was made up from dark colours. Basically all the items were things Harry had no desire whatsoever to wear.

"Um…thank you…" He didn't want to hurt the woman's feelings but he had no intention of putting those things on.

Aura seemed to know what he was thinking. "You probably aren't able to wear them right now though. They are for a more slender build. You'll Change to fit them soon though."

She pulled out her wand and waved it. A bag floated towards her from somewhere in the back of the stacks and the clothes she had picked out for him jumped into the air and folded themselves neatly before settling down into the case.

Suitcase packed, Harry was more than ready to leave. He was just opening his mouth to ask where the door was when Aura smiled sweetly at him and added, "One last thing to do- you need your tattoo."

Harry paled slightly at the thought. He wasn't really into pain. "Maybe I could get it next time I visit?"

She pretended she hadn't heard his dissent. "Oh don't worry, it doesn't hurt!" As she spoke she pulled him out of the clothing room and led him back through the lounge he had been in earlier, and into another room. "Just sit down."

Harry looked around trying to resist the urge to run for it. He was now in a rather plain room; this one with blue washed walls, a white carpet, and black leather furniture.

"Pull up your trouser leg."

Harry moved his right leg slightly.

Aura eyed him chidingly. "Left one."

Harry did as he was told and waited.

"Ok, I'll do it myself." She pulled out her wand and muttered a complicated charm while pointing it at his ankle.

He felt a prickling sensation travel up his body. At first it left him cold, then hot. It was the oddest feeling yet pleasant.

"Ok. All done." Aura tucked her wand back in her robes and smiled brightly at him. "Told you, no pain; and now you should be a lot safer than you were living at the Dursleys."

Harry looked at his ankle and saw the golden wings gleam in the light.

"You can go now, Harry. Good luck be with you and find your mate soon."

Harry nodded. "Thank you Aura."

"No problem. Now go. Your owl is waiting."

As Harry turned to make his way to the exit she stopped him one final time. "You will need to take the cloak off once you go outside of the building. You must also be careful to tell no one of this place."

Harry nodded and once again turned to leave before pausing, ""Aura?" She looked at him questioningly. "You never told me who your mate is…"

Aura smiled. "I don't think you know him, Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Harry smiled. "Actually, yes, I do know him."

Aura's smile grew wider. "He'll be able to help you then. Now go, good bye and good luck, Harry."

"Bye Aura." He left the room and whistled for Hedwig who came to him, the bag of clothes in her talons. They descended the stairs and made their way back through the crowed of people, back down the

dark hallways and out of the door.

At the door he smiled at the doorman then pulled his cloak off and stuffed it into his pocket. As he eased out the door he noted that there were a few people still moving about in Diagon Alley so he decided to call the Knight bus and return home that way.

TBC…

WOW that was a lot, Aura talks a lot! Anyway thanks to:

Wolfawaken: Thank you! I'm glade you like it, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Super ferret of DOOM: Hehe, thank you, HxD rules! LOL, glade you like the story, I hope you liked this chapter. PS love the name!

Skittlelove: Thanks! I'm glade you like 'Hope and Truth', new chapter is coming soon the Draco and Harry's date. I love magical creature stories too! Hope you like the update!

Fragonknight01: Thank you!

Silvrfoxfire: Thanks, I look forward too, I hope you like what I do and hope you like this chapter!

Fahzzyquill: Thank you! I love writing cliffies, expect to see loads more, I hope you'll like what I do!

Their Majesties Request: Thanks, I'm a terrible speller, I think I might go back and edit the first chapter, thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Elektra107: Thank you! Here's the update!

Evanescent Whispers: Thankyou! Glade you like it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the ones ahead! Thank you again.

Well till next time Ja ne! –I got that from my sister, it means good bye or something-

Love ya lots, SiriusBlack's Angel!