When Extended Family is Discovered

by Athey

Slow-paced Veela-fic AU HPDM. Summer after 2nd year Harry meets his mothers real father, and it turns out that he's not a muggle at all. Meeting a family he didn't know existed, keeping secrets, and now Draco Malfoy is acting very odd. slash Dumbl!bashing Probably DISCONTINUED

2. When One Connects with Family From Afar

AN: ffnet does some screwy things with the files. Italics and bold text seems to remove any spaces between words, and the use of an ! and ? together, tends to delete the ?. Rather annoying.

In order to speed things along in Harry's first term, a big portion of it is done through letters. This is the only chapter where I do this, so for those that don't like it – it won't last, don't worry.

– –

Chapter 2 – When One Connects with Family From Afar

The second week of August, the family went to Paris to get Alexis' supplies for his first year at Beauxbatons. Harry had already been taken shopping several times in Iledevol's shopping markets back in the Veela Nation, and had gotten some of the more general supplies he might need. While there, he had visited an Optrix and gotten new glasses, but had also been dragged into several clothiers to get a whole knew wardrobe of casual robes, trousers, tunics and, much to his embarrassment, and secret gratitude, pants, socks and undershirts.

Anything that they hadn't been able to get in Iledevol's shopping centers that Harry knew he'd need for Hogwarts had been owl-ordered from London, so he was technically all set for the new school year, but that didn't mean he wasn't looking forward to the trip to Paris, just the same.

Located in the 9th arrondissement near Metro station and the Boulevard Haussmann (a very well known muggle shopping district) was the entrance to the underground magical shopping distract called Forum de la Lumiere. Named so, mostly because of the innumerable fairy lights, and magically illuminated lamps that decorated the underground street of shops, all times of day.

Harry thought it was beautiful, and he couldn't quite decide which he liked better – the Forum or Diagon Alley. Iledevol still managed to rank highest on his list though – not because it's shopping district had been all that much more impressive, but more by how spacious and unrestrained he felt while there.

Both Diagon Alley and the Forum de la Lumiere were somewhat claustrophobic in nature, simply because of the need to remain hidden from the muggles while existing in the center of a bustling muggle city. Iledevol didn't suffer from such a restraint, so everything was spacious and warm, and free. Well, not literally, it felt free. It didn't feel like he had to hide. They were safe there, and he could perform whatever magic he could while there without fear of punishment or fear of exposure to the muggles. What's more, the Veela didn't care one spit about The-Boy-Who-Lived, and he actually had yet to be recognized, or at least, if someone had recognized him, they hadn't cared to make a fuss.

He wasn't the only one that felt safe and free in Iledevol though, and that was probably what made the biggest difference. The overall atmosphere had just been such a breath of fresh air.

Just the same, Paris was still awesome, and he had a load of fun running around with Alexis and helping his cousin prepare for the excitement of starting his formal magical training.

Harry had gone under a few careful glamours that his papy had cast on him for safety's sake. The Veela might not recognize or care if he was Harry Potter, but Paris was a whole different beast to confront, and they all decided it was best if Harry Potter was not spotted in France.

Harry had learned, mostly through Alexis' excited ramblings, but also from his grandparents, aunts and uncles, that Beauxbatons Academy of Magic was located in Cannes in the south of France, and was just as world renowned as Hogwarts was. According to his Aunt Elodie, Uncle Crestien's wife, Beauxbatons had the highest number of halfbreed witches and wizards of any school in Europe, and quite a few of those were Veela.

Apparently there was another well known magical school that catered mostly to eastern Europe called Durmstrang, and a number of the half-breeds who were technically in Durmstrang's territory ended up coming to Beauxbatons instead. It was ridiculous, really, since there were just as many Veela in Germany and Eastern Europe as there were in France, but Durmstrang turned it's nose up at them imperiously.

Harry asked why and was informed by Aunt Elodie that Durmstrang had very strict standards on blood purity. They didn't accept any muggleborns, and even if you didn't have a drop of muggle blood in your veins, anyone in the last two generations with 'Creature' blood was considered too unpure to permit.

Elodie growled about elitist wizard bigots before sniffing disdainfully and changing the subject.

Harry also learned that while Beauxbatons accepted the most human/magical being half-breeds, Hogwarts was known for accepting the most muggleborns. Obviously each of the schools were known for different qualities and different teaching styles as well. For example, according to uncle Leon, Hogwarts' was not allowed to teach anything that the British Ministry had ever deemed 'dark' – and what the British Ministry deemed 'Dark' was not always widely agreed upon in other countries, his uncle pointed out with a scoff. But Beauxbatons was a more in-the-middle school. They taught spells that could, arguably, have some less than innocent results, but could also still have legitimate uses in society. To balance this, they also had a mandatory magical ethics course that the students fifth year and up had to take, and engage in school debates.

Durmstrang, it was rumored, had no hesitation at all in teaching the Dark Arts, and his uncle Leon rather strongly doubted those people even understood the meaning of ethics. Harry could tell it was obvious that none of his family had a very high opinion of the Durmstrang curriculum or their faculty.

It was all an eye opening experience for him. His whole world had been so small before. It had consisted almost entirely of Privet Drive, Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and the Burrow. That was a very small world indeed, he realized, now that he had a better view of just how much was out there that he'd been missing. He hadn't even really thought about the existence of other magical schools – although in retrospect it was rather obvious that they had to exist.

Despite having his world view expanded, and knowing a bit more about his options, Harry was still set on returning to Hogwarts in the fall. He wanted to see his friends again, and he was looking forward to playing Quidditch and attending classes with full access to his magic for the first time.

"I hope that people won't be staring at me like some sort of monster again this year," Harry had muttered in french quietly one evening while playing a board game with Alexis called Jeu de L'Oie.

Alexis looked up at him and frowned slightly in confusion. "A monster? Because of all that Boy-Who-Lived stuff?"

"Er... well, I think I'm eternally doomed in that regard," Harry said frowning as he moved his game piece another three squares down the spiral path on the board. Alexis picked out the card that corresponded with the square Harry had landed on and asked him the question. Harry had to think for a moment before responding. He got it right, so he got to stay on his spot instead of being sent back. Alexi rolled the die next.

"So, if it's not the Boy-Who-Lived stuff, then what is it that they'd stare at you for?"

"Oh well... last year the whole school found out that I'm..." Harry hesitated, suddenly worried that his cousin might react badly to this revelation about himself.

Alexis looked up from where he'd just moved his game piece on the board and silently questioned him with his warm green eyes. "That you're...?" Alexis prodded.

Harry pulled in a strengthening breath and decided to press on. "Well, I'm a parselmouth. The other students found out and all freaked out. After that happened, everyone was always staring at me and whispering behind my back. I was hoping they'd all just forget but some of the post I got at the start of the summer said there had been an article in the Prophet about me rescuing a student from the Chamber, and it mentioned me being a parselmouth in there, so I doubt people will just let it go."

Alexis just frowned at him in confusion for a moment. "Why would they freak out over you being a parselmouth?"

A very relieved laugh escaped Harry's chest and he smiled at his slightly younger cousin, feeling extremely grateful that the other boy wasn't freaked out over it like so many of the kids at school had been. Hell, even Ron and Hermione had been unsettled by it.

Harry pressed on. "Well, they all think it's a trait of a Dark wizard or something. Because... because Voldemort was a parselmouth, and Salazar Slytherin was one too."

Alexis snorted. "It's hardly a trait of a dark wizard. What rubbish is that?"

"So it doesn't bother you? That I can speak to snakes?" Harry asked, hesitantly.

Alexi frowned at Harry with confusion again for a second before realization dawned in his eyes and his lips parted slightly with surprise. "Wait, how did you think you inherited the skill?"

"Huh?"

"Hang on. I haven't done this in a while, and I've only ever done it before when a snake was actually present," Alexis said, scrunching up his face in concentration for a moment before simply closing his eyes. He paused for a moment and Harry just looked at him in utter confusion until suddenly Alexis began to speak. No... he began to hiss.

'Is it coming out right?'

Harry gasped.

Alexis opened his eyes and looked at Harry curiously. "Was it Parseltongue? I can't tell most times. It's one of the odder magical languages in how it works."

"You can speak parseltongue?" Harry gasped in disbelief.

"Sure, most of the family line can speak to at least a one or two different animal tongues. I'm also an Oscencantrix. That's someone who can speak to songbirds. Uncle Crestein and both of his kids are Bablatrices. Geffroi is a Parselmouth too, of course. All of us males are. The girls don't usually get it though."

"No way! Really? And what's a Bablatrice?"

"Bablatrices can speak with small mammals like rabbits and marmots. Adele is a Illatrator – that means she can speak with foxes, dogs, coyotes and such. We had a pet crup that only just died last winter, and she could talk with it. She loved that thing."

"Oh wow," Harry said with a relieved laugh that bordered on hysterical. He had been so afraid of what it might mean; him being a parselmouth. Dumbledore's suggestion that Harry was one because he'd gotten the ability from Voldemort – that some of that monster's powers had transferred to him, had horrified him. But it had been the only explanation at the time. Parseltongue was a hereditary trait, and there was no history of it in the Potter's, and his mum had been a muggleborn, so obviously it hadn't come from her. But she wasn't a muggleborn. And now he knew that it had come from her!

He was so relieved, he just wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but he held it in and pressed on with questions instead.

"Are all these abilities to speak to animals a Veela thing?" Harry asked.

Alexis shook his head. "No, not exactly. It's a family line thing. The story is that a thousand years ago, an ancestor of the royal line made a pact with the gods of the various animal races for the power to speak with them so that he could... do something. I don't really remember the whole story, really. The point is that he made a pact with the gods and gained the ability to communicate with about a dozen different animal groups. He used the ability to complete some sort of divine quest to protect Iledevor from an invading force I think, but it's really not important.

"The abilities were passed down to his descendents, but not all of his descendents were magically powerful enough, or just compatible enough to handle all those different magical languages, all at once. I mean, it's like even he shouldn't have been able to have all those different and conflicting things at once, but he made those pacts and got around the problems somehow. Anyway, there's also simple compatibility issues to explain away why some of us get certain magical language traits while others get different ones. Mating with other magical races and adding their blood and magic to the mix would result in different descendents getting different traits as well. After that one ancestor no one in the line has ever been born who could manage all of the different magical animal languages. At most we'll get maybe three of them, but even that's pretty rare. Usually it's just one or two."

"It's still incredible!" Harry exclaimed, feeling legitimately excited now. He wondered if there were any other animals he could speak to, and he just hadn't realized it before now? "Is there a way to find out if I can do any of the others?"

"Um... try talking to different animals?" Alexis offered with a shrug.

Harry laughed and made a conceding tilt of his head. "I suppose that's one way to do it."

"We could fly around the chateaux's gardens and you could see if you can speak to any of the animals we find there," Alexis offered excitedly. "There's the small stables to the west with goats and sheep and such, and the shepherd's dog is always around, and there's always some water foul in the pond down south."

"Yeah, that'd be brilliant!"

In the end, Harry was not able to find any other animal species that he could speak to, but that didn't really mean much since there wasn't exactly a great variety of animals in the stables or gardens. He tried talking to songbirds with Alexis, but it didn't do anything, and he had no luck with the water foul either. He looked around for any small marmot animals – heck, even a squirrel would have worked, but he wasn't able to get close enough to any to even make an attempt.

That evening at dinner, he brought it up with his mamie and papy Luc and both were saddened and frustrated to learn of how the British Wizards had reacted to his skill, and went into slightly greater detail explaining the origin of their family line's rare and powerful linguistic magics. Harry learned that the translation spell that Luc had used on him to teach him French back in late June and July was actually a derivative of their linguistic magic and had been invented by one of their ancestors centuries ago.

Luc also offered to take Harry to the magical zoo that was located on the eastern edge of Iledevol sometime the next week to see if they could identify any other animal groups that Harry could speak with.

They made it a bit of a family affair for the kids with the grandparents taking all of the kids to the zoo in one group. Each of Harry's cousins who possessed one of the linguistic magics demonstrated their ability when they got the chance and Harry attempted each one with out any results. He was beginning to think that parseltongue was the only one he'd gotten, until right up at the end when the family climbed into a carriage drawn by two large winged horses, to take a ride around the outer perimeter of the animal park, and Harry paused a moment at the side of one of the horses to gently pet it's muzzle.

As he was about to leave it's side and climb into the carriage with the rest of his family, he paused, suddenly convinced he had heard something from the horse that wasn't quite as unintelligible as he would expect.

In the end, it was identified that Harry was a Equites Susurro, or a horse whisperer, and he had quite an interesting conversation with the two winged horses. He was shocked, but also utterly ecstatic. Surely there was no way anyone could claim that being able to speak with horses was a sign of a dark wizard!

– –

The Weasley's returned from Egypt on August 25th. Two days later, post arrived from Ron asking Harry if he'd gotten his school supplies yet and if not, if he'd like to go with he and his family on the 30th. Harry wrote back, informing Ron that he'd gone and gotten his supplies a few weeks ago, so no, but thanks for the offer, he'd see him on September first.

Harry was glad that Beauxbatons didn't hold the exact same schedule as Hogwarts. Without fail, every year Hogwarts students boarded the train on September 1st, no matter what, and classes started the first weekday that followed that. This year, September first was a Wednesday, and Harry's classes would start on Thursday making his first week a very short one.

Beauxbatons, in contrast, always had their students arrive on a Saturday, have Sunday to get settled in, and then start classes on Monday. That made the day that Alexis had to depart for school, August 28th, which mean that Harry could see him off.

Another significant difference was that Beauxbatons did not have it's entire student population pile into a single train so that they could all be transported to the school all at once, and arrive en mass. It was much more like any other boarding school where the parents took whatever mode of transportation they pleased and dropped their child off at school themselves. So long as the student was in the school by Saturday evening, that was all that mattered. If wiggle room was absolutely required, Sunday was also available for moving in, but it was highly frowned upon. The school's official Opening Feast was held Sunday night.

What this meant was that Harry actually got to see Beauxbatons in person.

Uncle Leon, his wife Josiane, and papy Luc were the adults present that day. Harry was pleased that he got to tag along, since none of Uncle Crestien's or Aunt Lucienne's children had come along. Alexis was the oldest of Harry's cousins, and the first one to come of school age, so it was a big deal. His younger brother, Sebastein, was beyond himself with excitement and jealousy. He so desperately wanted to be going to school as well, but he was only nine and had two more years to wait.

Alexis' sister, Adelle, was seven, and said she was in no hurry to start going to school as she was perfectly happy with her tutors back at home. She was being rather sour that morning and Harry suspected it was mostly a way of covering up how upset she was that her older brother was leaving and would be gone for so long. Harry decided that he was going to help keep Adelle distracted from her sour mood, as they rode in an ornate carriage down the road from the magical transit depot near Goudon where they had floo'd in, to the magically unplottable location that held the Palace of Beauxbatons.

Harry's most successful choice of distractions for young Adelle was to tease Alexis about his school uniform, which he was actually already wearing.

It wasn't the sort of wizard's robes that Harry was used to in England, but after spending his summer in France, he'd come to realize that the French wizards had a very distinct taste in fashion and tended to like things that were a bit more form-fitted than the overly flowing robes worn in England.

The Beauxbatons uniform looked more like the clothes of a nobleman from the 1700's or something. They wore a long frock coat in light blue silk that was open in the front and went down to their knees. It had wide, loose sleeves, with silver piping along all the trimming, and a double row of silk buttons.

Beneath the coat was a waistcoat, cut low in the front, and displaying frilly lace, with a cravat. Then they had to wear plaited breeches that went to the knees where they were met with white silk stockings. Harry thought Alexis looked hilarious, and Adelle agreed.

Alexis just sat in the carriage in silence, beet red, and too embarrassed to stop them. Harry noted that he had once been mildly annoyed that he had to deal with a tie each morning before class, but he now realized he had no room to complain, and told his cousin that he had his pity.

Alexis finally decided to try and take the teasing like a man, and he and Harry started tossing jokes back and forth.

When they arrived at the Palace Harry stepped out of the carriage and stood in awe of the magnificent building. It truly was a palace. Hogwarts castle was everything he would expect from a medieval castle occupied by wizards, but this... this was a palace.

Seeing Harry's look of awe and appreciation, Alexis jokingly asked Harry if he was sure he didn't want to transfer – after all, Beauxbatons had a much more diverse and interesting curriculum. Harry had to admit he had legitimately considered it a few times, plus he'd be able to go to school with all of his cousins as they each got old enough, but he still didn't want to completely leave behind his friends. Instead of saying all this, Harry had instead turned to his cousin, given his school uniform one more look before snorting and saying, 'As long as the school uniform requires blokes to dress like that, I'll be perfectly happy up in Scotland.'

Alexis had rolled his eyes and laughed.

In the end, it had been surprisingly hard to see Alexis go and return to the carriage to return to Goudon station to floo back home. Harry had held Adelle as she cried, finally admitting how distressed she was about her brother leaving, and then attempting to sooth her further as her sobs switched tracks and she started to wail about how much she was going to miss Harry, and her two favorite big brother's were leaving her. Sebastien pretended to get indignant over that, exclaiming 'Hey! What am I, then?', but Harry could tell he was just trying to lighten the mood and wasn't actually upset over her comment.

Adelle did qualify that Sebastien didn't qualify as 'big' yet, which made the 9-year old squawk with indignation all over again.

–

Harry's goodbyes with the family had to be done at home, rather than at the train station in London simply because of how overly complicated it would be to transport everyone via international portkey, just for goodbyes, so they could then all come back. It just wasn't reasonable. Instead, Harry's family gathered the early morning of September the first to bid him a fond farewell with promises of letters, and visits during the Christmas and Easter holidays.

Finally Harry, with Hedwig's cage in hand and his papy Luc with his trunk by his side, grabbed hold of an international portkey and vanished in a swirl of light and sound.

They were relatively early – having arrived just shortly before ten o'clock. The train would be leaving in just over an hour, but they had decided that it would be best if as few people as possible saw them arrive. The Portkey dropped them off already on Platform 9 ¾ in Kings Cross station, and Harry could see the large, shining red steam-engine directly before him. His eyes slipped off it and onto his grandfather's warm smiling face with sad twinkling eyes.

"J'ai eu le meilleur été de plus," Harry said with a shaky voice.

Lucas smiled and laughed a bit. "English Harry. Remember where you are now."

"Oh!" Harry said, before laughing slightly and ducking his head. "Wow, that's odd. I hardly even realized I was still speaking French."

"It happens that way when you learn a language magically," Luc replied with amused fondness in his voice.

"Right. Sort of like it's so difficult to tell when I'm speaking snake or horse."

Luc nodded.

"I've had the best summer ever," Harry whispered after a moment of silence.

Lucas smiled widely. "I'm glad."

"I'm going to miss all of you so much."

"And we shall miss you." Luc put his hand out and let it rest on Harry's shoulder gently. The weight of it was calming and Harry smiled up at his grandfather, feeling such a powerful wash of gratitude and love. His life had changed for the better this summer. He was sure of it.

"You'll let me know right away if Dumbledore gives you trouble, no?" Luc asked somewhat pointedly. "I cannot help you if you do not tell me when something is wrong."

Harry nodded. "I'll tell you, I promise."

"Even if it's something small and you feel it might be meaningless, it might not be. We do not know if Dumbledore will come right out and make accusations as to what has happened. He is crafty and known for his subtle manipulations. His greatest talent is getting people to do precisely what he wants without them ever even realizing they've been used."

Harry nodded his head firmly again, his eyes going a bit cold and the reminder of just how angry he still was with his headmaster.

"But do not fear, Harry. He cannot take you from us. I have taken every precaution, and safety measure, and even Her Empress, Great Aunt Genovefa, has said she will stand with us should a dispute arise with the British Ministry. But that does not mean that Dumbledore cannot cause trouble. So long as you wish to continue at Hogwarts, he will have opportunities to complicate your life and muddle your choices. I commend your loyalty to your friends and your courage in wanting to stick things out here, but know, my grandson, that you are always welcome back home."

Lucas gave Harry's shoulder a firm squeeze and Harry looked up at him with slightly watery eyes.

"Thank you... for everything," Harry whispered.

"No thanks is needed. We love you Harry. Just promise to stay in touch. If I don't hear from you at all in two weeks, I'm going up to Scotland and making sure nothing has happened, so do not forget to write!"

Harry laughed and nodded. "I will, I promise."

"Good. And we expect you home for the holidays. If the headmaster gives you any trouble when it becomes known that you are going home for Christmas, let me know right away if you need assistance."

"I will," Harry said again, feeling overwhelming warmth inside himself at the knowledge that he had family that cared for him and worried about his well-being. Family that wanted him home for the holidays.

Their goodbyes lasted a few minutes longer, but a few more people began to trail in through the archway that exited out to the muggle portion of Kings Cross station, and they knew that any longer hesitation would only increase the risk of discovery.

Lucas helped Harry get his trunk into the baggage car after they'd pulled out the small basket lunch that Harry's mamie had packed for him. One last quick hug was shared before Harry climbed the small metal steps and entered the train car proper. Harry turned back and waved out the door.

"Adieu mon petit-fils," Luc said quietly with a sad, watery smile.

"Adieu Papy," Harry said back before turning and disappearing back into the train.

– –

*Translated from French

September 1st, 1993

Papy Luc,

What do you know about someone named Sirius Black? All I know at this point is hearsay and stuff people got from the Prophet so I don't know how much of it is actually reliable, but apparently he was a Death Eater and he escaped from the wizarding prison called Azkaban over the summer?

They say he's the first person ever known to have escaped from it and no one knows how he did it. Anyway, apparently the British Ministry has gone completely mad about his escape and has got Dementors roaming all over trying to hunt him down. What's worse is that they attacked the Hogwarts Express, and they're stationed around Hogwarts!

About halfway to Hogwarts, the train stopped and a couple Dementors boarded the train to search it. I had a horrible reaction to the thing and sort of passed out. It was awful. Who knows what would of happened if not for the fact that our new Defense Professor was in the same car as me and he banished the thing with some spell.

I have to say – Madame Simone's description of the creatures, over the summer sounded horrible, but it doesn't even compare to actually seeing one in person. I hope dearly that I do not have to repeat the experience. Ever.

Oh, and I told you that when I found out the name of my Defense professor this year I'd let you know, so here it is: Remus J. Lupin. I'm not sure what the J stands for, but it was on his luggage. He seems nice so far, if a bit ragged. He's got scars all over his face, and he had a strange smell. I kept feeling the skin on the back of my neck prickle the whole train ride while he slept. Oh – he was in the same compartment that Ron, Hermione, and I ended up in, which I suppose was really lucky because there's no telling what would have happened with that Dementor if he hadn't been right there.

I still haven't told Ron or Hermione about the family yet. I'm not sure if I want to risk it, but I hate lying and I'm awful at it, most of the time.

It's late and I should go to bed. Have you heard from Alexis yet?

Love,

Harry

– –

Sept. 2nd

Harry,

Dementors around a school? That's outrageous! How can the Board of Governors, let alone Dumbledore, stand for such foolishly dangerous stupidity?

I will confess Harry that I have remained unfortunately distanced from British news this summer. I should have been aware that Black had escaped, and it is my own fault that this has caught us by surprise.

I actually find it curious that the same summer Sirius Black escapes is also the year that Remus Lupin has come to teach at Hogwarts. Most curious, indeed. I sense Dumbledore's meddling here. Perhaps he is trying to set a trap for Black.

But I digress; I am familiar with both names. In fact, I met both men when I attended your mother's graduation and her and James' wedding. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and James Potter were best friends. They were roommates, I believe, and spent their seven years of schooling sharing a dorm.

That group I told you about that your mother joined along with James after graduation? The one run by Dumbledore? I'm positive that Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew were also members of it. The story is that Black turned out to be a traitor and gave information to Voldemort. He went to Azkaban for murdering Pettigrew and a bunch of muggles in some sort of explosion in London.

As for Lupin... well, I must admit I'm both surprised and mildly impressed that he's being allowed to teach. I suspect that there is certain information being kept from the Ministry because I can guarantee that the British Ministry would never approve of him being 'allowed' around children.

Your mother confided a great deal in me in regards to Remus Lupin during her sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts. She was very fond of him, by the way, and they were quite close, especially after Lily began to train herself more and more in her Veela heritage and her senses strengthened. Lupin is not entirely human as I'm sure you would have realized on your own quite quickly the more time you spent around him. Seeing as how he's one of your teachers, I suspect you would have caught onto this fact quite quickly, indeed.

He is a werewolf, but you must keep that quiet. If he is working at Hogwarts the Ministry must not have him registered as such. Should it become public knowledge, he would become a second-class citizen and loose many of his rights, including the right to hold a job.

In other news, I heard from Alexis yesterday and …..

– –

September 3rd

Papy,

Divination is rubbish! I think I'm going to drop the class and switch for Arithmancy or Ancient Runes. I have to act fast if I'm going to do this, or else it'll be too late. I can only take one of them. Which do you think is more important? Ancient Runes looks like it's mostly a foreign language course, along with the magical application of runes carved into things – would any of our family's linguistic spells help me learn it faster? Hermione says that Arithmancy is necessary for spell crafting, but it's a sort of math, right? I'm not sure I want that, really... but she was really enthusiastic about it.

Which brings me to something else... Hermione is taking way more classes than she should be able to. She was in Divination, but she says she also attended Arithmancy, and they're at the same time slot!

And she's taking Muggles Studies! Muggle Studies! She's a Muggleborn! Ron and I think she's barmy.

I also had Care of Magical Creatures today and Hagrid is the teacher! I was the only one in the class that actually knew how to get the book open without it trying to eat my hand off. It was funny, but Hagrid looked really sad that no one else seemed to like the book or find it amusing.

Oh! I can talk to Hippogriffs! They're sort of a horse-bird hybrid, but I wasn't expecting to be able to communicate with them, since the front half of them is way more bird than horse. It was brilliant! I rode on the back of a Hippogriff named Buckbeak as he flew over the Black Lake and it made me yearn to fly so badly I started sprouting feathers along my neck. I barely had it all shifted back in time to land back on the ground.

This prat named Malfoy tried to make trouble, and I just barely managed to pull him out the way before Buckbeak took a swipe at him. I should have let him get hurt though. He was outrageously rude to Buckbeak! But I really shouldn't expect any less from Malfoy. He's always been a git.

He did look at me really funny after I'd pulled him out of the way. He smelled strange too. Not strange like Professor Lupin though, but not quite like you, or like Lucienne's children.

I can't believe Professor Lupin is a werewolf! I won't tell anyone, don't worry. He's a brilliant teacher. A thousand times better than Quirrell or Lockhart ever were. I think I might try to speak to him about mum. It would be really something to meet someone that was one of her friends in school. And he was friends with my dad too. If he was roommates with him for seven years, he probably knew him really well.

Hey, if Lupin is a werewolf, and he knew about my mum, that means he would know about me being a Veela too, right? It might be nice to have someone here at school that I could talk with about that stuff since I'm not planning on telling Ron or Hermione anytime soon. Do you think I can trust him?

-Harry

– –

Sept. 5th

Mon Harry,

I would say, go with Ancient Runes. Our linguistic spells can assist in learning the various languages associated with them much more efficiently than trying to learn a dead language any other way. Many people these days just memorize the runic alphabets and some of the meanings, but don't bother with the languages, so the magic is weakened by that. We can help you over the summer holidays and I imagine you could go quite far in the field if you desired it.

Congratulations on the discovery that your Equites Susurro skill extends to Hippogriffs! That is wonderful news. It makes sense though, so I'm not terribly surprised.

The Malfoy boy you mentioned has sparked a bit of curiosity in me, I must confess. There is a decent number of Malfoy's living in France, and there are even some living within the Veela Nation by the name and with connections to the family. The family – or at least, the branch of it that resides in France – has a long history of mating with Veela. You say he smells different – could it be that he has Veela blood? You're senses are still only just beginning to develop, and if he is less than a quarter Veela, he would smell considerably different than your cousins who are all at least three-quarter Veela or more.

In regards to Lupin, I would be wary about revealing to him that you know of your Veela heritage. We do not know where his loyalties lie, and if you tell him anything, he could turn right around and repeat it to Dumbledore. I would recommend testing the waters gradually. Perhaps, instead of letting him know that you are already aware that your mother was half Veela, you could drop hints that you are starting to come into your Veela powers, (trouble with random fires, perhaps?) but are confused by them. If he acts ignorant, then we can assume that Dumbledore has instructed him to hide it from you. If he tells you the truth about your mother, then you may be able to proceed – but proceed with caution.

Love,

Luc

– –

September 9th, 1993

Papy,

I'm not sure how to feel right now. I'm a bit angry and confused to be honest. So far, Lupin had been a great Defense teacher, and his class has been incredibly interesting. We had this activity today with a boggart where everyone had to face it, one at a time, and try to turn it into something funny. When it got to be my turn, Professor Lupin suddenly got in the way and wouldn't let me take my turn.

Did he think I couldn't manage the spell? The boggart had started to turn into a Dementor, and it felt incredibly real... I'll admit I hadn't expected that, but I still know I could have managed the spell!

Oh, and his boggart turned into the moon. Not that I doubted what you said about him being what he is.

I took your advice and switched to Ancient Runes. I just don't think I've got the right sort of mind for dealing with crazy theoretical numbers and spell calculations, and I don't really think that spell crafting is an area I care too much to go into it. This is definitely the better choice than Arithmancy, and I really like the idea of not only learning the runes, but also the old languages that go with them.

You were right about that, by the way. The class isn't really going to make anyone fluent in any of the languages, just a basic introduction to Old English, Middle English, Proto-German, Old Norse, Proto-Norse, and Old Frisian. Can I really learn those with the family's linguistic spells? It won't be immersion like with French, so how will that work?

Let's see... Oh! Malfoy has been really weird ever since I saved him from the Hippogriff. Weird as in he's not picking fights with me anymore. It's just... weird. He still picks fights with Ron though, so my world hasn't completely turned upside down.

I think you could be right about him being part Veela, but I haven't gotten a lot of chances to give him a good sniff without it looking completely loony.

If he is one, do you think he could have noticed I'm one too? Would he have noticed before now, if that were the case, or did the binding conceal any hint of my Veela scent before it was removed?

Harry

– –

Sept. 11th

Harry,

In regards to your questions about the Malfoy boy, and your Veela scent. Yes, the binding would have concealed a great deal of the outward signs that can be used to identify you as a Veela. Also, practicing your Veela magic brings the scent more to the surface. The fact that you spent the summer practicing your fire magics and attempting the transformation, and the fact that you had a partial transformation while riding the Hippogriff would have brought the scent very strongly to the surface. It was right after that, that you saved the boy, is that not correct? You likely came into close contact in that moment and exposed him more directly to your scent than normal.

This could explain his sudden shift in behavior to you; assuming that he did suddenly notice the change in your own scent. It does not, however, guarantee that he is part Veela. It's possible he is something else entirely that also has a heightened sense of smell (which, most magical beings and creatures able to mate with humans are). I would probably be able to recognize what he is if I were there to smell him myself, alas, I am not, and even if I were I can imagine that would be a very awkward situation.

I suppose my only advice is to be cautious around him, and simply appreciate the reprieve in his antagonism towards you.

Love, Papy

– –

October 4th, 1993

Papy Luc,

This is the forth Quidditch practice where I started to partially transform while in the air! I'm so lucky no one noticed, but they don't pay much attention to me when they're all focused on the bludgers and the quaffle. I could feel the muscles around my shoulder blades shifting and burning. My wings want to come out so badly, but I'm not quite there yet. I need to find some time to practice in private so I stop sprouting feathers at random intervals without warning.

I almost started a fire yesterday too, so I know I really need to find some time to meditate and work on my control some more. I've gotten pretty far with my fire animating, but my opportunities to practice lately have been slim.

I miss you guys so much. I got another letter from Alexis yesterday. It's no fair that Beauxbatons actually has a class on elemental magic! I'd probably be top of the class when it came to fire wielding. Of course it's no surprise that Alexis is top in his elementals class already, especially considering they've only done fire so far. Why don't we have something like that here?

Ron had been pestering me about all my letters again. I'm sure Hermione would be too if she wasn't so insanely busy. I still don't know how she's managing to take all these classes at once. Did I tell you she dropped Divination? She stuck with it longer than I did, but she apparently blew up at Trelawney and walked out in the middle of a class. I wish I was there to see it. She's still taking an outrageous number of classes, though, several of which are in the same time slot. I have no idea how she's doing that.

In any case, I suspect her ludicrous schedule is the only reason she hasn't picked up on all the owls I've been getting, or else she would have been pestering me with questions too. I've told all of the family owls to make sure to deliver my letters when I'm alone and that's helped a lot with Ron's questions. I was able to make a few excuses and he believed them easily enough.

I do feel bad about that though.

Tell Noemie Happy Birthday for me! I hate that I can't be there. I owl-ordered her something, but I'm not sure if it'll get there in time. Let her know that something is coming though. I haven't forgotten her!

– –

October 16th, 1993

Papy Luc,

Classes are going great. Sorry if I forgot to mention in my last letter, but yes, you were right, it really is so much easier now! I have no words to express how thankful I am that that god-awful binding is gone!

Oh, and what you suggested worked. I've offered to help Professor Lupin set up for the practical lesson he's giving the first years on Monday, so I'll have all Sunday afternoon to try and squeeze some information out of him, and see what I can work out from his reactions to what I've planned to say.

I can't help but wonder about him though. I mean, from what you said he was one of my father's best friends, and he and my mum were incredibly close their last two years at Hogwarts, but so far he's treated me just like any other student...

– –

Oct. 17th

Mon Herry,

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Dumbledore told Lupin not to approach you. Especially if he knows that Lupin is aware of your mother's heritage.

In other news, would you believe that Adelle is still mopeing about you and Alexis being gone? The only time she ever perks up is when either of you send a letter. Hint, hint.

– –

October 18th, 1993

Papy Luc,

Well, I've decided I'm definitely not going to be telling Professor Lupin about you or the family. I just don't think I can trust him. I think that I've been really lucky so far that Dumbledore didn't realize I wasn't at the Dursley's this last summer. I'm not sure that luck will hold if I talk with Lupin about my Veela ancestry again.

Anyway, I helped him with setting up for his class, like I told you I'd planned, and I took the opportunity to make a few subtle statements to see how he'd react. I asked him if it was normal for someone who is my age to still have bursts of accidental magic, and he thought that was a bit unusual, but not unheard of if a lot of stress or emotional turmoil was involved. He asked what sort of accidental magic things were happened and I mentioned fire. He just frowned and looked at me for a long time. I think he also tried to subtly sniff me after that, but he never once actually mentioned to me about mum being a Veela.

I did ask him about mum too. I told him that Hagrid had contacted a bunch of people back in my first year and collected an album of photos of my parents and gave it to me for Christmas, and that I was looking through it again recently and saw a picture in it of him with my parents. He did at least admit to having been friends with both of my parents. If he'd denied that, I wouldn't have trusted the man with anything again, that's for sure.

I hope that he doesn't run off to Dumbledore and mention anything I said to him about the fire and such. I don't want to think about what he might do if he realizes that his binding spell isn't working anymore.

In other news, I got an O on that test in Transfiguration! Hermione is finally starting to notice how much my class work has improved. I don't think she quite knows what to make of that, actually.

Oh, and I wrote to Adelle, so hopefully that will …..

– –

October 31st , 1993

Papy Luc,

You won't believe this! Okay, it's almost midnight and I'm sitting in the Great Hall along with everyone else in Gryffindor. When we all got back to the common room after the Halloween Feast, the Fat Lady – that's the portrait that guards the entrance to Gryffindor Tower – was gone from her frame, and the canvas was all slashed up. When the Headmaster finally found her hiding out in one of the other paintings, she said that Sirius Black had tried to break into the common room and when she wouldn't let him in, he attacked her painting. The teachers are all searching the castle right now.

There are rumors going about that Black is after me, specifically. Something about him being one of Voldemort's inner circle or something, and so he'd want revenge. It would be just my luck if that were the case, though.

Oh! And I'd almost forgotten with everything else, but today was the first Hogsmeade trip visit. The permission slip you signed recognized that it was signed by my legal guardian, like you said it would, so that wasn't a problem, but McGonagall still spent an extra long time looking at it, and then looking at me suspiciously. I was so scared she was going to notice that glamour spell or whatever it was to make it look like the name said Vernon Dursley, but she didn't say anything and let me go.

Anyway, it was brilliant. I got a bunch of British wizard sweets for all the kids that I'm going to be sending off to to everyone. Maybe you could send me some sweets from Iledevol or maybe from Paris, the next time you and bonne-maman are there? Especially if you get any of those CaramaBars? Anyway, I'm sure that the kids will like some of the sweets they have here. Geffroi and Sebastien will especially love the package I'm sending them from this placed called Zonko's.

I should cut this short. Some of the others are starting to get annoyed by my lumos spell. I'll write again right away if I hear any more about Black.

Harry

– –

November 5th, 1993

Papy Luc,

Tonight's the Full Moon and Lupin wasn't in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Not that I'm surprised of course. What sucks is that Snape was the one who subbed for him. Not sure if I've really mentioned him before, but he hates me, and the feeling is mutual. He was a real prat about substituting for Professor Lupin though. He had us skip seven chapters ahead in the textbook to the section on werewolves and has everyone writing a thirteen inch essay on identifying them. Is he trying to get Professor Lupin fired? I hope nothing happens to Lupin. I may not trust him with my secrets, but he's still the best Defense Professor I've had here.

In any case, it's pretty obvious that Snape is in-the-know about what Professor Lupin is, and obviously holds a grudge or something. Of course everyone has always said that Snape wants the Defense Post. Maybe he's jealous that Professor Lupin has got it while he's stuck teaching Potions.

Tomorrow is the first Quidditch Match of the season. The weather today is AWFUL. I hope it improves before the game tomorrow. I hate flying in the rain. It's always so hard to see with my glasses getting all wet and sometimes even frosted over from the chill in the air and all the wind.

And before I forget – Tell mamie thank you for the CaramaBars! I wasn't expecting to get some right away like that! I also heard back from Geffroi and …..

– –

November 7th, 1993

Papy Luc,

I guess I'll just come right out and let you know that I'm writing from the Hospital Wing. It was awful. Last night during our game against Slytherin the Dementors came onto the pitch and some of them swarmed me. I fainted again, which is just humiliating, really, and I fell off my broom. I HATE that they effect me so badly! No one else has fainted from the stupid ruddy things! And what's worse, my broom ended up falling into the Whomping Willow and it was totally destroyed.

Malfoy actually caught me when I was falling, which is kind of shocking. I was so high in the sky when the Dementors swarmed me and I passed out, if I'd fallen all the way to the ground I'd probably be dead. Does this mean I owe him a Life Debt now? That's what one of my housemates said. That's a scary prospect... Although he has been better this year since I saved him from getting mauled by that Hippogriff. I doubt he would have died from that though, so I don't think this makes us even. I definitely would have died from this.

Stupid dementors! I hate this! When I get too near one I hear screaming. I think it's my mum's voice. I think I'm remembering the night it all happened. When she died? I hear her begging and crying. It's awful.

Damn, Madam Pomfrey is coming. I've got to go.

Love, Harry

– –

November 8th, 1993

Mon Harry,

This is outrageous and totally unforgivable. I have already lodged a formal complaint against Minister Fudge for his disgusting disregard for the student's safety. I had no idea those monstrous things were still at the school! How are you doing now? Was anything injured? Do you need me to come to the school? I don't care if Dumbledore finds out about our relationship. I will see to your needs and safety!

And do not worry about your broom. I will get you a new one. We can go shopping for one as soon as you come home for the holidays.

I can not say for sure, but it is entirely possible that you may now owe a life debt to the young Mr. Malfoy. Have you spoken to him since the incident?

I will be …

– –

November 12th, 1993

Papy Luc,

I haven't talked to Malfoy face-to-face in ages, actually. The closest I've gotten are when I happened to walk in on when he and Ron were fighting. As soon as I show up Malfoy ends the fight, looks at me with this weird expression, and then leaves. I was unconscious when he saved me after I fainted from the Dementors, so I don't remember it at all. I woke up in the Hospital Wing afterwards and I wouldn't have known Malfoy had anything to do with it at all if it weren't for Ron and Hermione filling me in on what happened.

I tried to approach him today to thank him, but the hall got swarmed with people and then he was gone. I'm not sure what's going on there. It's weird.

Oh, in other news, the Dementors have all vanished from school grounds. I'm not sure if that's your doing, or Dumbledore's. The word is that he went ballistic when those Dementors swarmed me on the pitch.

I got another letter from Alexis and I keep getting more and more jealous! I cannot believe the classes he gets to take as a first year! I'm pretty sure, at this point, that if I ever did legitimately consider transferring to Beauxbatons, I'd have to do a year over just because I'd be so far behind in the courses. I thought that Hogwarts was supposed to be the best of the best or some such rubbish? Maybe it's just the 'best in Britain', and that's only because it's the only school in Britain.

You know, before this year, I never seriously questioned whether or not the Hogwarts curriculum was up to snuff, but now I'm really starting to think about it and it's got me honestly worried. I mean, History is a joke. Did I tell you that it's taught by a ghost? He talks in a monotone and reads out of the oldest and driest history text ever written, and most of it is about the Goblin Rebellions. Potions is worthless simply because Snape has got to be the most awful teacher ever, right next to the dead guy teaching history, and he clearly HATES teaching, so I really don't get why he's even here. And each year we get a different defense professor and the best one so far has been a werewolf.

Honestly, it's kind of pathetic.

And that's not even taking into account how often I've nearly died here.

– –

December 11th, 1993

Papy Luc,

On Monday McGonagall posted the sign-up sheet in the common room for people who are staying behind during the winter holidays. Obviously, I didn't put my name down, and no one noticed... until today. McGonagall actually came to me today to remind me that I needed to put my name down if I'm staying, so I told her I wasn't. She definitely looked surprised, but didn't actually come out and ask me anything else about my holiday plans.

Instead she told me that 'it had been decided for my own safety', of course, that I wouldn't be allowed to go to the next Hogsmeade weekend! What Rubbish! They're not holding anyone else back at the school, and there's no real evidence at all that Black is after me specifically! And even if he was, how likely is it that he'd attack me in broad daylight surrounded by dozens of other Hogwarts students!

I haven't seen any Dementors in a while, but I've heard that they're still occasionally seen floating around the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Even if they do stay away from Hogwarts, I'm still not comfortable sitting around and doing nothing about how strongly they effect me. I approached Professor Lupin and asked him if there was anything I could do against them and he offered to try teaching me a spell that repels them. He said we couldn't start private lessons until after the break, though.

Anyway, Ron just got back from his shower so I'd better end this one. I'll write again in a week unless something interesting happens.

Harry

– –

December 18th, 1993

Papy Luc,

I wasn't planning on writing again so soon, what with the Hogwarts Express leaving tomorrow morning. Chances are, I'll see you in person before you even get this, but I needed to write it down to try and sort through all the thoughts in my head. I'm not even sure where to start.

So today was the last Hogsmeade trip of the year – the one I told you that McGonagall said I wasn't allowed to go to? Well the Weasley Twins took me aside just as everyone else was leaving and gave me this incredible map that lists a bunch of secret passages that exit the school. One of them goes directly to Hogsmeade, so I took my invisibility cloak and snuck out into town. I met up with Ron and Hermione and we wandered around town and bought a bunch of sweets and things and then ended up in the Three Broomsticks. All of a sudden, Cornelius Fudge enters the pub with Hagrid, McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick. I still had my cloak and I hid under the table and sort of... well, I eavesdropped on them. They were talking about Sirius Black and...

First off, do you know what a Fidelus ward or... something like that, is? They explained it because Hagrid didn't know what it was, but apparently it was some sort of spell that was supposed to provide ultimate protection for me and my parents from discovery, by sealing the secret of where we were hiding inside the heart of someone they trusted. That person is called a secret keeper, and the only way to reveal the secret is if the secret keeper tells you. According to McGonagall, Sirius Black was my parents secret keeper, and the only way for Voldemort to have found us that night is if Sirius Black told him. He betrayed us. It wasn't just a matter of him betraying the war and his friends and their ideals – he specifically betrayed us. He's the reason that Voldemort was able to get to us. He's the reason they're dead.

I just... I don't know what to feel. I don't know what to think. I'm just so angry. I could just SCREAM!

I can't wait to see you guys tomorrow. I miss you all so much.

Harry

– –

"You know, Harry, I'm still surprised that you're going home for the holidays," Hermione hedged innocently as she flipped through the pages of the book she was 'reading'. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express and had been occupying themselves for the last few hours with light discussion, games, and then with Ron and Harry comparing chocolate frog cards after the trolly lady had come by and they'd gotten another mass of sweets from her.

Harry had been wondering when this would finally be brought up again, so he wasn't surprised in the least. He'd honestly been surprised it had taken her this long to begin her interrogation. The subject had come up a few times since McGonagall had posted the sign-up sheet for those remaining behind at the school for the holidays. Ron and Hermione had, of course, assumed he'd be staying just like the previous two years, and had made the off-hand offers to remain behind with him. He had then informed them that he wasn't staying behind at all, and it would be silly for them to remain behind when they both had families that would love to see them. Both had been shocked to learn Harry intended to go home for the holidays, but it was also clear that neither knew quite how to question him on the subject since the Dursley's had always been a very sore topic for him.

It just wasn't something that they talked about. He suspected that both of his friends had various suspicions as to his muggle relatives, although he also believed that both of them were naïve enough in such things that neither fully thought through the full possibilities or implications of his treatment at the Dursley's hands. Just they same, they knew it was a sore enough subject that they didn't come out and ask questions. And since Harry hadn't come out and offered any explanations for his choice to go home, neither was quite sure how to dig for details on the whole thing.

Harry looked up from the Quidditch magazine he was reading and gave her a blank sort of look, wondering how she would proceed.

"Um... are you sure you're going to be... safe there?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

Harry paused in thought for a moment. He wasn't sure if she was referring to 'safe from Sirius Black', or 'safe from the Dursley's'. Maybe she even meant both, but he didn't think she'd actually connected the dots far enough to question his safety in the hands of the Dursley's. After all, Hermione had near unquestionable faith in the Headmaster, and surely Dumbledore would never send Harry back there if he wasn't safe. The thought left a bitter taste in Harry's mouth, but he could hardly blame her since he'd had the same unwavering faith in the man up until this last summer.

Harry had been wavering recently on his decision not to tell his friends about his family. It had been so hard keeping it all hidden from them, mostly because he really wanted to be able to talk to them about some of the things that had made him so happy or excited in regards to his new extended family. He'd always shared those things that made him happy with his two closest friends and he felt like all the secrets were going to eventually drive a wedge between them, and Harry really didn't want that to happen. At the same time, he'd been keeping it secret for so long at this point, he had no idea how to broach the subject now.

His eyes slid down to the bit of golden chain that was sticking out from under her collar. After a few letters mentioning Hermione's impossible timetables, his grandfather Luc had suggested the possibility that the girl had been given a time-turner to use, so Harry had been watching her more closely than ever, and was fairly positive at this point that his grandfather was right.

Lucas had said it was quite an honor to be trusted with such a device and spoke highly of how much trust her sponsor must have in her. Harry figured the sponsor was probably Professor McGonagall, and Harry knew that McGonagall adored Hermione, even if the strict, overly-fair professor preferred not to show it too publicly.

Still, Harry was surprised that Hermione had been allowed to keep the Time-turner over the holidays.

Well, Harry had been keeping secrets, but so had Hermione, so maybe he could use that as some leverage to lessen some of the blow. Besides, he didn't entirely feel safe talking about certain things while within Hogwarts. The train was another issue, though.

Pulling forth his courage Harry decided that if he was going to do this, he'd do it now. If he kept the secret too much longer, it would only hurt them more when they finally found out.

"Can I tell you two a secret?" Harry said in a quiet voice. Ron instantly dropped the Quidditch magazine he'd been reading, with obvious interest in his eyes. Hermione stopped any pretense of reading her book as well and sat up a bit straighter.

Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door to their compartment. He spoke two different charms, one that would lock the door, and another that put up a bubble of silence around them. Hermione's eyes widened at the use of two spells that definitely had not been taught in their classes. She knew the locking one, but that was because she read ahead so much. The other one was a mystery to her.

"Where'd you learn those spells?" Hermione gasped.

"Er... well that's part of the secret, I guess," Harry said with a nervous laugh as he ran his hand through his hair messing it up even more than usual.

Ron and Hermione shared a look for a moment before looking back at Harry. "Talk," Hermione said.

"First off, I don't want you too getting angry with me for keeping this secret for as long as I have. It was necessary and it's not like I'm the only one keeping secrets."

Ron looked confused by that statement, but Hermione's eyes widened slightly.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked innocently with a touch of defensive worry.

"I'm talking about the golden chain around your neck and how you've been attending Arithmancy at the same time as Muggle Studies, and how you were taking Ancient Runes at the same time as Divination until you finally dropped Trelawney's class," Harry said giving her a pointed look.

She gasped and her hand came up to her chest, probably to the same place where the time-turner was hidden beneath her shirt. "How do you know!"

"Wait, you know how she's doing that?" Ron asked, turning his curios gaze on Harry.

"It's supposed to be a secret! I'm not supposed to tell anyone! How did you figure it out?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Well, there aren't exactly a lot of possible explanations for a person repeatedly being in two different places at the same time," Harry said reasonably.

"What are you two talking about!" Ron whined in annoyance.

"But how would you even know?" Hermione persisted at Harry, ignoring Ron for the moment. "Hardly anyone even knows about them!"

"Knows about What!" Ron exclaimed.

"Hermione's got a Time-Turner," Harry said.

"A whut?" Ron said, blinking in confusion.

"It's a small magical device that lets you go back in time. They usually have a limit of no more than a day because it takes a tremendous amount of magical power to go back in time and create continuity loops instead of introducing paradoxes."

"Huh?" Ron said, looking totally bewildered now.

"How do you know that?" Hermione exclaimed, looking at Harry with shock.

"My Grandfather told me."

Hermione and Ron gaped at him in stunned silence.

"That's my secret," Harry pressed on. "It's also why I'm on this train. I'm not going to the Dursley's. I'm going to be staying with my Grandfather and family."

"Your grandfather?" Hermione gasped in excited confusion. "But... who? I thought all of your grandparents were dead?"

"So did I, but it turns out that my mum... well, she wasn't a muggleborn after all. She was a half-blood. My aunt Petunia is her half-sister. They had the same mother, but not the same father. Apparently my Grandmother Rosie had an affair while her husband was out of the country for most of the year after she had Petunia. The man she had the affair with was magical – my real grandfather – and he found me this summer and I went and lived with he and his family."

"Oh my god, Harry! That's incredible!" Hermione exclaimed. Her expression went closed all of a sudden and she looked at him worriedly. "Are you sure it's safe? Can he be trusted?"

Harry snorted is distaste. "He's a thousand times more trustworthy and safe than staying with the Dursley's."

"But how come he didn't come for you until now?" Ron asked.

"He tried and tried to get in contact with me before, but couldn't. After my parents died, he went through a ton of trouble and red-tape to try and find out what had happened to me. He got shuffled around for most of the first year until he finally managed to find out that Dumbledore had been labeled as magical proxy for my guardians, and contacted him. Dumbledore lied to him and said that I'd been placed where my parent's will had dictated and that my mother hadn't wanted him to get involved. Dumbledore refused to tell my grandfather where I was 'for my safety'. After I started Hogwarts, he started trying to get a hold of me again, but all of his letters were redirected and I never got a single one of them. We found out that Dumbledore has put a Sieve spell on my mail. Everything gets sorted before it comes to me and a huge chunk of it gets burned or stored somewhere I'll never find it. The sieve spell only works while I'm in Britain though because over the summer I got all my mail for the first time and it was crazy how much of it I get."

"Wait, you weren't in England over the summer?" Ron asked.

"No, my grandfather lives in France."

"France?" Ron echoed in surprise.

Hermione was looking decidedly upset, but Harry suspected it had nothing to do with the revelation about France.

"Harry..." she began hesitantly, frowning deeply, "How can you be sure about... I mean, you said that the headmaster lied to your grandfather, and you make it sound like he's been stealing your mail, but..." she shook her head in disbelief and frustration.

"That's because that's what he's done," Harry growled slightly.

"But... well, maybe he was just doing all of that to protect you, you know? Surely there was a reason to do those things. He wouldn't just..."

"Oh sure, there are excuses," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "His Sieve on my mail is legal because it's to protect me from any cursed letters, or objects sent to me that are secretly portkeys, but over the summer we just had someone checking through the letters each morning – it only took a minute or two, it's not like I really get that much mail – to sort between anything potentially dangerous."

"But in the beginning – you know, right after your parents died – there was probably a lot more mail. Surely they couldn't be expected to sort it all," Hermione argued hesitantly.

"Sure, you could argue that, but how come control over the Sieve was never handed over to me? It was supposed to be. The Magical Bureau for the Management of Owl Post, supposedly sent me pamphlets and forms when I started at Hogwarts so I could control my 'approved senders list' on my own, but I never got any such letters. Dumbledore kept it hidden from me so he could maintain control over the list himself. He's even edited the list several times over the last few years; adding the two of you and all of the Weasley's to it."

"He's just managing it for you so you don't have to worry about it," Hermione said, still not sounding entirely sure about her own argument.

"And what about my Grandfather? What about lying to him?" Harry said.

"Well how could Dumbledore know he could trust your grandfather? He probably had loads of people offering to take you in after... it all happened," Ron said then. "Besides, you said it took your grandfather nearly a year to get a hold of Dumbledore. He probably thought you were settled in at the Dursley's by then. Plus there's those blood ward things that you've mentioned before..."

"Right after Dumbledore dumped me on the Dursley's doorstep, Petunia wrote him a letter telling him that they didn't want me," Harry said coldly. "When he insisted that I had to be with blood relatives for the blood wards to work, and she and Dudley were my only blood relatives left, she wrote back and told him that my biological grandfather was just as much a blood relative as she was and that if he was still alive I should go to him because they wanted nothing to do with me. Dumbledore wrote back and said that my grandfather was dead, but I don't think he ever even looked for him."

Hermione and Ron both looked stunned and unsettled.

"And when my grandfather finally did get a hold of him, expressing an interest in taking me in – and this is after, Petunia had made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me – Dumbledore still insisted that I was where my mum wanted me. Personally, I really really doubt that. And the argument that I had to stay with a blood relative is moot since I could easily be with my grandfather and my cousins and be surrounded by blood relatives."

"But why would Dumbledore keep you from family that wanted you, to leave you with people who obviously didn't? It doesn't make any sense!" Hermione said, shaking her head and looking miserable and confused.

Harry frowned, looking down for a moment before proceeding. "I think part of it might be because he wanted to keep me in Britain," Harry said slowly. "Like I said, Papy Luc lives in France. The whole family is there. They're all... wonderful. I was only with them for two and a half months and it was so hard to leave. My cousin Alexis started his first year at Beauxbatons this year and hearing about the school, and seeing it in person at the end of August... well I can say for a fact that if I'd grown up with Papy Luc, I'd be attending Beauxbatons right now. Not Hogwarts. I'd have no reason to even set foot in Britain."

"But that's no excuse for placing you with the Dursley's when they'd made it clear that they didn't want you!" Hermione exclaimed, obviously growing angry on his behalf now.

Harry snorted. "You're telling me?" Harry heaved a sigh and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "Papy Luc thinks that there was probably a prophecy or something related to me that was driving some of Dumbledore's actions."

"A prophecy?" Hermione echoed incredulously as she twisted up her face in obvious dislike of the subject she already held so little respect for. "Why would he think that?"

"My grandfather... erm... well, it's quite a bit more complicated than I've gotten into so far, but lets just say that he's in a very powerful position. He has access to information that a lot of people don't, and there are seers who work for the the family who foretold some things that could theoretically be associated with what happened to me and my parents. He says that when one Seer 'sees' something, there's always others who 'see' similar things. If it's a real prophetic thing, there's always more than one Seer that sees it. He figures if their Seers saw it, then Seers in Britain no doubt saw something too, especially since it was a British issue. Dumbledore's actions are too fishy and coincidental for them to not be connected to any of these prophecy-type things."

"Prophecy," Hermione scoffed derisively, sticking her nose a bit into the air with obvious distaste. "So what does this have to do with him keeping you with your muggle relatives?"

"Papy Luc figures that whatever prophecy was foretold here in Britain must not be complete yet. The stuff that his Seers saw really only involved the last war and my er... defeat or whatever, of Voldemort when I was a baby. But Dumbledore must think that he's got some reason for wanting to keep me in Britain, so there's probably more to whatever he's heard. That's what my aunt Lucienne thinks, anyway. In any case, it's obvious to the family that Dumbledore has gone to great lengths to keep us apart, and that's why we've kept it secret so far that we've found each other. Papy Luc has actually gone through all of the behind-the-scenes legalities of getting my custody transferred to him, but since my placement with the Dursley's was kept secret, even from the Ministry, the transfer has been quiet enough that no one has noticed yet."

"You don't think that Dumbledore would try to take you away from them now, do you?" Hermione gasped.

Harry just shrugged and shook his head sadly. "I have no idea. I don't know what to think about him now. I've definitely lost a lot of faith in the man. I know for a fact that he knew about how badly the Dursley's were treating me – at least to some extent. Before I thought that maybe he was just blind to it and honestly hadn't known. I could forgive him for leaving me with them if he honestly didn't realize what they were doing to me, but I know for a fact now that he came to their house when I was five after some accidental magic caused a fire in their house. He fixed the damage, which included repairing the boot cupboard where they'd lock me away, so he had to know about it. He also obliviated me and cast a binding ritual on me to lock away some of my magic so I wouldn't be causing any more fires."

Hermione gasped in horror, and Ron made a squeaking sort of noise and suddenly went very pale.

"But that's illegal!" Hermione hissed.

Harry snorted derisively. "And knowingly leaving a defenseless child with abusive caretakers isn't illegal?" Harry heaved another great sigh and shook his head. "I... I don't know what to think or how to feel about him anymore. It's all just too much still. For now, I'm just going to spend my holidays with my family, and try to be careful. He'll eventually find out, I'm sure of that. Whenever he does, we'll see how he responds. If he tries to take me away from them, then that's it. I will never trust him again, and I'll probably transfer to Beauxbatons."

"Oh Harry!" Hermione gasped, shaking her head.

"Beauxbatons?" Ron exclaimed.

"I can't stay at Hogwarts if I can't trust the Headmaster with my safety, and it's already a pretty iffy thing. I mean, I'm in my third year and how many times have I almost died at Hogwarts? First there was the troll, and Quirrell hexing my broom, and then Quirrel-mort himself – granted it was my own fault for going after the stone, but the man never should have been allowed to get into the school at all! And second year with the petrifications and the Basilisk! Oh, and we mustn't forget about the Dementors this year," Harry ended sarcastically.

Hermione was nodding along with him and looking entirely defeated. "You do seem to be a danger magnet."

"But you can't leave Hogwarts!" Ron exclaimed.

"I don't want to, Ron. Not really. But how can I stay at Hogwarts, if I can't trust the Headmaster?"

"Surely he had to have some... some reasons to do the things he did," Hermione said weakly shaking her head and looking lost and horrified.

"That's why Papy and aunt Lucienne think it's something to do with a prophecy or something. We figure Dumbledore must honestly believed that it's of some dire importance or else he wouldn't feel justified in what's he's done. But that doesn't make it okay. And that doesn't mean I'm willing to just go along with it, or forgive him for trying to use me and continually keeping me in danger. He kept me away from my family. From people who wanted me. People who are really really nice. They're wonderful and I've grown to really care about all of them, and they legitimately care about me. I've never had that before, and that's Dumbledore's fault. What's more, he sealed away a part of my magic – a part of who I am, and if it weren't for Papy Luc bringing in a specialist to break the binding, it'd still be that way."

Dawning suddenly flashed in Hermione's eyes. "That's why you've been doing so much better in class!" she gasped. "Oh, Harry! This is horrible! It was seriously impacting your magical performance before! How could he do that?"

"You'd think that if you're part of some sort of prophecy, he wouldn't want to screw up your magic," Ron said incredulously.

"I can't even pretend to understand Dumbledore's logic," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Besides, we clearly don't have all the pertinent information," Hermione pointed out thoughtfully. "All of this prophecy stuff is just speculation anyway. We don't really know anything for sure, do we?"

"Not really. I only know what he did to me. I don't know any of his reasons or motives, only what we've guessed or pieced together as possible explanations," Harry said with a shrug.

The trio fell quiet for several long minutes after that, as each one thought through what all had been revealed. Hermione looked the most upset, while Ron just looked really confused and generally unhappy.

"You guys realize that you can't tell anyone about this, right?" Harry asked finally. Hermione looked up and blinked at him blankly for a second. "You can see how important it is that he not find out right?"

"I don't know, Harry..." Hermione said, shaking her head.

Harry gave her a pointed look and she quickly put her hands up in a placating gesture. "I won't tell," she said quickly. "I'm just saying that I'm not sure that keeping your arrangement a secret is really the best idea. I mean, like we all said, we have no idea what the Headmaster's motives were. Maybe if you just asked him why, he would tell you. If he wasn't keeping secrets from you, it'd be better right? You said you don't want to leave Hogwarts, and if getting you to Hogwarts was the reason he didn't want you going to France, then, well I guess he's already gotten what he wanted. If you just talked maybe there wouldn't be anymore trouble. Surely he'd realize that you would leave if he upset you and tried to keep you and your family apart now, right? Well, as long as he keeps you happy, you'll stay at Hogwarts right?"

"Theoretically. I can't make any promises. I can't say for sure what might end up making me need to leave. But you see, as long as I've got family in France, I have somewhere else to go. I think that's what Dumbledore might have a problem with. With just the Dursley's, there was literally no one to turn to except for Dumbledore himself. Which, I suspect wasn't an accident. I don't think he wanted me to have anywhere to turn to that wasn't him. I think he even instructed Professor Lupin not to approach me or tell me how close he was to my parents because then I might see him as someone I could turn to."

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"He was one of my Dad's best friends – they were roommates at Hogwarts for seven years, and the last two years of school, he and my mum became really close friends too. He was at their wedding; he was there when I was born. He was one of their closest friends for more than a decade, and yet he's treated me just as professionally and distant as any other student, and I think it's because Dumbledore told him to keep his distance."

"But you don't know that, Harry," Hermione insisted. "You're just making guesses. You can't know any of this stuff for sure unless you actually speak to him. I just can't believe that the headmaster would be so underhanded."

"Yeah, Harry," Ron pitched in, "I mean he's Albus Dumbledore. He's supposed to be the greatest wizard of our age!"

"That doesn't mean he's infallible," Harry said pointedly. "Something that my Papy said to me that made a lot of sense was that because of all that Dumbledore is renowned for, everyone has all these expectations about him. People expect him to solve all these problems – even the Minister of Magic is said to always be pestering Dumbledore with questions and asking for his advice. Dumbledore defeated Grindlewald and everyone expected him to be the one that dealt with Voldemort during the last war. Everyone expected him to do something, and with people's expectations would come the belief that he has to meet those expectations. That he had to do whatever was necessary, to save Britain. Under that kind of pressure, he could easily think that sacrificing my happiness and safety was worth it in the end. I just happen to disagree with him on that point."

"Well, of course!" Hermione said indignantly. Ron was looking incredibly torn and confused.

"But what if there is a prophecy and Harry really is the only one who could stop You-Know-Who for good?" Ron worried.

Hermione harrumphed loudly and crossed her arms over her chest. "That's just absurd, Ron! It's because people put faith in ridiculous prophecies and divination things instead of a little common sense that nonsense like this happens! Harry is thirteen! It is entirely unreasonable for people to expect him to save them from You-Know-Who!"

Conversation was stilted for a while after that, but it wasn't all that long before they reached London. Harry got promises from both Hermione and Ron that they wouldn't tell anyone about what he'd told them. He also asked that, even when they got back to Hogwarts, that they'd avoid discussing it in the halls or classrooms. Harry wasn't entirely confident in his privacy within the halls – what with living paintings, ghosts and poltergeists, you never knew who was listening, when, or where.

Hermione did express her disappointment that Harry had kept this secret from them all first term, but Harry was quick to remind her about her time-turner, she flushed, and conceded he had a point.

– –