Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I claim to own Harry Potter, which belongs to J. K. Rowling.
"Firenze."
"Yes Harry?"
"If you'd be 16 as a human, why would I be 15 as a centaur?"
"Because one centaur year is equivalent to one and a quarter human years, I, as a 20-year-old centaur, would be 16 as a human, and as an 11-year-old human you would be 15 as a centaur." Firenze replied.
"But I'm not 11," Harry argued "
"But of course you are Mr. Potter; all wizards get their Hogwarts letter at the age of 11." Said McGonagall, as-matter-of-factly.
Now quite frustrated and just a bit irritated, Harry countered "Professor, I do believe I'd know how old I was. I wasn't one when my parents were killed, I was five. I understood perfectly what was happening at the time, and it's not what Professor Dumbledore says happened." He said, practically spitting the headmaster's name. "My parents were not James and Lily Potter. No, rather, they were Tom and Lily Riddle."
"Impossible. The Dark Lord would be 50 years old." said Snape stiffly, suddenly looking quite uncomfortable.
"No Professor, you know that the two of them were together, so don't try and deny it. Tom and Lily were both pegasi, meaning that they both stopped aging at 16."
"Mr. Potter, if I may ask," interrupted McGonagall "why is it no one besides Professor Snape knew of this?"
Harry scowled. "Because Professor Dumbledore bound my memories, as well as a good portion of my magic." he said. "I only remember this now because I found my mate, which caused me to come into my inheritance early, thus negating any foreign magic cast on me."
After the professors had gone back to the castle, Firenze decided to tell Harry a little more about mates, saying "Harry, I'd like to tell you about the bonds between mates."
Harry smiled slightly and replied "ok."
Firenze began to explain. "Between mates, there are three bonds. The first bond is that of Recognition, which is when two mates recognize each other as their mate. You initiated it earlier before you passed out, and I finished it. The second bond is Acceptance, which is when the two mates accept each other both as their mate and for who they are as an individual. I initiated it when I kissed you and you finished it by accepting that I could love, protect, and care for you." Harry seemed to understand so far, so Firenze continued. "The third and final bond is Completion. The bond of Completion is the most intimate, involving intercourse, which is a fancy word for sex." At this Harry just blushed slightly.
Before the centaur could ask Harry if he had any questions, there was a knock on the door. Puzzled yet cautious, Firenze moved in front of the door and opened it so as the block any view of Harry from the doorway. As the door swung open, he recognized the wraith-like figure from earlier and was prepared to drive it off, when Harry stopped him.
"Wait Firenze, don't!" Harry exclaimed. "I don't believe he's here to hurt me. I think we should give him a chance."
Narrowing his eyes at the stranger, Firenze looked back at Harry, then stepped away from the door, allowing the figure inside.
The figure nodded and spoke. "Thank you. I appreciate that you're giving me the benefit of the doubt." Pausing, and looking from Harry to the centaur, he lowered his hood.
Harry gasped, eyes wide. "Dad?"
All the man said was "Yes" and he had a nearly sobbing Harry in his arms. Deciding he should sit down, the man looked towards the centaur, who nodded.
Once Harry had calmed down, the man introduced himself. "My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, the night Dumbledore tried to kill my family, James Potter was inside watching Lily and Harry while I updated the wards. I ran inside when I heard a crash, which had been the door, and saw James dead on the floor. I got up the stairs in time to throw myself in front of the killing curse, but I believe that Harry's magic responded to his distress at seeing one of his parents die and redirected a small part of the curse. Doing so left him with this scar, which harbors a piece of my soul, allowing me to survive even when my body was destroyed. Seeing this as an opportunity, with me being near-dead, Dumbledore took Harry away and placed him with Lily's sister and her husband."
"The Dursley's." added Harry, scowling deeply.
"I was able to restore my body today, with that unicorn's help."
Firenze scowled at the mention of the unicorn, ready to start interrogating the man.
But before Firenze could say anything, Tom spoke. "I understand that it looked like I had killed the unicorn, but I didn't. I was wandering through the forest, trying to think of some way to restore my body, when I encountered it. I started to try to heal it but she stopped me. Telling me that her time had come, she told me to take some of her blood, saying 'My blood will heal once more before I die. Drink some of my blood so that your body may be healed.' Because she gave her blood willingly, it healed rather than cursed me."
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