Title: Child of the Shadows
Author: Serpent in the Shadows
Rating: M/R
Pairing: HP/OMC (Implied)
Warnings: Slash, Elf!Harry, Dark!(not evil)Harry
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter but I do own the OCs that you will find in this story
Summary: Sirius makes a decision that changes Harry's life forever. Will he be able to cope or will it destroy him?
Beta: Pysche
Harry could do nothing but stare numbly at himself as he stood in front of the mirror. The dullness in his eyes had not left him once since Sirius frantically tried to explain himself and his actions over an hour ago. Not once had he really took in his new looks, he just barely saw his own reflection as his mind raced.
New face, new body, new name. He wasn't Harry Potter anymore, it had been replaced by Naos...his identity...one of the few things he had to link him to his parents was now gone along with his looks for no one could ever truthfully say he looked like a mini version of his father anymore. And while his eyes were somehow the same color, to him they were still too different - slightly darker with perfect eyesight.
He stared down at his hands, his bangs falling into his eyes slightly since they were weighted down enough to add just enough length for that to happen. Just who and what was he now? A creature, a monster...with a new family - one whom he thought was dead and another who he hadn't even met yet - a new name, a new face...a new magical core.
Harry Potter had died and he couldn't do a thing about it, and beyond the shock and numbness there was an underlining of anger that he just couldn't grasp and bring to the surface that the moment. Oh but he wanted to...wanted to be hateful and spiteful to the one person that he had thought closest to him as a parent as he could get but he was just too stunned, for lack of a better word, to do anything about it but just stare at different parts of himself without truly seeing anything.
He hadn't realized that he had even closed his eyes and leaned forward until his forehead bumped rather harshly against the mirror he had been standing in front of but he once again couldn't bring himself to care. Grasping for some type of support, he let his hands fall til they came to rest on the wooden counter his lower half was resting against. His fingers curled, nails trying desperately to claw into the fine grain, only to slide helplessly over the slick lacquered surface.
Harry knew honestly that he couldn't change anything, that he couldn't fix this but he wanted too...needed some type of acknowledgment that he could just given a bit of time and understanding. He couldn't go on knowing that he didn't try to get back what he had deemed stolen from him without some type of fight.
Harry Potter was not a dark creature.
Harry Potter wasn't a dark wizard.
And most importantly, Harry Potter wasn't Harry Naos.
oOOoOOo
There had been plenty of times in Sirius' life that he had been left speechless and confused and this was just one of those many times. He had been perfectly prepared for his godson's temper and had expected no less than a huge blow up - lots of ranting, magical energy lashing, and possibly some cuss words thrown into the mix, but this...this wasn't part of the plan.
The entire time Sirius went about explaining as simply and as quickly as he could what had happened and why, Harry had become completely closed off - his eyes dead and hollow looking. And when Sirius had paused to gather himself for Harry's famous temper, Harry had instead calmly asked where the bathroom was and left without another word.
Sirius wasn't exactly sure what was going on in his godson's head which made everything all that much harder because he couldn't fix things if he didn't know where to begin. This wasn't the Harry he knew.
He desperately racked his brain, going back over everything that he had said to see if he could pin point anything that would have caused this complete change in Harry. He had tried to give all the good points of his change such as 'we don't have to drink blood' and 'hey look!You don't need glasses any more!' to help him understand that it wasn't all that bad. And ok, so maybe he shouldn't have just jumped in there with 'and since we don't have any predestined mates, you can have sex with anyone you want' but really, all he wanted to do was make Harry crack a smile, though it seemed to have backfired greatly.
With a sigh, Sirius turned his head and looked once more at the closed door of the bathroom before his shoulders slumped with an unseen weight. This wasn't how this was supposed to be. Sure he knew that Harry would have some problems adjusting to everything but he had hoped that after a huge teenage temper tantrum everything would have gone back to the way it used to be except this time he wouldn't have been on the run and he and Harry could live peacefully together and he could finally take up the vows he had made when he had agreed to be James son's godfather.
With one last lingering look at the door, Sirius decided to leave his 'son' alone for the time being and went to make some lunch.
ooOOooOOoo
One week later...
"I don't know what to do!"
Acharon looked up from his most recent blueprints at his son's outburst and regarded him calmly. An eyebrow quirked at the aggravated state the other man was in as he not so kindly fisted his hair and yanked as if that would solve all his problems. "Still not talking to you?"
"What do you think?" Was Sirius' reply. "Do you honestly think I would be in this state if he was? A week! Its been six days and he's still holed up in his room."
Dark purple eyes closed briefly as he let his mind wonder back over what he had seen happen in the past few days. He had caught fleeting glimpses of his new grandson in passing but had yet to just demand time with the young elf simply because he didn't see the need to. He was sure that given time, Harry would come out of this...emotional thing on his own and then he would be there to welcome the newest member of the Naos family. Until then, he was more than willing to just let things play out as they were. But, his eyes went back to the agitated man, it seemed like his son was about to fall apart at the seams so to speak.
"Maybe you should enroll him into the school."
"What? Are you crazy old man?" Sirius exclaimed as he wheeled around and fixed the Elder with a incredulous look. "Don't you think that sending Harry to a Military academy would be the last thing he needed?"
"Think about it," he stated as he leaned back into the chair he was sitting in and locked eyes with the other man. "He's fifteen, was in school, has fought against a mad man, completed in a tournament...right? Well, I personally think it would do him some good to go to a school with other elflings around his age and be taught how to survive since we both know he can't not go back to his world even if its just long enough to take care of their problem. Besides," Acharon continued with a wave of his hand towards the various papers littering the desk top. "I don't he'd be the type to be content to build ships for a living. As much as I wish he would, I believe he will be bored with being a shipwright."
Sirius opened his mouth to rebuke, but then closed it with a snap, his dark blue eyes drifting off to look out the window to the waters just beyond the property line. "Perhaps...perhaps you are correct. I will think about it though. This is not something I will decide on lightly."
Nodding his head, he leaned back over the blueprint, "I wouldn't expect any less."
ooOOooOOoo
Two and half weeks later...
Harry stared straight ahead, his newly formed mask of indifference set firmly on his face as he calmly waited for his godfather to finish speaking to the head of the Military Academy so he could be shown the room that would become his new home for some undisclosed amount of time. And although he didn't show it, he couldn't help but be hurt that Sirius seemed to be 'throwing him away' so quickly after they had just reunited.
Sure, he hadn't given the man much of a chance, but really he didn't think that was his fault much. He had been pissed...still was in some ways...but didn't he have every right to be? What had given Sirius the right to make this decision for him? To turn him into this?
With a mental shake of his head, Harry let his arms hang loosely by his side, one finger on his right hand brushing up against the sheath of his dirk that Sirius had given him just hours ago. It really wasn't much to look at - a twelve inch blade with a bone pommel - it was worn by years of usage as explained by his godfather that it had been his first weapon given to him by the Elder Naos. Sirius had promised him that once he was able to wield the weapon better and if he chose it as his weapon of choice then he would replace it with a better one, custom designed to fit his style. Despite this...Harry couldn't help but feel glad that he had been given something that had belonged to the other man.
Maybe he wasn't being totally abandoned?
Brows furrowed, he missed the concerned glance that both Headmaster and his godfather sent him, too lost in his own thoughts to worry about what was going on around him.
"Harry?"
Jerking his head around, he stared slightly wide-eyed at the older elves before his mind caught up with him and supplied the fact that it hadn't been Sirius that had spoken his name. "Yes, Headmaster?" he asked as he composed himself.
"If you would just follow me, I'll show where your room is located and if we're lucky, your new roommate will also be there for introductions."
"Roommate?"
"Yes. We always pair a non-magical with a magical. Your roommate with be your battle partner from now until you graduate."
"I see...one's strength covers the other's weakness." Sirius said, knowing much more about the differences between the types of 'adopted'.
"Exactly. Now," the Headmaster turned the corner and addressed the newly enroled academy student. "Your roommate's name is Davlin Lajorn, non-magical as I said, a year younger than you, and has already been here about six months, so he's not too far ahead of you and should be able to help you catch up. You two will eat together, room together, and go to classes together."
"Why so much?" Harry had to ask, not really liking the fact that this stranger would basically be his shadow for how ever long.
"We have found that the closer the partnership is, the better they read each other in times of battle. Soon, you should be able to read every facial twitch, every breath and know exactly what the other is thinking."
"Sounds like marriage," Sirius joked, smirking slightly and wagging is eyebrows at his godson, who just scowled in return.
The older elf laughed, "In a way it is, I'll agree and yes, we've had several 'relationships'"The Headmaster made exaggerated finger quotes in the air at this, "which we encourage since one tends to fighter harder and fiercer when a loved one is at stake."
As they stopped in front of a rather plain looking door with the numbers three forty-nine over it, Harry replied, "Sounds like its all about killing."
"Of course it is - that's what we are."
oOOoOOo
Harry wasn't quite sure just how long he stood there after both the older elves left him alone in his new room with his new roommate unable to really move. Whether it was because the situation had just finally sunk in or if it was because the boy sitting on the far bed before him was openly gawking at him, he didn't really know. Maybe it was a combination of both so he took the time to study the elf.
The first thing Harry couldn't help but notice was the other's eyes, for he had only seen eyes that color on Moony during the full moon. Feral looking dark golden eyes that held an intensity about then that made you want to take a step back out of some type of self-preservation act. People had always commented him on his own eye color...but really, he had nothing on this kid.
His hair length at the moment was unknown for it was tied in a low ponytail, but it was just as dark as all the other Siayons so there wasn't really anything to unusual about it. Skin color was just a shade or two lighter than his own, but it seemed to suit him all the same. And for a fourteen year old boy, Harry could tell he had already been training hard, as shown by the lean muscle mass the other was showing through his traditional school uniform which consisted of a black long sleeve shirt and black muggle type cargo pants. Harry was beginning to think these elves took the whole 'shadow' thing way too far since the only noticeable color was the school's emblem - a red spiral flame wrapped around a traditional sword.
Tired of the 'stand off' Harry quirked an eyebrow and cleared his throat, causing the younger male to quickly come to his senses and snap his jaw closed. And he couldn't help but be amused when he saw a light blush appear on the boy's cheeks.
"I'm sorry," the elf began. "It's just that I've never seen or even heard of another Siayon having green eyes before."
Now that caught Harry's attention, "Really?"
Nodding, the younger tilted his head to the side, clearly thinking. "As far as I know, gold is the lightest color of eyes one can get after the adoption. But most get either black, brown, purple or red."
He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders in response and look away. Weird things always seem to happen to him anyways, so something as little as his normal eye color didn't really effect him all that much.
"By the way," Harry turned back around to see that the other had gotten up off the bed and stood before him with his hand stretched out expectantly. "My name is Dalvin Lajorn, the second son of one of the generals."
Taking the offered hand, Harry couldn't help but look down on them as he replied, "Harry...and I don't know who I am."