Cloudier Sky
Warning: This story contains Creature!Harry, Slash, Weasley bashing, Dumbledore bashing.
Pairings: Voldemort (Tom Riddle)/Harry, Severus/Lily, Lucius/Narcissa
Disclaimer: Does Voldemort survive the Final Battle? No? Then I do not own Harry Potter.
Legend:
"Parseltongue"
Letter/Newspaper
~ Chapter Three ~
Harry closed the journal with a snap rubbing at his weary eyes. He'd been up reading all night long and now it was early morning. There was no way he'd get enough sleep if he went to bed now. Not that he desired to of course. All he would dream of is his parents' death on Halloween, Cedric in the graveyard and then Sirius in the Department of Mysteries on a continuous loop. Then there were the numerous others who Voldemort had tortured to death on a continuous basis since his resurrestion. With all of those in his mind there was no way he could sleep one peaceful night.
His Aunt had apparently assumed the same thing as he no longer had any arduous chores to finish before his Uncle came home. He was told to simply keep his own room tidy and cook their dinner. Breakfast was handled by Aunt Petunia and lunch was small since Uncle Vernon had work and Dudley normally went out rather than spend time around the house annoying Harry. It was a blessing, it truly was.
But now he had to focus on the task his Aunt had given him. He had to learn control over his abilities so that the summer weather could return to the scorching days it had been in previous years. However all this information was a lot to take in for one night and to say he was shocked was an understatement.
Never in his life had he believed that such an occurrence was even possible. He knew of course that some families kept situations like this secret so that it wouldn't be abused in the wrong hands however he wasn't sure what his mother had thought by not telling more people. Perhaps she hadn't known who were the wrong hands to trust with this? So she trusted only a few people, those she would trust with her life and the life of her unborn child.
What was unbelievable was that his mother had actually hidden this secret from her own parents and sibling. Sure they were only adoptive but hadn't she trusted them? But Harry guessed that a being with as much power as his mother was something to be drawn to.
His mother had been an adopted Nymph. Not only that but a Water Nymph a rare creature that controlled the water and weather with their emotions something that he personally didn't have much control over at all at present. That was after all why his Aunt had given him his mother's belongings in the first place. At least he knew what he was now but with that one answer it created so many other questions.
How did he control his abilities?
His mother had never mentioned that in her journal. Only that she was a Water Nymph. She had also mentioned a few facts about the Blood Cleansing and mates but that was it. His mother hadn't been very informative on that subject. Luckily he also found that book she had bought when she was only just realizing what she was, "Nymphs and their Elements". It had been included in the numerous possessions she had included in her chest. He would have to read that later when he could actually concentrate enough to attempt any control over his abilities.
Would the blood wards protect him now that he wasn't actually an Evans?
Since Lily had actually been a Baltimore that meant he didn't carry the Evans blood though neither did his Aunt since she had also been adopted. Harry was a Baltimore and a . . . well he would have to check his birth certificate for that (AN: mean aren't I?) but Harry knew that his father was a pureblood making him also a pureblood wizard. He didn't have an ounce of muggle blood in him and after the Blood Cleansing what little there was wouldn't be there anyway. So technically he didn't have the same blood as his Aunt, Uncle or cousin so that meant that there was nothing for the blood wards to work with. So how were the blood wards even created in the first place?
Not that it really mattered with Voldemort sharing his blood as well. He had used his blood in his ritual after all, proving that he could at last touch him unlike in first year and yet Dumbledore continued to send him back here even with this problem with the wards. But he guessed that after everything Dumbledore only used him every year before leaving him here so what did it matter if Voldemort could enter the wards as long as he returned the next year to fulfil his purpose.
Did he have other family?
After all his mother's true surname was Baltimore. Were there any Baltimore's left or had they all been killed off when the Light had attacked his grandparents for aiding the Dark? Perhaps he had distant cousins or Uncles? Anyone had to be better than where he was now. But he would never be given into the Baltimore's care not if his father was still alive or even a sibling. That brought up a fond question.
Who was his father?
Obviously the man was from a dark family who was already married at the time of his conception and his wife had been with child as well. That meant he had a father, stepmother and half-sibling living somewhere. It was possible however that he had more family than that now but he didn't really care for that at the moment. All he knew was that he had family in the magical world that hadn't ever asked about him or how he was fairing. He doubted whether they had even approached him even if said he knew the truth.
It saddened him to realize that even though he knew that he had a family any Dark family couldn't be openly seen conversing with Gryffindor's Golden Boy regardless of relation. That reasoning alone didn't help with his emotions as he could hear the rain pouring down outside revealing his true emotions. Did they even care if he was alive?
Harry had always wanted a family of his own but now that he might actually have one he was beginning to worry over the small things. Such as whether they would like him, whether they would accept him whether they cared he was a parselmouth like the Dark Lord. The only thing standing in his way of locating them was his own desire to find out who they were. All he had to do was look at his birth certificate and he would have all of his answers and possibly more.
Pacing around his room he thought about the whether or not he actually wanted to know who his father was. Even if he never found his father's family, his mother's family might still be alive somewhere. He'd heard of the Baltimore's before but had a feeling that they didn't live in either England or Scotland. That could be a problem if he decided to locate them since Dumbledore would never allow him to leave Britain without first killing off Voldemort.
Well that pretty much left him with the only option of looking for his father.
Slowly Harry opened the journal back up to the section at the very end. Before he continued further he needed to know the identity of his father. Alright so he didn't need to know the identity of his father to continue on but he wanted to know who would be so callous as to forsake their son.
As his mother had written, there was a small sealed section that held everything. His true birth certificate, some of her research on Nymphs, it was all there and all ready for Harry to read. Now all he had to do was locate his Gryffindor courage and break the seal to reveal all the information he had longed to understand.
--
~Birth Certificate~
Name: Silas Araluen Malfoy
Date of Birth: 31st July 1980
Father: Lucius Abraxas Malfoy
Mother: Lily Potter nee Evans
Siblings: Draco Lucius Malfoy (Half-brother)
Godfather: James Harold Potter
Godmother: Narcissa Malfoy nee Black
--
His birth certificate fluttered to the floor. He hated to acknowledge it but that answer explained a lot . . . not!
Lucius had known that Harry – er Silas -- was his son and yet he still attempted to kill him for the Dark Lord. After all he had been at the Department of Mysteries. He had been trying to get the prophecy from him to give to the Dark Lord. Lucius hadn't helped Harry in any way possible in fact he had done everything to make sure he succeeded and they had partially since Sirius was no longer with him. He still couldn't think of that particularly painful memory.
Draco even wasn't that fond of him. Rivallary could hardly count as fondness. Did he know he had a brother at all?
Harry's heart twisted painfully as he thought of that. He had two families and both hated him for different reasons. The Dursley's hated him for being magical while the Malfoy's hated him for supposedly being a half-blood. It was confusing him but he realized that he no longer had a family that actually loved him like a true family should and that was all he wanted.
It was at this point that Harry noticed a letter that had appeared as he had dropped his birth certificate.
-~-
Harry,
Assuming you have received this letter and the information included with it, you know that James and I are dead. Most likely that interfering coot Dumbledore has placed you (against our wishes) with my sister and her husband. I never wanted that for you and pray that they at least didn't abuse you however I know my sister well enough to know that she won't take you willingly.
You may be wondering why your biological father didn't claim you and I admit that it is entirely my fault. I believed that we would survive what I had seen and never sent him a copy of the papers. After all James and I didn't want him to have anything to do with you, our child. I know however that with our death he would have desired to claim you since blood is important in the wizarding world. Without those papers he wouldn't have been able to even gain an audience with your guardian.
Considering everything now I feel that I have failed you my son. I couldn't protect you and I couldn't give you the family that you needed to live a happy life. Now that decision is up to you.
With these documents you can petition for your guardianship to be changed if Lucius and Narcissa will have you in their family. I'm not sure of how the future has changed but they should desire to care for you. After all you are blood relatives and if there is something they truly care about it is family regardless of how regal they look in public.
Lucius shall never forgive me for my mistakes; I can only hope that you can even if it takes a few years.
Love your mother,
Lily Baltimore Potter
-~-
Harry swallowed hard. That was a lot to take in. It had hurt to realize that his mother had indirectly caused him to be placed at the Dursley's but he could hardly place the blame solely on her. He had an option now. He could leave the Dursley's forever and never return but that only led down one road, the Malfoy's. Harry wasn't entirely convinced that they would do as his mother said. After everything they had put him through over the past five years he couldn't simply walk up to them with a straight face and ask them if they were willing to have him. No he needed proof of their family loyalty before all else especially in the face of who he was and who exactly was out to kill him.
So he had two choices.
One: Continue on the path that Dumbledore had lain out before him. He would have to forget that the Malfoy's were related to him and continue foiling Voldemort's plans, if he didn't die in the first place. Oh he knew Dumbledore didn't exactly care about his welfare what with the prophecy stating he was the only one to kill the snake-faced bastard. As long as he killed the monster before he died no one would truly care what happened to him as long as he left a will and mentioned them in it. No he would never have a life choosing this course.
Or he could . . .
Two: Choose his own path. That would mean he would have to go to the Malfoy's a risk that might also get him killed if the wrong people were present. But he might also gain a family who would look after him much healthier than the Dursley's ever did. He wouldn't have to worry about what he would do when he returned to school. As immediate family of one of Voldemort's supporters, Voldie wouldn't dare kill him since nothing was more important to purebloods than children.
Purebloods were lucky to have one child what with all of their inbreeding but to have several was cherished and the family said to be blessed. Somehow the Weasley's even though they should be "blessed" were blood traitors so they couldn't claim any of that prestige. Everything was mixed up in his mind, he was confused.
Seriously what was he supposed to do in this situation?
Harry looked at the letter again and felt longing. He knew he desired a family yet he wasn't positive that the Malfoy's were the correct family to be going to in this circumstance. No he needed to know whether or not they would be willing to take him in before approaching them to any degree. Well how was he supposed to do that? He wasn't sure whether or not one of his letters would get through their wards. They would probably block all letters from the Boy-Who-Lived believing that they were just letters of hate rather than anything else.
But what would happen if he . . . yes that might just work.
Lucius had been waiting for this day to come for years. Ever since the death of Lily Potter he had waited for any signs that his youngest son might actually desire to contact him. He knew that when he was little he couldn't understand that his father wasn't his father but that wouldn't matter to him. He would rather have his son with him and not understand than to leave him where his muggle Aunt and Uncle could harm him.
He'd never been granted custody of his son not even when he claimed under a magical oath that Harry James Potter really wasn't a Potter at all. Yet again Dumbledore had meddled in his affairs and sent his son away from him and not told a single soul where the child was even so he could visit. Lucius had his suspicions that it was because of his status as a Death Eater that led Dumbledore to do that but he would never harm his son.
Furious he spent his hours at the Ministry instead of at home with his wife and mate, Narcissa and their son, Draco. He knew he shouldn't have but at least Narcissa understood why he was fighting. She desired to have her friend's son with them even if she wasn't his biological mother. However the more he fought the less he won. Without his birth certificate he couldn't do anything. So eventually he pushed it aside until he knew that he could bring it up again.
So when he knew the boy had turned eleven he waited for any sign that his son to contact him. Yet nothing came. They had yet again been slightly disheartened at that. It just proved that Lily and Dumbledore had gone far to protect his child from his true family.
The first time they had set eyes on him was at King Cross Station. He was almost an identical form of James Potter though they knew it was all due to that potion in his bloodstream. They had only glimpsed him as he walked through the station and directly onto the train. He had glanced in their direction yet he hadn't recognized them and they knew what that signified. Harry didn't know that they were family.
The only choice they had was with their own son who hadn't been told that he had a younger half-brother. It would be for the best if Draco first befriended Harry before anything else and yet that hadn't gone to plan as a Weasley had gotten between them. Lucius had been furious. A Malfoy would never associate with blood traitors but his son didn't know that so he was slightly calmed.
Draco had apologized profusely for his failure but that hadn't bothered Lucius either. He had simply told his son that Draco would have to be remembered by Harry through some other form and if that form wasn't a friend then why not a rival? Draco who had always enjoyed a challenge agreed immediately if only to make his father proud and get closer to Harry.
It worked and over the years they spent most of their time arguing but it worked and that allowed Lucius to be told what exactly occurred in Harry's time spent at Hogwarts. He could also guess at what occurred when Harry went "home" for the summer. Just by one look Lucius knew that those were the worst type of muggles.
They didn't care for Harry at all and the only thing that stopped them from actually harming his son was the threats of the Wizarding World and magic in general. However Lucius couldn't help but wonder what damage they had done to him verbally and emotionally. It was no secret that Harry Potter didn't really understand some emotions and most of the time he hid it well but the Slytherins were always the sneakiest of the Hogwarts students. There was a lot to make up for.
However none of that mattered to Lucius as he sat in his study staring at the single sheet of parchment that had arrived for him that morning by a single snowy owl that he knew belonged to his son.
His son knew who he was. His son knew he was a Malfoy. His son knew he had family.
His heart sung with the news though it didn't show outwardly. Of all these years he never assumed that Harry would ever contact him and now he had. Though he was cautious about how he worded some of it he was unbelievably blunt about some of the other facts probably still attempting to convince him at the time of its writing.
-~-
Dear father,
That certainly was weird. I am not use to using that term and when applied to you . . . well it certainly wasn't a term I would have used for you a few days ago if I suddenly decided to pen a letter to you.
Forgive me for being blunt but I know that you were the one who sired me.
My mother left a few of her belongings with her sister before she died and surprisingly enough Aunt Petunia actually kept them. Mother told Petunia that if I were to ever exhibit certain characteristics of the bloodline that I shared with my mother that she was to give me the chest to aid in my control. What bloodline that I share exactly with mother I would rather explain to you directly as an intercepted letter would be worrisome for the both of us that is if you don't already know.
Through these documents I came across my birth certificate and as stated it read you and my mother as my biological parents with Narcissa and James as my godparents. That led to many questions some of which my mother answered through her letters and journal however I still have many to ask of you.
I shall get straight to my main point however. What I desire to know is if you have any desire to raise me even if I am currently sixteen and nearing adulthood in both the Wizarding and muggle world. I am well aware that you are also raising Draco and he shall be the Malfoy heir as he is older by a month however as you can assume my "home" life isn't all that everyone states in the Daily Prophet.
I do not know whether or not you shall reply to this or even if I should have wasted my time in writing it however I would still like to get to know my father if you will have me.
Regards,
Silas Araluen Malfoy
-~-
As Lucius finished reading the letter for what felt like the fiftieth time Narcissa walked in to his study. Ever since Lily's death and the realization that she wouldn't be allowed to raise her godchild she had become somewhat bitter and detached from her family. Even Bellatrix had commented on her change of attitude now that she had been freed and that coming from a woman half crazed from Azkaban wasn't a good sign. Hopefully this would return the spark to her.
"What has you so pensive, Lucius?"
Silently he handed over the letter and watched her reaction. Her face remained as stoic as ever and then she handed the letter back to him and turned around. Lucius sighed perhaps then it would take more to bring her out of her current phase but they he realized her shoulders were shaking. Cautiously he stood and moved around her only to find her crying silent tears. His heart clenched. Narcissa was feeling again. Calmly he brought her into his arms and held her tightly as she wept for the first time in years. She hadn't even wept for the death of her friend and now she was releasing it all.
"It shall be alright, Cissy. We can finally claim him as our own now. No longer shall he remain with those muggles. He shall have a proper home with us."
Lucius spoke calming words to his wife as he heard the door open. Draco had obviously heard his mother crying for the first time in his life and come to discover what had caused it. However as he held Cissy he realized that he would have a lot of explaining to do with Draco but this was just the beginning of their family reuniting.
Harry woke in the middle of the night to an agonizing pain shooting down his spine. He had spent the entire day going over letters he was writing to Mal . . . Luc – his father – and he hadn't really had any sleep the night before since he'd spent it reading his mother's journal. So he had decided to take an early night and regain his strength. The rain that still poured down around them only made it easier for him to sleep peacefully for the first time in his entire time staying with the Dursley's.
He felt his blood boil beneath his veins and tried not to scream. This was more excruciating than the Cruciatus Curse but he didn't want to wake his relatives up and have them banging on his door as they woke to his screaming. That wouldn't be pleasant the next day regardless of how much time this summer they had spent ignoring him.
In a brief moment when the pain was only mild he glanced at his clock through teary eyes. It read midnight which meant that he was sixteen. He knew that this was the Blood Cleansing that his mother had gone through but this was too early. He didn't understand why –
His thoughts were cut off as he fought to stifle yet another scream of pain as his blood boiled again in his veins.
He just wanted it to stop.
Why couldn't it stop?
Please . . .
Just . . .
Stop.
The next morning Harry woke and groaned as he felt his muscles stiff from the pain of last night. Last night . . . that was right he went through the Blood Cleansing two months earlier than he originally thought. He needed to know what actually happened. As soon as he forced his muscles to stand he immediately went to the book his mother had brought, "Nymphs and their Elements". It should at least explain a little more about what he went through last night without being the vague ramblings of his mother from her journal.
-~-
Chapter Four: Blood Cleansing.
The Blood Cleansing of the Nymphs generally occurs two to three months after the Nymphs sixteenth birthday. It has been seen before however that some Cleansings occur earlier or later than this general time period. Predicting the time for the Cleansing is often difficult and based entirely per person. The level of other blood in the person's system usually indicates how long the wait shall be before the Cleansing begins however it also considers the person's magic level.
The more magic a person has the quicker the process will occur regardless of how much other blood they have or not. The quickest the process has ever occurred is within a week and a half of the Nymphs sixteenth birthday. That particular record was set by one of the royal court who led his people for many years by the side of his mate.
The Blood Cleansing puts any other pain to shame. The blood within a Nymphs veins literally burns itself as it pumps through the heart to rid itself of unnatural or unwanted blood within itself making all Nymphs pure-blooded creatures. The Nymph can't be masked from the pain as the process burns through any potions that run through the system during this time. This normally leaves the Nymph unconscious for twelve hours so the body may recuperate from the arduous task.
This process of a Nymph will complete cleans the blood of everything else. All other blood types that are in the person will be eradicated during this process whether it is Wizard, Creature or Muggle blood. In some rare cases it has been known that during the process a person can be eradicated of the Nymph blood leaving another creature inheritance beneath it. This however only occurs with the blood of a Vampire, Veela or Incubus.
-~-
Harry sighed in relief. The Blood Cleansing occurring prematurely only meant that he was stronger than the average wizard or in this case Nymph. If he had to guess then he would say that he was part of the royal family that had been eradicated two hundred years ago by the Ministry of Magic that left Nymphs to the point of extinction and yet rare creatures. Wouldn't that be fun to explain to his father?
It had been mentioned that Lucius was part creature. Many assumed that by his fair features he was part veela however Harry didn't think so. He knew his father was obviously some sort of creature but he had just knocked out three choices. There was no way he was a Vampire, Veela or Incubus. That didn't particularly help but he could always look it up later instead.
This all proved to be nerve-wracking for him. He knew now that he was powerful and probably incredibly strong when it came to manipulating the weather. His power would draw people to him naturally like a moth to a flame. Lily was right he couldn't tell anyone apart from those he truly trusted about his creature. If anyone else discovered it he would be used like a weapon or kept under lock and key til his mate arrived or he was needed to prove something. That wasn't how he desired to live his life.
He would just have to wait until Lucius replied, if he replied. If not he would be keeping this secret like his mother did and not tell anyone until he truly knew them. He wouldn't tell Dumbledore or anyone on the Light side like his mother until he knew that they all cared for him alone and not just his triumph over the Dark Lord. Harry highly doubted that he would find anyone like that however he had to hold out hope. Surely one of his friends (even if they hadn't written him all summer) cared for him just because he was their friend, their companion. Yeah that was why they eagerly followed Dumbledore like lost lambs.
Harry's stomach growled calling to attention the fact that he hadn't actually eaten anything since yesterday. Looking at the time he knew that Vernon and Dudley would have already left for work and terrorizing the neighbourhood respectively. That just left him with his Aunt who normally either ignored him or was attending luncheons with other "respectable" wives so he needn't have worried about her.
Making up his mind to whip up something small for lunch so that he would actually be able to eat it, Harry walked down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. As he had assumed, Aunt Petunia was sitting by the TV watching something and doing needle work while completely ignoring the fact that he had moved from his room. Quickly he pulled together a light sandwich and grabbed an apple as well as a glass of water. It wouldn't do for him to remain too long downstairs as he would just begin to remember Sirius or all the other troubles he was burdened with. No he had to remain busy and for now that meant learning control of his emotions and through that his weather abilities.
He polished off his lunch and washed his plate before leaving the kitchen and heading back upstairs. On his way through he passed his Aunt who actually stopped him by grabbing his arm and jerking him towards her. Harry was about to enquire what he had done now when he realized that she was studying him as if he had changed so he remained silent until she was ready to speak.
"What on Earth happened to you? You look like, well, you look like Lily."
It has been a shock to her when she had headed for the kitchen only to run into Harry who looked nothing like he had the previous day. It took all of her will power to stop from bringing him into a hug. He just looked so much like Lily that it broke her heart.
Harry startled at hearing his Aunt's voice.
"What?"
He hadn't bothered to look in the mirror that morning after he showered as he was still sore but now he wished he had. The Blood Cleansing had obviously cleaned that potion from his system regardless of whether it was meant to or not. That also meant he looked nothing like James Potter. His Aunt had forced him before the hall mirror to take a look and he knew he was correct. There was no hint of James Potter in is features at all.
Remarkably he looked almost identical to his mother. His eyes had remained the same stunning emerald green colour yet now they had small hints of silver in them which he knew came from Lucius. His hair was no longer black but an auburn colour that his Aunt had murmured was a mix between his mother's hair and that of his grandfather's. Luckily there was no blond as he believed that red and blond didn't mix well together. His height was still embarrassingly short which he knew came from neither side of the family more from the malnourishment he received at his "home". He had his mother's nose and ears and yet the shape of his eyebrows was thin and he had the aristocratic high cheekbones of his father. The entire combination left him quite elegant and dare he say it attractive compared to his scrawny awkward form that had been the mix between Lily and James. Yes this was a much better look. He looked entirely pure-blood.
"What happened?" his Aunt asked hoarsely trying to keep her emotions bottled up.
"They were hiding it, the fact that James Potter wasn't my father. Lily and James hid it using a potion that temporarily gave me the looks of James until they could Blood Adopt me however they died before that and one of the -- err stages I go through cleansed my blood of the potion for good making my appearance revert back to what I truly look like. This is what I actually look like."
Harry explained as much as he could with his Aunt without using many magic terms.
He had to admit it was a lot to take in but it was worth it. He hadn't particularly enjoyed looking like James Potter what with his messy hair – wait . . . his hair had actually lengthened which he'd only just noticed. How could he have ignored that? It was the same length as Lucius' and yet he knew it was because he'd never had this hair cut before. The potion must have had something to do with that by keeping his hair the same length. It gave him a feminie touch that truly he didn't mind though he knew it was his submissive side kicking in and internally squirmed. He wasn't about to think about mating yet. But that left another question unanswered for him.
How was he supposed to explain his new appearance to the Order?
Alright so no one gets confused I'm going to continue using Harry's name until he gets adopted by the Malfoy's (and it will happen!) then he will be under the name of Silas.
Next chapter Harry goes to Grimmauld and unexpected reactions occur.
Thanks for the reviews
~MidnightEmber
