Carlisle's Secret: The Lost Cullen
A/N – Hello again everyone. Thank you for all the reviews. I will just state now that any questions in reviews I will reply to via private message. Other then that, nothing new to say yet so lets get onto the chapter!
Chapter 3
Ottery St Catchpole, Devon – England
Harry blinked-away frustrated tears as he listened to another one of Ron and Hermione's classic arguments, todays topic, homework. He couldn't concentrate on the conversation; he really couldn't even if he cared. His thoughts were still in utter turmoil over the day's events.
He had a father who let a stranger take him into the future, despite not knowing what she wanted him for. Harry felt, once again, the now familiar pang of hurt and betrayal at that thought. His whole world had shifted to the point of no return. He didn't know what to think on the subject anymore. He had gone numb. No emotion. Much like he was at the Dursley's. It was the calm before the storm.
His thoughts wondered to the parchment in his jeans pocket, the one that listed his lineage. He pulled it out and once again observed the family tree. His eyes fell, yet again, on the name Carlisle Cullen.
He frowned when he noticed the grey line under Carlisle's name. Grey, not black.
How hadn't I noticed that before? He thought with a frown. Must have been the shock.
Still, that left the question of what it meant. The black lines meant that the person was deceased, that much was obvious. But, what did grey mean? Why hadn't he asked before? Did it mean that the person was dying?
Harry groaned at the headache that was now setting in. After he had run out of Gringotts at breakneck speed he had absentmindedly finished up his shopping. He had picked up his school books for the next year, some more quills and parchment, more polish for his Firebolt, a few owl treats for Hedwig and some replacement potion ingredients.
Once that was finished, he had gone to wait for the Weasley's at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Florean, as if sensing the young wizards current despair and anguish, gave him a large bowl of Old English Toffee ice-cream and a sympathetic smile. Harry returned the kind gesture with a half-hearted grin and mumbled thanks.
Harry had always liked Floeran. The wizard was always very kind to his guests, often presenting his younger customers with a free bowl of ice cream. Harry remembered how Florean had helped him with his History Of Magic assignment before his third year. The assignment had been on the witch burnings. Harry wasn't sure why but that topic had given him the shivers. It was almost like some long-forgotten memory had been scratching at the surface, unable to break free completely.
Now, he understood why.
The Weasley's had arrived shortly after he finished the ice cream. Ron and Hermione had said a quick hello before continuing on with their argument of who-knows-what. Mr Weasley had smiled and given him a quick hug before scolding Ron and Hermione for arguing again. Ginny was apparently visiting her friend, Luna Lovegood and had asked them to inform Harry that she was sorry she wasn't there to greet him too. Mrs Weasley had bestowed upon him one of her trademark bone-crushing hugs before commencing with her typical fretting.
Harry had quickly moved away, not even remotely in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment. Fred and George had noticed that and decided to leave him be, something Harry was eternally grateful for.
They had finished off the last bits of the Weasley's shopping before heading to The Burrow.
Harry had dumped his stuff upstairs immediately and proceeded outside to sort out his frenzied mind in peace. He had walked for about fifteen minutes before he finally sat down on top of a hill leading down into a meadow. The spot was just off the Weasley's property.
Harry was about to head inside when he heard an all to familiar voice, or should he say two voices.
"Hey Thunder!"
Harry turned, a small smile gracing his lips when he spotted Fred and George heading in his direction. The troublesome twins plopped down on either side of Harry before pinning him with mock-stern and slightly concerned stares.
"Where have you.."
"been? We have been.."
"searching for.."
"you for.."
"ages!" they finished together.
Harry couldn't stop the grin from sliding onto his face. He always found it amusing when the twins spoke like that and they knew it.
The smile quickly dispersed when he remembered just why he was there. He contemplated lying and telling them some cock-and-bull story about how he was trying to escape Ron and Hermione's constant bickering or Molly Weasley's over-bearing fretting. However, he knew they would see right through him. They know me too well.
"I…I was called into Gringotts today because they wanted me to take a Lineage Test." Harry began.
Fred and George nodded. It wasn't completely unexpected. Harry was an orphan after all. Children without parents were often given the Lineage Test so the Ministry could find out if they had any living relatives that the child could go to. However, it was strange that he was being given the test now and not back when Lily and James Potter had been murdered. Hadn't the test been done then?
When Harry had remained silent for two whole minutes with no apparent intention to continue, the twins spurred him on. "What happened mate?"
Harry closed his eyes and continued. "I did the test as they asked and…"
"and?"
"…and apparently I'm not really a Potter."
Fred and George stared at their friend for a few moments, not sure what to make of that.
Is he joking? Surely he had to be! Not a Potter? That can't be possible. Fred thought. He didn't need to look at George to know that he was having similar thoughts.
However, they only had to take one glance at Harry to know he was dead serious.
Harry, oblivious to his fellow Gryffindor's stares, continued on. "Well, I guess I am still a Potter. I was Blood Adopted by them when I was young. Apparently, my birth mother died when I was born and my father didn't want me anymore." He finished bitterly.
Harry handed over the life-changing piece of parchment blankly. Fred grabbed the parchment and held out so he and George could read it.
"Carlisle Cullen?" George murmured, reading the name of Harry's father out loud.
"Did you say Carlisle Cullen?"
The three second-gen Marauders whipped around as one to see the twins' older brother, Charlie, watching them in surprise.
Harry paled. How long has he been standing there? The last thing he wanted was for the others to find out about his more-then-a-little complicated lineage.
George nodded. Normally they would have denied it, especially seeing the look on their honorary little brother's face, but they knew there was no point. Charlie was the only one in the family who could always tell when they were lying, Ginny being a close second.
"Why?" Fred inquired. Charlie knew something that much was positive by their brother's raised eyebrow and slightly tilted head.
Charlie frowned. "I think I've heard that name before somewhere….". The dragon tamer trailed off before running off towards the house.
Harry watched Charlie run until he was well out of earshot before he turned to the ginger-haired boys. "How much do you think he heard? He won't tell anyone will he?"
Harry liked Charlie. He hadn't known him too long but the few times he had seen the boy around they had gotten on fabulously. Harry had loved hearing the stories Charlie had from working in the Romanian Dragon Reserve and he was a great Quidditch player. Since both boys played Seeker they had enjoyed competing to see who was the better player and giving each other tips on how to improve their skills. Still, Harry didn't know Charlie well enough yet to know if he would tell his parents or siblings what he heard.
Fred shook his head. "Nah, he won't tell. I doubt he heard everything anyway."
Harry opened his mouth to reply but clamped it shut again when he spotted Charlie coming back with a couple of papers in hand.
"What'ya got Chuck?" George asked.
Charlie scowled at the nickname before handing them over to Harry.
"What's this?" Harry queried.
Charlie sat down on a tree stump next to them before answering. "Last month I was given the privilege of gaining access to the RDR, Romanian Dragon Reserve's, "he clarified upon spotting Harry's confused look, "Private Library. You see, the reserve used to do a lot more then just look after the dragons. There used to be a group of wizards, about one hundred years ago, who were explorers. They would travel the world trying to learn more about the non-magical creatures of the world."
"Non-magical creatures?" Harry blurted out. He couldn't help it. He had never heard of creatures that didn't have anything to do with magic.
Charlie nodded. "Yes, you see. Most wizards refused to believe that it was possible for there to be any creatures in the muggle world. Despite the fact that wizards look down upon 'half-breeds' and non-humans, they wouldn't accept the idea of a whole group of creatures being out there that weren't created through magic. Very little, therefore, is known about how they came to be. There are several creatures out there. Ghosts, vampires…"
"Hang on, we already know about them." Fred and George cut in.
Charlie nodded. "Yes, we do and yet we don't. We have ghosts and vampires that exist through magic. And yet, there are ghosts and vampires in the muggle world that are very different from the ones we know. The muggle world also has chupacabra, energy vampires, sirens and many others."
"Wow" Harry murmured. He hadn't realised that there were so many creatures out there that were not really apart of the magical world.
"As interesting,,,"
"as this…"
"all is.."
"what does…."
"it have…"
"to do..."
"with Carlisle.."
"Cullen" The twins finished together.
Charlie ignored the cheeky grins from his younger brothers and continued. "The RDR Private Library is full of books, journals and notes from former employees. The books are very rare and most are the only copies ever made. The journals and notes have never been copied and have charms on them to prevent them from ever being copied. I was allowed, under oath, to borrow some of the material as long as it was returned undamaged and not distributed. Some of the notes I took were from a wizard by the name of Bradford Triston. He was looking into muggle vampires. Unfortunately his work led to his death at the hands of one of these said vampires but his notes were still found by the RDR. Those are his notes. He found out at lot about the abilities of these vampires and even some significant individual vampires and covens. Now, look at the sub-heading on page 3."
Harry did as he was asked, mind whirling from the new information and his headache intensifying tenfold.
Harry frowned at the title. "Vegetarian Vampires: The Olympia Coven?"
"Keep reading." Charlie urged. Harry did so reluctantly, suddenly not sure if he wanted to.
"The Olympia Coven is the first group of vampires in known history to have ever fed off of animals instead of humans. The coven is lead by Carlisle Cullen…"
Harry trailed off in surprise. My father is a vampire!
"Bloody!"
"Hell!"
Harry couldn't have said it better himself.
Charlie frowned at their shocked expressions. "What?"
"Nothing!" all three of them all but shouted.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at the odd behaviour. "So, anyone care to explain what this is all about?"
Harry winced slightly. "Look, Charlie….it's not that I don't trust you or anything but I'm not ready to share this with everyone right now…" He felt bad but he didn't want to tell anyone else yet. The only reason he told Fred and George was because they were his best friends.
Charlie narrowed his eyes in suspicion but said nothing. Something big was going on but he wasn't one to pry. "Alright, but you guys know you can talk to me if you need to, right?"
Charlie immediately regretted the statement when three wicked grins met his words.
"Awww, thanks Charlie! You're the best brother in the whole world." Fred mock cried, grabbing onto Charlies red, button up shirt.
"What would we do without you?" George sniffed, clinging onto Charlie's arm in feigned distress.
Charlie rolled his eyes, shoving the melodramatic twins off with a snort.
Harry smiled in laughter before handing over the notes. Charlie grabbed the papers back and stood up. "Well, I better go."
"Thanks Charlie." Harry murmured.
"No problem Harry." He grinned.
The three second-gen Marauders watched as Charlie headed back inside.
Harry turned his gaze back to the lineage test, which had been dropped to the floor during the discussion. The grey line under Carlisle's name suddenly didn't seem so mysterious.
"Damn Thunder, your old mans a vampire." Fred said, shock still evident in the older boys face.
Harry nodded, not sure what to say. He turned back to stare at the house when he saw George holding one of the pieces of paper Charlie had brought with him.
"Well" Fred murmured "That was certainly interesting but at least something good has come out of all this, right?"
Harry tore his gaze away from the paper George was reading. "What?" Harry wasn't so sure what Fred was getting at.
"Well, you have a dad now, of course! If the papers say that your dad obviously is the leader of the vege-vamp coven." Harry couldn't help but snort in laughter at that comment. Vege-vamps? "…and the lineage test has a grey, instead of black, line under his name them obviously he must still be around."
Harry nodded. Fred was looking at him as if he expected Harry to be running in circles in delight or possibly breaking down in tears of happiness. Instead, Harry just stared back, expression completely void of emotion.
Fred's grin slipped. "Harry? What's wrong?"
Harry sighed. "He left me Fred! He gave me away! I found out more information when I went to Gringotts. I spoke to the portrait of Gabrielle Gryffindor. She told me that she took me into our time with his consent." Harry continued to explain his conversation with Gabrielle in the Gryffindor Vault.
Fred blinked in surprise before properly studying the Lineage Test. Harry wasn't lying. He would have been born in the 1600s. He was toughly stunned by all of this. If it were anyone else then he wouldn't believe it. Not for a second. However, he only had to take one look at Harry to know he wasn't having him on.
"Harry…." Fred began but Harry quickly cut him off.
"The 1600s Fred! Does that ring a bell? How about the Witch Trials? He would have grown up in a time where witches were believed to be evil! Why, then, would he give me to one?" Harry raged, temper coming back full force.
Fred sighed. "I don't know Harry."
Fred sighed. He really did feel bad for his honorary little brother. Harry had been through a lot in his short life so far. He had been the victim of so much pain and fear and betrayal. He knew that it would be hard for Harry to accept that he had had family, a father, out there all this time. A father who had opted not to raise him. It would take him some time to accept that.
At the same time though, Fred knew Harry wanted nothing more then a family. It had always been his greatest wish. He only hoped that soon Harry might just be able to have that. He couldn't say for sure why Carlisle Cullen had given Harry away. He couldn't guarantee that the man's actions had been honourable or within Harry's best interest. However, he had a feeling that they had been. The man was a vampire. It could easily have been a case of he had been bitten and couldn't keep Harry anymore.
As if reading his mind, George spoke up. "Harry, I've been reading this paper here that Charlie dropped. I get the feeling that your dad gave you up because he had recently been bitten. If that is the case then he didn't have a choice but to give you away. It's next to impossible for muggle vampires to be around human blood. I don't doubt that he has had years now to learn to control himself but back then, all it would take is one tiny scrape and he would have killed you."
Harry nodded. He understood the vampire thing. He did. However, that still doesn't explain why he gave him to a witch.
Harry voiced his thoughts. Fred and George exchanged a look. They knew arguing with Harry would be pointless.
"So, what are you going to do if he turns up?"
"I doubt he will turn up but if he does, he will have to drag me away." Harry didn't care what happened, he wasn't going to be leaving with Carlisle Cullen without a fight.
…
Exeter International Airport, Devon - England
Carlisle grinned in relief when the plane finally landed at the Exeter International Airport. It was now only a fifteen-minute drive to Ottery St Catchpole. Only fifteen minutes to his son.
Carlisle smiled serenely as he gazed around the airport. There wasn't much to see of course except a couple hundred meters of tar and several aeroplanes waiting for take-off. It was the fact of where he was that made him feel so calm and content.
It was a surreal feeling to be back in his home country. He hadn't been here since he left after giving Harrison to the witch. He couldn't bear the though of coming back to the country where he had lost everything. Even after he found his new family, it had still been too painful. Yet, here he was. Granted, his life in England hadn't been a very happy one but he had always carried a soft spot for the country. He made a mental note to come back here later on to explore the place that had once been home.
Carlisle let out an unnecessary sigh as he saw the time on his phone. 10:34pm. It was far too late to go looking for his child now. The boy was probably sleeping or at least getting ready for bed. It would have to wait till tomorrow.
Carlisle quickly grabbed his bag and with the thought that he would finally see his son again tomorrow in mind, he set off in search of a hotel to stay in for the night.
…
A/N – Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please keep the reviews coming! The next chapter is already half written so you can expect it very soon :)
