Chapter 4 - The Son of Aquaman
"I'm your father," Arthur had said.
It's been a strange sort of night. Well not at the beginning, it had begun like every other boring evening in Privet Drive, but then Arthur, a person he hadn't expected to see ever again, had shown up at the front door.
He shouldn't really be so surprised. Arthur had known something was amiss with his relationship with the Dursley's, and Harry had known he'd known it. Why should he expect a man as decent as Arthur to simply let things lie? After all, he'd seen Vernon at his very worst, about to punish Harry for getting pushed off a cliff… What sort of person would let him stay in a house like that?
Still, he'd hoped he might have convinced Arthur that he has to live with the Dursley's, even if he could never give him a proper reason. It's not like he can tell the man he can't leave because at least there he's protected by an ancient blood protection spell. Not only would Arthur think he's abused, he'd probably recommend Harry go into a mental institution.
But Arthur had shown up, and before he'd revealed to true reason he'd come, Harry just hoped it wasn't to bring legal action against the Dursley's for child abuse. Now though, it would probably be simpler if that were the reason.
"You're… what?" Harry says dumbfounded. Arthur doesn't answer with words, just keeps a steady, but somehow nervous gaze on him. Harry looks to Dumbledore to refute him, but instead the elderly headmaster simply nods slowly.
"But… my father was James Potter?"
Arthur lets out a sigh. "I know it's hard to believe, but I swear it's the truth."
Harry closes his eyes and shakes his head. "No. That can't be right. That's crazy." He runs a hand through the golden hair on his head.
"Is it though?" Arthur asks. "Can you not see the resemblance between us?"
Harry opens his eyes and looks back at Arthur, who's still gazing straight into his eyes. Harry opens his mouth and closes it several times, trying to think of anything to refute it, but unable to come up with anything convincing. All the evidence points to it being the truth. He looks nothing like James Potter, but tremendously like Arthur. Sirius had wanted to tell Harry something at the end of term, and Harry would now bet his entire vault that this is it. He'd never felt much of a connection to James, but had felt an immediate one with Arthur, and can even feel it right now.
"But… how? Why didn't you tell me the other day?" Harry's voice cracks, and tears begin to blur his vision. "No, why didn't you tell me before that? Why didn't you ever come for me?" He can feel the hot tears slowly begin to slide down his cheeks.
Arthur's face contorts as if he's just stubbed his toe, and Harry knows that his words have cut him, deep. He can't bring himself to care. How could he have had a living father for all these years and never even know it? It might be selfish to think so, but it was bad enough having a father who had died, but having a father who was alive and he didn't even know it? That's worse.
"I would have, I swear it, but I never even knew you existed," Arthur explains in a quiet voice, sounding as much like he's about to cry as Harry. He lifts his hand as if to reach out for him, but clearly thinks better of it and pulls it back. "You have to understand that I only knew your mother for a few days while I was visiting Britain. After I left I never saw her again."
Harry shakes his head again. "Then why not tell me the other day? You must have put it together when I told you her name." Harry tries to keep his composure, but his voice comes out in little more than a sob.
"I didn't know for certain. All I knew was that there was this remarkable kid in front of me, a kid who looks just like me at that age. After you told me Lily's name, I started to put the pieces together. After that I had your DNA tested from your water glass. You are my son, Harry. There's no doubt. Once I knew I had to find your address, and I came straight here."
Harry wipes at his eyes and nods slowly, trying in vain to process what he's being told. His head is swimming, and he can barely form a coherent thought.
The oncoming silence is quickly broken by Dudley. "No, its not true!" he screams. "That freak is not Aquaman's son! Just look at him, he's pathetic!"
Harry looks up just in time to see Dumbledore flick his wand in a wordless silencing charm. Dudley is still moving his mouth up and down, but not a single sound manages it's way past his lips. Harry's not worried about Dudley. All Dumbledore has done is remind Harry that he's there, and he knew. He knew. Shock and sadness are replaced with a burning anger.
"You knew! You knew James Potter isn't my dad! How could you not tell me that? I trusted you!"
Dumbledore sighs and closes his eyes slowly. He looks completely resigned, as if he'd known this day would come eventually, but wasn't quite ready for it to be now. He looks every bit his age, something Harry has never been able to say about him before.
"I wanted to, Harry, truly. I had no idea how to find him. All I knew was his first name, that he is American, and that you apparently look just like him. I couldn't bring myself to tell you that James Potter isn't your father only to tell you that I have no idea who actually is. It is so important that you stay with your aunt Harry, you know why, and I feared that if you knew Arthur was out there you would go searching for him."
The last thing Harry cares about right now is the blood protection. The fact that Dumbledore mentions them only serves to make him angrier. "Of course I would have!" Harry argues loudly. You had no right to keep this from me! You made me believe that James Potter was my father. You even gave me his cloak! Why?" Harry is still yelling, definitely louder and more angry than he's ever been in his life.
"James would have wanted you to have it," Dumbledore says calmly. "You may not be his son by blood, but he loved you as his son nonetheless."
All this does is prompt Harry to remember just how it was that James had died. "He gave his life for me and I wasn't even his," he says sadly. There's a part of him that's always felt guilty about how they sacrificed their lives for him. It's so much worse, now.
"There is much more to family than just blood. James loved you as his son from the moment you were born, and he knew you weren't his biologically. How he spent his final moments is proof of that," Dumbledore adds.
It's too much to take in. The more he hears, the heavier his head feels, and by now it feels so heavy that his neck can barely hold it upright. As if the night couldn't get any stranger, Dumbledore is suddenly crying out in pain, and by the time Harry looks to him, he's propping himself up against the wall for stability.
"Do not try to read my mind again," he hears Arthur say firmly. Harry's eyes widen.
"Harry, come here, quickly," Dumbledore orders. Harry sees the wand drop into his hand, but doesn't move to his side like the man wants. Despite how serious he can see the headmaster is, his trust in him has been broken, and won't be easily mended.
"What just happened?" Harry asks. Instead of answering, Dumbledore darts in front of him with surprising speed for a man of his advanced age and holds Harry behind him in a tight grip.
"My apologies, Arthur, I did not realise you would be able to sense my presence," Dumbledore says, not sounding the least bit apologetic. "That said, if you were an ordinary muggle, you would not have been able, and you would most assuredly not have been able to repel me from your mind. So, if you are not an ordinary person, who exactly are you?" he continues, wand still tight in his grip, but not yet aimed at Arthur.
"I have no idea what a muggle is, but you are correct, like yourself I am not ordinary." From the way Arthur continues, Harry guesses that Dumbledore must look surprised. "I saw your magic before. Do not lie, I recognise magic when I see it," Arthur says, completely unfazed by Dumbledore's defensive stance.
"Who are you?" Dumbledore repeats the question. Arthur remains silent as he meets Dumbledore's eyes.
"You are here for Harry. You are his father, but that does not mean you mean him no ill will. And now you appear to have gifts that no regular person would have," Dumbledore says. "Who are you, truly?"
"I don't wish Harry any harm. He's my son."
That statement alone is enough to make Harry's chest tighten in a strange sort of way, but not uncomfortably. He tries to move around Dumbledore so he can see better, but the old professor's grip is like iron.
"Who. Are. You?" Dumbledore repeats slower, finally raising his wand a little in Arthur's direction.
"You want to know who I am? Truly?" Arthur asks, stretching out his right arm perpendicular to his body. Harry wrenches free of Dumbledore's vice grip just in time to see water begin flowing from his hand, travelling down towards the ground and materialising into a large golden trident.
"My name is Orin Atlan-son," he begins. As he speaks, water, as if rising from beneath the floor, makes its way slowly up his legs. Where the water moves, the clothes he's wearing seem to transfigure completely. By the time it's the entire way up his body, Arthur, or Orin, is wearing green bottoms and gloves, and a bright golden scaled shirt. He stands defiant, regal, even.
"I am the King of Atlantis."
It's all real. Everything Harry had seen on the TV in Boston was no movie, it was a genuine news story. Standing in front of Harry is Aquaman, one of the heroes who had saved the world from Darkseid.
"I don't believe it," Harry breathes. "You're actually him. Actually Aquaman."
Arthur proud and regal demeanour breaks completely when he looks at Harry with a wide grin. "You didn't realise? Your cousin certainly knew. Wasn't it why you came to Amnesty Bay in the first place?"
Harry feels the blood rush up to his cheeks and he looks down to the ground, rubbing his arm sheepishly. "I thought it was a movie," he says quietly. He wouldn't have even thought it loud enough for anyone to actually hear, least of all Arthur from across the room, but clearly he does.
Arthur lets out a booming laugh. "You thought I was just some actor in a movie?"
"Well look at it from my point of view!" Harry argues, his cheeks still burning a bright pink. "I was at school during the invasion, and I hadn't seen or even heard anything about it until I saw it on TV a few days before we met! Who watches an alien invasion on TV and assumes it actually happened?"
"I suppose you do have a point," Arthur concedes, still chuckling. "But it is funny." Harry can;t help but smile slightly himself, even if he is incredibly embarrassed.
"So you were there during the invasion of Metropolis?" You fought against the extra-terrestrials?" Dumbledore asks with wide, fascinated eyes. Harry can't help but notice that his wand has been completely lowered. He's looking at Arthur with something akin to awe, a look Harry would never expect to see on Dumbledore's face.
Arthur nods once. "I fought Darkseid alongside several others, yes."
"Then i, along with the rest of the world, owe you my thanks, King Orin. It is a true honour to meet you." Dumbledore bows his head low. It's almost a gesture of submission, the kind which Harry doesn't think Dumbledore has ever shown anyone. After all, the headmaster even treats the minister for magic like an equal, if not an inferior.
"It's not needed, but thank-you," Arthur says.
"I have suspected for a long time that Atlantis still lives. I can't say that it helps my ego to have my theory confirmed."
"Professor, you must see that he isn't any threat to me. He saved the world, and he saved my life only two days ago. Dudley knocked me off a cliff and Arthur jumped in to save me. I would have drowned if it weren't for him," Harry tells Dumbledore.
"Actually," Arthur adds conversationally, "you didn't need saving. You're my son, which means you are Atlantean, with royal blood no less. You can't drown. Haven't you ever noticed that you don't run out of breath underwater?"
Harry shrugs. "I dunno, besides baths when I was little and showers since, it's the only time I've ever really been in the water. It's definitely the only time I've been in the ocean."
Arthur shakes his head slightly before glaring towards the entrance of the house, where the Dursley's remain standing, petrified looks on both their faces. If Harry didn't know better, he'd say they'd been caught in the reflected gaze of a basilisk. They're white as sheets, and Vernon's anger has all but been replaced entirely by fear. Harry almost feels sorry for them. Even the small amounts of magic that Dumbledore has performed, along with whatever Arthur had done to don his armor is likely enough to scare them for keeps.
"You didn't even teach him how to swim?" Arthur asks angrily. Vernon says nothing - doesn't even seem capable of saying anything. He simply pales even more and hunches his shoulders, looking much smaller than he normally does. Petunia is squeezed as closely as she can be to her husband's side, and Dudley's mouth is still moving like he's yet to realise no sounds is coming out.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Dumbledore chirps happily, whipping his wand back out. "I forgot completely. Forgive me, I'm an old man." With a swish of his wand Dudley can be heard again.
"It's not true! It's not true!" he repeats. After several times he stops, seemingly understanding that the charm has been removed. He turns to face his father with a desperate look on his face. "Dad, it can't be true. Harry can't be Aquaman's son!" Vernon and Petunia watch their son with horror, as if his words might bring down God's wrath upon them right then and there.
"Be quiet Dudley!" Vernon hisses.
"He's not! He's not! He's not!" Dudley continues desperately before Vernon claps a hand over his mouth.
Harry shakes his head with amusement before turning back to Arthur. "So, what now?"
"Well, the whole reason I came here was so that I could bring you home with me," Arthur answers.
"Hold on a moment," Dumbledore interrupts, putting on a serious air. "Harry cannot leave. There are things you do not know. Outside of this house, Harry is in grave danger." Arthur frowns deeply, his demeanour urging Dumbledore to keep talking.
"This is quite a long story, so perhaps we should sit back down," Dumbledore suggests with a deep sigh. He looks deeply sad, not that Harry can blame him. The story of Voldemort is hardly a pleasant one.
"So you must understand King Orin, as long as the blood protection spell remains in place, Voldemort, nor his followers, can harm him," Dumbledore says to finish the story.
After a brief moment of silence, Arthur slowly shakes his head. "I must disagree that this house is the safest place for Harry." When Dumbledore moves to speak again, Arthur cuts him off. "Believe me, I am not underestimating this Dark Wizard. In my experience it is safer to assume any enemy is a dangerous one, but there is more to consider here than just a blood protection spell."
"It may have skipped your notice, but Harry's aunt and uncle have been particularly poor guardians." Arthur cuts Harry off too, before he even gets a chance to speak. "Don't say it's fine, Harry. It is most assuredly not fine."
Arthur lifts his gaze to the Dursleys once more, who are now standing behind the lounge opposite them, behind Dumbledore. "I have only seen them interact with Harry a few times, but every time it has been downright cruel and hostile. Only a few days ago I saw you, his uncle, try to punish him for being pushed off a cliff. If Harry did not have Atlantean heritage, he would likely be dead, and you would see him punished for it," Arthur continues, sounding angrier with every word spoken. The large man shrinks back, defeated.
Arthur looks back towards Dumbledore. "You may not think I have the right, seeing as I haven't been a part of Harry's life, but I will not allow my son to stay with people who would treat him in such a way."
Dumbledore strokes his beard as he ponders what Arthur is saying. "You're right of course. I admit I did not know that Harry was so mistreated, but the wards still make this place safe from Voldemort and his followers. Their importance cannot be understated."
Arthur scoffs in disbelief. "Atlantis has the strongest wards in the world. Atlantean Magisters have been adding to our cities' protection for thousands of years. There's no safer place on the planet than Poseidonis, our capital. Not to mention the fact that the people on the surface doubt our very existence, and even if they didn't, Poseidonis is on the bottom of the ocean cloaked by countless enchantments. Harry would be better protected there than anywhere you could find on the surface."
"Perhaps that is true, but-" Dumbledore begins.
Harry speaks over the top of him. Dumbledore lost the right to make decisions for Harry when he lied to him about having a living father, a living father whose there to take him home. Really home. "I want to go with you," Harry tells Arthur. The man's entire face lights up. No doubt he's been worried that Harry wouldn't actually want to go with him.
"You're certain, Harry? Once you leave this house the blood protection falls," Dumbledore says slowly, looking very uncertain.
Harry nods. "I know you mean well, but it's my life and my decision… I want to go with Arthur."
Dumbledore sighs and lets his chin drop to his chest in defeat. "Very well, if it is what you want. But can I make a request of you, King Orin?"
Arthur nods slowly, but to Harry it seems very noncommittal. It's strange to see. In every situation he's seen Dumbledore in, he's always seemed in control of the situation. Here though, Arthur clearly holds all the cards. He seems to simply exude authority, probably comes from being a King.
"I've been making sure that Harry is protected for a long time. As much as you seem to have his best interests at heart, I don't know you, and I care very much about his wellbeing. I want to make sure he is safe. Therefore I would ask that a representative from our world accompany him to Atlantis. At least for now."
"It can be arranged," Arthur says, still noncommittal. "Whoever this representative would be, they wouldn't be able to accompany Harry everywhere in Atlantis. The interior of our buildings are free from the water and pressure, and so safe for those from the surface, but outside of those buildings they could never survive. The pressure would kill them instantly."
Harry clicks his tongue. "I'll be fine Professor. I trust Arthur, I don't need a babysitter."
"I'm glad that you do, but I would feel much better if someone was with you."
Harry's about to tell Dumbledore that what's going to make him feel better isn't really a priority for Harry right now, but instead a different idea jumps into his head. There is an option for a representative from the surface that makes too much sense.
"What about Sirius? He wouldn't have to hide in Atlantis, and no responsibilities he has on the surface."
Dumbledore smiles. "An inspired idea my boy!" he exclaims. "I shall have to find him of course, he has yet to send word of where he has settled. Perhaps if the two of you were to meet me in a few days time?"
Arthur nods once before rising from his seat. "Meet us at Portland Bill Lighthouse in two days' time, at Midday."
"Very well. It was truly an honour to meet you, King Orin. One day you shall have to tell me more about yourself. I am most interested in the existence of Atlantis, and especially of the magic that we must have lost when it sunk," Dumbledore says, sounding every iota like the scholar that his title suggests.
Arthur reaches out to shake Dumbledore's hand. "Then I'll bring my wife Mera along to meet you then. She is a very talented sorceress."
"It would be a pleasure," Dumbledore says before turning to the Dursley's. "I take my leave Mr and Mrs Dursley. Thank-you for allowing us use of your home, although a spot of tea wouldn't have gone amiss." He waves his wand once more through the air, and the smashed window begins to piece itself back together. "And perhaps in future you could avoid falling through windows," he adds conversationally.
"Well Harry, I shall see you and your father in two days' time," Dumbledore says before finally stepping out the front door.
"He's an… interesting guy," Arthur points out as Harry watches Dumbledore cross the road back to Mrs Figgs'.
Harry can only agree, even if he's still absolutely still sore with the man for keeping such a huge secret from him. Deep down he can sort of see the wisdom in it. Dumbledore is right about one thing. It would hurt even more knowing that he had a father somewhere out in the world but not knowing who he was or how to find him.
Father. I have a living father. What do I call him? Do we have anything in common. Emotions roil in his stomach.
"Relax, Harry. This is new for me, too," Arthur says, sensing Harry's discomfort. "We'll learn about each other, don't worry."
Harry nods nervously.
"Why don't you go get your things, I'll wait outside," Arthur continues.
Harry takes off towards the stairs, glad he didn't completely unpack from the year at Hogwarts. It takes him only a few minutes to pack up the things he had taken out, and soon he's dragging his suitcase back downstairs.
Harry almost has to pinch himself to be convinced that the entire night hasn't been some elaborate dream. It just seems almost inconceivable that just a few hours ago he was having a typically boring night in Privet Drive, and nows he's going to live with his lost long father in a mythical city on the bottom of the ocean.
The Dursleys are standing together in the entranceway, now, keeping an eye on Arthur who waits on the front porch waiting patiently. Dudley is sobbing into his mother's shoulder, who's murmuring promises of presents and food to try and soothe him. Harry smiles. There's not enough presents or food in the world to fix this. Aquaman is one of Dudley's heroes, and yet Harry is the one that turned out to be his son.
"I guess this is see you later, then," Vernon mumbles as Harry stops in front of them. Harry looks at them for a moment, and then out the door towards Arthur, who gives him a small encouraging smile. It's more than he's ever gotten from the Dursley's. Such a small thing, but it tells Harry that he's wanted, and that's not something he's ever been with the Dursley's.
"No, it's not," Harry says. "I don't think you'll ever be seeing me again." He turns his back to them and takes on step out the door and into his new life.