AN: Thanks to those who have reviewed. You've really made my week.
Also I'd like give a special thank you to Ansela and Mooneyoukai for bringing the paragraph structuring to my attention. I've adjusted it for the all the chapters. Hopefully I got it right, blushes
Elfanyan, I'm not sure what you meant but hopefully the footnote at the end of the chapter will clarify some things. If it isn't what you meant pls. contact me and I'll how it can be resolved. T.Y.
Chapter 3: Family Secrets
As soon as Severus announced Harry to be stable enough for transport Lord Voldemort placed a portkey on him transporting the teen to the room where Narcissa was waiting to heal the defiled teen. They joined the others in the living room where Vernon Dursley still lay unconscious.
"Rodolphus, take him to the deepest dungeon at the Manor and allow no one to feed the bastard. Tell your lovely wife and McNair they may play with him but under no circumstance may he be killed or rendered insane. He is ours to punish," the Dark Lord commanded in no uncertain terms.
"Bill, Fleur, Gabrielle, go back to your daily routine. We mustn't let Dumbledore catch wind of tonight's events. I'll stay with Harry then join the twins," Ginny commanded in an eerily similar way to the Dark Lord. Bill was about to protest though after seeing the look on his sister's face he changed his mind.
"If you're sure," the curse-breaker said weakly. "I am. Neville or Luna will keep you informed," Ginny responded shortly then turned to her counterpart, "When you are ready, Marvolo."
At Lord Voldemort's nod the Death Eaters each grabbed hold of one of the teens then disapparated back to their lair. Leaving the others behind to return to their homes. As soon as they appeared in the courtyard they were greeted by Twixy the House-elf.
"Master, Lady Malfoy has send Twixy to tell Master that young master Harry's condition is stable. However she said he is comatose and does not know when young master will wake up, Master sir," the house-elf squeaked when she noticed Dudley standing in the background with Blaise and Piers.
"Oh, young master Thunder sir, Twixy is so glad to be finally meeting you sir."
"Twixy, what in the name of all that is holy are you rambling about?" Voldemort asked perplexed.
"I think she's referring to the fact that you are my great-uncle," Dudley answered calmly glad Piers had told him of the strange creatures that served wizard families. "I have no relatives," Voldemort answered curtly, "I am the last of Salazar Slytherin's line."
"While I will not dispute the last, Harry's and my grandparents on our mothers' side are Lord Sangue Grindelwald and Lady Cassandra Slytherin. Our grandmother hid our mothers with the Evans' to prevent Dumbledore from killing them. Mum told me we stem from Salazar Slytherin's sister," Dudley explained as they made their way to the house.
"I see, that certainly would explain why both of you are Parselmouths as only those of the Slytherin line are known to posses it," Voldemort answered diplomatically, not wanting to remind anyone of the fact that Harry had been thought to have taken part of his power when the killing curse re-bounded on him.
"Master, what should Twixy tell Lady Malfoy?" the house-elf interrupted fearfully.
"Tell her we will be there shortly," the Dark Lord answered to distracted to reprimand the elf. The rest of the journey to the house was done in silence, the group to filled with questions and/or worry for the injured teen to break the silence.
"My Lord," Narcissa greeted with a bow as soon as Voldemort entered the guest-quarters assigned to Harry.
"Narcissa, how is he?"
The aristocratic witch sighed, "Physically, he is stable and recovering. Though there will be scarring, that damnable collar does not allow him to be healed with magic. Mentally, Emotionally or even Magically, I do not know. I fear we will have to wait for him to wake before I will know the extent of the damage. The worst case scenario would be that the boy will be severely depressed, suicidal even. His magic uncontrollable and his mind unreachable," the Medi-witch of the Dark said.
"How do you mean 'his mind unreachable'?" Ginny queried, her baby-blue eyes flashing dangerously.
"Trapped in his own nightmares," Narcissa answered sadly. A loud wail could be heard coming from the bedroom, as one they all ran towards it.
They found Draco clutching the injured teen close to his chest rocking Harry back and forth in a soothing motion. Everyone expected the Dark Lord to attack the platinum blond teen or even Lucius Malfoy to attack his own son for touching his mate, imagine their surprise when…
"Father, he is our mate, is he not?" Harry's long-time school-rival said tearfully.
"Yes Draco, he is both our mate and our Lord's mate," Lucius replied calmly.
"Dudley, what's going on mate?" Piers whispered.
"The two Malfoy men share the same soul. You never did easy did you, Potter?" Dudley answered speaking normally. "Well, that certainly explains why the two are so much alike," Blaise stated dryly.
Ginny not in the least interested in anything other than Harry's welfare had walked up to the bed. "Hey, big brother, I missed you. Wake up soon, luv, there are hoards of people here who love you. You, Harry, not the sodding Boy-Who-Lived, just Harry," the young redhead said in a stern voice only the slight quiver in it betrayed how upset she really was.
Then she got up and made room for her 'brother's' mates. Lord Voldemort nodded gratefully as he took her place on the bed. But opposed to the Malfoys he did not utter a single word, preferring to communicate to Harry through their link.
A Different Plane
Harry was in a different dimension, enjoying his mother's affections as she'd come to him as soon as he arrived. "Mum, why can't I stay here with you?" the green-eyed boy asked timidly.
"Harry my love, it is not your place to be amongst the dead but I promise you we will see each other often after you've come into your inheritance," Lily answered cryptically. Emerald green eyes locked onto emerald green eyes, "What do you mean, mum?"
"You have a destiny, a destiny Albus Dumbledore has tried to change for his benefit. Take the prophesy Dumbledore told you about, tell me what you make of it," Lily said hoping to guide her son in the right direction without crossing the restrictions for the deceased.
"Uhmm.. well the prophecy say I'm the one who can vanquish the Dark Lord with some power he knows not and it also says neither can live while the other survives," Harry told his mum, "I don't know about any power. All I want is to be normal and for once in my life be loved without having to worry about whether there is some hidden agenda. I know most of my so-called friends have had hidden agenda's in the past, even my so-called best friends were spies for the Headmaster. Why did everyone who truly cared for me, Harry, have to die mum?"
Lily wiped a tear away as she heard her son's anguish in that one sentence. "I know baby, I know, but I promise you there are people who care and love you deeply that are alive and waiting for you. Just listen for a moment," the red-haired, green-eyed witch told her son lovingly.
Harry did as his mother instructed and could here faint voices. 'Was that? No, it couldn't be… Yes, that's Lucius Malfoy screaming in agony and Voldemort. Why was Voldemort howling in desperation? The man had tried to kill him since he'd been a toddler. It didn't make sense and why was Dudley encouraging him to come back?' He could also hear girls sobbing and sniffling. It made no sense to him.
"Mum, am I dreaming?" he finally asked.
"No Harry, you're not. Lucius and Riddle would give the world to you if they could. The girls and boys you hear crying love you like their own. It's time to live, little one. It's time to go back. Remember Harry, nothing is like it seems. I love you." Lily's voice faded away as Harry fell back into nothingness. There was no other way to describe it, there was nothing there but Harry. Closing his eyes the raven-haired youth allowed the voices of his mates to draw him back to the living.
Serpent Manor
"Hey, big brother, I missed you. Wake up soon, luv, there are hoards of people here who love you. You, Harry, not the sodding Boy-Who-Lived, just Harry," he heard Ginny say. Then he heard Voldemort pleading through their link, 'Harry, love, please don't give up. We'll find a way to help you heal. You'll be as good as new before you know it. Come on Harry, you've never given up before, please fight one more time. Fight to live. I promise you Lucius, Draco and I will do everything in our power to give you what you want and need.'
In the room those present could here both Malfoy men pleading, even begging the boy to come back to them. After what seemed hours but in reality it was only a few minutes, a soft snort caught their attention.
"Ugh, begging does not become you, Tom, Malfoy," Harry rasped, his voice sore from screaming earlier.
"Harry!"
Everyone yelled in elation when they noticed their friend had woken. Harry grimaced at the noise smiling gratefully in the direction of where he heard Snape hiss, "Silence, what are you a bunch of squirmiest Hufflepuffs? The boy needs to rest or perhaps you want some answers first, Potter?"
Harry grinned, his potions professor knew him well indeed. It was the main reason why he'd secretly always looked up to the man. Perhaps his mum was right; if the Weasleys and the Malfoys could stay in one room because of him,then maybe these people didn't have a hidden agenda.
Narcissa handed him a glass of water which he took gratefully. The water soothed his throat immensely deciding to chance using his voice Harry looked towards his professor. "Snape, what's going on? Why are Dudley and Piers here? Or for that matter, when did Voldemort and the Malfoys stop wishing me dead? And Gin, why did you become a death eater?"
"Mr. Potter, Harry, how do you expect me to answer you if you do not even give me the time to answer?" Severus sneered. It would have been intimidating if those onyx-eyes did not contain a sparkle of mirth in them. Blushing Harry muttered a quiet apology.
"No Harry, do not apologize for something you are correct in querying," the normally dour man said. "Considering the fact that Narcissa is a far more intimidating Medi-witch than Poppy Pomfrey, I will just give you a brief update before leaving you to her capable hands. Your cousin's magical powers were blocked, for some reason the episode last summer unblocked them. I shall leave him to explain everything more fully at a later time. Suffice to say he fled his parental home during the year and stayed with his best friend, Pierre Polaski, or Piers Polkis as you know him. Who is in fact the son of a Death Eater who was brutally murdered after the last war. They had gone into hiding in the Muggle World and had been living as Muggles since. One of your fans, Ms. Gabrielle Delacour apparently had a vision concerning yourself. She and her sister contacted the Burrow, trusting only William, Ms. Weasley and those infernal twins. Together they set out to rescue you. Dudley, Pierre and Blaise had returned to Privet Drive to rescue you before your uncle would do anything to harsh. To their dismay they were to late and Dudley ordered your owl to deliver a letter to the one adult you trusted. Surprisingly it was myself though probably more astonishing was the fact that it delivered the letter here in the Dark Lord's Manor."
Suddenly something clicked in Harry's mind, he remembered wanting to go away and…
$$Mother, where are you?$$ the teen hissed distraught that he could not sense her. He remembered Nagini soothing him, protecting him like only a mother would her child.
$$I am here youngling, do not fear. I will not leave you,$$ Nagini hissed as she slithered into the room.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the prehistoric snake wrapped her coils around him. He snuggled deeper into her coils then looked at his professor, his cheeks bright pink with embarrasment.
"I will let it slide this once, Mr. Potter," Severus said, "Now where was I, ah yes, the Dark Lord made me read the letter out loud and consequently ordered us to retrieve you in good health and take those responsible with us. On the scene, Lucius' elfin side came out. We discovered you are his mate and subsequently Draco's mate as Draco is an extension of Lucius' soul."
"Now before you start feeling guilty or what not, Harry. My soulmate is Rodolphus Lestrange, not my husband. Our marriage was one of convenience not love. Draco was born because Lucius, being a Dark Elf, was somehow able to inject part of his soul into me. I bore him to term with my family's magic. Draco and Lucius would have been one if not for the ancient magic in my family. Thus the perfect heir to the Malfoy name which was needed to prevent the Wizarding World from finding out the truth," Narcissa explained running her fingers soothingly through those raven-locks of her patient.
"While Lucius was trying to break the wards on the house, the group of self-appointed Potter Guardians arrived on the scene, as did the Dark Lord. No, no blood was shed. Our common goal was to rescue you and as such we needed to cooperate with each other," Snape continued.
"Hey, Harry, think you want to get rid of that dog-collar yet?" Neville's soft spoken voice sounded from the doorway, startling those present in the room.
"How were you able to enter here without detection?" Voldemort asked dismayed at the fact that a mere teenager could manage to get through the wards without alerting someone.
"They do not call me Shadow without a reason, Lord Voldemort. So, what do you say Harry?" the Longbottom Heir casually asked.
"Sure, Nev. What do we do?" Harry's voice was filled with excitement, the timid undertone had completely gone.
Author's Note:
Just a bit of clarification, the original guardians are a group of Gryffindors who saw Harry's loniless and burden. Their friend was always ready to help anyone in need yet it seemed that no one cared about Harry James Potter. In lieu of this they decided to form a clandistine group which would always look out for Harry's welfare. They took on codenames to prevent others from finding out, in fear it would be used against Harry.
Vixen (the Leader)
real name: Ginny Weasley
position: leader
specialty: hexes and curses
Janus
real name: Fred Weasley
specialty: potions and transfiguration
Gemini
real name: George Weasley
specialty: potions and charms
Shadow
real name: Neville Longbottom
specialty: stealth and healing
The Oracle
real name: Luna Lovegood
specialty: necromancy and ancient magics