New chapter! Yippee! (now back to homework, unfortunately).

Oh yeah, I forgot to do this in the previous chapters, but I don't own anything but the original characters in this fanfic.

I hope y'all enjoy this new chapter, and remember: feedback is delicious.

Chapter 5

"Welcome to Potter Manor, kid," James said with an arrogant grin.

As soon as Harry could stand on his own, he wandered toward the house. It was enormous, even bigger than Eli's Manor, but it looked almost as though it was falling apart.

James was only half a step behind Harry, watching the boy for a long moment. "It's bigger on the inside, and you've got an entire wing to yourself," he said. "Your mother and I have the North wing, your sister has the East wing, and yours is the West wing," he said. At the almost confused look on Harry's face, he grinned. "Yeah, kiddo, you've got a sister. She's 14 months older than you, and she's been looking forward to meeting you since she found out that she had a brother."

Harry remained silent, doing his best not to glower. If he was going to be forced to live with these strangers, he supposed it would be a good idea to try and stay on their good sides, at least for the time being.

"Come on, kiddo," James said, resting a hand on Harry's back and walking the boy inside.

The interior was almost as intimidating as the outside of the house. It looked old, and everything seemed too expensive. Just like in a museum, Harry did his best not to touch anything so it didn't break. The front hall was lined with portraits that moved, and the painted people watched as he and James walked further inside, muttering to themselves about the newcomer.

After they headed past a few sitting rooms, another hallway, and two flights of stairs, a young girl ran out from a kitchen. "Daddy, you're back!" she yelled before running to him and halfway tackling him in a hug. "And you brought my little brother!" she crowed, moving in to hug Harry. "He's so adorable!"

He took a deliberate step away from her and narrowed his eyes when she scowled.

"Why's he not talking?" she asked.

"Auntie always told me that if I can't say something nice, then I'm not allowed to say anything at all," Harry snapped. "And don't touch me," he said, sending a glare her way when she tried to hug him again.

"You're being rude, Harry," James said, his tone hardening a bit.

"That's his name?" an older woman with red hair asked as she walked out of the same room that the girl had come from.

James nodded. "Cody Harrison Donahue Potter," he said. "I got custody back pretty easily, but your sister's husband did some sort of under the table arrangement, and I cannot change the boy's name. The best I could do was legally adopt him into the Potter family." He shrugged and stepped over to the woman, presumably his wife. "After they changed his name, something strange happened. There was a snafu at the ministry and Harry's been named as the heir to some old Scottish family."

"There's a Donahue family?"

"Poor, and I had to do some digging. Harry was named as the heir by some old bat in a loft in the slums of Glasgow. She died of a heart attack a few years ago," he said.

Harry scowled up at James, irritated at how easily he could be ignored. He looked around the room, not sure what to do. When he found himself wrapped up in a hug, he growled quietly and pulled himself out of the embrace. "What is it about don't touch me that you don't understand?" he snapped, glaring at the girl.

She ignored the glare. "My name is Primrose Evelyn Potter," she said. "But most people call me Rose. It's nice to meet you, Cody," she said.

"He goes by Harry," James said before snapping his fingers.

A short, bizarre-looking creature with large green eyes appeared with a loud pop. "How can Fritzy be helping you, Master?" he asked.

James pulled out three shrunken duffle bags and tossed them to the creature. "Show Harry to his wing and help him get settled," he said. When he saw the look that Harry was leveling on Rose, he cleared his throat to get the attention of both children. "Harry, if you need some space, be polite and let Rose know. And Rose, don't push yourself onto Harry. He needs some time to get acclimated to his home."

Harry glowered up at James before following the house elf through the halls.

Nearly five full minutes later, the house elf stopped in front of a room with double doors.

"This is young Master's bedroom," Fritzy said. "If it does not meet young Master's approval, you may change the room simply by stating what you wish to be changed," he said, unshrinking the three duffle bags and setting them on the floor in front of the door. "If you need anything else, snap your fingers and Fritzy or Dizzy or Zanna will show up and help you with anything."

"Thank you," Harry said, biting back his curiosity at what sort of creature Fritzy was. As soon as the creature disappeared, Harry pushed the doors open and carried the bags into the room. What he saw took his breath away, and he only halfway remembered to close the doors behind himself.

The room was bigger than the entire second floor of the Dursley house, and it had two floors. On the first floor, there was a king-sized bed, a walls of empty bookshelves, a fireplace, and an enormous window.

Kado moved out from under Harry's sleeve and he hesitantly looked around the room. "It's not too bad, as far as bribes go," he hissed quietly, almost as though he were afraid that he'd be overheard.

"I suppose not," Harry said as he wandered up the stairs to see the second floor of his bedroom. There was a couch, a huge plasma screen tv, a few game systems, and a collection of movies and video games that numbered in the thousands. "This is ridiculous," he said, holding still as Kado moved off of Harry's shoulder and onto the couch. "Do you need to have a tank here?" he asked.

"If it's all the same, I would much rather be free to roam. I find you are rather warm enough, if you do not object to sharing your body heat," he said, looking over at Harry.

"Not at all," Harry said with a grin.

Kado nodded his head slightly as he settled down in a patch of sunlight. He hissed irritably when Harry flopped onto the couch next to him. "Watch yourself, child," he hissed irritably.

"Sorry," Harry said, grinning down at the snake. "This is a new world for me. How do I get situated to all of this?" he asked.

"I would suggest you start by reading everything you can about your new world," the snake hissed quietly. "And do not leave me behind," he added, moving into Harry's lap.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Harry said with a grin.

...

Three hours later, Harry was woken up by a loud scream. He jolted awake and glared up at the intruder, mentally preparing himself to attack, if need be.

"Why the hell is there a snake in here?" Rose shrieked.

"He's mine," Harry muttered darkly, his hands going to cover Kado.

"It's disgusting!" she snapped. "Get rid of it and come downstairs for supper."

Harry glared up at her. "I'm not hungry," he said. "Go away," he said when she showed no signs of leaving. "What?" he asked when she still didn't move.

"Supper is a family affair," she said snottily.

"Yes," Harry snapped, his eyes flashing in anger. "And I was taken from my family and I'm not allowed to contact them or your father will have them arrested and sent to jail," he said. "So there is no reason for you to be in here, is there?"

"You're mean," she said, frowning.

"Right," Harry said coldly, closing his eyes. "I was just stolen from my family, who raised me and cared for me and loved me, because you and your mother were bored and decided to find the child that your parents left behind when they were running away from something with their tails between their legs," he said.

"Daddy says you have to eat with us or you won't be allowed to eat for the rest of the night."

Harry opened one eye and glared at her. "Fine," he said after a long moment. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

"But you don't know how to get down to the dining room," she said.

"I'll get one of the little naked monkeys to help me, then," Harry said.

Rose grinned. "Those are House Elves," she said. "Not monkeys." Without any warning, she grabbed one of Harry's hand and tried to pull him to his feet. "Come on," she said. "I'll take you."

Harry bared his teeth and hissed at her. "I told you before. Do. Not. Touch me," he said, jerking his hand out of her hold. "I'll be down to eat in a few minutes, and I will find the way down without your help." He didn't move as he watched her leave the room.

"Keep me with you, child," Kado hissed, moving back around Harry's arm and hiding himself in the folds of Harry's hoodie.

Harry grinned down at the snake. "Of course," he said, standing up.

He wandered down the hall, remembering the way back to the main hall from his trip with the House Elf. This time, though, he was able to look at the portraits, and he was actually able to overhear what some of them were saying - none of it was particularly nice, either.

"Do not talk to me outside of your room," Kado said. "I do not want to risk your safety if someone happens to overhear us talking."

Harry nodded slightly and headed into a room where he heard Rose whining about something.

James and his wife were sitting at a table, as was Rose, and as soon as Harry walked into the room, Rose stopped talking and they all looked up at him.

"Hurry up and sit, would you?" Rose asked when Harry didn't immediately move to take a seat. "It's going to get cold."

The redheaded woman motioned at the chair next to her. "Calm down, Rose. Come have a seat next to me, Harry," she said. "My name is Lily. I'm your mother."

Harry hesitated for a moment before moving to do as told. As soon as he sat down, both James and Rose piled food onto their plates.

Lily looked over at Harry when she noticed that he wasn't moving to eat. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked. "Or would you like to eat something other than meatloaf and lasagna?"

Harry said nothing and reluctantly put some lasagna on his plate. He glared at it for a moment before taking a bite.

That seemed to placate Lily, at least for the moment. "I realize this is a big shock for you, Harry, and adjusting to this life is going to take some time," she said. "We're expecting to enroll you in a private school of sorts when you turn eleven, but until then, I've managed to find a tutor who's willing to teach you everything you'll need to know before then," she said.

James snorted loudly. "It's not Snivellus, is it?" he asked.

"No, James, it's not Severus," Lily said, a mildly irritated look on his face. "He's starting school again in a few months and he's made it clear that he doesn't want anything to do with our family after the stunt that you pulled at the Malfoy's Yule ball last year," she said, sending a mild glare in James' direction before turning her focus back onto Harry. "Since there's quite a bit for you to catch up on, the tutor is going to be moving into the guest room in the North wing for the time being."

Harry nodded slightly, reaching for the glass of grape juice in front of him. He didn't put too much effort into wondering if James or Lily had somehow found out what his favorite drink was, instead focusing on making as little trouble as possible before going back to his new room. He might be able to sneak a letter off to the Dursleys before going to bed for the night.

"When's the tutor getting here, then?" Rose asked.

"Tomorrow morning, around nine thirty," Lily said.

"Who is he?" James asked.

Lily smiled. "She, my adorably chauvinistic husband, is Theresa Greene."

"From the Ministry's Law Enforcement division?" James asked.

Lily nodded. "I know you don't like that she's from a dark family, but she's come out and renounced her family; and it was either asking her for help or going to Andromeda Black, and she's all but denounced our family after the Yule fiasco," she said.

"I'm finished," Rose announced. "Can I be excused?"

James nodded. "Of course, sweetheart. Don't get into too much trouble," he said, grinning as Rose smiled up at him before running out of the room.

Lily glanced over at Harry, who had finished eating as well. "You can be excused as well, if you'd like," she said.

Harry nodded slightly before leaving the dining room and starting to wander the halls. "Where should we go, Kado?" he asked under his breath.

"I might suggest finding a library of sorts," the snake hissed back. "And what did I say about talking to me when you could be overheard?" he hissed, briefly tightening his hold around Harry's arm in a silent warning.

"Sorry," Harry muttered quietly as he started up a flight upstairs to start exploring the manor. Best find a hiding spot now, as he had the feeling that Rose would be the type to wait in his new room and force him to play if she got too bored.