"ss,Parseltongue,ss" Just so that you know.

Disclaimer: Not Mine. Talk to Rowling. Just borrowing them a while.

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Last Time

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Harry shrugged and left the lab to seek out a source of food. He hadn't got the chance to eat much at lunch, what with his familiars' antics, and he was starved after spending all afternoon brewing poisons for Snape's satanic pleasure. He was just glad that the surly man had seemed to accept that he was no longer the boy Snape thought he was, and apparently decided to give him half a chance. It was more than he had expected, especially so quickly after his 'secret identity' being revealed.

That just left Ron and the Order to worry about. Harry shuddered at the thought of the Weasleys' reactions to the news.

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The Founders' Heir

Chapter Twenty-Nine

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The Order of the Phoenix

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It was dark by the time Harry left the castle and wandered out onto the grounds. Saire was wrapped around his chest, as per usual, and from his deductions was fast asleep. His other Familiar was with Albus at the new Order headquarters.

Harry paused in a dark alcove of the castle, glancing around him to make sure that he wasn't being watched before casting a glamour over himself. Conjuring a mirror, he double-checked his new appearance. He looked just like he did before he was pulled back to the Founders.

He banished the mirror and smirked as he slid out of Hogwarts wards.

Harry had always found the ability of sliding fascinating and terribly handy. For one it was silent, unlike apperation, and no sort of anit-apperation wards could stop a Founders' Heir when they slid.

Harry followed Albus' magical signature to his location, but didn't let go of his magic, and therefore he remained in the shadowy realm of sliding. Looking around, Harry found himself in a large gathering hall which at one time may have been a grand sight but was clearly unused and had fallen into disarray. It didn't seem to bother the gathering of Order members, however.

Harry recognized many of the faces in the hall, though had a hard time putting names to some of them. The Weasley's were easy to spot, and unless he missed one, seemed to be in near full attendance. The only missing redheads were Ron, Ginny and Percy. Harry cringed slightly. Molly was going to be a handful when she found out who he was. Harry slid himself over to the other side of the room, hoping that a little distance might dampen her reaction a little, though he doubted it.

He remained half in and half out of the slide as he watched the Order settle down and Albus begin the meeting. Cin was curled up at the man's side, and received no few odd looks from the various members around the hall. Harry moved to a position behind Albus' shoulder, and waited until most of the people in the hall didn't have their direct attention at the old man.

Harry let his hold of the slide loosen.

To the few who saw him, he seemed to have appeared out of mid air, slightly transparent and very ghost like. Couple that with his glamour, then many would think he was the ghost of Harry Potter appearing before them.

He heard a sharp gasp from the direction of the Weasley clan, though it could have been one of the others sitting near them, before he retook a solid hold of his magic and moved further back into the slide, disappearing from view. Harry watched in amusement as whispers broke out from those who saw him, and a few fingers were pointed in his direction.

Albus, of course, continued on as if nothing at all was amiss.

Harry slid around the room, and seated himself in an empty chair in between Charlie and a man he didn't know. He again loosened his hold, staring around the room with a blank face.

"Harry!"

He couldn't hold in the small smirk when he saw Tonks topple out of her chair, her hair turning three shades of orange in the process. He quickly took hold of the slide again before he could no longer hold in his mirth.

Charlie was staring at the chair next to him and hesitantly passed a hand through the space above the seat. Harry slid around the room again, smirking widely.

No one was paying Albus any attention anymore, which the old man noticed, and Harry laughed outright as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth and just sat back to watch everyone.

Harry slid into view again, this time right between the Weasley twins, who were surprised, to say the least. He was unable, however, to keep the smirk from his face as the twins stared at him, their mouths gaping. He had never seen Fred and George speechless before. It was quite the compliment.

"Elddir!" Harry turned to look at Moody, not bothering to move from his semi-transparent position between the twins. The man's magical eye was staring at him, and most likely, right through the glamour. Harry smirked at him before disappearing again.

"That was Harry?" Molly said faintly, staring at the spot between her sons. "But I…he…"

"Don't worry yourself, Molly." Moody growled. "The whelp is only playing tricks."

Harry watched in a mixture of amusement and sadness as Molly stared at Mad-Eye, and Moody's magical eye twirled around in his head, no doubt looking for him.

"Come out, Elddir." Moody growled.

"What if I don't want to?" Harry whispered in the man's ear as he became visible to them again. Moody spun violently, his wand appearing in his hand and pointed at Harry in seconds. Harry was impressed. The man was fast.

"Stupify!" Moody growled.

Harry stepped to the side, the spell whipping past his side to crash into the wall behind him.

"You have to be quicker than that, Mad-Eye." He said with a smirk. He hadn't anticipated having to dodge spells, but he wasn't about to pass down a chance to hex the man. He was still a little sore that the old Auror had been so suspicious of him.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted." Moody said darkly.

Harry sighed and threw his arms up over his head in exasperation. The man still thought he was a Death Eater.

"You're one suspicious bastard, you know that." He said with false cheer. The man was bloody paranoid.

"And a good thing, too." Moody said, throwing another spell at him. Harry slid across the room, feeling the crackle of Moody's spell just as he disappeared.

Harry stepped out of the slide on the opposite side of the room, though no one appeared to have seen him. He was no longer transparent to the others, effectively ending his little prank, but he couldn't easily cast spells when he was partially within a slide, and if Moody insisted on being a right bastard, then Harry wasn't about to sit idly by.

He suddenly felt the tip of a wand pointed at his neck. He tensed, but didn't react. He knew who it was, and while he didn't fully trust the man, he doubted that Snape would kill him.

"What are you playing at, Apprentice?" he said. Harry could hear the sneer the man was no doubt wearing as he pressed the wand harder. Moody spun around, and flung a curse at them. Harry side-stepped it, pushing Snape to the side as well, though he didn't retaliate, and didn't move away from the wand at his neck. The entire Order was staring between the three and Albus with a great mixture of expressions. Harry did notice, however, that Remus was smirking.

"Finite Incantatem." Snape hissed.

Harry shook himself out slightly as the weight of the glamour faded and Snape's wand left his neck. A quick glance at his Master showed him that Snape was glaring at him and his eyes seemed to promise him much pain. Harry averted his eyes, deciding to deal with whatever Snape doled out at him when it came.

"Darion?" Arthur said. The shock in his voice mirrored what the others' faced showed. Harry smirked slightly and addressed Remus.

"It was pretty good, yea?"

"Marauder worthy, Harry." Remus said with a hint of pride.

"It would have worked better if Moody hadn't started flinging spells at me." He said with a sniff.

"You can't possibly trust him." Moody snarled, his wand still aimed at Harry.

Harry looked at him coldly. The man was adept at ruining a good mood. He had hoped that the old Auror would have given up on his misplaced suspicions, but apparently not.

"You're beginning to get on my nerves again, Moody." He said.

"I don't trust you."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"What?"

"I want to know why you don't trust me." Harry asked again. "You used to."

"You are not Potter!" Moody growled.

"Of course I am! Just because I no longer look like the naïve little runt I used to be, doesn't mean I'm not who I am!"

"Prove it!"

"How can I possibly prove something to someone who doesn't listen to anything but his own paranoia?" Harry hissed.

"You're dark!" Moody growled. "I won't let you infiltrate this Order."

Harry sidestepped the curse flung at him, but still didn't retaliate, however much his hands itched to do so.

"You know, I had no intentions of duking it out with you, Moody." Harry said, dodging another curse. "But if you insist on dueling, then I will have to insist you allow me to use my full arsenal."

"Is that necessary?" Albus interjected.

"Fine, whelp." Moody growled out between spells, "You are welcome to try your best."

Harry ducked a particularly nasty curse. "Very well, Mad-Eye." He said with a vicious smirk. "Everyone else should move aside." He said, casting a strong barrier around himself and Moody. The barrier shimmered as it expanded, forcing the other Order members to the sides of the room.

"I will give you one chance to step down, Alastor Moody." Harry said.

"Convello!"

Harry's eyes widened at the curse barreling towards him. "Expiotus!" he said, breathing a soft sigh of relief as the shield blocked Moody's curse. It would have shattered his bones if it had hit him. He sent a glare towards the old Auror as he let his shield fall.

"And you say I'm dark?" Harry said, "That's a classified dark arts spell by the Ministry."

"I'm an Auror." Moody growled.

"Ex-Auror." Harry mumbled. "And what does that have to do with anything, anyways?"

"Aurors are exempt from the restrictions against the Dark Arts, though few choose to, nor have the talent, to use them."

"Well, that figures." Harry harrumphed. "Just what I need, a trigger happy paranoid Auror hell bent on getting me dead." He mumbled as he ducked a nasty yellow spell.

Harry stretched his hand out towards the man, "Puriga!"

"An itching hex, whelp?" Moody snarled, "I expected your full arsenal."

"You wouldn't survive my full arsenal." Harry said neutrally.

"I doubt that." Moody said, sending a barrage of spells at him.

Harry managed to dodge two and block another but the dark violet light of the Paveris Hex struck him square in the chest. His body trembled under the force of the spell, and he could already feel the overwhelming sensation of fear building in his gut. It was a nasty curse, designed to take the effects of the fear of the victim's worst nightmare and multiply it. Harry rather thought it resembled the emotions generated by the crossing of a Boggart and a Dementer. It was decidedly unpleasant. It was also one of Salazar's favorites.

Harry ignored his body's trembling, and stared back at Moody darkly. A large portion of the man's chosen spells were borderline Dark, and it was getting on his nerves.

"You should know," Harry said coldly, "That I was trained by all four of the Founders. Do you really think that they would allow my fear to control me, or even hinder me?"

"We shall see, boy." Moody said. "How long before you succumb to your own fears?"

"I have asked you repeatedly not to call me 'boy'." Harry snarled.

"Obscuro!"

Harry didn't bother to block or dodge the spell. He let it come, and only staggered slightly as the force of the curse crashed into him. His vision quickly dimmed and was gone within seconds.

"ss,Crinita Draconibus!,ss" Harry hissed, flinging the spell directly at the man. His aim wasn't off, as he knew it wouldn't be. The loss of his sight wasn't a great hindrance to him, as Snape and Karkaroff had learned first hand earlier.

He soon heard the effects of his spell, and the shocked gasps of the others present.

"ss,Scare him,ss" Harry ordered the mass of serpents. He immediately heard the collective hissing of dozens of snakes.

"Finite Incantatem." He waved his hand in front of his face, blinking slightly as the spell faded and his vision returned. He was greeted with the sight of Mad-Eye batting away the snakes that hovered around his face. It would do him no good. The spell caused about two dozen snakes to grow out of the recipient's own scalp. Moody could bat at the snakes all he wanted, but they weren't going anywhere, they were attached to his head.

"The Medusa Charm." Harry said, inspecting the snakes. They looked different on every person. As far as Harry could tell, they seemed to reflect the host's personality, or magic. The ones growing out of Moody's head were a particularly ugly breed, sporting brown scales and a mixing of red and orange stripes that had no discernable pattern.

"They are poisonous, you know." Harry said calmly, despite his body's increasing tremors from the earlier fear curse. That curse couldn't be waved away by a simply spell. It required a dedicated counter-potion, which is what made it so effective. Few wizards typically carried the cure around with them. Unfortunately, despite his own vast stores, Harry didn't normally carry it either.

"I should let them have you." Harry continued in the same cool tone. Moody had ceased batting at the snakes, as none had yet bitten or harmed him. They simply hovered around his face, hissing and spitting at him.

"Their lives depend on mine." Moody said, "They won't harm me."

"You're wrong." Harry said, "Once the body of their host dies, they are freed into the world. It would be in their best interest to kill you."

"Liar!"

"Do you want to test it?" Harry asked, slightly curious. "ss,One, bite him. Don't kill him,ss."

Moody's good eye widened as the snakes all struck at his face. Only one of them bit him, however. The man jumped as the snake retreated, hissing menacingly at him, inches from his good eye. Two small drops of blood beaded on his cheek and trailed down to his chin.

"They will not hesitate." Harry said, slightly curious how the man would react.

Moody didn't respond, his magical eye whirring around in its socket, while his good eye alternated between the hovering snake and the youth standing over him. Harry sucked in a gasp as particularly nasty tremor ran up his spine. The fear curse was steadily becoming stronger as it fed off of his own nightmares and magic.

"How much longer, Apprentice?" Moody sneered, having seen his shaking.

"Expelliarmus." Harry ignored the comment and waved a hand over the man, catching his wand easily. He looked at the wand for a moment, debating on breaking it, but decided against it. The man was being a right bloody bastard to him, but he was against Voldemort either way, and a great wand was hard to come by. Moody would need it later, against the Death Eaters. Harry let his hand drop to his side, loosely holding the wand as he turned back to Moody.

"You have a rather nasty arsenal of curses, Mad-Eye." Harry commented as he studied the man. "Are you through with testing them on me?"

Moody snarled at him. Harry merely looked back at him without a trace of emotion on his face. He was tired of the man's suspicions.

"ss,May I bite him, Shay?,ss" Saire hissed, curling her head around his neck and staring down at Moody hungrily.

"ss,No, Saire,ss"

"ss,Are you sure, Shay?,ss"

Harry nodded and Saire subsided, resting her head on his shoulder, but she didn't take her eyes from the man, and seemed intrigued by the mass of snakes growing from his head. Harry waved his hand and took down the barrier separating them from the Order, suppressing another wave of shudders that wracked his body. He took a deep breath as the Order seemed to surge towards him. He wouldn't allow the Paveris Hex to get a hold on him. Once it did, he would begin to hallucinate and would steadily go insane.

"Darion?" Albus asked, his voice concerned.

"I'm fine, Albus." Harry said, his eyes still on Moody. He knew the man carried a second wand, and an assortment of weapons, though he didn't seem to be about to draw any of them.

"Do you have the counter potion?" Albus asked.

"No."

"Severus?" Albus turned to the Potions Master.

"Not in a completed form."

"I'm fine, Albus." Harry said, looking his old friend in the eye. "Salazar taught me well."

Albus studied him for a moment before nodding, and Harry returned his gaze to the old Auror.

"ss,Leave him, but do not kill him,ss" Harry hissed to the ugly snakes. Moody shuddered as the mass of serpents slithered out of his scull. Harry knew that it was an odd sensation. Salazar had hit him with that curse at one point, and Harry wasn't all too pleased by it.

"You should be grateful, Moody." Harry said conversationally, "That I am a Parselmouth, and that I don't want to kill you, otherwise you would be dead. Those snakes may have been created by my magic, but they feed off of yours."

"What do you mean, Darion?" Remus asked, watching the snakes grow longer with apparent fascination.

"Moody was right when he said that the snakes rely on his magic, but he was wrong when he said that they wouldn't harm him." Harry said, "Normally, they wouldn't, and they would grow with time, unless someone managed to banish them, though I doubt more than a few in the world would know how. They would remain until their host died and their source of food was gone, then they would venture out into the world on their own. However, as I am a Parseltongue, I can ask them to leave." Harry paused as a tremor racked his frame, and he took in a deep breath to steady himself. Moody was too busy staring at the growing snakes around his head to throw a comment at him.

"Now, in order to leave his head, the snakes have to complete their tail ends. Since they are no longer connected to me, they have to pull on the magic of their host to create the rest of their bodies. The snakes will pull on his magic, growing in length as the magic feeds them, until the magic is dried up and they leave his body."

"It'll kill him?" Charlie asked, staring at the sight before them. The snakes were nearly a meter in length, and Moody was swaying on his feet, clearly becoming light headed.

"Normally it would." Harry said, and winced as Moody crashed to the floor. "The snakes would drain his magic, and his system would go into shock and he would die."

Harry blinked as the Order all stared at him in shock. He shrugged. "Don't worry, I asked them not to kill him. He'll live, though his magic will be drained to a very low point, and he'll be a bit weak for a few days."

Harry returned his gaze to the old Auror. The snakes had reached a length somewhere past a meter and began to detach themselves from the man's head. Harry watched dispassionately as they slithered across the floor and out the door.

"I'm a bit impressed, Moody." Harry commented, "They reached a respectable length from your magic."

"Where are they going?" Arthur asked.

"Outside, no doubt." Harry said, staring at Moody. As the last of the serpents left his head, Moody raised his eyes to stare back at him. His magical eye rolled around in its socket for a moment before fixing itself steadily on him. Harry took another deep breath, still fighting the effects of the fear curse. After the worst of the tremor passed Harry handed the man back his wand. Moody eyed him for a moment, but snatched it out of his hand quick enough.

"He's dark, Albus." Moody said, his magical eye fixed on Harry. "I can see it, lingering beneath the surface."

Harry felt his eyes widen slightly, though otherwise he showed no reaction. He had no idea that Moody's magical eye would be able to see so deeply. No wonder the man was suspicious of him.

"I know, Alastor." Albus said in a soft voice. "However, I trust Darion with my life, and I would trust him with much more."

Moody subsided, though continued to glare at him while he tucked his wand away. Harry returned the man's look steadily, though with a hint of wariness. The man's magical eye saw more than he expected and that unnerved him.

"Wait a minute, Darion is Harry?" Molly's voice broke the silence.

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