He Is Not One of Us
Disclaimer/Plot/Challenge Information/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Recommended Reads: Who Dares Wins by OlegGunnarsson, Xenogenous Souls by Quatermass, Apex by JustBored21, When Daylight Dies by BloodyRose90, Harry Potter and the Hidden Truth by KingFatMan25, Midnight Sun and Darkest Before Dawn by Herald-MageAnduli, Dark Prince Rises and Argent Knight of Pendragon by Ronin2106, Beautiful, Broken, Deadly by ifYouDieInCanada, Small Changes by KnightCarter007, Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man, Harry Potter and the Shadowed Light by itshanniee and Antithesis by Oceanbreeze7
Key Pairing: Harry/Gabrielle;
Other Pairings: Neville/Ginny; Lily/James; Others TBD
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
Winged Seer Wolf: As a wise man once said: this ain't that sort of story, bruv;
Taking Harry's hands in his, Sirius smiled like the big kid he was before he looked up at his boy with a fond, planning smile;
"Harry, how would you like the opportunity to become what I've always looked at you and seen you as…myson?"
Chapter 3: A Lone Wolf's Pack
After the atmosphere of disbelief finally died down, the feast began, although it wasn't the same, usual feast people had come to expect.
For one, before the food appeared, Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat and made a speech about how they acknowledge a terrible loss before openly revealing how Cedric Diggory had been murdered by Lord Voldemort.
While many of the students looked horrified and disbelieving, on the Slytherin Table, the new Harry Black smirked to himself as he wondered how long the old fool would have to suffer backlash because of this. After all, if there was one thing he'd learned about Fudge and his ilk in the time he'd known them, they didn't take bad news or the bleeding obvious as easily as anyone else, even when it was staring them in the face.
In fact, it brought a smile of relief and mocking amusement to his face to think of how easily he could just picture the struggles he might have had to put up with had he revealed it at the end of the Third Task.
Stupid headlines asking if the old man was daft or dangerous.
A smear campaign that would probably see Harry ostracised by those who'd once believed in him and, more than likely, some stupid, ridiculous play on words like Potter; Plotter or The Boy-Who-Lies.
'Thankfully, I don't have anything to worry about now,' thought Harry, resting his head against his hand, the tips of his fingers stroking the scar on his cheek as he thought to himself, 'Potter revealed the truth and Fudge is likely falling over himself to keep his hero's Daddy happy.'
As he thought on this point, Harry couldn't help but glance towards Draco as he mused, 'It's funny, really: he hates the idea of having anything to do with those like Lucius Malfoy and yet, when you get down to it, they're so similar in some aspects, it's scary.'
Following the proclamation, the Headmaster gave a speech that addressed the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, talking about the bonds they shared and how their hearts beat as one. He also indicated the fact that, due to the circumstances surrounding the end of the Tournament, there was no official winner seeing as how one Champion – Cedric – had been murdered and another was disqualified for breach of the rules.
He didn't say it aloud, but Harry saw the old man look in his direction when he said this, which made the former Potter scoff as he rolled his eyes.
He didn't need to be a Seer to suspect the fact that he was now a Black by name and not the Fourth Champion, Harry Potter, had something to do with that, but he kept his peace.
After all, he didn't have anything to prove to anyone by pretending to be that weak-willed spare any longer, so, although he couldn't believe how fickle they were – at least before remembering who he was talking about, which led him to change his mind and say he did believe it – Harry still decided that he'd let the old git and his pathetic sheep have their moment.
Finally, the feast began and, while many of the students were distracted by the revelations, a new Gryffindor and a resorted Slytherin, Harry kept his eyes on his plate and his food. To the surprise of his peers, his expression remained apathetic, even though he and others could see and feel the hate in the eyes of his ex-Father drilling into the back of his skull.
However, now Harry was a Slytherin, there were two things stopping James or Lily from doing anything that might jeopardise the boy's future, and, as much as others might believe it themselves like the sheep they were, Harry knew neither of them were the old man in the gold chair.
One was his Head of House and new mentor, Professor Severus Snape, whom Harry guessed was watching his enemy very closely, while the other, aside from Sirius – who'd stayed until the feast was done at Harry's request – was the fact that Harry was sitting right next to Lucius Malfoy's son with several other well-known members of influence and power's heirs and heiresses around him.
James might want to punish his ex-son for what he'd done and convince him to give up what Sirius had given him – 'good luck' – but even he wasn't so deluded that he'd take on the House of Slytherin, including the son of Voldemort's second-in-command, by going after one of their own.
Not One of Us
As the feast ended, the students rose before the Hogwarts students made their way outside for a farewell gathering, which involved the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang getting a chance to say goodbye to their new friends and peers.
Before Harry made his way out to join them, however, he smirked to himself as he remembered something he knew his newest family member had seen him pass onto him. And, judging from the way said family member hadn't moved from his seat to join the rest of the Slytherins, it was clear to Harry that he thought this was an opportune moment to talk.
One look to the High Table, as well as the sight of their Head of House also choosing to stay where he was as though he couldn't stomach the thought of such false happiness and joy at a time like this, also told Harry he was all right to make his move.
Heaving a sigh, Harry turned to Draco before he drew in a slow breath as he muttered, "So…"
"Just," said Draco suddenly, holding up a hand as he looked to Harry before he added, "Let me get this out, Black, then you can say whatever boast you have to say, okay?"
Gesturing for Draco to continue, Harry rested his chin against the palm of his right hand as he looked to his new cousin while the blond did exactly that, "First, you want me to say it? Fine: I'll say it. I was wrong about you. For a long time, I believed you were weak, pathetic and nothing more than a sheep following the herd; turning me down in our first year hurt me, yes, but what hurt worse was the idea that you'd been snared by their lot."
Harry just hummed in response while Draco cleared his throat as he went on, "However, looking at you now: from the proud way you carry yourself to the unintimidated manner you use to gladly show your scars and make your enemies look weak and how you accept what you've become, I know I was wrong to think I knew the first thing about you…so…this one time…I'll say it…I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted," replied Harry instantly, though he smirked amusingly as he saw Draco blanch at how easy that had been. "Can I talk now?"
"One more thing," said Draco, looking right into his new Housemate's cold, piercing stare before he went on, "I realise I was also wrong to think you were just a sheep. You're not…you're strong; far stronger than me, or anyone else, realises or believes you have it within you to be, so…rather than trying to make you be one of the crowd, I want to say…good luck to you with whatever your next move is and welcome to Slytherin, Harry Black."
"Thank you, Draco," replied Harry, tapping his fingers against the side of his head before, heaving a sigh, he drew himself to his full height, showing the same proud air Draco had witnessed outside, as he asked, "Can I say what I want to say now, then?"
"Of course."
"Good," said Harry, but before Draco could say anything or do anything in response, the blond's eyes widened when Harry grabbed his new cane, which he then revealed contained a wand much like how Lucius Malfoy's cane did likewise.
Holding the wand in his hand, Harry lifted it once before he pointed it right between Draco's eyes, his own green eyes edged with a glow that made the flecks of silvery-grey more-recognisable, if not intimidating to behold as he addressed the blond, "As Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, I, Harrison Regulus Black, invoke our Family's Magic to bear witness as I ask you, Draco Alexander Malfoy, son of Narcissa Vesta Malfoy nee Black, to speak only the truth to me."
Suddenly, Draco's eyes widened when he felt his body go rigid while, at the same time, his expression grew apathetic even as his magic unleashed what could only be described as a wave of cold, numbing magic, which slowly coursed through his blood even as he spoke, "Of course, Heir Black."
Smiling like a shark smelling blood in the water, Harry cleared his throat as he explained, "Now, from what I learned about this magic, I get three questions and, if at any time, I, or the magic of our Household suspect you're lying to me, you sacrifice your magic and your right to any Black Family heritage you have at the moment, correct?"
"Correct," said Draco, earning a smug smile from Harry as he nodded.
"Good, so you understand how serious this is?"
"Yes."
"In that case, I have one question for you, cousin," said Harry, his eyes glowing with the power he'd invoked while his voice was edged by a mixture of dark thoughts and dominance-both as he addressed Draco, "Do you want to serve Lord Voldemort?"
As Draco flinched at the mention of the name, Harry moved one hand out of the blond's line of sight, crossing his fingers as he stared deeply into the blond's grey eyes. If Draco gave the answer Harry expected him to give, he could put the last part of his discussions with Sirius into effect, but if Draco gave him the wrong answer, Harry was also prepared to make sure the blonde regretted it, no matter what.
For a long moment, Harry saw Draco's eyes glaze over for only a second or two before, finally, the blond answered him;
"No."
To Harry's partial-relief, but only partially, the magic of his power as Heir Black didn't punish Draco for lying.
Lowering his wand, returning it to its holster in the process, Harry cleared his throat as he said, "Thank you."
"For what? I only said no," argued Draco, a note of confusion in his voice.
Smiling in response to the blond's confusion, Harry nodded as he explained, "That's true, you did: and it was the truth, so I know it's safe to inform you that, even though you haven't yet been informed of this, not only do I believe you, but steps are already being taken to ensure you don't have to serve him, even if Lucius makes you…or tries to."
"What do you mean?"
Drawing himself to his full height, Harry answered Draco's query, "During my investiture as Father's heir, as well as the finalisation of all claims and compensation owed to Father as the exonerated Lord Black, we took a look at some of the connections made by our family. One of them, much to Father's surprise, involved an illegal marriage contract forged between House Malfoy and House Black; before you ask, what made it illegal was the fact that it was neither stamped with the Lord's Seal nor signed by the former Lord Black, Grandfather Orion, but rather, your grandfather, Cygnus."
Draco's eyes widened when he heard this, but Harry wasn't done.
"Therefore, as Lord Black now, Father was not only able to nullify the contract, thereby disbanding the marriage of Narcissa to Lucius, but he was able to demand recompense for crimes against House Black. As his heir, and one who was burned by your family, and not just with how he's threatened my life and nearly cast the Killing Curse on me here at Hogwarts…"
"He did?" asked Draco, a note of alarm in his voice, earning a slow nod from Harry.
"Yes, and if not for a former elf of yours, Dobby, he would have succeeded, but anyway, my point is that Father let me decide what that would be. So, I told him I'd use the Black Family Magic to question you about your intentions with your…Father, and the snake-faced, half-blood murdering bastard he worships like he's meant to be Zeus or someone else of Mythology. If you intended to serve, we'd nullify the marriage, but only Narcissa would be free and I'd have a debt owed for services rendered…but if you didn't, which you don't, the recompense would be simple: the life of the firstborn child of Malfoy's bastardised unity with Narcissa…in other words, cousin of mine…"
"I…I'm free of him!" gasped Draco, earning a smug smile from Harry as he clapped a hand on Draco's shoulder.
"Effective as of the moment you told me, through Black Family Magic, I admit, but you told me regardless that you do not wish to serve him. Right now, I pray that your Dad's aware of what he's lost while, thanks to Father's handiwork, your Mother is likely already on her way to the Black Family Ancestral Home, no longer Narcissa Malfoy, but Narcissa Black once more…and same to you, Draco Black."
"But…but…but…" stammered Draco, trying and failing to find the right words before, in the end, he asked the only thing he could, "Why?"
"Let's just say…" replied Harry, tapping Draco's cheek in a mocking, if not amused manner as he smiled at the shocked youth;
"I might have only been a Slytherin for an hour or so, Draco, but now, I've confirmed that I do know more about you than you think I do."
Not One of Us
Done with his talk with Draco, and the shocking revelation included, Harry made his way outside.
From where he watched the farewells from a lone archway at the far end of the courtyard, Harry smirked as he saw Viktor Krum saying goodbye to Hermione, including giving her a note that he could only assume had the bonbon's address on it.
'He's welcome to her,' thought Harry, noticing how Hermione seemed to be trying to get rather close to the redhead he now knew was his former brother, Jason, the young boy clearly interested in Hermione and her knowledge as they talked about things Harry knew not what.
'And I thought Ron turned too quickly,' thought the Black Heir, before he smiled to himself when he saw how, aside from the two-faced brunette and the bastard he no longer had to call kin, Harry noticed Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour say their own thanks and farewell to Ron, who blushed when Gabrielle placed a soft kiss on the boy's cheek.
As he smirked, wondering what might come of this, and also wondering yet again if Ron was like Hermione or if he was still a friend, even with the snake on his robe, Harry was surprised when he saw the Delacours look in his direction before they both walked over to where he sat.
Steeling himself in case of trouble, Harry wrapped his fingers around the wolf's head on his cane, keeping his expression as calm as he could while he asked them, "May I help you, Mademoiselle Delacour?"
"I…we…" Fleur corrected herself, indicating her sister before she returned her attention to Harry as she went on, "…Wanted to say thank you again for what you did in the Tournament, Monsieur Pot…excusez-moi…I mean Black."
"It was nothing," said Harry, inclining his head to Gabrielle as he told her and her sister, "I did what I thought was right at the time."
"It was something!" insisted Gabrielle, earning a surprised look from Harry as he looked from one Delacour to the other.
"Oui, you have saved the life of my sister and I twice now, Monsieur Black," argued Fleur, earning a curious look from Harry as she explained more about this, "First, you risk your life to save her in the Black Lake when she was not yours to save. And then I heard how you ensured I was found by the staff in the Third Task after that idiot, Monsieur Krum, attacked me."
"Oh," said Harry, sniffing once while, relaxing his hold on his cane, a part of him acknowledging their gratitude rather than the possibility of a threat for some unknown slight on his part, he added, "Well, you're welcome, I guess, but I don't know why you're thanking me. The boy I am now isn't the same as the one who saved you, so you don't really owe me anything."
"But we do!" piped up Gabrielle, her voice surprisingly soft and musical in nature while her eyes sparkled like diamonds when she looked at Harry as she told him, "You may not know this, Monsieur Black, but my sister and I, we are…how you say…not quite human."
"Part Veela, I know," said Harry, looking back to Fleur before he asked, "What's that got to do with anything?"
"When someone saves the life of a Veela, it forges a…how you say…connection," explained Fleur, earning a raised eyebrow from Harry as she told him, "Normally, saving us once is enough to form a debt that can be called in at any time, but if two Veela who share relations through family are saved, it creates a greater connection…one that puts the saved under the thrall of the one who saved them for life."
"Like…what? Fealty?" asked Harry curiously, earning a nod from Fleur while Harry let out a sigh as he asked, "So what? Are you saying you and your sister…you now belong to me?"
"Oui," chorused the Delacours, earning a small smile from Harry before, to his surprise, Fleur placed a soft kiss on his forehead while Gabrielle, much to Harry's surprise and slight discomfort, brushed her lips against the scar on his cheek.
Once they were done, the girls stepped back before Fleur told him, "I am returning to France to inform ma mere about this connection; once she and mon pere are aware of it, my sister and I shall return to England and we shall come and find you. What happens next is up to you, Harry Black."
"I…I wouldn't want to take you away from your families," argued Harry, but Fleur cut him off with a raised hand.
"It is your right," said the elder girl, her eyes filled with a hint of pure acceptance while she explained, "It is a law of our race that cannot be overruled and, whether they will like it or not, our parents shall understand…I hope."
"But…Gabrielle's just a child," remarked Harry, earning a knowing smile from the younger Delacour.
"I will be ascending in my Veela maturity on my next birthday," said Gabrielle, earning a curious look from Harry before the young blonde told him, "I will be aging to my rightful age to be a true Veela; once I become this woman, I will be younger than ma soeur, but I will still be of age to have the connection with the one who saved me."
"And…" asked Harry, a part of him making a note to research the ways of the Veela later so that he understood a little more about this connection he would have with the Delacours, "Once you…once you return, what will you be?"
"Pardon?" chorused the sisters.
Clearing his throat, Harry took a breath as he explained, "Like you said, I'm a Black now, Miss Delacour, and I don't know if you know this, but my family's not exactly the heroic sort…and neither am I going to be after what's happened. I guess what I'm saying is if my path takes me places that anyone else would find…scary or…or the kind you'd never want to go, what would you do?"
"We would honour our connection and follow you, Harry," said Fleur, earning a look from Harry as she told him, "Our path is yours now and yours is ours; whether our hopes and dreams may like it or non, it is what is asked of us."
For a moment, Harry cleared his throat as he tried and failed to find a way to say what he wanted to say without sounding too strange.
In the end, he just brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes before he addressed the Delacours again, "I…I can't promise I'll be the same Harry who saved you and formed these connections, but…but if this is what you say it is, then the least I can promise you is this: whatever this connection may involve, I will not have you as anything less than my equals…both of you."
Looking at Fleur, who seemed grateful, if not relieved by Harry's words, the Black Heir told her, "If there's one thing this year's shown me about you, Fleur, you're more than just a pretty face. You have a real fire in you that I'd be happy to have at my side, as my friend and not my rival."
While Fleur blushed, as did Harry as he didn't know where the words came from, but he said them anyway, the Black Scion looked to Gabrielle as he told her, "And you, Gabrielle, I don't know much about you, but I do think you have the same fighting spirit in you. And whatever the truth of our connection may be, I don't want to exploit that spirit, but rather, I want to help you nurture and fuel the fire…if you'll let me."
"I would be happy to let you do whatever you want to do with me and my spirit, Harry Black," said Gabrielle, although she surprised Harry as she hugged him warmly, earning a small smile from Harry as he petted the top of her head, almost like a big brother comforting his little sister, before she parted from him, wiping a stray tear from her eye as she looked into his eyes while she added, "I think my sister will agree with me when I say we couldn't hope for a better…how you say…liege-lord to belong to."
"Merci beaucoup," replied Harry, smiling in response as he asked, "So…I guess I'll be seeing you, then?"
"À bientôt, Harry," said Fleur before she made her way back to the group of Beauxbatons girls.
For a brief moment, however, Gabrielle lingered before, to Harry's surprise and amusement, she gave him a curtsey of respect, like a lady might bow to a lord, before she left to catch up with her sister, leaving Harry stunned, but also impressed by what he'd just learned.
"Until we meet again, Miss Delacour…and Miss Delacour," whispered Harry, a lone tear rolling down his cheek as, despite the dark mindset he had towards his ex-relations and what they'd done to him, there was a part of Harry that still showed from the Potter boy he used to be.
And that was the part of him that, after his own experiences at the hands of the Dursleys, would refuse to allow anyone to bend the knee to him.
He had already been a slave, or very near to one.
He would never keep one or suffer any to be kept.
So, if the Delacours belonged to him as they said they did, he would ensure that they knew the same thing Harry had hoped to know when he first came into the magical world.
They would know what it felt like to be friends with those who knew and respected them for who they truly were.
Even he wasn't that evil.
Not One of Us
Curiously, among other things that weighed on his thoughts, Harry was still thinking about the Delacours and their strange, but not-unwelcome offer when the time finally came for him and his peers to make the journey back to King's Cross Station and the world beyond Hogwarts' borders.
Although, had anyone asked him, he would have sworn blind he didn't know why he was thinking about it so much.
After all, he was a teenage boy with not one, but two devilishly-handsome girls who were there because they belonged to him: any other boy in his situation would be going ballistic with thoughts of erotic ideas of what he could do with them at his side for as long as he wished them to be.
However, Harry wasn't a normal boy in his situation.
Yes, he admired the thought of having the Delacour Sisters on his side and at his beck and call, but, as he'd noted before, he didn't think of them as his slaves, but as equals. Whatever this bond with them involved, exactly, he knew he couldn't…no…he knew he wouldn't exploit it just because his adolescent hormones decided to have a day on the excitement drug.
He also knew he'd gladly allow both girls to follow their hearts to wherever they may lead them so that, if it came down to it, the three of them were more like kin than anything else.
As this thought crossed his mind, Harry smiled to himself as he rode on the train back to King's Cross, his things, including a sleeping Hedwig – to his relief when he'd found her still coming to him and not his ex-family – taken ahead by Sirius, who admitted he didn't know why his son was taking the train when home was an Apparition away.
In response, Harry had shrugged as he said, "Tradition, I guess."
As he watched the world go by, Harry let his eyes wander to the one possession he'd kept with him.
The wolf-headed cane he'd carried by his side and used since the day he'd become Sirius' son and heir.
Not One of Us
At the time, it seemed silly, but, according to Sirius, if Harry wanted the perfect way to send a message to those he saw as his enemies – read: Lily, James, Dumbledore and especially, Golden Boy Jason – that he wasn't about to be beaten as easily as they'd like, the best place to start was on the field of nobility.
As a Black, Harry was the son and heir of one of, if not the oldest-surviving members of the pure-blood circle known as the Sacred Twenty-Eight in the Magical World and, as much as Sirius hated to admit it, when it came to sending a message, sometimes using blood purity and one's station in the world was your best weapon.
Still, he'd found the wolf head ironic, if not a funny choice given the fact that Harry had been betrayed by a wolf and left alone in the dark.
"But that's why a wolf," Harry had said when they had the cane forged for him, including a slot for a brand-new wand, which had actually needed Harry's holly-and-phoenix-feather wand to fuse with it, but, fortunately, a wand-crafter in Knockturn Alley had been able to do it.
His new wand was a hybrid of yew and holly with phoenix feather and the fang of a Basilisk – all of which were items Harry didn't find too ironic given the fact they were all connected to him in one form or another – though his wand was now twelve-and-a-half inches in length.
Even so, his words still came back to him when he'd told Sirius about his choice of holster:
"Because, while the impotent cub betrayed my trust and lied to me and while the so-called Big Bad Wolf James thinks he is has beaten me down and scarred me, I'm still here…just in exile: alone, cut off from my pack and with no allegiances to anyone."
Then he'd laughed as he'd joked, "You might say that's what I've become: a lone wolf. My own Alpha of my own Pack, but a lone wolf nonetheless."
Not One of Us
Now he looked back on the moment he'd received his cane, Harry conceded that it was a funny thought and it still made Harry laugh to think of it, but as he eyed the wolf head, its silver-forged features and the snarling fangs looking back at him, Harry felt a smile tug at his lips. "Weird thought, but I guess I'm more like a werewolf, really, aren't I, rather than an ordinary wolf? I was bitten and changed into something more, but without any ties to my Sire or my former Pack…yeah, a lone wolf's perfect."
As he reached over, taking his cane into his hands, Harry let his eyes wander along the shaft before he smiled softly as he took hold of the head and, releasing his wand, he held it up, an inquisitive, but deciding look in his eyes as he mused, "So similar, yet different to the ties to my past: but the addition of a wand wood like Voldemort's and a fang to symbolise my serpentine side…it's like the two sides of me that tried to fight each other back when I thought I had to care about what they might think of me…it's like they've now become one: both the warrior I was in Gryffindor and the wizard I refused to admit I could have been as a Slytherin…isn't fate funny that way?"
Sliding his wand back into the slot at the top of his cane, Harry sniggered once at his own cavalier remark.
However, as he did so, he was surprised to hear a knock from the door to his compartment.
Looking up, the young wizard's heart hardened slightly as he saw a flash of red beyond the glass that he knew very well.
Opening the door with the tip of his cane, keeping one hand on the wolf's head just in case, Harry found himself face-to-face with his former-best friend-slash-honorary brother, Ronald Weasley, as the redhead looked at him with a blank, emotionless expression for what seemed like forever.
As Harry returned the look with one of his own, using the tip of his forefinger to tease the teeth on his wolf's head motif, Ron gave a weak smile before he asked, "Sorry…do you mind? Everywhere else is full."
For a moment, you could have cut the tension with the Sword of Gryffindor, but, as he looked at his oldest of friends, Harry let his lips turn upwards in a smile of welcoming acceptance, a part of him amused at how this looked, as he gestured to the seat opposite him, à la three years back.
"Not at all."
Giving a smile that reminded Harry of the last time Ron had used the line, the redhead took a seat opposite Harry, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotions that seemed to centre on worry and relief.
For a few minutes, silence filled the compartment, but then, to Harry's surprise, Ron spoke up, "How are you?"
"Fine," replied Harry, his eyes on the window as he watched the world go by.
Ron, swallowing hard, tried to keep the good feeling around as he said, "We miss you…in Gryffindor…"
"You, Ronald? You miss a slimy snake?" asked Harry before he could stop himself, though given who this was, he thought it was justified: all right, so it wasn't meant to sound as hurtful as he made it sound, but given Ron's dislike for anything and everything to do with the Snake Pit, it came out as a cold, accusing snap on Harry's part.
In response, Ron flinched as he heard the harsh tone in Harry's words, though he seemed to try and hold onto the friendly air they shared as he gulped before he answered, "No…I don't miss a slimy snake; I miss my best friend!"
For a moment, silence followed Ron's words before the redhead cleared his throat as he added, "I…I get why you did it, Harry; you had no choice."
"Do you actually believe that?" asked Harry, earning a nod from Ron before he scoffed as he asked, "I'd have thought you'd have spent the last few days kissing up to Mr Perfect and his Daddy?"
"Why? Because he's the Boy-Who-Lived?" asked Ron, but as soon as he said it, he regretted it when Harry responded with another cold snap.
"Why not? That's why you became friends with me, isn't it?" asked the Black Heir, his voice edged by pain while his hands clenched around the cane in his hand, his green eyes hardening until they resembled impure emeralds – impure because of how the silver-grey flecks in his green eyes became more-pronounced with his rage showing itself.
For a moment, Ron didn't know what to say, but as he saw Harry clench his cane and his eyes harden to the point where Ron wondered if Harry might start crying with pain, the redhead felt his heart grow cold with worry while the realisation hit him like a Bludger to the belly.
Swallowing down his own emotional turmoil, at least for now, Ron licked his lips nervously before he asked, "Is that really what you think, Harry? That I became friends with you back in first year because you were the…the Boy-Who-Lived?"
"You didn't know me," argued Harry, keeping his attention on the window as he talked, "Yet you stayed by my side and helped me as much as you could. You were always there even though we only spoke once and, even when I needed help, you were still there…"
"Because I'm your friend!" exclaimed Ron, a note of hurt in his words as well as a raging light of his own that shone within his blue eyes in a way that made them glow like Protego Diabolica as he asked incredulously, "Merlin's beard, mate, how can you think I'd be so selfish? I know I'm not as well-off as Malfoy or your Housemates, but I'm not so desperate that I'd willingly take advantage of someone like that."
"Really?" asked Harry, looking back to Ron, who nodded once before he asked, "So then why did you become my friend?"
"You didn't know me and I didn't know you," said Ron, letting out a soft laugh as he added, "But I remembered you from the other side of the barrier: how lost and alone you were. No friends, no family and no-one to help you settle into our world."
While Harry scoffed, a part of him wondering if his ex-dormmate was just saying this to put on an act, he was stunned by Ron's next words. "I mean, I admit that I never really thought about it before, but…but if it'll help prove things to you, I'll admit it now, Harry. I did find it weird Mum took us to the station the Muggle way when she used to use the Floo every time before then, but I don't regret it and, do you know why?"
When Harry shook his head, Ron smiled as he told him, "I don't regret it because I found someone I was happy: someone I was and still am proud to call my friend and, when you needed me, Harry, I opened my home to you and Mum looked out for you too."
"Bet she won't do that now," whispered Harry, earning a slow shrug of mutual agreement from Ron before he asked in a low voice, "So you…you're saying you became my friend simply because you…you wanted to help me? Not for any other reason?"
"Not for all the gold in Gringotts or if you'd said you were Merlin's kid himself," said Ron, earning a soft laugh from Harry as the redhead heaved a sigh before he added, "As for what happened the other day with your…with Potter and his family and everything else, I don't blame you for choosing your life over them, Harry. Bloody hell, I know I'd be angry if someone close to, or a member of my family suddenly came out of the woodwork and said: oh, hey Ron, we're not dead, we never were, but we still expect you to listen to us and accept you were nothing more than a pawn."
Hearing this, Harry gave a laugh before, to his relief, Ron moved across the compartment and, before he could stop him, Harry found himself embraced warmly by his still-best friend, the air of brotherly care and the friendship between them as strong as ever.
When they parted, Harry tried not to show a tear of gratitude as Ron told him, "I know Hermione normally calls me the idiot, but this time, you're the idiot, Harrison Regulus Black…nice name, by the way."
As Harry snorted in response, though he didn't disagree, Ron clicked his tongue before he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly while the redhead blushed as he confessed, "I turned away from you once before…with the Tournament and…and I'm sorry, mate."
'Took him long enough to say it,' thought Harry, smirking at the remark, even as Ron went on.
"But…but I turned my back on our friendship and…and you nearly died; I refuse to let myself be so easily swayed again."
As Harry laughed in response, Ron looked up at his friend before he put an arm around him as he told him, "I know it's going to be hard from now on, what with You-Know-Who and Potter both against you, but while most of my family might choose to stand with the Potters and the Headmaster, you can bet your wand that I will always be your friend, Harry…despite your lapse in judgment in letting the hat put you in Slytherin."
Before he could stop himself, Harry burst out laughing again, giving Ron a playful shove as he remarked, "There he is…Weaselby!"
"Slimy snake," laughed Ron, shoving Harry back just as playfully as Harry had done, though it also seemed to break the ice for good between the two as their banter continued.
"Muggle loving blood traitor."
"Purist git."
"Dumbledore supporter."
"Death Eater."
"Ouch, you got me!" laughed Harry, rubbing at his arm while he clutched his chest, feigning shock and fatal pain as he insisted in a voice laced with false-pleading and amusement, "Please…mercy…"
As Ron returned the laugh, Harry straightened himself up again before he let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair as he looked back at Ron.
While the redhead shook his head in amusement, he drawled, "Don't ever lose that light in you, mate…not around your real friends."
"I promise," chuckled Harry, before he clicked his tongue as he added, "Mind you, now you come to mention it, I have something to confess to you, mate: the hat nearly did send me to Slytherin back in my first year, but I managed to convince it otherwise."
Hearing this revelation, Ron did look stunned, but, to Harry's amused curiosity, the look faded after only a moment as he muttered, "Somehow, this doesn't surprise me as much as it might have done. If anything, and tell anyone I said this, I'll deny it, but if anything, Harry, I think Slytherin House has actually managed to get themselves a fine wizard with all the potential in the world ahead of him. I mean, look at half the stuff you did as the old you; you know, the you that you once were…does that make sense?"
"Yes," said Harry, patting Ron's shoulder before he leaned forwards, linking his hands together while his smile faded just slightly as he added, "And I want to say sorry, Ron, but it's like I told Sirius; I was scared, which is why I never said anything to you before. I couldn't let myself be fooled again, not even by those I considered as good as my family…meaning you, those lovable rogues and, in an odd way that I hope doesn't fade away, even Ginny. All four of you have always been the brothers and sister I never had…and I hope that won't change."
Again, Ron looked stunned, but after a moment, he smiled as he said, "Then I'm honoured to have such a place in your life…brother."
Before Harry could say anything else, however, both he and Ron turned to the door when a familiar voice broke through the calm of the moment, their words edged by shock and disbelief as they asked, "Ronald, what are you doing here…and with him?"
Turning, Harry's green eyes darkened in their sockets while Ron looked both disbelieving and annoyed as they saw Hermione Granger standing at the door to their compartment, but she wasn't alone.
With her, already changed out of his Hogwarts robes and into a set of light-coloured summer clothes, was none other than Jason Potter, his red hair and his chocolate-brown eyes looking so alien to Harry that he didn't actually know why said boy looked so surprised by his appearance when he'd announced himself as Sirius' son.
"I told you already, Hermione," said Ron, unaware of the hateful look that filled Harry's eyes as he glared at his ex-brother, "I wasn't about to ignore my friendship with Harry, even if he is a Black and a Slytherin now and even if you were, just because he hasn't fallen into line with your new idol."
"Idol?" asked Harry, looking from his ex-sibling to his honorary one as he asked, "Let me guess…Lily? Or could it be James?"
"Lily," said Ron, scoffing with disbelieving amusement as he turned to Harry as he added, "Ever since their comeback, she's never left the woman's side, asking about life for a Muggle-born witch and talking about the differences in upbringing. She also wanted to ask about learning some things from the woman that made her the brightest witch of her age and she even asked if the lies you spread about your Muggle relatives…"
"Ex-Muggle relatives, Ronald," said Harry, earning a nod from his friend before, deciding to deal with the problem himself, he looked to Hermione as he asked, "So all these years, you thought I lied about how the Dursleys treat me, Hermione? Why am I not surprised? And let me guess: Professor Dumbledore told you a different kind of truth, did he? Or did you just go deaf, dumb and blind because of your perfect Muggle dentist parents and how they were with you?"
"Harry…" Jason began, but as soon as he did so, he gasped, as did Hermione, when the redhead found a wand from Harry pointed at the face of the prodigal son, the owner of the wand glaring at him with hate and venom as he stared down his ex-relative.
"It's Mr Black to you, Potter!" hissed Harry, his voice edged by a cold, hateful tone that, although he didn't say it aloud, made Ron think of his rival in Slytherin, if not the blond, as well as Harry's Head of House.
Meanwhile, Harry's eyes shone like the same impure crystals as before as he hissed, "In case Mummy and Daddy didn't tell you, I don't know you from Adam, I never even knew I had a brother, let alone one who'd been given a life I spent years praying for because anything was better than trying to survive inside the walls of Durzkaban!"
While Jason stared in disbelief and a hint of rage that showed in the way his hands slowly curled into fists, Harry held up a single finger – and not the one he wanted to hold up either – as he added, "But here's what I do know, Potter!"
You'd have to be completely deaf to all sound to miss the ice in Harry's voice when he said the name, though only Ron looked at him with a mixture of worry and lack of surprise while Hermione and Jason looked like they'd been petrified as Harry went on.
"I know that, because of you and your so-called greatness, I was cast out, abandoned and forgotten by my own flesh and blood. I was lied to for years about people whose name I once fought in and, when the time came and they came back, what was their only concern? Was it my health? My home life? My plans for the future? NO! All that mattered to both of them was that I would understand I was just a spare part and then that I'd be willing to bend the fucking knee to you!"
"Harry James Potter, watch your language!" exclaimed Hermione, but, again, Harry shook his head as he looked at her.
"Didn't you just hear me say to this prat my name is Black now, Granger?" asked Harry, his voice filled with a note of mocking disbelief that, again, was so much like his new cousin, it amused even Ron to hear it. "Harrison Regulus Black, to be precise: my God, you really do have a nasty case of selective blindness, deafness and dumbness when I speak, don't you?"
As Ron smirked in response, Harry looked back to Jason as he asked, "So go on, then, Jason: give me one reason why I should recognise you as anything less than the Golden Prat you're going to be under that selfishly-delusional, abusive and arrogant bastard of a Father of yours? Tell me why I should give you the time of day and not come up with an image of you that I use for target practice?"
"Be…because…" said Jason, swallowing hard while he tried to find the right words to answer his ex-sibling.
Even then, he barely managed to get the words out as he explained, "We're brothers, Harry; we…we look out for one another. I know…I know you never got a chance to know me, but…but I know you…I remember you; I never stopped."
"Yippee for you," sneered Harry,
"Harry, they never had a choice!" exclaimed Jason, a note of fear in his words as he pleaded, "Please don't make me do this, brother: we were in great danger…we still are. But what they did, it…it was to protect me…protect us both…"
"They didn't protect me from anything!" exclaimed Harry, a note of fire in his words as he insisted, "There were bars on my window for God's sake, Jason: locks on my door, a cupboard under the stairs was my room for ten years!"
"Don't listen to…"
"Will you shut up?" demanded Harry and, to his surprise, Jason, the latter rounding on Hermione with a furious look in his chocolate-brown eyes that actually made them look more like fire burning through frozen cola cubes as he addressed her. "I don't know what possesses you to think I need you to speak for me, Granger, but I'm not my brother and I can speak up without having you or anyone else thinking they need to decide what's best for me…and that includes Mum and Dad!"
Suddenly, Harry's eyes widened as he heard not only the sincerity, but the fire in Jason's words.
Before he could stop himself, he smiled thinly before he asked, "Wow, Jason…you really do feel strongly about what's happened, don't you?"
"Saving you from Riddle was the best thing I've done in years, big brother," said Jason truthfully, again surprising Harry with the sincerity, earning another bemused look from Harry as he told him, "You're the older, but Dad refuses to believe it. Personally, I think it's this Boy-Who-Lived thing that's done it, but I am sorry we left you in the dark. I…I mean, can't you see I'm innocent in all this?"
"Well so was I," replied Harry, tapping the scar on his cheek with his wand as he told his sibling, "But that didn't stop your Father from leaving me a reminder of why I will not let him think he runs my life again. He did it because of you, Jason; because you were the Chosen One. Because you're the Big Hero while I'm just the spare part…the decoy in their plan…"
"Their plans," agreed Jason, shaking his head slowly as he added, "Not mine! I've never stopped thinking about you, Harry. About what you might become and what sort of man you'd be; hearing you put your life on the line time and time again while I was kept away for training, it hurt me."
"I wonder where you heard that tale," drawled Harry, looking to a red-faced Hermione as he added, "I also wonder how your storyteller twisted the truth to smooth their own ego."
Jason scoffed in response, earning another faint smile from Harry while the redhead went on, his voice much stronger than before as he spoke with raw conviction and fire in his tone as he added, "I mean, for all intents and purposes, we're twins and, from what I know, there is a magic that binds us and, even though Dad refuses to feel it, if he even can, I know it's still there."
Here, he extended a hand to Harry, the situation reminding the raven-haired Black Heir of what had happened between him and Malfoy, as the redhead then asked, "Please, Harry; I know…I mean, it might be the case that we can never be brothers again, but…please…do you think…what I mean is…can we maybe be friends?"
Harry lifted his hand, but as he did so, he saw a glint appear in Jason's eyes.
A glint he'd seen appear a few times in Dumbledore's eyes…
A glint that told Harry everything he wanted to know…
And just in time too.
Lowering his hand, Harry clenched his fist tightly as he whispered, "Do you know something? I almost bought it…before I remembered one thing."
"What…what are you talking about?" asked Jason, earning a snigger from Harry as he stepped back.
"I'm talking about the fact you were raised by the man who made the Marauders so infamous," said Harry, lifting his wand again as he added, "So doing something like lying through your teeth and putting on the airs and graces in a mask of innocence is a move worthy of the best silver-tongued princes; which, personally, I think is ironic because you are the new Golden Prince of Gryffindor, but my point is that it's something that would be almost second nature to someone like you, prankster."
Suddenly, Jason's eyes widened while Harry kept a tight hold on his wand as he explained, "So here's my one and only warning, bastard: get the fuck out of my sight! Go with your new girlfriend and start running back to Daddy Dearest and tell him this: the lone wolf is coming for him!"
Suddenly, Harry's eyes shone even brighter and more-impurely in their crystal-like form than before as the young Slytherin drew himself to his full height before he hissed icily, "And when I do, I'm coming for blood; no law, no code of conduct. No quarter asked, none given. I'm going to find a way to be pointed in the right direction and, if he's smart, he'll stay as far away from me as he can…but I know he won't."
"Why?" sneered Jason, all trace of kindness and hope gone as he drawled, "What hope does the spare have against me and my family?"
"Were I still just me, maybe none," replied Harry, shrugging ruefully whilst drawing himself to his full height once more as he added, "But as the new Heir Black, as in the family whom are notorious for their ways with magic and the parts that would leave you crying in your sleep, Potter…and with a true family and real friends at my side…well, as I once said…"
Here, he drew himself so close to Jason that the boy's brown eyes reflected in Harry's green ones and vice-versa.
This also meant Harry's wand was pressed right against Jason's chin while he smiled venomously as he told his ex-brother, "I hope that both him, James, and you, Jason Potter come and find me…because when you do, I'm going to be ready; when you do, I'm going to destroy you!"
"And if you can't believe that," added Ron, stretching up before he crossed his arms, a smug look on his face as he said, "Ask your Mummy or even go and ask Neville about a certain notoriously-dark witch named Bellatrix Lestrange!"
Even Harry had to smile at that show of support while Ron shrugged as he added, "And then try and remember Harry's friends with Lucius Malfoy's son, not to mention the son of a man who evaded Dementors, escaped Azkaban and managed to get into Hogwarts undetected several times over."
"Translation: we Blacks may be a lot of things, Jason Potter, but helpless, powerless and unable to look out for our own, we are not!"
Suddenly, Hermione was beyond surprised while even Ron was in awe of how the air crackled with magic that seemed to make the lights flicker in their sockets while, to the shock of Ron, it looked like Harry's body lit up with magical energy that coursed through the very air around him as he smiled darkly.
Nodding towards the door, Harry hissed in a low voice, "Now, I suggest you run, little buck…run back to the stag and tell him to get ready…"
"For what?" hissed Jason, but in response, Harry smiled before, without any mercy whatsoever, he head-butted Jason hard, the force of the impact breaking his nose, sending a few flecks of his blood over Harry's face in the process as the Black Heir backed off.
While Hermione rushed to Jason's side, Harry brushed the blood flecks from his skin and, licking them, he smiled wolfishly as he looked down at his ex-brother and, from her attitude, his soon-to-be ex-friend;
"Let the hunt begin…"
Chapter 3 and we're all up to date on what was, but…wow, talk about sending a message: Harry's shed first blood and made Jason look like as big a prick as Daddy dearest, but what's next for them all?
Also, what does Harry plan on doing about the Erumpent in the room, named Tom Riddle?
Surely even his thirst for vengeance on the old crowd hasn't made him forget him, has it?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Harry gets introduced to his new home and some rules from Sirius about what's going to happen; however, before Harry can begin having fun and freedom like a normal teenager, he's halted by a brick wall the size of Hogwarts courtesy of a convenient decision by someone who can't resist meddling;
Please Read and Review
AN: Portrayal
Gabrielle Delacour – older: Elle Fanning