Disclaimer: don't own anything you can legally tie to J.K. Rowling. However, I felt like pulling them out of the closet to play with.
A/N: Harry will be referred to as Ryider more often than not. I hope it doesn't confuse anyone. Yes, answers will be coming to explain why Lucius acts the way he does in this chapter. Please be understanding. I hope everyone is enjoying this and reviewing. Happy Reading.
HP HP HP HP HP HP HP
Ryider scurried back as fast as he could into the corner. His wings curled around his prone form. He believed his 'mom' enough to get there but he truly thought he ad lost his mind when he appeared at Lucius Malfoy's feet.
This was the man who had tried to kill him not a few months before; a man who was marked by the mad man after his life. But this man was also his father.
His hands trembled as he worried why the other man had yet to make a move. Why wasn't he saying anything? Or at least trying to kill him. Slowly, his wings came together behind his back, as he didn't know how to retract them.
There, standing in the same spot as when he had arrived, was the blonde aristocrat. He watched the blonde lean down to pick up the letters he didn't know he had dropped. The normally emotionless face scrunched into sadness and shock. Every emotion flickered across the face but Rider still refused to relent in his position before he knew the man's intentions.
"Ryider?" Lucius stared in awe at the young man in front of him. There was no resemblance to Harry Potter. He only knew because the letter still grasped in his hands. "You were dead. They killed you."
"…" Harry remained quiet. He was scared shitless. This was too much to take in. Then, on top of that, Lucius-no, father- was being kind to him.
Lucius stepped forward slowly. This was his other son. The one he believed was dead for the better part of 16 years. Though he would admit it to no one, he had longed to know how his son would have turned out; how he would have looked.
"Ryider, Harry, please look at me." Harry raised his head to look straight into his father's grayish blue eyes. "You have beautiful eyes." Lucius held his arms open to Ryider hoping the boy would come to him. "Please…"
The final plea broke all of Harry's remaining resolve. He broke down into tears and cautiously moved to his dad. Warm arms wrapped around him and held him as he cried. He had a family. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he would follow them. He was not going to let the past hinder him if it meant he would get some answers and finally be told the truth.
Ryider buried his head in Lucius' robes and sobbed. There was nothing to hold back if the man was willing to accept him.
"You look handsome my young son. Blonde locks down to the middle of your back with black highlights and tips of your dad. True silver eyes to rival that of the moonlight. Stand up for me." He nudged Ryider into a standing position. "Let me see your wings."
Harry turned around and brought his wings to a full span. He still did not know what color they were or what they looked like because since they had come out it had been chaos. When he turned back around, he found himself face to face with a full length mirror and his father, who alas had blue wings with silver feather tips. They were radiated eloquence that only a Malfoy could have.
Lucius gasped when he saw the beauty of his son as well as the wings. They were a rarity that had not been seen in centuries. One wing was black with red tips. An emerald shimmer layered the black so softly that it added and effect of illusion but not overly. The other wing was the exact opposite. A vibrant, blood red with black tips. As the other wing, an emerald shimmer over the black. The wings were a complimentary contrast to his skin. Pale, as if he had never seen the sun.
Harry was starting to become unnerved as his 'new' father just stared at him without saying anything. He was already freaking out and now his dad was ogling him. Ok, so that was a little of a stretch but he wanted answers.
He turned to face Lucius, effectively pulling the man out of his own mind. "Could we discuss some of what has happened to me…sir?"
"As you wish." Lucius retracted his wings and went to put his shirt back on, until Ryider's timid voice stopped him.
"Could we start with how you managed to take in your wings? Please, sir, could you tell me how you did that?" Ryider dropped his eyes back to the floor, finding it very interesting all of a sudden.
"Look at me," He waited for their eyes to meet before continuing. "Close your eyes and imagine your back without the wings. It will be a little painful but just keeping thinking about the outcome and ignore the pain." It took a couple of tries but Harry's wings finally retracted. Harry collapsed from the exhaustion and pain.
"I think we should save that discussion for tomorrow." When Harry looked like he was about to protest, he put a finger to his lips to silence him. "I promise to provide you with all the answers I can but right now we are both exhausted and overwhelmed. When you wake in the morning I will have a house elf bring you down so we may continue this. Is that acceptable?" He looked down at his son and smiled, yes smiled, when the only response he received was Harry burrowing against his shirt.
He took the young man up to one of the spare rooms and laid him down on the bed. Watching the boy burrow right in to the warmth, he quietly called a house elf. "Zippy,"
A quiet pop was heard before a tiny little house elf bowed to its master. "Master called?"
"Yes, Zippy, I would like you to alert me when my quest awakens. Make sure he is comfortable and I want only you to take care of him. Tell no one he is here, including Draco, and allow no harm to come to him. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Master."
"Good." He walked to the bed and kissed Ryider's forehead then whispered, "Goodnight, son." With that he left and made his way to his room for a disturbed and restless sleep.
The Next Morning
Ryider woke in the comfort of his own bed, or so he thought. It felt of nothing similar to the rocky mattress he slept on at the Dursley's; this was eloquently soft. When his mind finally caught up with his body, he panicked. He shot from the bed as though it was a fiery hell pit and hurtled himself into the corner. Ever since his troubling, and non existent childhood, he had believed that if he made himself smaller and huddled in the corner then he could escape the evil just outside the hall.
Wings ripped from his back from sheer panic and tears of terror, pain, and shame (though he was unsure exactly why it was that last emotion) fell down his face. His head was buried deeply in his lap and he could feel the beaded blood rolling unchecked down his bare back from the hasty withdrawal of the wings he could not control.
He never hard the house elf pop in and out or his father open the door on the ghastly sight. He didn't hear anything more than the blood drops hitting the floor. It was only when warm arms encircled and comforted him, which had never been present before, did the panicking slow to a troubled stop and rational reality took hold.
"Calm down, I have you. Can you tell me why you panicked?" Lucius voice was melodic to his ears.
Regardless to what the world at large saw or believed, Lucius was far from a monster, or heartless bastard, with Draco, and now Ryider.
Ryider shook his head slowly and relaxed into the embrace. He could feel Lucius' hands on his back as the quiet voice continued to soothe him. "Ryider, remember last night? I need you to take in your wings so the bleeding will stop. Trust me."
Harry had only trusted one person, completely, in his life and that man despised him. Everyday those onyx eyes stared him down with silent contempt and the acidic tongue cut deeply thru him.
Trust was a hardship with him but, despite the past, he felt he could trust this man. A man whom, by blood, was his father.
Slowly the wings retracted and the skin stitched seamlessly over the wounds. Lucius helped his son to his feet and into the adjoining bathroom. They both needed to clean up.
Ryider looked up to see his father's crimson stained shirt and looked directly back down. He mumbled an apology while trying to stop the fear swirling uncomfortably inside his skin. After a few minutes, with no slap or reprimand, he looked up slowly; only to find the man looking strangely at him.
"You don't need to be sorry. You are more important." The voice was firm but kind.
Harry expected that his surprise was visible in his features because he watched as an unknown emotion sparked across the grayish eyes.
"Do not ever be afraid to tell me something; alright?" A subtle nod was his only response so his attention was returned to his ruined shirt. He called for a house elf to get them both outfits and turned back to Harry. "You may borrow an outfit of mine, reduced to fit, until an appointment with the tailor can be made. Then I think we should head down to breakfast with Draco…" At the mention of Draco, Ryider tensed. "Calm yourself before your wings are let loose again. He will not do anything negative. Firstly, you look nothing like the Harry Potter he last saw and secondly, I will introduce you as Ryider so you may tell him only as you wish."
"Yes, sir."
"Only call me sir if we have company and it makes you comfortable. You may call me Lucius until you find it easier to call me father. I will impose nothing on you. Now, we must attend breakfast and finish our discussion from last night, as well as catching up on missed years." They finished with the idle chatter as each dressed and soon Ryider found himself following Lucius through the manor to a far off dining room.
Unlike the bedrooms, the main rooms had oak wood flooring so polished it was like walking on mirrors. Chandeliers, encrusted with every jewel imaginable, were found bolted to the ceiling. Every inch being shown screamed sophistication, an air of dignity and wealth. Though in awe of everything he saw, he was leery of the family portraits that watched and whispered as he past.
Harry's real focus was the thoughts crowding his head. For every answer he found or action he saw, ten more questions and doubts would arise. Right now, he just needed to make it through breakfast.
Lucius stopped in front of the double doors he assumed led to their current destination. Behind them was Draco, but also his wanted answers. But above all, it held his deepest wish, a true family.
"Lucius?" A gentle arm caught the blonde's wrist timidly.
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
With that, the double wooden doors swung open to a sea of unknown where Harry's only answers lie with Ryider (Himself) and the people he once considered evil.