Summary: When they found him on their doorstep, the Dursleys were frightened. They don't want him, but they don't want to talk to those freaks to give him back. So what do they do? The one year old boy who lived gets chucked into a forest! Does young Harry survive? What will the wizarding world do with their savior gone? What will Dumbledore do when he finds out? Will he find out…?
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter… coughs Not coughs Runs away as lawsuits chase her with psycho, fatal poison bite-d, albino squirrels. Fine, you win! I only own this fic, the personalities of its characters, and all my OC characters.
I also give Morgan AKA CozmicShadow credibility for those blasted squirrels and Naomi. My friend Jolene is given rights to Midnight… Akira Shinaichi AKA my twin AKA Akira Shiraishi is given rights to the Black Panther Akira. (The last two characters are some of my OC's…)
Key for Reading:
"Regular talking" 'Regular thoughts' telepathic thoughts &bonded thoughts&
Emphasized words Parseltongue Animal Speak Gatalic Later in story
Prologue Halloween 1981: #4 Privet Drive, Surrey
Hearing a very loud motorcycle and talking just outside their front porch, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley walked cautiously to the front door; afraid for their one-year-old Duddykins. Though when they had finally reached the front door, all was silent except for the crickets. Opening the door, the couple found their baby nephew in a bundle with a note on his chest.
"It's… It's that freak's son!" Petunia gasped, recognizing her nephew.
Vernon, who had finished reading the note, comforted his wife. "Don't worry, dear, she and her husband got blown up by some other freak… All we have to do now is just getting rid of that son of theirs, Harry I think, and all traces of her will be gone," he said, seeing his wife visibly relax.
"What are we going to do with him?" she asked, watching as her husband roughly picked up the bundle. She followed him to their backyard, which had a forest a few yards away.
"We'll take him away from us, and that freak world of his!" Vernon whispered loudly. He couldn't chance yelling, not wanting the neighbors to find out what they were doing. The couple walked until they found the seemingly deserted forest. He took the bundle, and tossed it into the forest beyond. What they didn't notice was the city on the other side of the forest and the many eyes watching from within. They quickly walked away, not even noticing that the bundle hadn't made a single sound. Not a thud, bump, nothing to confirm the bundle had even hit anything.
What the couple had not known was that the forest was a deep forest, filled with both non-magical and magical animals alike. In the forest, the animals had seen the whole thing; from Dumbledore talking to McGonnagal and Hagrid about Harry Potter's aunt and uncle being the safest protection he could have, (Yeah right!) to Vernon tossing the bundle.
A lithe black panther had caught the child; a magical king snake had wrapped it self around the panther, wrapping the child as well to make sure it didn't fall off.
what are we to do with the child? an ice blue phoenix asked.
A squirrel joined the group. I say we leave the child. If wizards are leaving him with Muggles, and they are getting rid of him first thing, he must be dangerous, it said, keeping its distance from the bundle.
As a dark black, almost misty looking wolf came in from the shadows, all talk stilled. Some animals gave animalistic bows to the wolf, whispering, Mistress Midnight, a small black pup trotted at the wolf's heels. (Sorry, I have a grand imagination, just not for names. I wanted to make them easy to remember too…)
We will raise the child, Midnight proclaimed, If he really is the Harry Potter as the elder wizard says, he has a famous name and we will have to change it, she said, letting her pup examine the boy. Some of my friends tell me that something happened earlier in the Wizarding World that concerns this boy,
Akira, the panther, suggested, Drake seems like a nice name, but I don't know about a last name…
Drake seems fitting to me as well, how about the others? Midnight asked the group. After seeing each nod, the squirrel reluctantly, she continued, A last name will come later. As he grows up, though, we'll have to try and find a way to talk to him,
The ice blue phoenix, Glacier, decided it was his turn to speak. We know you'll find a way, Midnight. After all, your knowledge of the wizarding world is outstanding. Well, you did used to be a witch… A menacing but sharp and short growl from the female wolf cut the phoenix off.
Shadow, the black pup, helped the king cobra, Venom, slowly place the bundle on the ground. Drake… when you grow up, you shall become my bonded, my familiar and friend, and we'll be together forever… he said, looking at the small child affectionately.
Chapter 1 Raising Drake
Raising the child was pretty easy. Shadow had only recently stopped his weaning stage, so Midnight's milk was still accessible. Little Drake only had to drink milk from Midnight, and as he got older, Glacier would eat healthy herbs and plants and regurgitate it for the boy. (Don't be immature and go ewwwww!) A few months after they forest animals had 'adopted' the small boy, they were all present to hear his first words. Except it wasn't exactly English…
Venom was having his turn to play with the boy, gently coiling him self around the boy and teasing the child with his tail when it happened. At first the cobra had thought his ears were playing with his head, and hadn't said anything to the others. The other animals present had thought the hissing was Venom, so didn't comment. But when it happened again, all the animals had found out that their little Drake was a parseltongue. The boy had been giggling a cute baby laugh when they heard, Fun, diss funs hiss out of the boy's mouth. Venom was the only one who had understood the boy, but had translated for the rest.
Many of the animals were confused about how the boy could do this, but Midnight explained to them that a few wizards had the rare gift of parseltongue; the ability to speak to snakes.
As the years went by, the young boy grew up; young Drake's birthday was claimed Halloween by the animals, as that was the day they 'adopted' the child. He got his little teeth and started eating meat as well as slowly being able to speak telepathically to the animals. It seemed as if being around the animals so much had created a special link between Drake and the animals, both mentally and physically. Only being able to say Food Sleep, and Help was a bit bothersome for the boy, but being able to speak parseltongue helped. Venom would speak with the boy and translate for the other animals.
Living with the animals had also given Drake quite a nice body. Learning how to survive on you own was an important rule in the wild, whether animal, human, or any other animal on the Earth. He had started to acquire a muscular, lithe, skinny, (but not that skinny) body that held wolven power and loyalty, feline grace and calm nature, snake-like speed and stealth, and pheonixian intelligence with paranoid-squirrel-like reflexes. While he had those wonderful advantages, he did have quite a few disadvantages.
In a forest where people feared to venture into, Drake had never met another human being for as long as he could remember. The animals still hadn't told Drake of his wizard powers, or the fact that magic was real. Also, the young boy had never learned to speak the human tongue, as he had not met a human before. Another thing that held as a disadvantage for the child was that he was so used to his diet in the forest that sugars, oils, and other things in candies, desserts, fast foods and such that could not be found in the forest were unhealthy for the boy as he had grown a small immunity for them. Now eight years old, Drake was beginning to grow curious about the outside human population.
May 23, 1988 In the Forest
Even though they hated the family, the animals still kept watch over the Dursleys, and found out that their watchfulness had come to good use. The elder wizard and cat-witch, as they called her, had returned to the house, asking for Harry. One of the smaller snakes in the forest had been able to sneak inside the house and get the whole conversation, though the snake's real intentions were to grab an effortless bite to eat. Not that he'd tell the council that. The forest animals had all decided to use all their efforts to protect and raise the child and had formed a council of the five of the six animals present when Drake/Harry was first thrown into the forest. Shadow still was not old enough to join the council, though he was there at Drake's 'adoption'.
When the small snake brought the report, the council was having a meeting, planning on who was to take Drake to see the outskirts of the forest, as the small boy had been begging each and every animal he could reach out to, just so he could see another human being. Drake had been able to broaden his animal telepathy and was able to reach out to other minds.
Our scout seems to have come back a bit too early, care to explain why? Midnight asked the small snake; she had become the leader of the council since many in the forest had already considered her leader of the forest. Not fulfilling your job to protect and raise Drake to the best of your abilities was a rule no one would want to break for fear of the consequences, plus no one in the forest wanted to break the rule anyway.
The small snake was almost about to slither away in fear, but remembered why he had been back so early. For… forgive me Misssss…Tressss," the snake stammered, seeming to shrink in the council's heated gaze. I bring important news, he explained, hoping it wouldn't take too long. He couldn't handle this pressure for too long, he was but a small garden snake.
What, may I ask, would be so important that you would leave your post early and possibly endanger young Drake's life? Glacier asked, his ice blue feathers seeming to turn the shade of blue you see in a fire.
This made the garden snake to seem to shrink smaller. (Adding the extra esses is just so boring, and it's easier to read without it, so I'm not doing it anymore…) The elder wizard and the cat-witch have returned to the house, looking for our young one, though called him 'Harry'… the snake said, becoming unnerved a bit as he saw the council relax yet tense at the same time.
What did they have to say? Did you get to hear everything? Venom asked. He had become rather closer to the boy, seeing as they could speak in their own language with each other, but his relationship with the boy was still second to Midnight's. She was like his mother, and Shadow like the boy's brother.
I was fortunate enough to be there for the whole entire event from their entrance to their leave, the little snake replied, seeing the anger in the council's eyes seem to not be directed at him anymore. I shall now recite the best I can from memory, so please no interruptions and I'll answer questions after, the snake claimed, taking his chances with his stab at the council's authority.
Earlier that Day
(This will be written in the point of view of the snake)
I had just snuck into the house, hiding in the shadows, after seeing the elder wizard and cat witch approach the house. The couple and their fat son were eating lunch happily when they had heard a knock on their door. I obviously knew who it was, and waited in the living as that was the most evident place to have a talk. I had a feeling that this elder wizard wasn't here for a small visit. He hadn't visited for years, so why a small little visit now? I stayed to find out why.
My choice in judgment proved to be correct. After opening the door, the couple yelled at the elder wizard and cat witch, but the elder wizard was very cunning. He said, "I assure you, I'm not a freak and perfectly normal. That is, if you erase the fact that I'm a wizard, an adult wizard, with my magic at my disposal," the cat witch looked as if to protest, but quickly changed her mind as she saw that this had done the trick.
The couple led the elder wizard and cat witch into the living room to find out what their visit was about. They said, "If this is about that freak nephew of ours, he ran away two years ago, and we haven't seen him since," The cat witch became confused at this, and so did I at the fact that the couple had lied about keeping the child and his run away. Why lie about it? I guessed that throwing a child into a magical forest could get them in trouble, so I continued listening.
The elder wizard was very smart and proved to be quite sneaky too. "I have spoken to a couple of my friends who live near here and some of your neighbors, and they have told me that there was no trace of another boy in this household except for your son for as long as they could remember. Even the morning after I had dropped young Harry off, it seems as though nothing had ever happened the night before, which I assure you, something happened. One of my friends is a particularly early riser, jogging right near your house every morning. No bundle, no Harry, and it seemed that you were still sleeping. Now, I shall ask you, what did you do to Harry?"
The couple spun many lies, as if they had rehearsed this conversation thousands of times, and though the cat witch and elder wizard were very smart, they couldn't get anything out of them and soon called one of their friends, using their magic to keep the couple where they were. Another wizard came, this one seeping darkness, cunning, slyness, and other traits us snakes possess, though not all of us are dark. He came with a small bottle, and the elder wizard used his magic to pour two or three drops, it is hard to recall, into the couple's mouths'.
He then asked many questions, some important, some not, and as if in a trance, the couple answered perfectly truthfully to each and every question. The elder wizard stopped his questions after learning everything he wanted to know, and talked with the snake wizard and cat witch about coming to search our forest tomorrow. After they had finished talking, the elder wizard, I believe the cat witch called Dumbledore, pointed this odd stick at each couple, saying something in an odd language, a light coming from his wand to hit the couple's heads'. The snake man then gave them a different drink that made them sleep. I had checked later to see if they were dead. Minerva, the cat witch was called, left with a pop, as did Snape, the snake man, after the elder wizard did the same.
End Report
The little snake fell silent, and looked at each of the council members, and left the meeting after Naomi, the squirrel, had dismissed the snake, seeing none of the other council members seemed to have questions for the snake. Naomi, over the years, had become fond of the boy as she watched him grow up. Now, what are we going to do about this? she asked, her paranoid squirrel-ness coming over her. (No offense to you squirrel lovers, but it just annoys me when squirrels will just run away from you after seeing you TEN freaking feet away! It's ridiculous!) I mean, they are certainly going to come search this forest from the highest phoenix nest to the lowest snake tunnel, from the closest wolf den, to the farthest unicorn clearing! Even if they don't find him, that cat witch will be able to talk to us in her blasted feline form and that snake man can make us tell the truth! she yelled, having to breathe hard to catch her breath as she was on the verge of hyperventilating.
Do not worry, Naomi, Drake will be long gone before they come here, but I suggest our little one stop hiding as this concerns his future, Midnight said, also barking at Shadow to stop hiding with him.
Drake walked into the meeting clearing sheepishly with Shadow at his side. I'm sorry for hiding, Mistress, Drake said telepathically. If he was close enough, his telepathic thoughts could be heard as if he were speaking out loud to the group.
Drake, how many times do I have to tell you that when you're around just the council and me you're allowed to call me Midnight? the dark wolf asked the boy, showing her white fangs in a wolfish grin.
I'm sorry, too, mother, Shadow said, his ears pressed against his head and his tail pointing to the ground in embarrassment.
No matter, we were going to call you here anyway; but it seems young Drake here has Akira's feline curiosity and Glacier's thirst for knowledge, Midnight joked, and the rest of the council chuckled.
We still eavesdropped when we weren't supposed to, so we both apologize, Drake said, bowing his head in shame.
The two amazed the council, no matter how much they spoiled Drake and Shadow, the two seemed to stay so modest and selfless; not once taking their council's kindness for granted and doing almost anything possible to make it up to them. They both acted like brothers, and even had sibling adventures and arguments. Though their little 'adventures' often started with their curiosity, they usually ended up creating mischief and got punished each time. Their little arguments, though should be called just heated disagreements, were usually small and didn't last too long as the two couldn't stand being apart for too long.
Mother, going on, what exactly was that meeting about? Shadow asked, noticing his 'brother's' confusion.
Drake looked up, his confusion evident in his eyes. About that, Midnight, why did the wizards and witch call me Harry? Why leave me with that family? What do they want with me? Drake asked, truly very confused.
Looking to his mother, Shadow caught her eye. At her nod, Shadow looked to his brother who had watched the exchange in confusion.
Drake, I don't want any interruptions, okay? Seeing his 'brother' nod, Shadow continued, Repeat after me: I, Harry Potter,
Drake looked skeptical at the name, but repeated after Shadow anyway. ((For the rest of the repeating, I'm NOT going to waste my time and write it all twice))
Will swear upon my soul, my magic, and Again Drake looked skeptical, but shut up at Shadow's glare. my life that no one will ever, ever hear of this forest, the council of the forest, or anything said in this forest without the council's permission. I also swear that, no matter what the circumstance, I will never break this vow, my loyalty to this council and forest, or my bond with Shadow. Drake wondered at what bond Shadow was talking about, but continued when Shadow continued, If I ever do break this vow, my loyalty, and this bond, as the consequence I shall lose my soul, my magic, and my life. And with this vow, I bond myself to thee, Shadow finished with a wolf bow, grinning wolfishly.
Drake was about to say something when a light blue light with a spiral of yellow came out of Shadow's head. The beam of light suddenly shot through the air and connected to Drake's chest. At the same time, a green light spiraled in red came out of Drake's head and connected itself to Shadow's chest. When the two beams crossed, a small ball of white light appeared, and then separated. One ball of light went towards Drake, the other towards Shadow. Each of the two balls of light halved again, one traveling the beam of light to the heart, the other to the mind. As the balls of light entered Drake's mind and soul, Drake became more, aware, of his 'brother's' presence, as if he could sense his 'brother' there.
In his mind, Drake could hear Shadow's voice saying, We are now bonded, brother, as I claimed when we 'adopted' you into our forest that Halloween night, seven years ago, It was no secret about Drake's 'adoption', for how else could a human child live in a forest full of magical and non-magical animals? But any other information of Drake's past as 'Harry', meaning the time before the Dursley's decided to chuck the one-year-old into the forest, was kept a secret from the boy, or was unknown to the animals of the forest.
Again, Drake was about to speak before he was again cut off, Now I'm sure you have many questions, Midnight began, but I will explain first. Your bond with Shadow has proven that you two are perfectly compatible with each other, and will make sure you stay together forever. Also, your bond should help Shadow keep you calm throughout my explanation, as the bond binds you both mentally and physically. No interruptions are expected, or to be made, am I clear? she asked, her wolven face set in a serious expression.
Drake slowly nodded, but was still frustrated that he could not speak when he had so many questions. He calmed down, knowing Midnight would explain, and Shadow's bond with him was calming him down as well.
The council will help me explain about who the people we were talking about, but I need to explain about magic to you first, Midnight said.
'One question off my list,' Drake thought. Shadow chuckled wolfishly, confusing the boy. Shadow…? Drake asked the wolf, hoping he hadn't accidentally projected his thoughts telepathically without knowing.
&You need not to project your thoughts to me anymore, my familiar, because remember, our bond has us bound mentally as well as physically& Shadow thought to Drake still chuckling.
Midnight was distracted by Drake's outburst, but quickly noticed the two were just discovering some of their new abilities their bond gave them. Going on, she started, giving a pointed look at the two bonded brothers, Magic is real, Drake. It is what gives you the power to speak to us telepathically and use parseltongue with Venom. The reason why you can use this magic is because you are a wizard. Witches are females who can use magic, while males like you are called wizards. People like the ones who live around our forest and do not have magic are called Muggles, and that is a reason why they don't come into our forest. Magic can do many things, good and bad, and it protects our forest. It, persuades, the non-magical people that the forest is unsafe, or makes them think they forgot something and they leave our forest alone. Witches and wizards have a bad feeling about our forest, and can feel the strong magic radiating off our forest, but if they are strong willed or have a strong thought to enter this forest and concentrate enough, magical people like witches and wizards can enter our forest. Animals, whether magical or not, are always welcome here unless they are evil, but if they are dark, it is okay, Midnight explained, nodding to Glacier to continue.
The elder wizard and cat witch, seven years ago, came to that house outside the northwest border, and put you on their doorstep. We were fortunate enough to hear their whole conversation, and it seems the cat witch was opposed to leaving you there, but the elder wizard silenced her complaints by saying that they were your last living relatives, and that they were the best protection you could have. The two left, and the elder wizard said his farewells to you with these words, 'Good night, Harry Potter,' Glacier said, using his phoenixian memory to good use.
It was odd enough, Midnight said, continuing the tale, a magic-hating Muggle family being your best protection? Even as your last relatives, a good Wizarding family would have loved taking you in, giving you well more than enough protection with magic. Leaving you with a Muggle family could only be explained by thinking that you would be even more unsafe in the Wizarding world compared to your life if you had stayed with those Muggles. I used my sources to find out as much as I could about Harry Potter,
Venom then took up the story, Little one, you seem to be quite famous amongst witches and wizards, even before you could say your first word. That night, seven years ago, a dark wizard, and a very evil one at that, came and killed your parents for reasons no one knows. It seems that he originally wanted to kill you, though this blasphemy is yet unexplained. A curse that was meant to kill your one-year-old self back fired and ended up killing the one who cast it. What a fool, that man, calling himself a wizard when he can't even cast a spell properly… But that back fired spell hit you before returning to its caster. That is how you got your scar, the symbol for the element of lightening, and for then on, you were, and still are, known as the Boy-Who-Lived,
Akira picked up from there, The family, though, did something the elder wizard and even the cat witch, did not suspect. Instead of taking your lonely self in, they took your bundle and threw you into our forest. I was the one who caught you, with the help of Venom here. I'm personally glad you were given to us, but their way of doing it was cruel and uncalled for. Your aunt, your last relatives were your aunt and uncle, was even comforted by the fact that her freak, as she calls witches, wizards, and anything else related to magic, sister and brother-in-law were killed!
While Akira calmed down, Naomi picked back up the tale, We raised you, and changed your name. While raising you, you developed your telepathic powers, we found out about you being a parseltongue, and you picked up some, abilities, from being around us for so long. We planned on keeping you here, except we got the report that the elder wizard and cat witch had returned,
Midnight regained control of the story, I believe you heard the report already; so any questions? she asked, letting Drake sink in the information first.
Drake thought deeply, framing each question. What do the elder-wizard, cat-witch, and snake-man have to do with me? he asked, watching the council mirror his former expression of deep thought.
Before I answer that, how far have you gotten in your shadow training? Midnight asked. Shadow wolves could use the shadows to bend to their will, but it required training and concentration. To teach a non-Shadow wolf, Drake, in this case, being a wizard required even harder training even before he started to practice bending shadows.
Drake looked confused at the sudden question, but answered anyway. I can transport small distances, make small shapes of shadow, and change my appearance a little, plus camouflage myself perfectly," Drake said. His thoughts were evident on his face saying, 'How is this all relevant?'
This changes things… Midnight muttered, then continued, I was hoping you would be across the country by tomorrow, and I contact you in a few days or so, but we'll have to compromise. You can come to the meeting tomorrow, but you'll have to hide with Shadow. It's a good thing you're a fast learner… The council and I will talk the wizards and witch to come back in a week and by that time you'll be gone from here, Midnight said, thinking deeply. Anything else you would like to know? she asked.
Just one more thing, Drake said, How do you have sources in the wizarding world? Can you actually speak to them?
Midnight froze and tensed at the question, but answered, When I was younger, Shadow and I used to be witch and wizard. Before you interrupt, Magic is a powerful thing, tempting and also obedient. Do not abuse it. The life I and your familiar used to live was not a happy one. They were bad times. Witches and wizards have a thing called animagus forms where a witch or wizard can turn into an animal, which is what the cat witch has. To gain this ability, you need to learn their magic, but first their language. This is why we're going to have to double your training so you can jump far enough distances to be away from here be next week. As I said, it would've been better if you were gone by tomorrow, but hearing the meeting for yourself and your lack in progress in your training are reasons enough to delay your departure. It will also give the forest time to prepare for your leave. You will be taken to where my parents used to live before moving near here. There are many places there where you can learn their language and what 'normal' kids your age would know," Midnight explained.
Akira stepped in before anyone else could say something else. "It is getting dark, plus our young one here has much to think about. We should get some sleep,"
Everyone nodded, and left the meeting clearing to go to their homes in the forest to sleep. As the animals of the forest got some sleep, three people at Hogwarts were having quite a heated discussion.
Author's Note Yeah, I'm done with the first chapter, and I hope you liked it. I might repeat things I've already said to remind you readers and also myself, but also because I forgot I had already written it and am too lazy to delete it. Oh, I would like to start a poll and a contest. Throughout this story, which is going to be just first year, (I'll make a new story for second year) a lot of things will be like the books, but most of the series won't be after this year.
The poll is for this story. It will go on until the last few chapters of the year. I need to know if A, Peter Pettigrew, AKA Scabbers, should be eaten by Akira in this year, B, get eaten in second year, C, get killed some other way, or D, get 'persuaded' to confess his sins, free Sirius, and die in Azkaban. I really don't like D, since he gets to live longer, but Sirius gets saved.
The contest will be certain questions about the story or other various things related to the story. Points will be given out, and at the end of the story, the reviewer with the most points gets to give me suggestions on the second year, since it will be far away from the book story line. Also, if you do not review for over two or three chapters, you are disqualified unless you email me to tell me that you won't be able to read for a while, since it is summer vacation.
My email is: as stated in my profile, and for most of July, I will not be here to update or reply to reviews. Thank you to all my readers. OH, one more thing… REVIEW! That little button down there is there for a reason! Use it!