Hybrid Legacy
Chapter 2
"Ohh! I like these, mummy," squealed Michaela, clutching the green and silver material close.
"Eww, Kayla. These are better, aren't they mummy?" argued Liam, shoving the red and gold material towards Harry.
"They are both fine," said Harry, sighing as the twins continued to argue over which material was better.
"Already have a Slytherin and a Gryffindor in the making, huh?" asked Hermione in a whisper. "That is so cute. Of course, with as close as those two are, getting sorted into separate houses will be hard on them. Especially considering the rivalries between Slytherin and Gryffindor."
Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione's comments and walked over to Madame Malkin to have Liam and Michaela fitted for robes in the colours of their choosing. Another hour of light bickering between the twins and whining at having to stand still for so long, and the Malfoy and Zabini families were once again on the street of Diagon Alley.
"Where to now?" asked Harry, looking at the twins.
"We're hungry," they whined in unison, causing Harry and Hermione to laugh.
"The Leaky Cauldron it is," said Harry.
They all headed to the Leaky Cauldron and found a table large enough to seat all of them. The twins immediately grabbed some food as soon as it was set in front of them. By the time they had finished loading their plates, there was just enough left for Harry to have a light meal. Hermione just stared in awe at the appetite the twins were displaying.
"And I thought you ate a lot," said Hermione in amazement.
"You do realize that as their 'mother' I did contribute quite a few of my genes, right? So it stands to reason that they may have inherited their fair share of my traits. Just because they don't have the physical attributes yet, that doesn't mean they don't have some of the magical side effects. Liam can already control small animals to some extent and Michaela can do some elemental magic, mostly water," said Harry wryly. "I imagine when they turn 17, they both will receive their full inheritance as I did."
"That is just so amazing, Harry," said Hermione. "I can't wait for that."
"I can," muttered Harry. "I am in no hurry for them to grow up. They're a handful now. can you honestly imagine what kind of trouble they can cause when they're grown?"
"Really, Harry, I never expected you to sound so… motherly," snickered Hermione. "You're worse than I am about Micah."
"I had twins. Let's see how well you handle things with twice the trouble making," said Harry righteously. He glanced over at said troublemakers and noticed that not only had they finished their meal, but now Michaela was trying to control the water in her glass to pour down Micah's back.
"Michaela Malfoy," said Harry sternly, glaring at his mischievous daughter, "What have I told you about playing with your water like that. I don't think your Aunt Hermione would appreciate her son getting doused with water, do you?"
"No, mummy," mumbled Michaela, sending the water back to her glass and pouting at the reprimand. She smirked when she heard her mother fussing at Liam as well.
"Liam, I have told you repeatedly not to call any animals to the dinner table. That holds especially true when we are eating out. Send it back outside."
"But, mum," Liam protested immediately.
"No, buts. Send it back outside now," said Harry firmly. Once the kittens were back outside, Harry pushed his plate away and stood. "Now that you two are finished with your meal, where would you like to go next?"
"I wanna look at quidditch brooms," said Liam eagerly, bouncing in his seat excitedly.
"I wanna go to the Magical Mena- Minaj- the pet shop," said Michaela earnestly.
"You want to go to the Magical Menagerie?" asked Harry, smiling at Michaela's fervent nod. "And just what kind of pet do you want?"
"I want a crup," said Michaela happily. "But if they don't have any crups, can I get a kneazle?"
"We'll see when we get there, okay?" said Harry quietly.
"Okay, mummy," said Michaela, grasping Harry's hand tightly.
"Come on, Liam. We'll go look at the brooms first and then we'll head over to the Magical Menagerie," said Harry, a twin to each side of him. He looked back towards Hermione. "Are you coming with us, or do you have other engagements?"
"Sorry, Harry, but we do have to get going now. We should do this again, though. I'll write or firecall you sometime soon, all right?" she said apologetically.
"Okay, Hermione, and thanks for coming today," said Harry, smiling slightly at his best friend. "Tell Aunt Hermione and Micah goodbye."
"Bye," chorused the twins, waving at goodbye to their honorary aunt and cousin.
DHDH
"Ohhh, don't you have one of these, mummy?" asked Liam, staring in fascination at the Firebolt displayed on the wall.
"Yes, my godfather gave me that broom for Christmas before he died. It's one of my greatest treasures," said Harry fondly.
"Hey! I thought you said dad, me and Kayla were your greatest treasures," said Liam indignantly.
"You three are my greatest treasures. It would devastate me if anything happened to one of you. The Firebolt is very precious to me, and I would be very sad if something happened to it, but it can be replaced. You three can't," explained Harry.
"You would be sad if something happened to us?" asked Michaela timidly.
"It would be far worse than just sad. It would destroy me," said Harry gravely. "I love you all so much."
"We love you too, mummy," cried the twins, hugging Harry around his legs.
Harry surreptitiously wiped his eyes and grabbed the twins' hands again. "Come on, you two. We still have to go to the Magical Menagerie."
The trio walked to the Magical Menagerie and paused at the door. The reason, of course, was because Liam had seen the snake exhibit through the window and was staring avidly at the albino cobra in the center of the display.
"Oh, oh, mummy! May I please have the white snake? Please?" he begged, staring at Harry pleadingly. Seeing the refusal on Harry's face, Liam decided to strengthen his pleas. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Seeing no change in Harry's demeanor, Liam decided to pull out all the stops. "Please, mummy? I just want a pet that I can talk to," he cried, tears rolling freely down his cherubic face.
Although he knew very well that his son was manipulating him, Harry just caved at the sight of those tears rolling down that little face. "Fine, but only if the snake agrees to bond as your familiar and supply me with some venom so that I can get Sev to make some anti-venom," said Harry resignedly.
"Yeah! Thank you so much, mummy," squealed Liam, running into the store.
"Draco is going to kill me," sighed Harry, following the twins at a slower pace.
As Harry entered the store, he found Liam hissing quietly to the cobra, and Michaela was staring between a group of crup puppies and kneazle kittens. "Don't you dare pick up that snake until I get over there, Liam Michael," said Harry without looking at his erstwhile son. Liam quickly pulled his arms back and just continued his hissed conversation. "Have you decided which one you want, Michaela?" he asked his daughter.
"They're all soo cute, and I just can't decide which I want more," whined Michaela.
"Liam's getting a cobra, so you may want to choose the crup because it will fight to protect you," said Harry quietly.
"Dad is not going to like that," said Michaela wisely.
"I know," said Harry. Sometimes having children that were wise for their years was not a blessing. "Well?"
"I want the crup puppy," said Michaela, looking at Harry expectantly.
Harry sighed and picked up the puppy she indicated she wanted and placed the pup in her arms. Once Michaela was satisfied with her pet, Harry made his way back to Liam. Leaning over the cage containing the cobra, Harry quickly caught the snake's attention.
"You are not human. What are you?" hissed the snake.
"No, I am not. I am an elf/fae hybrid," said Harry calmly. "You're not exactly normal yourssself, are you?"
"No. I am Nyoka, and I am a magical albino cobra. I have agreed to bond asss the young one'sss familiar and sssupply sssome venom if you agree to take from here," hissed Nyoka. "Are there any other familiarsss in your nessst?"
"Yesss, I have a Japanessse habu as my familiar. Hisss name is Ryoku," said Harry. "He hasss been with me for five yearsss now."
"Why isssn't he here with you?" hissed Nyoka.
"Hisss mate, Sssamya, isss ready to lay her eggsss," Harry explained.
"Ah, nessstilingsss. Are you going to take me home with you?" hissed Nyoka.
"I will, but know that if you hurt any member of my family, your life isss forfeit," said Harry gravely.
"I agree, massster'sss mother."
'Even the damn snake refers to me as mother,' thought Harry, rolling his eyes and gesturing for Liam to pick up his snake.
Harry paid for the pets and paraphernalia and ushered the twins to the door. Just as he opened the door, Harry saw a flash of light and a streak of red from the corner of his eye. He turned in that direction, searching for the source of those lights, but couldn't find them at all. Harry mentally shrugged and walked out the door.
Hiding in the back of the shop behind a stack of boxes, a redhead peered intently at the door Harry and the twins had just shut behind them. "Ginny, love, Harry will soon pay for what he did to you."
DHDH
Harry and the twins stepped out of the portal and into the living room. The first thing Harry noticed was a familiar envelope sitting on the sofa in clear view. Ushering the twins up to their room to settle their pets, Harry tentatively walked back downstairs to the living room to inspect the new letter.
My Dearest Love,
I have set the path in motion. The pollution will soon be cleared, and you and I will finally be free to reunite.
Your Avenger
Harry tossed the letter down and pulled his wand. Before he could cast 'incendio,' Draco walked into the room calling his name. Draco paused in the doorway when he saw Harry holding his wand out and followed the line of sight to the letter on the floor. Walking calmly to where the letter was lying, Draco picked the letter off the floor and quickly read the contents. As he finished the letter, he crushed the parchment in his fist angrily.
"You weren't going to tell me about this letter?" asked Draco calmly.
"No, I wasn't," muttered Harry stubbornly. "I was going to talk to Sev and Remus, though, and have them protect you while you were at school."
"This bastard is after you and you're worrying about my protection?" asked Draco incredulously.
"You read the letter, Dray," stormed Harry. "This person specifically stated that the plan to get you out of the way was already in motion. So yes, I was worried about your protection. You and I both know that to get to me, they would have to go through you first, and I don't want that to happen, either."
"That's it. You and the twins will be spending the day at Hogwart's for the next two weeks until school is out. I want you in the safest place possible," said Draco resolutely.
"But, Draco," protested Harry.
"No, elf, don't even bother protesting. Your protection comes first, which reminds me. Where exactly is Ryoku?" asked Draco.
"Samya just laid her eggs," said Harry, sighing in defeat.
"Well, we'll just have to bring the whole bloody family because Ryoku is to be in your presence at all times. Now we just have to find companions for the twins," said Draco, rubbing his forehead tiredly.
"Already covered," muttered Harry quietly.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Draco quietly.
"Well, we met Hermione in Diagon Alley today and stopped by the Magical Menagerie. I kind of bought Liam a venomous snake and Michaela a crup. We just have to perform the familiar binding spell," said Harry quickly.
"You bought our son a venomous snake?" asked Draco incredulously.
"A magical albino cobra, in fact," said Harry, totally ignoring the disapproval in Draco's tone. "What did you expect? He's a parselmouth like me and wanted a pet he could talk to. I personally don't see a problem with it because Nyoka promised to bond as his familiar and supply venom to create an anti-venom."
"It promised to protect Liam?" asked Draco gravely.
"Yes, and you know that once crups have bonded, they will protect their master fiercely," said Harry soothingly. "Of course, Michaela's crup is still a puppy, but they grow quickly."
"Well, now that we have that settled, you need to make sure Ryoku knows that he is to stay with you at all times. Now let's go perform those binding spells," said Draco, escorting Harry up the stairs to their children's rooms.
