Disclaimer!!: The Dursley's are sadly not dead. Severus really did just obliviate them, but I think he'll pay them another visit again soon hmm?

-Xenia


Chapter 12: Family

As the two wizards come closer to the estate, Harry noticed that the whole house was done up in light blues and cream accents. There's a stone walkway leading to the stairs, and a few support pillars that held up a second floor balcony. The windows were french in style, as were the doors, and all the windows had deep blue curtains that kept prying eyes away.

The lawn was manicured perfectly, the house in a wonderful state, almost as if it had never seen a day of neglect. Even the vines growing over the side of the house looked deliberately placed...

It immediately put Harry's nerves on edge.

This was the apple pie life that his relatives had strived for. That sense of normalcy in an imperfect world, and he was a bit scared to say the least. People who acted nice were always the ones to hurt you most. The wolves in sheeps clothing so to speak.

Harry looked around some more, this time trying to find routes of escape. The forestry was vast, and he didn't know the area. Didn't know if there were neighbors or how far away they might live. He didn't even know his new family's names, but he did know that his mentor tried to make sure they were good before even telling Harry about them.

Something about the menacing professor casting interviews for Harry's potential new family calmed him. This man had just tortured three people for hurting him, he could trust that this same man would rescue him if nothing else. It was this thought that made his excitement grow tenfold.

He knew that he could trust his own instincts as well. He had his Firebolt in his trunk, and Hedwig in case he needed to contact anyone. He couldn't use magic legally yet, but if he had to, he would. All thoughts of potential escape fled his mind as he and his mentor made it to the door. Everything was suddenly almost too real.

Just beyond these doors was a new life, one he could not at this point fathom, but he welcomed the changes that would come.

"Before we go in, I should warn you," Snape said in Parseltoungue. He didn't have to speak the language, but it felt nice to finally use it again. "You shall have 8 elder siblings once you walk in, and the papers signed. If you would like to have a different option, you may come stay with me for the interim."

Harry was flummoxed by this new information. 8 siblings? All older than him??

"How much older sir?" He asked, shifting from foot to foot.

"The Dunhill's are as follows; Rowan is the matriarch, Adler the Patriarch. Their eldest is twenty-five. His name is Leo. From there there is Brianna who is twenty-two." As the man spoke, he led his young charge around the side of the house, far enough away from the front so as not to leave the boy in his anxious state.

"Next is Hollen. He is 20, and just three years out of Hogwarts. After Hollen is both Juni and Oli, the first set of twins. They are both nineteen, and are in college. Winona is next, she is eighteen. Finally the second set of twins, Ryan and Aubrey, are in your year, and both are in Ravenclaw. Do not let their names fool you, for only Leo, Hollen, and Juni are male. If you are agreeable to this, they are all still living within the estate, save for Leo and Brianna-- and will help you to acclimate to these new surroundings."

'Wow,' Harry thought, taking it all in. 'So many sisters and brothers... I'd never be alone...'

After a moment of thought, the emerald eyed boy nodded, and turned to his mentor with a smile.

"If you're sure that they are all nice, I'll give them a chance. Can you keep the papers for now sir? Just until I know what they're like?"

Snape nodded his agreement, and led Harry back towards the front door.

After knocking, it only took a minute and a half for a tall man to open the door. He was white, with light brown hair with a slight curl to it, and blue green eyes. As he greeted Harry's Professor, Harry noticed that his accent was decidedly American. He was nice enough, and Harry's instincts told him he could trust the mans easy smile. He was broad and athletically built, with a shaved face.

Next to come to the door was a slightly shorter black woman. She had very interesting multicolored eyes, that looked almost jade, if not emerald green like his own. She was slim and had gentle curves, like a classical painting might. Her hair was short, and cropped on the sides, the curls standing almost perfectly in place.

Harry found himself at ease with his mentors choice. They were inviting without being overbearing. He liked it.

After being let into the manor, Harry looked around at the light green walls and brown wood flooring. Everything was fairly clean, but homey. It looked lived in but not obsessively cleaned like it was at Privet drive.

As they walked through the house, Harry noticed that there were house elves popping in and out of sight and cleaning as they passed. So he wouldn't have to clean here?

Shaking his head, Harry listened as the adults spoke about where the others were, and if it would be ok for Harry to meet them now.

The draconic man looked at his young charge, then after a short conversation in Parseltoungue, and seeing the bright curiosity in those impossibly green eyes, he agreed. Harry was nodding already, he wanted to meet whoever else lived in the home so he knew whom to watch out for.

His hair was still covering his scar, but he was sure they already knew who he was by now. Professor Snape already assured him that they didn't know who they were taking in when they agreed, so he knew they wanted him.

Now it was just a matter of figuring out why they wanted him.

They finished the tour, at the room that would become Harry's should he decide to stay. He looked around in the medium sized room. It had a nice bed, good sheets, the walls were decorated in Gryffindor colors... there was a desk with parchment and quills, a wardrobe that he saw was filled, and a plush carpet under the desk chair.

The walls had shelves, some with books, some empty, and he saw that all of his textbooks for the coming year was on the shelf closes to the bed and window. There was a nightstand with a lamp, alarm clock and the ceiling of the room was charmed to show a galaxy view.

There was space for Harry to put his own things, a place for Hedwig and her cage, plus he could fill the room with other things too. In the corner of the bed was a plush dragon, one that Harry was a bit scared to even touch.

Would he wake up if he acknowledged this new stuff? Would he decide to stay all for it to go to shite later down the line?

There was only one way to find out, he mused, pulling the plushie towards himself.

On it was a note. One that he knew well enough as the parchment he and his mentor still used to correspond during the school years.

On it read; "From a Dragon to a Dragon kin, enjoy your new nest."

Harry looked up at his mentor, who did not acknowledge anything he'd done for Harry today. To him it was a no brainer. He would do this and more for Lily's treasure if the boy so much as suggested it. He wanted to curse that side of himself, but it was so pointless to shun more than half of himself over these instincts.

The man was fond of Harry, like one would be towards a puppy. The boy was so innocent, he deserved his own nest, and his own family, blood related or not.

As the day wound down and came to a close, Harry stayed the night for the first time in his new room and home. He wouldn't admit this aloud, but that night he cried. He was so overwhelmed, how would these people turn out to be? Could he trust them? Could he trust himself not to make them realize he really was a freak. Would they send him back? Would they keep him? Did he even want them to??

The questions circled his head until he fell asleep, Hedwig out of her cage and resting on his nightstand beside him.

The next day saw him eating breakfast with a new family, allowed to sit at the table and talk to them as well. He learned so much about his possible new siblings, and when they invited him out to play he nearly cried again.

The next week passed him by so quickly. Harry knew what he wanted, but he was still worried that when his mentor came back with the papers, that the Dunhill's would send him away.

To his shock they didn't want to kick him out. They wanted to blood adopt him. He needed a lesson on what this all meant, but as Mr. Dunhill explained, his mentor simply stood as silent support.

In the end, he agreed, and by the end of the next week they were doing the blood adoption process.

The three stood in a triangular shape, while a goblin from Gringotts explained the process and then set about pricking all of their fingers. Including Professor Snape's, as he was to sign as the witness and emergency guardian of Harry should anything bad crop up.

The two other adults let their blood drip into a basin, which Harry's blood was added to. Poured into that was a faintly glowing translucent potion. The basin, which was then passed to Harry to drink, was surprisingly light and the potion tasted faintly of crisp pears and treacle tart.

The whole process was smooth and he felt happy and warm as all parties signed their names on the gold glimmering sheet of legal parchment.

It was bound by a dot of blood from everyone, including the Goblin, Gardor.

Next was the changes Harry may experience, which weren't very many. His eyes itched a bit, and his bones tingled, his scalp felt funny, and his throat was a little scratchy, but after the sensations left him, the boy was given a mirror and his glasses were taken from him.

He was about to protest, when he opened his eyes and saw that he truly didn't need them anymore.

The ones he'd had were old and outdated sightwise, but he'd miss the familiar weight and unique style they had.

Next he noticed his eye color had changed. His eyes were no longer one color. Instead it seemed as if they shifted between baby blue, a large amount of emerald green, yellow, and grey. All the colors blended together to make a wonderful kaleidoscope of color. He liked it.

After then was his hair. He was still looking in the mirror, so he saw almost immediately that his hair had more of a curl to it than his slight waves. It was longer too. A lot longer. It reached his chest now, and speaking of that he looked down at himself, taking stock of everything new.

His body had changed a bit as well, he was the same height, but his body shape had changed. His hips were a bit wider and his thighs were bigger, his hands fell to these areas to see if anything else had changed.

Thank Merlin it didn't. It wasn't too bad, but he felt a bit upset at the new feminine look he had. Hopefully no one in Hogwarts would make a big deal out of it...

Lastly, his voice. He tested his voice, eager to see what caused the tingling in his throat, but he was once again a little disappointed with his luck. His voice before this hadn't fully broken out of its pubescent cracking and squeaks, but now his voice held a melodic lilt to it, almost as if he were always singing.

He looked at the adults in the room, to see that they too were all shocked.

Rowan stepped up to him, placing a warm hand on his shoulder and explained to him that in her family line there was once a Siren. The gene was passed down the line, manifesting in advanced swimming skills, a silvery tongue, or a melodic voice to name a few.

Harry didn't need to ask to know that this was likely a gene meant for girls, so how had he gotten it?

The boy was so confused and ashamed of himself and what he thought was a new reason to be hated.

Rowan tried to reassure him by saying that many men have had Siren genes passed to them, but the boy was off in another place.

What would his friends say? What would Ron say?! Would he even have friends by the end of this new year? Was he somehow a girl now? He'd been a boy all his life, how would he cope with this?

If he wasn't a girl now how would he even know what to call himself? He supposed he could still say 'he', but what if people try to make fun of him??

No, he would just take it as it came. Most of them don't know him, and a lot of them never will, so he could deal with that. But if his friends took one look at him and bailed, how would he cope?

Looking to his mentor, he saw an emotion in the mans eyes that he lacked at the moment. Professor Snape was calm. He wasn't panicking or letting his thoughts run wild either. Chancing a look at Rowan and Adler, or his new parents he supposed, he tried to listen to them explain.

In the end he was glad he did, because now he knew that he was not alone, freaky though he may be. He was a Dragon kin, with Siren blood now running through his veins, but he could deal with that. He was one of a kind, and while he was upset at being even more of an outcast of the norm now than ever, he smiled.

These two gave him a bit of hope that no matter what he looked like, he wouldn't be a different person. He was still just Harry, and because of this, he could drop the majority of his worries.

Professor Snape stayed for dinner this time and as he spoke with the adults in the family, Harry tried to find out what his new twin sisters were planning to do to him.

The girls liked fashion, and he already had experience in being their doll, but now that his body had changed, so would his clothes. He needed things that fit him right, and the narrow hips of his jeans just wouldn't cut it anymore.

He'd need new shoes, new robes, and he didn't have much time left to get this done. He'd just have to wear whatever he could pull together.

Ryan and Aubrey were hell bent on getting his clothes to fit correctly. This means he had to go through his whole wardrobe so they could resize everything.

A house elf would have likely done it if Harry had asked, but as new as this was to him, Harry decided to let it be. He had wanted siblings for so long, and now that he has them, he doesn't mind finding out who they are in this way.

His older siblings were fun as well, he felt an immediate bond with the eldest Leo. The man worked in St. Mungo's as a medi-wizard and he and Harry have had calm days with just studying and talking about life. He was the most chill of the siblings, and comfortable with his own Siren attributes. His voice was not melodic like Harry's, but the man had gills that would open if he were in water.

The smaller boy thought it was pretty cool, but as he got to know his other siblings he realized that they were all close. They had a dynamic to them. Leo was the calm almost silent one. Brianna was fairly artsy, and has been known to sweep others into a dance or two at random. Hollen was a mind healer and was a big help for Harry while he acclimated to the new house and family.

Juni was in college to study wizarding law so he could go work with the Ministry, and Oli was studying business and the culinary arts as she wanted to make her own restaurant one day.

Winona was currently working in a pet store, that doubled as a pet hotel. She seemed to like it, and Harry and her bonded over Hedwig and how to care for her. Then there was Ryan and Aubrey, but Harry already knew where their passions lie.

It seemed that of them all, Harry was the least prepared for life. The parents owned a string of inns and BnB's, and were successful with their endeavors, so Harry knew that if nothing else, he could ask around the family to see what they like about their jobs and go from there.

But that was a long ways away, he could take his time in school and find out what he wanted to do later.

HPSSHPSSHPSS

The next chunk of his summer break passed in a whirl, and before he knew it, it was his birthday.

He woke up that morning curled up under the blanket. It was a warm morning, and as he stretched he realized he didn't know what to expect from the day.

Would they even know it was his birthday? Should he say something or let it pass like normal? He was still new to this family, he didn't want them to think he was greedy or attention seeking... no he would just see where the day takes him.

As an early riser, Harry usually had time to shower before going down to breakfast. Sometimes he cooked, but he had to remind himself that it wasn't his obligation to do so all the time anymore.

Today, however wasn't one of those days. As he waddled sleepily into the kitchen to cook, he was startled out of his sleep by a loud chorus of equally sleepy goodmorning's and Happy Birthday's.

Nothing like this had ever happened to Harry before. He had never had a birthday breakfast, had never been surprised on the morning of his birthday. Even just looking around the room proved to him that life really was different now. The kitchen wasn't decorated or anything, but when he was ushered out of the room, he noticed that the living room was.

It wasn't too much for an early morning party, only a few streamers, some soft music, balloons, and a stack of breakfast waffles with candles in it.

The boy wanted to laugh, this was more than he could have ever asked for. He had gotten a few presents over the past couple of years, but this was all so new to him. Speechless, he looked around at the occupants of the home, everyone was there, smiling warmly in his direction.

He sat heavily in a chair, trying desperately to catch his breath. He really didn't want to cry again. He found a small table that was inundated with a smattering of letters and gifts. Finally the tears reached his lashes, hanging by the very end of the long hairs there, trying hard to abandon ship. Hanging his head, the boy hid his face with his bangs and hoped that the sounds he made weren't as pitiful as he thought they were.

No one commented on his sniffles, or the fact that his bangs did not hide the tears as they fell through the air to land on his pajama pants and clasped hands. Instead they waited until Harry was composed enough to start eating. The morning passed with Harry being a bit too scared to open anything. After an hour or so, Adler passed the stunned boy two presents from his best friends.

Hermione gifted him a book on snake breeds that were allowed into Hogwarts as familiars.

Ron gave him a bag full of his favorite candies. As well as a message stating that his family also sent him a present. Now that the first few were opened, Harry felt ok to just dive straight into the last dozen or so gifts.

From Mrs. Weasley, he got a hand knitted golden snitch. From his godfather he recieved a pocket watch engraved with a flying wyvern. It moved in slow circles, loops, almost as if it were having a lazy day.

From his mentor was a letter that he tucked away for later, and two books on his creature blood changes and what to expect in the next few years. He'd definetly need to read them if he wanted to feel even a little bit normal in his own skin.

Mr. Weasley gave him a wooden muggle toy car that had seen better days, but it was repainted to look like the light blue Ford Angela he and Ron had gotten to school in.

It was charmed to fly a few feet away before coming back to him.

There were letters from some more of his school friends, and Neville included a small pouch of seeds for a fragrant flower that helps with migraines. It was thoughtful, since the school only knew he had migraines but not what caused them.

A girl named Luna Lovegood also wrote to him. He hadn't spoken to her much, but the Ravenclaw was as nice as she was eccentric and Harry found her refreshing. She spoke about creatures to watch out for on his birthday, as some liked to cause mischief or open presents early. The boy laughed at this, then checked his presents just to say he had.

From Remus he only got a letter, explaining that he didn't have a physical present to give, but he shared a snippet of his parents past, which was just as good.

His day was amazing, and he remembered his past thoughts of how his new life after Hogwarts would be grand.

So far it was looking like he was right, and it was a nice change for once.