Chapter 13: Taste of Happiness
From Rowan and Adler, he got a wrist watch, and a bracelet. The watch was a deep red leather strap, with a silver clock on it. The numbers were all done in a bold black font, and the minute, second, and hour hands were that same deep red as the band. As for the bracelet, it was a thick silver band with green triangular gems set in it. On the inside were his and his parents names, the swoopy handwriting was delicate as it spelled out Lilian and James Potter. He cleared his throat and thanked them.
After thanking the two adults with a slightly shaky voice, he went on to open the various gifts from his siblings. He went in order of their age, just to annoy the two sets of twins who were bouncing in place on the sofa across from him.
Leo got him a book on healing and household charms, which he had expressed a liking to in one of their talks. From Brianna, she had gotten him a plush Siren, which made him smile. Hollen got him a sketchbook and some new colored pencils. Harry wasn't an artist, but Hollen felt it would help him get comfortable with his new life, and it had helped.
Juni and Oli's gifts were next. The excited set of twins were jumping up to get his presents. Juni gave him a polishing kit for his firebolt, and Oli said she'd teach him more recipes as well as handing him a thick cookbook as her present.
Winona stepped up a little more calmly than her older siblings, passing him a small box filled with holes.
No sound came from the box, but when the boy opened it he could only gasp. In the box was an egg. He didn't know what it was, but Winona smiled and explained that it would one day hatch and that it was a miniature Hydra.
A Hydra? Harry was once more shocked at the information he got. The egg was bigger than his palm, and if it was a mini creature, how big would it eventually get? He hurriedly thanked Winona, his smile steadily growing as the day went on.
The last few were from Ryan and Aubrey, and another two that he wasn't sure who'd sent it yet.
The twins closest to his age got him a new wand holster made of dragon hide and padded on the inside so his wand wouldn't be able to break in it.
They had been so excited to give him this, probably because he always had his wand in his pocket, he realized.
Again thanking everyone, he pulled the last two boxes towards himself. One was wrapped in gaudy purple and neon green wrapping paper, so he opened that one first.
Inside was a message from his Headmaster, and a photo album. He skimmed over the message, and realized that the Headmaster didn't know he wasn't with the Dursleys anymore. How had the man not known? Wouldn't Harry's school records change and alert the older wizard or something? Well he would wait until the new school year to correct the man nonetheless.
In the album were pictures of his parents, or Sirius and Remus, some of them had Pettigrew in them, so Harry decided to cut the rat out as soon as he could. Finally towards the end held pictures of his mentor with the group as well.
Harry was so caught up in the picture of his parents wedding, seeing them move in the photo made him feel like they were somehow closer to him than before.
He hadn't noticed Adler getting up, or opening the door, and he didn't notice all the new voices coming in. It wasn't until his adoptive father put his hand on his shoulder, did Harry look up.
And lo and behold, another shock for the day. His friends had been invited? Was this a real party?? He was having his very own first birthday party with friends and-- cake too?!
Over on a table, Mrs. Weasley set down a large cake, which was leaning a bit. Harry laughed. His new voice still a bit new to him, and as he watched all the people he knew and loved interact, he was really truly happy.
He talked to everyone, though he missed Hermione and his mentor, since neither had been able to come. It was just as well that his mentor did not show up. Ron and half of the Weasley's would be too curious to know why he was there. It would just have to be enough that the two had gotten him a gift.
"Hey mate!" Ron called after about half an hour. "You left one over here!" He finished, bringing the fairly plain box to his friend.
Harry smiled and thanked him, then opened the box.
His smile left him immediately afterwards when instead of finding a nice trinket or practical gift, he was confronted with a dead snake.
The young boy screamed and almost dropped the box, wondering who would send him a mutilated snake.
His adoptive mother took it from him and into the next room muttering spells under her breath as she checked it over. There was no note, no magic on it and no one had gotten it from the owls with the rest of the mail.
She and her husband hadn't even seen the box until their sons friend brought it up. She was admittedly a bit freaked out by this, as only a select few knew where Harry now lived.
Rushing back in, she did the only thing she could think of, and pulled Harry into a hug.
The boy was shivering, his pupils dilated, his mouth open in a soft "o" shape.
The mood in the room was already ruined. The chatter and easy banter from earlier, as well as the talk of food and games was completely cut off.
Even the Weasley twins stopped trying to get Harry to test a candy they'd made.
The whole atmosphere of the room died down, and it wasn't until Dobby popped in, that anyone moved.
"Happy birthday to Mr. Harry Potter sir!!" He threw some confetti in the air and beamed at the boy.
Harry couldn't help but laugh at the little elf's face, how he was dressed with a non matching sock on each foot and a birthday hat half on his ear.
"Thanks Dobby. I needed that." He whispered. He didn't want to bum everyone out, especially since they had all come a long way to see him.
"So..." He tried again, his voice as steady as he could get it, "You said the Canons lost this game?" He aimed it at Ron, the team's biggest fan in the room, and the other completely went off on a tangent about the game. The seeker had an injury so they had the stand in play, but he was hit by a bludger in the chest so he couldn't play either and they had to either find another seeker, or forfeit.
Slowly, as Ron talked through his excitement, everyone got back into their own conversations. Rowan released Harry from the hug, and the boy was shocked that he hadn't noticed how cold the room was until she moved. He was, unfortunately, afraid to ask the woman for another hug at the moment, so he tried to lose himself in the many conversations going on in the room.
Harry was actually having fun, but the snake was still weighing heavily on his mind. It must have been long dead, because he hadn't heard any sounds coming from the box.
It wasn't even a moment later that Hedwig swooped in and looked around as if she'd lost something. She at first went to the table where the box had been, then into the next room where she immediately got the snake and ate it.
Harry realized then what could have happened.
He asked if anyone knew who was in charge of wrapping the presents, and when he was told it was a house elf, he asked if he could talk to them.
Once Rilly was in sight, he asked if the elf had found an extra box while doing the wrapping.
Rilly nodded and said that the box was light, but there wasn't any normal paper left, so he wrapped it in plain paper for the new young master.
The whole room let out a collective sigh at the reveal. Hedwig must have found the snake, and set it in the box for safe keeping. Maybe Rilly had closed the box without checking, because next thing they all know, Harry's unboxing a dead reptile.
The night was back on track and as everyone ate and spoke, Harry once again found himself lost in thought.
He was listening to Mr. Weasley's questions about muggle items, and answering the ones he knew when out of the corner of his eye he saw Ginny watching him. She was glancing at him, and while she only really spoke to him to wish him a happy birthday, he was a little confused.
Did she think his new look was too weird? Was she just trying to be his friend or did she like him?
The thought made him upset. He didn't like Ginny, so hopefully she didn't like him either.
Later that night, as everyone was packing up to leave, Ginny pulled him away to a corner. She just talked with him about school and Quidditch, but these were all things that had been talked about already.
He listened to her for a few minutes, nodding and smiling as she spoke. It wasn't until she touched his arm that he knew he needed her out. So, acting sleepy, the boy smiled at Ginny and politely excused himself. He apologized for not being able to really talk to her, and promised to do so in the future. As he spoke, he led her to the door with her family.
When she got close, he moved away, only smiling sweetly at the entire family and thanking them for the nice surprise. Once the door was closed, he allowed himself a full body shiver, and went to collect his new belongings.
He dropped them off in his room, then came back down to thank everyone one last time then go to bed. After living with them for almost a month, Harry was a lot more comfortable around the group, but until today he had never been hugged by any of them for more than a few seconds.
He found the warmth he'd felt from Rowan's hug was nice, so he hugged her again, then decided to hug everyone else to see if it would be just as warm.
To his amazement they were. He felt like he'd been wrapped up in his new blanket with each hug, and he wondered what was causing that. He knew from his time in the library last year that dragon kin bond with family and friends using comforting sounds or feelings, so maybe this was his way of accepting them as his own?
Probably, he mentally shrugged, making a mental note to read the message and book his mentor gave him.
HPSSHPSSHPSS
Up in his room, Harry placed all of his new things away, the Toy car, Golden Snitch, and Siren plushie sat on a shelf right above his bed with his dragon, and he made sure to place his new accessories in a small unused compartment of his trunk.
He placed his new books on a shelf above his desk, and put the photo album on it as well.
The sketch book was placed on his desk, as well as the seeds from Neville. Harry would plant them tomorrow.
The polishing kit was put up in his trunk, and his wand holster was seg beside it.
Now to that everything was away, the boy could read his mentors letter, then get ready for bed.
The note was simple, though the language was weird until it blurred together then formed letters and words in English. Maybe Parseltoungue is a written language as well? Harry didn't know any other languages so that had to he it, right?
Either way, his mentor simply wished him a good day, and explained that he should read the book before the next year at Hogwarts. It sounded ominous, like a warning that if ignored could lead to dire consequences.
The boy mentally shivered, then got ready for bed.
His birthday was over... he finally got to celebrate it properly instead of silently wishing himself a happy birthday in the darkness of his cupboard. And as much as he loved it, the day had really drained him. Almost as soon as he was back in bed, and the lights were cut off, Harry was asleep.
HPSSHPSSHPSS
Harry's fourth year soon dawned upon him. He was fourteen, fairly happy, and he knew more about himself and the world than he had three years ago.
His Hydra had hatched a few days ago, and thanks to Hermione's present, he knew that since it was miniature, his hydra could count as an acceptable familiar. He and the baby creature spoke to one another, and Harry found out that because he was the first person it saw, he was its mother.
It would chirp at him and learn from him as he learned from it. As it grew and gained more heads, he would have to leave it in his dorm or somewhere it can't cause trouble.
He had named the small beast Silas, because for the most part, he was silent around others.
This year had started off well enough for Harry and his friends, their classes sere good, even DADA with Professor Moody.
The man had taught them all kinds of spells, including the unfogivables, which was a hard class for a loft of them to get through.
Harry had also noticed more people looking at him, and whispering wherever he went.
Some were commenting that he looked good, others saying he looked too much like a girl not to be one. A few boys and girls were checking him out, or asking him out if they were brave enough.
He would always turn them down, but when talk of him probably being gay or broken surfaced, he decided he wasn't going to let that stand.
Harry wasn't homophobic, he didn't have anything against people fancying whichever gender appealed most to them. It was just that he couldn't be gay, could he? The Dursley's already hammered into his head that anything abnormal was an affront to god, and that he was already abnormal enough without this added to the list.
He was already freaky enough, being the shortest boy in their year, being the chosen one, having this stupid scar, being an orphan, being a parselmouth, part dragon and part siren? Not to mention he was somehow always at the center of an adventure... no he couldn't afford to be labeled even further.
Not once had he felt any romantic way towards others, and as he day dreamed looking off into the distance one day, his solution came to him.
He could find a girl and ask her out. That should be good enough for now. Not only would it make people realise he couldn't be gay, but it would also prove to Harry that he was right. He could like girls just as much as the next bloke.
So off he went trying to find someone he might like enough to date, even if for a little while. As he worked on this romantic dilemma, he once again found himself in the midst of another adventure.
There was a tournament that Hogwarts and two other schools participated in. He had only read about it in passing, but as the other students all showed up he got excited.
There was Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, and Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, and soon they would know who the third and final champion would be.
Tucking into his meal, Harry watched the participants waiting to see who from his own school would join in.
Finally he could just sit back and watch others do all of the stunts, but as the Goblet was brought out, he started to feel an odd sense of foreboding.
His eyes widened when he saw the Headmaster reach into the Goblet of Fire... and pulled out an extra name. Everyone was waiting with bated breath, but Harry felt like he was unable to breathe.
"No, please..." He whispered beneath his breath, "Let me be wrong for once!"
However the boy was so far from wrong. He heard his name being called, and frozen in place he just wanted to sink into the ground and be swallowed up by the castle.
A confused applause started, and of his friends Harry noticed that Hermione was just as worried as him, and Ron looked upset. The red head turned to him and very nearly demanded to know why Harry had put his name in and didn't tell him. He was going on about how if they were really friends, Harry would have told them what he was going to do, so they could join in as well.
"He can't have put his name in Ron! And even if he had it wouldn't have accepted it because he is underaged!" Hermione practically hissed at the other boy. How Ronald could assume Harry was capable of throwing himself into more danger than necessary, she did not know.
Placing a hand on her friends shoulder, she told him that he would be ok. She didn't believe he would have to participate, unless of course there was magic or the Headmaster that bound him to it. Knowing her shorter friends luck, there probably was. The girl sighed and just decided to help him where she could.
As he attempted to defend his innocence to one of his best friends, he was pushed by the masses towards the front where the Professors also wanted to know how his name had ended up in the goblet.
His mentor looked absolutely livid, and Harry could see the beginnings of blue in his eyes.
The man wanted to know who put his gem's name in that forsaken goblet. The Headmaster accused the boy of doing the deed, but after a strategically placed comment Snape managed to nip that thought before it grew.
"Headmaster, the boy may be an idiot of a Gryffindor, but even the great Harry Potter could not fool the wards on the Goblet. It must have been placed in by someone of age."
He narrowed his eyes at the young whelp just to make sure that his point got across. With one lifted brow he silently asked if Harry knew who'd done it.
The boy shook his head minutely, and Snape sighed, clenching his jaw.
"I can't do it, right?" His voice was small but filled with hope. "Because I didn't put my name in??"
"Ah, I am sorry my boy, but the tournament is bound with a contract, and any name that is added must participate once selected. Come, let us discuss this in my office." The Headmaster still looked a bit skeptical, but let Severus' words calm his suspicions.
Harry wasn't the type to add his own name now was he? No the boy was much too innocent to even know how to circumvent the rules of the Tournament.
Days passed from then on, Harry was given the rundown on what to expect from the tournament and its rules. The Headmaster hadn't given him any idea about what the trials were, only telling him the rules and sending him on his way.
It hardly helped to know that death was the reason the trials had been discontinued. And even the fact that they were expected to be the poster children for their respective schools was even more nerve wracking. He also did not know what to expect from the three tasks, or how he might over come them if they were extremely dangerous. But there was nothing for him to do, but wait.
Ron wasn't talking to him anymore, instead just glaring at him and Ginny was acting weird too. That was really the least of his problems, since he had to get ready for a tournament he didn't even sign up for.
He had met the other champions, including the other champion for Hofwarts, Cedric Diggory. The boy was nice and a little shy, and Harry thought he was fun to be around.
The thought of the other boy made him blush, and he shook his head to stop himself from going into taboo realms.
If he was being honest with himself, he felt like he could develop a crush on the older boy, but because he wasn't, he locked the thought away instead. Or at least he had tried. Dear Merlin he really tried.
Especially after they had begun to work together to solve the clues... all he could picture at night was those bright blue eyes, the plump rosy lips and sharp masculine jawline.
But every night those same eyes would always fade to black, the lips would thin out a bit... he had no idea why the changes happened, but they were vague and only occured for a few seconds, before the blue would fade back in.
This above all else managed to keep the boy up at night, and though he muddled his way through to the first task, he was not in the right state of mind to carry out his plan to find a girlfriend.
He was slowly losing his will to fight the dawning realization that he might actually like boys. It wasn't normal! He couldn't let himself be even more if the freak the Dursley's called him.
Of course Harry knew he would never go back to that family or that house on Privet drive, but they still left their marks on his body and their voices in his brain.
He knew inherently that nothing was wrong with liking the same gender. Not unless it was unwanted or coerced. It was their own bodies and choices, so who was he to judge?
But the same could not be said for himself, as any change within his mind or body was clouded with the thoughts and expectations of others.
Perhaps that was why he liked the Hufflepuff, he could let some of his masks go when they spoke. Cedric was kind, a bit shy, and they hadn't really talked much, but it was more than enough to make him question his sexuality. Still the Tournament went on, it was early November when they were all set to meet for the first task.
The four competitors were all in a tent, each hearing the loud cheering of the crowds outside and in the stands. Each of them felt nervous and jittery, as they were given a short explaination and instructions to pick an item up from out of a bag. It was said that whatever they chose would determine their order, so each of the champions took a breath and reached in...
