The Lonely Ones

by Dragonsrule18

WBWL AU. Harry has a twin, and everyone survives that fateful Halloween night. When Dan Potter is believed to be the BWL, Lily and James send Harry, who they believe to be a squib, to the Dursleys to keep him safe and give him a normal life. But Harry is far from normal, and though his life is hard, when he meets six other lonely children, everything changes for the better.

5. Meet The Parents

Meet The Parents

Hey guys! I finally got the new chapter up! Sorry it took so long! This was the most difficult chapter to write of the fic, since I had to deal with the awkwardness of Harry meeting the parents he hasn't seen in ten years.

This chapter also debuts the butterfly effect familiars existing, Sirius not being in prison, and a much more proactive Dumbledore bring.

Also, this is the first introduction of a new, minor Parselmouth OC and two goblin OCs, and Hagrid and Aragog are briefly introduced. ((They'll play a bigger part later.))

...

Harry woke from his nap, blinking in the noon sunshine. Hercules was of course at his side, but he couldn't see Elina, Ashlyn and Mara anywhere.

"Hey. You feeling better?" Hercules asked

Harry nodded with a yawn and sat up. "A lot, thanks. Where are the girls?"

"They left a few minutes ago. Elina wanted to scout the area. They said they'd be back soon." Hercules explained.

"Oh. All right." Harry said and unpacked their camping supplies before starting a fire. He then pulled out leftover rabbit meat that he had prepared that morning as well as some vegetables he had stolen yesterday when they cut through someone's farm and began making himself a meal, offering Hercules some meat which the snake happily accepted. While Hercules still liked to hunt his food best, he also enjoyed trying the meals Harry prepared, and seemed to be able to digest cooked food just as easily as he did raw.

He was just finishing cooking when a large owl suddenly swooped down from the trees. Hercules instinctively darted out of the way and Harry went to shield him, but instead of attacking, the owl suddenly dropped a heavy envelope in his lap before flying up to sit on a low branch.

Shocked, Harry glanced at the envelope, his eyes widening as he saw his own name on it. "What the..?!" But before he could even examine it, he heard a familiar scream.

"HARRY!" Ashlyn screamed as the Runespoor sisters came bursting out of the bushes towards them.

"Humans are approaching. They're flying on brooms and coming in fast." Elina reported quickly and Harry jumped to his feet, but at that moment, two figures in robes, a woman with flowing red hair and a dark haired man swooped in riding brooms, and landed about ten feet away from them.

Harry tensed, about to ask Hercules if they were a threat or not, but before he could, the man's eyes widened as he looked at the Runespoor sisters and he raised a strange stick. "Watch out! Depulsio!"

As a white light shot out from his stick and headed right for his friends, Harry cried out and jumped in between, his magic flaring to life as he threw out his hands, asking his magic to protect them. It immediately obeyed, a clear shield surrounding them, blocking the intruder's spell, though the impact made Harry slide back a bit.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Harry screamed, his magic building up again, too panicked to see the horror in the man and woman's eyes when the man's spell nearly hit him. He threw out his hand and a rush of energy flew from him, throwing the intruders off their feet.

The Runespoor sisters and Hercules quickly moved out from behind Harry, hissing threateningly as they prepared to protect him. Harry tried to stay calm and figure out an escape route. He might have caught the intruders by surprise, but he knew they were stronger and more skilled than he was. He and the snakes couldn't hope to take them on in a fight; Mara was the only venomous one, and with how the last spell had worked, she could get killed before she even got close. He tried to figure out if he had enough magic to teleport them all away again. The two unknown spells he used had taken a lot out of him.

But before he could summon his magic, the man and woman got up. Harry tensed and Hercules and the girls got into strike positions, but instead of attacking, the wizard and witch put their sticks down and held up their hands.

"Harry, we're not going to hurt you." the man pleaded.

Harry tensed even further. Feeling dizzy, he held onto a tree to keep his balance, but tried to make it look like that wasn't what he was doing. "Who are you?! How do you know my name?!"

The red haired woman looked at him with imploring green eyes, so much like Harry's own, and Harry's stomach sunk. He knew the answer even before she spoke.

"I know you probably don't remember us, but we're your mum and dad."

...

Harry froze. His parents had abandoned him almost ten years ago. How had they found him? Why had they found him? And they had attacked Elina, Ashlyn and Mara, how could they look at him like they expected him to trust them?!

He stood as straight as he could, hoping they couldn't see that he was shaking and exhausted. He could feel Hercules position himself close to him, ready to cover him, and it gave him the confidence to say, "You abandoned me ten years ago, and you tried to hurt my friends. What do you want with me now?"

His parents flinched, looking down ashamed. It was his father that spoke first. "Harry, I'm sorry, I thought that Runespoor was going to attack you."

"And...And we-we sent you to live with your Aunt Petunia to keep you safe. We thought it would give you a happy, normal life. We didn't think you had magic, and..." his mother started, but Harry, upset, shocked even himself by cutting her off.

"Elina, Ashlyn, and Mara would never hurt me! They were trying to warn us in case YOU would! And I DO have magic, and keep me safe from what?! Because I certainly wasn't safe from them!" he yelled, then realized he had just made a terrible mistake. He had just yelled and antagonized people far more powerful than them. How could he be so stupid?! He could have put Hercules and the girls in horrible danger!

His father looked at him in shock and horror, while his mother reached out for him. He flinched back from them. "Don't touch me!" he yelled, hoping they couldn't hear his fear. Much to his surprise, his mother drew her hand back, tears filling her eyes as she looked at him in worry.

Mara moved forward aggressively, baring her fangs as she pulled her sisters along with her. Harry put his hand in front of her, causing her to stop. "No, don't!" Upset as he was, he didn't want anyone to get hurt. His parents flinched, and Harry couldn't tell whether it was from the near attack or his use of the snake language.

His mother recovered faster and took a hesitant step closer, eyeing Mara before looking to Harry. "What do you mean you weren't safe?" she asked very softly.

"I meant what I said. I wasn't safe there." Harry replied, trying to keep his voice even. "And I'm not going back."

His father tensed, and Harry stiffened, expecting an attack.

Hercules tensed too, then looked into his father's eyes and relaxed slightly. "It's okay, Harry. There's no harmful intent towards you."

His father's next words proved this. "Did they hurt you?!"

Harry looked to Hercules, who nodded. Harry then looked into his dad's eyes and gave a small, shaky nod. "If it hadn't been for Hercules, I might not even be alive!"

Their eyes widened in horror. His mother covered her mouth, tears filling her eyes. His father looked furious and this scared Harry, but Hercules pressing close to his leg calmed him.

"What...What did they do to you...?" his mother asked very softly.

Harry hesitated. He knew the consequences for telling anyone and what could happen if they didn't believe him and tried to force him back. He couldn't trust these people in front of him, they had already left him once, what if they captured him, took his snake friends away, and left him back at the Dursleys despite what he said?

Hercules studied them, then turned to Harry. "Tell them." he said gently.

"But..." His parents jumped when he spoke to Hercules, which made Harry even more nervous, but Hercules still seemed unruffled as he spoke again.

"Tell them. They need to know exactly what they left you with. It'll be okay. I'm not detecting any harmful intentions from them, and I'd never let them hurt you or separate us. Trust me."

Harry might not trust his parents, but he would always trust Hercules. He nodded and took a deep breath. "They hated any form of freakishness. They hated me. Any time I accidentally used magic...it would get really bad. And...the last time, when my accidental magic freed Hercules from his cage, Uncle Vernon got really mad thinking I had done it to set him on them, which I hadn't. Hercules wasn't anywhere near them. But...he got really angry and...and he tried to strangle me. If Hercules hadn't secretly followed him and bit him to force him to stop, he...he might have killed me..." Harry tried to keep his voice calm but it still shook. He felt Hercules nuzzle him comfortingly and lean up against him before sending comforting feelings through the bond, which soothed him and helped him remember he wasn't in that place any more. Elina and Ashlyn nuzzled him too, and Mara kept her protective stance and glared at his parents.

His father put his head in his hands. "Oh, Merlin.." he whispered in horror. He then raised his head and clenched his fists. "I'm going to kill them..." While this time he knew the anger wasn't directed at him, Harry still stiffened instinctively.

"James, you're scaring him." his mother warned, placing a hand on his father's shoulder.

His father immediately unclenched his fists and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm so sorry." he said quietly.

"I'm sorry too." his mother whispered before letting out a soft sob. "Harry….I'm so sorry. We never meant for this to happen... We never meant for you to get hurt. Petunia was my sister, I never thought she'd... How could they do something like this?!" Tears ran down his mother's face. Harry's heart ached, though he again looked to Hercules to make sure it wasn't an elaborate lie. Hercules nodded, indicating she was being truthful.

Harry softened and sighed. "What...What was so dangerous you had to send me away to keep me safe?" he asked very softly, wanting to give them the chance to explain themselves, and wanting to know what the threat was so he could keep himself and his friends safe.

Plus, no matter what the reason was, it would give him closure. And to start to close the dark chapter that was the last ten years of his life and move on to a new and brighter future, he needed, for his own peace of mind, to know what they had to say.

...

Lily couldn't take her eyes off of the son she hadn't seen in nearly ten years as Harry invited them into his camp. He was so small and thin, swimming in the huge, worn out shirt and trousers he was wearing. His arms were scratched and bruised and his eyes looked far too old and tired for someone so young as he watched them warily.

As he took his hand off the tree he had rested it on and tried to head back to the campfire, he swayed and brought his hand to his head, looking dizzy and exhausted. Lily gasped and moved to help him, but his snake friends were quicker, the Hercules moving to press its head under his arm as the Runespoor rushed over to help support him as well. The two gently guided him to sit by the fire. Harry let out a soft hissing sound that was probably a thanks, smiling as he stroked the snakes that settled beside him, the boa constrictor resting its head on his lap.

His parseltongue didn't sound anything like Voldemort's had, soft and gentle rather than the harsh, grating hisses Voldemort had used when he used snakes to attack others, but the language still made a chill run down her spine as memories from one of their battles with the dark lord threatened to invade, though she pushed them away. This was her son, smiling and talking to the ones that had been there for him when she and James weren't. He was nothing like Voldemort. He was just a young boy that had the power to talk to a certain species of animal, and as Dumbledore had said once, there had been many Parselmouths among the great and good.

And it wasn't Harry's fault or even that of the power itself that Voldemort had misused it for evil.

And what was more important now was taking care of their son, who was showing clear signs of exhaustion, probably from the amount of magic he had just used protecting his snake friends from them. Lily reached into her bag, causing five sets of eyes to look at her, and dug through the potions she always kept on hand just in case there was an attack and her family needed quick healing, and pulled out a potion for restoring magical energy. "Here, drink this. It'll help you feel better."

Harry eyed her warily. "What is it?"

"It's a healing potion; it will restore your energy. It'll heal your scrapes and bruises too." she told him, trying to reassure him.

"It tastes pretty bad, but it helps a lot. I've taken it all the time." James added, giving Harry a smile.

He hesitated, then glanced to Hercules. The boa constrictor stared at her for a moment, his surprisingly expressive lidded gaze seeming to stare through her soul. Then Hercules relaxed and nodded to Harry, who relaxed a little as well and took it with a shy "Thanks." His hands were shaking slightly, but he managed to uncork and drink the bright red potion without help, grimacing slightly at the taste but not protesting. In only a few seconds, the potions started to work. His hands stopped shaking, and he watched in awe as the scrapes on his arms healed, his expression for the first time looking like the child he was.

He thanked them again and then politely offered them some of the meal he had clearly made himself over the fire. Lily and James accepted a bit, but insisted on him having most of it, which seemed to utterly confuse him, which made them worry even more. It was once again Hercules who calmed him and got him to feel comfortable enough to eat in front of them, and even then Lily noticed him holding the bowl protectively like he thought they were going to take it away.

And now knowing what her vile sister and brother in law had done, she feared that that was exactly what happened.

As they ate, Lily and James told Harry the story of what happened that horrible night of Halloween 1981. He listened quietly.

"So I have a twin brother I didn't know about, and he somehow blew up a dark lord as a baby?" Harry asked softly, petting Hercules and the Runespoor, both of which were staying close to him, clearly for comfort.

"Yes. He stunned us, and then he went after you boys. We didn't see what exactly happened, but from our best guess, Dan blocked the Killing Curse with an especially powerful burst of accidental magic, reflecting it back at Voldemort."

Harry's eyes went wide. "is he okay? My brother, I mean, not Voldemort."

Lily smiled and reached to stroke Harry's hair, only to pull back when Harry stiffened. "He's perfectly fine. His magic protected him well."

Harry for the first time smiled at her, clearly relieved. "I'm glad." He then frowned. "But if Dan killed the dark lord, why did you still need to send me away?"

James sighed. "He had followers, Harry. A lot of them, and some are still out there free. We feared they'd target you, especially since we thought you didn't have magic."

"But what about Dan?" Harry wanted to know. "Even though he has magic, they could have gone after him too, especially since he killed the Dark Lord. Why didn't you take us both and hide in the non-magical world?"

"When-When it was revealed he defeated the Dark Lord, Dan became very famous as The Boy Who Lived. All of Europe, maybe even the entire world knows about what he did." Lily explained. "We feared fully disappearing would have made him even more of a target, and he has strong magic that needs to be trained. We felt it was best for us to remain in the Wizarding World and train him so he can protect himself when we can't."

"We wanted to keep you too, Harry, we always did." James said softly. "But...when tests revealed you didn't have magic, tests we now know were wrong, we feared you would be in more danger in our world, and unhappy. Our world, like the muggle one, has its prejudices. Wizards can be very harsh on those who are born in a magical family but don't have magic. Many squibs, non-magical people born in a magical family, are denied the opportunities wizards are given, and aren't treated well. We didn't want that for you. We thought you'd be happier in the muggle world, free to be whatever you wanted to be, and that it would be better for you to know nothing about the magical world. We were wrong."

Harry was quiet, picking blades of grass out of the ground with a frown on his face. Hercules nuzzled him and the middle head of the Runespoor flicked out her tongue and licked his cheek. Harry let out a tiny smile and stroked them both before turning back to James and Lily.

"Why didn't you ever check on me before this?" he then asked softly. "If you were so worried about my safety and happiness, why didn't you make sure I was?"

James looked down. "We did in the first few months to make sure you were all right. You seemed to be, so we thought you were happy there. And...at that time, we began noticing reporters were following us places they shouldn't even have known about, and published things that were very private. While we had warded Number 4 Privet Drive well, we didn't want those with ill intentions to find their way to your neighborhood or school, or for your location to be reported in the Daily Prophet and draw the attention of Death Eaters."

Harry nodded, fidgeting his fingers. "So what made you come now? How did you even know I was here?" he asked.

"The Headmaster of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry found your name on the First Year acceptance list, and we realized the terrible mistake we had made, especially when we went to bring you your Hogwarts letter and realized you were in a remote area of the woods rather than your aunt's house." James said softly. "So we gave your Hogwarts letter to a delivery owl and tracked it until we found you." James looked around for the letter, finding it in the grass, and brought it over to Harry. Lily noticed the Runespoor sisters perk up at the name, and they hissed something to Harry, who hissed back as he opened the envelope.

...

Harry pulled out the letter carefully, reading it over. The first page was just a note saying he was accepted, with the names of the headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, and the date they awaited his owl by, while the second was a supply list of what he would require for school. It also mentioned that students could bring a small pet, and much to Harry's relief, that familiars were always permitted regardless of species, though it mentioned that the familiar would need to be registered to be allowed to attend classes them(though with a notation that this was size and safety permitting, which was understandable).

But many things still worried Harry despite the fact that this sounded good. He turned to his parents. "How am I supposed to afford supplies? I don't have much money." He only had a few dollars left from the money he had stolen from the glovebox of Uncle Vernon's car and he doubted that would go far.

Lily looked utterly confused at this. James's eyes widened, then narrowed. Harry fought to keep himself from backing away at this.

"The Dursleys never told you about the trust vault we set up for you, did they?" his father then asked angrily. "Or gave you the presents we sent?"

Harry shook his head, trying to hide his fear at the angry tone. "What trust vault? What presents? I never saw any of that. I don't know what you're talking about!"

Hercules stared at James, then relaxed and nuzzled Harry. "It's okay, Harry. That anger wasn't directed at you." the boa constrictor said soothingly. "And I don't know what a "trust vault," is and only a vague idea about what presents are, but he's telling the truth about them."

Harry calmed at this and shook his head. "No, I never knew about any trust vault. The Dursleys always complained about how much money I cost them."

James grit his teeth. "They were lying, Harry. We gave them plenty of money to provide for you. They must have been using it to fill their own pockets."

Harry too felt angry, though he also wasn't surprised that they would do this, take his money and use it for Dudley and buying the latest gadgets for their house while they starved him and gave him only Dudley's old clothes to wear. He had thought for so long that his parents had left the Dursleys with no money to provide for him, and that it was right for them to spend most of their money on Dudley. But it turned out it was all a lie and his parents DID provide for him.

(And maybe Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon telling him his parents had never loved him was a lie too.)

"Harry, we're so sorry. I know it's not enough, but we truly are. We should have kept you with us all along." Lily said softly. "We should never have let you down. We placed our faith in the wrong people, and you're the one who suffered. But we...we want to make it up to you, sweetheart. We want you to come home with us. We want to take care of you and for you to know your brother, and for us to become a true family again. I know you don't trust us, and it's going to take a long time for you to, if you ever do, but please, give us another chance to be the parents we should have been." Tears were running down her cheeks, and Harry felt his own eyes burn at the sight, but he was still conflicted and afraid.

"I-I need a moment." he choked out and then moved away, Hercules and the Runespoor sisters following immediately. He stopped among the trees, out of hearing range.

"You okay, kid?" Mara asked as Hercules nuzzled him and Ashlyn and Elina pretty much asked the same thing.

"I..I don't know." Harry admitted, shaking a bit as he pretty much collapsed to a sitting position on the ground, feeling both overwhelmed and exhausted. "I haven't seen my parents for ten years and then they just show up out of nowhere and tell me everything I knew was a lie and that they do want me and that they only left me to protect me. And they haven't checked on me in years, but how were they supposed to if bad people were following them, and they want me back and there might be dangerous people in the magical world and parts of it seem really bad, but I need to train my magic and I want to meet my brother and I don't know what to do!"

He was breathing heavily, but still felt like he wasn't getting enough air. The once welcoming forest felt like it was surrounding him, confining him, and he could feel his parents' eyes on him, and...

"Harry! Harry, it's okay. Take a deep breath." Hercules soothed, climbing into his lap and snuggling close.

Harry gasped, feeling lightheaded. "I can't!"

"Yes, you can. You're breathing right now." Ashlyn said gently in a rare serious voice. Her smooth nose gently bumped his cheek, jolting him slightly out of his panicked state, and then he could feel her coiling her neck lightly around him, leaning her head against his chest. "We're right here. We're all right here. Can you feel us?"

Harry nodded, wrapping his arms around both her and Hercules, feeling Hercules's soft scales and her harder, smooth ones. He could feel Hercules rest his head on his shoulder, and then waves of warm, soothing energy from their bond, comforting and grounding. His breathing slowed and the panicked dizziness faded.

"You okay?" Elina asked. "How do you feel?"

"Better, thanks. Sorry about that."

"It's not your fault." she reassured him.

Harry, now calm enough to think rationally, gratefully thanked the others and tried to think about what to do. First he needed to make sure his parents could actually be trusted. Trusting his friends beyond a shadow of a doubt, he asked their opinions. He started with Hercules considering the boa constrictor was a living lie detector. "What did you read in their emotions and intentions? Did they mean everything they said?"

"While I don't like what they did and how it hurt you, or that they fired an attack at the girls, they've been telling the truth. Their regret was genuine, and their care and love was as well." Hercules replied. "While it doesn't mean their actions weren't wrong, they also weren't out of malice or even apathy. They were also genuine about wanting to make up for their mistakes and reconnect with you."

Harry relaxed, but only a little. "I don't know what to do..."

"How is it you feel about them?" Ashlyn asked gently.

"I don't know. I barely know them, and I'm still hurt and angry that they left me, and I feel like they wouldn't have even thought to come see me if I didn't have magic, but I'm selfish and horrible to feel that way because they did it to protect me..."

"Hey!" Mara scolded before anyone else could answer. "Harry, we know you, and the LAST thing you are is selfish or horrible. If anything, you're too stupidly kind and forgiving and were far better to them than they deserved."

"Mara, you could have been a LITTLE more sensitive." Hercules sighed. "And Harry, she's right. You're one of the nicest people I've ever known. And you're well within your right to feel hurt and angry. They may not have meant to, but their actions did have consequences that caused you pain, as they trusted the wrong people to care for you. Granted, your foul relatives are even more to blame for treating you cruelly."

"I know. I completely believe that they would lie to my parents about protecting me and take the money meant to provide for me. The Dursleys lie about everything." Harry said softly, running his hands along Hercules's scales. "And until I met you, I believed every single one of those lies. About my parents...about myself..."

"They were horrible people, Harry, twisted and warped. The moment they came near me, even through the glass, I felt it." Hercules told him. "I knew I couldn't leave you alone with them. They felt so ugly and cruel."

"Around other humans, they hid it so well though. They could always convince my teachers that I was a horrible, attention seeking brat... I can see how they could easily lie to my mum and dad, and Aunt Petunia's Mum's sister. You-You always want to believe your family isn't bad..." Harry whispered.

Hercules nuzzled him. "I know, Harry, I know. And for what it's worth, I know your parents are nothing like the Dursleys. I may not like the choice they made where you were concerned, but they're not evil or cruel. However, while they do want to reconnect with you, it's up to you whether you want that too, and it doesn't mean you're a bad person if you decide you don't. Trust takes time, and so does forgiveness, and both need to be earned, so don't put pressure on yourself. Neither choice you make will be wrong, and I'll be with you every step of the way."

"We will too!" Ashlyn chimed in.

"Ashlyn's right. And the choice is yours, Harry. Do what you feel is right. Don't act on guilt or any feelings of pressure, from either them or us." Elina advised. "What is it YOU want to do?"

"I-I don't know how I feel about my parents yet, but...I do believe them." Harry admitted. "And...I have a twin brother. I want to get to know him. Plus, I do need to train my magic, and that I can't do fully on my own. We were headed towards Hogwarts anyway."

"True." Elina agreed.

"And the letter said familiars are allowed, so Hercules would be able to share my classes with me, which would be great, and maybe you guys can too."

"I don't think we would be allowed to, but the school is close to the dark forest and we have friends there, so we'd be fine as well as close to you." Elina said.

Harry felt a little better. "It probably would be our best option. It'll get cold out here in a few months, and getting to another country probably wouldn't be easy. Staying with my parents might be our safest bet, and...if they do mean it, if they do care about me, as Harry, not just as a wizard...Maybe I can give them a chance. If worst comes to worst, we could always run away, right?"

"Right, but I don't think we'll need to." Ashlyn said.

Harry nodded. "What about you, Mara?" he asked the third Runespoor sister, who had been quiet for a while. "I want your judgement on this too."

She seemed surprised, then slightly happy he had asked. She was then quiet for a moment before speaking. "Well...I'm not fully sure. Do I believe Hercules that they at least feel their intentions are good? I do. Do I trust their judgement? Do I trust their capability to keep you safe? Not so much."

She sighed. "While I do believe they intended to protect you, the way they went about it was stupid. Also, they had incredibly poor judgement in who to trust to keep you safe. Hercules had only known you for a few minutes and realized those people were dangerous, yet they, human parents who protect their offspring for far longer than snakes do, were unable to tell. And they didn't follow through on checking up on you for quite a long time. They only realized you were here through some stupid letter, and that's a problem."

Harry looked down at this, his heart aching as he remembered what he had thought about his parents possibly never looking for him if he didn't have magic. Mara shifted closer, her face softening a little. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm not saying this to be cruel or hurt you. I just..." She seemed to be struggling to find words.

"She cares about you and doesn't want you to get hurt." Ashlyn chimed in.

"Yeah, that." Mara said awkwardly, sounding embarrassed.

Harry reached over and stroked her head. "I know, Mara. That's exactly why I trust your judgement." he told her before sighing softly. "So you don't feel they're willing to, or capable of protecting me?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what's in their heads as I can't read minds, and I do believe they believe they had good intentions like Hercules said, but that doesn't mean their behavior doesn't concern me. They supposedly weren't able to keep you safe themselves when they thought you had no magic, but how would that change now that you do? You're still a child. While you have strong powers, you're still vulnerable. And as a matter of fact, so is your brother, and there's people in that world that could hurt you both."

"Do you think we should just try to slip away from them then?" Harry asked worriedly.

Mara looked troubled. "Honestly...I don't know."

Hercules spoke up. "Personally, I don't think just running away is the best idea. Right now, we have very little idea of what's going on, and running blind won't help anything."

Elina nodded. "Hercules is right. Going to the magical world might be a risk, but honestly, any plan comes with risk. We could get hurt in the non-magical world, or even here in the woods. We almost did nearly get killed here in the woods, and would have if not for Harry's magic. And one thing we did learn from our journeys is that there's predators everywhere, so caution is always recommended." She turned to Harry. "And like you said, Harry, your powers still need to be trained, and Hagrid's always spoken highly of Hogwarts, so we know it's a good school. And Hagrid will be there, and so will Aragog. Both have a protective streak a mile wide and both are very physically strong. I've seen Aragog rip a troll's head off for going after a Hogwarts student. They won't allow any harm to come to you. And of course, the four of us will be there to keep you safe as well."

"Actually...Elina's right for once." Mara agreed, causing her sister to mock glare at her. "It would be too cold for us to stay in the woods indefinitely, like you already mentioned, and going to the magical world WOULD provide us with vital information on how to protect ourselves... All right, you guys have convinced me. Going with them is probably our best bet after all...but we HAVE to remain cautious at all times."

She turned to Harry. "Harry, I know you're the forgiving type, and I know you long for a family, but you also need to set up boundaries. Like Hercules said earlier, trust needs to be earned, and they haven't earned that yet. I know you want to give them a second chance, and your capacity to find the best in people even after what you went through is admirable, but don't let them take advantage of you either. Give them one chance, not one hundred. If they fuck up this chance, if they hurt you again or make you feel unsafe or miserable, they don't deserve to be part of your life or to be called your family, got that?"

Harry nodded and Mara continued. "We also need to see what they're willing to do to protect you, and if their new plan even makes sense. The same goes for protecting your brother too. I know you want to make sure he's okay, as I would for my sisters and we all would for each other. We also need to make contingency and escape plans, just in case things aren't safe."

"Right." Harry agreed, though still feeling worried.

"We'll all be right here, Harry. And I won't let anyone with bad intentions near you." Hercules soothed.

"And neither will we." Elina agreed and Ashlyn and Mara nodded.

"But I don't want you guys to get hurt! I don't want to be a risk to your safety!" Harry protested.

"Harry, from a logical standpoint, we're safer being near you. You've saved us all at least twice, remember? We're a family. We're better together." Ashlyn told him, giving him a soft nuzzle.

Harry smiled widely at this, and hugged all four snakes. Mara half heartedly grumbled about him being sappy, but he also noticed she still snuggled into the hug.

He felt a lot better now. Regardless of what happened in the future with his parents, he still had a family.

Blood may be thicker than water, but love would always be thicker than blood.

...

After they briefly discussed what to say and do, with his snake family at his side, Harry got up, though a bit shakily, and crossed the clearing to his parents, who smiled at him. He couldn't bring himself to smile back yet, still unsure, but managed to stand tall. "I'll come with you, but I have two conditions." he said as firmly as he could.

"What are they?" his father asked gently.

"Hercules is my bonded familiar and Elina, Ashlyn and Mara are our friends. More than that, we're family. I'll never make a choice that separates me from them. So they come with me." Harry felt ridiculous making demands to adults that were stronger and more powerful than him, but he refused to be separated from his (snake) family.

"Of course." his mother agreed. "Harry, after everything they've done for you, we wouldn't dream of separating you from them."

His father nodded. "We'll need to go take you to get Hercules registered so he can join you when we go to public places, and we'll need to get a permit to keep Elina, Ashlyn and Mara with us, but they'll always be welcome in our home."

Harry felt much better and nodded. "Thank you."

"What's the second condition?" his mother asked softly.

"That if you decide you don't want me, you don't send me back to the Dursleys." Harry said. "You can drop us off in the woods, or somewhere safe in the magical world, but I won't be returning back there."

Lily gasped. "Harry, that will never happen. We won't leave you." The cynicism must have shown on his face, as she knelt down to him. "Harry, I promise we're not going to leave you."

James nodded. "Not ever again." Harry could see tears in his eyes as his father went to place his hand on his shoulder, but stopped when Harry stiffened. He then knelt down to Harry's level. "You don't have to be afraid. We won't ever hurt you. Physically or emotionally. I know we haven't showed it enough, but we love you Harry."

"I know that you don't trust us, that we lost it long ago, but we'll never hurt you again." Lily told him softly. "And we do truly love you. We always have. And we'll do everything we can to help you feel safe with us again."

Harry wasn't one hundred percent sure if he believed those words yet. They seemed sincere, but he didn't know if that would change if or when they got tired of him. But he nodded anyway.

His parents looked to each other with concerned expressions but thankfully let it go. "Are you ready to go?" his father asked.

"I need to heat up some water to wash the dishes, pack everything, and put out the fire first." Harry told them.

"Here, let us help." his father offered. Harry was about to say he didn't have to when James gathered the dishes together and pulled out his wand. "Scourgify!" he called and Harry watched in fascination as the dishes instantly became clean and sparkling.

"Wicked...I've got to learn that one!" he said happily as he took the clean dishes.

James smiled at him. "You will at Hogwarts."

Harry found himself smiling back before realizing how open he had just been. You need to be cautious. Don't be so open until you know they won't hurt you again. he reminded himself. He stiffened a bit at the thought, but still made sure to thank his father as he packed his bag, also thanking Ashlyn as she retrieved his Hogwarts letter from the ground where he had once again left it.

"It'll be okay." Hercules reassured him, sensing his tension.

Harry smiled and petted him. "Thanks, Hercules."

Once he had gathered everything, he held his hands in front of the fire, concentrating on his magic, oblivious to the look of confusion his parents were giving him. He then grinned as water shot from his fingertips much more quickly and easily than it did before, thanks to all his practice. "All right! I got it on the first try this time!" he cheered to his snake friends, who congratulated him.

He then looked to his parents and noticed them staring at him in shock. He blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Did...Did you just use wandless magic?" James asked.

"Yes?" Harry answered, though it came more like a question. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, not wrong, just surprising." his mother told him. "Wandless magic isn't normally learned until you're much older. It takes a lot more magic and more focus than spells with a wand, and it tends to drain you more easily."

"is that why I'm tired when I ask my magic to do things?" Harry asked, then was worried he'd get yelled at for asking questions.

But his parents didn't get angry. They just looked worried. "Yes, that's why." his father told him. He placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry flinched a bit, but calmed when he realized the touch was gentle. "You're not in trouble, don't worry. But please don't practice that alone any more. We don't want you to get hurt."

"You need to be especially careful since you exhausted your magic earlier." Lily told him gently. "Forcing it out too much could cause damage to your body or magic."

"I, um, also used it earlier today." Harry admitted. "We were crossing a cliff and it started to crumble. I used my magic to catch Hercules and teleported us to the other side."

"You nearly fell off a cliff and did a wandless underage apparition?!" Lily exclaimed. "Harry, you could have died or been splinched!"

Mara glared at her. "It was an accident, lady! And what'd you expect him to do? Let us all go splat?! And it's not like you've been all that careful about his safety yourself!"

"Mara, it's okay." Harry told her before talking to his mother. "We did the best we could to be careful. It was just an accident. And it was either tele- do the apparation thing, or fall off the cliff. I had already known it might be really dangerous if it made me end up in an unsafe place or even go through something, so it was something I wasn't going to try practicing without another wizard's supervision but I didn't really have any choice but to use it on that cliff."

"I know, Harry, and you did the right thing. I'm not mad at you, just worried." Lily explained.

Harry felt better at this, but was also curious. "If you don't mind me asking, what's splinching?"

"Sometimes if apparition fails, you can leave part of yourself behind." James explained.

Harry's eyes went wide. "Yikes."

"That's why apparition isn't legal without a license." James told him. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble," he added when Harry gave him an alarmed look. "It likely counted as accidental magic, plus it was an emergency. Just please don't experiment with it. You'll be able to test for your license when you're seventeen."

Harry nodded, understanding, and his parents smiled. "Ready to go? We're going to see your new school and get you checked over." Lily asked him.

Harry nodded. "How do we get there?"

"We'll fly." James tells him as he and Lily picked up their brooms from the grass where they had left them.

It took a few minutes to figure out how they were going to do this. James ended up being the one to take Harry and the snakes. Harry climbed onto the broom first and Hercules and the Runespoor sisters coiled around him, with his father getting permission from all of them to cast charms on them to prevent them from falling off the broom, as well as a Disillusionment charm to keep muggles from seeing them. Harry mentally made a note to mark down the latter spell in his notebook as a priority to learn and memorized the wand movements as James cast it.

His parents got on their brooms and James showed him how to push off the ground. Harry's eyes were wide in awe as they lifted into the air and gazed at the scenery as they flew through the air at breathtaking speed.

He decided he loved flying. Ashlyn and Elina seemed to feel the same way, with Ashlyn especially enthusiastic as usual, exclaiming about how cool it was and pointing out every tiny thing she saw to Harry.

Hercules and Mara clearly felt differently; Hercules coiled around Harry so tightly it was almost painful with his eyes squeezed shut while Mara claimed she was going to be sick and that if she was meant to fly, she would have been born with wings. Harry felt terrible for them, though he wasn't sure how to make this any better.

After a while of flying, Harry gasped as he caught sight of a magnificent stone castle with many turrets and towers.

"That's Hogwarts! Isn't it great?" Ashlyn called out to him.

"Yeah!" Harry agreed.

She then nudged Hercules. "Hercules, open your eyes! Don't you want to see Hogwarts?"

"I'll see it when we're on the ground. If I open my eyes I'm going to end up throwing up." Hercules groaned.

"Yeah, don't." Elina agreed.

As they flew lower, Ashlyn let out a happy scream. 'There's Hagrid and Aragog! Hey, guys! Look up!"

Harry turned from comforting Hercules, immediately spotting a giant of a man with a long, shaggy mane of hair and a thick beard carrying a massive pile of firewood walking next to an even more enormous spider who was carrying another pile of firewood on his back.

James and Lily immediately slowed, then cancelled the Disillusionment charm as they landed. Hagrid turned immediately as he heard them, setting down his firewood. Aragog removed his bundle too, though he hung back as Hagrid moved forward. Harry was at first a bit nervous as the huge man lumbered towards them, but any fear immediately evaporated as Hagrid smiled and Harry saw the kindness in his dark eyes.

As soon as James undid the safety charms on the broom, Ashlyn let out a happy cry of "HAGRID!" as she and Elina half dragged a still sick looking Mara towards him.

The giant's eyes lit up as he saw them. He scooped the Runespoor sisters into his arms, cradling them like they were a small baby. "If it isn' little Elina, Ashlyn, an' Mara! I reckon yeh've gained at least a foot since we las' saw yeh! 'S so good ter have yeh back!" He smiled widely as he cuddled them, and then turned his friendly smile to Harry in his parents. "Hello, James, Lily. 's good ter see yeh. An' who are these two?"

James placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, and Harry stiffened a bit. "This is our son Harry and his familiar, Hercules."

Hagrid knelt down to Harry's level. "Oh, so yeh're little Harry! i haven' seen yeh since yeh were jus a little tyke. Heard yeh moved ter the muggle world, but I didn' know where. How have yeh bin?"

James and Lily looked uncomfortable. Harry tried to smile and dodged the subject a bit. "I'm doing fine. It's really nice to meet you both. The girls told me about you." He smiled more genuinely at both of them.

Aragog moved closer, though seemed to be keeping himself as small and non-threatening as a giant spider could. "It's nice to meet you too." he said in a voice that was surprisingly soft for one so large. Harry noticed then that he was wearing a collar between his head and thorax from which a large silver tag dangled that had a border of strange symbols, and his name in large letters and the word "familiar" in much smaller letters at the the bottom.

Hagrid grinned and stood up to place his hand on his familiar's back. "Don' worry, Aragog, i knew Harry wasn' goin' ter be afraid o' yeh. He thought yeh were a big teddy bear when he was a baby after all. Not tha' he was off the mark." he grinned.

"Hey!" Aragog protested, but didn't seem offended.

"I did?" Harry asked curiously.

Hagrid nodded. "Yeh did. When yeh were really little, before your parents went inter hiding, they brought yeh an' your brother ter visit. When yeh two saw aragog, your brother cried, but yeh were all excited an' wouldn' settle down an' kept reaching out fer 'im until I brought yeh over ter pet 'im. I shoulda guessed then tha' yeh'd end up with a familiar too. An' yeh got quite an amazing one. I didn' know anyone in the Potter line were Parselmouths though."

"They aren't. He's our first Parselmouth." Lily said with a smile, though Harry noticed she seemed uncertain.

Hagrid however seemed unruffled. "Well, regardless o' wha' any o' the fools in the ministry say, 's an amazing gift, an' a real help when it comes ter working with creatures or cursebreaking, an' despite what they say, most purebloods wan' a Parselmouth tour guide when they got ter countries that have a lot o' aggressive animals.. Blimey, I've always wanted a gift like tha'. Aragog always translates fer me, an' I know how to understand some o' it, but it would have bin great ter talk ter the girls on me own, plus I've heard dragons speak Parseltongue too. I'd love ter talk ter a dragon."

Harry's eyes went wide. "Dragons are real? Cool!"

Hagrid frowned in confusion. "You didn' know about dragons?"

Harry shook his head. "I didn't even know what magic was until Elina, Ashlyn and Mara told me." he said with a nervous chuckle.

Hagrid gave Lily and James a questioning look. James sighed softly. "It's a long and difficult story, Hagrid. We'll tell you later, all right? First we need to get Harry to Madam Pomfrey."

Hagrid and Aragog gave each other a concerned glance but Hagrid soon nodded. "All righ'. I'll get one o' the boats an' take yeh across, unless yeh wan' ter ride your brooms over."

"Boat please." Hercules and Mara both said immediately, the poor snakes still looking ill.

"Is it okay if we take the boat? Hercules and Mara are kind of airsick." Harry asked his parents a little nervously.

Lily smiled softly. "Of course."

The boat ride was short but peaceful, and Harry and Hercules watched in awe as the massive castle grew closer. Hagrid called for them to keep their heads down as the boats moved through an opening in the cliff face, and they were carried through a curtain of ivy that led to an underground tunnel. After a few moments, they reached an underground harbor where the boats stopped. Lily helped Harry out while James picked up Hercules(and rather hesitantly picked up the Runespoor sisters too) and they went up a flight of stone steps before reaching the castle door. Hagrid knocked three times, and it immediately creaked open for him.

Harry felt incredibly small in the enormous entrance hall as he followed his parents and Hagrid, who seemed to know where they were going. He stayed close to Hercules and the Runespoor sisters, not wanting to get lost in this huge place.

As they passed through another corridor, they came upon an elderly man dressed in bright purple robes. He wore half moon glasses and had a long crooked nose and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. He looked rather sad for some reason, though his eyes brightened when he saw them, and he hurried over. He stopped short for a second when he saw the snakes, but just as quickly got over it and gave them a warm smile.

"Albus." James greeted and Harry didn't even need Hercules to know there was slight tension between this man and his parents.

"It's good to see you back. I'm very glad you found Harry, and I see he's got some little friends with him." the man, Albus, greeted them with a warm smile before turning to Harry. "Hello, Harry. It's nice to see you again. I'm Albus Dumbledore, and I'm the Headmaster of this school."

"It's nice to meet you too, sir." Harry said nervously, unsure with the tension in the room if this man could be trusted.

He glanced to Hercules, who seemed just as confused as he was. "All I know is that your parents are upset about something and that he's sad and regretful. I think he made a mistake, but I have no clue what. He has no ill intent towards you though."

Harry nodded, concerned, then glanced to the Runespoor sisters as they knew the most about Hogwarts. None of them seemed concerned. "Relax, Harry, he's okay. Hagrid's really close to him. From what Aragog told us, he helped the two of them when they got in trouble for something someone named Tom framed them for doing. We've only seen him a few times but he's nice." Elina told him.

"He's right batty though." Mara muttered.

"Mara, that was rude." Ashlyn scolded.

Dumbledore just laughed, causing the five of them to jump. "There's no need to worry, young one. I took it as a compliment. After all, it's far better to be eccentric than normal."

"You're a Parselmouth too?" Harry asked in shock.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Unfortunately no, but I asked another Parselmouth to teach me the language. I can understand it well, but, alas, I can only speak a few phrases. It's rather difficult for an old man like me."

"Which means you understood what I said...Sorry." Hercules said sheepishly.

Dumbledore brushed it off. "There's no need to apologize! You're Harry's familiar, right?" Hercules nodded and Dumbledore continued. "And as his familiar, and as his friend, it's very understandable that you would want to help and protect him, and it seems you have an incredibly powerful empathic gift. As an old man's advice though, you may want to be more careful who you talk about it in front of. There unfortunately have been been unscrupulous people who share your gift, though few and far between."

"The corrupt speaker..." Harry murmured. Both his parents and Dumbledore looked to him in surprise. Harry glanced to Elina, who nodded, and he explained. "Elina, Ashlyn and Mara said they ran into a really bad Parselmouth who tried to force them into hurting people he called Mudbloods or something." He saw his mother flinch. "But they refused and he tried to kill them, but they got away and warned someone who warned the humans."

Dumbledore looked to the Runespoor sisters, who nodded. "We told Aragog." Ashlyn supplied.

"Then you must have been the friends Aragog mentioned who gave him the warning that allowed us to be prepared for the attack Lord Voldemort led on Hogsmeade twelve years ago." Dumbledore said softly. "The three of you should be proud. You saved many lives." Ashlyn and Elina beamed as best as Runespoors could and even Mara looked happy. Even his parents smiled.

Harry was smiling widely too, proud of his friends, until something occurred to him, his happiness immediately replaced by shock. "The dark lord who tried to kill my brother,,, was he the corrupt Speaker?"

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Yes. Unfortunately he also possessed your gift and used it for evil, and he did cause some people to fear Parseltongue or see it as dark." He continued before Harry could protest. "Which does not mean it is. Parseltongue is a subsect of Beast Speech, the ability to talk to animals. It is no more dark than, for example, being able to understand cat speech like our caretaker can. It, like any other gift, can be used for both good and evil. What matters is what you use it for. Parselmouths have also been known to tame dragons and other creatures too dangerous for ordinary wizards, break deadly curses, act as translators between reptiles and humans so no one gets hurt, and use their communication with reptiles to gather venom and create life saving antivenoms. Many have become exceptional healers or Potions Masters. You have the potential to become an amazing wizard, Harry, so study hard and use your talents well."

Harry smiled. "I will, sir."

Dumbledore smiled back. "I'm glad to hear that, Harry." he said gently, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry stiffened, but managed to relax. That quickly changed when the smile slid off Dumbledore's face, replaced by a frown when he looked at him. He frantically tried to figure out whether he had done something wrong, and now his parents were looking concerned too.

"Harry," Dumbledore asked gently, and Harry could hear an undercurrent of worry and fear despite the calm voice. "Can you move your bangs so I can see your scar better?" Confused, Harry complied, and Dumbledore bent to take a closer look. "Oh dear..."

James and Lily knelt down to take a look as well. "It hasn't faded at all." Lily said worriedly. "It looks so deep. Does it hurt at all, Harry?"

Harry shook his head, confused. "No?"

"Has it ever hurt?" Dumbledore pressed gently.

"No. I mean...I assume it hurt a lot when I got it, but I don't remember it ever hurting." Harry told him.

"That's good, but I think it's best we call a cursebreaker to take a look, just to be be safe. I'll call Gringotts right now." Dumbledore said lightly, though Harry didn't need Hercules's gift to tell he was extremely worried. He hurried off before the young Parselmouth could even answer.

"James, take Harry to the Infirmary. I'll go see what's going on." Lily told James before hurrying off after Dumbledore.

"It'll be all right, Harry." his father said soothingly and whisked him down the corridors. Harry worriedly glanced to his snake friends, but they both looked just as confused and worried as he was.

...

And going to the infirmary didn't give him any more answers. He was immediately plopped onto a hospital bed by his father and the nurse there, who called herself Madam Pomfrey. While the snakes made her nervous at first until he and his father explained, it also didn't stop the nice but strict nurse from thoroughly examining him. He was scanned with a wand, poked, prodded, and once again had to answer questions about his life with the Dursleys, which was the hardest part of the whole exam. He very hesitantly did at Hercules's encouragement, the comforting presence of his snake friends helping him to say what he had never dared to before. Madam Pomfrey had about the same reaction as Mara, saying angrily that she should get "those foul muggles" and let someone named Severus test his potions on them, though anger soon faded into concern and what Hercules identified as guilt, which was quickly confirmed when she apologized for being the one who had given him that magic test that had given a false negative that led to him being thought to be a squib. She apologized over and over, clearly feeling like what he went through that had been her fault.

He told her it was okay. While he didn't say it aloud, it wasn't her who had left him at the Dursleys for lack of magic. Then he felt guilty for still being angry at that, then reminded himself that his friends had told him it was okay to still be angry.

This was going to take a long time to get used to.

For now, he let himself be treated, obediently taking the nutrition and vitamin potions he was given, which tasted awful but also made him feel better, and managed to hold still and not flinch away from the touch as a cool salve was rubbed over the few scars on his back from Uncle Vernon's belt. His right ankle and left arm, the former which had broken when he was running from Dudley and the latter had been fractured when he fell out of a tree after having climbed it to hide from Ripper, Madam Pomfrey had said had healed badly, were quickly treated with a few simple spells, the stiffness he had not noticed before in them immediately dissipating.

Despite his worry about what was going on with his scar that was causing his parents and the headmaster to freak out and silent annoyance that all they would tell him was that he had gotten it when his brother had blown up Voldemort, Harry couldn't help but smile. Magic was awesome, and he couldn't wait to learn spells like that, and how to brew those potions.

He mentally put them down as a priority to learn. After all, if they did decide to go back to the woods at some point, healing spells and potions could be lifesavers.

After a little while, the doors opened to the Medwing, and a Asian woman who appeared to be either in her late twenties or early thirties with long dark hair streaked with pink that was pulled back into a loose bun, wearing a jacket made of some sort of dark, scaly leather and blue jeans entered the room, flanked by two smaller people with sharply pointed ears, long noses, and swarthy, clever faces wearing scarlet and gold uniforms as well as a king cobra that was almost as long as Hercules. His mother followed in behind them.

"Hey. You must be Harry Potter." the woman said in a friendly voice though he noticed they were staying a bit back. "I'm Seiko Tanaka, and I'm a Gringotts healer and cursebreaker as well as a Parselmouth like you are. This is my familiar, Yumie."

"Hello." Yumie greeted in a soft, female voice.

"I'm Shadowfang, and before you ask, yes, Bardook and I aren't humans. We're goblins. We're also Gringotts cursebreakers." the goblin on her left side introduced himself in a gruff voice. He had a short beard and was slightly shorter than the other, though looked a bit older.

Bardook sighed. "Well, apparently I don't need to introduce myself since Shadowfang already did. We're here to take a look at your scar, kid." He turned to Madam Pomfrey. "Can we see the results of his health scans?"

"Of course." she replied, handing several sheets of parchment over. Harry sat nervously and waited.

"What's going on?" Harry asked the cursebreakers softly once they were finished looking over the papers. "Everyone seems spooked about my scar, but no one's telling me what they're worried about."

"Professor Dumbledore's worried the Dark Lord could have left a nasty curse behind and that's the reason your scar won't fade and your magic didn't register when you were first checked." Seiko explained gently. "Personally, I don't think you have it, but this is something we REALLY can't take chances with."

Hercules coiled close to Hercules and Harry hugged him. He could feel Hercules shaking. "Is it bad?" he asked softly. He felt his father's gentle hand on his shoulder and stiffened for a second, then relaxed. This didn't go unnoticed by the cursebreakers though.

"if it's what he's worried it is, yes, but don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to you. If it's in there, we're going to get it out of you." Seiko reassured him.

"Now everyone who's not the Potter kid or us, get out." Shadowfang ordered.

Bardook sighed. "You don't have to be rude about it."

Shadowfang rolled his eyes. "Have you met me?"

The younger goblin shook his head. "Sorry for his bluntness, but we will need everyone to leave for a moment while we do the scans."

His parents hesitated, but did leave when Shadowfang gave them a sharp look. It took a few minutes to convince Madam Pomfrey to leave her own hospital wing, but she eventually did the same. Hercules, Elina, Ashlyn, and Mara however stayed right where they were.

Shadowfang sighed. "We meant snakes too."

Seiko switched to Parseltongue. "Unfortunately, we need you four to leave too. If the curse is by chance there and active, it could try to lash out at you through Harry." she explained softly.

Harry felt sick at this and instinctively tried to pull himself away from his friends. He couldn't stop shaking. "Guys, get out of here." he told them frantically. He was met with immediate protests from all four, especially Hercules, but cut them off. "Go. I'd never forgive myself if I hurt you. Please."

The Runespoor sisters finally reluctantly slid off the bed. "All right." Elina finally agreed. She looked up at Seiko. "But you're letting us back in as soon as the damn scan's over, and you're not letting anything happen to him."

"Got it." she agreed.

The Runespoor sisters were let out of the infirmary, but Hercules stubbornly refused to move. "if you're in danger, I'm not leaving you."

"Hercules, please, I don't want anything to happen to you. If I do have this curse thing and it lashes out..."

"You're not going to hurt me, and I'm not leaving you alone." Hercules said firmly.

Seiko sighed, though she was smiling. "I can see you're nearly as stubborn as Yumie."

"Hey!" the cobra protested.

"It's true." Seiko told her with a laugh, then turned back to Harry and Hercules. She seemed much more relaxed now for some reason. "All right, you can stay, but you'll have to stay over by our warriors and behind the shield we're putting up, okay?"

"Deal." Hercules said immediately. He went to join the goblins, and Seiko followed him. They then put up a clear shield, similar to the one Harry had used earlier that day, but much bigger and probably more powerful, then all three of them began chanting, Seiko holding out a wand while the goblins held out what looked like knives, all of which began to glow, then emit a white light that rushed towards Harry. Harry felt tingles of warm energy surround him, then rush over his body in waves as if seeking something. He braced himself, terrified the curse would go off, but all that happened was that a slight white glow surrounded him.

"All clear." Bardook called. "If it's there, it's passive, not active." He then said something in a different language to Seiko, who responded back before the shield was lowered.

"Okay, now we're going to start the soul and magic scans." Seiko announced as she came over. The other two followed her. Harry noticed Bardook stayed especially close to her with a similar protective expression to the one that Hercules always had around him.

Seiko ran her wand over his whole body and began to chant, first in what Yumie told him was Latin, then in Parseltongue, though it still sounded like the same language to Harry. She sighed in relief when she was finished. "Good news. The curse isn't in you anywhere. Must have just been a false alarm. It does look like you got hit with some pretty nasty dark magic, but it's not any danger to you. Hmm," She frowned for a second. "Let me run another magic scan..." She did so, and frowned again afterwards. "You've got a good deal of power, just like your brother. It's wilder though, and a tiny bit unstable. Not dangerously so, but it looks like it could have been at one point. It does appear to be calming down. Have you tried to suppress your magic at any point? Your parents said you were in a really bad situation with your relatives." Her voice was controlled but Harry could hear some anger in it.

Hercules came and curled into his lap, reassuring him once again that the anger wasn't directed at him and encouraging him to tell her the truth. Harry looked down at his hands. "Yes. I...often did it before I met Hercules. My relatives...my aunt and uncle, not my parents... didn't like magic much. But...when I told Hercules about my magic, he told me I wasn't dangerous or a freak and told me to trust myself and trust my powers. I...started letting my magic out and it helped me a lot." Harry admitted.

Seiko seemed to feel better at this. "Hercules is right." she told him. "In fact, he probably saved your life. Don't ever suppress your magic, Harry. It's there to protect you, and suppressing it could be very dangerous."

"I don't have any intention of suppressing it ever again." Harry told her honestly.

She smiled. "Good. Now, it looks like you're all done." She then frowned a bit. "Just tell me one thing, okay? Do you feel safe with your parents?" Harry looked at her in surprise and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He managed not to stiffen up this time. "I just want to make sure you're okay and help you."

Harry felt his heart warm at this and smiled up at her. "I'm fine. I really am. I...still don't know them very well, but...I know they don't want to hurt me, and I know they feel bad and that my aunt and uncle lied to them about taking care of me. I...I'm willing to give them a second chance. And I've got Hercules, Elina, Ashlyn, and Mara with me. I won't be alone. And I promise if something happens, I'll tell somebody."

She still seemed a bit unsure but accepted it. "All right." She pulled out a piece of paper and wrote her name and a mailing address on it. "If you need any help, you can owl me, okay?"

"Huh?"

"Wizards and witches send their mail through messenger owls, hatching." Yumie explained and told him how owl mailing worked and where to find messenger owls. Harry gratefully thanked them both, and thanked Shadowfang and Bardook too for all their help. The later smiled, though the former told him there was no need to be sappy. (Though Harry had known Mara enough to be able to realize Shadowfang wasn't as annoyed as he pretended.)

"All right, kid, we're going to head out and tell your parents and the headmaster that you are officially curse-free." Bardook told him.

"And if you want me to punch any of them for you, feel free to let me know. That's a perk of the job I enjoy." Shadowfang said, grinning maniacally.

Yep, Mara would like him, Harry thought to himself, but managed to smile. "Thanks. I'm fine though."

"Shadowfang, would you stop freaking people out?" Seiko sighed.

He rolled his eyes. "Again, have you met me?"

Seiko shook her head and said goodbye to him, letting the Runespoor sisters in as the three healers left.

"Harry, you okay?" Ashlyn asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, it was a false alarm. There was no curse." he reassured her.

"I should bite them for scaring the crap out of us." Mara muttered, though Harry could tell she was relieved.

"Well, like you said earlier, we should always be cautious. Now we know I'm healthy." Harry told her. He pulled out his notebook and slid the paper with Seiko's name and address into it. Thinking he had had some unknown curse inside him had been terrifying, but Seiko, Bardook, and even Shadowfang had been nice, and it was a relief to not only meet another parselmouth but to know they had more allies.

He put his notebook back in his bag and tucked his bag under the bed, then settled in under the blankets, relaxing and closing his eyes. Maybe coming to the Wizarding World was the right choice after all.

...

James followed as Dumbledore led the group to his office. As soon as the door closed, Dumbledore cast a silencing charm so the portraits couldn't hear them. "Is he all right? You weren't in there very long, so that means he is not a horcrux, right?"

"He's definitely not a horcrux." Seiko confirmed. "It looks that, like his brother, he was hit with some pretty nasty dark magic, and it looks like he got cut deeper and harder, which is why the scar isn't fading at all. It doesn't seem to be hurting him, but if it does start to, his scar should be able to be removed through muggle surgery."

"it was a really good thing we weren't dealing with a horcrux." Bardook added. "At how young he was when he got his scar, if he had a horcrux in him, we likely would have been dealing with a full-fledged possession. There's no way an eighteen month old would have had the will to fight one of those things. The few times goblins have had to remove them after they've possessed one of our cursebreakers through an object, it was enough of a struggle when it was on a grown adult for only a short time."

James, Lily, and Dumbledore all sighed in relief. "I'm glad one of those foul things wasn't in him." James said before something occurred to him. "But what caused the Early Magic Detection Test we gave him when he was fifteen months old to show he had no magic when we know now that not only does he have it, but he's strong enough to control his accidental magic and even cast a wandless Aguamenti Charm? Was-Was there a chance Voldemort suppressed it, or that it was the trauma from the attack? Is he going to be all right? Is there any danger of him becoming an obscurial?" he asked worriedly, terrified that they could lose their child. Obscurus almost always killed their hosts before they even had the chance to grow up...

"No there's not, but you were damn lucky," was Shadowfang's blunt response. "His magic is strong, but somewhat wild and a tiny bit unstable. Seiko's scan showed that at one point, he may very well have been at risk of becoming an obscurial. His magic hating relatives caused him to end up suppressing his magic. It's thanks to his familiar that you still have your kid, and unfortunately that you still have your terrible sister and her foul husband. And with his magical strength, an Obscurus would have likely attacked his whole neighborhood."

James felt sick, and also grateful to Hercules. If it hadn't been for him, they could have lost their child, either to those foul bastards that called themselves Petunia and Vernon or to Harry's own magic eating him alive. He didn't know how he could repay the boa constrictor for what he had done.

Lily let out a sob. "He-He will be okay, right?"

Seiko spoke this time, a little gentler than Shadowfang had but still stern. "Yes, his magic is healing. Let him rest for a day or so, and then help him start training to control his magic. But make sure he doesn't feel the need to suppress it around you. And for Merlin's sake, get him a mind healer. What he went through, what his relatives put him through and likely his feelings of abandonment took a deep psychological toll on him. And as for his physical health, listen to Madam Pomfrey and make sure he takes his potions and eats small meals and snacks often, He'll need plenty of fruits, vegetables, proteins, milk, and whole grains. Nothing overly greasy for a few days because that might hurt his stomach. He'll also need plenty of rest. Make sure you take good care of him, got that?"

"We will." James promised.

"You damn well better, because you screwed up." Shadowfang told them. "Your kid's trying his damn hardest to forgive you, so you better not blow it." The "Or else," was heavily implied. James and Lily flinched in shame, but both nodded, and the healers headed through the floo.

James then turned to Lily. "Should we go get Harry and take him home?"

"Yes, but let me call Sirius and Dan first and tell them what happened. They're probably worried sick, and while I know they're going to be excited to see him, it's best they don't swarm him."

James nodded at this. He knew Sirius missed Harry greatly, and Dan had been curious about the brother he had seen in pictures but didn't remember, and that they'd both love him, but both were hotheaded and would(understandably) yell when they learned what happened to Harry. Not to mention they'd both want to hug and get to know Harry, but Harry seemed to be very unsure about being touched by anyone who wasn't his snake friends. He needed to give them all time to adjust, and his youngest son time to trust they wouldn't hurt him.

He headed back to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey had re-entered and was waiting. "How is he?" he asked the Mediwitch in a whisper.

"He fell fast asleep a few minutes ago. The poor child is exhausted, either from using all the magic you told us about or just from the stress of everything that happened. I think it would be better to let him sleep. He can stay here tonight." she whispered back.

"All right. Can I stay with him?"

"Of course."

James returned to Lily, and once she pulled her head out of the fire, told her what was going on. She nodded. "Stay with him, James. I'll explain to Dan and Sirius, and get a room and some fresh clothes ready for Harry too. I also need to call our lawyer about how to handle the Ministry and press without them causing a big fuss, and get started on the paperwork so we can bring Harry's Runespoor friends home."

James hugged her. "Just make sure you get some rest too, Lily."

She laughed sadly. "Thanks, but I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight. I'll try though. Just take care of Harry, all right?"

"All right."

With that, Lily headed through the floo and James made his way back to Harry, entering the Hospital Wing and going to sit next to him. The Runespoor was, of course, the first to spot him, curled at the end of the bed at Harry's feet like a watchful sentinel. Mara glared at him and looked like she was going to hiss, but Elina gave her a sharp look and jabbed her head at Harry's sleeping form, clearly telling her not to disturb him.

James tried to give them a reassuring smile and sat down in a nearby chair, watching Harry. The young boy was curled up on the covers on his side, cuddling a sleeping Hercules like he once did his brother or his teddy bear. James couldn't help but smile at the sight. Despite the fact that almost everything had changed, at least one thing had stayed the same.

Harry had fallen asleep without taking off his glasses, which were askew and about to fall off his face, and James instinctively reached to take them off for him. However, the movement woke Hercules, who blinked open his eyes and slowly turned to look at him, and startled Mara, who let out a soft hiss.

James drew back his hand. "It's okay. I won't hurt him. I'm just taking off his glasses so they won't get lost or break." he whispered softly so he wouldn't wake Harry. Hercules studied him for a moment, then nodded and shifted to let him. Mara settled down, but still watched him as if daring him to make a wrong move.

Careful not to disturb Harry, James reached over and took off his glasses, putting them on the table. He then looked to the snakes. "Thank you. All of you. Thank you for being there for him when we weren't." he whispered. Hercules nodded and seemed to give a small smile, and Elina and Ashlyn nodded as well. Mara didn't seem sure what to think, but at least wasn't glaring as much.

James sat back and watched over his son as he snuggled more into his snake. He wanted so badly to ruffle the soft messy hair, to kiss his forehead like he used to when Harry was a baby, but didn't, knowing it would only wake Harry and alarm him. He still flinched at any touch that wasn't from one of his snake friends, and James sadly knew it would be this way for a while, that Harry likely wouldn't trust him for a long time.

And it was all his fault.

He had left his son, had failed him, and no amount of apologies would make up for that. He knew their relationship might never be the same, that Harry might never truly forgive him. And it hurt, but that was the consequence for the choice he had made.

But no matter what, he would never fail Harry again. He would be there for his child, and make sure Harry knew that he loved him, and that he would always be cared for.

He would make sure he would be the father Harry deserved.

...

Dumbledore sat alone in his office, his head in his hands, filled with his own regrets. He had failed yet another child and torn a loving family apart with his plans and meddling. He may have had good intentions, not wanting Harry to suffer from magic the way Ariana had, wanting to keep at least one of the Potter children safe from the shadow of the Prophecy, but everyone knew what the road to hell was paved with.

It was his advice Lily and James had taken. He was the reason Harry had suffered, had been abused. If he had said nothing that day, the young boy would have grown up happily with his family.

And there was nothing he could do to take it back.

Fawkes sang, trying to comfort him, but even that didn't help. The weight of his sins were crawling on his back, and all that truly comforted him was that Harry had somehow grown into a sweet and wonderful child, and that he wasn't a horcrux.

He still remembered the day he had found out about them, when young Sirius Black had come running into his office in 1982, holding a locket brimming with dark magic that he had taken from the elf guarding it with the promise to destroy it, his voice brokenhearted as he told Dumbledore about the little brother that had defied Voldemort and stolen his treasure at the cost of his own life.

And as Dumbledore had studied it, felt the evil lurking within, he knew exactly what method Voldemort had used to ensure his immortality. He had destroyed it with fiendfyre, hoping that that would end Voldemort for good, but when he saw that Severus's Mark had not changed, he knew Voldemort had done the unthinkable and created more.

Desperate and wanting to find the rest, to hopefully destroy the burden lying on Dan Potter's shoulders, he had faced his fears and asked for help, going to the Gringotts cursebreakers, then Gringotts itself. He had feared that this was a bad move at first, but his impulsive choice had turned out for the best. The goblins hated Voldemort as much as he did, and not only that, had come across the foul things a few times uncovering treasures, and even had found a method to remove them without destroying precious artifacts. And upon knowing about Voldemort's horcruxes, they had searched the vaults of imprisoned Death Eaters, finding Helga Hufflepuff's cup. With him and a few cursebreakers working together, the Horcrux had been removed, the cup was sold back to Hogwarts, and the goblins happily took the opportunity to seize all the gold and treasures in the LeStrange vault, citing an obscure bank rule. Albus didn't complain(not that he could). This kept even the more reluctant goblins happy to help them, plus it gave all the victims of the LeStrange family a bit of revenge, not to mention bankrupted one of Voldemort's inner circle.

And this partnership with the Gringotts cursebreakers had also saved Dumbledore's life when he located the ring. He had wanted so badly to put it on, to use the Resurrection Stone to see Ariana and his parents again, but thankfully Seiko had figured out the curse, and she had held him back while another cursebreaker destroyed the ring, saying it was "too damn dangerous," to be saved.

While he knew there were still more out there, no more had been found, though he had had then three year old Dan checked, remembering the chilling line, "neither can live while the other survives" from the prophecy. Thankfully, Dan had been perfectly fine, and he was so relieved it had been the case for today too.

He couldn't bear it if he had left a horcrux in a baby's skull for ten years among his other crimes.

But now that Harry was revealed to have magic, it had led to another troubling thought, that which boy was the prophecy child was once again in question. Both boys had been "marked" by their encounter with Voldemort and they were both very magically gifted. Dan had been able to learn and cast spells at a young age, and his accidental magic had been incredibly strong, and even Harry, who had only learned of magic recently, already had gained more control over his accidental magic than most children had, and had even taught himself to cast a wandless spell from what James and Lily had told him. And Harry even shared the gift of Parseltongue with Voldemort(though considering many other wizards and witches around the world had the gift too, including some muggleborns like Seiko, this was not too alarming).

Dumbledore could easily see both boys becoming great wizards. And much more sadly, he could also see Voldemort going after either or both.

He didn't know which child was the Boy Who Lived. But he could take steps to protect them both. He was already training Dan; he could add Harry to the training too, or train him separately, that way both boys would know how to defend themselves.

And if his plan to lure out Voldemort with the Philosopher's Stone and trap him in the Mirror Of Erised went as planned, he could seal Voldemort's main spirit in the mirror while the rest of the horcruxes were found and destroyed, and then have both Dan and Harry just levitate the mirror into the Veil Of Death. Maybe that would satisfy the thrice damned prophecy.

Maybe then the boys would finally be free.

...

I hope you guys enjoyed this! I hope you guys aren't too annoyed at the path I decided to take. Harry decided to give his parents a second chance, but he still doesn't fully trust them yet, and while he's trying to forgive them, he still is hurt, angry and conflicted.

I wanted to make James, Lily, and Dumbledore sympathetic and show the reasons for their actions while still showing that their actions were wrong and had consequences. I hope I succeeded in the balance.

Also, I love good/helpful goblins and proactive Dumbledore, and with all the Indy!Harry fics where they helped Harry destroy the horcruxes, I've been wanting one where they help Dumbledore do it and haven't been able to find it. So I wrote it. Sorry, not sorry. XD

Also, little fun fact. Seiko means "force" and "truth" while Yumie means "serpent" and "help." The two goblins had names I just thought sounded cool. Also, Shadowfang, like Mara, is definitely a tsundere, and Bardook's just chill.

Please review and let me know what you think! If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, feel free to leave them in a review or PM me.