Sorry about that, the formating should be fixed now!

Prologue

Dorea sent one last glare at her sleeping husband before she heaved herself out of the bed. Charlus Potter was a handsome man, wealthy, and pureblooded, but he was oh so dull, more than ten years her senior, and, apparently, deaf.

She would never understand why her parents had done this to her, she hadn't even finished Hogwarts before they forced the wedding on her. Not that Charlus had ever touched her. After almost two years of marriage, he hadn't touched her once. It was beginning to become insulting. Both her brother Pollux and her cousin had fathered children by the age of 15, all to assure the continuation of the most ancient and noble house of Black. But judging from her husband's actions that were hardly a concern for the Potter family.

Looking out the window she tried to identify where the crying came from, if she had to she would grab her wand and go over to wherever the child was and… she shook her head. The closer she listened the more certain she became that the crying came from inside the house, so with more than a little annoyance she put on her slippers and followed the sound.

It led her to the old nursery, and for a second she wondered if they had acquired a child ghost. If that was the case she would force Charlus to have it vanquished. Ghosts, especially child ghosts, were nothing but trouble. But as she pushed the door open it was not a ghost that greeted her, it was the familiar seductive tingle of dark magic, unlike anything she had ever felt before. Even in the house of Black.

For a second the feel of the magic overwhelmed her and she forgot all about the crying. However, soon her eyes landed on the crib and the child within, sitting in the very centre of the residual magic, his eyes red, his cheeks soaked with tears, and his forehead red with blood.

Dorea walked over, her wand at the ready, not sure what to do. But that changed quickly when she got a better look. There was something about the child's emerald green eyes watching her that made her reach down and lift him up.

The child was beautiful, which was an odd thought since Dorea had never particularly liked children and while she wanted to produce an heir, raising him those first few years was a task she had always intended to leave for the house-elves. But there was no doubt in her mind that this child was special, and he needed her. The question was why someone had gone through the trouble of sending the child to them, and who in their right mind would decide to send such a precious dark child into the hands of the Potters of all people.

The second the child was in her arms he quieted down, instead of staring at her in silent curiosity. She didn't know how long she had walked around rocking him in her arm before she waved her wand and removed the dark residue in the room, even a non-sensitive, like Charlus, would have been able to feel it before that, though she seemed unable to remove it from the child itself.
The small lightning bolt-shaped wound on his forehead all but oozed of dark magic. But there was nothing she could do about it. At least he was asleep now. Placing the child back in the crib she promised him she would be back and went to fetch her husband. If nothing else he was an Auror and knew the identification charm every wizard child had placed on them at birth, he would know who the child was. And then they would fight for him no matter what. After all, he was hers now. She would make sure of it.

Chapter One

It was long past curfew and while most of the Gryffindor students had long since retired to their dorms and crawled under their sheets for the night Harry Potter sat in his favourite armchair in front of the fireplace, warming himself by the fire that seemed to have been dying for the last few hours. In his hands was thick leather-bound volume his mother had sent him, and one he very much suspected would be confiscated if anyone saw it.

While he had no doubt that the book had been acceptable reading in Slytherin during her time at the school the war with Grindelwald was making people antsy, and a book on legilimency, even if it only was depicting the theory behind it, would not be welcome now. Especially not in Gryffindor tower.

"Harry." Timothy Wells, a fellow fifth-year, spoke up from the chair next to Harry's. Harry had almost forgotten he was there. "It's getting late, I think we should head up to the dorm. Classes start in a few hours."

"I just need to finish this chapter." Harry responded. "You head up, if you want, I will make sure to wake you in time tomorrow."

"I'll wait. What are you reading anyway? It doesn't look like any of our school books." He asked, giving the book a once over.

"Magical theory." Harry said easily, for the first time looking up from his book. "You could read ahead sometimes too you know."

"Sometimes I think you should have been in Ravenclaw." Tim said rolling his eyes, which made Harry smile. He doubted anyone would ever guess that Tim was perhaps the most talented potion maker Harry had ever encountered, his talent exceeding even their professor's. "What are you brushing up on this time? Charms? Riddle did get the charm right before you did today. Got to keep that top spot if you want to make head boy and get your own room."

"I have to give him a win sometimes." Harry said with a joking smile. "Besides, I easily outdid him in defence yesterday." He added, moving the conversation away from his book with practised ease.

"True, you have to teach me how to do that spell, I just can't seem to get it right." He said, though the end of the sentence was more or less inaudible due to the large yawn that followed.

"Sure, now, go to bed." Harry said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Fine, don't forget to wake me this time." Tim warned.

"It happened once! In second year!"

"I missed an entire lesson before you even noticed."

"And I took the blame, Dumbledore didn't even give you a detention. But fine, I promise not to forget. If you don't believe me, cast your own alarm spell." Harry said, rolling his eyes in a friendly gesture that made Tim smile.

"Fine, I trust you. Night, Harry. Don't stay up too late."

When Tim was gone Harry was unable to stop a yawn of his own, but after giving his eyes a quick rub he continued reading. And before he knew it he the sky outside was beginning to lighten. He had been reading too late again, he would be able to catch two or three hours of sleep at the most, but it would be worth it. Now he only wished he had someone he could test his new knowledge on. He couldn't think of anyone. No matter how much he read or practised on his own, he very much doubted his first few attempts would go unnoticed by his lab rat. One of the houseelves or even his mother would have worked if he was at home, but he didn't want to wait until the Yule holidays. With a little luck he might be able to convince one of his cousins to practise with him, no doubt their father had given them the same tutorage at home as his mother gave him… the only downside then would be that he would have to allow them to try on him too… not that he thought either would make it past his occlumency shield. Not even his mother could get through anymore, and she had been the one who taught him. Maybe it would be worth it, he would think on it for a few days.

Going down for breakfast the next morning Harry was barely able to walk straight. Something that had earned him more than a few rude comments from Tim when he had to steer him right, or when Harry walked into him. In the end Tim sighed half-through breakfast and ran up to the hospital wing to get a potion that would help Harry stay awake. Coffee would probably have done the trick in Harry's opinion, but Hogwarts didn't serve it and tea simply wouldn't be strong enough this time.

Tim really was a godsend sometimes, for there was no way the Hogwarts healer would have given Harry the potion. He had been to ask for it one too many times the year before, but there had always seemed to be something about Tim that made it almost impossible for people to say no to him. People just wanted to please him for some reason. Tim had once told Harry that the fact that Harry didn't seem to share that need was the main reason he attached himself to Harry that first day on the Hogwarts Express, and hadn't really left it since.

Harry suspected there might be some kind of creature blood in the Well's line responsible, but had never voiced the suspicion out loud. He doubted Tim would appreciate that notion.

While there were plenty of purebloods that had married creatures back in the early 18th century in hopes to gain some of their abilities, it was a taboo subject now. It was only brought up during marriage negotiations, if even then. Harry's mother had told him the Blacks were very careful not to intermingle with such families when choosing brides for their sons, hence the heavy inbreeding in later years. What Harry didn't know was if they were equally careful when choosing matches for their daughters. Not that Harry particularly cared, but it would be nice to know if he should worry about suddenly showing signs of a creature heritage.

By the time Harry's first lesson of the day started the potion had already kicked in and he went to sit with his cousin in transfiguration, partly because Tim didn't take the class anymore, and partly because he had decided to poke and see if his suspicion regarding their homeschooling was correct.

Despite the suddenly warm welcome he had received by his mother's family after she had confided in the head of the family that she had seen Harry taking to a snake in the garden when he was five, he was still a Potter and the heir of a famously light magic family. Neither Harry nor his mother had ever done much to dissuade such ideas, even if he was fairly certain his mother had made sure he knew at least as much about the dark arts as the Black heir himself had.

"Cousin." He greeted as Harry sat down next to him, seeming curious about the seating arrangement.

"Cousin." Harry said back, sounding amused by the caution in the Black's tone. One would think Harry was the devious Slytherin and not the reckless Gryffindor. "I haven't gotten a chance to talk with you much this year. How are you?"

"You don't talk to me unless you want something." He said, not believing the friendly exterior for a second. "Not in school. Not good for your little Gryffindor image."

"I am the perfect Gryffindor, and as such, I feel the need to congratulate you on your engagement. And thank you for taking your new fiancé out of the running to be my bride." Harry countered, though his assessment of Harry's reasoning was actually spot on.

"I heard aunt Dorea and her husband refuse to sign any contracts for you." Orion pointed out.

"True, but you know how grandfather is. And no offence but I would rather kill myself than marry that woman."

"She is quite pretty." Orion offered as if trying to convince himself that he wasn't in a doomed marriage. "Smart too, she is head-girl this year."

"I doubt anyone could have missed that." Harry said.

"Perhaps. Now that you have done the necessary small talk, what do you want?"

"Mother sent me a book I have been studying. I want to practice the content." Harry gave in. He hadn't planned to spell it out quite so clearly, but apparently, his cousin was in a mood. Not that Harry would have been any different if he was being forced to marry their other cousin, well his cousin and Orion's second cousin, if one wanted to be specific.

"You know the hiding places in this castle better than anyone in this school, otherwise your reputation wouldn't be quite as pristine as it is. What do you want from me?"

"I need someone to practice on." He said.

"Just wipe their memories after, isn't that what you usually do?" He said mockingly. Harry had never done such a thing, he was not adapt enough with memory charms to dare to do such a thing in the school. No, he had asked Wilburga to do it for him, and it had cost him both more than he had ever expected. As soon as she had done it she had written home to tell on him. His mother had been furious that he would take such a risk while at school. His cousins on the other hand had only found it amusing, as had his uncle. In fact, he had told Orion there was a lot he could learn from Harry. It had not been appreciated by either of the boys.

"Be serious."

"That's grandfather. I am Orion." He said, seeming to find himself particularly amusing. Harry just rolled his eyes. "Fine, what kind of magic is it you want to practice that you can't use Wells for, he would lick your feet if you told him to." Harry ignored the jibe.

"I need to practice on you. I will even give you a chance to do the same to me first." He offered, he couldn't spell out what it was he wanted to do in a classroom, but this way Orion would at least know it wasn't one of the unforgivables.

"What do I get out of it? Except what you just said."

"If you are proficient at the art you may find out things about me that no one else knows."

"Wouldn't it be the same for you?" He said, his eyes suspicious.

"Only if you think my mother has taught me better than the family taught you." Orion rolled his eyes at the challenge but accepted non-the-less.

"Tomorrow after potion, it's your last class as well, right?" Harry nodded. "Find somewhere secluded and safe."

"Not a problem."

"And give me that book after dinner tonight, I want to know what it is about this time."

TBC...

Wow, it's been ages since I wrote anything Harry Potter related. Hope you like it. And please feel free to share plot ideas about what you want to happen :)