Chapter 6: New Horizons

"Welcome to your new home," the rather large man with the mustache gestured from their spot in front of the telly. Aleksi was his name, but Harry felt rather rude calling him that. Mr. Petrov didn't feel right either.

The man went further into the room, but Harry remained rooted to the spot, clutching his toy dragon. Wary.

The room was rather large with a well-stuffed red sofa and two garish pink chairs. Hundreds of pictures cluttered the wall, all of a woman and a little boy in various stages of life. The two largest pictures of the woman and child were looking at him curiously.

To avoid their gaze, he twisted around, inspecting the telly proper. It was a telly, wasn't it? Had to be. The screen was longer, more curved, but it was most certainly what the Dursleys watched every evening.

He'd thought the floo network was only attached to the fireplaces. That was what the caregivers and Tom had said. And Tom knew almost everything.

He turned back round, prepared to ask, but clicked his teeth sharply together. Too many questions were dangerous. Tom always told him to shut up and listen. That's how he'd survived his previous 'families'.

"My office is on this floor. Missy and Priscila will take care of your things. Dinner will be ready soon, I'm sure. Do you want me to show you around?"

Harry stared at the man as if he'd grown a second head.

"I suppose that's a no," he chuckled lightly. "It's been a big day. I get it. You want to be alone for a bit. Why don't you go off and explore with- what was his name?"

"She." Harry finally spoke in a low, grumbling tone. "Her name is Lily."

Harry stroked Lily's head, making her purr with delight.

"Well, why don't you take Lily off to explore? The house is three stories. Your room is at the top. Missy will come get you when we have dinner. Or, if you're hungry right now, I can have her bring you something?"

"N-no, I'm fine."

"Just call for Missy if you need anything. She can come get me from my office. Maybe we can-" Before Aleksi could offer anything else, Harry was out of the room like a shot.

Aleksi chuckled good-naturedly and went to his office.

It was inevitable that a young boy, left unattended in a strange new place, would cause mischief. Harry, for his part, hadn't intended mischief. He was genuinely curious about his surroundings. And maybe a little… happy? Never had anyone expected him to be on time for dinner. Not even at the children's home. They didn't care one way or another whether he showed up. If he wanted to survive, he had to take care of himself.

Harry started by going left. Left was always a good direction. Except, left brought him into a hall that was filled with the oddest doors he'd ever seen. Some were round and others short. A few had really fancy scroll work on them. One was covered in black sharpie, little dragons and princesses in midflight. Those scribbles were half-heartedly animated, a botch attempt at making the figurines wriggle across the door.

When Harry tired of staring at the hallway, he chose a door at random and found himself in an office with a row of looming bookcases on one side and a big desk on the other. The desk was full of paper and so filthy he knew Aunt Petunia would have a heart attack just looking at it.

But the man behind the desk still sent Harry's heart pounding. As big as Uncle Vernon, Aleksi Petrov towered over that desk like some sort of giant. His huge hands were sorting through papers, not holding a belt. He wouldn't hurt Harry. Not like... Not like...

Aleksi- Mr. Petrov- ugh whatever-he-should-be-named- broke Harry's thoughts with a wide smile. "How's the exploration going?"

Harry fidgeted with the dragon, earning him a nip. It wasn't a real dragon (at least, he didn't think it was) but its' bite still stung. The dragon was a great bit of spell work this man had done. None of the caregivers could perform magic half as good. Tom hated their incompetence. Harry was still amazed that there were people like him running about. "G-great, sir."

"You don't have to call me sir, Harry. Call me whatever you want."

"R-right, sssir. I'll be off." Harry skipped out of there real quick. The very non-threatening chuckle of his new guardian followed him back into the hallway.

He instantly threw himself through another door, disappearing into a posh bathroom. Compared to all the magic he'd seen in the past few months this normality was admittedly boring, even if it were necessary.

A few doors from that was a dining room that looked like the one in the Hogwarts storybook the caregivers liked to read the children. It seated at least two dozen guests if he could hazard a guess. There had to be a thousand crystals on that chandelier, too. It figured. Like the other people who had tried to adopt him, this guy was loaded. At least Mr. Aleksi- he'd settle on that title for now- wasn't trying to parade Harry around his house, posturing like some ridiculous peacock. The others had not been fond of that sort of high-handed arrogance.

Not even Tom had appreciated such snobbery.

He wasn't sure how they'd feel about Mr. Aleksi, either. He almost didn't want to ask.

Currently, his mind was quiet. Suspicious at the best of times. He didn't even want to ask what they were planning. Instead, he opened a circular door that was only an inch taller than himself. It led into a kitchen, or, at least, what he suspected to be a kitchen.

The fireplace that could fit a small car was the giveaway. In the center of the fireplace was a large black pot, boiling with some frothy mixture. Two grey bat-like creatures stood on stools in front of the pot. One commanded a wooden spoon nearly three times its height and the other summoned different ingredients.

To the side of the fireplace was a long counter with what might have been the magical interpretation of kitchen appliances. There were three other little bat-like creatures bustling around, floating pots, pans, and food items. One scuttled to the door upon his entrance. It was just a little smaller than he was with a dirty tea cloth wrapped round and round its spindly frame in a poor interpretation of a toga.

"Is young master wanting snack?"

Harry bit his lip, remembering the horrible chores and ill-fitting clothes his relatives used to give him. Was this the same thing? Did Mr. Aleksi hurt them?

The creature was looking at him expectantly. He wasn't really sure what a snack consisted of, as the caregivers very rarely gave them out and he sure never got anything like that at the Dursley's house. "Could I have an apple?"

The creature nodded, a smile stretching across its face. It snapped its long, spindly fingers and a small table and chair appeared. On the table was the apple he requested along with a cup of milk and a whole sleeve of biscuits.

Harry rushed over to the table, realizing he was much hungrier than he thought. The creature turned to continue its previous work.

"What's your name?" Harry asked around a mouthful of biscuit.

"I is being Junie." When Junie didn't make any further move to interact with Harry, he felt a sharp tug in his chest. He wanted… he wanted…

"Will you sit with me?" he asked hopefully.

"That is being Missy's job for young master. She is taking care of him."

Harry dunked a biscuit in his milk. "Well, I haven't met Missy. She isn't here. Please, sit with me."

The elf worried her ear, tears almost brimming in her eyes. "Young master is so kind saying please to Junie. Junie is sitting."

She brought a stool up to the table, staring at Harry with her big, orb eyes. They were the most peculiar shade of blue, almost grey.

"Would you like a biscuit?"

She stared at the proffered snack before taking it and nibbling at the edges.

"Are you hurt by the master?" he asked cautiously.

"N-never!" her voice quivered under the weight of her statement. "Master Aleksi is kind! Our old masters-" she squeaked, turning a rather alarming shade of dark grey. "Master Aleksi is helping house elves. Giving us safety. Junie is happy."

Harry couldn't quite believe that when she was dressed in rags. But, then again, she did actually look happy. Her reference to old masters was concerning as well. Harry thought he might remember Tom telling him something about house elves once, but… he wasn't sure. He'd have to ask later.

"How old are you, Junie?"

She nibbled a bit more at the biscuit. "This is Junie's seventh turn of her towel."

"I'm seven too!" he grinned, latching on to the number. Never mind what 'turn of her towel' meant. He could have a friend his age for once. He all but swallowed the last of his biscuits whole, slipping the apple in his old robe pocket for later. He suddenly had a great idea. "Will you play with me?"

Junie vanished the table when he stood up and then looked anywhere but at Harry. "Junie is helping prepare dinner, young master."

"Please," he said because it had seemed to work last time. "Come play.

Junie worried her ear a bit before finally acquiescing. She called something unintelligible to the other elves in the room and then gestured for Harry to lead the way.

"I've been exploring," he explained as they made their way down the hall yet again. He popped his head into several sitting rooms filled with furniture that grimy children's hands should never, ever touch. "But most of these rooms are scary," he muttered.

He turned down another hall, corroborating his statement. It ended abruptly, making him backpedal. Why were there were some passages that led to nowhere? Whatever the reason, he had to admit it was pretty cool. Like something out of a mystery book.

He turned down another hall, this one lined with windows. They were bright with the sun. Grass as green as emeralds stretched all the way back into a tree line.

"Where wants young master to go?" Junie asked.

Harry grinned, staring at the grass. "Outside."

She directed him further down, left at a fork and then, finally, to the door to the outside world.

He couldn't remember the last time he was allowed outside unsupervised. It had been months since the incident with the Dursleys. At least half a year.

He burst from the house with a huge whooping holler. It quickly turned to a shout of dismay.

It hadn't occurred to Harry that it would be cold outside. They'd taken an international port-key from the dreary 'relocation ward' (which was just a fancy wizard word for orphanage) to the Bulgarian Ministry. It was an imposing building, but somehow less scary than the British Ministry. From there, they'd gone by floo to the new house.

He'd thought Bulgaria was south. And yet, yet there was snow on the ground. White fluffy bits that might've looked like trash bags if Harry hadn't stepped ankle-deep into one. Harry sneered but didn't retreat directly back inside. He'd never particularly cared for snow. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Uncle Vernon always put Harry up to shoveling it out of the drive.

His immense dislike might also have been helped along by the fact that Harry was never particularly dressed for the snow. His lack of proper dress robes was definitely something aggravating that dislike currently. That, and the windows had totally lied to him. He swore to pay them back.

"Young master, you need a cloak," Junie worried over him.

"A-and what about you?" he retorted. "Y-you've got to be fr-freezing. Do you want my robe?"

It was apparently the wrong thing to say because she burst into tears that quickly crystallized on her face. "NO! DON'T GIVE JUNIE CLOTHES. SHE IS SORRY!"

She proceeded to bury herself in a particularly large snow mound, burrowing deep as she could.

Harry closed his eyes, feeling a pinch of a headache blossoming. Why did she have to overreact with everything?

"Junie... Junie, it's alright. I won't give you my robe. I just thought you might be cold. Can you do that summoning thing? Bring us both something warmer? I'd like to play out here."

She finally dug herself out of the snow, looking much whiter than she had before. He hoped she wasn't getting frost bite. But she was grinning, so at least she wasn't upset anymore.

A snap of her fingers and a cloak wrapped itself around his shoulders. His sneakers, which were becoming rather damp, dried and then warmed themselves. He gave Junie a meaningful look and she brought herself out a cloak as well.

Satisfied, he set about exploring the outside terrain. Everything was so radically different than anything he'd ever seen. There was so much outside that hadn't existed in London. A mountain range rose in the distance, and the tips were white. He never thought he'd see mountains with white tips. Those were just drawings in the books Harry would get from the school's library. They couldn't possibly be real.

More immediately, the yard stretched out for miles before coming to a stop at an imposing tree line. But they were like Christmas trees, bigger than the ones Aunt Petunia would set up at Christmas. At least this Christmas Harry had gotten a present. One of the older kids had broken it almost soon as he had opened it, but he'd gotten a real present. The pieces of it, some sort of golden ball, were still at the bottom of his bag somewhere.

He wondered if Harry's cousin was doing alright. Dudley, the big oaf, was not something he should worry about. The boy was just as bad as all the older kids in the orphanage. He'd hit Harry and laughed when Harry'd been hit.

Had Dudley really deserved what he got? Or got what he deserved?

"Young master!" Junie called to him. "Where did you- Please, stop!"

Oh, there was a rabbit, limping in the snow; its fur was red and so were his hands. Oops. Harry would be particularly displeased with him. Just, thinking about all the bad things that had happened to Harry made him so mad.

The voices surged within him, kicking him from the light quite efficiently.

He landed with a groan on his backside, staring up at the newest addition to their humble abode- a giant chandelier complete with floating candles.

"I wanna see. I wanna see. Me next!"One of the youngest members of Harry's troop bounced on his heels, a kid who'd already eaten half the candy shop.

"Wait your turn, James. You'll scare our new father."A young girl admonished. She was standing at the foot of the stairs, a rather thick book in hand.

"Father?" the word was followed by a snort of derision. It came from a figure laying on a plush red couch. "He only signed a piece of paper, Lily. He's just like the rest. We'll be back in Britain, three hours tops. One if Horatio over there did something."

"It was just a rabbit! At least it wasn't one of those bloody peacocks this time!"

The fight may have gone on if Lily's calm voice hadn't replied, "Horatio, a rabbit, really? Harry didn't even want you out. We promised he could have the light. Now, go find him and make sure he gets it back." Her voice brokered no argument and he set about her very nearly impossible task. If Harry didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be found. "And Cain. Be nice for once. Harry said that Aleksi defended us. When has anyone ever defended us?"

"Shut up already. You think you can tell everyone what to do. Who made you the boss, Lily?"

"My personality can best protect him."

"You don't have any bloody magic. How can-"

"All your squabbling is going to make Voldemort come out." A solitary figure's dry comment cut through the din beneath him. He was lounging in the rafters of the curiously curved room, close enough to jump down but far enough to watch the proceedings.

Another girl rolled her eyes. "Put a sock in it, Tom. No one cares."

But everyone did noticeably quiet down.

"Tom, will you go to Harry? You're the only one who can reach him." Lily finally called, fiddling with the corner of her book.

The boy looked at the group quite irritably. "Fine. If it will make you bloody keep quiet. Maybe then I'll get the light for a bit."

Like that was bloody likely. They only gave it to him if they had no other option. Not a single one of them trusted him. He had his suspicions as to why that might be the case, but he'd never voice them. Not when they could all tear him apart.

He just had to stay on Harry's good side. Which, in all honesty, was the least challenging thing about this entire situation. By himself, Harry trusted Tom explicitly. Harry considered Tom a very close friend. And, maybe, in a way, that was true. Harry would never understand Tom, but, if there was anyone Tom understood, it was Harry.

Contrary to his alters beliefs, Harry was not, in fact, hidden. He was at the lake just outside the house he and Tom had constructed. Memory and imagination were essential to a proper mind-dwelling. Where one of the two lacked, the other made up in spades.

"What's wrong Harry?" Tom asked because the appropriate way to pry into someone's thoughts.

Propriety was something Tom had perfected. He could make anyone think whatever he wanted. Harry, unfortunately, was a bit of an exception. Sure, the kid had been fooled into thinking they were friends, but Tom couldn't fool him any further than that. Somehow, Harry knew that Tom didn't necessarily mean the platitudes he spouted on a daily basis. Harry knew Tom didn't feel things like normal people. Harry knew that Tom didn't care about others, only insomuch as they could help him.

But, the most astounding part was that Harry didn't seem to particularly care.

Harry turned to Tom, projecting what had taken place since they'd left the orphanage. "Watching Junie hurt herself…"

Tom sat down beside Harry, a small chuckle escaping. Harry shoved Tom, grumbling.

"Harry, she's a house elf."

Harry turned to Tom who was still trying to reign himself in. "My new dad is so awful that she had to punish herself like that! I- I really wanted him to be…"

Tom wiped the tears from his eyes. "House elves are all like that, Harry. It isn't Petrov's fault. Giving her your cloak would release her from Petrov's service- er, she'd be fired. Most house elves would rather die. They're fiercely loyal. One of my servants had one."

"Oh! I didn't mean to hurt her! So Mr. Aleksi isn't like them?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that. He's certainly better than the sharks that were after you."

Harry looked at him with wide green eyes, biting his lip. "Should I let Cain out? He got rid of the Knotts. Mr. Aleksi would definitely send me back."

Tom chuckled again. The kid didn't even realize what a euphemism that was. Cain had ensured there wasn't anything left of the Knotts. The relocators didn't even have to work to cover that one up. Not that anyone in their right mind would ever tell the kid that. "Now, let's not be hasty. Cain's a power play. You can use him later. But you don't want to get sent back."

"I don't?"

"Interrupting," Tom gave Harry a side eye. Harry shut up. He must remember the last time he'd dared contest that. Punishment was about the only thing Tom had an imagination for. "You've been adopted by the Bulgarian minister of magic. He's got power, connections. If nothing else, he is a good political move. Much better than that bumbling blighter in Britain. And, who knows, you might actually like him."

Tom honestly thought that, given a chance, Harry would like the man. He seemed nice enough, like a panther with a new cub. Harry wasn't his prey. They'd be fine. Aleksi was more than likely what the Brits would consider a dark wizard. Scratch that. They were on the continent now. Tom knew Aleksi was a dark wizard. He had no doubt about that.

"What's a bl-"

Tom's attention narrowed in on Harry. He forgot that Harry was just a kid- impressionable. They repeated everything like parrots. "Don't repeat that word. You're seven. Seven year olds don't swear."

Harry looked like he was going to argue. "I'm not one of your servants." He said instead.

Tom looked at him with a critical, appraising eye. The boy wasn't wrong. He wasn't a servant. He'd never taken an oath like the other idiots that wanted to follow him. "You're too small to be a servant. And you wouldn't be a good one anyways. You don't listen."

Harry's face became constipated. Tom had made it into an insult, but Harry couldn't argue. Tom knew that Harry didn't want to be a servant. So, he just grumbled and asked, "Who's got the light, anyways?"

Tom spluttered, a very undignified action from the young teen. "Get up, get up, get up," he demanded, grabbing Harry by the forearm. "Your harem's going to ruin everything! We'll be back in that hellhole for sure. C'mon, Potter. Move it!"

They practically ran into the house. Tom, eyes blazing, asked, "Who's missing?"

Lily jerked up from her book, looking rather confused. "No one. I've done a headcount thrice. Everyone's accounted for."

Tom looked around, counting to himself. Lily, of course, was right. No one was missing.

Tom glared at the squib. Incompetent child. Someone had to be in the light. He scoffed, about to scream, but Harry spoke over the boy, saying, "Then we've got a new friend."

Which was really rather terrifying.

Tom was always fascinated by the psychology of Harry's mind. The kid couldn't make the other personalities in his mind listen to him, per say. They sort of did their own thing, all in the name of protecting Harry. Nevertheless, they all usually did a good job at sharing the light with him. Most were considerate of the kid, even if they hated everyone else.

Every once and a while, there was one personality that got it in their minds to keep the light. And then it was very hard to make them give it back up.

Despite the fact that Tom hated Lily, she listened to Harry and made sure things got done.

"Lily, we want to keep Mr. Aleksi as our dad. Even if he's terrible, he will be a good political ally. Not like that blonde peacock or the Knotts or that woman with the terrible hair. If he's bad, we put him in his place. And, maybe he's good. Maybe he's nice. Maybe…"

Lily's eyes softened as she put her book down and brought Harry into a hug. "Oh, I'm sure he'll be nice. He made you that dragon before he even knew who you were. The Great Harry Potter. He doesn't look at us like that. You said so yourself. But we're going to have to reign our new friend in. Horatio was out too, and he did damage, I'm sure. You're not going to like how we do this, but it'll be the fastest. I've tried it a couple of times with marginal success."

Harry looked at her with questions in his eyes. Tom knew the end of this. He'd seen the stupid girl try it before. His own attempts had been futile at best. Harry's personalities really hated him.

Tom watched as she drug Harry up the stairs, four, five, six flights, until they were staring down at the first floor.

"Sorry, Harry," she muttered before tipping him right over the edge.

Harry blinked his eyes open, gasping for breath. He patted his chest just to make sure he was all the way there. It felt like he'd been hit by a truck.

Dully, he realized that something had fallen from his arms. A two tailed cat by the looks of it. He blinked hard to make sure he wasn't seeing double. It hissed and spit, back arched as its ears smoldered.

"Harry!" Mr. Aleksi cried. "What on earth is this?"

Harry jerked his head up, away from the angry feline. He was inside, he realized. In one of the fancy sitting rooms that children should never touch. The entire room had been white once, but was now a vivid red. An animal of undefinable origin lay at his feet, too charred to be intelligible. The red... the red was blood, soaking into the white carpet, trailing up the walls to form an illegible message. He was relieved to find that he couldn't make out whatever the idiot in his mind had chosen to write with that gleaming red.

What had he used?

Harry slowly looked down, heart racing as he realized that there was blood on his hands.

Well, no getting out of this one then. Why on earth did he have so many messed up people inside him?

It wasn't anything near what Horatio had done to the peacock man or what Cain had done to the Knotts, but it was bad enough Harry was sure.

"I-it wasn't me," he tried to explain, looking anywhere but the looming visage of his guardian. Right, like that was even marginally believable. He'd been caught red-handed. The cat was still hissing at him, eyes narrowed accusingly.

Mr. Aleksi didn't say anything for a few moments. It wasn't until the blood had vanished from his hands that he hesitantly looked up.

Mr. Aleksi wasn't even looking at him. His face was blank as he carefully reordered the room. It was pristine, like nothing had ever happened.

"What about we get dinner and then have some hot chocolate with marshmallows and peppermint? I'll get a fire going and we can play exploding snap if you want. My son used to love that game."

"Y-you're not mad?"

Mr. Aleksi cocked his head. "Mad? I didn't like that kneazle anyways. It was a waste of blood, sure, but that's why we got Biser."

The cat- no, kneazle- hissed as Mr. Aleksi petted it. He chortled. "Just a joke, Biser. You were Naiden's favorite. I'd never get rid of you. Come now, you didn't like Damio either. He was a bear to handle." Mr. Aleksi turned his attention back to the anxious child, twisting pale fingers and biting his lip. Tears were brimming in his eyes as he stared at the dead animal. He hated the others so much sometimes. He never knew he could actually hate someone this much. Especially when that someone was himself. "Besides, you said you didn't do it. I'll have a conversation with the perpetrator at a later date, yes?"

Harry nodded uncertainly.

"Then, let's grab something to eat. Priscila is dying to meet you."

He held out his great big hand and Harry tentatively took it, feeling a bit warmer than he had earlier. Maybe, just maybe, this was where he was meant to be.

So, I've revealed my hand. Why Harry suddenly has so many people inside him is up for debate. I hope you all enjoyed it. This is all I have written so far, so I will update more the following week.