Thank you to everyone who reviewed!
I would like to take a moment to inform you, that this story is broken up into Parts (not including the Introduction) and that, at this time, the entire first Part (consisting of 8 chapters) is already written. I am currently working on Part Two, and I would like to warn you now that Part One goes pretty quickly. There are several time jumps made up of days, weeks, or months, so what's written is only little flashes into Harry's life. Part Two should be longer and hold more content, because that's when we start to get more into my planned plot. Basically, Part One is mostly just set up for the proper story, but I imagine you'll enjoy the read all the same. I know that my story has some overused elements to it, but most of that is needed to push the plot in the right direction, and I hope I've managed to overshadow it with my own twist on things. My plan is to update once a week, though there may be a week and a half or two weeks between Parts. I hope you all stick with this story till the end. Also, there is a poll on my page regarding which Avengers character you think Harry should meet first when we finally begin to move into the Avengers world. Keep in mind that while the result will guide my writing, it might be the second or third best that I pick rather than the winner. If you have any questions regarding pairings, please look at my review responses above. I will let you know if and when I put that poll up, so I would request you not to mention it overly much until then. Thank you for reading.
Also, you all know I don't own Harry Potter or the Avengers, so I won't mention it again after this.
Enjoy.
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Harry snarled, the sound coming out sounding animal and cruel. Rage burned through him unstoppable, flowing through his veins like basilisk venom. He roared and slashed at a tree, his strength nearly tearing it in two. He panted, and then he ripped the clothes from his body and threw the chain at the ground, already changing before it hit. Then he was running, his anger scaring the other creatures in the forest away from him.
He hated Umbridge. He despised her. How dare she? How. Dare. She?! It was Friday, his detention with her having just ended, and it had taken everything he had not to snap and kill her. That she would belittle Cedric's death as she had. That she would dare to harm him in such a way. That she would ban him from Quidditch. That quill was dark. He could feel it. He knew it couldn't possibly be legal, and that it would scar no matter what. Wounds caused by dark magic always scarred.
He had done a lot of research on dark magic once he had learned his animagus form was dark. Sirius had helped, having come from a family well versed in dark magic. It had been a surprise, some of the things he had learned, but it didn't make what Umbridge had done to him any less wrong. He ran, and ran, and ran. Suddenly there was a break in the trees and the black expanse of the lake was before him. He leapt, and barely made a splash as he dove into the water.
The water was like a balm on his soul. Almost immediately the anger began to fade away. His entrance into the water didn't slow his movement, the only difference now being that he steered with his tail rather than his body. Fins, limbs, and thick muscles worked in tandem to push him forwards. He breathed in deep, the gills on the sides of his neck taking in the water like normal air. But it was smoother, cleaner, it felt better to breath beneath the water than above it. He supposed it was part of being an aquatic creature.
He neared the long trees of magical seaweed that filled one side of the lake and he didn't bother to avoid them, diving into their depths and losing himself in the slimy grey-green plants. There were dangerous things in the seaweed, but nothing that would dare bother him. His paws eventually touched the lake bed, his magic letting him cling to it and move just like on land. He slowed then, walking through the seaweed now that he was calmer. He had needed this. He had known he would need the water, but it was amazing to him to see just how much of a difference it made. A calmness filled him like a soft rain putting out a fire. He sighed as he walked, seeing grindylows peeking at him and showing sharp teeth in a nervous sort of way. A small one reached out and touched his flank, jerking quickly away afterwards.
Then another did the same when they found he wouldn't attack them for it, and soon they were clinging to him and following him and making cooing noises. He chuffed at them and they made a rattling noise. He realised after a moment that it was laughter. They followed him until the edge of the seaweed and then let him go on alone, cooing and crying after him. Fish swam around him in groups and alone, his powerful eyes catching the way their fins glinted in the moonlight. A shadow passed overhead and he looked up to see the giant squid traveling across the lake above him. He had no doubt the creature was aware of him but it paid him no mind so he opted to return the favour.
He paused when he saw the edges of the merpeople's village. He had been there only the once during the second task. He hesitated now, recalling Cedric's face, and then pressed onwards. The second task had been difficult, but it was not what he would call a bad memory. The merpeople were not so bad, and he doubted they would attack him in this form.
Indeed they mostly only watched him curiously as he entered their village, looking around himself in wonder. He hadn't been able to really see the world they lived in the last time he'd been here. Most of the buildings were small, and made from stones that seemed to had been molded together with magic, creating seamless architecture that was both beautiful and simple. Everything was framed and decorated with various shells, pearls, plants, and beautiful stones. A musical sound caught his attention and he turned. A merwoman floated in front of him. Her features reminded him vaguely of Narcissa Malfoy, but with shiny scaled grey skin and blue-green hair. She made a musical sound again and he realized she was talking, but he didn't understand.
She seemed to realize this, and tried again in English. She had a strange accent, and he could tell it was very difficult for her to speak it. "Human?"
He blinked at her, realizing they could probably feel his magic. He closed his eyes and called for his magic to change him. His body shifted, bones and organs changing and moving into new positions until he stood before her as he was. Her face showed what looked like surprise, and he didn't blame her. Without the glamours he barely looked human. Even in this form he still had a tail, and scales covered his spine and hips. Patterns of them twisted along his arms and legs, and even his cheeks. His hair was a little too soft, going farther down his neck than usual and seeming more like long fur than hair now. It was held out of his face by two small horns on his temples that were about three inches long in human form, and almost unnoticeable gills still marked his neck. His green eyes looked brighter, and the pupils were slit when it was dark, like it was now. His fingers and toes were tipped by sharp claws, and teeth just as sharp revealed themselves when he smiled nervously at her.
He remembered when he first looked in the mirror after the last of the changes. He could still see himself. His features were not so changed that the normal, human Harry could not be seen in him now. He did not see a stranger in the mirror. If anything, he had seen a stranger before the changes. He thought nothing of standing naked in front of the merpeople. Their kind never mixed with humans, and felt no attraction to them. The parts didn't match up besides that. They didn't care, why should he?
A few more of them came near him. The merwoman drifted close enough to run a hand along his cheek and finger one of his horns. She stared at him for a moment and then smiled and drifted away a bit. Many of them spoke now. Their voices were like music given a voice, beautiful cords of an instrument he could not name. They swam near him, some touching him, others not, and then he felt a tug on his hair. He turned to find a small merchild. It was a little girl, near as he could tell, and she presented a flower to him. It was a beautiful thing. Like a lily with wide, rounded petals, but it was a blue that shifted and sparkled and shone, the small bits that stuck out of it that he couldn't remember the name of were a gorgeous silver. He had never seen anything so blue, and he accepted it delicately.
The little merchild grinned with teeth as sharp as his own, and then swam away, and left him to the mercy of the rest of her people.
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He had remained in the lake for hours, being led about the underwater village and shown everything. They had spoken to him almost constantly, even though he couldn't understand them. He had been glad to learn the flower the little one had given him didn't appear to be particularly special or rare, as they had passed an entire field of them during the impromptu tour. It was still pretty all the same, and when he had snuck into his dorm he had placed it in a transfigured bowl of water on his bedside with a preservation charm he had learned in Herbology.
Now it was finally the first weekend of the week, and he had been left to his own devices while Ron and Hermione went off to Hogsmeade. He hadn't been lying when he said he would need the time for studying, though not all of it was for school. He looked down at the occlumency book in front of him and turned to the chapter about controlling emotions. He needed to get a handle on his temper. He couldn't afford to get so angry every time he saw Umbridge. If he did, he would no doubt end up doing something he very much regretted.
He sighed as he read. He wanted to go back to the lake and the merpeople there. They had liked him because he was interesting, because he was himself. He didn't even think they recognized him from the tournament. They had smiled and treated him kindly and tried to speak with him even though he could not understand them. The ones that had not led him about had smiled as he passed them and nodded or waved. He had been welcomed there as though he belonged. They had even fed him some of the best fish he had ever eaten, leading him to discover that he enjoyed it much more than the deer and rabbit he hunted in the forbidden forest.
He felt he could almost abandon it all and live there with them. He closed his eyes and set down the book, rubbing his face. He couldn't do that. He could never do that. Maybe one day when Voldemort was dead he could live with them for a time, but he could never leave the surface world, the wizarding world, behind forever. He swallowed. He had never thought about after before. After Voldemort, after Hogwarts, after. It was never something he had considered previously.
He did so now, asking himself what he might do. Staying with the merpeople for a time would be nice if they allowed it. But then what? Become an auror? No. It would be to hard to keep the animagus debacle a secret then, and he didn't want a life of danger forever. Trouble just found him, he didn't want to be someone who went looking for it. So something else then. Maybe he could travel. He had never seen much of the world and it would be interesting to do so. To learn about other wizarding cultures and magics. Surely they didn't all use latin spells and wave wands. Yes, that would be fun. He could see the world and what it had to offer him.
But what would he do after that? He couldn't travel for the rest of his life. He would eventually need to settle down someplace, and he wasn't the kind of person who could laze the days away. So he would need a profession of some sort. Something to do once he had seen everything he wanted to see. Someplace quiet might be nice, but he was so used to the chaos of Hogwarts that maybe somewhere with a little more hustle and bustle would be better. A city then, but maybe a quieter area of that city. So he could go into the hustle and bustle when he wanted without having to be stuck in it constantly.
But where? And what about his friends? And the Weasleys? And Sirius? Would he just leave them all behind? Or would he visit often? Or live somewhere near enough for them to visit him? What country would be best? And he still didn't know what he wanted to do for a living. What kind of job would be good for him?
He groaned. Contemplating his future was a far more difficult task than he thought.
"Hello there, Harry." He jumped in his seat and then looked up. Both of the twins stood in front if him, identical grins on their faces.
"We have come to you this fine day,"
"To whisk you away to a secret location,"
"And we will do so,"
"Whether you come willingly,"
"Or not."He blinked. They were still smiling, but their inner animals looked much more serious. Did they want to make sure he hadn't told anyone? He had barely thought about what he'd seen, let alone spoken of it.
"All right," His voice was hesitant. "Just let me put my books away." They nodded their assent, and he gathered up his books into his school bag. He intended to take it up to the dorm, but before he was able to their were freckled hands gripping both his arms and he was being dragged away with a twin on each side.
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They took him up floor after flood until the seventh. Then they led him to a tapestry of a sleeping dragon and Fred scratched its' chin and whispered something. The tapestry rolled up and the stone wall beneath began to shuffle about until a doorway was revealed in a manner reminiscent of the entrance to Diagon Alley. There were stairs directly beyond the door and they pushed him ahead of them so that he headed up it. He couldn't recall ever being in this corridor, but he was quite certain there was no eighth floor, and he couldn't recall a tower in this area. A peculiarity of magic perhaps?
He looked around in interest once he had reached the top. It was a round room with various soft rugs and comfortable looking couches. There was a fireplace, and two closed doors on the walls, and a table with what looked like school books and notes on it that had two chairs at it, one being an old mahogany beast, and the other a delicately carved oak. The entire room was a mix-pot of styles and different colors and patterns, but everything seemed to flow and work together well. It felt homey, and he wondered what the rooms beyond the doors looked like.
"What is this place?" He hadn't realized he had asked it aloud, or even walked to the middle of the room until the twins responded to him.
"We found it our second year."
"Turned it into a home away from home."
"No one knows about it,"
"And it's not on the map."
"We live here during the year."
"Hardly ever sleep in the dorms."
"Usually only stay there during the first couple weeks."
"After that we spend our nights here."
"It's ours, but now,"
"We're giving it to you." He stared at them. They were giving it to him? What in Merlin's name...?
"Wha- Why?"
They looked at each other a moment, an entire conversation seeming to take place between them. Then they turned back to him and motioned for him to sit. He chose a red armchair facing a floral-patterned gold and brown couch, which the twins sat on. The chair was even more comfortable than it looked, and it calmed him.
"We're planning on leaving this year." He blanched and stared at George. "Thanks to your investment, we have enough money to start our business. We've already bought the building in Diagon, and it has a flat above it we'll live in."
"We don't need to stay here. That Umbridge woman is horrid, and she'll only get worse. We can owl the ministry to take our Newts, we don't have to stay here for that." Fred looked a bit unsure as he spoke, but George nodded confidently with everything his brother said.
"Once we're gone, we'll have more privacy in the flat. It'll be easier then. We hadn't planned to tell anyone about this place. We were just going to leave it. Let the next person discover it on their own like we did. But then..." George faltered a bit and Fred continued for him.
"You saved our sister's life her first year. You gave us the money we needed. You found out our secret and you kept it. And we know you sneak out at night. This place has a tunnel," He gestured towards one of the doors. "In the bedroom. We haven't figured out how it works, but it leads out to just inside the forest. The wards on this room will only let someone into and out of that end of the tunnel if they've slept a full night in this place. We can teach you how to change the password on the tapestry, even how to change the picture if you want."
They were both quiet after that, and for a moment he just stared at them, and then at the room around him. He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it a moment later. He couldn't say they didn't owe him anything, because they would insist they did, and he couldn't say he didn't need the rooms, because it would be great to have some place he could walk around without the chain in, and a way to get in and out of the castle without having to sneak through the whole thing. They hadn't even asked him why he snuck out at night, just stated it like it was a fact, which it was. He couldn't even convince them not to leave before graduation. He knew them well enough to know if they had decided on it, then they would be too stubborn to change their minds.
So instead he only nodded, and their grins were blinding.
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The next few weeks went on in a similar manner. Runes and ancient studies became Harry's favorite classes, arithmancy and defense against the dark arts were as dreaded as potions, and he spent his weekends studying, spending time with the twins in their hidden rooms, and visiting the merpeople. Snape seemed to have taken an interest in his childhood, for the memories he invaded during their lessons were often of those times; and while Harry had gained much more control over his emotions, he hadn't made as much progress in protecting his mind. He could push Snape out only when the man was holding back, otherwise he only seemed to only be able to throw him into memories other than the one he wanted. It was useful all the same, because constantly showing someone inconsequential memories rather than what they wanted to see could frustrate them enough that they left your mind alone. But it was still not true occlumency, just a poor imitation.
He found himself drifting apart from Ron and Hermione as the relationship between the two grew, though he had become better friends with Luna and Daniel. He no longer knew where he stood with the other two thirds of the golden trio, and was reluctant to admit to himself that while they were still his friends, he no longer considered them his closest ones. He had taken to owling Sirius once a week or so, writing in simple muggle code and calling him by Snuffles in case his mail was ever intercepted.
Now it was nearly Christmas, and the winter break was fast approaching. He stood in the forest, snow beneath his bare feet, and he was hardly surprised that the cold didn't bother him. He might have scales, but he wasn't cold-blooded. The opposite in fact, as his blood ran at a temperature hot enough to melt the snow around him if it spilled. The real mystery was how he didn't die in the heat. He breathed in deep and then let it out, watching the visible breath fly away from him like thin smoke. He smiled and sat down. His chain was off now, so he could be himself. When the twins were gone he would have a place to be himself inside the castle rather than just outside of it. It was lucky he didn't have to worry about Rita Skeeter anymore, since a bug could easily see him in this form and get away before he could stop it. He would sense anything larger coming.
He sighed and drew circles in the snow. Ron and Hermione were off again. He had been invited to the Weasley's for Christmas, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go. On the one hand, he could spend more time with the twins, and Bill would be there, so he could see about getting those notes since Ron seemed to have forgotten, but on the other hand he knew Ron and Hermione would run off without him again and it would be so much harder to keep his secrets when he would be sharing a room with other people where the beds didn't have locking curtains. He rubbed his temple, only to freeze when he heard a growl.
Instantly he shifted, and where once there was an unusual boy, a beast now stood. He looked around him, but even his keen eyes could see nothing, so instead he listened. There was breathing, and another threatening growl to his right, so he turned to look in that direction and gave a warning sound. But rather than leaving like he had hoped, it came out of the trees and bared its' teeth at him.
He swallowed nervously. It was a wyvern. He hadn't even known they occupied this forest. He was much larger in height than it, but it was longer, its' dark orange body like a snake. It would be better if it was a snake, he thought. At least then he could control it. But wyverns were no relation to serpents despite a similar appearance, and they did, in fact, hate snakes. It hissed at him and crouched towards him.
He showed his teeth and let out a more threatening growl, the sound deep and guttural, but that only seemed to anger it. Before he could back away, it pounced. He was moving before it hit, but still its' claws grazed his side and he hissed in pain, swatting at it and knocking it away. It hit a tree and righted itself. He kept his own claws in, not wanting to kill it, but it seemed to realize that. It was attacking him again and it bit at him, trying to aim for his neck. He snarled angrily and slashed across the creature's stomach instinctively. It retaliated by wrapping around him and then they were tumbling as he struggled to get it off, his back feet clawing and pushing at it desperately.
They landed with him on his side, and he felt a crunch beneath him. He wondered if it had broken a bone. It didn't act like it however as it began to constrict around him like a python. He managed to get his jaws around part of it and he gave a final warning as it grew tighter, putting pressure against his lungs and taking away his ability to breathe. It ignored his warning, so he bit as tightly as he could. He knew his jaw strength was great, even more so than a crocodile, and the creature screeched as his teeth clamped down.
He felt hot blood flow into his mouth that tasted like rotten fruit and he gagged but didn't let go. His teeth sank through flesh and organs, and he felt bones crunch inside his mouth. The wyvern squirmed for a few moments and screamed but then fell still and silent. He shuddered and let it go, backing away and changing back to human form. He stared at the bloody mess that was the wyvern and gagged, letting his lunch go in the snow. He heaved until there was nothing left but stomach acid, and then he stood up, hunting for his clothes and chain. Wyverns lived in packs, and he felt it best he leave the forest before anymore appear.
He found his clothes easily enough, and his robe, but the chain was nowhere to be found. Then, finally, the glint of metal caught his eyes and he looked closer. His stomach filled with dread. His chain was there, sure enough, but it was in pieces, shattered like glass. For a moment he only stared. Then he gathered up the pieces as quickly as he could, frustrated tears gathering in his eyes as he ran. He had spent one weekend with the twins in their room. With any luck he could slip in and they wouldn't be there.
He pushed himself, moving through the trees like a blur. He recalled the crunch when he had fallen to his side, and he realized now it had not been the sound of the wyvern's bones breaking, but the sound of his chain breaking. He would need to make a new one. But first he would need to sneak into the castle, and then find some material to work with, and some space to work in. He was better with the runes now. He should be able to manage without Sirius' help. He was at the entrance to the tunnel before he knew it, an old tree with grayish bark and black leaves. He knocked on a spot near its' roots, then ran a hand down the front of the tree's trunk. It seemed to shudder, and then two of the roots split apart and revealed a hole. He dove into it, and as the roots clasped together he heard the far off screech of a beast, and knew the wyverns had found their dead kin.
The tunnel was a long dirt affair that seemed to go on forever before it was suddenly stone. Steps appeared before him and he leapt up them. It was a narrower space now, with stone walls on either side. He had discovered the first time through that he could hear things from behind the stones, as this path ran literally through the walls of Hogwarts; between classrooms and even the Slytherin and Ravenclaw dorms. The narrow corridor split in three and he kept down the middle. The twins had told him there were paths branching through all of Hogwarts, and that they occasionally used the tunnels to spy on people.
Two more junctures and many more stairs were passed before the corridor widened out again, and then he stood in a tiny stone room with a ladder. He slowed down, climbing the ladder in silence and he pressed his ear to the wood above him when he reached the top. He listened for a moment, and, hearing nothing, pushed up. The trap door cracked open and he peaked through. He could see no one, so he slowly pushed it open, the door making a soft tap as it opened completely and rest on the floor. He snuck in and closed it just as carefully. He stood now in another room the same size as the one below it, but with a wooden floor and a small door on one side that he fit through almost perfectly, but which the twins had to duck to get through.
Like the trap door, he listened first before cracking it open and going through. It closed and was a nearly seamless thing against the wall. The only thing that marked it was a torch holder on this side that you had to pull on to open it. He stood in the bedroom now. A huge four poster bed was the centerpiece, with its' dark red and soft brown comforters and sheets, and the lighter red pillows that seemed endless. There was a wardrobe on the wall to the right of it that stood directly across from the door he had come through. Then there was a bookshelf, and another, more noticeable door that led to a small bathroom. The wall across from the bed curved into the room, and the door on that wall led into the circular living area. He leaned against it, listening, and heard nothing. Relieved, he didn't bother to peek into it before opening it.
He swung the door wide open, and came face to face with the twins.
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Harry sat in the same red armchair as before, tail twitching nervously across his legs. He pulled at his robes, looking at the redheads across from him.
"So, let me get this straight. All, this," George gestured to Harry and his changes. "Is because you messed up the animagus transformation, and you've been wearing glamours since the beginning of the year?" He nodded.
"And what, exactly, is your animagus form?" Fred looked at him incredulously.
He hesitated, and then sighed. "It's called a Mishipeshu."
"A me-she what?"
"A mishipeshu. They're also called underwater panthers." He paused. "They're dark creatures." Realization seemed to dawn on them then.
"So that's why you kept it a secret! The ministry always says if someone's animagus form is dark, it means the wizard is dark."
"They'd toss you in Azkaban for that!"
He nodded. "I know." They all looked very grave for a moment, and the twins looked to each other. They did this often, seeming to have full conversations without ever speaking. Then Fred nodded, and George turned to him.
"We won't tell anyone, mate."
"We'll take it to our grave." He smiled in thanks, and the feeling of doom that had come over them faded away. "So..." He blinked at Fred. "What kinds of creature is an underwater panther anyways?"
And Harry laughed.
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The twins managed to help Harry find a metal band that worked well enough as a magical conductor for him to carve the appropriate runes into it. He was left with a clasped bracelet on his left wrist. It wasn't as strong as the chain had been, and it wasn't as effective either. The scales along his spine and hips were still very much visible beneath his clothes, and his teeth looked a little sharper than they were supposed to. It would have to work though. It was unlikely that anyone would notice his teeth, and he could keep the rest hidden from sight with clothing.
He needed to get a proper replacement from Sirius. The chain had been made out of some sort of material that conducted magic excellently and amplified the power of the runes. He would need the same material to get the same effect, although this time they would put an unbreakable charm on it, so that what had happened in the forest would not be repeated.
"A mishipeshu, or underwater panther, is a dark creature native to Africa, and certain regions in China." He looked up. Fred and George had insisted on borrowing the book he had on rare creatures and Fred was reading the section on underwater panthers aloud. "They used to be common in America, but the encroachment of muggles upon their territories has forced them to migrate into other areas. It is believed that a small number of them still exist in Canada."
George looked over his shoulder and continued. "The underwater panther is also known as a water cat, night panther, or shadow lion. They are aquatic creatures, with gills on the sides of their necks, webbed paws, and fins on the side of their legs, shoulders, and tails. They are very fast, and have the ability to live on land when there is no available freshwater ecosystem capable of supporting them."
"Their most noticeable features include the scales that adorn large portions of their bodies, the curved row of spikes that runs down the entirety of their spine, and the large horns that adorn their temples and face away from their heads. The purpose of these horns is unknown, as they run parallel to the head and neck, and as such are not useful as weapons."
"Underwater panthers come in various colors ranging from black, to red, to even blue, though the most common color appears to be a reddish brown. They occasionally have manes like lions, usually of a darker shade of color than their body. They are large in size, often up to-" George sputtered. "Five meters from their feet to head when standing!"
"Merlin! You must be huge!" Harry chuckled.
"Yea. Sirius measured me once. I'm something like three and a half meters right now, but we think I might get bigger. Sirius was smaller before as a dog, but he got bigger when he got older, so we figure it'll probably be the same with me."
"Wicked!" He shook his head. It was still strange to him when they spoke in tandem, especially since he had long since learned just how different they really were. They grinned at him and then turned back to the book. He rolled his eyes. They thought the whole thing was great, and were determined to know as much about his animagus form as he did. Their reasoning had been that they could better protect his secret that way, but he was sure it was just because they thought it was cool.
"Mishipeshu are classified as dark creatures for their ability to use chaos magic, which is a dangerous and volatile form of magic, and their power over snakes. It is believed that the first parseltongues gained the ability to speak the snake language by having the speech granted to them by an underwater panther."
"Chaos magic?"
Harry nodded. "I don't really know anything about that. I've never tried to use any magic in my animagus form except internally, like using it to cling to the bottom of the lake or helping me move faster. We couldn't find anything in the Black's library about it, but there's a lot of books there. Sirius has kept looking, but he hasn't found anything yet. So I've been careful about using magic in that form. I don't want to accidentally use chaos magic without knowing what it is."
George frowned. "I've never heard of chaos magic." His twin nodded in agreement. He looked at Harry. "We could help you research it if you want. There might be something in the library."
"I'd appreciate that. I haven't really been able to look into it. My schedule is kind of full this year, and the time I don't spend with you two, or studying, I've been spending at the lake. I need to go into the water at least occasionally or I start getting really stressed out."
"Even in human form?" He nodded.
"Yea. More than just my body was changed by everything. I eat more fish at mealtimes than anything else now, I love the water more than I used to, and if I don't watch myself I'll snarl at people who make me mad. Surviving Umbridge's classes without killing the woman has been hell."
Fred nodded. "That makes sense. It stands to reason that something like this would change you on the inside instead of just the outside. Have you noticed anything else that's changed?"
He shrugged. "Just little things mostly. Not anything else too big." The Fred-fox looked at him curiously and he almost smacked himself. "Oh! And the animals!"
"Animals."
"Um, well, I think it's from the botched transformation instead of my animagus form itself, but, well, everyone has an inner animal right? It's what they become when they turn into an animagus. Well, I can see them, the animals, I mean. They look like these single-colored ghosts that kind of cling to the person they 'belong' to."
They looked excited. "Really?"
"Yea. I haven't figured out what the colors mean yet, but the animals themselves seem to match up with a person's personality. At least so far as I can tell."
George grinned. "So that's how you tell us apart! Our animals are different!" Harry chuckled and nodded.
"So what are they then? We haven't done the animagus thing yet, we didn't really have time with all the preparation for our shop." Harry smiled at him, feeling a twinge of sadness at the reminder that they would be leaving soon.
"Well, yours is a fox, and George's is a hyena. I was kind of surprised they were so different before I got to know you two." Fred grinned and Harry heard him mumble something about foxes. The ghostly creature itself was running about and yipping happily.
"What in Merlin's name is a hyena?" The look on George's face was so confused, Harry couldn't help but break down laughing.
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Life went on undisturbed for a while, and while Harry's classes grew harder in preparation for O.W.L.s, he reveled in the calm. Hermione bullied him into doing an interview with Skeeter for the Quibbler, and since then he got many less dirty or frightened looks from other students. Daniel commented one day about how fickle people were, and privately he agreed. Snape's lessons grew away from his childhood and more towards his relationships with his friends. It made him nervous, because he worried soon Snape would go hunting for secrets.
Before he knew it, it was winter break, and he was sharing a compartment with the twins, Ron, and Hermione, on their way to King's cross to meet Mrs. Weasley and head to the burrow. Ron was going on about how Bill would be there for the first time in ages, and Harry noted absently that he idolized his older brother.
"-And he'll be staying in the twin's room, and you can bunk with me like usual-"
"Actually, little Ronniekins, Harry will be staying with us." Ron started as George cut in, having not expected it. The twins had been unusually quiet thus far.
"Yea. We've got business to discuss with little Harry, so we're stealing him away."
"Bill can bunk with you." Ron seemed excited by the prospect, but Hermione narrowed her eyes at them.
"What kind of business, exactly?" They smirked at her and spoke in tandem.
"Nothing you need to worry your pretty little prefect head about." She shivered, put off by their synchrony, and let it go. Harry stared for a moment, wondering again just how many people underestimated the twins. They were positively Slytherin!
The door opened then, and Harry smiled when he saw Daniel. "There you are Harry! I've been looking all over for you!" Harry chuckled.
"I haven't exactly been hiding, Danny." The boy huffed and crossed his arms in a way that looked so much like Hermione that he was certain Daniel was secretly making fun of her. The effect was ruined only once he stuck his tongue out.
"Who're you?" Harry looked at Ron, his eyebrows raising. Ron's eyebrows were scrunched together, and the Ron-dog was growling. Danny blinked at him and then grinned in a way that showed just a bit too much teeth, the Danny-salamander hissing in a threatening manner.
"Daniel Curtis. Pleasure. You must be Ron. Harry's talked about you." He offered a hand, but Ron didn't accept it.
"Funny. He's never mentioned you." Harry swallowed and decided to but in. What was with all the hostility?
"Danny's in my ancient studies class. I do group work with him and Luna." He paused. "He's a good friend." Daniel smiled in a way that was almost smug and Ron outright glared.
Danny seemed to have finally noticed the other occupants in the compartment, who had all been watching events unfold curiously. He smiled warmly at Hermione, making her blush and Ron's glare harden. "You must be Hermione Granger. Harry talks about you too. The smartest witch in your year."
She smiled back at him and took his offered hand, seeming pleasantly surprised when he kissed it rather than shook it. "Nice to meet you, Curtis."
"Daniel, please." She nodded and he turned to the twins. Harry watched Ron warily, as he was almost vibrating in his seat with fury. "And you two are Fred and George if I'm not mistaken. I'm sorry to say that I can't tell the difference between you. I apologize if that offends you." They grinned and shrugged in tandem.
"It's alright." Fred offered, taking the lead for once. "Our own mother can't tell the difference between us."
"The only person who can tell us apart is Harry." That seemed to catch the attention of everyone.
"You can tell them apart?!" Ron looked incredulous, and Harry laughed, though more with relief than amusement. His temper was practically legendary in Gryffindor, and the last thing Harry wanted was for a fight to break out between his friends.
"Yup." He pointed at George. "That's Gred." Then Fred. "And that's Forge." The twins and Danny started laughing, Hermione giggled, and Ron pouted.
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Daniel, as it turns out, had stopped by their compartment to see if Harry wanted to spend part of the holidays with him and his family in America. The invitation had pissed Ron off all over again, and he had fumed even after Danny left once Harry had politely declined. They had arrived at the station, Hermione leaving with her parents, and the boys with Mrs. Weasley, and now they were at the burrow. Ron was still irritated even now, and Harry had no idea how to go about fixing it. It seemed that Ron and Danny had had an instant dislike for one another. He hoped it didn't go too far, because he hated the idea of being asked to take a side between two friends.
"Hey there, you must be Harry." He looked up, and blinked. Ron had often spoken of Bill Weasley, and his accomplishments, job, and how he'd been head boy. Harry had often imagined a slightly more laid back version of Percy. So the man who stood in front of him was a surprise.
"Bill Weasley?"
The man grinned. "The one and only." He was tall, like the twins, but with more muscle. His hair was long, held in a ponytail similar to Danny's, and one ear was pierced, a claw of some sort hanging from it. His eyes were a brighter shade of blue than any of his brothers, and he was dressed casually in trousers, a loose shirt, and boots Harry vaguely recognized as being made from dragonhide. He held his hand out to Harry, and his grip was firm, with calloused hands when Harry shook it. "Nice to meet you. Ron tells me you take ancient studies?"
Harry nodded, feeling more comfortable. "Yea. I signed up for it because of the ritual and rune work but so far the whole class has been a blast." Bill grinned and sat in a chair next to Harry at the kitchen table.
"You're taking it for the runes? Are you in the runes class too, then?"
"Yea. It's brilliant. I'm good at them, and it's fascinating how such little symbols can do so much and have so much power." He blushed then, realizing how much like Hermione he sounded. Bill only chuckled in amusement.
"Don't be embarrassed, kid. It was one of my favorite classes too. I'll admit I was never a natural at runes, but I was still better than most. I was actually the opposite of you though; took the runs class to help with ancient studies."
Harry cocked his head to the side. "Why?"
Bill rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, ancient studies is a gateway class. You have to pass it to be able to take the advanced class and beginners spellcrafting, and you have to pass both of those to be allowed into the advanced spellcraft class, wandless magic, or the warding class. I never took the advanced spellcrafting class or the wandless magic class, but I needed the warding class to qualify for a cursebreaking apprenticeship in India."
Harry's eyes widened. "Really? I didn't know about that. I wonder how come more people don't take it?" He mumbled the last part, but Bill still heard him.
"Well, ancient studies is an easy enough class, but all the later ones are much harder. Spellcrafting is the art of actually creating your own spells, and that's not exactly a walk in the park. It requires manipulation of raw magic and a lot of imagination. A lot of people can't do it. It's really a very rare practice these days. The advanced ancient studies class goes into a lot of old foreign magic and history, and people here don't really care about countries outside Europe. Warding itself is extremely difficult for some people. It's kind of like flying. You have to be born with a talent for it or you're never gonna be any good. Most people don't wanna take all those classes only for the professor to tell them they're pants at warding."
"What about the wandless magic class?"
"Hardly anyone ever takes it. If I remember right, it's about using other focuses to do magic, rather than a wand. I think he also teaches how to do magic without a focus at all but that's pretty taxing on your core. Everyone uses a wand, so I don't think anybody really feels like they need to know how to do anything without one. Besides, if you get comfortable enough with a spell, you can eventually cast it wandless. I work in the desert a lot and there's spells for camping and keeping from getting sunburned that I can do wandless just because I've done them so many times."
Harry nodded in understanding. "So basically... You're saying people are just lazy?"
And Bill laughed.
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Harry sighed that night as he settled into bed. His glamours were down and the twins had placed a million different locking charms and traps on the door, so he wasn't worried about being caught. They had a bunkbed, and an extra mattress had been laid across the floor next to it for him. He was thankful to them for keeping his secret, and he was relieved to have someone besides Sirius to talk to about everything. There was a difference between sending letters back and forth to someone, and being able to speak with them face to face.
Worry filled him at the thought that they would be leaving Hogwarts soon. He would be alone again then, with no one who knew his secret that he could be himself around. He turned over, facing away from the twins and curled up, sadness filling him as he finally realized what he had been feeling since they first told him their plan.
He was lonely.
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Harry stared at the monster before him.
"Kill the spare!"
"NO! CEDRIC!"
Harry woke up shaking and gasping for breath. "Harry? Are you ok?" George stood above him, an arm on his shoulder, his twin right behind him. Harry realized he must have shaken him awake but he didn't care right now. He opened his mouth to say he was fine, to wash away the worried looks on their faces. But he realized it wouldn't work. They wouldn't just believe him like Ron or Hermione. And he wasn't fine. Guilt and grief crashed through him in waves, slamming into him and his frail grip on control. He never stood a chance of holding on. A horrible sort of feeling warped itself inside his stomach and he let out a sob before he could stop it.
Then he was crying and raging and pouring his grief and guilt out into barely discernable words, and two sets of arms were wrapping around him and two lips were making words and noises of comfort. It was like he had built up a dam inside of himself and made the base out of sand. And now, finally, the water it was holding back had washed the sand away and the whole thing came crashing down. He shook with tears and Fred and George held him close and told him it wasn't his fault and everything was going to be alright.
And for all the times he had said those things to himself and not believed them, he believed the twins, because, he realized, they had never once lied to him.
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Harry groaned as he awoke. The sleep in his eyes made the lids stick and he rubbed at them. For a full night's sleep he felt awfully exhausted, and hungry for that matter. He flopped down, going limp again. Food could wait. He was tired, and damned comfortable. The covers were wrapped snuggly around him, and though they were heavier than usual, they were very warm. He cuddled into them and they started to shake, laughter filling his ears.
"Time to wake up, sleeping beauty." He blinked blearily at what was in front of him, then wiped more of the sleep from his eyes. Finally, he could see properly, and decipher what he was seeing. It appeared that his warm blanket was actually a set of twins, which he was webbed between. His forehead scrunched in confusion, and then his eyes widened as memories of waking from a nightmare returned to him and he looked down with an embarrassed blush. "Hey there, none of that." A hand rubbed his cheek, the owner behind him, and then moved to play with his hair.
It was a strange feeling, being touched like this. He had never had hands run through his hair, and he had never been cuddled like this. The Dursleys had avoided touching him at all costs as a child, unless it was to hurt him. After that the most anyone had given him was the hugs he received from Mrs. Weasley, and that he had come to look forward to. It was a comforting feeling, being held in this manner. It was just for him, he knew. There was nothing more behind it, no ulterior motive, nothing would be expected from him in return.
"You feeling better, Hare?" He blinked. No one had ever given him a nickname before. He was almost certain that Harry was too short for it. Then he disregarded it and thought about the question. Did he feel better? He swallowed and decided that yes, he did. There had been this guilt-ridden weight on his shoulders since Cedric's murder. He had avoided it, avoided thinking about it or acknowledging the nightmares. It had hurt so badly to think about it. He found he could do so now, and that, while it still hurt, it was not so unbearable. The weight was gone now, and he felt better and strangely empty all at once. He actually felt as though he were physically lighter, but surely that was impossible. "Harry?"
"Yes." His voice was hoarse, raspy, and he realised only now that his mouth was dry. "I feel better." Fred nodded and smiled at him, and he smiled back. "Thank you." He whispered. Fred only shook his head and pulled him in close, the arms behind him tightening too, and Harry buried his face in Fred's chest and breathed in his smell.
"BOYS! FRED! GEORGE! HARRY! I'LL NOT HAVE YOU SLEEPING IN TILL NOON!" The loud voice made Harry jump, and the twins chuckled.
George let him go and leaned over him so Harry could see his face. "Guess we better get up before she does something drastic." Harry chuckled and reluctantly let his comfortable teddy bears go.
They managed to get dressed and presentable (and in Harry's case, glamoured) with minimal fuss, and were soon marching down the stairs cheerfully enough. Harry found himself glad for getting up when he beheld the feast that was breakfast in the Weasley household and sat down between the twins and across from Bill and dug in. He piled his plate high with eggs and pancakes and sausage, and the cursebreaker chuckled at him.
"Hungry, are you?" He blushed and lowered the forkful of eggs he had been about to eat. "No, no, go ahead. As skinny as you are, I'm sure you need it." This only made him blush more, but he dutifully returned to eating. The twins shared a look over his head. "So, Harry, I didn't have a chance to ask before, but what do you plan to do after school?" Harry paused and then shrugged.
"Well, I wanted to travel for awhile, but after that I'm not really sure. I can't see myself being an Auror or playing Quidditch, but I'm not really good at anything else."
"Bollocks!" Harry looked up at George, who sat on his right side. "What about runes?"
"Yea Hare!" Fred smiled warmly at him from his left side. "You're brill at runes!"
Bill grinned. "Well you could always be a runemaster then. There's a lot of professions that require runes work."
Harry perked up. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yup. There's wandmaking, and warding, lots of different ritual work, metalcrafting, stonelaying, even healing. There's even times where we have to bring in runemasters for cursebreaking. A lot of old tombs have rune protections or inscriptions, so we need runemasters to dismantle or translate them. There's other things too. And plenty of work in the private sector also. A lot of purebloods will pay good money to have a runemaster do work for them."
"Wow." Harry looked at him with wonder. "I didn't realize runes were used in so much."
Bill only shrugged. "Most people don't. Runework is a dying field. There aren't a lot of people who are naturally good at it, and if you're not, then it's really hard to master. It's a challenging field of work, so less and less people go into it."
Harry nodded in understanding. A loud thumping sound made him jump. It was followed by a cursing and then Mrs. Weasley walked out of the kitchen."RONALD WEASLEY! I WON'T TOLERATE THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE IN THIS HOUSE!" Harry, the twins, and Bill all winced. Molly could sure get some volume when she wanted to.
"Sorry mum." Ron wandered into the kitchen then, rubbing at his arm with a grimace, and Mrs. Weasley huffed and returned to the kitchen.
"Morning Ron."
"Morning Harry. Glad to see the twins didn't kill you in an experiment or something." The twins in question both laughed, nothing on their faces showing that anything was amiss, but both of their inner animals growled in anger. Harry swallowed, and wondered how bad of a prank they would play on Ron before dinner was over.
"I think I could handle anything they tried to throw at me." Harry kept his face as blank as possible when Ron's hair turned green as he sat down. Bill smirked, but otherwise showed no notice. Harry had to look down and focus on his food once Ron started eating and his face turned purple.
"If you say so." His words were warped through his consumption of food, and Harry paled at the bits of egg that spewed from his mouth, appetite fading. Trust Ron to ruin breakfast. Bill also looked a little green, but seemed better able to ignore it and eat. Harry supposed he must be used to it. "Hey, you wanna play some Quidditch after breakfast?"
"Um,"
"Actually, we were gonna take Hare down to the lake."
Ron looked at George disbelievingly. "The lake? But that's so boring!"
"I think the lake sounds nice." Ron snorted.
"Whatever you say mate."
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"So why do you two keep stealing me away from Ron?"
They grinned at him and Fred answered. "Caught that did you?" They were walking to the lake, dressed in trousers and t-shirts, robes forgotten for once, and towels swung over their shoulders. The area the Weasleys lived in was nice. There was empty country all around them, and the occasional muggle farm. The twins had told him that a lot of them were owned by squibs, and that they had muggle-away charms around the burrow just in case.
George shrugged. "Don't know if you've noticed, but Ron's been a right prat lately. Ever since he got that prefect badge he's been too big for his britches."
Fred nodded. "He's changed. You don't spend as much time around him as you used to so you wouldn't know, but he's changed. Besides that, with the faulty glamours it'll be harder for you to hide things. If we keep you close to us then there's less of a chance of him finding out."
"Ron's got a big mouth. If he finds out it'll only be a matter of time before he ends up telling someone."
"So all this is just to help me?"
"Yup."
"But... If you keep separating me and Ron, then I won't be able to hang out with him anymore."
Fred clapped him on the back. "Well then that's just more time you get to spend with us."
Harry chuckled, and then stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. He had stopped paying attention to the world around him, and they had arrived at the lake while he wasn't paying attention. It was so different than the lake at Hogwarts that he couldn't help but study it. He was sure it was smaller, probably shallower as well. Where the lake at Hogwarts was banked with river stones and large rocks, this lake was framed by sand banks and cattails. The tall grass of a field next to the lake grew into part of it, and the golden stalks peaked out from the water. It was clearer near the banks than the Hogwarts lake, but the deeper portions were obscured by mud.
He sniffed the air, the weaker glamours not hindering his senses the way that the ones on the chain had. His nose took in the fresh air, and the smell of dirt, fish, and wildflowers. The twins smiled at him and pulled him along to a tree just a little ways away from the bank. It was a tall, crooked thing, and there was a swinging rope attached to it like in an old muggle movie he had seen once. The redheads spread a blanket out underneath the tree and swung their towels over a branch. Harry followed suit.
Then they were stripping down to their pants and one by one they grabbed hold of the rope and swung out over the water. Harry screamed in joy when it was his turn, the moment before hitting the water even better than flying. Then he was diving beneath the waters and his gills began working beneath the glamours. He twisted quickly beneath the surface, not stopping until he had touched the bottom.
He didn't cling to it like at Hogwarts, but rather swam close enough for his belly to rub against the mud. His eyes, unaffected by the water and seeing through it with ease. There were not so many fish here as in the merpeople's domain, and he could tell none of them were magical. But the water felt cleaner to his gills, and it felt good when he smashed his toes in the mud, pushing off the bottom to head back up.
He grinned as his head broke the surface, and sputtered when water splashed in his face. He turned to see a smirking twin and gave a smirk himself.
"Of course you know, this means war."
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About the runemaster bit, I intend for that to be Harry's profession, as it will fit in well with some plans I have for the story later on. This Harry won't be all-powerful or good at everything. He will have his skills, and his weaknesses, and, as the bit with the botched-animagus transformation proves, there will be times where he screws things up and makes mistakes. Big mistakes probably won't occur all too often, but they will still happen, though how they turn out in the end will likely differ. The bit at the end with Harry and the twins was kind of fluffy, but I want this fic to have some happy moments, as there will be a lot of sad or angry ones too, and we need a little fluff before things start to get darker. As for him sleeping with them, no that's not slash oriented, and I will refrain from comment regarding their relationship with each other. I have friends I have no problem sleeping next too, and while this won't be a common occurrence in this story, it might happen occasionally. Sometimes when you're feeling down all you need is for someone to be there for you during the night. I myself have gotten so used to sleeping next to my girlfriend every night that I can't sleep at all when she's not there. If you have questions, feel free to review, and I will endeavor to answer you if I can.