Disclaimer: All rights to the Harry Potter universe belong to Jk, not me. :(

Warnings: slash FWxHPxGW, OCCness, only loosely adheres to canon, some facts changed/ Fred and George are in their second year when Harry first goes to Hogwarts. Creature fic! And other stuff that might happen in M-rated fanfiction.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed!

Last Time

To Harry the pain seemed to last for days. Just as he was about to give in, just when he thought he couldn't take anymore it finally began to taper off. As the pain left his awareness he could feel his body trembling. Nothing had ever hurt like that before. Nothing. Not his uncle's beatings or his broken bones. Not even when his aunt held his hand on the stove for almost a full twenty seconds.

He began to feel unconsciousness tug at his senses and fell blissfully into its open arms. The last thing he heard was Nikolas' cry of success.

Chapter Three Changes

Harry awoke to find himself back in his room. The light was shining brightly from his window and his eyes watered at the abuse. He groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head. He distantly heard a gasp and a pop but he was too preoccupied with how achy he felt to really give it any notice. He wondered briefly what he had done to anger his uncle Vernon this time before he remembered where he was.

He slowly drew the pillow off his head when he heard an amused rumble. He opened his eyes and blinked confusedly at the wide expanse of black in front of him.

"Good Morning youngling."

The whispery voice reminded Harry instantly of Leila. He pushed himself up on a protesting elbow to take in her form lying beside him. Before he could speak, she used a large paw to pull him down and pin him in place as she began to lick his hair with her raspy tongue.

"Leila! What are you doing?" The Shadow Panther paused in her ministrations.

"I thought you were going to call me mother?"

Harry blushed slightly while trying to wriggle free. "Umm right. Mother, why are you licking my hair?"

The Shadow Panther had begun a loud rumbling purr as soon as Harry had addressed her as mother and she went back to her task with zeal, ignoring any protests Harry made and leaving his question unanswered.

Harry heard the door open and twisted his head around to see Nikodemus watching them with wide eyes.

"Help please."

Nik's eyes crinkled in amusement and he stifled his laughter with the back of his hand. Oh my. Isn't this a precious picture…Despite Leila's efforts though, I doubt Harry's hair will come out of this looking for the better.

"Oh but I can't little one. Don't you know it is very unsafe to come between a mother Shadow Panther and her cub? Besides, she's only showing her affection. She has been very worried about you."

Harry glared at him, seeing the amusement plain as day in the man's eyes. He then let Leila continue her ministrations without anymore fuss on his part. He couldn't very well be upset at her for just showing she cared could he? Luckily for Harry though, it wasn't long before Leila stopped.

"Is there something you need Nikodemus?"

"I'm afraid so, dear Leila. I need to examine Harry and I'm sure he has questions now that he's awake."

Harry took advantage of Leila's distraction and escaped her hold, rolling over to the edge of the bed before sitting up. "Yes! How did the experiment go? I'm not dead so I guess that means it worked, right?"

"Quite." Nikodemus said with an amused smile before turning to address Linny. "Go fetch Harry something to eat. Soup and bread would be best. Make sure it's something filling as he's been asleep for a week. Despite the nutrient potions he's bound to be very hungry."

"I've been asleep for a week!" Harry exclaimed wide-eyed.

"Yes." Nik said while walking over to stand by where Harry sat on the bed. "Your body needed time to adjust to the changes. How are you feeling by the way, tired still? Sore perhaps?" After Harry informed him he felt alright despite a bit of tiredness Nikodemus nodded and said. "Now sit still. I'm going to cast a diagnostic spell."

Despite his curiosity he did as directed, and after shifting slightly one more time he stilled. He was having a hard time finding a comfortable spot. Something felt a bit off…

Harry was distracted from his train of thought when he felt a faint tingling. Harry was then bemused to see Nikodemus' violet eyes seemingly stare into thin air as he mumbled under his breath.

"Good. Good. Coming along nicely…Still some residue though…shouldn't be harmful."

Harry waited till the man was finished before he asked. "What was that sir?"

"It was a spell that allows me to examine your physical condition as well as the condition of your magical core." He then beamed at Harry. "I must say you're doing far better than I had expected."

"I'm glad sir." he said as he ran a small hand through his hair only to stop short at the feel of an unfamiliar bump.

"Master Nik, what's on my head?" he asked a little worriedly.

Nikodemus smirked down at him. "Why don't you see for yourself? Stand up and see if you're steady enough to walk over to the window seat and then I'll conjure up a mirror." Nik then helped Harry get to his feet. While he did feel a bit unsteady and weak he was able to make it over to window seat by leaning a bit on Nik's arm while Leila watched with concerned black eyes. As he had walked forward he had felt something brush against the back of his legs, igniting more curiosity and worry.

He sat down, hand reaching behind until he pulled up…a tail. A long, furry black tail. Harry Jumped up and Nik had to catch him before he lost his balance. As Harry lay in Nik's arms he hesitantly stroked his fingers down the silky appendage before grasping the end firmly in both hands, looking up at Nik and saying a bit dumbly.

"I have a tail."

Nikodemus nodded amused. Oh my, his reactions certainly are amusing.

"And I'm guessing the bumps on my head are cat ears?"

Nik nodded again.

"Oh." Harry said lamely. He then continued to stare in fascination at the tail in his hands, not even commenting when Nik sat him back down and changed one of his pillows into a tall mirror.

"Harry?" Nikodemus called, drawing the boy's attention to him.

"Oh. Sorry sir. Didn't mean to space out." Harry said as he sent a small smile in the man's direction. He stood up to view himself properly in the mirror, keeping one hand on the seat for balance since his legs still felt a bit shaky.

The first things that caught his eyes were his large shadowy black cat ears. They sat perched atop his head and twitched whenever they caught a noise, whether it was Leila shifting or the birds outside the window. Harry also gratefully noticed he still had his normal ones but he didn't know if they still worked. He then took in his tail, which was almost as long as his body and was the same black as his ears. It came out above the low waistline of his sleep pants and Harry briefly wondered if he would have to cut hole in the bottoms of all his trousers. As Harry was examining it, his tail seemed to blur a bit around the tip and Harry remembered what the book had said would happen when a Shadow Panther became excited or agitated. If finding out you had a tail didn't count as exciting he didn't know what would! He then looked for other changes, noticing his skin was a bit paler and his green eyes were slitted like a cats. That was pretty wicked. He became aware of a faint itch at the base of his skull and wasn't really surprised to find small feathers lying under his messy hair. Leila, his mum he corrected hadn't really helped it and his hair was even messier than normal. He was a bit shocked to see his scar had faded a bit, but that was probably a good thing since it was so famous. All in all Harry was pleased. The only disappointment was his lack of wings.

His ears suddenly twitched when Linny suddenly popped back. She brought a tray laden with delicious smelling food that had Harry salivating. She sat it down on the window seat with a large smile.

"Linny is glad young master is awake now."

"Thank you Linny" Harry said as he turned his attention back to the mirror, though his stomach grumbled at the strong smell of the meal. Nik chuckled.

"There is one more thing you should see before you eat little one. Take off your shirt and look at your back."

Harry complied, if only to get to his meal quicker.

When he turned his head to gaze at what Nik wanted him to see he gasped.

Starting from the tops of his shoulders all the way down to disappear beneath his waistline was a pair of lifelike iridescent black wings that appeared to be…tattooed onto his skin. He ran a finger gently over his shoulder and noticed that the feathers felt a bit raised.

"Wow. Harry said with a large grin. "This is brilliant."

"Magic truly is fascinating." Nikodemus said, drawing Harry's attention. "I would never have imagined your wings manifesting in such a manner. As far as I can tell it's to keep the drain on your magic to a minimum. You should be able to learn how to grow them out though."

"I have real wings? Will I be able to fly?" Harry asked excitedly.

"We'll have to see, but I expect so. Now sit down and eat your meal. While you're doing so I have a few more things to speak with you about. Harry smiled and did as instructed, pulling the tray laden with beef barley soup, sourdough bread and milk onto his lap. Nikodemus then sat on the edge of his bed and took out a small sphere out of one of his pockets. He held it gingerly in his long fingers as he began.

"You remember what I told you of Voldemort Harry?" at Harry's nod the man smiled slightly and continued. "Good. Now, while Voldemort was an extremely powerful wizard, there was one thing he feared most of all. Can you guess what it would be?" Harry shook his head. "It was death little one. He feared the end of his own life and power. Now there have been several rumors that he took steps to overcome death, to become immortal. But with his defeat the night your parents died those were mostly laid to rest. However, while you were asleep I found proof that Voldemort did indeed achieve a form of immortality."

"What did you find?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I found this." Nikodemus said as he held up the sphere. At Harry's confused look he chuckled. "It is called a Horcrux little one, an object that stores a piece of soul so that the rest of a person's soul is tied to the earth and can't pass on into death. It is very dark magic and can only be accomplished if you split your soul."

"How do you split your soul?" Harry said as he eyed the sphere in fascination.

"By killing someone."

Harry blanched.

"It's quite a fascinating process actually." Nikodemus said while gazing down at the Horcrux in his hand. "When you murder someone, your soul is fractured. Left alone it would heal over time, but when creating a Horcrux the witch or wizard doing so uses a ritual to separate the fractured piece and then they place it in an object. It is not true immortality, as your body can still be destroyed, but it is close enough."

"So that sphere is one Voldemort created? Where and how did you find it?"

Nik smiled approvingly at Harry. "Yes, this is a Horcrux created by Voldemort. As the how and why, I found it in you, or more accurately your scar while examining you after the experiment. Naturally I removed the piece of his soul and placed it in a more appropriate vessel. "

Harry looked up at him with horrified eyes. "In me? But how? And what are you going to do with it?"

I think it's safe to say it was not intentional and he was most likely going to use the deaths of your parents and you to create one in a more suitable container. However, whatever went wrong resulted in a piece of his soul sticking to you instead. It is also likely this isn't the only Horcrux Voldemort created. As for what I am going to do with it, I believe you should keep it." And Nikodemus conjured a chain and affixed the sphere to it. "It might prove to be a valuable bargaining chip if you ever come across Voldemort again. There is also a lingering connection between you and it and it is less likely to cause trouble in your hands." He then held out the Horcrux necklace to Harry who put it on reluctantly. Harry took a moment to examine it closer and noticed the sphere swirled with murky grey colours with a hint of bright green in the center.

"So he really is still alive then?"

"In a way and this will cause difficulties for you in the future."

"You mean he'll want to kill me."

"Maybe. But the more pressing concern is that both sides of the war will try to manipulate you to their side, whether you wish to be involved or not. Dumbledore especially will seek to use you. He has always preferred to use others instead of getting his hands dirty."

"Who's Dumbledore?"

"He is the only wizard Voldemort ever feared. Albus Dumbledore is the figurehead for the Light and is also the headmaster of the most prestigious wizarding school in Briton. He is also the one who placed you with the Dursley's and it is my belief that he did so with only his benefit in mind. Not yours."

"What do you mean?"

"Keeping you ignorant of the wizarding world and your place in it and allowing you to be abused by your relatives would leave you far more open to manipulation on his part. Do you understand?"

"Not exactly. But the fact that he left me with the Dursley's is a big enough reason to not like him in my book."

Nikodemus chuckled. "Quite. You will understand better eventually. Now, by simply having the name Harry Potter you will be subjected to the whims of the wizarding world and its power struggles and if Voldemort returns as he is very likely to do, it will be much worse. Your name also makes it difficult for me to legally keep you, as my reputation is not very credible. The Ministry and Dumbledore would not allow the one considered to be a savior in my care."

At Harry's worried look Nik smiled softly and ran a hand through the boy's hair before stopping at his ears and rubbing them gently. "Do not worry little one. I made a promise to keep you and I will do so, and not only because you are my latest experiment. You have impressed me, and I look forward to seeing how you develop. Not to mention your mother here will certainly not let you go." Leila growled in agreement to the last statement and came to sit on the floor by Harry's seat. She laid her head on his lap and let Harry scratch her ears.

Harry giggled while he used his free hand to wipe his eyes. "So what do we do then?"

"We have two options really." Nikodemus said as he removed his hand. "I can keep you hidden away on this island, or we can use a blood adoption potion and make you my son in blood as well change your name. By far the best choice is the potion I think, as this will allow you the freedom to interact with the wizarding world, attend school and such. You will also be able to make your own choices regarding the war without the weight of others expectations."

Harry was thoughtful for a few moments. He didn't like the idea of being stuck on this island, even though it was so nice. But the potion, whatever it was might be a good idea. Harry really didn't like the idea of someone just using him for his name. And he could prevent that if he just let his name go. He wasn't that attached to it. He hadn't even known his name before he started school since the Dursleys only called him boy or freak. It would be nice to start over and leave the painful memories that went with that name behind him. But was he betraying his real parents by doing so? He didn't even remember them, but they must have loved him.

"Would the Potter's not be my real parents anymore?"

"They would still be your real parents except I would be as much your father as James. However with the potion I am thinking of using my name would be the only one to come up if the ministry or anyone else tested you for your parentage. The potion is deemed dark and therefore illegal by the ministry because it is so powerful but there is no way to know it had been used and is therefore the safest option for us."

"Okay then. I think I'd rather take the potion." Harry said after a moments hesitation.

"Excellent. I'll contact an associate of mine and have him brew the potion. With any luck he'll have it ready in a few days." Nik then patted Harry on the shoulder.

"You should take a shower or bath and then stay in your room for the rest of the day. After we see how your magical core reacts to the wild magic while you are up and about we'll start exploring your new abilities as well as start your lessons on magic. In the meantime I will have Linny send some books for you to read. I'll stop in later and we'll have dinner in your study while we discuss what you have read or any questions you might have. Is that acceptable?"

Harry nodded. He then slowly made his way out of his bedroom and into the study, this time not requiring any help from the older wizard as the meal he had eaten seemed to put him back in order a bit. When he reached the bathroom door Nikodemus said farewell and informed him he would find several outfits in his closet before he and Leila left. The large feline promising to return to after she ate to keep him company as he read.

Harry then sighed and made his way into his bathroom and to his shower, pausing to eye his new additions in the mirror as he did so. Well, he thought as he waved his tail gently behind him, if I wasn't a freak before I am one now. But somehow that doesn't seem like such a bad thing anymore.

Hope you liked it! Please review :)