Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, cuz I'm not JKR. Dang.

Summary: Harry discovers secrets long kept hidden. What will he do when the truth is finally revealed? Contains Dark!Harry, Good!Slytherins, and RonHermione bashing. HPDM rated for later chapters.

Thanks to all my reviewers!

Chapter Four

Birthday Surprises Part I

Harry knew right away that something was going on. Judging by the light, or lack thereof, in his room, it was way too early for him to be awake. Just as he was wondering what had woken him up, pain ran throughout his entire body, worse than any cruciatus curse he'd ever felt. He wasn't even aware of screaming until Draco ran into his room.

Draco yelled at him, "Harry! What's happening?"

Harry couldn't answer. His entire being was taken up by the pain. He felt as though he was being burned alive. Just as he thought that the pain was too much and was about to pass out, it was gone as though it had never been there. He lay on the bad gasping, wondering what had happened.

"Harry? Are you alright now?"

Harry lay quiet for a moment before answering, a bit hesitantly. "Yeah. I'm fine now. I have no idea what happened, but it's over now."

"Maybe it has something to do with your birthday today, your new powers and all."

"Oh yeah, completely forgot about that. But, uncle Sev never said anything about excruciating pain. He just said that I would wake up different."

"Well, he probably didn't know. It's not like this has ever happened before."

"Ah, point to you. What time is it anyway?" As soon as the words left Harry's mouth, glowing numbers showing the time, 5:34 am, appeared in the air in front of his face. "Draco, did you cast the tempus charm?"

Draco looked as surprised as Harry felt as he answered, "No. I guess you really are powerful. You didn't use a wand or a spell."

"Yeah well, this can wait until the sun comes up at least." With that, Harry leaned back on his bed, holding his sheets open for Draco. The blond slipped in silently and wrapped his arms around Harry, both falling asleep quickly.

A few hours later, when Harry and Draco woke up, they were presented with a few surprises, all coming from Harry.

When Harry woke up it took him a few minutes to remember the events of the previous night, and why Draco was curled up next to him. Careful to avoid waking him, Harry slipped out of the bed to head for a shower.

The lack of warmth next to him woke Draco. Looking up with eyes still blurry with sleep, he saw Harry slipping out the door. However, there was something different about him.

"Harry, when did you get a tattoo?" asked Draco.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, popping his head back in the room. "I don't have any tattoos."

"Um, you may want to look down then," said Draco. There's a rather large one on your chest, not to mention your arms and your back.

"WHAT!" Harry ran for the mirrors in his closet. Draco was right. There was a phoenix on his chest that looked ready for flight, black flames crawled up his arms from his wrists, and on his back, different elementals crawled around. If he moved in the right way, it was as if they were alive.

"This is so weird," Harry said. "What the hell kind of power manifests itself in tattoos?"

"Well, a lot of cultures use tattoos of some kind to signify rank," said Draco. "Maybe that custom has deeper roots. It happens all the time. In the past, wizards and witches often ruled over muggles as gods of some kind. If their power was like yours, it could have influenced those that followed them."

Harry turned toward Draco. "But I thought that what's happening with me has never happened before. Why would that explain the tattoos?"

"Just because you happen to be one of a kind doesn't mean that others haven't had power that came close to yours in strength," Draco pointed out. "Anyway, I think you should find out what powers came with those tattoos. Seems to be a big concentration on fire."

"Well yeah, but the ones on my back seem to point to all the elements. I wonder if I can control the elements or the creatures that represent them. Maybe both." Harry smiled. "This is so cool."

Draco got out of the bed. "Yes, while you have fun exploring your powers, I'm going to take a shower. Don't take too long wonder boy. Breakfast will be in about an hour."

Harry didn't even respond. He was staring at the phoenix on his chest. It looked a lot like Fawkes, and he wasn't sure how he felt about being reminded of the old coot every day for the rest of his life. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'it's not like I can do anything about it.'

Harry turned, thinking of taking a hot shower to get rid of the remaining aches from the night before. It wasn't until he was in the shower, steaming water running down his body that he remembered that he'd woken up in Draco's arms. As soon as the thought entered his mind, his body (or a certain part anyway) woke up entirely.

Thoughts of the blonde raced through Harry's mind as he lightly stroked himself. He imagined Draco on his knees in front of him, that delicious mouth parted just for him. He pumped faster and faster, and finally, while picturing just how useful that tongue stud could be, his climax hit him, leaving him shuddering at the intensity. He hadn't felt like that in over a year, not even when he'd been obsessed with Ginny the year before.

Ginny confused him. Harry had known that he was gay for a couple years. He'd figured it out when he kept having fantasies about Cedric in fourth year. Everyone had thought that he had like Cho, but in reality, he only paid attention to her because she was close to the Hufflepuff champion.

However, last year he'd begun to feel insanely jealous whenever he had seen Ginny with any other guy. At first he'd put it off as a kind of brotherly protection, but after a few months, even he couldn't live in denial any longer. After he'd admitted to himself that his feelings had nothing to do with brotherhood, he'd begun to think that he was bi. But looking back, even that made no sense. He'd never felt any kind of attraction to a girl except for Ginny last year. And the feelings had disappeared rather quickly. Only a week into vacation he'd forgotten all about her. To say he was confused would be an understatement.

When Harry walked into the dining room for breakfast, he hadn't been able to shed any kind of light on the Ginny situation. Draco noticed right away that something was on his mind.

"What's the matter Harry? New powers freaking you out or something?"

"Huh? Oh, no actually I was trying to figure out why I was attracted to Ginny last year. I mean, I'm gay no doubt about it, but last year I couldn't think of anyone but her. Weirder than that though is about a week after school let out, she was the furthest thing from my mind again."

While Harry had been speaking, Snape had entered the room without him noticing.

"Harry, what you're describing is the classic response to a love potion."

"Oh hey uncle Sev," said Harry. "What do you mean? Aren't those illegal? Besides, Ginny doesn't seem the type to use one."

"Yes they are," replied Severus, "and while this does have Dumbledore written all over it, Weasley had to be involved, because it would have required use of her blood. Love potions act like a subtle form of the Imperius curse. However, because it isn't a spell, it is impossible to throw off. Many people will do things for the 'love' that they feel that they would never consider doing otherwise. The fact that you resisted the pull is amazing, and speaks highly of your power."

"Um, I didn't really resist. I mean, I did at first but after a few months I gave in and Ginny and I started dating. I broke up with her though, because I was being the heroic Gryffindor. You know, couldn't let her be a target and all that nonsense. Although, she had been getting rather annoying for a while before that."

"It's possible that once she had you, she stopped dosing you," said Draco. "She probably felt as though once you in a relationship with her, you wouldn't ever want out, being as you said, the heroic Gryffindor that could never dishonor a damsel in such a fashion. Probably thought you'd stay with her because you felt some kind of responsibility."

"Quite likely. I did think about that for a while, but in the end, her 'safety' was more important than her momentary happiness. Merlin, how could anyone stand me? Just thinking about how I've acted all these years makes me ill."

"Yes well, if you'll remember, I said that quite often."

"Shut up Draco."

"What? I was just agreeing with you."

"Well then stop."

"If I don't…"

"Enough children," interrupted Snape. "Can we just sit down and eat breakfast. After all, this is supposed to be a big day is it not?"

"Oh yeah," exclaimed Draco. "I've got tons of surprises planned for you mister birthday boy! Eat up, because you'll need your strength." Draco practically bounced in his seat as he waited for Harry and Severus to seat themselves as well.

"Draco, I seem to remember telling you that I hate surprises. Do you remember that conversation?"

"Oh hush Harry. Trust me, you'll like these. There are a lot of people who would like to reacquaint themselves with you now that you're no longer being brainwashed. It'll be fun, like meeting all new people."

"So I assume this means I'm getting a party of some sort?"

"Of course! And tons of presents as well. I think it's past time to spoil you like the rich pureblood that you really are."

"Right…well I think I'll just go to my rooms for a while. Let me know when people get here."

"Harry, I swear, if you are a spoilsport I will not talk to you for a very long time."

"Don't worry about it Draco. I'm just a little tired, and slightly overwhelmed by everything. I'll be fine by the time people arrive."

Snape watched the two boys interact with a strange look on his face. Neither one of the two seemed overly concerned with the power that Harry had been radiating the entire time he'd been in the room. He was beginning to wonder if the younger wizards had even noticed. He decided to talk to his nephew as soon as he could to find out what had been going on.

Harry was relaxing in his room in front of a comfortable fire when he heard a knock on his door.

"Draco, I told you…"

"I believe you asked Draco for some alone time. You never mentioned me."

"Heh, sorry uncle Sev. So, do what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Insolent brat. I was wondering what kind of new powers you received in the night. At breakfast you were radiating power like a furnace gives off heat in the dead of winter."

"Really? Wow. Am I still doing it now," asked Harry.

"Well, yes, but it seems dampened," said Severus. "Have you done anything since breakfast?"

"Nope, just sat in front of the fire for a bit."

"You have a fire going? It's July! Most people are looking for ways to remain cool, not warm up!"

"It's not warm. The fire's there, it just isn't giving off any heat. I just wanted it for the comfort."

"Well I guess that answers one question. You definitely have an affinity for fire. There are no charms that can convince the salamanders in fire to ever burn without heat. For them to do so for you means that they recognize your power and are trying to be friendly. Otherwise they run the risk of you not liking them and then forcing them into things which they otherwise wouldn't do."

"Eh?"

"Don't worry, I've got an entire section in my library devoted to elementals and the wizards that can control them. I'll bring a few by later for you to read."

"Oh, thanks. Hey, do you know why I got tattoos last night?"

"Harry, I have no idea why you would do that. That seems like the kind of decision you would make for yourself."

"No, I didn't get them myself. I woke up with them. Draco says they're representations of my power."

Snape froze. Hesitantly, he turned to the teen. "Representations of power?"

"That's what he said. Are you okay uncle Sev?"

Snape stood silent, his mouth opening and closing and his eyes wide. "Do you have any idea how much power is required to manifest itself in a permanent mark? Power like that hasn't existed since the earliest generations of wizards! The last known wizard with power marks died over a thousand years ago."

"Wait, so power dies out as time goes on?"

"Harry, at any given point in time, there is a set amount of magical energy in the world that is manifested in witches and wizards. The more of us there are, the more that power is dispersed. In the earliest generations, there weren't many people that could do magic, so they had more power."

"But if the magic is dispersed, then why are some wizards so much more powerful than others? Why doesn't everyone have the same amount?"

"The magic gives itself to those that can handle it. Some witches and wizards have a greater capacity within themselves, and so they are given more of the power. However, it does also depend on when you are born. Purebloods, because their families are surrounded by magic at all times, have a greater capacity for magic than muggleborns or halfbloods. However, if they are born at a time when many other witches or wizards, they will not receive as much power as they rightfully should. That is why most purebloods don't like muggleborns; because they believe that muggleborns effectively steal power from those who 'deserve it.'"

"Well, I can kind of see that, but that doesn't explain squibs. I mean, if all purebloods have a capacity for magic, then squibs shouldn't exist."

"Just because a child is born to a magical family doesn't mean that they have the capacity for magic. If that logic is followed, then muggleborns wouldn't exist either."

"But what I still don't understand is," Harry paused as his door was opened, revealing a very excited blond.

"Harry! It's time to party! Let's go! Get your über powerful butt downstairs! Now, now, now! Come on!"

"Draco, uncle Sev was just explaining some things to me. And I-"

"Harry, explanations can wait. There are quite a few people downstairs waiting for the birthday boy, and they can't."

Harry looked back and forth between Severus and Draco. Finally, seeing that Severus wasn't going to argue with his godson anytime soon, he heaved himself off of the couch and sighed. "Fine, but I better get some damn good presents."

A/N: Hey all. I am super super sorry that this took so long to post. I just really wanted this chapter to be perfect. Even now, I realize that there are a few unanswered questions about Harry's new powers, but I realized just how long it's been since the last update, and I couldn't in good conscience keep you waiting any longer. I promise that the next chapter will answer more questions, but if you are really stuck on anything, just let me know and I'll see if I can work it in. Sorry again for the long wait.