Hullo again! :D Thank you for any and all follows, favorites, reviews, etc. It is greatly appreciated. I will be quick about the rest. Our lovely JK Rowling owns all of the characters in this story and all I possess is the plot. So disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer. Anyway! No I present the second chapter of The Potions Masters Incubus.
The Potions Masters Incubus Chapter 2:
Harry's tail swished from side to side, his wings flapped in time with his hurried breathe and his now pointy ears twitched uncontrollably. The twiddling of his fingers had never ceased. He tried to make some sort of rhythm from it, to make it seem soothing or reassuring, like a pat on the head. But it was neither.
'Who in their right mind would want to touch something as disgusting and freakish as you?' A voice in his head screeched. He flinched.
"Get away from us you fucking demon!" Molly shrieked, clutching the side of Ron's arm with one hand and a large butcher knife in the other. Ron was standing, immobilized with a glued expression of pure shock and fear.
"W-what a-are you?" Hermione stuttered from the farthest corner of the room. She was sunk to the floor, holding a trembling Ginny in her own trembling hands. Her wide eyes and voice both strained with tears.
'No, no. Hermione' Harry thought. 'It's not my…this isn't…I-I…' He tried to hold out a hand, to try to comfort her but was hit with yet another burst of excruciating pain. His extended hand instantly smashed back down into the wooden floor, puncturing a hole. His splintered, bleeding hand curled into a fist, his fingernails digging into his hands sensitive skin as if trying to reduce some of the pain, but only causing more of it. A ferocious, animalistic growl ripped through chapped, blood laced lips as his body head rose rapidly. It was like a volcano had erupted in the center of his chest and the scorching lava spread quickly throughout his entire body. He could feel the ripping of his back's skin as it came undone stitch by stitch from his end of his neck to the crack of his arse. The cruciatus curse was a mosquito bite in comparison to this torture. His eyes flashed open, seeing nothing but a blank sheet of white, and a pained gasp was released as he felt three new extensions molding outward from his backs torn skin. He growled and thrashed uncontrollably, trying to make the suffering lessen.
"Get out…" Harry faintly heard Ron's trembling voice over his own suppressed growls of pain. "JUST GET OUT!"
"Albus…" Harry was brought back to the realm of the living by the hesitant whisper of his potions professor. He blinked, slightly dazed. He realized his sight blurred by the line of tears threatening to dribble out. He closed his eyes for a moment while shaking his head, trying to focus. A moment passed. Harry didn't dare look up from the Headmasters carpet.
"Do you…do you know…what he is exactly?"
'Right' Harry thought, suppressing the forming tears in his eyes. 'Because I'm a thing now.'
"Harry…" Dumbledore spoke gently. Harry's head immediately shot up. He felt ashamed as he met the soft blue eyes of Dumbledore. Harry felt like he'd disappointed him, even though the older man had made no inclination that he had. His eyes welled up again and he quickly turned away. "Stop thinking such thoughts, please, my boy. You are no less human than Severus and I are. And as long as you are in my presence, you will hold yourself in that regard, do you understand, Harry?" Dumbledore said reassuringly. Harry hesitantly looked at Dumbledore, nodded slowly and quickly directly his gaze back to the carpet. Though he didn't believe in what he'd just agreed to do, the words of reassurance made the edges of Harry's lips twitch into an almost smile. He hadn't had one of those in weeks. Dumbledore was too kind of a man.
"I believe," Dumbledore's voice was now stern, matter-of-fact and directed towards Snape. "That Harry has inherited two different sets of traits."
"Two?" Severus inquired.
"Two." Dumbledore nodded firmly. He looked at Harry whose eyes were transfixed on the carpet below him. He smiled softly.
"Why two, Albus?"
"Well obviously there is clearly a dominant trait," Dumbledore started and Severus turned his eyes towards Harry's horns and pointed ears.
"Demon?" Severus guessed. Harry flinched. Dumbledore shook his head.
"No, Severus, Harry hasn't inherited a Demon trait, not exactly at least." Severus took a moment to analyze Potter again, then quickly turned his head to Albus with his mouth open to say something but Dumbledore lifted a hand to stop him.
"Though I do believe the trait that Harry possesses is a branch stemming from Demon."
Severus scowled. He didn't enjoy when the headmaster cut him off mid-thought. "How can you be so sure that it's not Demon?" Harry flinched again, his wings flapping but furiously.
Dumbledore slowly crossed over to Harry. Harry looked up with wide eyes as he felt the headmaster close to him.
"Y-yes, professor?" Harry mumbled nervously, twiddling his fingers yet again. Dumbledore smiled brightly and walked over to Severus.
He leaned in and whispered. "Has Harry once, sense he's entered the room, gone for our throats or tried to manipulate us in anyway?"
"Well no, but-" Severus started. Dumbledore simply shook his head.
"No Severus, he isn't a Demon, at least not fully. I'm not sure of the branch yet, and I believe it is too soon to tell. We do not want to haphazardly make assumptions- Harry's well being comes before solving this case."
Severus rolled his eyes. "Of course, we wouldn't want the precious boy-who-lived in any danger." He mumbled to himself. "What is the other trait, Albus?"
"Kneazle." Dumbledore said cheerfully. Severus's and Harry's heads both shot up to look at Dumbledore.
"P-p-professor I-I really don't think-" Harry stuttered.
"That's not possible, Albus." Severus hissed.
"Why shouldn't it be, Severus?" Albus said, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Because Kneazle is stemmed from cats. Mr. Potter is obviously not a cat. Albus, I really do fear that your old age is getting to you."
"Ah!" Dumbledore smiled brightly "Perhaps, Severus, my boy, it isn't me losing my mind but rather that you're missing the bigger picture."
Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "Professor…I don't understand…"
"Harry, your tail. It's not a normal Demons tail. The end is shaped like a spear- but alas it is much to fuzzy and thick to be a Demons tail. It more resembles a lions tail- which, as we know, is a trait of a Kneazle."
Severus's eyes wandered to Potter's swaying tail. Dumbledore had a point. The tail was much too thick to be a Demons tail. And Demon's tails were not fuzzy; quite on the contrary they are sharp like the spears they are shaped in, which comes in handy when hunting. But the fact still remained that it was impossible.
'Great.' He growled to himself. 'My level of understanding is not better than Potters. I fear a world apocalypse is closing in on us.'
"Dumbledore, Harry being part Kneazle is absurd. It's an inherited trait among cats, not humans."
"Precisely! It's inherited among cats. Not humans." Dumbledore repeated jovial and Severus growled aloud. Was Dumbledore mocking his intelligence? Why would he outright mimic him when- Severus's eyes widened a bit, sudden revelation crashing down on him.
"It's not inherited." Dumbledore smiled.
"It's not inherited…" Severus repeated, the gears in his mind clearly searching for another plausible conclusion. "Spell? Hex?"
"It is a possibility." Dumbledore mused. "But I don't think so."
"No, something stronger…" Severus thought aloud.
Harry looked at the two older men, his eyebrows still furrowed in confusion. "Professors..." He waited until he caught both their gazes. "I don't understand…"
"Are you deaf, boy?" Severus hissed. "Or just slow? If you were following the conversation at all you would have-" Dumbledore lifted a pale hand and Severus shut his mouth begrudgingly.
Dumbledore looked at Harry and smiled warmly. "There is no reason to worry about it as of now Harry." He peered over his shoulder to a larger version of the odd clock with planets instead of numbers that he'd pulled from his purple cloak when he first placed Harry on Privet Drive sixteen years ago. He smiled. "Harry, it is getting late. I suggest you retire to bed."
Harry twiddled his fingers, finding himself once again nervous. "P-professor I really d-don't want to go to-" Dumbledore chuckled and placed a gentle hand on Harry's shoulders.
"I assure you Harry, you will not be returning to the Gryffindor towers anytime soon."
Harry looked up at Dumbledore with hesitant eyes. "Professor…what happens when…when school starts again?"
"That is a plan in the making, my boy. You shall be staying, for now, in a temporary dorm located in the dungeons close to Severus. Severus will show you to your rooms in a moment, but before that, I do need a word with Severus alone."
Harry's eyes widened a bit, before blinking rapidly and nodding understandingly. He turned to leave but Dumbledore coughed. Harry's tail stiffened a bit, but he turned again to face Dumbledore.
"Remember, my boy, that those who are quick to judge based on the physical appearance of someone, are quick to overlook character."
Harry looked shocked for a moment before smiling brightly. "Thank you, professor. Good night." Harry turned to leave and Dumbledore chuckled as he noticed Harry's wings flapping happily.
"I personally think it suits him."
Severus rolled his eyes. "Being a demon suits him? Dumbledore, you amaze me." He scoffed.
"Severus," Dumbledore's voice was stern and unwavering. "I will not tolerate any mistreatment of Harry. And while I do know your sharp tongue is an extension of your sharp mind and that there will always be a bond between the two, I do expect you to be careful with your wording around Harry. He's lost more than you know and he is more than you know. That is all, my boy."
Severus suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and instead only nodded. "Good night, Albus." He grunted before storming out of the headmasters office.
I hope you guys enjoyed the read, I will try to update another chapter tomorrow. As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to contact me, or if you're reviewing, stick it in there. Always a pleasure my lovelies, I hope to see you soon! Mwa!
(I dunno how the updating thinger works, but if you guys can see that I've updated a chapter, here is why I did: I've made a gio-mistake, at least in my opinion. I've always thought ivory was green, but apparently it's white. Why I thought ivory was green my whole life, I have no frackin idea. Perhaps it's because the only time I ever heard of ivory was 'the ivory laced forest' which to me, just made sense that it would be green. Either way, I'll be updating all the chapters to change this mistake. If you come across it, would you be so kind as to message me and tell me where it is is? God I feel like an idiot at the moment. THANK YOU PERSON WHO BROUGHT THIS TO MY ATTENTION!)
~ Rising Nightengale