Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Harry Potter
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter. In atonement for the shortness of chapter 4, chapter 5 is the longest yet.
Chapter 5: A New Reality
"Ahhh, young Mr. Potter, I daresay I can guess the reason for this meeting."
"I believe you can. I should not have doubted you."
"No you shouldn't have, but that is all in the past. You are here to correct it?"
"I am."
"I must warn you that things will be changing for you very soon."
"If you haven't noticed from the ears – things have already changed for me."
"You have yet to complete your transformation. When this current state of transition comes to an end your world will change in ways you will not expect. You were given a text on the matter, and I would suggest you read it as soon as you can."
"I will."
"Good. Now on to the sorting. I told you when we first met that Slytherin was the best place for you and I still stand by that conviction. Are you ready to trust in my judgment?"
"Yes."
"In that case….SLYTHERIN!"
The entire hall erupted into an uproar, with the Slytherins cheering and the Gryffindors (primarily Hermione, Ron, and Ginny) hurling insults and protests. Harry took the opportunity to slip off the stool and out of the hall where he made his way towards the dungeons which housed his new common room.
When he reached the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms Snape suddenly appeared beside him causing him to gasp in surprise. "I didn't hear you, Professor."
"Indeed. I do hope that your powers of observation will improve now that you have joined our proud house."
"I'll do my best, sir."
"Slytherins value ambition, cleverness, cunning, and resourcefulness. Be prepared to be at your best in all capacities now that you are a representative of Slytherin house. Follow me to your new quarters."
Harry was comfortably settled on his bed behind his curtains scant minutes later with The Comprehensive Guide to Being an Ichobas spread open on the bed in front of him. The hat claimed his transformation was not yet complete and Harry was eager to discover what he could expect over the next few months. He flipped through the book until he came to the third section which was supposed to cover the transition period.
The first four months after an Ichobas receives their inheritance they will go through a period of transition. Due to the rarity of these creatures there is not much known about this stage, but it is believed that the purpose of the transition is to allow the Ichobas time to settle into their inheritance before they meet and accept their mate. During this time the Ichobas will be much more aggressive than usual, and in many cases a submissive Ichobas will become very dominant. Only a submissive's dominate mate will be able to calm them during their transition. (Information on Mating and Pregnancy available in section 5)
Harry realized the courage he'd been displaying since he came into his inheritance was likely the result of him being in the first four months of his transformation. This worried him because he did not want to become unable to stand up for himself once his transition was over at the end of November. The rest of the section was filled with third person accounts of how Ichobas acted during the first four months so Harry skipped ahead and turned to the fifth section of his book.
At the end of the fourth month transition the submissive will begin to subconsciously search for his/her dominant mate. Ichobas use smell to identify their mate and once found they mate for life. Mates are predestined and cannot be chosen or forced. Once the mating has been accepted and completed the submissive will begin their breeding cycle.
An Ichobas' fertility is determined by the lunar calendar. A submissive is only able to become pregnant during a full or new moon and will likely experience an extreme spike in libido during these times. It is believed that an Ichobas and their mate will remain in their den for the duration of these lunar cycles to increase their chances of conception.
The gestation cycle of an Ichobas is three to four months. Ichobas will have a maximum of four kits per clutch.
A male Ichobas will grow a temporary magical womb when pregnant, and will require an operation to remove the kits from the womb when he is ready to birth. The magic around the womb stabilizes the pregnancy and reduces the chances of miscarriage. Once the kits are born the Ichobas will spend a maximum of two weeks in seclusion to bond with their young.
Harry closed the book and tossed it to the side. He wasn't ready to have a mate, and he didn't even want to think about being pregnant. Although, it might be nice to have a family that would love him unconditionally. Yes, he had Remus and Sirius, but it wasn't the same. They were his fathers and so he did his best to not disappoint them in any way. Some days he would find himself going over everything he said to them and worrying how they might have interpreted it. Living with the Dursleys for so many years had left him with almost non-existent self-confidence and an obsessive need to please the people important to him.
He longed for someone he could relax and be himself with – whether it was singing badly at the top of his lungs or lounging around all day in his underwear. Someone to whom he could confide his deepest thoughts and fears without worry, and who would confide theirs in him. Someone who didn't mind lending him a shoulder to cry on. A strong, well-muscled shoulder attached to an even stronger chest with firm abs and… Harry quickly cut his mental ramblings off and banished the tempting image of a familiar blond boy when he realized the direction his thoughts were taking.
He let go of his tail which he had absentmindedly been stroking and got up to hide his book back in his trunk. He had just finished placing a complex layering of wards on his trunk when a small golden object came zooming into the room. The rest of the world faded away as his focus narrowed in on the pretty sparkling ball fluttering around the room. He wanted that shiny for himself and he was going to have it. No matter what.
His body sank into a crouch his wings sprouted from his back as he prepared to capture his prey. The ball stopped for a split-second and then shot out of the room with the determined Ichobas hot on its tail.
He followed it through a common room full of astonished Slytherins and darted out of the portrait hole in hot pursuit, accidentally knocking down Professor Snape who had just been reentering the common room.
"Come back here Potter, you insufferable menace! How dare you! 60 points from Gryffindor and a month of detention!"
Harry ignored his irate head of house and continued on with his pursuit, without even considering taking a pause to remind the professor that he could no longer lose points for Gryffindor. All that mattered was the little golden ball. Surely Snape would understand once Harry captured his prize and brought it back; after all, it was soooo shiny.
Harry's chase led him from the dungeons to the gargoyle on the seventh floor where the snitch disappeared inside an amused Dumbledore's beard. Harry didn't stop to reconsidering as he pounced on the headmaster and dug through the man's voluminous beard to retrieve his treasure. Once he had the snitch clasped tightly in his palm he retreated to the wall across from the gargoyle to fawn over it.
"Ah, there you are Harry. I must say that I am glad the snitch successfully retrieved you." Harry let out a warning hiss at Dumbledore's words causing the old man to blink in shock and halt his advance towards Harry. "You can, of course, keep that for your troubles."
"I do believe that, not even two hours ago, I warned you about interfering in my life. You better have a satisfactory reason or I will carve you up and eat you raw." Harry said brandishing a clawed hand. His creature side was still too close to the surface after his chase through the castle to worry about censoring himself.
"Yes, well…You have some guests waiting in my office, pixie sticks."
For a second Harry thought Dumbledore was foolishly insulting him until the gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office scraped open. Harry gestured Dumbledore to proceed ahead of him with an insolent wave of his now clawless hand. "After you, Gandalf."
Upon entering the office Harry was besieged by a horde of red headed Weasleys who seemed intent on smothering the life out of him. He yowled in distress and summoned his wings to free him from the mass of bodies.
"Wicked Harry! You'll have to –"
"Take us flying mate!"
Harry calmed down when he realized the mass of red heads were actually Fred, George, Charlie, and Bill. He lowered himself to the ground about five feet away from the others and willed his wings back into him.
"Harry, would it -"
"Yes, Charlie."
"How do you know what I was going to ask?"
"You're a dragon fanatic and, even though I have no dragon blood in me, I know that you are just itching for a chance to study my wings."
Charlie looked down and mumbled "I wouldn't say I was a fanatic."
"Well you're the only one. Nevertheless you are welcome to look your fill, but I think it might be best if we saved that for another time. While I am happy to see you again, I do not believe you came all the way over here at this time of night just to say hello."
"Quite right, Harry. Charlie and the twins overheard a rather disturbing conversation between our parents about a letter they received from darling Ronald. Apparently you have decided take the dark side up on its offer of cookies."
Harry looked at Bill with trepidation - this was what he had been fearing, his favorite Weasleys had found out that he had switched houses and were going to wash their hands of him.
Dumbledore cleared his throat awkwardly and slowly inched closer to the door before quickly darting out of the room. The Weasley brothers maintained their serious faces for a few more seconds before they all burst out in uncontrolled laughter.
"Finally! We thought –"
"he'd never leave."
"Oh relax, Harry. We don't care if you've decided to become the next dark lord, you're our brother and you'll always be our brother."
"In fact we've decided to swap out Ron for you, and I must say that we're getting a bloody good deal."
"I'm not trying to be the next dark lord, I'm just trying to be me."
"We're proud of you Harry, all we really wanted to do tonight was let you know that you still have our support – no matter what the rest of our idiot family does."
Harry felt a weight lift from his shoulders at their sincere words and he flung himself towards the Weasley boys who quickly wrapped him up in a tight group hug. The embrace seemed to last for hours before they finally pulled away from each other and said their goodbyes.
A/N: Please take the time to review and let me know what you think or ask any questions you might have. Feel free to friend me on my Facebook account that have set up exclusively for my fanfiction. facebook/LunasaCailinMactire
