Chapter 4

Waking up was a very interesting affair for one Harry James Potter on the morning of his birthday. Normally in such a day he would have been made to wake up early either by relatives wanting to make his life miserable or by 'well meaning' people wanting to give him a happy birthday. Today none of that happened and he could tell by the light filtering into the room it was well past noon.

But that in itself wasn't what was puzzling Harry but the fact that he had woken up to a furry something tickling his nose. He tried to bat it away and even turn around but the thing would not detach itself from his body. Upon closer inspection the item in question look like some kind of tail, a furry midnight black tail. Harry still being half asleep could not really explain what a tail, of all things, was doing in his bed.

So he decided to do the most logical thing that came to mind and tugged at it…

"Owwww! What the hell!" The pain shooting through his back made Harry become wide awake in seconds. That hurt! What was a tail doing in his bed and more importantly why did it hurt him to pull at it? Searching around for an explanation Harry came to the disconcerting realization that there were three tails and all of them where coming from his tailbone and as far as he could tell they were all permanently attached there, it was as if they had always been there.

He could not help himself even if he wanted and Harry Potter, Boy-who-lived and savior of the wizarding world screamed. After panicking for a little while Harry realized that Andromeda probably heard his screams and was more than likely going to come and check on him, maybe she would know why he was suddenly sporting new appendages, he had barely finished the thought when a knock was heard.

"Harry dear! Is everything alright? Do you need any help?" Andromeda's voice held a worried tint to it but she would not come into his room unless invited.

"Andromeda I am alright! Can you come in here for a second?"

Of all the images that had come into Andromeda's mind after hearing Harry scream the one that greeted her upon entering the room was not it. Harry was sitting in the middle of his bed looking very self-conscious but that wasn't what caught her attention but his new appearance.

While Harry had come a long way from the scrawny looking kid that entered the wizarding world and some would even call him handsome now that he had grown. The young man sitting in front of her was ethereal and simply put beautiful, he still looked like Harry but his features had softened. His eyes seemed to shine, his skin was pale and had lost its tan and imperfections, in fact there was not a single mark on him.

His hair was also somewhat longer and shaggier looking, still it did not touch his shoulders. But the most surprising attributes where the three soft looking black tails and the black fox ears on top of his head. Andromeda knew she was starring but she really could not help herself, after all is not every day that you see a creature of legend in your own home.

Harry's questioning voice made her snap out of her contemplations. "Do you know what is going one? And why do I have tails of all things?"

"Harry" Andromeda said in a very calm voice. "Have you looked in the mirror?" Harry's expression answer her question for her, so she conjured a mirror so he could see the extent of his transformation.

Harry upon sing his reflection started to have a minor panic attack. What the f**k! I have fox hears in addition to the tails and now I look delicate. Oh he still looked like a boy, but now he had the appearance someone frail, someone who most would think as harmless and incapable of defending themselves. And while he knew this appearance was deceptive since he could feel the power thrumming beneath his skin just waiting to be let out his new appearance offended him greatly. He did not like his extremely innocent looking façade and he knew that with such looks looking dangerous or threatening was an impossibility.

"Harry?"

"Sorry, it's just a lot to take in." Andromeda nodded in understanding and decided to tell him what little she knew.

"You remember I told you inheritances are different for everyone, right?" at his nod she continued. "There are some wizarding bloodlines that have mixed with different creatures, since the level of power that takes to awaken this creature blood it's not seen often after several generations have passed, the creature contribution to the line remains dormant most of the time. In some rare cases when a witch or wizard has a very strong inheritance this creature blood is awaken giving them traits and powers belonging to the creature in their ancestry."

"So your telling me that someone in my dad's family married a creature a long time ago and now I am getting saddle with it?" he asked incredibly.

"Yes, more or less. But I don't think this comes from your fathers side. The Potter's where known for having Fae and Elven blood in their line and you are neither of those. No, I think this comes from your mothers side…"

"Wait, how can that be? wasn't my mom a muggleborn?" Harry was getting pretty confused but Andromeda continued to explain as if he had not spoken.

"Some wizarding lines have died out and others have branched into the muggle world because of squibs being abandoned by the old families. In the old days most kids that were found to be squibs where abandoned to fend for themselves in the muggle world, now a days there are laws in place that force the parents to care for their children until they reach majority but still most leave the wizarding world since their lack of magic make it hard for them to find their place there. While most pureblood would dny it to their dying breath the so called muggleborns are descendants of these squibs, usually after a couple generations have passed and the magic in their blood strengthens. After all their magic has to come from somewhere."

"Ok, so I got it from my mom. Still that does not explain what am I?"

"You young Harry are a kitsune." Andromeda said with a big smile on her face.

"A what?"

"A kitsune, there are fox spirits native to Asia. Kitsune's are known for their strong spiritual energy and their pickiness when it comes to finding a mate. They can also be extremely mischievous and quite the pranksters. A kitsune strength and age can be measured by the numbers of tails they have and the maximum is nine. Kitsune have three forms at their disposition but prefer the hybrid form you are sporting right now. They can turn into full foxes and can disguise themselves as full humans for periods of time."

"So, I can look normal again?" Harry asked latching into the only piece of information that he felt could help him at the moment, especially if he wanted his vacation to be possible.

"Well… it will probably take you some time since first you will need to learn to control whatever new powers you obtained and for that you have to discover what they are. Then you have to learn to turn into a fox since your creature side will feel more comfortable in that form and will probably push you to learn it first. I think your plans of starting your trip next week will have to be postponed." Andromeda said all this looking apologetic since she knew these weren't the news Harry was most likely wanting to hear.

"Nothing is ever easy huh? It's ok Andromeda I will just have to do some research into it and practice, I might even ask some of the shifters at Xavier's to help me out." Suddenly Harry remembered what day it was and groaned. "The guys are coming today right?"

"Sorry Harry but you knew they would want to wish you happy birthday and anyway they will see you sooner or later."

"Yea, yea I just hope they don't think me too weird."

"Don't worry dear, they will still like you, new appendages and all. Now go get dressed while I make something to eat." With that Andromeda left Harry alone with his thoughts.

He knew he should be more surprised and even angrier at the fates who seemed to like having fun at his expense but could not bring enough feeling into it. After all since when has his life ever been normal?

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Thanks for all the nice reviews ;) Like I said before this will not be posted in a regular schedule since I am a college student and that comes first but I plan on publishing more every time I get the chance.