"The beginning is the most important part of the work."
~Plato
Harry gazed around the room, his eyes lingering on the photos that littered the mantelpiece. They were his parents, they looked happy. It was strange but he could see himself in them, see little quirks about them that he too had displayed over the years. He felt contaminated, he had always wanted to be like his father but, seeing these pictures, he realised he could only be like him so much, there would always be a part of these people in him. He was a part of everything he had grown up to hate. He would have to find a way around this, perhaps he could ask his father when he got a moment away from these cretins.
"What do you think Harry?" asked Lily, her face tear streaked but also possessing a glow that Harry supposed his presence had brought about. How weak.
"It, it is amazing. At the castle it was so cold but here… here" he trailed off, pretending to be lost for words. Actually part of what he said was true, the castle was indeed cold. The furnishings were darker, less warm that the ones here. He resisted the urge to sneer. He preferred the cold, it suited him, echoed what he himself felt like on a regular basis and lulled him into a sense of relaxation. This room had done the opposite, the warm woodland colours that were meant to set someone at peace had failed in their task. In fact they had achieved the opposite, now he was alert, the nature of his mission hitting his nerves and setting them on edge.
"We understand Harry" said James, clapping him on the shoulder in a gesture that was clearly supposed to convey some sort of understanding. If only he knew. Looking up into the happiness dancing in James's hazel eyes he felt something inside him stir, rearing its head slightly and testing the air before settling back down, dormant once more.
"Would you like a tour or do you want that to wait for tomorrow?" asked Lily gently.
"Tomorrow if that is alright, I'm really sleepy" replied Harry, faking a yawn.
"Right we'll show you your room Harry" said James, wrapping an arm around Lily's waist, "I daresay I can transfigure your clothes into pyjamas for tonight."
"What do you mean you? You were always awful at transfiguration" laughed Lily, her laughter tinkling in the air and wrapping around Harry, drawing him in. Steeling himself Harry shook it off, his father had said they would try and gain his trust, if this was all they were going to do then they were rather pathetic.
"Okay, fine" smiled James, holding his hands up in defeat "Mum will transfigure your clothing."
Forcing a laugh, Harry smiled at Remus and Sirius before following his parents out of the room. The lounge it appeared had foreshadowed what the rest of the manor would be like. There was a lot of antique furniture, the various polished wood glinting in the light that emanated from the candles contained in the sconces. The thick red carpet muffled their footsteps as they climbed up the first floor and Harry had to prevent himself from rolling his eyes. His father had told him that his parents had been foolish Gryffindors and it appeared they took house pride seriously. Coming to a cherry wood door, James turned the brass handle and they entered. The carpet, instead of the red that he had come to expect from all the rooms in the manor, was a deep forest green. This set Harry a little more at ease and he wondered if his parents had planned that. Looking into their happy faces he highly doubted that and reasoned that it was just coincidence. The four-poster bed was covered in a dark blue-almost-navy bedspread. In the corner there was an empty closet, next to it a comfortable looking armchair no doubt to go with the bookcase aligning the adjacent wall, this was rendered redundant however by the fact the bookcase was empty. A solitary candle sat on the bedside cabinet, its light brighter than those in the hall and able to illuminate the room fully. Feeling his clothes turn more cottony, Harry glanced down and noticed that he was now wearing a pair of light blue pyjamas
"Thanks mum" he said, looking at Lily happily.
"Don't mention it. If you need anything in the night don't hesitate to call us. We're just down the hall so it'll be no trouble" waved off Lily, drawing Harry in her arms. Returning her embrace Harry tried not to shudder, unused to all the physical contact he was receiving.
"Don't smother the boy" joked James, sheepishly Lily drew back from him.
"Sorry, I never thought I'd ever get to hold you again so I just want to make sure I won't wake up and it will all be a dream" explained Lily, Harry watched as James eyes darkened a little with understanding.
"I understand, it… it's quite a shock for me too" said Harry, injecting his voice with emotion.
"Goodnight son" said James, leading Lily from the room, her emerald eyes showing that she could have stayed there forever and never gotten bored.
"Night mum, night dad" said Harry as the door closed behind them.
Waiting a few moments, Harry flopped down on the bed, sinking into the comfortable mattress. This situation was getting more and more uncomfortable as the seconds dragged on and he inwardly cursed himself for allowing himself to get into this situation. Groaning, Harry rolled back his sleeve, looking at the unblemished skin of his forearm. Then, slowly, black dots began to appear, joining together to form the outline of a snake, the only colour on it other than black was red, outlining the eye. Casting silencing charms around the bed - he refused to call it 'his' bed - he held his arm closer to his face.
"Father?" he asked, remembering the first time he had done this feeling stupid for talking to what was essentially a drawing. Waiting a few moments he saw the snake become animated.
"Yesss" hissed the snake, a little forked tongue appearing when it opened it's mouth.
"Father, I am in the Potter residence, I do not know when they shall begin to trust me fully, the only parts of the Order's headquarters that I saw were bare, however I feel my 'parents' will be more than happy to tell me all that I wish to know" reported Harry.
"Good, report back to me when you have any other news. I am glad to know you are safe son, are they treating you well?"
"Yes, they are hospitable enough but I miss the castle. The old goat plans to send me to Hogwarts in a few days so I don't know when I'll next be in touch, however everything is going well thus far."
"Well done, I am proud of you but do not make my pride waver. You have a large task ahead of you and I need you to focus. I am afraid I have other matters to attend to at this moment but be careful and I look forward to you contacting me again."
"Of course father, I understand" said Harry, watching as the snake faded back into his arm, leaving his skin unblemished once more. Ensconcing himself in the cool folds, Harry blew out the candle and curled up, waiting for sleep to grace him with it's presence.
"What do you think?" asked James, pouring himself a firewhiskey from the drinks cabinet in the corner. Looking over at Sirius and Remus he saw that his friends although happy seemed deep in thought. Waiting for them to reach whatever conclusion they were aiming for, James sat down on the couch, smiling a little when Lily snuggled up to him.
"I think he is just a little overwhelmed" said Remus, sipping his own firewhiskey thoughtfully.
"Dumbledore said it would take time for him to adjust, personally I thought he took it pretty well" said Sirius.
"I don't care how long it takes him to adjust, it's just nice having him home" said Lily softly.
"He's being sent to Hogwarts, I wonder if he'll play Quidditch."
"James, just because he's your son doesn't mean he'll play Quidditch" laughed Lily, relieving the sombre atmosphere from the room. It was strange having their son in the house again. James never dwelled on this, instead trying to control the expanding bubble of excitement that thrummed in his chest. He hadn't thought he would ever see Harry again let alone have him back under their roof. Thinking back to the last sixteen years he couldn't help but feel they were a distant memory, another life. For him his life had begun again and, looking at Lily's smiling form, he knew she felt the same way. Hearing her laugh was like music to his ears, reviving him and reminding him of how much he had missed it.
"Huh?" he said, his mind catching up on the conversation.
"Eloquent as always James" smirked Remus.
"Hey!" exclaimed James, the automatic response for whenever he was insulted.
"We should probably go to Diagon Alley tomorrow, Harry will need his school things" sighed Lily, the sound aging her.
"I know its hard that we've just found him but the last thing we want to do is smother him. At Hogwarts he'll be able to carve a new life for himself, away from Voldemort. Plus we still have the weekends" said James, wrapping an arm around Lily.
"Wow, that was actually quite good James" said Sirius, his voice laced with awe but underneath James could see the understanding. Sirius just chose humour to disguise the fact he was a fully functioning member of the wizarding race, a trait that had gotten him numerous ex's and more than a few slaps. However it was a trait James appreciated, giving levity to a situation rather than allowing them to drown in a sea of emotion. Hell if it wasn't for Sirius James would still be in that hole he had dug for himself sixteen years ago!
"I have my moments" conceded James, grinning slightly.
"We better be off anyway. We'll probably drop by tomorrow at some point though" said Remus, rising from his armchair.
"Uh, yeah" said Sirius quickly, eventually catching on that Remus was trying to give James and Lily some privacy. Seeing them to the fireplace, James smiled at his friends as they disappeared into the emerald flames. Moving back to the couch, James once again wrapped his arms around Lily, hearing her sigh as she half lay on him.
"Do you think he'll be alright?" asked Lily, worry coating her words.
"It will be hard but yeah I think everything will work out somehow" said James, feeling Lily's tears soak into his shirt as she wept silently against him.
A/N: Thank you for the feedback, however I'm quite worried, the review count was lower than the previous chapter, am I doing something wrong?
Sorry I haven't updated this in a while, I have other fics on the go and a ton of deadlines due for school - final years are not fun, it's bloody difficult! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review! I won't be mean and say I want so many reviews for a next chapter as I don't agree with that however I do like to know what people think!
As for Harry's mark, he's Voldemort's heir and so I don't think Voldemort would want him to have the usual one.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
I apologise for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes.