Author's Note: Well, looks like I'm on a roll with this one. Lucky me =) Also thanks to those who reviewed the story.
Warning: will contain slash, though there most definitely WON'T be any mpreg; will surely have a healthy dose of Dumbledore bashing and some Molly, Ron and Ginny bashing.
Summary: Begins during summer after Harry's third year and contains spoilers for years 4 and 5, disregards books 6 and 7. Dark, but not evil, powerful, political Harry; adopted Hermione; extremely jealous Ron; self-confident Neville; fake prophecy, sane Voldemort, manipulative Dumbledore, nicer Petunia;
Pairings: Draco/Hermione; Blaise/Neville; Charlie/Tonks; Bill/Fleur; HP/? (though most likely slash); Sirius/Remus;
Rating: 'T' for now, will go up to 'M' in the later chapters for swearing, sex and violence =)
["blah" - normal speech;
'blah' - thoughts;
::blah:: - mental communication;
~blah~ - parseltongue;
{blah} - letters, howlers and so on;]
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM! ... though I would certainly like to =)
(previously on 'HP and the Grey Side of Magic')
Harry paused for a moment and wondered if it was good idea to tell her about Dobby, and since Petunia already knew about magic figured telling her wouldn't cause a lot of harm:
"Oh I'm done already, though my house-elf, Dobby, was a great help."
This of course made Petunia ask just what a house-elf was and so Harry gave the woman a short explanation and was surprised that she reacted quite calmly to a magical creature in the house.
(on with the story)
Chapter Two.
Secrets at the Attic (part 2).
The next day Harry woke up around 10 am, which was incredibly late for him, as he was used to waking around 5 am and doing his morning chores, before cooking breakfast for the Dursleys. And now he had an opportunity to just enjoy the sensation of waking up gradually on his own and not having to rush somewhere and do something or the other. It was a rather pleasant feeling Harry discovered. A glance to the small table that was placed beside the bed showed that Dobby already came by, since breakfast with a warmth charm was waiting for him. It made the boy feel like a rich pampered child, though rationally he knew it was something that most people that were not abused by their relatives were used to such things. Another change that Dobby made overnight was the presence of a bathroom. It was quite large, actually much bigger that it seemed from the outside, so Harry figured that it was also magically enlarged. Having his own bathroom would also bring his interaction with the Dursleys to the barest minimum, which had the potential to make his life at Privet Drive much more bearable.
While eating the food Dobby brought for him, Harry studied the things that were laid out along the opposite wall. Having spent three years in Hogwarts, Potter could very well tell a magical portrait from a muggle one and he was curious about why these pictures were here, though he figured this question could be easily answered by the inhabitants of said portraits. And so the portraits were left alone until a later time, while the boy-wonder focused his attention on the four trunks that were placed next to the bed fro easy access. The teen studied them carefully, all four were made of very fine wood and it was quite clear that the unnamed one was much older than those of his parents. Finally, after much deliberation, Harry opened his father's trunk first... and was slightly disappointed by what he found inside. There were quite nice clothes, which would be very useful, and several photo albums, which held great sentimental value, but that was it. Nothing to indicate what sort of person his father really was, which was the question Harry really wanted answered, since the things he knew so far contradicted themselves a lot. From what professor Lupin, Sirius and pretty much everyone else said, his father was a great man. But from the remarks Snape made all the time, Harry got a totally different picture and for some reason Harry felt that Snape was truthful, even though it hurt to think that.
Placing the clothes, and there was almost an entire wardrobe there, at the end of the bed, Harry put the albums on the bedside table and closed the now empty trunk and moved on to the two of his mother's.
"Okay, from the little facts that I know about Mom, this should be much more important than clothes and pictures..." - murmured Harry and flipped open the lid of the dark red trunk. The first difference was obvious at once - everything was sorted and placed in order. Books and notes in one compartment, the largest one, clothes ans shoes in another one and potions equipment in the last one. This was most certainly a school trunk and Harry smiled at how Hermione-like his mom seemed to be. The books and notes would definitely come in handy, he mused, as he looked through them. Once all the school books were out of the trunk, Harry noticed that there were also letters there, lots of letters, and journals, labeled in his Mom's neat handwriting.
'Definitely more important than clothes and albums...' - thought the teen, as he placed the journals on the bedside table next to the Pensieve and his father's albums. Harry then gathered the letters and piled them on the bed. There were both letters to Lily and letters written by Lily as well, like his mother was collecting all of her correspondence, which was rather strange and Harry came to the conclusion that there had to be something important in some of those letters. Whatever it was, Harry knew he had to know it. In the next hour the boy sorted the letters. Letters to and from James, Remus & Sirius were in one stack, letters to and from Dumbledore in another and the other people like Alice Longbottom, Lily's parents, even Petunia and Severus Snape. The largest piles turned out to be those concerning Dumbledore and Snape, soon followed by the Marauders pack.
By the time Potter was done sorting the letters, Dobby showed up with lunch. Thanking the elf for the food, he ordered him to put up the portraits and move James' clothes to the wardrobe. After some thinking, he also asked Dobby to place muggle-repelling wards around the attic. Thus the Dursley family forget they ever had an attic and would not bother him, unless of course he chose to go downstairs, which was not part of Harry's plans for the summer.
[next evening, Granger residence]
While Harry was busy going through his mother's things, Hermione Granger was also having the strangest summer ever. Her rational mind helped her get through the shock of the discovery she made recently, but she was not coping well. Thus, the young witch decided that writing to Harry would be the best course of action, since her fellow Gryffindor was much more rational than Ron and would be able to offer her some sound advice.
{Dear Harry,} - she wrote and paused. How on Earth was she going to explain everything in a way that would not give away the secret to anyone should the letter be intercepted. But then again was she patient enough to try and think of a code that Harry would understand? She was not, she decided and with another heavy sigh the bushy-haired girl went back to her letter.
{This summer has become the weirdest one I've had so far and I find myself in need of an understanding ear. The thing I found out recently came out as a huge shock and I have close to no idea how to deal with it.
Last week my parents went to visit some relatives and was busy with our potions essay, so I stayed at home. Once I was finished, I went to dad's study to find myself a book to read. I was a bit clumsy, since usually the room is off limits and I accidentally dropped one of the larger I picked it up, I found documents hidden in the book. I can safely say I never expected to find out something like this... Imagine this - I was adopted! Of course it may not be that big of a deal, but still... What if my ral parents were magical? Ever since then this question refused to leave my mind and so I decided to confide in you, hoping you will be able to figure out what to do next. Should I confront them about what I know? Or would it be better to concentrate on finding a way to discover who I really am?
I hope the muggles are treating you decently. Please, write back as soon as you can and if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask.
Your friend,
Hermione.}
Reading the letter once more to make sure that it was written without mistakes, Hermione put it into and envelope and paused. She did not own an owl and going to Diagon Alley right now was not convenient. This was not something she considered before writing the letter and Hermione really disliked being unprepared like this. A few minutes were spent frowning at the envelope, before it hit her - she could ask Dobby for help. Of course, exploiting the house-elf didn't sit well with the girl, but the matter was an important one and the young witch decided that it would be worth it.
Hoping she would not wake up the little creature, she softly called out: "Dobby!" There was a soft 'pop' and the creature appeared in Hermione's room.
"Dobby be glad to seeing Ms Gragee! What can Dobby do for Ms Grangee?" - he asked, bouncing on his feet.
To the witch's surprise, Dobby was wearing what seemed like a uniform, instead of the pillow case she became familiar with last year.
"Dobby, it's nice to see you too." - she gave the elf a soft smile - "I need to send Harry a letter, but I do not have an owl. So I was wondering, if you would mind giving it to him?"
The house-elf nodded eagerly, making his huge ears flap around, giving Hermione a vague impression of a dog:
"Yes, Ms Grangee. Dobby be taking the letter to Master Potter now."
The girl opened her mouth to thank the creature, but Dobby already vanished into thin air along with her letter.
"Well... at the very least I know it will get to Harry safely..." - murmured Hermione going out onto the balcony.
[Some time later, Privet Drive, the attic.]
Harry was busy inspecting the unnamed trunk, when Dobby came back. At first Harry thought it was time for supper, since it was rather dark outside, but then he noticed an envelope in the elf's hands. Dobby gave his master a wide smile:
"Dobby be bringing Master Harry a letter from his Grangee."
Harry smiled back and took the envelope:
"Thanks Dobby, I appreciate this."
With that he focused on the missive in his hands, wondering what was so important, since usually Hermione wrote once every two weeks and he received the last one a week before. The letter quite short and to the point, but Harry could feel that she really had to talk to someone and with what he's just found himself in his mother's second trunk, he felt he could use Hermione's ear as well. So Harry grabbed an empty piece of parchment and quickly scribbled a reply.
[Hermione,
Nice to hear from you so soon. As to your discovery... well, I really don't know what to say... Perhaps we could meet in Diagon tomorrow? Or I could come and pick you up if you don't want your parents to know that something is up. I actually have made some rather disturbing revelations myself and could use your help deciding what to do as well.
Hope to see you soon,
Harry P.]
Nodding in satisfaction, Potter went to Hedwig's cage and gave the owl the letter with a strict order to wait for Hermione's reply.
Author's Note: And that's where it ends for now. People, make sure you don't forget to REVIEW ! =)