Dis Lexics vault of Secrets
Ideas, plot bunnys that won't let go, possible future stories. feel free to pick up the stories if you like them.
Welcome back to the Vault for my answer to DZ2's Harrys Menagerie challenge, rules below:
DZ2's 'Harry's Menagerie' Challenge
Plot: Dark and dangerous times lie ahead: now that they're here, people turn to a frightened Harry Potter, but what they get is something no-one expects.
Rules: Grey or Dark Creature-Harry
When he matures into his Creature, it MUST be something VERY old or unique
If something to do with vampires, Harry CANNOT be weakened by sunlight
If something to do with werewolves, Harry can control the change
As a Creature, Harry has a powerful bond with a 'mate'
Even as a Creature-Wizard, Harry still has access to powerful magic
When he changes for the first time, it destroys the Horcrux inside him
All pairings are welcome
Either Draco/the Malfoys, Severus or Bellatrix must become Harry's allies
At least TWO other members of the gang - including enemy members - must be creature-wizards too
Guidelines: Ancient-Creature Harry
Harry's creature is some kind of divine ruler/lord of magical creatures
Hybrid Harry
Harry is 'forced' into his change by sorrows/anger/betrayals etc.
Familiars
Slash
The creature heritage comes from somewhere OTHER than blood
Harry can 'shift' into human form to disguise himself
Forbidden: Light Harry
Evil Harry
Human Harry
Other than that, it's up to you
Just a heads up, I'm going to be bashing the British Magical World, Ron and Hermione, although I may redeem her later. Enjoy!
Fury of the Beast
Harry Potter was angry. Scratch that, he was furious. The year had started off so promisingly with the trip to the Quidditch World Cup and the announcement that the Triwizard Tournament was closed to anyone under the age of 17, which had calmed Harry's worries that he'd be dragged into the tournament against his will. Surely the judges wouldn't make him compete if his name did come out, right?
Alas, it seemed that Harry had given the Wizarding World too much credit as, not only did his name come out of the Goblet, but it also turned out he'd have to compete since their was no out for him. To make matters worse, no one believed that he hadn't put his name in the cup, not even his best friends Ron and Hermione, both of whom had confronted him about cheating his way into the Tournament, despite the fact they had known him for four years and he had stated repeatedly that he had no interest in taking part in the tournament. At the time, he had been devastated, but it didn't take long for that devastation to turn into anger.
After everything they had been through together, all the blood, sweat and tears they had shed together, Ron and Hermione still jumped on the bandwagon and refused to even consider the fact that Harry was telling the truth, instead accusing him of cheating. Now Ron Harry could sort of understand. He had been overshadowed by his brothers all his life and he just let his jealousy get the better of him, but Hermione was another story.
He had expected the ever practical and logical Hermione to believe him when he said their he hadn't entered the Tournament, but instead she had stood in the middle of the Common Room, looked him head in the eye and accused him of going behind Dumbledores back and cheating his way past the Age Line. She had then gone on to say that, in the interests of her future prospects, she couldn't be seen consorting with cheaters and liers, but if he were to admit the truth and apologize they could remain friends. To make matters worse, the smug tone in her voice indicated that she had no doubt he would do as she said and apologize, begging for her to not cut off her friendship. The look on the girls face when Harry had sold her exactly where to shove the idea of him apologizing almost made the whole thing worth it. Actually, no it didn't. In fact, it only served to stoke the roaring flames of Harrys anger.
Harry had never felt as angry as he had now, not in all the years that he'd lived. Not even when he'd found out about Sirius or when confronted by Pettigrew when his anger had been tempered by grief. It felt like his veins were filled with boiling lava, pulsing in time with his heartbeat and he had to fight down the urge to go back to the Common Room and tear his former friends apart with his bare hands.
Now we find Harry in an abandoned classroom somewhere in the school, stood over the teacher's desk, the edges of which he was gripping so hard they were biting into his fingers enough to draw blood as he tried desperately to get his anger back under control. Unfortunately, it was not to be as 13 years worth of suppressed anger surged to the surface and scorched through his veins like hellfire. As it did, Harry felt a pang in his chest, but ignored it as his anger reached a new peak. He snarled, his hands tightening enough to crush the wood beneath his fingers to splinters, which penetrated his skin deeply enough to draw blood, before his chest panged again and constricted.
Harry gasped, grabbing at his heart as he struggled for breath as his chest continued to throb in time with his heart beats, which Harry could hear echoing around his head. His body began to thrash, jerking in time with the beats as he scrabbled at the floor, trying desperately to get away from the pain now wracking his body. Had Harry been aware of anything beyond the pain, he may have noticed the changes coming over him as his fingernails lengthened into razor sharp claws that immediately began gouging furrows in the stone floor, his hair changing to a rust red and similarly coloured markings shaped like tribal tattoos appeared on his forehead and around his eyes, surrounding his lips that were pulled back in a snarl, showing of the fact his teeth were slowly changing to fangs. Finally, the changing boy flipped over onto his front and let out an echoing howl of agony and fury as his back arched and a sleek, red tail tore its way from the tip of his spine and his ears morphed into a pair of red furred, canine ears.
Finally, Harrys body began to relax, his breath coming out in short, growling pants as he relaxed on the floor. Then, his eyes snapped open, revealing slitted, rust red eyes.
The next day dawned bright and early above the Forbidden Forest, greeted by a chorus of birdsong from the trees and a single, blond third year student from Hogwarts. The girl in question was humming happily as she skipped through the forest, barefoot and with a wicker basket covered in a checkered blanket over one arm, her long ears twitching in time with her skips. She had long, white blond hair, pale blue eyes and a pair of long, white rabbit ears sticking out of the top of her head with a pair of small antlers nestled between them.
Eventually, the girl reached a small clearing full of splintered trees, the half eaten body of a rabbit like creature with a crumpled horn and a single teenager, stretched out on his back, fast asleep and being used as a perch by a number of small birds. The rabbit girl smiled at the sight of the boy and put her basket down, before beginning to unpack the small feast that lay within, including a large, steaming meat pie, the scent of which wafted over to the slumbering teen, making him stir as his nose twitched at the smell of food. He let out a groan as his eyes slowly opened and he sat up, revealing it to be Harry, now back to his normal black hair and green eyes, although the ears and tail were still present, both drooping slightly from sleep. Without the rage fueled colour change, both were the same black as his hair and his ears had a white interior. He yawned widely, stretching from the tips of his ears to the tip of his tail, before blinking blearily and looking around, confusion appearing on his face.
"Where am I?" he asked, tilting his head like a confused dog, "And how did I get here?"
"Hello Harry Potter."
The girl's voice made Harry jump, before he spun around to face her, his lips drawn back in an animalistic snarl, before it vanished and was replaced by surprise at the sight of the blond bunny girl sat next to him and the spread that was laid out on the blanket before him.
"W-who..? What..? Where…?" he spluttered.
"I'm sorry Harry Potter, I don't speak 'confused', but I'll answer as best I can," said the girl, "If you're asking who I am, I'm Luna Lovegood and you're currently in the Forbidden Forest after losing yourself to Blood Devastation last night."
"Actually I'm more interested to know why you're wearing fake ears," said Harry, grabbing said ears.
"KYAA!"
THWACK!
"Ow…" Harry groaned from where he was laying face down on the other side of the clearing where Luna had kicked him as the girl rubbed her ears with a blush on her face and tears in her eyes.
"That was mean!" she yelled, "Don't you know how rude it is to grab a Jackalopes ears! How would you like it if I pulled your tail?"
"Whats that supposed to mean?" asked Harry, sitting back up, "I don't have a...tail."
As he spoke, he finally noticed the extra limb, as well as his other new features one by one.
"W-what the hell?" he spluttered, "Where did those come from?"
"I can answer that," said Luna, "But first, how about a bite to eat? I'm sure you're hungry after your change and falling to your Blood Devastation."
Harry opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted as a deep, echoing growl sounded from his stomach. He blushed and nodded, joining the rabbit eared girl on the blanket to eat.
"So, what exactly are you?" asked Harry after a few minutes, "I don't remember seeing you
around school and I would have thought a rabbit eared girl would attract some attention."
"Thats because I hide my ears while in school," said Luna, "The Ministry isn't too keen on non-humans and has passed a lot of laws to restrict us heavily. As for what I am, I'm a Jackalope, one of the many Beastkin tribes from around the world."
"Beastkin?"
"Yes, animal like humanoids," replied Luna, "Things like Centaurs, Mermaids, Lamia, Arachne, Neko, Minotaurs, Jackalopes and Warbeasts. Technically, we're protected by ICW laws, but that doesn't stop the Ministry from exploiting loopholes in the law to limit us as much as they can. Purebloods don't like us since many of us are far stronger than humans and Magical Beastkin, while rare, are far stronger than a Human Magical."
"So I'm one of theses Beastkin?" asked Harry.
Luna nodded.
"You are."
"Then how come I didn't know about it?"
"Well, some lines don't 'Awaken' until a certain age, especially if the Creature Blood has become dormant like your clans."
"My clan?" asked Harry.
"The Warbeasts," replied Luna, "A Warrior clan, known for their great strength and fortitude, as well as their Blood Devastation ability that enabled a single Warbeast to destroy entire armies single handedly. The clan was thought to be extinct after the last one died 100 years ago. It was actually his death that resulted in the Purebloods plucking up the nerve to take action on their prejudices."
"Why?" asked Harry.
"Because they were terrified of him," said a new voice from the trees.
Harry looked up to see a girl leaning against one of the trees looking down at him with sharp, amber eyes. She had long, dark brown hair, tanned skin and a beautiful face that was fixed in a cold mask. She was wearing a Slytherin uniform, with altered sleeves that were too long for her arms, hiding her hands. Harry recognized her as Daphne Greengrass, a Slytherin in his year who held the title of 'Ice Queen of Slytherin' due to her cold and proud attitude.
"What do you want Greengrass?" growled Harry, "Shouldn't you be sucking up to Malfoy and Parkinson?"
The girl scoffed.
"Oh pleases, why would I want to spend any time with those tools?" she sniffed, "Get off your high horse Potter. Not everyone in Slytherin House is a suck up or Dark Wizard, no matter what you may have been told. Besides, I'm not exactly the sort of person Parkinson would spend time with."
"Why?"
"Because the Parkinson's are one of the staunchest supporters of the Anti-species bills and the Greengrasses are Birdkin," said Luna.
Harrys head snapped back to the Slytherin, who opened her robe to reveal that her arms were actually wings and her legs were similar to that of a bird, complete with talons that looked like they were capable of doing some serious damage. Her plumage was brown and speckled white and her wings were a similar shape to a hawk.
"Wow, can you fly with those?" asked Harry.
"Of course I can," sneered Daphne, pride clear in her tone, "I am a Raptor Harpy, a Queen of the skys!"
"And a birdbrain," said Luna.
"What was that carrot breath?" growled Daphne, turning her glare on the Jackalope.
"You heard me, feather face," responded Luna calmly.
"Whoa ladies, no fighting now!" said Harry, slipping between the two female Beastkin before they could tear one another apart.
"Harrys right, we have more important things to do," said Luna, "Like teaching Harry to blend in so the Ministry doesn't throw a fit."
"How do you blend in?" asked Harry, "Is it some kind of spell?"
"No, we just use the Wizards stupidity and lack of logic against them," said Daphne, "They have a tendency of not noticing what's right in front of them, so my sister and I just need to hide our wings under baggy robes and they don't notice."
"I just lie my ears flat," said Luna, demonstrating by letting her ears droop so they looked like part of her hair...maybe. If you squinted. Or were a Wizard.
"Everyone assumes that the my antlers are just a hair decoration and my tail is easy to hide."
"That can't be it," said Harry, an incrediblus look on his face, "There's no way that really works."
"Anywhere other than Britain it wouldn't," said Daphne, "And it doesn't fool Muggles either, but British Magicals, especially Purebloods, never seem to look past the tip of their nose."
"So what, I should just flatten my ears and hide my tail under my robes?" asked Harry, disbelief still clear in his tone.
"You'd be surprised," said Luna, "Now, onto the next lesson…"
The three Beastkin spent the rest of the day in the forest, with Daphne and Luna driving everything Harry needed to know about the Beastkin into his head, literally in some cases. They started with getting Harry used to his new senses, before teaching him some methods of controlling his temper, including the beginnings of Occlumency. The reason learning control was so important was the signature ability of the Warbeasts, the Blood Devastation, could be triggered by anger and would send him into a berserker state. It was actually his anger at his former friends that had triggered his transformation the previous night when he'd accidentally activated the Blood Devastation. Apparently he was lucky he hadn't killed someone. Of course, learning everything about a world can't be done in one sitting, so they made arrangements to meet up after classes in the forest.
And it was a good thing they did or Harry might have lost control and killed someone. Like practically everyone in Gryffindor, everyone in the school seemed to be under the impression he had entered himself into the tournament. Difference was, they were less than impressed. Actually, that wasn't fair, there were a few people who seemed to believe him, mostly people who, from their scents, Harry could tell were some kind of Beastkin. It actually surprised the young Warbeast how many there were in the school and how simple their 'disguises' were. It was a wonder how he'd managed to miss them for the past three years when the extent of some disguises was a headband or a baggy robe.
However, the Beastkin were a minority in school, meaning that most of the students were still cold at best and outright hostile at worst. The Hufflepuffs, who were usually on excellent terms with the Gryffindors, had turned remarkably cold toward the whole lot of them. One Herbology lesson was enough to demonstrate this. It was plain that the Hufflepuffs felt that Harry had stolen their champion's glory; a feeling exacerbated, perhaps, by the fact that Hufflepuff House very rarely got any glory, and that Cedric was one of the few who had ever given them any, having beaten Gryffindor once at Quidditch. Ernie Macmillan and Justin FinchFletchley, with whom Harry normally got on very well, did not talk to him even though they were repotting Bouncing Bulbs at the same tray, although they did seem surprised when Harry managed to catch one of the bulbs that got loose and nearly beaned him in the face. Harry thought even Professor Sprout seemed distant with him — but then, she was Head of Hufflepuff House. He would have been looking forward to seeing Hagrid under normal circumstances, but Care of Magical Creatures meant seeing the Slytherins too — the first time he would come face-to-face with them since becoming champion.
However, it turned out that it wasn't the Slytherins he had to worry about, but someone a lot closer to home.
"Ah, look, boys, it's the champion," said a familiar voice from behind Harry, making the Warbeast stiffen.
He turned to see the person who had spoken was Ron, flanked by Dean and Seamus, all three wearing sneers that would look more at home on Malfoy's face.
"Got your autograph books?" continued the red head, "Better get a signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer. . . . Half the Triwizard champions have died . . . how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet."
Harry opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the last person he'd ever expect to leap to his defence.
"Wow Weasley thats low, even for you," said Malfoy as he approached with his goons.
"Shut it Malfoy, this has nothing to do with you," growled Ron.
"Oh don't mind me, I'm just wondering what caused the so-called Golden Trio to break up," said Malfoy.
"Its because he's nothing more than an arrogant, lying cheater!" snapped Ron, "Now piss of!"
Malfoy blinked, before bursting out laughing.
"Whats so funny Snake?" snarled Ron.
"I've called Potter many things in the past, but a liar and arrogant are two things I would never call him!" said Malfoy, "An idiot? Yes, but not arrogant. Actually, I'd say that you and Granger are the arrogant ones."
"Why you..!"
Whatever Ron was going to say was interrupted by the arrival of Hagrid and the beginning of the lesson. As the class began to gather around the huge man, Harry stopped Malfoy.
"Why did you do that?" he asked.
"Do I need a reason?" asked the blond, "The chance to put Weasley in his place was enough."
"Well, thanks anyway," said Harry as he stepped away to join the rest of the class, missing the sudden blush on Malfoys face.
"I-idiot…"
And thats where I'm going to end this idea. The idea of Warbeasts and Blood Devastation have been taken from No Game No Life and the design for the Raptor Harpy is from Monster Musume, as well as several planned designs and my plan for Malfoy. Props to anyone whos read the Manga who can guess my plan. As you can probubly guess, I don't have a high opinion of the British Magical World, I think they give us brits a bad name, so I'm making them a bunch of short sighted idiots that can't see past the end of their nose.
Anyway, heres where I sign off so please leave me a review!