361Warning, this story will be majorly AU. If you read something that you don't like that has been changed from canon, then you are more than allowed to exit out of this story and go find one that better suits you. This was writen for fun and I truly don't want to hear if you don't like what I'm doing with this. Suggestions are welcome, flames are not.
KEY NOTES: Lily Evans will be the same age as Harry, and will be in his school year. His mother will have been Susan Bones making her father and aunt from canon her brother andsisters in my story. Since there has always been debate about Susan's looks she will be a redhead with green eyes. Harry's looks will also be different.
Creatures: Demons, spirits, werewolves, vampires, halfbreeds, etc. Many different creatures, from many different cultures will all be a part of this story. If a creature is in this story but how it has come to be, isn't what your used to from other series then I did so on perpose. Harry will be a creature just as his parents were. Susan and James were different types of beings and while normally this would lead to him being a halfbreed, but since Susan's kind has never or rarely breed outside their own kind, Harry will end up as the first of his kind, a new breed to their world. What he will be is a very well known creature and how he comes about being one is very different from how they (the specics he will be) came to be in other pieces of fiction.
PAIRING/HAREM: Harry/Fleur/Hermione/Lily Evans = She is in no way related to Harry, therefore it is not incest. There will be a chance for other girls to be added to the group, but that will be up to those of you who go and vote on the poll that is up right now.
TAGS: Strong-Smart-Talented Harry, Harem, AU, NO Dumbledore or Weasley bashing, Elementals, and more things later on.
Lastly I'd like to thank my beta lilyevans12681998. Without her, this story would still be sitting on my hard drive.
Albus Dumbledore, a man of impressive power, knowledge, and age sat behind his large wooden desk staring out the window of his office. The outside world and all that was happening in it was lost to him as he thought about his dear, departed friends James and Susan Potter and the fact that this was the year their son, Harry, would be starting his schooling.
Harry Potter. The boy was the main focus of the storm raging in the ancient man's mind. What was he to do about the boy and the situation that was sure to arise when it came time to sort him? Harry was seen as a beacon of hope to many for his defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort at an age younger than a year old.
Much was thought to be known about the savior of their world and this was where one of Dumbledore's dilemmas arose. Should he let the truth of Harry and his mother's species be known to the world or follow the path of all those that had belonged to the blood of the Bones family had done and keep the boy's nature a secret.
It was common knowledge that his father had been the last of the Potters, a family of demons that were famous for producing amazingly powerful demons. But more so than this, they were revered worldwide for how their powers manifested and how it differed from the entirety of the rest of the demon species on this plane of existence.
Many a great thing would be expected of him as a result of the ancestry he gained through his father's blood. However, when added to it that he was also the son of Susan Potter nee Bones, the last of the Bones bloodline (a family just as famous as the Potters), one had a practical prince of the wizarding world on his or her hands.
The Bones were known for having the strongest witches and wizards in both combat and practical magic applications in the entire world. Many of history's greatest minds and warriors had carried the surname Bones with pride. The fact that they had accomplished so many astonishing accomplishments without a drop of magical creature blood passing through their veins made them all the more renowned. Or at least that was what the public thought.
The truth was that the Bones were the farthest thing from pure blooded witches and wizards. In reality, they were the last remaining remnants of an ancient race of beings born from magic itself. Their kind was thought to have died out over four millennia ago, during the time when the stalkers openly walked the world. It was in secret that they lived right under the noses of the entire magical world and would have continued to keep it that way had they not chosen to increase their number since the time they had gone into hiding. The last few members of the House of Bones were murdered during the war.
The Bones had long been a family that had believed that inbreeding kept their blood strong. And while most families that live by such beliefs were more times than not weakened until they finally died out, the Bones simply had too much magic in them to succumb to such a fate, and yet, it was this choice that eventually did lead to their end. Their refusal to take on mates outside their blood eventually led to smaller numbers over time until just before the war when they were so few of them that one could count their members on two hands.
That was until the beautiful little odd ball of their family, Susan, came along. At the time of her birth, there were only her parents, her two siblings, and two cousins left. Before ever coming to Hogwarts Susan was told she would one day bare her brother's and one of her cousin's future children, and had come to accept this as the law of her clan and a fate she could not escape.
During her time at school it had become clear she was the very best of what the Bones were known for, so much so that she had been forced to hold herself back all of her seven years away at school. But what had made her forget the law passed down by her family and the boredom of her school days was the heir to the Potter family, James Potter.
From day one when James (a boy who was almost as talented as Susan had been) had laid eyes on her, he had become smitten, never to look at another in the same way he did Susan. Her long red hair, intense emerald eyes, and skin that was the color of honey had caused a deep infatuation for him that was shared on her behalf as well. For years they had fought their feelings for each other, but at the Yule Time Ball in their fourth year, both had broken down and had admitted their feelings for one another. In secret the two had started a relationship that wouldn't come to air until their sixth year, and that would go on to last until the night they died all those years later on that tragic Samhain night.
Albus chuckled as he recalled the small little redhead chasing a messy haired, blue eyed boy; his small single horn peeking out of his hairline and his long thin tail that ended in a forked spade flailing around wildly behind him as the girl perused him through the halls after he had stolen a kiss on Christmas night, exactly one year before they had finally come together.
Though Dumbledore's features were still those of someone reliving a happy memory, tears had escaped his twinkling blue eyes. 'Why is it the young are so often taken before their time?' He thought fighting down the all too common feeling of helplessness that he experienced whenever thinking of those who had been lost during the war.
His reminiscing of days past had hit on the reason why he was so deep in thought. What would he do when Harry took part in the Awakening?
James and Susan, like all magical beings who wished for their children to attend Hogwarts, had used the spell to seal his powers away before he was born. This was done in an attempt to keep the children of ordinary witches and wizards that held no type of creature blood in them, safe from hurting themselves and others with their magic. On the other hand, those who held special powers like demons, spirits, and many other creatures belonging to their world did so to keep their children's powers in check. This act also held the added bonus for those beings who had appearances that could not pass for solely human a form to go into the outside world in. By the time the child was released from the magical seal they had been placed under, their magic would take hold of the human form they had been in for the first eleven years of their life and would make it so they could shift back and forth at their leisure.
The problem was that both those born of the Potters and the Bones all gained physical changes at the Awakening. Susan and all the others of the Bones line that had attended Hogwarts had been able to use a special spell to keep their changes a secret. The problem was all who knew the spell were dead, and the only way Dumbledore could think of finding the spell would be when Harry claimed his inheritance on his eleventh birthday. He would need to take the boy to his vault and get him to retrieve the spell from one of the many tomes in the Bone's vaulted library. But this raised a new question; did Dumbledore want Harry to hide what he was?
Albus had discovered the Bones family secret at an early age thanks to his natural curiosity, or as his brother had always called it, 'being nosey.' He had always seen the hiding of their existence as a mistake. The whole world deserved to know that one of its most cherished magical races still walked the earth.
But whether or not he should let the truth about the Bones come out wasn't his only dilemma. The question that could be just as important as the first was, 'what type of changes would Harry be forced to go through once he was awoken?'
Demons while not all being evil did have powers that where based in darkness. While the Bones had always been creatures of light, they would have earned a title darker than demon if most knew of the type of magic they used. He had already seen signs of the two natures clashing within the boy the day he had entered this world. It all had been in the newborns stunning, yet unnerving eyes.
So what would happen when darkness and light finally combined after so many years of being held together and yet apart? Would it lead to a tragedy or a miracle, good or evil, something beautiful or grotesque?
Dumbledore scoffed lightly to himself. That last thought had been foolish on his part. There was no way a child of James and Susan Potter could ever be known as ugly, when both were the center of many a crush and broken hearts during the span of their life time. He smiled as he remembered one boy who had been turned down by Susan. He had claimed it should be illegal for two people as good looking as they were to be near one another - that it took away any chance of others possibly courting them.
His musing was called to a halt as the sound of someone beating at his door with a dire need reached his unaffected by time hearing.
"As it has always been, Minerva, my door is open." As the tall and wide polished door swung open, Albus composed himself for his old friend. Noting the borderline hysterical look in the cat animagus' eyes he sat forward giving her his full attention. "What is it that's bothering you, my friend?"
"Albus," she breathed heavily, her hand pressed firmly to her chest. "It's about Har- Mr. Potter."
Though he showed no outward signs of it, having the boy he had just been thinking so intently about suddenly brought up like that had shocked the elderly yet sprightly man.
Not knowing her words had gotten to her longtime friend, McGonagall continued on. "I was doing some last minute checking on the acceptance letters that were to be sent out today, when I came across Mr. Potter's." As she stood and handed him an envelope he knew what the problem would be. "The self-addressing quill can't locate him. That means he is no longer at the orphanage you left him," pausing she sent him a stern glare for his choice of arrangements for two of her favorite students' child. "It's possible someone has him in a place that's unplottable, or he's under a fidelius somewhere."
Dumbledore smiled as he reached into his desk pulling out his large bowl of lemon flavored sweets. Holding it out, he offered her one. "Care for a lemon drop," he asked. He ignored her venomous look as he placed the sour sweets back in his desk. "I must say, I do so love them."
"Albus!" McGonagall hissed, rising to her feet in fury. "He could be under someone's Cruciatus as we speak, and here you are going on about your disgusting sweets like Trelawney does cooking sherry and her student's deaths!"
"Minerva," Dumbledore said in an uncharacteristic tone, causing McGonagall to flinch and sit back down. "I can assure you that Harry is perfectly safe, and that I take the protection of my students, past, present, and future very seriously." Albus smiled kindly at how abashed she looked. It reminded him of the time in her final year as a student in these halls, when she had been caught in the broom closet with her future husband. "Plus there's no reason to say such things about Trelawney... or my sweets. Neither has ever wronged you and do not deserve such harsh words."
Only the slight twitch of her lips showed the amusement she felt toward the man's small rant. "I apologize, Albus, for my rash words. I should have never assumed, or suggested such things." Smoothing out her robes, she folded her hands neatly in her lap, fixing him with a questioning look. "Now then, would you be so kind as to inform me where Mr. Potter is located?"
"It's now my turn to apologize to you Minerva. I have lied to not only you, but Severus, Remus, and the others about the boy's whereabouts all these years," Albus admitted solemnly. He truly regretted his act of deceit, but knew the boy would need protection that only he and one other could give him. "In an attempt to keep him safe and away from the spotlight his fame would surely bring him, I left his care to the only person I knew who could protect him as well as I could. He has spent the last ten, almost eleven years seeing all this world has to offer, and has been none the wiser of who or what he is. Nor does he have any knowledge of the hidden world filled with those who love him for a reason he can't recall, or of those who hate for the same exact reason."
McGonagall looked to be upset at first but the more the famous wizard spoke the more she calmed down. She knew exactly who he was speaking of and there really wasn't anyone better suited for raising the boy. "I'm guessing this arrangement, is the reason behind why I've seen very little of your partner these past eleven years," McGonagall stated knowingly. "Harry's been with Gellert all this time, has he not?"
"Yes he has," Albus beamed. "Soon they will come back to us, my Gellert... and young Harry as well."
HSFMB
"Again!" Snapped a tall elderly man to the young boy lying before him. The child struggled for air as he fought to push himself to his feet.
The old man was tall and dapper looking in his expertly tailored suit, his long grey hair reaching to his shoulders. His aquamarine eyes projected their owner's intelligence and were as sharp as the steel of the rapier he was pointing at the downed boy. "Is this all you're capable of? You really are just a cat eyed freak!"
The boy gritted his teeth as he picked himself up off the floor. His two long daggers held in a reverse grip before him as he glared venomously at his teacher. "You wrinkled son of a bit-" he growled out in a light Dublin accent, only to be stopped as the old man's rapier cut into his cheek making him hiss angrily. "Dammit Gellert, I'll kill you, I swear it!"
The now identified Gellert Grindelwald sent his young charge a bored look just to annoy the child. It was too easy to set the boy off, all one had to do was to know the right buttons to push and he'd lose all sense of self control. Like with his eyes, the boy had a condition known as Heterochromia, meaning his eyes were unlike most people's and were each their very own distinct color. The right was as green as any emerald and burned as if there was fire inside, while the left was a cobalt blue that was as sharp as Gellert's own. Anyone who spoke of them that wasn't an attractive female earned the boy's ire, which was exactly why Gellert did it so often.
"Far better than you have tried," he commented off handedly, waving his hand dismissively to his student's threat. "Though, on the off chance there's a deity out there that choses to take pity on you, Cat-eyes, and decides to aid you in your quest to kill me, I think I'll lock my door tonight."
Having enough of the man's taunts, the boy rushed forward with his blades held at the ready. Reaching his teacher, he lashed out with what would have been a punch had he not held a blade. Gellert dodged the blow and blade both by taking the smallest of steps back and was forced to do so again when his attacker tried to hook him with his dagger in the side using the same hand.
As time went on the boy's speed picked up and so did the ferocity of his attacks. His swings at his teacher were becoming more and more wild as his anger grew. His fury was fueled by Gellert dodging or blocking his attacks with as little effort as he could.
Turning so his side was presented to Gellert, he swung his left blade overhead at the man's face in a windmill-like motion while at the same time he also swung up with his right, trying to gut him. Gellert having not expected such a tactic reacted instinctually. Spinning around the boy he brought his knee into the youth's side. Letting out a pain filled gasp the boy felt his ribs snap at the same time the power behind the blow lifted him off his feet and into the man's raised fist as he brought it down and into his skull.
The boy with the blue and green eyes was unconscious before he ever hit the floor. Sighing, Gellert reached into the jacket of his suit to pull out his wand. As he levitated his charge onto the bed he had conjured he looked him over for any additional damage he had caused besides that done to his ribs and skull.
The boy was by any stander a handsome young man, taking after his father in the looks department with hints of Susan's beauty thrown in to make him look all the better. He was tall for his age and from all the physical training Gellert had put him through; his body was showing early signs of what it would one day be.
Gellert couldn't fight the chuckle that escaped him as he took in the boy's hair. The back which was shorter than all the rest was just long enough to place in a small ponytail at the base of his skull. The rest hung just a ways past his chin, wild and untamed. He had seen a teenager in Paris that had the same style and had been dying to do the same since. It was only recently that the front had grown long enough to do as he wanted with it.
He had just finished healing the boy's ribs when a blinding flash of light appeared overhead. Gellert having spent many a decade with his lover, Albus, was accustomed to the phoenix's love of suddenly appearing. The immortal bird flew around them, letting out light trills from high above before landing at the foot of the boy's bed. Looking at the now fine child, Fawkes sent a piercing glare at his master's mate.
"Don't look at me that way, Fawksy," Gellert ordered lightly, letting out a chuckle when the bird trilled in annoyance at his use of the nickname it hated. "Harry will be perfectly fine after he gets some much needed rest."
Gellert was treated to another one of Fawkes's trills, this time with a question only he could hear attached to it.
"It's not my fault he got hurt. I've never been the best when it comes to dueling without a wand!" Gellert defended, standing up from the crouched position he had taken as he healed his student to stare unflinchingly into the creature's intense coal colored eyes. "Only my years of training with Albus in the use of swords allow me to act as if he's not a problem anymore. He's getting increasingly better with each training session. I don't know if I'm more excited, or fearful of what he will become once his parent's blood awakens within him."
Fawkes continued to look into the man's eyes for a few moments before finally breaking the contact and going back to staring at Harry. They were silent for a time, neither making a noise as they watched over the last Potter as he slept peacefully.
After a time, Fawkes let out a small trill that created a small disk of fire that hovered a foot over the unconscious boy's chest. Before Gellert could question the bird's actions a letter fell through the small gathering of fire and onto the boy's still sleeping form.
"So," Gellert muttered to himself, his eyes fixated on the off-white envelope. "I can finally be honest with the boy." Fawkes gave a single quick trill filling the room with happiness, before disappearing in the same bright flash he had appeared in.
HSFMB
Harry awoke hours later with his muscles aching and burning from his days training. Sitting forward, he propped himself up on the bed as he looked around the room. He was unsurprised to find himself in the room that they had been using for his training. As of late, Gellert had been harsher than ever before during their training sessions, and had taken to ending all their spars with him making sure he lost consciousness.
Sighing, Harry ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head tiredly. "How the hell does he always have a spare bed laying around for me?"
Harry had spent all of his life traveling and training with the old man. Along the way he had been fortunate enough to have made friends with those who could impart their knowledge upon him. In the states he had taken to learning music like a fish to water. In Paris he had hit it off with a street artist who had taught him the beginnings of becoming a great artist. Since that time Harry had become as talented with a piece of coal and paintbrush as he was with a guitar.
In his short time of existence, Harry had been blessed to have been able to learn so much from so many different, amazing people. And yet, he had failed time and again to learn one thing that bugged him as much as when the old man called him 'Cat-eyes.' How was it that Gellert always had exactly what they needed, even when he had failed to bring said thing with them to where they were? It was like he could just make things appear out of thin air, and it bugged Harry more than anything else not knowing the man's method to obtaining what they needed.
Looking at the clock he saw that it was almost time for his daily meditation session. Gellert had started him in on the art of calming and controlling his mind the day he had turned seven. He said it would help in everyday life and that it would be very important later on in life. Harry didn't think he was that bad at it, but Gellert felt differently, saying that if he had true control over himself, he wouldn't throw a 'temper tantrum' any time someone commented on his eyes. Secretly, Harry thought he was just pointing out a single flaw as a way to keep him from getting a big head.
Wanting to take a shower before he settled in and started his meditation, he made to stand up when he noticed something with a light weight shift from his lap to the floor. Looking confused, he reached down and picked it up to find it was a strange looking envelope that had his name on it. Along with his name was the number of the private training room he was in and the name of the resort they were staying at.
Harry stared at the letter in bewilderment. Not only was it strange that someone would know where they were (he kept in touch with many of those who had taught him various things, but the letters usually took forever to find him), but to know what room he would be in when he received it was just creepy.
His curiosity getting the better of him, he flipped the envelope intent on finding who the letter was from, only to stop when he found the envelope sealed in the most colorful of waxes he had ever laid eyes. Giving it an appraising eye, he was sure that he had never before witnessed the coat of arms it bared.
Harry ran a finger over the wax seal, instinctively knowing it was a sign of great importance. Being mindful to not destroy the seal, he carefully pealed the envelope open before pulling out a folded piece of parchment.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to attend Hogwarts School for Magical Beings. Enclosed i-
"Incendio!" Gellert said from behind Harry, stopping him from finishing the letter. Knowing his master's voice, he turned going to his knees, planning on telling the man about the odd letter he had found, when he was forced to abandon it and the bed as a jet of flame flew toward him.
Coming out of his dive he rolled to his feet turning to see the bed engulfed in flame, filling the room with the snapping sound of burning wood. He looked over to where his caretaker's voice had come from, only to see the man pointing a long thin white stick that had what looked to be berries carved down its shaft pointed at the now ablaze bed.
Maybe it was the first line of the letter he hadn't had the chance to finish that sent the word to the fore front of his mind, but at the moment only one thing was on his mind. 'Magic!'
Gellert met his student's startled gaze with one of disinterest. Pointing his wand at his charge, he once again uttered an incantation. "Expecto Patronum!"
Harry's eyes doubled in size when from his teachers stick burst forth an overly large, silvery-white lion that charged straight for him. As he reached for his hip where he kept his daggers he was just able to make out though the bright light given off by the animal the face of a woman where the lion's should have been.
"Sphinx," he gasped in astonishment. Grasping both his blades, he didn't bothering with drawing back to add power to his throw, choosing instead to go with speed by throwing them from his hip. He felt a swell of pride when he saw the blades about to enter the beast's chest, but that feeling was quickly over powered by shock when both steel blades passed right through her.
Unseen by Harry the man who had been like a grandfather to him was forced to catch both weapons with his free hand after they had passed through his patronus. Had he not stopped the boy's weapon of choice, Gellert would have taken the blades to the chest just as they had been intended to do to his spirit guardian.
Shaking off his surprise Harry went into a fighting stance, knowing his chances of fighting the shining creature and coming out alive were astronomical. His only hope would be the Egyptian beast's intangibility only applied to weapons and that he'd be able to land the worlds luckiest hit. He didn't even attempt to add in his odds of winning if Gellert himself was to enter the fight.
However, before the creature ever reached him it started to slow down causing Harry to relax his stance. As the magical glowing beast drew closer to him, a sense of happiness and tranquility spread through his chest. Enjoying the feelings that he knew was coming from the creature he started toward it in the hope that a closer proximity to the sphinx would increase the feeling.
Coming face to face with the creature, its beauty which before had been obscured from him by its shining light became apparent to the young boy. He found himself wishing the being's intense glow would fade so that he could better make out its lovely features. A slight twitch of the sphinx's lips had him moving still closer to the beautiful beast's mouth; he didn't want to miss anything such a marvelous creature would have to say.
Leaning forward there was less than an inch separating his face from hers. "Boo," the sphinx deadpanned in Gellert's voice causing Harry to jump. He had yet to recover from the surprise of its voice, when the shining creature faded away taking its positive feelings with it.
"That feeling you're experiencing is the loss of the positive energy making up the sphinx as it fades combined with the glamour I placed on it falling away with it." Gellert explained. Walking toward the young boy, he flicked the wrist holding his wand, banishing the bed and the flames that were consuming it away.
Shaking his head and blinking his eyes rapidly, Harry took the offered knives he had thrown in an attempt to protect himself, when his teacher held them out for him to take. "What the hell was that?" He demanded. Now that the creature was gone his head was a lot clearer, making it possible for him to realize how daft of him it had been to go walking up to such a dangerous creature as he had. Especially when said creature shouldn't exist outside the carvings of a pyramid wall.
"A demonstration," Gellert answered at the same time he summoned two high backed chairs. Harry stared wide eyed at the display of magic. He had of course just seen the man shoot fire at him with a little stick and summon a glowing Egyptian myth before his very eyes, but there was something about the man before him - a person he had until a couple of hours ago thought he had known - summoning something as simple, and at the same time amazing, as a chair that left Harry speechless.
"Sit down," Gellert commanded. When Harry had taken a seat the man continued. "I assume you read your letter, correct?"
Harry snorted, fighting back a chuckle, before fixing his teacher with an annoyed look. "No, I didn't. I had only just read the part about me being accepted into a school for 'magical beings', when some dumbass tried to set me on fire."
Gellert paid the boy's annoyed look no mind, waving a hand dismissively at his attempt to insult him. "It matters not," he told the fuming boy. Seeing his outraged look and the tall tale signs he was about to explode Gellert explained. "The letter wouldn't have given you the information you would have wanted and in the end would have left you with more questions than answers. It is why I demonstrated the pittance of the spell work I did, to validate the existence of magic and the eclipsed world that accompanies it."
"Well you certainly made your point." Harry commented dryly. Reaching up, he rubbed circles on his temples in an attempt to ease the throbbing in his head. "I'm too damn young to have a blasted migraine."
"Sometimes I regret taking you to see the world," Gellert said loud enough for Harry to hear, even though he was speaking to himself. Giving a flick of his wand, a vial of red substance flew from outside the room coming to a stop level with Harry's head. "For as mature as our travels have made you, it has also had the unfortunate result of giving you the vocabulary of a sailor, along with a stream of other bad habits."
"I only have a bad mouth around people who succeed at pissing me off." Harry defended himself, taking a moment to stop gazing suspiciously at the suspended vial to glare accusingly at his teacher. "And what is a bad habit to you is common place for society today. It's not my fault you're a thousand years old, and that anything that doesn't involve me bowing to your greatness is seen as disrespectful."
"Take the potion before I force it down your throat, vial and all!" Harry uncorked the glass container and gave the red liquid a sniff, grimacing at the smell he turned the bottle up and downed its contents in one go. "Now then, I'm sure you have a number of questions you want answered."
Harry didn't say anything at first, he was too busy coughing, the horrendous taste of the potion getting to him. "What was that," he groaned, throwing the vial across the room. "Poison?"
"No, it was a potion made to relieve headaches." Gellert had used his wand to vanish the vial before it had caused a mess. "Most potions are supposed to taste awful."
"I can see why they would do that," Harry said clearing his throat. "Giving them a bad taste makes it less likely for one to become addicted to them. After all, take enough medicine and it turns to poison."
Gellert nodded. "Correct. More times than not, only poison and potions aimed at controlling you are sweet." He was pleased when Harry looked to be taking the information seriously. "Remember that you above all others will be subject to attacks by those who hate you and those who will attempt to control you for all that you have to offer."
"Why would people aim for me?" Harry asked looking confused. "I'm no one special!"
"We'll get to that in a minute," he told the boy. "First I want you to think back to what the letter said and what it revealed to you."
Giving it a few seconds thought, he replied. "That I've been allowed into a school called Hogwarts - which if you ask me is the dumbest name I've ever heard of," Harry commented. Gellert was forced to use his occlumency shields to keep from rolling his eyes at his commentary. "The only thing that stuck out besides the terrible name was the part about it being a school for 'Magical Beings'... What does it mean by that - are there things out there other than sorcerers?"
"It should be a given, but yes there is." Harry was starting to get over the shock of what had happened to him and was beginning to get excited. "Vampires, werewolves, animal and nature spirits, half breeds, purebloods, a large variety of demons, the fallen races, and a numerous other beings. Any creature deemed responsible enough for his or her own actions, will be allowed to attend Hogwarts as long as they fill certain requirements."
"Wait, there are really all those creatures in this world?" Asked a once again stunned Harry. "How does the world not know about them? And why in the world, are there demons allowed in a school?"
"The reason we have been able to hide from the outside world as we have is simple. Magic!" Gellert answered. "And when I say demons I don't mean those who come from the 'Regni Calamitatis' or in English, Realm of Calamity. They're known as Higher Demons and rarely leave their plain of existence."
"The demons I spoke of and that live in this world are the descendants of higher demons, or in the case of your father's family, the descendants of a human who had the power to overthrow a higher demon and seize their power as their own." Gellert informed him, choosing to ignore his gaping student. "Just because someone is a demon doesn't make him or her evil. It's the same for those who are the legacy of those of a lighter nature - what powers you are born with do not rule who you are!"
"WHOA! Wait a minute here," Harry commanded, rising to his feet to glare at the elderly man. "You're telling me after years of asking you about my parents, and only receiving half assed answer of 'they were the best type of people' and 'they had more love for one another than could ever possibly be put into words', you decided to drop a bomb like this? How well did you know my family and why have you kept what you know from me?"
"I kept all I could from you because it wasn't time for you to know yet. I didn't tell you anything because I doubt I'd have the will power to stop myself from telling you everything." Gellert said with an uncharacteristic remorseful look. It was this look that calmed Harry more than anything else. "I'm truly sorry for keeping all that I have from you over the years."
Harry nodded his understanding and acceptance of the man's apology. "So I'm a demon," he stated, looking down at himself as if to see if he was turning red. "Is that why my eyes are the way they are?"
"Yes and no. The reason behind your case of Heterochromia is your father's demon nature clashing with your mother's... lighter nature."
"What was my mother's nature?" Harry had leaned forward as he asked his question, anything on his parents was worth knowing - more so than even knowledge of the magical world.
"Susan was an oddball when it came to her kind - a black sheep if you would." Gellert said, nodding to himself. "Her people were very proud, arrogant people, who looked down on all other races. They felt that they were above all others, and many today would agree with that sentiment... myself included."
Harry stared at the man before him as if he had grown a second head. Gellert rarely gave complements, feeling that you as a person knew yourself best and that if you felt that you had done something worthy of praise, then you didn't need him to tell you what you already knew. So for him to say such a thing for an entire race of creatures blew Harry's mind.
"Her people - your people, were gifted with the ability to commune with all of nature," Gellert spoke with a hint of longing in his voice that Harry failed to hear. "Their skill in magic has gone unmatched since the time of their extinction and their prowess in battle has given birth to a number of legends."
"There is so much that set them apart from all the rest. It is very much a tragedy that you are the last of a once divine, yet flawed race."
"If they were so amazing, then how is it that they died out?" Harry asked feeling a deep sense of loss. "Is the reason people will aim for me because of my mother's people?"
Gellert looked at him grimly. "Your heritage from both your mother and father would be enough to make you famous, but that isn't why you'll be aimed for, though it will draw out some who will want to hurt you." Harry's face was set in a grimace; he was starting to realize Hogwarts wasn't going to be just a lot of time spent waving pretty sticks. "You're the last son of two powerful families. Both of which were very wealthy and powerful, add to this the fact that your good looking and famous for an entirely different reason and you'll have a bull's eye on your back."
"What possible reason would I have to be famous other than who my family was?"
"First off, your mother's race was a secret. Only a small number of individuals knew what she was." Harry displeasure at only just now learning all this about his family, was showing on his face and in the tense way he was holding himself. It just wasn't right that so much had been kept from him but he knew Gellert had his reasons for keeping quiet. "They were hunted to near extinction millennia ago. And before you ask, no I don't know specifics about what happened to them. All I do know is that the ones who hunted them and many other species of magical creatures and even plain witches and wizards were groups of mundanes called Stalkers. There are many groups of these stalkers alive to this day that still practice the same hunting arts as their forefathers did."
Harry's lips had become a thin line as he listened to Gellert. "You said 'near extinction', how did they keep from dying out for such a long time?" He asked trying to keep a level voice. "And how is it there are still families of mundane hunters - these stalkers still out there? You would think some witch or wizard would do something to stop them."
"To keep themselves hidden, your mother's family took on a tradition that a majority of our world follows. Even the higher demons that disregard all laws practice it."
"Well... what is it?"
"The sealing of the power and forms of our young." Harry pressed a hand to his chest in a motion that was meant to ask 'me as well'? Gellert nodded to him before picking up where he left off. "We do this in an attempt to protect our children from their own powers and abilities, while at the same time shielding others from those same powers. By the time the binding of your powers are removed, you will be able to slide back into this form whenever you please."
"That means what I look like now, isn't the real me?" Harry asked trying to wrap his head around such a thing. The face he had woken up to everyday of his life wasn't really his. It was a lie. "What do I really look like?"
"No, you're wrong," Gellert said disagreeing with him. "This form is a part of you; your magic has made it so. As for what you really look like, I'm not sure. There are no records of your mother's kind mating with anyone outside their own race. There's no telling what kind of physical changes this will bring out in you." Harry felt a momentary flash of fear at the thought of turning into some kind of deformed monster, but he quickly pushed the feeling down using the meditation techniques Gellert had taught him.
"Once your father's powers were unsealed, he looked almost completely the same as before." Gellert told him. "The difference being that he gained a tail and a single small horn on the right side of his forehead. In later years, his fingernails became slightly more claw-like and he grew a pair of bat-like wings that your mother adored."
A small chuckle escaped Harry as he stared off into space trying to picture the man from the single picture of his parents he had, with all the added physical changes Gellert had described. With the impish smile James had worn in the picture, he couldn't help but laugh at the thought that his father would look more like a devil than he would a demon.
"As for your other question about the stalkers, the Ministry of Magic nor anyone else can't act against them legally. When the law was passed to hide ourselves away from the world, it was agreed upon by those in power that they would let the mundanes forget about us with time. This choice has had the adverse effect of denying us the right to erase the memory of those few whom have passed down the knowledge of our existence from one generation to the next. It's unfortunate that those who remember are those who wish harm upon magical races."
Harry was silent for a time as he pondered over all he had been told. The sheer amount of information he had received was overwhelming, but there were at least two other questions that he needed answers to. "And the reason behind my 'fame'?" He asked not putting much stock in the man's claim that he was famous.
Gellert gave him a concern look. "You well know that your parents were murdered." He said getting a nod from a stone faced Harry. "What you don't know is that the same man who killed them, attempted to do the same to you."
Harry's eyes flashed dangerously. "How could he manage to kill both of my parents, but somehow manage to fail in doing the same to me?"
"Because when he tried taking your life, something happened - what no person knows." Seeing the question that was coming Gellert had went ahead and answered. "Whatever it was that took place that night destroyed his body and ended a very bloody war."
It didn't escape Harry that his mentor had said the man's body was 'destroyed', not that he was dead. But if his body was gone then so was the man... wasn't he? Harry found himself wondering if it was possible for there to be creatures out there who could escape death... and if he could find a way to do the same himself.
"The man responsible for your parent being taken from you, and the deaths of numerous others was a terrorist to the magic world, and had he not been stopped, would have set his plans for the rest of this world into motion." Gellert said in a voice laced with remorse causing Harry to look at the man strangely. Paying the boy's inquisitive look no mind, he continued where he had left off. "He was a man with gilt-edged skills in magic, especially when it came to his use of the dark arts. This led to him being feared by all of Britain."
"Charismatic as he was, it was all too easy for him to lure people into his twisted and dark way of thinking."
"And what was his way of thinking?" Harry asked, wondering what type of goal a man like that had that would justify his actions and the death of even one person. "Why would any... man want to kill so many people?"
"He wanted the world," Gellert stated drawing a raised eyebrow from Harry. "He wanted to rule the world and all that was in it. But he knew that if he tried to take it without the full support of the magical world, then there would be no way for him to obtain victory. So he started out with ridding magical Britain of all those who didn't agree to those of magical blood ruling over mundanes. He would have moved on to other magical communities and eventually the rest of the world, had he not been stopped."
Gellert gave his student time to process all he had been told. It'd be a lot for anyone to take in that there was a hidden world out there full of magical creatures that either saw you as their savior, or as the person who took away the revolutionary who would have led the magical world to its rightful place above the filthy muggles.
"You may be able to handle all you have been told better, if you were to take a nice long shower," suggested Gellert as he rose to his feet. His normal persona was once again back in place, giving him the air of a person who rarely cared about anything. "After you get out of the bath, do your meditation. I will soon start teaching you the very reason behind why I have had you learning to control your mind and emotions all these years."
"When you've finished with all that, we will be heading for Britain." Gellert informed Harry as he started for the exit. Harry rose to his feet, ready to object to the sudden plan on leaving their current destination, but was cut off by Gellert before he could do so. "Our current time zone puts us a great number of hours ahead of Great Britain. You'll have plenty of time to rest once we arrive."
"Wait a second," Harry called running up to the man. "I have one more question."
"Yes?"
"What was my mother?" Harry asked breathlessly, her culture and what little he had heard about them had fascinated him. "Her species, you never said what they were."
Gellert said nothing as he turned and made for the exit. Harry mistaking his actions as the man disregarding him took an angry step forward, but was stopped when a book flew through the door and over Gellert's shoulder as he exited the room. Catching the book, he could instantly tell it was extremely old from the feel of its bindings.
Running a hand over the fading title on the cover of the tome, he read each word out loud as his hand came into contact with them. "Born of Magic: Elven Culture."
Yeah so nothing much going on in the first chapter, next one will be more than just hearing a loosely told back story.
As I was writing this I was wondering if anyone used the actors from the HP movies as the visuals when reading fiction? I know the only people from the movies I use are Hermione, Voldemort, and forth year Weasley twins. For eveyone else I end up taking actors from other works, like when I read about Fleur I picture her as Daenerys from Game of Thrones.
For those of you who have read my other HP story and are worried about this Harry ending up with powers the same as the one from S2ndC, don't.