Harry Potter took a deep breath as he waited for the signal. The signal that would let him know when it was his turn to go out and risk his life in front of a crowd of people. Today was the First Task. Today was the day that Harry would have to face a real life, fire-breathing dragon. Of course in the First Task they just had to be going up against one of the deadliest creatures the wizarding world had to offer. It didnât bode well for the remaining two tasks. Harry had long given up that his life would ever be normal but it seemed that this year was trying to blow all of his expectations out of the water. So far this year heâd been unwillingly entered into some dangerous tournament, had the school turn against him because of it, and now he had to compete in three deadly tasks for eternal glory he wanted nothing to do with. Harryâs life was complicated enough with Voldemort constantly coming after him. He didnât really need the added stress this tournament was giving him.
Harry ran through the plan heâd come up with. It wasnât exactly full proof but Harry supposed that it would have to do. Harry was only a fourth year, and though his experiences had probably made him a bit more capable in life or death situations than the average fourth year, he was still far behind the other contestants. Planning had never been one of his strong suits either. Moody was the one who eventually suggested that he focus on the skills he did best. Harryâs mind had instantly latched on to flying. Harry had always been a brilliant flyer. From the very first moment he had picked up a broom, it was like heâd been born to soar through the air. For the plan to actually work Harry would just need to make sure that he lasted long enough against the dragon for his broom to reach him.
The horn blasted. It was time. Before Harry could second-guess himself he took a step out into the arena. The Quidditch pitch had been transformed for the task. It was covered with rocks and outcroppings to hide behind. In the center was the dragon itself. Of course Harry had to get the fiercest dragon, the Hungarian Horntail. The dragon was a brownish red color with rows of spikes. It had been chained to the ground, and there between its legs, in its nest was the golden egg that Harry had been tasked to get.
The moment the dragon caught sight of Harry it⦠Well, Harry didnât quite know how to label its reaction other than it looked⦠scared. The dragon reared back from Harry, and curled itself protectively over its eggs. The reaction surprised Harry so much that he momentarily forgot his plan. His mind was racing with other instances where magical animals had strange reactions to him.
Harry remembered Norbertâs, the baby dragon that Hagrid had gotten his hands on in first year, reaction to first seeing him. Harry had written it off as a fluke the way the baby dragon had scuttled away from him like he was diseased when he had moved closer to inspect him. Then there had been the basilisk in his second year. When Tom Riddle had sent the basilisk after Harry the basilisk had hesitated. Heâd held back and hissed something about Harry concealing fire inside him. The ancient basilisk had been frightened saying Harry smelled mostly human but that there was something more to him as well. Riddle had to scream and threaten before the basilisk finally worked up the courage to go after Harry. With everything that had happened after that Harry never really spent a lot of time thinking just why the basilisk had been so wary of him.
Until now, when the Horntailâs extreme reaction brought up the memories of other creatureâs reacting negatively to him. The crowd seemed to be equally shocked by the dragonâs strange behavior. Harry was thrown off. He completely forgot all about calling for his broom. He was too caught up in memories of other such instances, and so he continued to stand in the middle of the arena perfectly accessible to the dragon.
The dragon gathered its courage when Harry continued to remain motionless and unthreatening in front of her. She reared up, and sent a fiery blast of flame straight at Harry. Harry attempted to jump out of the way but his shock had slowed his reaction time, and he didnât have time to escape the blast. The flames hit him full force. But he didnât burn. The flames passed over him, and instead of experiencing a fiery death Harry was only engulfed by a tingling sensation. The crowd started screaming as soon as Harry was consumed in flames. No doubt they thought they had just witnessed their boy saviorâs death via dragon fire. His clothes were burning but Harry himself felt absolutely fine, and he watched detachedly as the fire licked at his skin without causing a bit of damage. The flames were almost comforting.
A roaring had started in his ears and it distracted him enough that he almost didnât notice that the flames had stopped. He could see people running towards him but he suddenly felt dizzy. The world was spinning around him, and his skin suddenly felt uncomfortably tight. He swayed on his feet and before he knew what was happening the world went dark as he fainted dead away.
///
Harry woke to the sound of arguing, feeling disoriented and strange.
âI donât know whatâs wrong or how he survived. I only know that right now his temperature is getting higher by the minute. Iâve tried fever reducer but it doesnât do a thing. His fever just keeps rising. He should already be dead with a temperature that high, not to mention he just survived a full blast of dragon fire,â Madam Pomfrey ranted.
âWill he wake up?â asked the concerned voice of Albus Dumbledore, his headmaster.
âI have no idea. He shouldnât, his brain should practically be melting out his ears with the temperature heâs got. But as far as I can tell heâs just sleeping as if he shouldnât be boiling alive. I swear I donât know how that boy does it. In fact I remember he had a high fever after his run in down in the Chamber. It went away soon enough,â Madam Pomfrey answered sounding completely perplexed.
âYes, but as I told you it was from the infusion of Phoenix tears after the basilisk venom,â Dumbledore reminded.
âSo you said. Perhaps thatâs how he survived? Could the Phoenix tears have given him an invulnerability to fire?â Madam Pomfrey questioned.
âNo, they heal only the current wound. There should have been no long lasting effects,â Dumbledore answered.
âWhat about his magic? Could accidental magic have protected him? Heâs always had strong and wild accidental magic. Just last summer he set his muggle auntâs hair on fire,â Minerva McGonagall, his transfiguration professor, offered.
âI doubt it. Dragon fire isnât just something that can be blocked. It has unique properties that allows it to break through most shielding charms. Which is why you need to master a variety of different and complex shield charms before you can even think of becoming a dragon handler,â Madam Pomfrey pointed out.
âEven if Mr. Potterâs magic shielded him from harm it certainly wouldnât explain his sudden increase in temperature or how he is currently surviving such a high temperature,â came the oily voice of his hated potions professor, Severus Snape.
âSeverus is right. Something else is at work here. I just donât know what it could be,â Madam Pomfreyâs tone conveyed her frustration over the matter.
The professors subsided into silence each trying to come up with an explanation of how Harry could have possibly survived the impossible yet again. Harry decided that now would be a good time to stop pretending to be asleep. He sat up, immediately drawing the attention of the four adults in the room. Madam Pomfrey quickly made her way over to his bedside
âMr. Potter, thank Merlin, youâre awake. How are youââ
Madam Pomfrey cut off abruptly, lifting a hand to her mouth as she looked at Harry or more specifically his eyes. âOh my.â
âWhat? Whatâs wrong?â Harry frowned up her. Only to suddenly realize he was seeing everything in perfect detail, and he wasnât wearing his glasses.
The other professors had drawn close, and they too were all staring at Harryâs eyes in various states of shock.
âOh, Mr. Potter,â Professor McGonagall whispered.
âWhatâs wrong with my eyes?â Harry demanded.
In answer Dumbledore transfigured a glass by his bedside into a small hand mirror. He wordlessly handed the transfigured mirror to Harry. Harry eagerly took it and stared at his own reflection. What he saw made him understand just why everyone was so unnerved. His once emerald green eyes where now a golden yellow with a fiery red just around the edge of his iris, which had expanded to completely overtake the whites of his eyes. His pupils had stretched to become an elongated diamond-like shape. It was quite disturbing looking into a mirror, and realizing those were his eyes.
âHow did this happen?â Harry murmured.
Tentatively he rubbed at his eyes as if that could somehow return the color to his much more normal green. Unfortunately it didnât.
The adults all exchanged looks. They obviously had no explanation of the matter either.
âPoppy why donât you give Harry every test you can think of. There must be some explanation for this sudden change,â Dumbledore suggested.
With no other options Madam Pomfrey did just that. The professors left Harry in Madam Pomfreyâs capable hands. Over the next hour she conducted every test she knew from her medi-witch training. She couldnât find a single thing wrong with him. Except of course that his temperature, though stabilized, was far above normal, and his eyes were now a different color. In fact her scans showed that he was in perfect health, more than perfect health if such a thing was possible. His reflexes were faster than before, he was stronger than was strictly normal for a human, and his eyesight was better than before. Despite being blasted with dragon fire he didnât have a mark on him.
Madam Pomfrey kept him in the hospital wing overnight just in case his condition changed. No one was allowed to visit him either. They had all agreed it was better if no one found out about the change in his eyes. It would be all Harry needed to have Rita Skeeter write an article about this. But the ban couldnât stop his friends. Later that night Hermione and Ron, to Harryâs surprise, appeared in the hospital wing having used his invisibility cloak to sneak in while Madam Pomfrey had gone off to discuss the results of his condition with the other professors, and the tournament officials. They had to decide how to proceed considering that Harry didnât actually complete the First Task. Harry hoped that he would be disqualified for failing to retrieve the egg.
âHarry! Youâre all right?â Hermione had tears in her eyes as she gazed at him. She looked like she wanted to hug him but she was afraid she might hurt him.
âYeah, Iâm fine,â Harry shrugged, glancing at Ron.
The red head had hung back while Hermione had rushed to greet him.
âWe thought for certain you hadâ¦that you were seriously hurt,â Hermione worried, looking him over closely for burns.
Neither had noticed the change in his eyes yet. Mostly because Hermione was too busy looking him over and Ron was still standing awkwardly in the doorway.
âIâm not hurt. They donât know how I survived yet, but Iâm not burned at all,â Harry reassured her.
âThatâs good that youâre all right. Although, it is a bit strange and worrying not knowing how you survived,â Hermione murmured finally looking up to his face.
âTell me about it,â Harry agreed.
Hermioneâs eyes had widened comically. Sheâd finally caught sight of his eyes.
âIâm glad youâre all right, mate,â Ron spoke up.
âSo weâre mates again?â Harry questioned, ignoring Hermioneâs stare.
âI figured anyone who willingly put their name in that goblet would have to be crazy. I know youâre not that crazy, Harry, and Iâm sorry I ever thought youâd willingly put yourself into trouble like that. You could have died today, and Iâve been a prat. Iâll try not to be such a big idiot again,â Ron shrugged, looking uncomfortable.
âApology accepted,â Harry nodded, happy to have his best friend back.
Ron grinned in relief and finally approached his bedside.
âHarry, what happened to your eyes?â Hermione finally cut in.
âBloody hell, mate,â Ron gasped as he caught his first look.
âThey donât know that either. On the bright side I donât need to wear my glasses anymore,â Harry smiled, trying for nonchalance.
Hermione was looking more worried than ever.
âIâve never seen eyes like that before. Theyâre kind of wicked,â Ron said.
âMaybe the dragon transferred some of its power to you?â Hermione said.
Harry laughed. âI donât think thatâs possible.â
âWell, itâs impossible to survive dragon fire like you did or have your eyes change like that,â Hermione pointed out.
âMaybe someone slipped you a bad batch of polyjuice potion. You know like in second year when Hermione sprouted fur and a tail?â Ron suggested.
Hermione flushed at the memory of her mistake. âI donât think thatâs what this is.â
âNo one knows what it is. I guess Iâm just going to have to accept that this is just another quirk of being Harry Potter. Like being a Parselmouth,â Harry shrugged.
âMaybe thatâs it. What if itâs something tied in with being a Parselmouth?â Hermione questioned.
âI got that ability from Voldemort. You think he gave me these eyes, and the ability to be invulnerable to fire?â Harry frowned not liking the idea of having any more abilities from Voldemort.
âI donât think Parselmouths are fireproof. But You-Know-Who was a dark wizard. Who knows what sorts of things he got up to?â Ron shivered.
âItâs as good of explanation as any other I suppose,â Harry shrugged.
Harry was trying to do what he always did. He wanted to just push all of this to the back of his mind and move on. Harry had gotten surprisingly good at over the years. But then again with all of the things that happened to him it was a necessity in his life.
They chatted for a bit longer before the two of them needed to sneak back up to Gryffindor Tower. Harry settled down to sleep. He fell asleep surprisingly quickly despite all of the turmoil his mind was in at the moment. As he slept he dreamt. His dreams were unexpectedly vivid, and that made them all the more terrifying.
In his dream ugly creatures that smelled like death and decay were chaining him down. They swarmed all around him, and started dragging him from the place he felt warm and safe. Harry struggled to free himself but there were too many of them. Things blurred for a bit, and the next thing he knew he was in a dark chamber. A man whoâs shape was muddled was standing over him, chanting in a strange language that rang painfully through Harryâs ears. Pain lanced through every part of his body. He was crying out to someone. He wanted them to save him. But he couldnât quite remember who it was.
âMr. Potter!â a rough shove finally freed him from his nightmare.
Harry opened his eyes to see Madam Pomfrey hovering over him. Her brows were drawn down, and her lips were pursed.
âWhat is it?â Harry asked, trying to reorient himself. His body was still tense and telling him that he was in danger. Harry kept trying to convince himself that this wasnât the case.
âYou were having a nightmare, Mr. Potter. A bad one if your screams were anything to go by,â Madam Pomfreyâs frown deepened.
âThank you, Madam Pomfrey,â Harry had to clear his throat. His throat felt rough. No doubt from his shouting. The dream had been quite different from the vivid ones heâd had at the beginning of summer. But it still had that vague sense that it had really happened.
Madam Pomfrey helpfully handed him a glass of water, which he gulped down gratefully.
âItâs time for breakfast anyway, and after you have your breakfast youâre cleared to go,â Madam Pomfrey stated, fluffing his pillows so that he could sit up.
âWhat about my eyes? Do I really have to go out there with them like this?â Harry motioned to his inhuman golden eyes.
âThe Headmaster thought of this and took care of it, Mr. Potter. He charmed a new pair of glasses for you. They will make your eyes appear to be green when youâre wearing them. All you have to do is make sure you keep your glasses on your face. A difficult fete for you Iâd say,â Madam Pomfrey nodded to where a new pair of glasses sat his bedside. The fire had destroyed his other glasses.
Harry ate his breakfast slowly. He wasnât eager to rejoin the rest of the world. Who knows what sorts of rumors were circulating? It couldnât be worse than all the Potter Stinks badges or the cold shoulder heâd been receiving since the start of the tournament. At least Ron had finally come to his senses. He could get through anything with his two best friends at his side.
Eventually Madam Pomfrey kicked him out with strict instructions to come back if his condition changed. It was the weekend, which meant there were a lot of students loitering about the corridors. Every single one of them fell silent as Harry walked by. Harry ignored them. He tried to remind himself that their opinions didnât matter. Finally he made it back up to the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry was pleasantly surprised when almost all of his fellow Gryffindors greeted him enthusiastically. They all wanted to make sure that he was all right, and expressed their relief at surviving. No one really questioned how he survived, and just cheered that he was apparently fire resistant. It seemed they had all just gotten used to the miraculous survivals of Harry Potter. It made things easier for Harry.
Things settled back down for a while after that. Except for the dreams. After that first nightmare the rest of his dreams were surprisingly pleasant despite the strangeness of them. For the star of his dreams was a dragon. A talking dragon with a deep, powerful voice who made Harry feel safe and happy in these blurry and confusing dreams. In the dreams the dragon was speaking a foreign language but Harry was able to understand him only to wake up the next morning, and completely forget exactly what he had said. Harry could only remember the vague impression of the dragon telling him bedtime stories. But other than the dreams there were no further changes in his condition, which Harry was grateful for.
Harry wasnât so grateful when he found out he hadnât been disqualified from the tournament. He was even awarded some points just for surviving the dragon fire. Dumbledore had apparently spread the story that Harry had used some sort of spell to make himself impervious to it even though he wasnât able to grab the egg. Dumbledore didnât want anyone else to know that they in fact didnât know how Harry had managed to survive or about the change in his eyes. However, the other headmasters insisted it wasnât fair for Harry to get an egg with a clue for the next task when he hadnât actually completed the first. So Harry was flying blind. At least he had been until Cedric Diggory had let him know that the task would take place in the lake, and they would be looking for something of theirs as a way to thank Harry for telling him about the dragons.
Sirius and Remus got in touch with him expressing their worry over his near death experience. Harry had shared the change with his eyes, and his increased body temperature. He hoped as good friends of his parents they would have been able to give him some explanation for the changes. Maybe a strange disease had gotten passed down through his family or something. Neither of them knew of anything of the sort, and so Harry was just left with more questions.
At least he had Hermione. She couldnât let the matter rest, and had begun to research dragons in depth. She even owled Ronâs brother Charlie with questions about them. Sheâd learned quite a bit so far, including that dragons, especially mother dragons, had magical qualities to their fire. Dragon fire was reportedly able to break through and cancel most spells, and even weaken the really strong ones. It was quite similar to the deadly magical fire known as fiendfyre that only the most powerful wizards were capable of wielding. However, this didnât explain how Harry had survived. In fact it just reassured him of the fact that he should actually be burnt to crisp.
Hermione didnât let this stop her. She kept looking and one morning, a few days before the Second Task, she sat down at the Gryffindor table in a flurry of excitement to tell him about some new information she had discovered.
âTheyâre called Greater Dragons,â Hermione explained breathlessly.
âGreater Dragons? Those are just stories, Hermione, legends. Everyone knows that,â Ron said between bites of sausage.
âAnd to muggles wizards and dragons are just stories,â Hermione argued.
âWhatâs so different about these Greater Dragons?â Harry asked before they could get into a full-blown argument. The two of them had been even testier around each other since Hermione went to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum.
âDragons are considered animals. They are intelligent and powerful animals but thatâs all they are. Greater Dragons however were reported to be sentient beings capable of speech, magic, and possessed an intelligence to match a human beingâs. In fact in many cases it said they were probably smarter as they were capable of remembering every single piece of treasure in their hoard, and could tell almost immediately if a piece were missing. They could live for hundreds and hundreds of years, and grew to a far greater size than even the largest dragon that we are aware of now,â Hermione went on in excitement.
âItâs all rubbish. If dragons like that existed I think weâd know,â Ron argued.
âThey could be extinct,â Hermione shot back.
âWhy bring them up, Hermione? Does it have anything to do with what happened to me?â Harry asked before Ron could start the argument in earnest. His mind was drifting to his dreams and the talking dragon that made up a large part of them.
âI just find it fascinating. Iâd never heard them mentioned before, and theyâre complex creatures,â Hermione defended.
âCould they change their shape?â Harry asked.
âI donât think so. But they had magic, and the book I read didnât really seem clear on the things they could do with it,â Hermione answered.
âDo you think Harryâs really some Greater Dragon?â Ron scoffed.
âI didnât say that, Ronald. But he could have dragon blood,â Hermione fiddled with her book.
âIs there some way we could test my blood?â Harry questioned, although he wasnât sure why. Itâs not as if either one of his parents were dragons in disguise.
Harry had tried to ignore the changes but with the dreams nagging at him every night it made it difficult.
âThere is a potion, I think, that lists your ancestors and their species. It takes a week to brew it. It would be a fascinating project. We should all do it,â Hermione was smiling now at the prospect of the challenge to come.
âWhat about the Second Task? What are you going to do about that, Harry?â Ron changed the subject.
âI have no idea,â Harry shrugged.
And he didnât have a plan up until the brisk morning of the Second Task dawned. Heâd actually been planning on just sitting it out. Harry would give it a token effort but the First Task had proven that he didnât actually need to complete a task. Still, he was grateful that Dobby was thoughtful enough to come up with a way to help him. The small house elf had provided Harry with some gillyweed, which would apparently allow him to breath under water for an hour or so. It would also give him webbed fingers and toes to speed him along through the water, which was helpful since Harry had never even been swimming before. Thatâs how Harry found himself stuffing the disgusting seaweed into his mouth and swallowing it just as the horn blew signaling it was time for the champions to enter the water.
However, Harry had a very bad reaction to the gillyweed. It had worked for a short while but after swimming for only a couple of minutes in the lake his body decided it had enough of the water. His body completely rejected the idea of having gills, and he found himself trying to purge himself of the gillyweed. He swam quickly towards the surface. Harry managed to pull himself towards the closest shore. It was one that brushed up against the Forbidden Forest. Harry didnât care. He was too busy throwing up the contents of his stomach. He should have known better than to take anything that Dobby had given him.
He didnât know how long he knelt on the shore being sick. But a shouted âPotter,â had Harryâs eyes turning towards the source.
Snape was stalking towards him, his black robes billowing behind him like a great bat.
âYou left the lake, Potter. Everyone is searching for you. However, I can see why you left. You were the one to steal the gillyweed from my stores,â Snape accused.
âWasnât me,â Harry managed to get out before gagging on some more bile.
âOf course not, Potter, thatâs why partially digested gillyweed is laid out in front of you,â Snape scoffed.
Harry just shook his head. Snape wouldnât change his mind. Harry was always guilty in his eyes, and he should have known better than to trust Dobby.
âLetâs get you back to the castle, Potter. Your fans will no doubt be worried about you,â Snape reached forward to help him up from his hunched over position.
As Harry stood Snape loosed a small exclamation of surprise, and jerked away from him. Harry quickly locked down, and yelped. On his arms were patches of black scales. Harry looked up at Snape seeing his own shock mirrored back at him from Snapeâs black eyes.
âIs this from the gillyweed?â Harry asked desperately.
âNo, this would never be a possible side effect of gillyweed,â Snape replied stiffly.
âWhatâs happening to me?â Harry couldnât help but murmur.
âI do not know, Mr. Potter,â and if Harry didnât know better he would have said that Snape almost sounded concerned about his well being.
Snape helped him up to the castle without anyone seeing him. He left him with Madam Pomfrey before heading back out to tell everyone that he found him. Madam Pomfrey was just as clueless about the sudden appearance of scales as she was about Harryâs eyes and abnormally high body temperature. Once more she ran a battery of tests with no conclusive results, only that the scales didnât pose him any harm.
Dumbledore and McGonagall eventually arrived to check on him, and questioned him about what had happened. Harry told them about the gillyweed and his bad reaction to it. He showed them his newly developed scales, and Madam Pomfrey told them there wasnât anything wrong with him. It left everyone involved completely frustrated. They didnât have any answers as to what was wrong with Harry, and the only thing they could suggest was to keep his newly acquired black scales covered. He was just lucky they were in places that could be covered up by his sleeves.
Harry was sent back to Gryffindor Tower. It turned out that Ron was the special thing that he had lost. He felt bad about not rescuing Ron but of course they didnât actually leave him at the bottom of the lake. As it turned out Harry wasnât the only one who didnât complete this task. The Beauxbatons champion Fleur Delacour also didnât complete the task, which was a relief to Harry. It made Harryâs own failure less noticeable considering Fleur had apparently made a huge spectacle in front of the crowd by trying to go back into the lake for her sister.
Without everyoneâs attention on him Harry could focus his attention on the potion that Hermione had been brewing for the past few days. After this latest incident he thought that this might be the only way for him to find some answers to his problem.
He fire called Sirius in the meantime to apprise him of the situation. His godfather was alarmed by the latest development. Sirius insisted on coming to Hogwarts to see him despite the fact that the Ministry wanted him Kissed on sight. Harry tried to dissuade him but Sirius assured him that he would find a way.
A couple of days later the potion was finished. Harry, Ron, and Hermione found themselves back in Moaning Myrtles bathroom on the second floor. It had made Harry and Ron a little leery to be back there after the incident in second year. After all the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was located just a few feet away.
âAll right so we each have a vial of the potion. We prick our fingers and allow a single drop of blood to fall into the vial. Then swirl it counter clockwise until it turns magenta. After that simply pour it onto the parchment you brought with you. It should only take a few seconds after that to complete,â Hermione instructed.
Harry and Ron glanced at one another. Hermione had already pricked her finger. The two of them shrugged and did as they were told. Harry concentrated closely as he swirled the potion. He had no idea what he expected to find out from this. Harry just wanted answers for what was happening to him.
âOne of my ancestors was a witch,â Hermione gasped as she looked over her list.
âIâm related to the Blacks!â Ron cried looking at his own.
Harry was just staring at his own list. It didnât make any sense to him even though the list was fairly straightforward. There was his name up at the top while the names of his parents and other ancestors branched out below it. Their species was written out below the names. What didnât make sense were the names and the species of his parents. Below his own name, instead of the expected Lily Potter nee Evans and James Potter were the names Ancia and Smaug. Instead of listing them as witches or wizards their species was listed as âUnknownâ.
âOh, Harry,â Hermione whispered when she caught sight of his parchment.
âWhatâsâ¦oh,â Ron trailed off as soon as he too caught sight of Harryâs list.
âIâm adopted?â Harry muttered.
His entire worldview was shattering. How could he be anyone other than Harry Potter? How could his parents be someone other than James and Lily Potter? He looked just like them. Everyone said so. None of it made any since.
âMaybe you didnât do the potion right,â Harry suggested desperately.
âI donât think I did, Harry. Ronâs and mine both worked perfectly,â Hermione said.
She watched him carefully, and Harry could see the distress in her eyes on his behalf.
âItâs okay, mate. It doesnât mean anything,â Ron clapped him awkwardly on the back.
âYes, weâll figure this out together. Sirius and Remus must know something, and if not the goblins will know. They keep records of such things,â Hermione nodded looking determined.
âThanks,â Harry forced a smile.
He was grateful to have his friendsâ support in this but it still didnât change the fact that his parents werenât who they thought they were, and that his entire life was crumbling before his eyes.
The next few days he spent a lot of time by himself mulling over the information he had received. There was no doubting that it was the truth. But what did Harry do now? The smart thing to do would be to look up his birth parents, and perhaps they would hold the answers as to what was happening to him. According to the list his birth mother was dead. His father was still alive, however. But it didnât really matter considering neither his mother nor father had a surname to help in his search. Harry thought that Hermione was right; he would have to end up asking the goblins about it.
Several days later he was out on a walk, trying to avoid Hermione and Ron when a large black dog appeared at his side. Harry felt a rush of warmth at the sight of Siriusâs animagus form. But when Padfoot tugged on the sleeve of his jacket to follow him into the secret tunnel under the Shrieking Shack, Harry hesitated. What would Sirius do when he found out that Harry wasnât the son of his best friend? Gathering his famous Gryffindor courage he followed Padfoot down into the tunnel.
Sirius waited until they were safely ensconced in the old ramshackle house before returning to his human form. His godfather looked only marginally better than when Harry had seen him last. He was still a bit dirty and unkempt but at least heâd lost a bit of the waxy corpse-like appearance heâd worn before. Heâd put on a bit of weight but he was still undernourished. The mad glint in his eyes has dimmed a bit, and he didnât seem quite as insane as he had last year.
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âSirius,â Harry greeted warmly.
âHello, Harry,â Sirius smiled back and moved forward to embrace him.
Harry accepted the hug gratefully, not realizing how much he really needed one until now. Strange and deadly things were always happening to him but finding out that he wasnât who he thought he was had caused his confidence to wobble slightly.
âHow have you been?â Harry asked.
âIâve been good. Any place seems like a palace compared to Azkaban. What about you? How are you holding up?â Sirius asked, resting his hands on Harryâs shoulders, his gray eyes were filled with concern.
âIâm okay, but I found out something,â Harry had to look away from Sirius as he related the events of the ancestry potion. He didnât want to see the eventual rejection he would receive when Sirius learned the truth.
Only when he finished did he chance looking up. Sirius reaction was not what he thought it would be. The older wizard had sat down on the old ratty sofa, a look of intense concentration on his face.
âYou donât look very surprised to find out that Iâm adopted,â Harry pointed out as slowly took the seat beside Sirius.
âIâm not. I knew Lily and James adopted you. The truth is that they found you,â Sirius explained.
âWhat? What do you mean they found me?â Harry demanded.
âIn the woods behind their house. There was some sort of magical explosion, and when they went to investigate they found a baby. They found you. James told me there was some sort of magic surrounding you but that it almost felt⦠unfinished like someone had been in the middle of casting a curse over you but they didnât get a chance to finish. It was a type of magic they had never felt before, and James wanted to wait to assess the situation but Lily of course couldnât just leave you lying there crying your eyes out. When she went to pick you up whatever spell had been left unfinished started to pull at her magic. James went to help and the spell latched on to both of them,â Sirius paused to run a hand through his hair.
Harryâs mind was racing. âWhat happened then?â
âThe spell weakened them enough to send them to their knees but it stopped before it could kill them, thankfully. When they gathered their strength enough to look down at you, you had changed. You looked just like them. They didnât say what you had looked like before that but once the spell was finished you were a copy of them. What was even stranger, is when they were strong enough to make their way back inside an owl had been sent from Gringotts congratulating them on their first child. Gringotts has powerful spells in place to follow bloodlines, and somehow whatever happened between James, Lily, and you was strong enough to fool those spells. Further testing showed that you were their son so they kept you, and they loved you like you really were their own son. No one ever realized the truth. They only told me the truth when I became your godfather incase something happened to them,â Sirius shrugged.
âWhy didnât you tell me this before when I first brought up the changes?â Harry demanded.
âTo be honest I sort of forgot all about it. Azkaban wasnât all that forgiving to my mind. I just didnât connect the dots,â Sirius answered sheepishly.
âWhat else could it possibly be? I mean did they ever look into where I came from?â Harry questioned.
âThey tried but like I said all the spells they tried just came up with you being their son. They werenât able to find out who your birth parents were, let along track them down,â Sirius replied.
âWell, itâs not working now. I completed an ancestry test and Lily and James werenât listed as my parents. Do you think whatever spell made me look like them is starting to wear off?â Harry asked.
âThat must be it. But I have no idea what that could possibly mean. I donât know what you looked like before the spell,â Sirius shook his head.
âIâm growing scales, Sirius, and my eyes⦠I know I told you about them but seeing them in person probably leaves a better impression,â Harry took off his glasses so that Sirius could get his first good look at them. âSomething is happening, and itâs getting worse.â
âMerlin, Harry,â Sirius leaned closer to better inspect his eyes, and scaled arms. âI donât know whatâs going on.â
âI think Iâm a dragon. But not like the dragons from the dragon reserve. I mean something closer to a Greater Dragon,â Harry suddenly stated.
Heâd been thinking about it a lot and there was just something right about the idea of him being a dragon. There were the dreams to consider, and he could even swear that sometimes it felt like something was trying to claw its way through his skin. He felt uncomfortable in his own body. This had all really started when the dragonâs flames had rushed over him. Harry told Sirius as much.
âMaybe. Maybe the spell on you turned you into a human, using Lily and James as a sort of model of what to look like. The fire from the dragon started weakening it. Or maybe itâs just wearing off because youâre getting older. I donât really know. This is a bit out of my depth here. Iâll talk to Remus about it, maybe heâll know. He does enough reading to come up with some ideas. Until then donât panic, and let me know if anything changes,â Sirius commanded.
âI will,â Harry nodded, relieved that he could rely on Sirius.
âYouâre still my pup, even if you turn out to be a scaly, fire breathing dragon,â Sirius assured him ruffling his hair.
Harry smiled. âAnd I still like you despite your dog breath.â
âOi!â cried Sirius.
The two of them chatted for a bit longer before Sirius had to leave. Harry made his way back up to Hogwarts. It was almost a relief to have some of the truth even if it was shocking to have concrete proof that James and Lily Potter werenât his birth parents. It almost just furthered his belief that he was a dragon, and that was a thought that boggled his mind. After all it would mean that he didnât really look like this, and his true form was in fact a giant fire-breathing lizard.
///
The weeks leading up to the Third Task were a blur to Harry. Now that he was certain about what he really was he spent all of his time trying to shift into his dragon shape. To his frustration he hadnât had any success. It had become an obsession to Harry. But he just couldnât break through whatever curse was keeping him human shaped. It was almost as if he needed another catalyst to further wear down whatever spell had been put on him. The dragon fire had been what started it all, and the gillyweed seemed to wear it down further. Harry was almost tempted to get his hands on some more of it just to see if it would do anything else.
Harry was still trying right up until the day of the Third Task. He and the other champions were brought down to the Quidditch Pitch, which had been turned into a giant hedge maze. Harry was sent into the maze last because of his utter failure with the other tasks. He didnât mind. Harry wasnât really going to try to reach the center of the maze anyway. It just didnât really seem fair after all the other champions had actually been trying to win. Harry was sort of stumbling along behind them in comparison.
The maze was constantly shifting, and there were quite a few deadly creatures that kept Harry moving through the maze. Harry found himself just picking random pathways, hoping that it would keep away from the other champions and the Tri-wizard Cup. Of course his attempts of avoiding the cup meant that he ended up stumbling upon it while trying to get away from a blast-ended skrewt.
âYouâve got to be kidding me,â Harry muttered as he stared blankly at the glowing Tri-wizard Cup.
He glanced around, trying to decide what to do. One of the champions was out as seen by the flash of red that someone had shot up earlier. That left two others. The question was did Harry wait here in the safety of the center or did he go back off into the maze? Or he could take it. A small part of him whispered about how shiny the cup was, and he instinctively seemed to know that it was made of gold. Before he realized it his hand was reaching out to pick up the cup. He was snapped out of his staring when a second shot of red was blasted into the sky. That only left one more champion. The thought had only crossed Harryâs mind, and then a third red light had been sent up.
Harry found himself utterly confounded. All three older, and more experienced champions had failed to get through the maze. There were a lot of deadly things in the maze but nothing that would cause them to just give up. Harry couldnât picture someone like Viktor Krum just sending up red sparks unless heâd really been hurt. Harry supposed he could send up red sparks and then maybe no one would win. But then again they would probably just come up with an even more insane task for all of them to do. Harry figured the only way to end it all was for him to take the cup.
He reached out and grabbed it. The moment he did, he felt an uncomfortable but familiar jarring sensation. It was as if something hooked him behind his bellybutton and yanked harshly. The ground vanished beneath his feet, and Harry was flitted away to another location.
Harry was dumped, painfully, out onto the ground. The cup went flying off into the dark. He wasted no time in picking himself up off the ground only to find himself in a dark, and decrepit cemetery. For only the smallest moment Harry allowed himself to believe that this was all still part of the Tri-wizard Tournament. But he didnât think even the crazed tournament officials would send him here. Harry made certain that he had his wand in hand. Something wasnât right here and he wanted to stay alert for any signs of danger. He was grateful for the fact that his new eyes had given him the ability to see in the dark. His senses were also stronger, and he unabashedly scented the air to try and learn anything new about his surroundings.
He caught a familiar scent. But Harry couldnât quite recall where he recognized the smell. It must have been before his senses had become enhanced. Before Harry had a chance to analyze it any further a spell came hurtling at him from behind a tombstone, and Harry knew no more.
The first thing he heard was a hissing voice berating someone. He was tightly bound to something rough and cold. No doubt it was one of the many available tome stones strewn around the graveyard. Harry opened his eyes. His eyes immediately locked on the large black cauldron sitting directly in front of him. This didnât bode well for Harry.
âHeâs awake,â announced the hissing voice.
Harryâs gaze instantly snapped to the side. Only to catch sight of the two people he hated most in the world. Well, if the second could actually be classified as a real person. It looked more like a wrinkled and wasted child. But despite that Harry knew exactly who it was. The snake-like red eyes were a dead giveaway.
âHello, Harry Potter,â Voldemort drawled looking extremely smug.
What followed was a monologue that Harry wished he could have blocked out. He supposed it was better to pay attention so that he could learn a little bit about what Voldemort had planned. Apparently he had a spy working for him in Hogwarts who had turned the cup into a portkey. They had put his name in the goblet, and ensured that Harry would be the first one to reach the cup by ruthlessly taking out the competition. Apparently heâd had no choice what with the way that Harry kept utterly failing at the other tasks. Voldemort was attempting to regain his body and to do that he needed Harryâs blood.
When Voldemort shared that bit of information Harry started to struggle in earnest. No matter how hard he tried he couldnât break free from the ropes binding him to the headstone. Wormtail ripped off the sleeve of his shirt to collect his blood. He paused when he caught sight of the black scales on Harryâs arm.
âMy lord, somethingâs wrong with his arm,â Wormtail worried.
âStop delaying and just get the blood,â Voldemort snapped.
Wormtail frowned obviously wavering between insisting that something was wrong and his fear of Voldemortâs wrath if he delayed any longer. Wormtailâs fear won out and he sliced a cut along Harryâs forearm. The blood went into the cauldron with bone dust from Voldemortâs father, followed quickly by Wormtailâs hand.
It didnât take long after that before Voldemort was rising from the cauldron pale, thin, and snake-like. He wasted no time lording over his return to Harry who was desperately trying to free himself. Harry had gotten physically stronger but these ropes were magical, and a bit tougher to break. Things went from bad to worse when Voldemort called on his servants, and soon a ring of black-cloaked Death Eaters formed in the cemetery.
Voldemort gave them all a dramatic speech too, and berated them for abandoning him to life as a shade. It was sort of nice to watch the way the Death Eaters cowered and groveled before Voldemort. Even Lucius Malfoy was on the ground practically kissing Voldemortâs feet. It didnât take long for Voldemortâs attention to turn away from his followers and back to Harry.
âNow I give you the guest of honor of tonightâs events. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived,â Voldemort announced.
He went on to taunt Harry making the Death Eaters laugh when they were expected to. They really laughed when Voldemort cut him down, handed him back his wand, and demanded they duel. Harry refused to bow to the monster, and then of course Voldemort used a spell that forcibly bent his spine. The Death Eaters burst into raucous laughter. The duel began in earnest then, and it was all Harry could do to keep up. His reflexes and senses were sharper but it didnât mean he was up to the task of dueling Voldemort. He played to his strengths, and did his best to avoid the spells Voldemort sent his way. Harry needed to get back to the portkey. His only chance at survival would be if he could find the portkey, which heâd lost among the tombstones upon arrival. He vaguely remembered the direction it should be in but it was going to be difficult to get to it with Voldemort firing off curses left and right.
As it turned all his planning was useless when Voldemort caught him with the Cruciatus. The spell caused pain like nothing Harry had ever felt before, not even from the dream of being cursed hurt quite as much. Harry screamed as he dropped to his knees, and writhed on the ground. He could hear the laughter of the Death Eaters in the background with Voldemortâs own loud sibilant exclamations of amusement. Voldemort paused for only a moment before sending the curse back at Harry full force.
It weakened Harry enough to send him to the ground and lose his grip on his wand. Voldemort didnât waste the opportunity to kick him while he was down. Raising his wand he sent the deadly green curse directly towards Harry. Harry had no chance to avoid it, and he was hit with the full force of it. The world went black.
In the next instant Harry was jarred awake. He opened his eyes, gasping in shock to find himself somehow alive. But a quick look around showed that he had somehow been transported to a strange location. He was in a large cave with rough rock walls but a surprisingly smooth floor with odd claw marks. A pile of gold and precious jewels sat in one corner. Harry couldnât help but feel like there was something oddly familiar about this cave.
âItâs where you were born,â offered a gentle female voice.
âIs it born? Wouldnât it technically be hatched?â countered a male voice.
Harry whipped around just in time to see Lily elbow James in the side.
âShut up, James. This has is supposed to be a serious and emotional meeting with our son who we havenât seen in nearly thirteen years,â she admonished.
âMerlin, weâre dead and she still keeps trying to boss me around,â James whined.
Lily rolled her eyes. Harry could only stare at them. Lily and James Potter were actually standing in front of him appearing alive and well. They looked exactly like they did in all of the pictures he had of them as if they hadnât aged a day. It was utterly odd. It also meant that Harry was very possibly dead.
âWhat in Merlinâs name is happening?â Harry gasped.
âRight, this has to be a little confusing to you,â Lily smiled warmly at him.
âJust a little,â Harry agreed.
âWell, youâre dead,â James blurted out.
âJames!â Lily growled.
âDead?â Harry demanded.
âTechnically, yes. But only for a little while. You can choose to go back if you want to,â Lily offered.
âI donât understand. Why should I be able to go back? Where are we?â Harry spun in a circle.
âWeâre in an in-between place,â James answered.
âAnd whatâs that?â Harry asked.
âItâs a place between life and death. The appearance looks a bit different to everyone. Your mind picked the place you felt the safest and most comfortable, which just happened to be the place where you lived with your birth father before we found you,â Lily smiled fondly.
âSo thatâs what I am? There are Greater Dragons out there?â Harry asked.
âNot quite, you are a dragon, or as theyâre sometimes called, a firedrake. You are very similar to the Greater Dragons Hermione told you about. But in reality you are not a type of dragon that is native to the world we come from,â Lily answered.
âExcuse me, what?â Harry could only stare at them in complete confusion.
âYou see youâre actually from another world, a parallel dimension type of thing. Our world and the world youâre from are pressed tightly against one another, which allows for there to be the occasional slip up between the worlds. Itâs especially true if thereâs some unstable magic being performed on either side,â James continued.
âBecause that makes sense,â Harry glared. âSo how did I slip through?â
âItâs not really our place to tell you about it. Weâre not from that world, and to be honest we donât really know a lot about it,â Lily explained.
âSo you canât tell me about my birth parents or how I ended up here?â Harry wondered
They both shook their heads.
âCould I get back to it? If I maybe wanted to someday?â Harry asked tentatively.
âYes, there are a number of different ways. You ended up in our world by accident. One James and I will always be grateful for,â Lily stroked back a few strands of his hair.
âEven if I got you killed?â Harry asked sadly.
âNever think that, Harry. Youâre our son and we love you. Voldemort was the one who murdered us. Itâs not your fault,â James stated firmly.
âWe wouldnât change a thing. Except maybe to have gotten the chance to spend more time with you,â Lily said forlornly.
âRight, okay, so what do you need to tell me about Voldemort?â Harry managed to choke out. It was such a relief to know that Lily and James didnât regret finding him or being his parents.
Lily and James quickly told him all about Voldemortâs horcruxes. Apparently he had been one of them, and thatâs why he was being given the option to go back. The horcrux inside him would remain behind in this in-between place. They also told him about the others, and that they were going to help him get rid of all of them in one go.
âWhat do you mean, use my fire?â Harry asked shrewdly.
âWhen you go back the spell keeping you human will have finally broken. Youâll turn back into a dragon,â Lily explained.
âAnd we will combine our ghostly powers with your dragon fire to destroy all of the other pieces of Voldemort once and for all,â James cheered.
Harry stared at him.
âItâs much more complicated and mystical than that. But weâll be doing all of the heavy lifting all you need to do is be the catalyst, and the conductor of our power,â Lily assured.
âYup, so all you have to do set his arse on fire,â James grinned.
Lily sighed, âSee what I have to put up with?â
Harry laughed. âI donât understand how you would be able to do this.â
âDeath doesnât like to be cheated, Harry. Voldemort has been avoiding him for too long. Youâre the perfect opportunity to finally take Voldemort. Death always collects his debts in the end,â James said, suddenly solemn.
âYour being here gives us a temporary connection to the plane of the living, and through you we will be able to destroy the pieces of Voldemortâs soul and force him to move on,â Lily added.
âI canât believe Iâll finally be rid of him,â Harry smiled.
âYouâll get to have a normal life, well as normal a life as a wizard who is really a dragon can have,â James pointed out.
Lily and Harry shared a look. Harry had so many questions he wanted to ask them but it seemed that he wasnât going to be given the chance to ask them.
âItâs time for you to go, Harry,â Lily said sadly.
âSo soon?â James cried.
âDo I really?â Harry asked.
âYes, you do. Itâs not safe to remain here for too long or you wonât be able to go back at all. But go, knowing that we will always love and look out for you. And that your birth father loved you, too. You were taken from him, and he put up a hell of fight when he lost you,â Lily explained.
âI thought you werenât supposed to tell me anything?â Harry frowned.
âOh, screw the rules,â Lily snapped.
âGo Lils,â James cheered.
Lily continued, speaking over him, âYou needed to at least know that. You have three parents that love you, Harry. Heâs still alive, your biological father. But heâs hurting. Your loss forever changed him.â
âDefinitely not for the better. Heâs a bit of an arse now actually,â James cut in.
âWhat happened?â Harry demanded.
âWe donât have time. You have to go,â Lily said.
âWe love you, Harry,â James embraced him.
âWeâll always love you, and weâll be right at your side when you face Voldemort,â Lily hugged him too.
Harry gripped them both tightly absorbing the warmth of their embrace. He didnât want to leave them but already he could feel himself being pulled away.
âI love you both, and thank you for being my parents,â Harry murmured before his world went black once more.
He woke up lying where his body had fallen when the Killing Curse had struck him. Harry only had a moment to reorient himself when he felt something snap inside him. There was a burning in his blood and his body began to twitch.
âMy Lord, heâs alive!â came the cry of a Death Eater.
Harry ignored them as his body was beginning to change. His bones twisted and grew, his skin ripped to make way for midnight black scales, and yet it felt wonderful. His spine extended and was quickly wrapped in flesh and scales to make a long, powerful, spiked tail. His neck and arms lengthened. His face stretched into a snout while a crown of black horns sprouted from his skull. His longer arms grew dark membrane that connected with his body to create powerful wings. Curved black claws burst from his toes, and long talons bloomed from his fingertips.
When it was all finished Harry climbed to his feet, and stretched out his massive frame knocking over several headstones in the process. He was twice the size of the Hungarian Horntail, and ten times more deadly. His neck and tail moved with a sinuous grace that felt so comfortable to Harry. This was the body he had been born to, and Harry knew instinctively how to move in it.
Harry cast his golden-eyed gaze over the stunned group of wizards. They seemed so tiny now, so pathetic. Harry wanted to burn them from the face of existence for daring to harm him.
âWhat is this!?â Voldemort screamed in rage.
Harryâs newly forked tongue flicked out and he was able to catch the scent of fear. It was fear rising up from the Death Eaters and even from Voldemort himself.
âI think you could say itâs your end,â Harry snarled, only slightly surprised by the rougher quality of his voice.
His being able to talk apparently startled several of the Death Eaters and a couple of the more cowardly or perhaps the more intelligent apparated away.
âNever, I will never end. I will live forever. You are just a beast you cannot end me!â Voldemort cried, raising his wand once more.
Harry wasnât going to give him a chance to fire off a spell.
âIâll show you a beast,â Harry roared.
His chest and neck glowed ominously before releasing a torrent of incinerating red fire. The flames completely engulfed Voldemort and caught a few Death Eaters who were standing too close. But Harry focused all of his attention on Voldemort. He willed with everything in him to destroy Voldemort. He wanted Voldemort gone. He wanted everything single part of Voldemort burned from the face of the planet.
âWeâre with you, Harry,â Lilyâs voice whispered in his mind.
âJust keep it up,â Jamesâs voice added.
Harry could almost feel the phantom touches of their hands on his arms just before a strangely cool power entered him. It surged through him, and out through the fire pouring from his mouth. In his mindâs eye he could suddenly see various odd objects bursting into flames. A cup, a locket, a diadem, a ring, and finally the snake that had been trailing Voldemortâs feet throughout the night. They all burned. Voldemort was the last to completely crumble into ash. Only then did Harry finally halt his flames, and Lily and James slipped away after a last, heartfelt farewell. Voldemort was destroyed, and Harry felt nothing but relief to finally be freed from his looming presence. It was a weight off his shoulders to know that he no longer would have to deal with the dark wizard ever again.
However there were still the Death Eaters to consider. Harry turned his attention towards the remaining Death Eaters. They were all standing in shocked silence. Their masked faces were turned towards the blackened spot where Voldemort once stood. A few fired off some spells at him but they bounced harmlessly off his thick hide. Harry drew in a deep breath causing his chest to start glowing ominously once more. The Death Eaters wisely decided not to stick around to find out what would happen afterwards. With their leader suddenly burned to a crisp, and the Boy-Who-Lived turned into a giant black dragon they were far too frightened to stick around. Disappointed Harry cooled his fire, and wondered what his next course of action should be. While he loved being returned to his true form he was certain that it wouldnât be a good idea to remain a dragon. Someone was bound to see him, and he was pretty sure that not even the wizarding world would react well to his new appearance.
But then again the night sky was beckoning to him, and he wanted nothing more than to stretch his wings and take to the air. Harry wanted to soar through the sky to celebrate being in his real body, and Voldemortâs defeat. He thought he deserved it after dying. Harry hesitated only a moment longer before his desire to fly on his own won out. He shifted back onto his powerful hind legs, and for the first time he stretched out his arms causing his wings to snap open. Harry instinctively knew what to do. His hind legs shoved off the ground, and with a few powerful flaps of his huge wings he was air born.
Flying under the power of his own wings was as amazing as Harry thought it was going to be. He could see everything, and the feel of the night air against his scales was magnificent. Harry was lucky that it was night. His ebony scales blended right in making him nearly invisible as twisted and dove through the sky. Flying made all of his problems flee from his mind. It was nice to just forget everything for a little while. He wasnât sure how long he flew but eventually the sun was starting to rise. He figured he would have to return to the graveyard to try, and find the cup along with finding some way to turn into a human again.
By the time he returned to the graveyard several wizards had already shown up. Harry didnât have time to turn back because the wizards below had already caught sight of him. Luckily they werenât Death Eaters. With his new sharper eyesight Harry was easily able to pick out Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sirius, and Remus. Harry was worried that Sirius was just out in the open like this but at least there were only people who knew of his innocence involved. All five of them paused and glance up into the sky with wide eyes as Harry descended from the sky.
Dumbledore cast a shielding charm on himself and the others as the gusts of wind from Harryâs wings threatened to knock them flat. When Harry finally landed, the ground shock slightly from the force.
Sirius was the first one to find his voice. âHarry?â
âYes,â Harry replied.
âYou really are a dragon,â Sirius muttered.
âIt would appear so,â Harry coiled his tail and wings closer to his body in an attempt to make himself appear smaller. He lowered his head to rest it carefully beside the small group of wizards. His new sense of perception was terribly odd. They all seemed so tiny now as if they had shrunk. But in reality it was Harry that had grown.
âUnbelievable,â Remus whispered in shock as he stared up at Harry.
âYou canât actually mean that this is Potter,â Snape snarled.
âIt is me,â Harry growled at the potions professor, flashing his teeth. Harry was rewarded when he caught the slight scent of fear coming from the professor.
âHow could this have happened?â Professor McGonagall cried in disbelief.
Harry easily related the events. Sirius helped him fill in the details about how Lily and James Potter found him in the woods. When they got to the part about how Voldemort used his blood to return all of their faces paled. It was quickly followed by stunned amazement when he got to the part about dying, meeting with his parents, and how they had helped him defeat Voldemort. But Harry kept the information about his birth father, and the fact that he was actually from another world to himself. That was information that he wasnât quite ready to share with everyone just yet.
âIt would explain the mark,â Snape murmured.
He pulled up the sleeve of his dark robes to reveal a red burn mark on his forearm where the black snake and skull of the Dark Mark should have been.
âThe mark turned black suddenly signaling his return to power, and then just as quickly an unbearable heat seared through it burning the mark from my arm. I didnât have time to share this information as we were all too busy searching for Mr. Potter,â Snape explained when Dumbledore sent him a questioning look.
âDid you know about the horcruxes?â Sirius demanded of Dumbledore and Snape.
âI had my suspicions,â Dumbledore nodded.
âAnd you didnât tell me?â Harry growled, and he was pleased that his growl was much more effective now that he was a dragon. They certainly couldnât ignore him now.
âI believed I was protecting you from an unfortunate truth,â Dumbledore said.
âHavenât I proven that I can handle myself?â Harry glared at Dumbledore.
Harry didnât appreciate being kept in the dark like that especially when he had been a horcrux. He knew Dumbledore probably thought he was too young to know. But Harry had been through so much already. Voldemort had been after him since he was a baby. Dumbledore should have kept him informed of the dangers that Voldemort posed even if they were just suspicions. It would have been nice to know that Voldemort was nearly immortal.
âHardly, Potter, you are childish. Always jumping rashly into dangerous situations. You couldnât have been trusted with such vital information,â Snape drawled.
âOh but you could? Harryâs saved people, which is more than you can say, Snivellus,â Sirius defended him.
âCanât we all just appreciate that Harry is alive, and Voldemort is defeated once and for all?â Remus spoke up, stepping between the two dark haired wizards.
âYes, I agree Remus,â Professor McGonagall nodded, giving both Snape and Sirius stern looks.
âI do apologize, Harry. It was a mistake not to tell you something so important. I am glad that youâre all right, and everything has turned out well,â Dumbledore told him solemnly.
Harry could tell that he meant his words but it would still take a bit of time for him to get over the feelings of betrayal. So for now he just nodded to the headmaster without really accepting his apology.
âWhat happens now?â Harry questioned, tilting his head to indicate his much larger form. Lily and James had never mentioned if heâd be able to shift back once the spell had broken.
âLetâs start with you trying to shift back,â Sirius said stepping up.
âYour mind should have some memory of its previous shape after spending so many years in it. It is simply the matter of whether or not you still possess the ability too. Iâve never heard of a dragon possessing the magic to complete such a change. But then Iâve never heard of a dragon capable of speech either,â Professor McGonagall pointed out.
âI donât believe Harry is a type of dragon we have only ever encountered before in legend,â Dumbledore soothed. âI think that he is more than capable of returning to a human form, and Sirius and Minerva are the perfect ones to help coach you through the process. Severus and I will return to Hogwarts and reassure everyone that you are safe.â
With that said the two of them apparated away. It went a long way to easing the tension in the air with the two of them gone, and letting Harry relax a bit.
âAll right letâs get started,â Sirius glanced up at Harry.
Over the next hour Remus, Sirius, and Professor McGonagall all helped coach him through various exercises in hopes of helping Harry return to his human form with little success. The problem wasthey were making things too complicated. They were too focused on the idea of teaching Harry the techniques of changing back from an animagus form. This was his true form, and his human form had been the foreign one. Changing back to his human shape wouldnât quite be the same as the animagus transformation, and his magic was fundamentally different now. It was a tad bit wilder but the years training as a wizard ensured that it wasnât completely uncontrollable.
Eventually Harry realized that their advice wasnât going to help him. Harry looked inside himself, and he discovered the way to turn back. The tricky part was that Harry had to actually want to change back and right now he didnât really want to. A part of him remembered just how painful the first changes were. He was afraid that if returned to a human shape he would be stuck that way forever, and he didnât want that. Harry liked his dragon form. He didnât want to turn back into some weak thin-skinned human.
Harry relaxed, and did his best to convince himself that he would be able to return to his dragon form if he could just switch back to his human form first. He closed his eyes and pictured his human form down to the smallest detail he could think of. It took a bit but eventually there was the unpleasant sensation of shifting bones, and being crushed but eventually he was back in his more familiar shape.
He flushed to the tips of his ears when he realized he wasnât wearing any clothes, and rushed to cover himself. Luckily Remus quickly took care of it and transfigured a robe to drape over him.
âWell done, Harry,â Sirius praised.
âYour eyes have even returned to their previous green, Mr. Potter,â Professor McGonagall informed him, actually looking at him now that he was safely covered.
Harry nodded in relief that heâd managed it, and to his further relief Harry felt the utter certainty that he would be able to change back. With that knowledge firmly set in his mind they all traveled back to Hogwarts. Sirius as Padfoot of course but the rest of them returned to the chaos that Hogwarts had become after Harryâs sudden disappearance. He was taken into the privacy of the Hospital Wing where his friends were all waiting.
They all clamored over him to make sure that he was all right, and asked what had happened. He told them everything that had happened even the part about being a dragon. Hermione was full of questions about Voldemort and his dragon form, and Ron was happy to hear that Harry had destroyed Voldemort and scared a bunch of Death Eaters in the process. The other Weasleys soon found them, and Harry was grateful to have their concern and support. It was almost like being part of a family. However, in the back of his mind was the memory of what Lily had told him about his birth father being hurt by his loss.
Once heâd reassured everyone important to him that he was all right things got interesting. It was discovered that Moody was Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise. Crouch Jr. was taken into custody where it was proven that he put Harryâs name in the goblet of fire and charmed the cup to become a portkey. He got rid of the other champions in the maze to ensure Harry got the cup, and was sent to the graveyard for Voldemort to use in his ritual to get his body back.
With Crouch in custody he gave up information about Peter Pettigrew being alive, and helping him to get Voldemortâs body back. It wasnât long before it was proven to be fact and Siriusâs name was cleared for good. The Ministry also had concrete proof that Voldemort had been alive all this time. They stunned to learn the truth but to their credit they quickly sent out several task forces to search for any remaining evidence of him and for any Death Eaters who were still active. Harry was declared the winner of the Tri-wizard Tournament despite his insistence not to be. When the other champions found out about his facing Voldemort and his Death Eaters they insisted that he deserved the title. Harry didnât quite feel the same, and gave the gold to the Weasley twins to start up their joke shop.
Harry spent the rest of his fourth year in relative peace. Harry was able to focus on his classes, and spend time goofing off with his friends. He spent time in his dragon form learning its strengths, and limitations. Eventually Harry came to an agreement with Dumbledore. Harry was no longer actively mad at his headmaster but he didnât quite trust him the same as he once had. Everyone at Hogwarts, and the wizarding world in general loved him again for his defeat of Voldemort. Of course none of the general public quite knew the truth of what had happened in the graveyard. The Death Eaters were the only ones who had witnessed it, and they didnât exactly want to come forward with the information with the manhunt going on for them, thanks to Amelia Bones.
Life was finally turning up for Harry. There was no more Voldemort, and with Sirius declared innocent Harry was allowed to go and live with him when the summer break rolled around. The two of them moved into a nice country house with a lot of land surrounding them to keep away any unwanted neighbors. Remus joined them after a lot of wheedling from Sirius and Harry. After all Sirius was an animagus and Harry was a dragon it wasnât as if Remusâs werewolf side could hurt either of them. The three of them spent every full moon together. It was the only time Harry ever really got the chance to stretch his wings. It was unanimously had decided it was better that the general public didnât know about his scalier side. Harry didnât want everyone knowing about him being a dragon. He was afraid that wizards would come after him or worse try to kill him.
Harry really shouldnât complain about not being able to change all the time. Everything was going well. But spending a long period in his human form made Harry surprisingly anxious. He didnât feel as comfortable in his human skin as he used to. His dreams were filled with flying, fire, and gold. Harry had to resist the urge to hoard any pieces of gold that he encountered. A part of him desperately wanted to stop being a wizard all together and leave it all behind to just be a dragon.
///
The day before his fifteenth birthday Hermione and Ron came over to spend the night. Tomorrow Sirius was throwing a big party. The three of them ended up staying up until midnight just so they could wish Harry a happy birthday before anyone else. While waiting for the clock to chime Harry brought up what Lily and James had told him about his birth father, and being from another world for the first time.
âWhat if heâs some monster?â Harry asked.
It had been bothering him a lot. Dragons didnât exactly have a good reputation in stories, and James had said that he was an arse. Harry could tell that he had been trying to make light of the situation, which meant that Harryâs birth father must have been pretty terrible.
âItâs no use worrying over it, mate, itâs not like youâll ever know unless you go back to that other world,â Ron shrugged.
âRon, this is important to Harry,â Hermione glared. âBesides it would be a fascinating project to research travel between dimensions. Oh, thereâs so much I need to look up.â
âDonât run off for the library just yet, Hermione,â Harry joked.
âIâm sorry, Harry. I didnât mean to brush aside your concerns,â Hermione apologized.
âItâs all right. I understand this is exciting for you,â Harry assured.
âWould you want to go if we found a way?â Hermione asked shrewdly.
Harry shrugged and glanced away. Heâd been thinking about it a lot lately. Especially after his recent dreams. Well, they were more like memories than they were dreams. They had grown much more vivid since the spell keeping him human had broken. The memories made him realize just how much his birth father had cared for him, and Harry found himself wanting to meet him.
âI think I would, someday,â Harry answered eventually.
âThen weâll find a way, and then weâll all go together,â Hermione said with determination.
Ron spluttered in surprise. âSpeak for yourself. I donât want to meet Harryâs dragon father if there might be a chance heâll eat us. I mean I thought dragons here were bad. Harryâs enormous in his dragon form. I canât imagine what his dad would look like.â
Harry just laughed. But the truth was that he was a little nervous. What if he did end up meeting his father and he didnât recognize him? Or worse he recognized him but didnât care? To Harry the memories of his time with his birth father were fresh in his mind thanks to his dreams. Would it be the same for his father?
The three of them eventually settled down to sleep once Ron and Hermione had each wished him a happy birthday. As Harry slipped into a deep sleep he was once more immersed in a former memory. They werenât always incredibly vivid but sometimes it would feel as if he was actually reliving a memory. Harry went to sleep in his bedroom, and woke up in a stone cave in another world.
Harry opened his eyes to find himself in a cocoon made of fiery red hues. He lifted his head, and instinctively recognized the scaled red hide to be his sireâs side, and the red above him to be his sireâs wing. Harry wiggled his way out from beneath his sireâs wing. He was awake and full of energy. He wanted to play. As soon as he managed to break free from his sireâs side he looked around the stone den that was his home for something to play with. His attention was immediately caught by the pile of gold in the corner. It was so shiny and sparkly. He loved it everything about it.
Harry scampered over to the gold and jumped into it. He rolled, dove, and slid around in the gold, generally making a huge disturbance. It wasnât until a large spiked head was hovering over him that he realized heâd woken up his sire. The part of Harry that recognized this was just a memory was a little intimidated by the large, fearsome looking face hovering over him. But at the time Harry had just been utterly delighted to see that his sire had woken up to play with him.
Little growling chirps issued from Harryâs long muzzle, and he quickly moved to weave in and out of his sireâs front legs. A low rumbling purr came from his sire as he leaned down to nuzzle Harry affectionately. The older dragon said something to Harry. He didnât quite understand completely but he understood enough to know that the older dragon was asking if he was hungry. Harry enthusiastically responded in the affirmative with little chirps.
Laughing, the larger red dragon picked him up by the back of the neck, gently holding him with his teeth. Harryâs body instinctively reacted to the hold. His body went lax, and his wings and tail tucked in close to his belly. His sire then carried him from their cave, and out on to the ledge. With a powerful leap the two of them were air born. They flew for a short distance before his sire flew over a wooded clearing with a herd of deer. Much like a hawk would catch its prey his sire snatched up a deer with his hind legs, killing it instantly with his sharp talons and strong grip. Only then did he land, and deposit Harry onto the ground.
Harry had immediately gone to the deer clutched in his sireâs claws, and heâd wasted no time in gobbling down as much of the deer as he could. With his belly full Harry curled up between his fatherâs front legs. The red dragon gently licked the blood from Harryâs black scales to clean him off. They settled in the clearing for a bit, and his sire told him a story. Afterwards Harry scampered around the field eager to explore his new surroundings while his sire watched on closely. He so rarely got to leave their den. It was only recently that his sire had begun taking him outside more often. The memory began to fade as they prepared to leave the clearing, and Harry drifted back into his normal dreams.
The next morning Harry woke up still feeling the contentment he had in his memory. It also helped that it was his birthday, and Sirius had made blueberry pancakes. Well, Remus had made them while Sirius supervised. But it was the thought that counted.
The rest of his guests arrived around noontime, and it was the best birthday Harry had ever had. They played Quidditch, had cake, and opened presents. The only thing that could have made it better is if his parents were there.
Of course Harry should have known something bad was bound to happen with things going so well. His life was rarely so easy. It was while he was sitting down to birthday dinner with Sirius and Remus that he felt strangely dizzy. It was suddenly as if he was stretched too thin, and the world around him grew hazy. Harry could hear Sirius calling his name but everything was blurry and fading around him. He felt as if he something had hooked around him and he was being pulled away. The last thing he heard before the world went dark were the sounds of Lily and Jamesâs cries.