When Merrows Scream

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 1995: Quidditch World Cup

Harry couldn’t believe that he was actually at the Quidditch World Cup. It was so exciting watching the way professionals played. It was so much more exciting than the games they had at school. Viktor Krum was the youngest Seeker to ever play professionally, and Harry thought he was amazing. He flew as if he was born to be in the air and Harry could only hope he was half as good.

The Gryffindor hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the Bulgarian. And … well, he guessed that definitely helped answer the question he had been struggling with for about a year now. He was definitely into guys.

Harry Potter was one hundred percent as bent as they came.

He had suspected it when he was fighting with Malfoy last year and had the thought that it would be so much nicer to kiss the prat than fight with him. He had panicked and avoided the blonde like the plague for about a month.

Then he started forcing himself to pay attention to the girls at school. It had done absolutely nothing for him.

Harry quickly discovered that he would start watching the girls but then a fit boy would pass, like Blaise Zabini, and he would get very distracted. (Why were nearly all the Slytherin boys so hot?) Like he was right now with Krum. The man was gorgeous and proper fit, and he knew how to use his broom.

“Do you see that? He is going to do it,” Ron yelled and elbowed Harry.

Harry quit daydreaming just in time to see that Viktor had spotted the snitch. Or at least he wanted them to believe he had. He was famous for this type of distraction. The Bulgarian grinned and it made Harry a bit weak in the knees. Then he dove. The point of his broom was almost straight down as he plummeted toward the ground at unbelievable speeds.

The Irish Seeker was hot on his tail and just as the nose of Viktor’s broom was about to hit the ground he yanked up and sped off. The Irish Seeker wasn’t so lucky. She crashed into the ground hard. Harry turned from her and watched as Viktor turned sharply to the left and snatched the snitch right out of the sky.

“A perfect Wronski Feint,” Harry whispered as the crowds went wild.

“Why would he catch the snitch? He just lost the game for Bulgaria,” Ron exclaimed.

“But it was an epic loss,” Fred stated as he wrapped an arm around Harry.

“Yeah, one that just won us money,” George added. Harry grinned with them and let the twins lead him along with the rest of them out of their seats and back to their tent.

Harry was really glad that the Weasleys had included him in this. They had shown up at the Dursleys the day after his fifteenth birthday and told him to pack his things that they were taking him to their house for the rest of the summer. That was when they had told him about the World Cup.

It was so exciting.

They were celebrating just like everyone else in the field when suddenly the sounds of celebration turned to screams of terror. Bill and Charlie barreled out of the tent to see what was going on. They came back in a few moments later looking serious and ready. Dangerous even. Like they were just more than what they seemed.

“Death Eaters,” Bill told his father.

“We need to get out of here,” Arthur stated. Harry watched him shift from fun, loving, Dad to someone in charge. It was different. Normally Molly made decisions, and Arthur just went with it. “Bill, you and Charlie will come with me.”

“Ok Dad,” Charlie answered while Bill just nodded. Arthur turned to Fred and George.

“The two of you are responsible for you sister. Make sure she stays close, the six of you need to get out of here. Get to the portkey it will take you back to the hill and then go straight home. Do not attempt to fight or be heroes. Go straight home,” Arthur instructed.

“Yes Sir,” The six of them answered.

“Good, wands out, stick together. Go now,” Arthur commanded and then they all exited the tent. Bill, Charlie, and Arthur made sure they were covered until they were out of sight before taking off toward the Death Eaters.

It was complete chaos.

People were shouting, screaming, running around, and panicking. At one point Harry was jostled and hit the ground hard. He looked up to see Hermione and Ron following Fred, George, and Ginny. They hadn’t even realized he wasn’t with them.

Harry jumped up and just as he was about to take off running after them, someone screamed and pointed. Harry turned to see that there were Death Eaters heading straight for him. He raised his wand to fight back. He cast Shielding Charms and other things that he had learned just to give him time to get into the woods.

Once he was in the woods, he could find a place to hide until the Aurors had gotten control of the situation. He had just made it to the tree line and was ducking behind a tree when he was hit with something that made him feel like his blood was boiling in his veins.

Harry didn’t stop running. He needed to get as far into the woods as he could before he passed out or died. He didn’t want to be unconscious or vulnerable somewhere that a Death Eater could find him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What felt like hours later, he finally found a small dirt cave in the side of a hill. He crawled inside and collapsed to the ground. Merlin, he felt like he was going to catch fire and burn. They would never find him when they came looking. He would be nothing but ash.

Suddenly, he felt something inside of him shatter and the burning stopped.

He was completely pain free for a blessed moment before a new kind of pain consumed him. His skin felt itchy and too tight, his fingers and toes burned as if they were splitting apart at the tips, his back hurt so badly that he had to roll onto his stomach. He pressed his face into the cool dirt just as he felt something rip its way out of his back.

Merlin, he was dying. He was being ripped apart. Harry thinks he preferred the burning to this ripping. Then, the pain stopped. Harry lay on the ground panting. He knew his throat was raw from screaming and there was blood, bits of skin, and shredded material all around him.

He felt something heavy settle over him and opened his eyes just enough to see bloody wings draping over him. He attempted to reach up and touch them but was distracted by the honest to Merlin, claws on his hand. And did his skin look a bit purply-blue?

What had happened to him?

It was the last thought that went through Harry’s head before he felt the darkness consume him. Well, at least he wasn’t dead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There’s the boot,” Ginny exclaimed in relief.

“Thank Merlin,” Ron replied.

“Everyone grab hold,” Fred instructed.

“Wait,” George said frantically. “Where’s Harry?”

“He’s right….Oh god,” Hermione choked out. They all turned to see if he was just lagging behind them. They waited but he didn’t come.

“How long has he been missing,” Fred demanded.

“I don’t know. I thought he was there. He was holding my shirt, so we didn’t get separated. I didn’t realize he had let go,” Hermione answered.

“It isn’t your faut Mione,” Ron replied quickly. “He just can’t help getting involved when he shouldn’t. He probably ran off to fight Death Eaters as soon as we weren’t paying attention.”

Hermione looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Fred and George actually smacked him.

“He wouldn’t do that,” Ginny defended.

“You are only defending him because you like him,” Ron sneered.

“I do not,” Ginny said with a roll of her eyes. “Just because I had a crush on him when I was younger doesn’t mean I still like him. I don’t know if you have been paying attention, but Dean and I are dating. Harry is my friend. Besides I don’t think he even likes girls.”

“Of course he likes girls,” Ron snapped back. No friend of his was a fairy.

“I think the two of you have gotten off topic. Harry is missing,” Hermione reminded them.

“The three of you are going home,” Fred stated.

“Tell mum what’s happening,” George added.

“What’re the two of you going to do?” Ron whined.

“We are going to find Harry or Dad,” the twins answered together.

“Oi, he is my best mate. I should help look for him,” Ron pouted.

“No, you shouldn’t,” Hermione interrupted. “We will just be in the way. Besides, the twins are seventeen. They can use magic without getting in trouble, we can’t.”

“Exactly,” Ginny backed her up. “We will tell mum.”

Hermione and Ginny forced Ron to grab hold of the boot. Fred and George waited until they were gone before they turned back toward the chaos of the field.

“Ready Gred,” George asked.

“Yeah, I’m ready Forge,” Fred replied.

“Lets go find Harry,” They said together. They pulled their wands and took off back into the fray of panicked people.

They shouted for Harry and looked everywhere to find him. But they couldn’t find him anywhere. They searched until the fires were out and only smoke and silence covered the field.

The Dark Mark hovered ominously over them in bright green.

“What are the two of you doing here? I thought dad told you to go home,” Bill asked when he and Charlie ran into the twins finally.

He and Charlie had been working with the Aurors to make sure that the field was clear. Fred and George looked so upset.

“What happened?” Charlie demanded.

“We lost Harry,” Fred answered.

“What do you mean you lost him?” Bill asked.

“He means when we got to the boot, we realized that Harry wasn’t with us,” George elaborated.

“We sent Ron, Ginny, and Hermione home and came back out to look for him,” Fred added.

“How long have you been searching?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know,” George sighed out.

“We haven’t seen him either,” Bill stated. “But that doesn’t mean anything. He could have gotten help from someone else or found another way out.”

“Let’s go find Dad. He will know where to start looking,” Charlie insisted.

“Yeah, let’s find Dad,” Fred and George agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Next Day: Deep in the Woods

Harry slowly blinked open his eyes. He closed them again when he was assaulted by the beam of sun that reached him in the cave. He felt sore everywhere. Everything hurt, even breathing. His skin felt so tight and dry. But all of those things meant he wasn’t dead. So, he just laid there for a bit and celebrated the fact that he was alive.

After a few moments he opened his eyes again and realized that everything seemed to be completely in focus even though he could see his glasses lying on the ground near the entrance to the cave.

That was weird.

He raised his hand and was shocked to see that he hadn’t hallucinated the claws, or the new purplish/blue tint to his skin, which meant….he turned his head.

“Yep, still there,” Harry whispered.

Wings….

He had wings, claws, fangs, weird skin, his eyesight was clear, and from what he could see, there were pretty peach, lilac, and silver scales covering his arms.

What kind of curse had he been hit with?

Harry slowly sat up and rolled his shoulders to try and work out some of the pain he could still feel there. He looked himself over. He was shirtless. That must be what the scraps of material around him was from. He couldn’t stand in the small cave and his wings were brushing the roof. It was uncomfortable.

He snatched up his glasses as he crawled out of the cave and tucked them into his pocket. He looked around but didn’t recognize anything around him. He didn’t even know how far he had made it into the woods, or which direction to go in order to get out. He tried to listen but couldn’t hear anything outside of normal forest sounds.

Even if they were far louder than normal.

“Merlin, I have gotten myself into it now,” Harry said with a sigh. He decided to just pick a direction and walk. He had been walking for about ten minutes when he found a stream.

“Perfect, I can wash off all of this blood and then I won’t feel so itchy or dry,” Harry said to himself.

It was still August and warm enough that he only took his shoes and socks off. His jeans would dry quickly enough. The water felt amazing. His skin seemed to just soak it up. He couldn’t resist wading into the deeper water in the middle and completely submerging himself.

He stayed under for far longer than he ever had before and then he stood up to finish cleaning himself. He pulled his wings forward one and a time and washed all of the blood and other fluids off of them. It felt really nice, and Harry was startled to realize that he was purring.

He sat down in the shallow because he couldn’t bring himself to leave the water just yet. He needed to find a way to hide the wings and his new skin color, or he was definitely going to be in the Prophet.

Just as he thought it, he felt the weight of the wings disappear. He looked over his shoulder and realized they were gone. So were his claws, fangs, and the scales that had been on his skin.

His skin, however, was still very much a light pretty purple/blue.

“Huh, well the wings are gone, but people are definitely going to notice the skin,” Harry said with a grin.

Just to see if he could do it, Harry thought about the wings being there and out they popped. It was still a little painful, but he was sure he would get used to it if he couldn’t get rid of them. He willed them away again and put his shoes back on. He needed to find his way back.

Harry walked until it was nearly dark. He tried to stay close to the stream because it felt a bit grounding to be near it. Sometimes he just kept his shoes off and walked in it. He was exhausted, hungry, and losing hope of finding his way out. He decided to climb a tree with large branches and sleep up there so that nothing could get him while he was sleeping.

He would keep going in the morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Days Later: The Burrow

“Anything?” Molly asked as Arthur stepped into the kitchen. The kids were all making themselves busy around the house to keep their minds off of their missing friend. It had been three days since the World Cup and Harry was still missing.

“I’m afraid not,” Arthur answered with a sigh. “I am afraid that the worst has happened. He is either dead, or the Death Eaters have taken him.”

“They are still looking, aren’t they?” Molly gasped.

“They are going to put their effort into other things now. Like hunting down the Death Eaters that attacked at the World Cup,” Arthur answered reluctantly.

“And what about the headmaster, what is Albus doing?” Molly demanded.

“He has Severus out searching for him still,” Arthur revealed. “He hasn’t given up. Says that he knows Harry is still alive. Sirius is climbing the walls of Grimmauld Place.”

“I am surprised that he is actually still there and not out searching,” Molly said with a worried sigh. “What about Remus? Is he going to call him back from his mission or let him know that Harry is missing?”

“Albus placed wards around the house so that Sirius cannot leave,” Arthur admitted. “And as far as Remus goes, he thinks that telling him about Harry now would only distract him from his mission. He thinks that Remus’s mission is more important and that we can handle Harry.”

“I am just so worried about him, Arthur. He is only fifteen and he is out there all alone. He has to be hurt, or worse, the Death Eaters have taken him,” Molly sobbed. Arthur wrapped his wife in his arms and held her while she cried for the boy, they both considered theirs as much as their birth children.

“So, still no sign of Harry then,” Bill said as he stepped into the kitchen.

“No, and the Ministry isn’t prioritizing him anymore. They are going after the Death Eaters now. They figure he is either dead or captured,” Arthur answered.

“That is ridiculous,” Bill growled out. “Someone is still looking for him though right?”

“Yes, Severus is still searching for him,” Arthur informed him.

“Do you know where?” Bill asked.

“I believe he was sent to search the woods around the fields again,” Arthur answered.

“I am going to help,” Bill told them. He kissed his mother and then snagged Charlie as he headed out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Next Day: Deep in the Woods

Harry was at the end of his rope.

He couldn’t take this anymore. He wouldn’t survive another day out here. It had already been four days since he had woken up. He had been eating nuts and berries that he had picked. He had come across some that were poisonous once, but it was like something instinctive inside of him knew they were no good. So, he hadn’t eaten them.

At some point he had slid down a small hill and he was pretty sure he had sprain his ankle, so every step hurt. He was getting weaker, and he was really close to giving up. He had left the stream two days ago and his skin was dry and itchy. He had thought about using magic to get away, consequences be damned, but he had apparently lost his wand when he had been running for his life.

He had attempted to back track to the cave to see if he could find it, or even the stream so at least he wasn’t so miserable, but he had ended up even more lost than before. His only hope was that he would somehow wander out of the woods, and someone would find him and help him.

Then it happened…

He heard it…

voices.

“This is Harry’s wand,” came excited words.

“Now we are getting somewhere,” was the reply.

Harry knew those voices. He started limping as fast as he could toward the sound of those voices.

“Help!” Harry croaked out. “Bill, Charlie!!!”

There was the sound of rustling and then he stopped when the two red heads came sprinting through the trees.

“Harry,” Charlie breathed out. He grinned as Bill strode forward.

“You found me,” Harry whispered as his legs buckled. Bill caught him and lifted him into his arms.

“We found you. Let’s get you out of here,” Bill told him. Harry nodded and then finally relaxed and let the exhaustion pull him under.

“Bill he smells…. And look at his skin…” Charlie started. Bill nodded and tightened his arms around Harry.

“I know, Charlie. Something isn’t right. I think maybe we aren’t the only ones that were suppressed. We need to take him to Gringotts. The Goblins will take care of him. Just like they did for us,” Bill responded.

“Are we telling anyone that we found him yet?” Charlie asked.

“Not yet. Let the Goblins tend to him first and then we will let people know we found him,” Bill suggested.

“Sounds good, let’s go,” Charlie agreed.

“Grab hold Charlie, I can apparate us straight into the bank,” Bill told him. Charlie did as he was told. When they arrived, Bill told Charlie to just wait, that someone would be in to get them in a moment.

“Why have you brought others with you into the bank, Mr. Weasley?” the goblin asked.

“I am sorry Griphook, but I have reason to believe that someone has suppressed Harry like they did me and my brothers,” Bill explained.

“He smells like one of us. And look at his skin. I think he is at least part Merrow,” Charlie added.

“Bring him,” Griphook instructed.

Bill and Charlie followed the goblin down and through a bunch of tunnels until they reached an infirmary. Bill attempted to lay Harry down on the bed but stopped when Harry whimpered and trilled in panic. Bill and Charlie both rumbled soothingly to him, and he calmed down enough for Bill to lay him down.

“Definitely one of you, and a Submissive Merrow from the looks of it,” Griphook said with a sigh. “The only Merrow ever found on Earth are The Lost Merrow. Nevarah will need to be notified most likely. I do hate it when this happens.”

He waved a healer forward so that she could began her assessment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gringotts’ Infirmary

Harry woke slowly.

He blinked his eyes open and looked up at a rock ceiling. That didn’t seem right. Bill and Charlie had found him. Hadn’t they? They would have taken him to the infirmary at Hogwarts or St. Mungos. Right? Did he only dream that he had been rescued? He sat up quickly and looked around.

“Harry! You’re awake,”

Harry smiled and turned to where Charlie and Bill had been sitting next to his bed.

“Bill, Charlie,” Harry exclaimed and made a happy chirring sound. “I didn’t dream it. You rescued me.”

“We did,” Bill answered.

“How do you feel?” Charlie asked him.

“I feel good actually. How long have I been out?” Harry asked them.

“A day,” Bill answered. “Goblins have amazing healers and healing abilities.”

“That explains why we are in a big cavern,” Harry said with a smile. “Maybe I should come here every time I get hurt. That is amazing. My ankle doesn’t even hurt at all.”

“Or you could just avoid getting hurt,” Charlie pointed out. Harry laughed.

“Yeah right,” Harry responded. “I couldn’t avoid getting hurt even if I tried really hard.”

“Mr. Potter,” a goblin said as he walked over to them. “It is good to see you up and laughing. How are you feeling?”

“I’m ok. I feel great actually. You guys are amazing,” Harry told them with a smile. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You are very welcome, Mr. Potter. I am Griphook,” The Goblin stated.

“I remember you. You took me to my vault first year,” Harry responded.

“That is correct. If you are feeling up to it. I would like to have you come with me to my office. There are some things we need to discuss about your accounts. I have sent letters, but you have not responded to any of them,” Griphook informed him.

“But I haven’t received any letters,” Harry told him.

“That is what I figured. Are you feeling up to coming with me?” Griphook asked.

“Yes, Sir. I am ok to do it,” Harry responded quickly. Bill stood up and handed Harry a stack of clothes.

“I brought you some of the extra clothes I keep here for work. I had to shrink them down, but they should work for now, at least they will help cover that pretty skin, so others are less likely to notice,” Bill told him.

“Thank you, Bill,” Harry said with a slight blush. He was glad they weren’t making a big deal about it. Hopefully, they could fix it. Even if he did kind of like it.

He went into a washroom that Griphook pointed out and changed after a less than quick rinse. The water just felt so good just like at the stream. He had never enjoyed a shower this much before. He didn’t dry off completely when he got out.

The clothes were still a little big, but he was used to that. And they weren’t traditional Wixen clothes either. More muggle really and Harry loved the pull over hoody. At least these were much nicer than Dudley’s clothes.

When he was done, he followed Griphook to the door. He realized that Bill and Charlie were not following him.

“Are you two not coming?” Harry asked. He felt safe around them. Something about his new instincts said they were safe and that he should stay with them. They smelled familiar, like family.

“Not this time, Harry. We have a few things that need to be taken care of,” Bill told him.

“Well ok. Thank you for rescuing me. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die out there,” Harry thanked them.

“Oh, we found this,” Charlie said and pulled out Harry’s wand. Harry took it happily and kept it gripped in his hand.

“Thank you,” Harry said with a smile. Then he waved goodbye and followed Griphook up to his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Truth

Harry looked up at Griphook. The Goblin looked back at him with sympathy.

Hadrian Lupus Prince

Birthday: July 30th 1979

“Is this true?” Harry asked him. “Is my name really Hadrian Lupus Prince? This says I was born in 1979 that would mean I am actually sixteen not fifteen right?”

“It is very true Heir Prince,” Griphook said with a sigh. “These things are made with Truth Serum and Truth Spells are woven into the parchment.”

“And this part about my parents?” Harry asked.

Bearer: Regulus Arcturus Prince nee Black
Sire: Severus Tobias Prince
Third: Remus John Prince nee Lupin

“True,” Griphook stated. Harry nodded.

“The Potters adopted me? Why?” Harry asked him.

“Well, the story they told when they came in here was that you had been given to them. That your Bearer and Sire thought it would be too dangerous for you with them since they were known Death Eaters. So, they asked the Potters to adopt you for your safety,” Griphook told him.

“You say that as if you don’t believe it,” Harry pointed out.

“We do not believe it,” Griphook answered honestly.

“Who is we?” Harry asked.

“I consulted with the Prince and Black account managers after the Potters left. They attempted to get in touch with Lord Prince and Lord Black as well as Mr. Prince, but they couldn’t. Then a month later, Lord Black was reported dead, Mr. Prince went to the Potters as if nothing had ever happened, and Lord Prince has never returned to the bank personally,” Griphook revealed.

“So, you don’t believe I was given to the Potters willingly,” Harry deduced.

“Correct, we believe that you were stolen and somehow your parent’s memories were altered,” Griphook revealed.

“Who would do something like that?” Harry demanded. “Do you know what kind of hell I have been living in with the Dursleys? They hurt me all the time. Beat me and starve me. I didn’t even know I had a name until I was five and started school. They only ever called me ‘boy’ or ‘freak’. They forced me to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs for ten years. I have living parents. Even if Snape hates my guts he probably would have treated me better than the Dursleys.”

“I am sorry, Heir Prince. We can continue to try and reach you Father about coming to the bank. If we can get him here and get him to submit himself to an inheritance test we can prove whether or not he has been under compulsions or memory charms. Mr. Remus as well,” Griphook stated.

“You said that Regulus was reported dead but on the parchment it doesn’t have a death date. The Potters have a death date, but Regulus doesn’t, does that mean that he is still alive as well?” Harry asked curiously.

“Yes, he has either gone into hiding or he has been locked away somehow for the last fourteen years,” Griphook answered.

“This is so screwed up,” Harry said with a sigh. “Also, how is it possible for me to have three parents?” Griphook pointed toward the paper.

Creature: Submissive Dragel

“You are a Dragel. Part Merrow, at least, by the looks of it. All Dragel have three parents. I will provide you with books that will give you accurate information. This is something that you must keep secret. Dragel have been out lawed here in Britain, deemed too ‘dark’ and dangerous to exist. The Ministry believes that they are extinct. You would be hunted down if word got out,” Griphook informed him.

“Of course I would,” Harry said with a sigh. “Because nothing can ever just be simple for me. You said I am a Merrow by the looks of it, does that have something to do with why my skin is a purply/ blue? How am I supposed to hide that? And how am I still considered the Heir for the Potter line if I am not really a Potter?”

“One question at a time, Heir Prince. Yes, your skin color is because you are at least in part a Merrow. That is a Water Dragel. We will hide it with a glamour. No one will know unless you show them,” Griphook told him.

“I guess that also explains why I suddenly want to be in the water more than I want to be out of it,” Harry responded. “What am I supposed to do about that? I can’t stay in the water.”

“I have a cream here that we always keep on hand in the event that one of the Lost Merrow are found here. I will give it to you, and you just need to make sure you apply it any time you start feeling dry. It will help,” Griphook promised.

“Ok, thank you,” Harry said with a sigh.

“Now, as for the Potter Lordship, they adopted you legally, that gives you the right to everything. The Potter line died with James, but you still inherit all of it,” Griphook answered.

“If I was adopted, why do I look like them?” Harry asked.

“If you look further down your Test, it states that you are under a Blood Glamour. This would make sure that you looked like them. Once it is removed, you will look like your true self,” Griphook explained.

“There are a lot of Seals on me as well as spells and blocks can we do something about all of those?” Harry asked.

“Of course we can,” Griphook assured him. “We can remove everything that has been placed on you by doing a cleansing in our ritual room. Is that something that you want?”

“Yes,” Harry answered quickly. “I want to know who I really am. This also says that I have compulsions on me keyed to Dumbledore, Hermione, and the Dursleys for Submission, behavior, and trust. What does that mean?”

“It means that someone placed those compulsions on you so that you would defer to them for guidance, that you would submit to them and that you would behave the way that they wanted you to,” Griphook explained.

“This says that some were placed when I was almost three and the others were done when I was eleven,” Harry pointed out. Griphook nodded.

“That is correct,” Griphook answered.

“But that would mean that the Potters didn’t do it, so who did?” Harry demanded.

“We have no proof that can be used in a court of law or in any way that would help you,” Griphook admitted.

“But you do know who did it,” Harry insisted.

“We do,” Griphook answered. “Albus Dumbledore. The Potters put him in control of you in the event of their passing. He is your magical guardian and has control of your vaults and assets until you are old enough to take control of them.”

“You think Dumbledore is responsible?” Harry asked and then he was quiet for a moment and Griphook let him take it all in. “I told him in first year that my relatives were hurting me and that I didn’t want to go back. I asked him to let me stay at the school or with the Weasleys or anything so that I didn’t have to go back. He brushed me off and told me that I shouldn’t start rumors about good people because I didn’t like the way they disciplined me.”

Harry looked up at Griphook with narrowed eyes. He thought about every time he had told someone growing up that he was being hurt. If they believe him and tried to help him, they would disappear or show up with no memory of ever having talked to him about it.

“He knew they were hurting me. He knew and he let them do it, even helped them cover it up,” Harry said quietly. “Why would he do this?”

“We have not been able to figure that part out. We know that he is controlling a lot of people and that he has suppressed a lot of people to place them in positions that he wanted them in, but we do not know why he is doing it,” Griphook answered.

“I know you said that I could wear a glamour that would hide my skin color, but if I got a cleansing and had the Blood Glamour removed, is there a way that I could glamour myself to look like I used to so that no one would know?” Harry asked suddenly. He wanted to be cleansed but he didn’t want Dumbledore to know that he was aware of what was going on.

“Yes, Goblins have many magics that Wixen do not know about. There is a piece of Jewelry that we can give you that will glamour you to look just you always have. It will be keyed to you and only you will be able to remove it once you put it on. We can also make it so that it hides your Dragel features as well if you accidentally lose control of them,” Griphook informed him.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I would like to do that please. Then maybe I can stay hidden until we can figure out a way to get my parents in here and get them cleansed as well. Maybe they will have more information about why Dumbledore is doing this,” Harry stated.

“Very good, then let’s get started. Just to be thorough, we are removing a Blood Glamour, two soul seals, a prophecy seal, a death seal, a magic seal, and a mentor seal, as well as all compulsions?” Griphook clarified.

“That is correct,” Harry answered.

“Then please follow me, Heir Prince,” Griphook stated before he led Harry down the hall to a set of stairs that led them deeper into the caverns and to a ritual room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His True Self

Harry stared at himself in the mirror the Goblins provided for him. He was still super short, but he had gained like two inches. His skin had taken some getting used to, but he actually really liked it. His hair was a blue so deep it almost looked black. It also had natural lilac highlights through it the same color as his scales and it was wavy just like Severus’. His eyes were a light grey that was ringed in an almost navy blue.

If you ignored his skin tone for the time being, he looked a little like a mix between Sirius and Severus which he figured was fair if Sirius’ brother was his bearer. He had seen pictures of Sirius and Regulus as teenagers they looked quite a bit alike.

Harry rolled his shoulders and suddenly he had beautiful peach, lilac, and silver scaled wings. He had tiny fangs, pointed ears, and sharp claws. He also had tiny peach, lilac, and silver scales covering some of his face, arms, sides, hips and legs. He also had swirling tattoos covering most of his back.

This was the first time that he was seeing his true self. He really liked what he was seeing. All of his scars were gone. Including the lightning bolt on his head. The Goblins told him that he had a piece of Voldemort’s soul in his head, and they removed and banished it to Death’s Realm.

He felt like a whole new person.

If he hid only his skin color and walked out of the bank right now, he could disappear into the crowds, and no one would notice him. He looked nothing like ‘Harry Potter’ it was like a dream come true.

There was a knock on the door and Harry quickly hid his wings and pulled on his clothes. He opened the door and smiled at Griphook standing there with Bill.

“Hello, little brother,” Bill said with a smile. “You look wonderful, it is nice to see the real you. Might cause a bit of a stir with all the boys and girls. Gonna have to help the twins keep all the boys away from you.”

“Thanks, Bill,” Harry preened and couldn’t help the happy chir that left his mouth. He blushed when Bill chuckled.

“No reason to blush, it is a natural response,” Bill insisted.

“You and Charlie are like me, aren’t you?” Harry asked him as he stepped out of the room he had been changing in.

“We are. So are Fred and George. Well, not exactly. Opposites really. You are a Water type, Aqua’kine and we are fire types. So, we will need to be careful not to use our flames too close to you. We don’t exactly know all of the details, but we think our parents did something to us. We are waiting until Ron and Ginny are old enough to be tested without our parent’s permission and then we are going to confront them together,” Bill answered honestly.

“What about Percy?” Harry asked.

“Turns out he wasn’t a creature like us. He is something called a Torvak. But he didn’t want to be one, so he kept his suppressions on. He just wanted to be normal,” Bill responded with a shrug. “You know Perce.”

“Oh, so it isn’t guaranteed that Ron and Ginny will be like us?” Harry asked him as they headed back down the hall to Griphook’s office.

“No, I think one of our parents is a Dragel and the other is a Torvak,” Bill told him.

“I thought there had to be three parents for someone to be a Dragel,” Harry asked curiously.

“There does,” Bill said with a shrug. “Our inheritance test just has unknown third. Something is blocking the goblin magic from knowing.”

“Oh, ok,” Harry responded. “So, what are we doing about me being missing?”

“We have it worked out,” Bill promised. “You have about an hour to talk things over with Griphook and then you are going to put on your glamour and return to the infirmary. Charlie is going to tell the others that we found you late last night and that you have been recovering here ever since.”

“So, we lie so that no one knows what has really been happening,” Harry stated.

“Correct, now let’s make the most of our time. We are going to discuss what it means to be Dragel and discuss your accounts,” Griphook answered.

“Sounds great,” Harry agreed. Then the three of them sat down to talk it out.

Soon he would be back at the Weasleys pretending that his entire life hadn’t just changed. Pretending that he wasn’t Hadrian Lupus Prince. That he wasn’t the son of the Lost Black brother, his hated Professor, and a Werewolf.

But most of all, he would be pretending that he was human and not a dark creature that the ministry had tried to hunt to extinction.

Pretending that he wasn’t a Submissive Merrow Dragel.