Chapter 1
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number Four Privet Drive were perfectly normal, thank you very much. From their freshly painted white picket fence to their orderly grown rose bed, not a thing would point to the secrets they so closely guarded within their alabaster walls.
Somewhere between the shining appliances and the perfectly manicured lawn, the Dursleys hid their dirtiest secret.
Hadrial Potter, known as Harry Potter to himself and the rest of the wizarding world (or The Boy Who Lived to even more), was the worst best-kept secret on Privet Drive.
Unruly black hair and otherworldly green eyes shone on pale skin, hidden in the smallest bedroom of Number Four. Long limbs hugged themselves close as quiet shudders wracked the ruined boy.
Deep red lacerations dripped with the young man’s vitality. Deep red droplets marred the grimy yellow sheets, adding to the unsavory conditions that Hadrial was kept in.
The beating he received from his uncle and his uncle’s belt left him hollow. His body shuddered with the echoes of pain he couldn’t allow himself to feel. His throat screamed in silent agony and his hand shook with repressed fury.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number Four Privet Drive were perfectly normal thank you very much. But behind their normalcy they hid a dark secret, one that got darker everyday.
Pain.
Pain was all Harry Potter knew. Throughout his nearly fifteen years of life, pain was the only constant. He supposed that his first year of life was probably pretty pain free, but that was negated by the events of that fateful Halloween night and every night since then.
Yes, almost fourteen years with the Dursleys overshadowed any happiness the raven haired teen felt in those first months of life.
Shaking, Harry relaxed his grip around his legs and forced himself to assess his situation. After a quick glance out his window Harry figured it was well into the night, perhaps nearing midnight. His uncle threw him in here when it was still bright outside. Judging by the stiffness in his joints and the uncomfortable tightness in his back, he had sat unmoving for several hours.
Tentatively Harry reached around to feel his back and grimaced at what he felt. Raised welts caked in semi dried blood covered his back and wrapped around his sides to pepper his ribs. He sighed as he looked down to inspect the damage he could see.
Uncle Vernon really did a number on him. Harry was only thankful that he had been able to maintain his weight since he left Hogwarts. For once Harry was able to plan his sustenance ahead of time to keep him going through the summer. Since early May Harry had been plagued by an insatiable hunger. He chalked it up to panic about the Triwizard Tournament and the ending doom of spending two months with in his relatives’ loving care, but when it didn’t go away even in the aftermath of the final task and Cedric’s death, Harry was forced to figure out a way to have food this summer.
With the help of the Hogwarts house elves and library, Harry was able to enchant a small box that linked directly with the Hogwarts kitchen. Every day, at least five times a day Harry opened it to find a freshly made meal full of carbs and proteins to fuel his growing body, courtesy of Dobby and Winky.
Since his appetite first grew, so had his body. It was a growth spurt unlike any other. Harry had always been small, much smaller than his peers. Now though, he had grown several inches in just a few months, so many that he probably had at least an inch or two on Ron and his gangly height. It was both pleasing and unsettling to the young man. Of course he was happy to finally not look like a ten year old, but another part of him was weary. Four years in the magical world surrounded by strange occurrences made him paranoid that this was the precursor to some strange phenomena.
Even the Dursleys noticed and kept him hidden away more than usual for his freakish growth. Even worse than the growth spurt and ravenous hunger was the erratic activity of his magic.
Harry had always been a bit of a loose cannon, well known for his temper and for his accidental magic’s response to his moods. Over the last several weeks it had reached new heights, however. His magic buzzed close to the surface, a constant pressure looking for any little excuse or opening to escape. Of course this only fueled the Dursleys’ ire towards him.
There was something going on and Harry knew it. He knew it like he knew there was something going on beneath Fluffy’s fet in third year, behind Lockharts narcissistic demeanor in second, Sirius Black in third, and the Triwizard Tournament in fourth. Strange occurrences and abnormal realities were part of a package deal when it came to Harry James Potter.
As the broken alarm clock struck midnight on July 31st, Hadrial Lucifer Potter threw his head back in agony as his inheritance took root.
Harry woke to shriek. Despite the tightness in his back, he’s feeling good. Too good if you asked him. Typically after a night with his uncle he’d be feeling a lot worse, yet somehow, he felt better than he had all summer with his relatives.
Yes, his back muscles felt tight as if he laid asleep for too long, yet the rest of his body felt better, more energized. Tentatively, Hadrial rolled his shoulders and was pleasantly surprised. Where previously he had felt the damage of torn ligaments and broken bones and stiff ribs, he can now breathe easy and move his shoulders with ease. This new movement also brought to his attention that he was no longer laying on the old, ratty mattress but instead, on the hard floor.
“What the fuck,” Hadrial groaned, reaching a hand up to rub his eyes, trying to clear the fog that had descended upon his mind. Another shriek reminded him of that which had awoken him in the first place.
Glowing green eyes flashed to the woman who stood in the doorway. Her long neck and horse-like face were as pale as her eyes were wide. At the sudden attention of those startling green eyes, the woman brought her right hand up to her forehead in a rapid sign of the cross.
This was not an uncommon sight to him in the Dursley household. For as long as he could remember, the Durselys had treated him like the devil's spawn, calling him as such even, no matter how well he behaved or how well mannered he was.
Hadrial pushed himself to a sitting position, feeling off centered, as if there was an added weight to his back. Petunia took several steps back so that she was pressed against the opposite wall in the hallway.
“Y-you’re like her,” she whispered, horrified. Hadrial knit his eyebrows in confusion as he took in his aunt’s reaction to him. She’s known this whole time that he’s a wizard just as his mum was a witch, so what’s got her so bent out of shape all of a sudden?
“Er, sorry what?” HArry asked, uncomfortably aware at how gravely his voice now sounded. It only further added to his aunt’s fresh fear if her flinch was anything to go by.
“You need to leave,” She said suddenly, pushing off the wall and taking a hesitant step towards Hadrial who only recoiled at her change in countenance. “You need to leave before Vernon or Dudley see you,” She added. Harry was still confused. Her husband was the one that had put him in such a downtrodden state the day before. Why could he not see the fruits of his labor now? In fact, it would probably only serve to anger him if he didn;t see the weakened state he left his nephew in. But you don’t feel weak, do you? A voice whispered to Hadrial.
“You need to leave before that man, Dumbledore, sees you,” She whispered urgently. At those words, Harry shook himself out of his confusion. His aunt spoke with fear and vitriol.
“What about Dumbledore?” Harry inquired, curious at what his aunt thought of the man that had orchestrated so much of his life, the man who was raising him to be an obedient little soldier, a man that was stealing from and poisoning him.
“Listen to me, Hadrial,” said boy recoiled at the use of a name few others knew about. “We haven’t long before his people come, aware of what today means for your kind.” Her eyes darted around, as if expecting to find assailanted in the corners of the smallest bedroom. “I know I have not been kind to you, but please listen to what I am to tell you,” she implored, looking desperately into the green eyes that reminded her so much of her sister. Harry gave her a hesitant nod to indicate he would listen. Petunia let out a small relieved sigh before continuing.
“I loved my sister more than anything,” Those were not the words that Hadrial had expected to come from her mouth, if he had expected anything at all. “After I was born, my parents tried for several years to have another child, but they were unable to. I spent my first six years as a lonely child, knowing what my parents so desperately craved and what I so desperately desired, until one day my parents were forced to accept the fact that they could no longer have children. At some point during my birth, my mother sustained an injury to her vital organs and would be barren from the point on. It was missed in every health scan for over six years. Our small family of three mourned this loss.” Petunia’s eyes took on a far off look as she spoke, and Hadrial was mesmerized, never having heard any of this about his mother’s family.
“It was the end of January when our lives changed. My mother let out an unholy shout when she found a baby bundled on our doorstep. It was wrapped in blood red blankets embroidered with nothing but the babe’s name. My mother woke the whole neighborhood that morning. After informing the proper authorities and looking into all appropriate avenues, the baby was never claimed so my family was able to keep her.” Petunia’s eyes grew soft. “Lilith Morgana was a beautiful baby girl with flaming red hair and glowing green eyes. I loved her from the moment I first laid eyes on her. She may not have been my sister by blood, but from the moment she appeared on our doorstep she was mine. My baby sister, mine to protect,” Petunia spoke with a fierceness Hadrial had never heard before.
“She was an odd child, but that only made me love her more. Lilith, our Lily, could make things happen. She could give movement to objects that should never do so, give life to plants that were long dead, and even bring death to the most vibrant of things. We knew it was not natural, but there was nothing in dear Lily to point to her being a danger or a threat to anyone. She could control this gift of hers and while I was jealous at times, I never envied her the responsibility that came with controlling her emotions to ensure her strange powers never got out of control.” Hadrial was gaping by this point, giving his undivided attention to his aunt.
“On the eve of Lily’s eleventh birthday a strange man showed up on our doorstep. Thanks to a neighborhood boy we knew that the powers Lily had were magic and that she was a witch, but when this man showed up on our doorstep it all changed. When Albus Dumbledore appeared, I knew there was something wrong with the man. His grandfatherly act fooled my parents and my sister in all but blood, but I knew there was something off about him. He watched Lily with too much interest, inquired too interestedly in her powers and her background. When he offered her a plae at his school, I knew she would go and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried, gods, I tried to convince her not to go. I was seventeen at this point, a young woman going into my first year at uni, when I was accused by our parents of trying to hold her back. Lily went off to her first year at Hogwarts, carefree and excited for what her new world would hold. I was afraid for her, yes, but I could not begrudge her the opportunity to spend time with others like her. Yes, she had the local boy as a friend, he too had magic, but there was a whole world built around her kind. How could I hold her desire to get to know such a place against her?” Petunia sighed as she came in to sit on Hadrial’s dirtied bed. His green eyes widened at the action.
“At the end of her first year, Lily returned with tales of magic and creatures out of a fairy tale, including the arch nemesis, James Potter, a boy full of chaos and life, the clear antithesis of my sister, the orderly even girl she was forced to be by nature of the effects caused by her emotional outbursts as a child. It was hard, as a young woman fresh from uni to relate to her twelve year old self, worlds apart both literally and figuratively. Gods, did I try though. Every summer, Albus Dumbledore visited shortly before the school year was set to start. He passed t off as checking on muggleborn students, but after a few clandestine conversations with LIly’s friends and their parents when they came to visit, I found that that wasn’t the case. Dumbledore had an unusual interest in my sister and it made me uneasy. Anytime I brought it up with her she brushed it off. She was the top of her class and a prodigy in many ways, so of course the headmaster would be interested in his top student, but I knew it was more than that.” Petunia began fingering the small pendant that hung at her neck. It was a small lily that Hadrial had never seen her without.
“It wasn’t until her fifteenth birthday that Lily knew something about her was different. Unfortunately for Lily, she turned fifteen at Hogwarts, but luckily it was a weekend. Having a sister as the most promising witch of her generation was a boon in that it meant my fireplace maintained a constant connection to the floo network. Somewhere around six o’clock on the morning of January 31, 1960, my sister appeared covered in soot and blood on the floor of my new apartment, fresh into my first full time job outside of my internship. Behind her she sported a set of huge black wings, made more of shadow than flesh of feather. She was crying in fear and confusion. Eventually she calmed enough for them to go away and to tell me about the current happenings in her world. Dumbledore had been keeping her closer than usual, using other professors to monitor her, and even going so far as to placing tracking charms upon her. Even worse, there was a war brewing and the headmaster was scoping out candidates to lead his side into battle. Lily was a child, only half way through her fourth year when she was approached to join the secret Order of the Phoenix to fight in this war.”
“I was outraged. My baby sister, no matter who or what she was, because at this point it was clear that she was no mere witch, or even human, was being groomed to fight in deadly battles that she had no business involving herself in. From the point forward we had a true understanding that there was more going on than would meet the eye. Lily created a set of mirrors to keep in touch, said she got the inspiration from the devil boy, Potter, and his friend, Black. She gave me information and granted me access through the use of blood magic to enter magical spaces alone in order to do research. From there we were able to figure out what Lilith was and what that meant for her future. As time went on, my sister eventually fell in love and I can’t say I was surprised. James, born as Hamaliel, Potter was her foil in all ways except for his propensity for love. My sister was passionate and only his passion could match her own. I knew that despite the meddling of the bearded fool, this was a marriage blessed by heaven and hell, for once all worlds in alignment. In my own world, I had also recently married a promising young man in the sales department of the company I worked in. I was a test engineer you see, one of the few woman at Gunnings, and I couldn’t help but notice the young man with striking blonde hair and pale blue eyes that seemed to always take coffee at the same time as I. It took a while for us to truly to get to know each other and reveal closely guarded secrets, but when we did it was a relief. As it turns out, the man I married was born as Valerian Dunn, squib son of a Malfoy man married off to the French Dunn family. The fact that he was born to two man hardly even phased me at that point. When he left the wixen world he changed his name legally to Vernon Dursley, though he kept close to many from his world. It was the best news that I could ever hope for, as no secrets needed to be withheld from each other, especially considering the fact that Dudley could be born with magic. I was over the moon. We married and kept a close relationship with my sister and her husband when the time came. We even went so far as to build a relationship with Valerian’s younger brother Lucious and his wife, despite the fact they were set up to be on opposite sides of the war from Lilith and Hamaliel. The six of us made an unlikely friendship, yet it worked.
“It eventually came that I fell pregnant and mid way through your mother did as well. Valerian’s younger brother Lucious was expecting a child as well. The war was growing more violent in your world and beginning to spill out into my own by that point. Contact between Lily and myself was limited to the mirror and through it she was able to keep me up to date on the true happenings of her world. Though she and Hamiel began with a loving relationship, soon after she fell pregnant James changed drastically. He became overbearing and abusive, forcing my sister to isolate herself from all of ehr friends in the wixen world. Lily knew that there was only one wizard strong enough to influence James so thoroughly and had proof that he was dosing her husband with potions during every meal. Any less than every meal would prove ineffective. Yet, with a constant supply in each meal and interim meetings, Hamial fell prey to Albus Dumbledore’s machinations.” Hadrial stared with horror filled eyes at his aunt’s words. He was shocked beyond belief at many points, least of which revealed the fact that his uncle was a Malfoy of all things? Maybe that explained the hostility, Harry thought with a morbid chuckled.
“Lily told me the truth of Hamial’s origin and suddenly so many of Dumbledore’s machinations made sense. We knew that you would be a target for the man and his lackeys. We knew that he would orchestrate your parents’ deaths one way or another, simply because he would not stand by while a being as powerful as yourself existed. I promised Lily to do all within my power to protect you. When I found you on my doorstep the morning of the first of November I knew that what Lily and I had feared for so long had finally come to fruition. Dumbledore had finally found a way to eliminate the threat that my sister and brother in law posed to his rule.” tears raced down Petunia’s face as she spoke. The young man still seated on the floor was truly gobsmacked at her admissions.
“I found you on that fateful morning, having met you several times in clandestine meetings between myself and Lily, Vernon and Dudley had even met with us several times, with a broken heart. I knew what your appearance meant. Vernon and I knew to expect you. Having previously discussed the possibility of your parents’ deaths, Lily and I decided on the appropriate measures that were to be taken. Lils and Jamie explicitly laid out a list of wixen that you were supposed to be raised by in the event of their deaths. I know for a fact that the list contained at least ten different families and specifically stated that you were not to be sent to live with me. It was supposed to be a failsafe,” Petunia laughed bitterly. “If their wills weren’t explicitly followed, it would lead one to believe that the person executing such wills would have only malcontent out for the one the wills effected, as such your parents and I throughout that by listing myself and Valerian, you would be guaranteed a loving family. We were both so taken by you already. When you were born we were able to visit, you see. Dudley and you were fast friends, sharing cribs on all of our visits, entrances by Hamailel’s tricks and your mother’s lullabies. It was no shock to any of us when you displayed your first incidents of magic when you were merely days old. You were guaranteed to be a powerful wixen when the two of the strongest in living memory were your parents. What came as a surprise, however, was when Dudley began displaying his own accidental magic when he reached a little over a year old. It only made sense that after spending so much time with you, a child that babbled and waved his hands around with trails of visible magic, Dudley, born Didius, would display his own instances early.”
Petunia’s voice was equal parts wistful and pained. Her eyes were far away, as if seeing scenes of the past. Hadrial could hardly believe what he was hearing. His abusive, magic hating uncle was a Malfoy by birth, yes a French Dunn in name, but a Malfoy nonetheless. The fact that Lucious was not the Malfoy heir by birth was a whole new eye opener, but the fact that Dudley was magical? A fact that Hadrial had a hard time reconciling with the known facts.
“I know you may be wondering about quite a few things, but please, Hadrial, let me explain. When you showed up on that fateful morning, I knew there was more afoot than met the eye. Your mother gifted me this pendant shortly after her fifteenth birthday, she said she got her from her best friend, the boy in our town I had mentioned before. She said it would protect against all enchantments, no matter how strong. I hae never taken it off since. It has been a blessing and a curse. Shortly after you arrived, Albus Dumbledore arrived on our doorstep. He was quick to lock away Valerian’s memories and to bind Didius’s magic. He created the illusion of magic hating muggles forced to take in the despised spawn of a wayward sister. Dumbledore, not knowing I had this amulet, believed that I fell victim to his curse, moved on, trusting in his spellwork, and never thought to confirm it. Since then I have been living this nightmare, married to a man I do not know with a son cursed to scorn his own heritage, and a nephew destined to be cannon fodder in a war he has no business being manipulated into.