So I'm Part.... Dragon??

The next time Harry came to the land of the living, it was definitely past time for breakfast. He groaned, sitting up slowly, and stretching his back. It took a few moments for his brain to check back in. Oh yeah. Itheo wanted him to come to her office once he woke up today.

Sighing, he got out of bed, looking at the clock on the wall before his eyes widened. It was almost 3 PM already! Would he be considered late? It was after midday. But he was just waking up...

Whatever. He quickly got dressed, just throwing on the first comfortable thing he saw in the closet before rushing out the door. Classes were in session right now, so not many people were out and about. He was almost out of the common room door when a voice behind him startled him.

"Harry!" It was Hermione. Fuck. He needed to go, but he couldn't just ignore his friend after being locked away in his room for nine days. He slowly turned around, seeing the girl rushing towards him. It didn't look like any of the other people in their friend group were here currently, which was a relief. Hermione'll be hard enough to explain his excuse to by herself.

She stopped in front of him, and grabbed his shoulders (presumably so he didn't run away. Sometimes he hated how well his friends knew him.) "Harry! You're alright! Whatever happened to you? You missed so many classes!"

Harry winced, praying that she wouldn't see through his lie. It wasn't technically a lie either. He had been sick. Just... Not the usual kind. "I was sick. Caught a nasty bought of something. Madame Pomfrey gave me a few potions and ordered bed rest."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, skeptically studying Harry. He tried not to fidget under her gaze. He really needed to get going...

"Madam Pomfrey wasn't able to fix you up in a few days? Usually, it takes even less than that for sicknesses. Never nine days."

Harry's mind blanked, and he quickly fumbled for something to say. "I don't know? I was sick, that's all I got for you."

Hermione frowned. "You didn't go to Madam Pomfrey at all, did you? Just decided to wait it out."

Well, shit. She wasn't wrong, technically. He didn't go to Madam Pomfrey, and he had just waited it out. "Err... No?"

"Harry! We have talked about this before! When you don't feel good, go to the medi-witch!" Hermione was using her 'I-am-very-disappointed-in-you-and-worried' voice. It kind of hurt Harry's ears.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't think it would take so long!"

Hermione huffed. "Well, next time, just go to the medi-witch if you are feeling off. We actually have more than one now too, so there are more than enough people to help. You aren't the only one who was sick recently though. Draco, Blaise, and Theo all missed school at the same time you did. Except they returned yesterday of course. Maybe something is going around. You did work with Blaise and Draco in potions, and you sit with Theo in transfiguration..."

She trailed off, humming. Harry just nodded, only half listening to her ramble. While it was a bit odd that those three missed the same time as he did, he reconned that it wasn't related to him as, you know, he was in heat, and they very likely weren't.

He couldn't help but remember how odd all three of them had acted around him right before his heat had hit. From the weird interaction involving his new blankets, to Draco and Blaise's increasingly uncomfortable body language in potions, to Theo straight up leaving transfiguration right after entering. Whatever, he decided firmly. Not my problem.

"Huh. That is odd." Harry replied distantly. Gently, he extracted himself from Hermione's hold. "I'm really sorry, Mione, but I got to get going. Itheo asked for my presence once I was feeling better, to go over... Some things. I'll see you all at dinner tonight, alright?"

Hermione frowned. "Oh, well yes, that would be helpful I suppose, to go talk to some teachers about missing work. Would you like me to accompany you? I have a free period."

Nope. Not happening. While Harry was fairly sure that his best friend would eventually find out that he was a creature, and which one exactly he was, it would not be today. "Nope, not thank you. I'm good, really. But I got to go, 'Mione."

With that, he practically fled the common room before she could say anything else. He'd probably get yelled at, or heavily frowned at, which is basically the same thing, later, but he had some questions that needed answers, damn it.

It didn't take long to reach Itheo's office, and the door swung open before Harry even finished slowing down to a walk. He was greeted with the bright smile of Itheo and a welcoming wave in.

"Ah, Harry! I wasn't expecting you to be up until later! Quite a taxing process, heats are." Harry blinked at her, slowly walking in, and taking a seat in the same chair he had the night before. The door snapped shut and locked behind him.

"Oh. So I'm not late?"

She gave him an odd look as she flicked her wand, silently charming a teapot into pouring two cups of tea. "No? I told you to come whenever you woke up today. That's not a time limit, child."

Harry nodded slowly. That makes sense, and eased some of his worries. He couldn't go and piss off the only person that can help him.

Itheo settled into her chair, across the desk, and picked up the two teacups. "Sugar, Harry? Maybe cream?"

"Ah, uh. Yes, to both, please." She nodded silently, adding sugar and cream to both before passing one to him. A comfortable, if a bit tense, moment settled over them as they dipped tea for a moment.

Then, Itheo set her cup down and stared scrutinizingly at Harry. He shifts nervously.

"Alright, Harry. Let's start today from the beginning of what happened to you, yeah? I reached out to some people last night and today. Was asking why you didn't get a mentor, and nobody could give me a straight answer. Supposedly, there had been someone who went out to check on the new Dragonborn that was sensed, you, by the way. But he returned a week after leaving with reports of being unable to find you."

Harry furrowed his brow. Why wouldn't he be able to be found? He was just living with his no-maj relatives, not hiding... Hiding. Relatives. Would that seriously still be in effect?

"Well, I might have a theory?" He says hesitantly. "You see, when I got rid of Voldemort as a baby, it had actually been my mother's love, and as such, because of her sacrifice, her blood would, like, protect me, almost. So Dumbledore sent me to live with her no-maj sister, her husband, and their son, for protection. Supposedly, due to some kind of blood magic, no one is supposed to be able to find me there unless I want them to?" His voice raised questioningly, unsure if that was a viable reason or not.

"Yes, yes. That would... Make sense. That is a very old kind of magic, and undetectable to almost everyone, even those more connected to Hecate, like us Dragonborn." Itheo nodded slowly as she thought it over. "So what happened to you, Harry?"

"Well, it was like any other night, really. I ate, got ready for bed, and then stayed up until midnight so I could see my birthday. That's when the pain hit, and I passed out. I woke up two weeks later able to see without glasses, and having new appendages." Itheo's eyes had widened.

"A whole two weeks?" She whistled softly when Harry nodded. "Man, you gotta be one seriously powerful kid. Most are only out for a few days. The average is about a week. There are only a few who have ever been out for two weeks. And none of them were submissives."

Harry shifted, caught between being uncomfortable, flattered, and embarrassed. "Uh. Yeah." Was muttered before he cleared his throat. "Anyway. After I woke up I went to my aunt's restroom as it was the closest and saw the new changes when I was in my human form. It was when I was wondering 'what the Hell' that the horns, fangs, wings, and tail came out. I figured out how to put them away fairly quickly, took a shower to get rid of the blood, then went and err... Devoured about two pounds of raw beef."

Harry flushed in embarrassment at the last detail. Sure, he had read and been told that it was natural to crave raw meat, but it still didn't sit right with his human brain. Itheo hummed, grinning slightly.

"Ah yes. The appetite after changing for the first time is well known amongst our kind. Some of the hungriest you'll ever be. Especially with how long you passed out for, Harry. I do have a question though." She paused for a minute, perhaps trying to get her thoughts in order.

"You said you lived with your relatives. But from the sounds of it, they were not there nor contacted anyone when you awoke." Harry heard the unspoken question, and his ear instantly pressed to his head in discomfort.

"Well, er, yes. They were on vacation." Just that sounded bad, like they had left knowing he was passed out (they had), and he scrambled to cover it up. "They were gone for about three weeks, returning a few days after I woke."

Itheo narrowed her eyes. "So they left a teenager alone in a house so that they could go on a vacation? Not to mention a vacation on said teenager's birthday? And didn't even try to call or panic when the boy never picked up?" Well, shit. Harry stared at her, slightly taken back. No one had ever really bothered to read more into what he said about his relatives. Now what was he to do?

Actually, why was he still trying to defend them? Voldemort is gone, and so is Dumbledore, so it's not there's any reason to stay there anymore. Especially as he was now considered a legal adult because of his creature inheritance. He slowly shook his head.

"No. I uh-... Might have twisted the truth a little. They left a few days after I passed out, when they realized I wouldn't wake up." Itheo was positively glowering, and Harry could swear he heard her growling too.

"They what? They left to go on a vacation when they realized that you weren't waking up, instead of fucking contacting someone?" Harry shrunk back, nodding hesitantly.

"Y-yeah? I mean, nothing happened. I'm obviously fine." His attempt to soothe was just met with a sad, but pissed off, glare. He shrunk back again, shutting his mouth.

It took a few minutes for Itheo to stop growling, and Harry would bet everything he had that if her tail was out, it would be lashing. She spent those minutes taking deep breaths, obviously not wanting to lash out.

"You are never going back there, you hear me? I don't care what anyone else has to say about it. If you need somewhere to stay on breaks, you can come live with me and my mates if needed. But not there. I don't like what you told me, and I can make guesses at other things they have done."

Harry stared at her, feeling like he just got whiplash. He sputtered. "I- er- wha- why? You'd let me stay with you?"

Itheo nodded immediately. "It might be incredibly unprofessional of me as your teacher, but Dragonborns are an extremely protective breed. Especially over the young. None of them will be any more pleased to learn of this than I am. Of which, they will learn about might I add. I was told to report back if I figured out why your mentor couldn't find you." She informed him sternly. Harry bristled. He didn't like the idea of people he didn't even know learning about some of what happens at home. But he kept his mouth stuck. Not that it stopped him from glowering. Itheo pretended not to notice.

"But I am serious, Harry. If you want to get out of the castle over breaks, my household would be more than happy to house you. My mates do love doting on young ones such as yourself. And it would be the perfect place to teach you about the more physical parts of your change, such as flying, or hunting." Harry blinked at her. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the thought of this woman he'd known all of two months, who is a territorial species to boot, inviting him to her home. He nodded slowly.

"I will... Think about it. Right now, I am supposed to be staying with the Weasleys for break, but maybe I could spend a few days there, and some with you?" Itheo nodded immediately, giving him a small.

"Of course Harry. Whatever works for you, and you feel comfortable with."

He just nodded, feeling utterly bamboozled. He came here to learn more about himself, and now he feels like he's being halfway adopted.

They lapse into silence for a few moments. Right as Harry is opening his mouth to speak again, there is a knock at the door. Both of them immediately look towards it, tensed and then relaxed. Itheo gave him an apologetic smile.

"Apologies Harry. It looks like this conversation will need to be bookmarked. I'm sure you have a lot of classwork to get caught up on. You go do that, and make sure to get to dinner tonight." Harry nods, standing up as Itheo calls for whoever was at the door to come in.

The door opened to reveal Theo, and both Harry and him stopped in their tracks when they saw each other. Harry felt his heart speed up, something in the back of his mind screaming at him to get closer, to touch and claim and...

He shook his head, narrowing his eyes at himself, not noticing how Theo immediately flinched and looked away at the glare. What in the world were his instincts going on about? There was nothing to claim. It was Theo for Merlin's sake. Theo who had run away as soon as he saw him the last time they, well, saw each other.

Harry hummed and walked towards the door, breaking the odd spell they had been under as Theo moved aside, still holding open the door for him.

"Thanks." He says quietly as he walks by, almost missing the nearly silent 'You're welcome' he got back. The door closed behind him, and he could once again breathe without nearly drowning in rushing water and sweet grass. Whatever cologne Theo used was nearly addicting. It almost smelled... Sad, though, in a way. Harry absent-mindedly wondered how cologne could smell sad as he made his way back to his room.

There were about two and a half hours until dinner. He supposed Itheo was right. He should use the time to try and tackle the mountain of assignments he surely had. He sighed, already dreading it.

Two and a half hours later, he only had two papers done, one for charms, and one for English Language Studies. He sighed as he set his own down, glancing at the clock. Time to go face the masses, he supposed.

The walk to the Great Hall was quiet, most students were already there.

He walked in when plates were appearing on tables, and scurried his way towards his friends, finding a seat between Dean and Ginny. His friends all took immediate notice of him and grinned. He got pulled into a one-armed hug by Dean, who ruffled his hair while doing so.

"Well, there ye are Harry! We had begun to think you'd gone and died on us!" Harry laughed, sputtering as he weakly attempted to get away from his friend's aggressive affection. None of the others were helping, the traitors. They just watched and snickered.

"My apologies. I was sick." Harry said sarcastically as he finally managed to free himself, trying to right his hair. His words got him a few concerned looks.

"And Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix it?" Neville asked worriedly. Harry flushed.

"... I didn't go to her." He muttered. "And don't start on the lectures, 'Mione already gave me one."

He was looked at disapprovingly for a few seconds before his friends just rolled their eyes, apparently used to him being, in their words, an idiot. The betrayal.

He was still pretty hungry from his heat, so by the time he was done putting food on his plate, not even Hermione felt the need to add anything to it. Though she did raise a brow as she inspected it from across the table. Harry didn't even realize what might be found wrong before Ginny snorted and leaned on him.

"Eating meat again, huh Harry? We'd thought you'd gone vegetarian or something." Harry looked at her, then back to his plate. She was right. The majority of food on his plate was meat, which was the first time in a few weeks it wasn't just vegetables or fruit. He laughed.

"Nah. Just got an appetite switch apparently." Not a lie. His appetite did switch before and after his heat.

As dinner went on, Harry joked and laughed with his friends, and actually ate most of the food on his plate. It was close to the end of dinner that he finally looked up from the Gryffindor table. His eyes immediately caught on the Slytherin table across the hall. More specifically, four specific Slytherins. He was fairly sure this was the first time had started staring at them first, he thought distantly as he watched them, keeping half an ear tuned in to his friends.

It seems that Regulus, (and really, where did he know and recognize that name from?), had joined the other three at meals tonight. His nose was stuck in a book as he ate, seeming to be meticulous about not getting food on it, which Harry could understand. Draco and Theo chatted with each other, smiling as they gently shoved at each other. Blaise leaned on Regulus, watching the other two with amused, if not exasperated, eyes. It was... Nice, to see them all interact for some reason. The sight sent a curl of warmth into Harry's stomach, a small grin on his lips.

It was Regulus who noticed his stare first, his head moving up to look around, locking onto him before Harry could shift his eyes away. Harry felt his eyes widen, embarrassment curling in his gut as he got caught. But the other boy didn't look upset, merely... Curious, searching almost.

Blaise had been next, not even a minute behind Regulus, obviously having seen his friend staring at something. Though, unlike Regulus, Blaise's eyes seemed to widen slightly when he saw Harry staring, seemingly thrown off. Which Harry couldn't blame him for, really. He was being rather weird with the staring.

Harry had just seen Blaise's mouth move, and Draco and Theo's heads begin to snap over to him when he quickly looked away. His ears burned red, and was glad his hair still covered them a bit. He tuned himself back into his friends' conversation, trying to ignore how his heart pounded and the stares that seared into him.