FicWad

Chapter 8: The truth revealed
Chapter 8: The truth revealed



The next day, the school woke up to the news that Umbridge was the new Headmistress of Hogwarts. Even though no one actually told what really happened, the school was flooded with talk about how Dumbledore fought Fudge and his escort before leaving the school. The next few weeks were in short, pure chaos, thanks to Fred and George Weasley, who were constantly pulling pranks. Harry, however, was remarkably inactive, but at night, he spent long hours training everything he could think of, and also spent many nights in the Room of Requirement, venting off his rapidly rising bloodlust.

His rage almost emerged when Umbridge and her new Inquisitorial Squad came to search his room, and practically wrecked it. He spent several hours repairing his books, and thinking of new ways to eliminate the culprits. He was grateful that due to Hermione's curiosity, he moved his Lantrisi trunk on top of the shelf he had hidden with the Fidelius charm. He had to heavily reinforce the shelf since the trunk weighed quite a bit, but at least the charm hid the trunk as well. He didn't want to think how the humans would react to a trunk full of alien weapons and technology.

During the Easter holidays, the students were given various pamphlets and notices informing them of possible future carriers.

There was also a notice that all fifth years were supposed to meet with their Head of House to discuss possible options.

Harry had the grades to take almost any job he wanted, but he still didn't know what to do. Since the wizard world didn't have military, and he didn't really like the restrictions on the Auror corps, the choices he favoured most were either Hit-wizard, or Unspeakable.

The next Monday, he found himself in McGonagall's office for his career discussion, and to his dismay, Umbridge was also there.

"So Potter, as you know, this meeting is to talk over any career ideas you might have, and to help you decide which classes to take in your sixth and seventh year. Have you had any thoughts about your future career?" She asked a little shakily.

"Yes I have, Professor. I was quite interested in joining the Department of Mysteries, either as Unspeakable or Hit-wizard." Harry replied calmly. McGonagall stared at him wide-eyed, while Umbridge spluttered incoherently.

"They only take the best Mr. Potter, they are even more selective than the Auror academy, and they haven't taken anyone on in the last three years. I think the last student to join the Department was fifteen years ago. Well, your grades are certainly adequate, and you do seem to have the talent they seek..." She was interrupted by a cough from Umbridge.

"What classes would you recommend I should take then, Professor?" Harry asked, ignoring the cough.

"Well, Defence against the Dark Arts is a must, as is Transfiguration, Charms and Potions. You could also use Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, and perhaps Herbology, but the last few really depend on what you wish to do in the department and..." Again, Umbridge coughed.

"Can I offer you a cough drop, Dolores?" McGonagall asked.

"Oh no, Minerva, thank you. I would like to say something if you don't mind." McGonagall nodded lightly at that.

"I am curious as to why you chose this particular career, Mr. Potter. Not many students go directly to the Department of Mysteries." She smiled sickly at him.

"I merely didn't think that the other possibilities were challenging enough." Harry replied calmly.

"Ah, I see. May I ask why you also included Hit-wizard in your possibilities?" She continued in the same tone.

"You want an honest answer?" Seeing her nod, he replied icily "I like to kill."

She flinched at that, then turned her attention to her writing pad and began scribbling furiously.

"Well, Potter, here's a list of possible positions in the Department and the classes required for it. We're done here, Mr. Potter." Harry stood up quickly, and with a short nod to McGonagall, left quickly.

The same Monday afternoon however, would quickly become legendary in Hogwarts. It appeared the Weasley twins used one of their products to turn one of the corridors into a swamp, which Umbridge appeared incapable of removing. Also, before she could punish the twins, they had summoned their brooms, and used them to leave the school, followed by massive cheering and applause from the students, and they also mentioned their newly opened shop in Diagon Alley.

'Damn, you can't wish for a better marketing stunt. Those two are good. Well, my boys, it seems we're gonna be very rich. Congratulations.' Harry grinned as he watched them fly away.

A few days later, Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione in Charms, and was talking with them as they were working on charming some teacups. While Harry had already done it, and was now leading his cup with his wand across his desk, the other two were not as successful.

"What I want to know is where those two got the money for a place in Diagon Alley. You need lots of Galleons for something like that." Ron spoke.

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that too. I hope they haven't been doing anything illegal to get the money." Hermione frowned.

"They haven't. I gave them three thousand galleons." Harry said casually.

Hermione's cup sprinted off the desk and smashed on the floor, while Ron stared slack jawed.

"You did what? Why?" She asked silently.

"You're joking, right? Do you know how much talent those two have? Their business will be booming Hermione. So, I gave them the starting capital, and I get 49% of the company. We both share the profit." Harry grinned at them.

"Mom's gonna kill you mate." Ron said weakly.

"She might get angry, but I can handle it." Harry replied and let the topic drop.

Right now, the school was ablaze with the last Quidditch match, as even though Gryffindor wasn't particularly lucky, as after their first match, Fred and George were banned from playing for attacking Malfoy, who had quite publicly insulted their family. Fortunately, Ron and Ginny were restrained by the rest of the team, and they were allowed to stay. This however, meant that Gryffindor was flattened by Hufflepuff in their next match. Luckily for them, Slytherin also lost to Hufflepuff, so that meant if they managed to beat Ravenclaw, they could actually win the Cup.

After much nagging from Ron and Hermione, Harry joined Hermione in the stands, cheering on his house.

Suddenly, Harry noticed Hagrid's scent next to him. During the year, Harry spent several visits with the half-giant, and learnt about his unsuccessful attempt to sway the giants to their side. He was wondering, like most, how did the man get beaten on a regular basis. It wasn't normal, even for his line of work. And now, Umbridge appeared to be really on his case, thanks to his loyalty to Dumbledore and her apparent hate for non-humans.

"Listen, can you two come with me? Now, while everyone's watching the match?" He whispered.

"I don't suppose it can wait?" Harry turned to Hagrid and flinched at his battered face.

"No, it has to be now, while no one's looking. Please Harry." Hagrid replied hastily.

"Sure. We'll come with you." They quickly left the stands, with much grumbling from the present.

They quickly rushed trough the grounds, with Hagrid looking suspiciously around and muttering about 'Her.'

"We're going in here." He pointed at the forest with his crossbow.

"In the forest?" Hermione sounded confused.

"Yeah. Come on, before we're spotted." Hagrid rushed into the forest, and the two followed closely.

"Why are you armed Hagrid?" Hermione eyed the crossbow.

"Just a precaution." Hagrid shrugged, and led onwards, deep into the forest, until they got off the path, and began treading into increasingly darker and thicker foliage.

After twenty minutes of fighting their way trough the dense undergrowth, Harry had enough.

"Alright Hagrid. I want to know what's going on." Harry had his wand lit and was looking at Hagrid.

"Well, you see..." Hagrid took a long pause. "There's a good chance I might get sacked soon."

"But you lasted so long..." Hermione spoke up.

"She's been looking for a chance to get rid of me from the start, Hermione. I don't want to go, but if it wasn't for, well, special circumstances, I'd leave right now, before she can sack me in public." He replied.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be able to help the Order once I leave, but you see, I can't leave without telling someone, and I'll need you two to help me." He looked down at them.

"Sure Hagrid, we'll help." Harry was desperately trying to find out what sort of creature Hagrid was keeping here, but the wind was blowing in his back, and he couldn't smell anything. He did sense a faint rumbling in the ground, telling him that whatever it was, it was big.

"I knew you'd help. I'll never forget... here, come on, you can see for yourselves..." They walked on for another fifteen minutes, until they reached a clearing. The place was a mess, with many trees uprooted all around what looked like a smooth mound of earth, but on a closer look, Harry realised he was looking at a sleeping giant. Cursing Hagrid's stupidity for bringing such a creature here, his hand quickly moved to his bracelet, completely ignoring the quarrelling between Hagrid and Hermione.

Finally, Harry spoke up. "So, what do you want us to do?"

"Just look after him when I'm gone." Hagrid replied shakily.

"And what does that entail, exactly?" Hermione asked.

"Not food or anything. Just keep him company from time to time, talk to him a little, teach him..." Hagrid said nervously.

"Teach him?" Harry kept looking at the giant.

"You'll do it?" Hagrid sounded hopeful.

"I already said I'll help, didn't I?" Harry replied.

"Knew I could count on you, Harry. You don't need to do much, just come here once a week, and talk to him a little. Here, I'll wake him up, introduce you..." Before they could intervene, Hagrid was already beside the giant, and poked him in the back with a long broken bough.

Slowly, the giant woke up, and turned towards Hagrid.

"All right there, Grawpy?" Hagrid backed away. "Had a nice sleep?" Grawp rubbed his eyes vigorously, then stood up with incredible agility.

After several minutes of Hagrid's unsuccessful attempts to draw his attention, the giant managed to notice Harry and Hermione. He kneeled to get a better look, and Hagrid started talking to him.

"This is Harry, Grawp, Harry Potter. He might come to visit if I'm gone." He pointed at Harry, then turned to Hermione.

"Would you mind if he called you Hermy, Hermione, it's just a difficult name for him..." Hagrid asked the trembling girl.

"And this is Hermy, Grawp, she'll be coming too, isn't that nice- Grawp, no!" Hagrid shouted as Grawp's hand shot out from nowhere towards Hermione. Quickly, Harry pushed Hermione away, and standing firmly on the ground, grabbed the giant's arm, and held firmly. Grawp tried to free himself, but to their amazement, he couldn't free his arm. He tried to free himself by swatting at Harry with his free hand, but Harry managed to catch that one, as well.

Harry twisted the giant's hands upwards, forcing his head closer.

"Listen here, you big brute. Hagrid wants to tell you something. So you'll be a good giant and listen. Understood?" Harry snapped in giant. Grawp nodded quickly, and turned expectantly at Hagrid.

"Err, Grawp, I might have to leave, but Harry and Hermy here will come and visit, alright?" Hagrid asked his brother. Harry finally remembered Hagrid telling Hermione who exactly the giant was.

"Right, well, maybe we should leave." Hagrid eyed Harry cautiously, while Hermione still stood where he pushed her.

Harry reactivated his bracelet, and picked her up, breaking her daze.

"Harry, how did you do that?" She eyed him curiously.

"Later Hermione." He replied shortly.

"You strong, human. You can see Grawp anytime. I stay here. Tell Hagger I miss him when he leaves." Grawp grunted in giant as they walked away.

"What did he say, Harry?" Hagrid asked.

"He just said he'll stay where he is, and that I can visit anytime. He also said he'll miss you when you leave." Harry grinned.

Hagrid sobbed a little at that, but the rest of the trip passed in silence, until Harry noticed something in the air. Hagrid too seemed to notice, as he notched a bolt on his crossbow.

Moments later, they noticed a centaur approach them.

"You are no longer welcome here, Hagrid." He told him.

"How are you, Magorian?" Hagrid asked wearily.

Then, several more centaurs walked out of the trees, and a black bodied centaur spoke "So, we agreed, I think, what to do if this human returned in the Forest again?" He glared at Hagrid.

Harry sighed, and then moved towards the centaurs, smirking when they recoiled in fear.

"Get lost centaurs, I'm not in the mood." Harry growled.

"What-what are you? You're no human." The black centaur stuttered.

"I said get lost, or else." Harry took a step forward. The centaurs recoiled again, before looking at each other and leaving.

No one said anything after that, and once they got out of the forest, Hagrid turned to his cabin, while Harry and Hermione turned to the Quidditch pitch. They were a truly different sight, with Hermione sporting several tears in her robes as well as a few cuts, while Harry looked like he just changed.

"Here, Hermione, let me fix you up." Harry cast a few spells, and she looked just like before they left. Then, they noticed a river of students, and Harry noticed that it was the Gryffindors cheering.

"Hermione, it seems we won the Cup." Harry tried to get her mind off the recent events.

It seemed to work, as they joined the rest of the group. However, that night in the common room, Hermione ignored the celebration, and cornered Harry.

"Harry, you need to explain a few things. Right now." Harry sighed, and nodded.

"Let's go to my room." Harry gestured to the door. After a short walk, they were sitting in Harry's room. Harry waved his wand around, and said with a grin.

"Umbridge keeps bugging my room, dunno why she even tries, it's not like I can't notice. It's ok, we can speak now." Harry spoke.

"Alright, what's going on here? How did you stop a giant from crushing you? A giant? How strong are you? Why were the centaurs so afraid of you? And where did you learn to speak giant?"

"It's a long story. To answer your last question first, I have a book on magical languages. The others, will not be as simple. Before I answer, I want you to swear an oath not to repeat anything I tell you tonight without my express permission." Harry stared at her, and she nodded, and quickly swore.

"Alright. I'll try to keep it short. The truth is, I'm not human. I am a Lantrisi." Harry began.

"A what?" Hermione tried to remember if she heard the name before.

"That is what we call ourselves. Humans call us vampires." She flinched and backed away at this.

"But-but, you're nothing like the vampires I've read about." She stuttered.

"That's because I'm not. The Lantrisi don't exist here. They live in a different universe, a world where magic doesn't exist, and where vampires are much different. I am strong enough to fight a giant, but don't think for a second it was easy. What I did in the forest was close to my limit. Also, animals can tell what I am, and, as is in their nature, try to run when they sense a dangerous predator near them. There are several chemicals that hide this, but I didn't think I'd need them, so I don't have any." Harry told her.

"So, if you're a vampire that would mean you need blood? Where do you get it?" She asked.

"I'll show you." He went to one of the walls, and pulled out a trunk from thin air.

"Fidelius charm. I got a few things I'd rather keep hidden." He placed the trunk on the floor, and tapped on the keypad, opening the trunk.

"Come on, have a look." Hermione peered into the trunk, and almost passed out when she noticed all the weapons and really advanced looking devices. Harry pulled out a long cylinder that looked like a large metallic capped vial, and showed it to her.

"This is a feeding unit. It is capable of producing twenty litres of blood with one charging, which is enough to keep me going for a week. I have plenty of these, as well as the means to recharge them." He told her and closed the trunk.

"And the weapons?" She asked.

"Well, what can I say. I was going to go to an unknown world without any way to return, or support. Do you really think they'd just chuck me trough the portal and said 'See ya.' The Lantrisi take care of their own, Hermione." Harry told her.

"Then why did they let you go back?" She asked him.

"Because I didn't belong there. I was born into this world, and I belong here. Trust me, if I had a choice, I would've never come to this human infested primitive planet." Harry hissed.

"Hey. Stop insulting my planet." Hermione glared at him.

"Sorry. It's just, I lost so much when I came here. I had a life there, Hermione. And I had to leave it all. Just to get here, and learn that my parents are dead, while the man that killed them is running around doing what he damn well pleases." Harry started to rant, and Hermione let him get it all out.

"I had a career, I had one of the highest grades in the academy since it's founding. I became nihtar in just fifteen years. Fifteen. Most dataks need a century. I became the second man in the Order of Death just after training. And damn it, I had a woman I loved. I loved her, and I left her just like that. I told her I'll never see her again. Do you have any idea how I felt? How I feel now?" Harry was raging now, his face was livid, and his fangs were elongated.

"Damn it, why couldn't I have been born there? Why?" He shouted, and punched the wall, making a large crack into the stone.

He stayed like that for several minutes, and then slowly, he turned and walked to Hermione, who was sitting on the bed now.

He sat next to her, and spoke lightly "Hermione, thanks for that. I guess I needed to talk to someone about this."

"Whenever you need me, Harry, I'll be here. Would you mind telling me more about your life?" She smiled at him.

"I can do better than that. I can show you." Harry pulled out a thick metal disk from his trunk and sat back on the bed.

"This is a holoalbum. Here, let me show you." Harry tapped on the small buttons on the device, and a moving 3d image floated above the device, showing a young couple with a small child.

"That's me. I'm six in this one. Those are well; you could say they were my parents." Harry began, then changed the picture, showing several more pictures of his childhood, before the image changed to a young man in a black uniform with grey collar and lining, with an image of two crossed swords above his heart.

"This is from my graduation ceremony from the military academy." The next image was similar, but his uniform now had gold colourings, and there was an anchor under the swords.

"This was taken when I took command of the Shadow Avenger and the fifty eighth fleet. The picture doesn't show it, but there were six hundred people standing at attention before me when this was taken." Harry smiled.

The next picture showed Harry in civilian clothing, holding hands with a dark haired woman so beautiful Hermione didn't think she could be real.

"Ah, yes. This is my beloved Sophia. She's something special, isn't she?" Harry asked, not really waiting for an answer.

"She is a born Lantrisi, born from the most ancient and strongest of our kind. Her beauty and skill are unique, even by our standards." Harry was mesmerized by the picture.

"How did you two meet?" Hermione asked.

"We had met several times, actually. Her family rules the Lantrisi, and since I was of particular interest to them, I saw a lot of them. Well, I got to know her last, actually. Her father, Lord Lanus Deathhand was the man who turned me, and I worked closely with the Lady Angela in our study of my magic. I also met their other child, Lord Drake. He's not as famous as his father or sister, but he still is a Deathhand. He runs the Lantrisi diplomatic corps, and most people know that he's not a man to cross.

Sophia, however, is considered, by some, even more dangerous then her father. She is the commander of the Order of Death, the Lantrisi group that handles the... well, let's just say, the shadier tasks." Harry grinned.

"Like what?" Hermione had a pretty good guess.

"Well, mostly infiltration, espionage and sabotage, but sometimes, also assassination. Sophia had made quite the name for herself since the Order was founded. Even most Lantrisi are afraid of her." Harry told her.

"But not you." Hermione said.

"Oh, I was at first. But then, I got to know her a little better, and I saw that she was actually an exceptionally kind and caring woman, sadly, under the mask of a merciless assassin." Harry sighed sadly.

"She sounds like a great woman." Hermione said sadly.

"Yes she is. Like her father, she's had a hard life, forced to become a monster so that others would not." Harry nodded.

"Harry, I want to ask you something. I want to become like you." Harry's head snapped up so fast, he felt a stabbing pain in his neck.

"You want what? Do you even know what you're asking? Why do want this?" Harry asked surprised.

"Harry, all my life I've felt weak and helpless, I always let people walk all over me. I'm sick of it Harry, I want to be stronger, like you are." She looked determined.

"Hermione, it's not so simple. I need five hundred years to become what I am. You think my life was easy? I was pushed so far beyond my limits I couldn't even see them. Even if I did decide to turn you, and that's a pretty big if, there are a lot of things I need to prepare before that. First, a place to transform, and a place where you could stay away from sunlight for a month, not to mention you'll need a few feeding units, and I only have one restraining bracelet." Harry spoke quickly.

"Please, Harry, I know it won't be easy, but I'll do anything it takes." She replied.

Harry let out a tired sigh "I'll think about it, alright. I'll give you an answer on end of term feast. Until then, consider this talk over." She nodded, and stood up.

"Goodnight then, Harry. I'm glad we talked." She smiled, and left.

~Damn, that girl never ceases to amaze me. Just when you think you've figured her out...~ Harry grinned as he put his trunk back on the shelf, and deciding to sleep longer tonight, went to bed.