Season of Change - Chapter 4

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Season of Change

by:
Elsbeth

There were only a few things in Harry Potter's life that never changed, he was the son of Lily and James Potter and that he was born a male. What happens when he discovers the truth.

Change

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all of it belong to J.K Rowling, I am just playing in her sandbox for a while.

Authors Note: AU: Its not my first fanfic but its my first Harry Potter, so I hope you enjoy it. The story starts at the end of the 5th Book.

Chapter 4

Alya Black wiped off the slight sheen of sweat on her brow as she worked inside her father's old bedroom. She could have easily cleaned the room by magic. However, the tactile luxury of touching her father's things made it much more personal. From books to awards, she lovingly wiped them down with a fine cloth but not before studying each one thoroughly. Touching them, looking through Sirius' bedroom she hoped to get a better understanding of her father.

But who exactly was her father? She always assumed it was James Potter. Even now, with everything that had happened, she couldn't just dismiss her feelings for him, no more than her feelings for Sirius.

Of course, she was furious with all of them for the secret they kept. Both men apparently had been involved, for Harry to look like James and for Sirius to make sure that he turned out as a male. Lily too, who carried her for nine months, knew the truth as well.

As much as Alya tried, however, she couldn't get angry at her mother. Memories of Lily bravely standing before Voldemort, begging him to spare the life of her child still haunted her dreams. What she felt now was a terrible longing, a real need for her mother, for motherly wisdom, for support, for an understanding shoulder to cry upon.

And that was the cusp of it, who was she exactly. She had been Harry Potter for most of her life, and then suddenly she was Alya Black, daughter of Sirius Black. One thing that did bother her scared her even, who else knew about this secret? It couldn't be common knowledge; Harry Potter would have had a slightly different welcome when first appearing in the Wizarding world.

Was Dumbledore, who she already had serious doubts about, also involved? Worse, could he have manipulated her parents into making her a Potter, for the sake of the prophecy? That thought made her a little sick, as what other plans did the so-called leader of light have in store for her. She remembered as a child listening through the cupboard door a documentary on the Great War, how generals would call for attacks that lead to the death of thousands, just for a few extra meters of enemy trench. What was the life of the Potters or Blacks compared to the death of Voldemort?

Shaking a little in fear and anger, Alya sat on her father's bed pulling a small black photograph book on to her lap hoping it would calm her down. Running her hands over the cover, Alya opened it revealing photos, images of young men and women in their prime, most of whom now lay dead. Turning the pages, she quickly found the Potters, James wrapping his arms around Lily, while standing to his right, Sirius watching the pair mockingly. Behind the three stood Remus and of course, the traitor Peter Pettigrew.

Although not large, the photo-book contained quite a few images she had not seen before. One, however, caught her attention. A small blonde girl, perhaps Marlene McKinnon, stood next to Sirius holding his hand. Neither of them could be much older than seven or eight. Behind the two, dressed in Muggle jeans and a Rolling Stones t-shirt, stood a slightly older girl making horns with her fingers behind her father's head. Startling enough, the young girl looked a little like Ayla's own reflection, except for the violet eyes.

Confused, Alya called out. "Kreacher."

"Little Miss?" The Black House-elf appeared, then looked around the room frowning, "You're not cleaning again are you?"

"What, yes…wait no…not really, I'm just going through my father's things." Turning the photo book around, she asked. "Who's this?"

Kreacher studied the book for a moment and then nodded. "Miss Belle."

"Bellatrix?" Surprised, she turned the book around to study the image closer. "Really, what in the world is she doing in Muggle clothing?"

"Kreacher wouldn't know." The old House-Elf said making a face. "Tipsy wondering if you're ready for lunch."

Looking up from the image, Alya frowned. "Already?" Casting a tempest spell, she looked shocked. "Where did the time go? Yes please, I'll be down in a moment."’

Thankfully, Alya had been able to acquire another House Elf. Although his presence had become bearable, Kreacher's cooking still gave her nightmares. Apparently, the old House-Elf only had one maybe two good recipes, and that was about it. Of course, allowing Alya in the kitchen was out of the question, so with Dobby's help, she managed to bond with another elf.

"Cheeky little bugger." Alya laughed while flipping another page. What Malfoy's old House-Elf didn't tell her, when he left their service he went ahead and bonded with Harry Potter. Although she expected Hermione to have a fit, Alya didn't mind too much especially after the way Dobby reacted when she called for him the first time. Alya thought his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. She also wondered if her friends would have the same reaction.

Suddenly the weight of the last few days crashed upon her once again. Clutching the book to her chest, she slowly made her way downstairs. After looking at Sirius' friends, she now wondered what her friends were doing. Disappearing without an explanation seemed a little childish right now; however, in the end, she believed her decision had been a good one. What she needed to do now was talk to her friends, explain what had happened. They deserved it, especially those who followed her into the Department of Mysteries.

Still, Alya couldn't see telling the entire Wizarding world about her transformation; frankly, after the way she was treated last year, it was none of their bloody business. Still, would they hate her? That thought scared her but she knew, if nothing else, they already had earned an explanation of what happened to Harry Potter.

++++++++++

Hermione Granger sat in the home of the Weasleys, worried, concerned for her best friend, her first friend, Harry Potter. He had gone missing without telling anyone, running off with some unknown girl and no one, even Dumbledore, knew of his whereabouts.

Finally settling down her Arithmancy book, having read the same page several times, Hermione realized that she blamed herself. She had damaged their relationship so much that he now kept secrets from her. Why would he have kept the girl secret, why would he have not told her his plans? The only reason, Harry no longer trusted her. Hermione felt herself trembling, unhappy at that thought.

She knew siding with Ron had been foolish, mistakenly believing that if Harry had been telling the truth about the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore would have spoken up. In the end, Harry, of course, had forgiven them, but he had been deeply hurt.

"Did you see her today? Merlin's beard that black thing she wore." Hermione suddenly had the urge to start throwing things, as Ron's voice came from the other room.

"It's called"

"A bustier."

"Little brother."

"Whatever you call it, it was damn sexy," Ron replied with a sigh. "Of course, she wouldn't wear something like that. I mean, you know. Did you see her today? I thought she might come inside."

"How could we not."

"You couldn't."

"Take your eyes off of her."

Ginny, who sat on the other couch working on her homework, took one look at Hermione before stepping into the other room. "Who are you talking about now?"

"Don't concern yourself, dear sister, she's just one of the many girls Ron fancies." Fred winked at his younger brother who looked down blushing.

"What's her name, the other one who didn't come into the store?" Ginny demanded.

"Alya Black."

George could help but laugh at his sister's reaction to the name. She knew of Ron's crush on the Head of House Black, but that wasn't the reason why Ginny already hated the girl.

Before Ginny could reply with something unkind, Hermione burst into the room.

"Did you ask her about Harry?"

Fred shook his head. "Sorry Hermione, she didn't even enter the shop, just looked through the window for a couple a seconds before moving on."

"Plus, Ronniekins was too busy staring at her…" George began.

"I was not," Ron replied testily.

"You should have spoken to her, Ron. Aren't you concerned for Harry?" Hermione looked to Ginny who nodded.

"What? I can just run up to a Head of House and accuse her of kidnapping Harry. I mean, she would hex me. Look what she did to those Death Eaters." Ron shook his head.

"Still, Ron, she might have told you." Hermione insisted. "Still, seems rather strange for her to show up."

"You mean to show up and take Harrykins away." Fred laughed; quite proud of their business partner hoping he was having a lovely time with the beautiful Witch.

"I wonder if she's Sirius' daughter," Ginny said ignoring her brother's comments. "At least that's what Professor Lupin believes."

"Not sure about that, she looks a lot like a younger version of Bellatrix, kind of scary. Maybe she is…" Ron made a frown, apparently trying to figure it out himself.

George said thoughtfully. "No, she wouldn't have been made Head of House."

"So that's how they met. "

"What are you thinking, Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Remember, during the TriWizards Tournament how Harry would sneak off and train with Sirius."

Ginny didn't look particularly pleased. "So Harry…."

"Could be, it's not like our Harry would have run off with a complete stranger, even with someone as beautiful as Alya Black."

"So true, Fred." George laughed as his sister made some unhappy growling noises.

"But why would Sirius have kept her a secret?" Ron shook his head. "I mean, couldn't she just have gone to Hogwarts like the rest of us?"

"Maybe she didn't know Sirius was her father."

"And don't forget, he was in prison for thirteen years, it's not like she could have lived with him anyway." Hermione pointed out to the group.

Ron grinned sheepishly. "And now Harry is sharing a house with her."

"Lucky sod," George commented, laughing at both girls' reactions.

"Yes, poor old Harry. He must be having a terrible summer." Fred chuckled.

Hermione harrumphed. "I'm sure she's like a sister to him."

"Right." The twins looked at one another then grinned, before walking towards the kitchen to join the meeting,

"Children, you will have to go up to your rooms." Molly Weasley smiled congenially as she intercepted the group.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley; we have just as much right to know where Harry is as anyone."

"Molly, they are just concerned for him, like all of us." Arthur Weasley nodded to the children, allowing them to pull up chairs with the rest of the Order members.

"Fine, Arthur, however, once we find out about his whereabouts, I want them upstairs." Frowning at her husband a moment, she turned around as Dumbledore stepped into the front of the kitchen. "I'm sorry, Albus."

"No, No…it's quite alright my dear." Albus Dumbledore smiled good-naturedly at everyone in front of him. "Thank you all for coming. I hereby open another meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. As we have non-members at the table, perhaps we will not follow the normal order of precedence."

"Even when Potter is missing, he disrupts the natural order of things." Severus Snape could help but comment.

"Now, Severus." Albus admonished the potion master. "Bill, how did your meeting go with Alya Black?"

"It went well. Apparently, she asked for me specifically because of my recent experience as a curse breaker in Egypt."

"Bet you Harry told her that," Ron said.

Bill Weasley shrugged. "Perhaps, she had some questions about improving the wards around the Black's ancestral home and their other properties."

"Is she going to contract you to do it, son?"

"No, most likely she will do it herself."

Hermione gasped. "Impossible, she's what, a fifth or six years."

"Well, she seems quite knowledgeable when it comes to wards. Even the book she brought as a reference was impressive. "The Thirteen Ways," I doubt there are more than two, maybe three copies in existence.

I also understood why she asked for me; the book contains several chapters on Egyptian wards, similar to ones I have run across before. And if you ask mom, the book is not Dark Magic, although it most likely came from the Black Family Library."

"What did she say about Harry, dear?" Molly asked hopefully.

"Sorry, I did ask, but she didn't appear to be too interested in speaking about him, other than to tell me that he was doing well."

"Albus, you must do something." Mrs. Weasley began. "The Ministry…"

The older wizard shook his head. "I don't believe getting the Ministry involved would be wise. No, I would prefer to keep the matter of Harry's disappearance a secret for now."

"But he was kidnapped!"

"Do you really believe that, Molly?" Remus Lupin asked.

"You still believe her to be Sirius' daughter?"

Remus nodded. "I think so Arthur."

"I'm amazed the mutt was able to keep such a secret for so long, I'm impressed." Snape sneered.

"And that's another thing, Headmaster." Hestia Jones, one of the younger members of the Order said. "How safe is Potter now, especially after Black's run in with those Death Eaters."

"The Dark Lord will not retaliate against Miss Black," Snape replied.

"Truly?"

Snape looked uncomfortable for a moment then nodded. "Apparently the Dark Lord was impressed, with her taking down five of his servants with little effort. I believe, however, Bellatrix was the deciding factor. She was positively giddy."

"Giddy?" Hestia asked.

"Yes, it was rather disturbing. She commented that the fools got what they deserved attacking the true head of the Black Family."

"True Head of the House." Remus frowned.

"Even if she didn't have respect for her cousin Sirius, he must have taught the girl." Alastor Moody chuckled. "According to the Aurors, Miss Black is mighty good with a wand and a knife."

"A knife?" Arthur asked.

"Aye, all Black women carry them. Ask Nymphadora where she keeps hers." Moody smiled.

Knowing her friend, Hestia couldn't help but laugh. "Right, so Harry should be safe for now."

"At least from Death Eaters." Fred snickered over in the corner.

Ignoring the twins' comment, Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "It's a good move politically as well. Although the Black Family has lost much of its political clout in the last few years, many of the non-aligned Dark and Grey families still will look to them for guidance."

"I'm sure there is a financial aspect as well, especially with the Ministry putting a hold on all of Malfoy's accounts."

"Indeed, Remus." Dumbledore nodded sagely. "I expect Voldemort to send an envoy to Miss Black, most likely Narcissa Malfoy."

Everyone turned to Snape who nodded in confirmation.

"Then we need to get Harry away from her before she turns him over to Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Molly, if our suspicions are correct and Alya is Sirius, daughter, she wouldn't do that," Remus said kindly. "No, I think Sirius made plans if anything happened to him for her to provide sanctuary for Harry."

"But she is just a child."

"She's head of Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," Arthur said. "Not meaning to be disrespectful, Albus, but Sirius was never happy with you sending Harry back to those Muggles every summer."

"It was for the best; his family would be able to look after his well-being better than anyone."

"I'm not sure about that, Headmaster." Ron surprised himself saying. "Err, I mean that Harry never considered them family."

Hermione sighed, another thing she felt she failed with him. However, anytime she asked Harry about the problems with his relatives, he refused to talk about it.

"Ron's right, they never treated him like family." Hermione shifted in her seat as all of the adults turn to look at her. "We think the two of them met the year before, during the Tournament." She couldn't help but blurt out.

"A very astute observation, Miss Granger." Dumbledore gave her a grandfatherly smile. "I couldn't help but agree, although I wish that Harry would have spoken to us first. But perhaps this is all for the best, for now."

"I can't believe he didn't say anything to you or Ron." Mrs. Weasley said somewhat accusingly to the children in the room, apparently unhappy that Harry would be left with the Black girl.

Ron looked at Hermione who shrugged. "Mom, we're mates but were not as close as we once were." He said sadly.

"Luna must have known," Ginny spoke up. "I mean, the two of them were pretty close last year."

"Miss Lovegood, I see. I do remember Professor Flitwick mentioning how Harry received detention after an altercation with several of his House because of her."

"You mean how he helped Luna ward her trunk." George chuckled.

"Yes well, as much as I applaud standing up for one's friends, sending Miss Edgecombe and Miss Scott to the infirmary was unnecessary," Dumbledore said sadly.

Hermione had been a little confused when she learned that her best friend had been the one who had helped Luna. He had become more interested in his grades, she assumed because of his Owls. They even spent more time together, studying but when did he learn those spells. Had Harry been sneaking out like the fourth year, but this time to meet with Alya?

"Bints deserved it."

"Ginny."

"Mom, they treat Luna horribly, I'm glad that he was able to help her," Ginny replied although somewhat jealous of her old childhood friend.

"Now we know who taught our little Harrykins about wards."

"Right you are Georgie, perhaps a little hands-on tutoring."

"I think we have gotten off topic." Dedalus Diggle interrupted the Weasley twins before they could continue further. "We still have our reports."

"Yes, thank you, Dedalus." Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps if you all would write to Harry, I'm sure that Miss Black would not refuse to give him letters from his friends."

As the children were led back upstairs, Remus turned to Dumbledore. "You should have allowed Tonks to take Harry to her mother's house. She was quite upset with you."

"Tonks doesn't seem to be pleased with you either, Remus, is that why she isn't here tonight?" Hestia asked.

"No, she said that she had something to do with her parents. Albus, I think that maybe we should give Harry the time he needs."

The Headmaster sighed. "For the time being, yes, let him have a chance to mourn his godfather. However, I will need to speak to him before the summer is out. "Thinking for a moment, the Headmaster continued. "I will send some polite inquiries to Miss Black. Perhaps I can arrange a meeting with her."

Remus closed his eyes as the others began to speak about the troubles in the Wizarding world. Voldemort's attack on the ice-cream parlor had been one of many, but that wasn't why he looked troubled.

"Alya Black," Remus whispered. "How is that possible?"

*Edited 4/14/17 Elsbeth*

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Comments

Thanks for a wonderfully

new Wizarding tale

Goddess Bless you

Love Desiree

Wow!

You really got everyone's voice down really well! I could really hear Ron and the gang as they talked and worried about Harry. I'm also enjoying the mystery of Alya and the Black family. Bellatrix was a major bad girl, but came across as having more than a few bats in her belfry. This is nice seeing some background into perhaps why.
Hugs
Grover

you know

each chapter just make me want more, there like chips, you just can't eat only one.
well done, thanks

WhAT?!

NO NO NO NOT HERMIONE x RON! They're so cute together, RON STOP BEING AN IDIOT!!!

I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D

Every chapter.

Just gits better and better. The voices the mannerisms of the various characters continue to evolve allowing the story to evolve an deepen.

Huggles
Misha

With those with open eyes the world reads like a book

celtgirl_0.gif

Every chapter.

Just gits better and better. The voices the mannerisms of the various characters continue to evolve allowing the story to evolve an deepen.

Huggles
Misha

With those with open eyes the world reads like a book

celtgirl_0.gif

Alya seems to be.....

Causing quite a stir in the magic world! Ahh but if they all only knew...... (snicker giggles). Thanks Els! Nice chapter hon. Loving Hugs Talia

Awesome

Pity you can't churn them out faster to sate my unrelinquishing appetite.

-BlackWitch

The last thing that you will never see.