Yo! Thank you to all readers so far!

Unsure of what else to do, Harry decided to write to Remus. Maybe Voldemort, and Malfoy, and Snape would be alright with Remus coming over for a day or two so he and Harry could talk. Harry felt like Remus was the only one he could talk to about everything that was going on, but he doubted it would be a good idea for him to leave the manor himself, if he would even be allowed to.

...Maybe it would be better if he got permission to invite him first though. Voldemort had mentioned he was going to be summoning Death Eaters some days, and it probably wasn't going to end well if Remus showed up at the same time, especially if Voldemort didn't know about it. That had the potential to end very badly.

Leaving his room, Harry made his way through the manor halls cautiously, looking for one of the men-preferably any of them other than Voldemort. Of course, since the Dark Lord was the one person he didn't want to see, that was exactly who he ended up running into. Great. They both paused where they were, and stared at one another in silence.

"U-um..."

"Yes, Potter?"

Encouraged by the fact that he wasn't on the ground writhing in pain, Harry decided that it was safe enough to speak, and said, "Is there any chance I can get a friend to come over for a day or two?"

"A...friend? Which friend?"

"Remus-er, Remus Lupin."

"The werewolf?"

Harry didn't ask him how he knew that. "Y-yeah."

"...Very well. Inform me when you wish for him to come and I will have Severus bring him here."

Harry's eyes widened. He hadn't actually been expecting a yes, but he nodded quickly. "A-alright, er-thanks." And then he watched as, with an incline of his head, Voldemort continued walking, heading past him in the direction Harry had come from. Once he had turned a corner and vanished from sight, Harry returned to his own room so he could write to Remus. That had gone much better than expected...

Remus arrived two days later, side along apparating with Snape, who released him the moment he could. Without a word, Snape lead Remus through the manor and up to Harry's room, where he said to inform someone once he was ready to leave. Amused, Remus merely nodded, and once he was alone, knocked on the door.

Harry, feeling a bit stressed out, jumped a little when he heard the knock, but hurried to the door to open it, relieved when he saw Remus on the other side, just the sight of him already beginning to calm him back down.

"Hullo, Har-" Remus cut himself off, sniffed twice, then stared. "Ah." He sighed. "No wonder you wanted to talk."

Once they'd settled down, Harry explained everything that had happened (other than the self-harm, which he really wasn't ready to talk about just yet), and everything he had heard and learned. Remus listened to him in silence, nodding here and there, but it wasn't until Harry fell silent, finished speaking, that the man spoke himself.

"I...do remember James once mentioning there was High Elf blood in his line, but I don't think any of us really thought much of it, since James wasn't an Elf himself. I don't think any of us ever considered you might end up awakening it, since James hadn't." Remus scratched his chin. "How different have you been feeling?" he asked.

"Not that different," Harry admitted. "I feel kind of...lighter? Like...physically lighter? It's kind of hard to explain." He shook his head. "But other than that, I don't really feel much else. Some of the books I read said most people start feeling more differences later on."

Remus nodded, understanding. "And the physical changes? I don't see much other than your skin looking clearer and your hair softer."

"There aren't that many changes," said Harry, "but I've got this...natural glamour sort of thing on. It's like a glamour charm, but all wizards and witches who awaken Elf blood can do it. It's an...inherent ability, I think the books said." He focused on letting it fall even as he spoke, and once he had, said, "See? It's really just the-the ears."

Remus nodded again, eyes scanning over Harry. The pointed ears really did seem like the biggest and most obvious change, by sight, at least. As a werewolf, he could tell that Harry wasn't entirely human anymore just by scent. His scent had been fully human before, even despite the Elven heritage laying dormant in his blood. But now that it had awakened, that scent had changed. "And this...glamour doesn't count as magic?"

"It doesn't, no, so I can use it without worrying about getting in trouble for underage magic."

"Do you think this is something you can handle? Being an Elf-a High Elf?"

"I-I think so? From everything I've read, nothing seems like it'll be too-too hard or weird. I'm just going to live for much longer, and have a bigger magical reserve. The only thing..." Harry hesitated, even when Remus encouraged him to continue. "The books said something about-about mates."

"Mates?" Remus echoed. "Soulmates?

"Kind of." Harry explained what he'd read.

"I see... So there's no definitive way of knowing who they are or might be?"

"No, it said that eventually I'd just...know. Whatever that means."

Frowning, Remus nodded, then sighed. "I suppose there isn't anything anyone can do about that bit right now. If you don't...feel anything just yet, then it's hard to say much about it."

"Yeah."

There was a silence as Remus looked around the room curiously. Harry watched him, already knowing what the man was going to ask, and actually a little surprised that he hadn't already done so. It probably would have been the first thing Harry would have asked someone who was in the same position as he was.

"How have they been treating you?"

Harry shrugged. "Alright."

"You'll have to give me more than that, cub," said Remus with a wry smile.

Harry huffed out a soft laugh. "There really isn't much more to say," he said. "They've...been fine, really. They talk to me politely, and they include me in meals if I feel like it, and I can go into any unlocked room in the manor. And they haven't done anything to hurt me either. It's...weird," he admitted, his voice a little quieter, "but I don't think I really mind."

"Do you like it here?"

"...It's better than Privet Drive, and they've been better to me than the Dursleys ever have. Malfoy's been the nicest, but maybe that's just because he's the one who brought me here." Though he didn't mention the condition Malfoy had found him in. "And Snape even went back to Privet Drive with me so I could get my things and Hedwig."

"And Voldemort?"

"He's the one who said I could stay here, and that you could come visit-it's his manor, after all."

"Do you think it's strange?"

"Of course I do!" Harry exclaimed. "It's seriously strange! I have no idea why they're being nice, or letting me stay, or why they haven't locked me up, or tortured me, or killed me. It's definitely weird, but-but I'm not exactly against it. It's not like I want then to be horrible to me, and I'm glad they aren't."

"Are you suspicious it's a trap?"

"Yeah. I don't know if it is, but it could be." And really, hadn't he already decided that it didn't even matter if all of this was a trap? Maybe that was kind of stupid, but that was how he felt. And part of him, somewhere deep inside, though he had no idea why, really did think that there wasn't anything untoward here. Part of him really did think that Malfoy, and Snape, and Voldemort meant well, even if they weren't telling him why, and he wasn't asking them why. He had no idea why that was though. It was just a feeling.

"Do you want to stay here, Harry?"

Harry didn't answer at first. Remus' tone was light, but there was an intensity hidden behind the words that Harry had caught on to immediately. And either way, it was a good question, and one Remus had every right to ask, regardless of what the answer would be.

But Harry knew instantly that Remus wouldn't question that answer. If he said he wanted to stay, Remus would be perfectly fine with trusting his judgement, though he'd surely worry. And if he said he wanted to leave, Remus would do everything in his power to get him out safely and as quickly as possible. Harry knew that.

"Harry?"

"I...I want to stay. I want to stay here."

Remus sighed, but didn't look upset. "Alright."

Sorry about any mistakes. Some of you are surely aware of the eye and vision problems I've been having, so while I think it should be fine, I may have missed things in my blind spots. Anyway, that's it for now. Lookin forward to reviews! Laterz!