Harry had never felt quite right. He felt something odd. He felt hungry, but in a different way. When he was growing up, he knew that he was never given the right amount of food. That went to his pig of a cousin, Dudley. The Dursleys made it abundantly clear that they only kept Harry around because he did work. Vernon Dursley would work him to the bone, and expect him to be grateful that they didn't throw him out on the street.

When Harry found out he was a wizard, he was exuberant. He could finally get away from the Dursleys. Harry had gotten his school supplies, and the giant man who had taken him to get said supplies, Hagrid, had gotten him a beautiful owl that he named Hedwig. After a little while, the odd hunger was lessened a little. Though it was only through hindsight that he noticed.

Once Harry was on the Hogwarts express, he met two people who would be both his anchor and his lifeline for years to come, Harry met his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Once at Hogwarts, Harry's unusual hunger began to disperse. He had once believed that it was simply because he had received three decent meals a day, but he figured out that it was much more that that. During the middle of the year, Harry had helped Hagrid smuggle a baby dragon to one of Ron's brothers, who would bring the dragon to a reserve where it belonged. They had been caught, and Gryffindor had lost 150 points. The rest of Gryffindor had regarded Harry and Co. with cold distaste. This brought back the hungry feeling that Harry had suffered through while with the Dursleys. Using logic, Harry deduced that his hunger was tied to the amount of affection he received from others.

He felt very fortunate that he had established strong bonds with his friends, Ron and Hermione the most, but he was also very close to Hagrid and another first year, Neville Longbottom. It wasn't until the end of the year that Harry learnt why he was affected by emotion so much. And the truth would change him forever.

Harry was deep in the bowels of Hogwarts, fighting the DADA teacher, Professor Quirrell. The mad teacher was under the thrall of Lord Voldemort, the same dark lord that had killed Harry's Parents and forced Harry to live with the Dursleys. A few feet to the left of the dueling wizards, sat the Philosopher's stone, a powerful artifact that could extend life. Harry stepped to the side, putting his body between Quirrell and the stone, and the irate two faced monster lunged at the boy. As Quirrel made a grab for Harry, however, something odd happened. Quirrell's hand began to sear like it had touched hot iron. At the same time, Harry felt a incredible power flow into him. It was similar to when Hermione would ruffle his mess of a hair, or when Ron would sling his arm around Harry, only a thousand times stronger! Harry felt like he had been struck by lightning and the bolt had given him a super charge. Capitalizing of Quirrell's weakness, Harry jumped at him, clawing at his face. Quirrell screamed in pain as his skin was torched, and the power only grew inside of him. As Quirrell burned and Voldemort screamed in fury and pain from the back of his head, Harry felt the power boil over, finally too much for his body to handle. As he began to pass out, Harry saw light green flames wash over him.

Then there was nothing.

-timeskip-

Harry groggily opened his eyes, hissing as the bright moonlight seared his poor retinas. Harry tried to sit up, but his body betrayed him. He was sore, his body aching as he tried to move. With a groan, he took in his surroundings with slowly adjusting eyes. Catching a glint of gold, Harry focused on what he thought was a snitch, only for the snitch to turn into the spectacle of one Albus Dumbledore. A soft hoot also drew Harry's attention to the comforting presence of Hedwig, perched on his bed frame.

"Easy, Harry. You've been through a lot recently." Dumbledore soothed, his voice even softer than Harry had ever heard it. With a jolt, memories began to pour into Harry. The stone. THE STONE! Quirrell had the stone!

"Professor! The…. The stone!" Harry managed to get out, his voice suddenly hoarse. Dumbledore smiled a soft smile, and held his hands up in a soothing gesture.

"Harry, Professor Quirrell does not have the stone. Now please calm down before Madam Pomfrey kicks me out." with difficulty, Harry managed to calm himself down. Seeing that the young student was calming down, Dumbledore explained to Harry the event that had transpired. Once Dumbledore had realized that his emergency summons to the Ministry had been a ploy, the elderly Headmaster swiftly made his way back to the school. As the Professor arrived at the third room in the third choradore, he noticed that the trapdoor had been opened. Dumbledore made his way down through the devil's snare to find Hermione and an unconscious Ron waiting for them. After charming the snare to act as a staircase, Dumbledore set off as fast as he could to reach the final chamber. Dumbledore arrived just in time to rescue Harry from the possessed Quirrell. Although the man was little more that a walking ashtray at that point. Dumbledore then carried Harry to the medical wing.

"Umm… Professor? Did Quirrell use any weird spells on me? I don't feel right… my body feels weird." Harry said, his voice laced with confusion and concern. The more Harry's thoughts drifted away from the threat of Quirrell, the more he realized that he felt… off. His joints felt strange, like they weren't meant to lay like he was. Harry could feel added weights on his forehead, back, and spine. There were also large points in his body, where he skin felt taunt, like it was stretching. Dumbledore's sigh of defeat and the sad look in his eye did little to ease Harry's thoughts.

"Just like your mother, you are. Very astute." he muttered to himself. The Headmaster reached over and grasped a corner of the bed sheet.

"Harry, please keep an open mind. I know that this is going to be difficult to accept, but you are going to have to." Harry nodded. The elderly professor slowly pulled back the covers over Harry's upper body to reveal an absence of the pale human skin that Harry had. It took every inch of Harry's willpower to fight back the scream that emerged from his throat. His body was covered in a shiny black carapace. Harry shakily raised a hand to touch the substance that covered his body, and he noticed the difference in his 'hand'. His hand was gone. In its place was a thick stump, also covered in the substance, with several hole that appeared to be natural.

"What…. WHAT am I?" Harry asked, his voice very quiet. Dumbledore sighed. With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore charmed a mirror into existence. In it, Harry saw what looked like a horse face, with a long muzzle. Sharp fangs protruded from the top jaw, and Harry could see that he had a forked tongue. He had large, green, pupiless eyes, and a short curved horn. As the mirror adjusted itself, per the whims of Dumbledore, Harry could see that he had small insectile wings coming from his back. Harry felt many feelings suddenly overtake him. Anger, shock, disgust, denial, fear and… pride? The conflicting emotions overwhelmed him, numbing him. Dumbledore put a comforting hand on Harry's black, shinny shoulder. A welcomed gesture.

"That answer i do not know. I have been searching for years to discover where you came from. But i need to explain how this happened, so please bear with me Harry." He said. Harry nodded mutely.

"On the day when you were born," Dumbledore began, " Lily and James Potter were hot on the chase of a small group of Voldemort's followers, who had eluded them for many months.

They had eventually tracked them down into a house that was at the edge of Hogsmeade. Once they had caught up to the death eaters, Jily and James discovered them in the middle of a dark ritual. The pair fought the death eaters until they could be captured and contained, but a few stray spells hit the ritual. The result was the ritual summoning a small green and black egg. James was about to pick it up, when it hatched, and out came a small creature that looked like a cross between a foal and a bug larvae. The small creature looked at the pair, then was engulfed in a blue-green fire. In its place was a small child, with James' face and Lily's eyes. Not knowing what to do, they took the child to me. I was able to determine that the small creature had turned into an exact genetic match to the couple. The couple had been trying for a child for a while, but had been unable to conceive. With the knowledge that the child was genetically theirs, the Potters agreed to take in the new child. They named him Harry james Potter."

Harry gave a start at that.

"Do you mean that mom and dad weren't…" he began to ask, before Dumbledore shook him gently.

"James and Lily were parents in the ways that mattered, Harry. You are their son. It doesn't matter how you came into the world, they took you in as their son, and loved you as one. Never forget that Harry. You were loved." Tears threatened to spill out of Harry's big, blue eyes.

The elderly professor gave a small smile.

" a lesson that some purebloods have yet to learn. Family is more that blood." the wise man said. Harry sat back,

"D-do i have a biological, er, do i have a birth family?" Harry asked, fumbling on his words. Dumbledore shook his head.

"I am sorry Harry, but i have spent 10 years searching for your species. I have had no luck. As far as i can tell, you are the only one of your kind the wizarding world has ever known. My guess is that the ritual that summoned you on that fateful night was somehow either able to create you out of nothing, or brought you to us from another plane of existence. The only other option is that your kind lives in this world, and is hidden due to their powerful shapeshifting abilities." the professor explained. Harry's ears perked up at that.

"Shapeshifting?" he asked. Dumbledore chuckled.

"But of course, my dear boy. You have the ability to change your form. From my tests, it is both biological and magical. Similar to what the bogart does, but on a level never seen before. You actually shift on the genetic level, to the point where your could spend the rest of your life as a bird, and no one would know the difference. Your shape shifting was so good, in fact, that you fooled yourself into thinking you were human for 10 years." Harry took a minute to process that information. Deciding to brave the question, Harry looked to the professor,

"Professor? Did you know that i feed of of love?" he asked. The white bearded man blanched at the boy, so Harry decided to alabortate.

" when i was with the dursleys, i always felt hungry. Even when they fed me properly, still felt hungry. When i came to Hogwarts, i was suddenly full. I at first thought it was just the food, but after the dragon incident." Harry winced at the reminder, "the hunger came back. I realized that it was the affection i got from everyone that made me feel like that. I practically latched onto my friends after that. Not that they complained." Dumbledore nodded his head, taking in the information. Then he looked at Harry, processing what Harry had said,

"Harry. What do you mean, fed properly?" he asked, his voice hard. Harry gulped, he knew that this was coming.

"They hate me, professor. They lock me in a cupboard. They give me only enough to survive. And take that away when im bad. And by bad, i mean when i show up their son in anything. They locked me in the cupboard for weeks after a got a higher grade on a math test!" Harry cried, his voice getting more and more hysterical by the second.

"I'm begging you, professor, please don't send me back. They hate me, and i don't think that i will survive another year…" Harry muttered that last part, but Albus still picked it up. The headmaster put a gentle hand under Harry's muzzle. Slowly lifting up his snout, Dumbledore gave Harry a kind smile.

"Harry, you are not returning to your relatives. Even if I hadn't known about…. That." Dumbledore's expression hardened. It took Albus a moment to calm himself down. The elderly headmaster sighed, he did not want to tell Harry about this, but he had no choice.

"Harry, the only reason you were at the Dursleys was because there were powerful blood wards put in place by myself to protect you and your only living relatives. If i had known that they mistreated you, i wouldn't have left you in their care. I am truly sorry, it is my fault. You will be staying at Hogwarts until we can find a foster family who can take you in." Dumbledore said, and relief flashed in Harry's eyes. Deciding to change the subject, Dumbledore asked Harry to try to turn back into a human. Bewildered, Harry agreed. As soon as he thought of his old body, however, a flash of green flames erupted from Harry's feet. It travelled up his length, and as the green moved up, the black chitin was replaced by soft human flesh. Harry looked at his hands in amazement, now that he had them back. Dumbledore chuckled, his amusement of Harry's expression was apparent. Hedwig gave a small coo of encouragement, happy that her master had resumed his usual form. Dumbledore spoke,

"I'm glad that you still have your shapeshifting abilities, Harry. From what i can tell, that is your species's main way of protecting themselves." the headmaster had a gleam in his eyes,

"Try turning into me." he commanded. Harry looked at Dumbledore bewildered, but nodded nonetheless complied with his elder. Deciding to do what he did with his own body, Harry focused on what the professor looked like, his golden spectacles, his crooked nose, his long beard. The green flash of fire fizzled to life once more, and in Harry's place, stood a second Dumbledore. The original smirked, as if he knew what kinds of trouble Harry could get into.

"Now Harry. I wish to stress that you must keep this part of you a secret. Others would judge you heavily, some might even wish to have you killed. Please do not abuse your shapeshifting abilities." Dumbledore pleaded with Harry. Harry nodded, before a thought came to mind.

"Dumbledore, can i tell Ron and Hermione? I don't think i'd be able to keep this from them…" the clone of Dumbledore said, tapping his fingers together in a gesture unbefitting of the wizard's appearance. The door to the infirmary burst open, and Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger charged into the ward. The duo stopped dead at the sight of two Albus Dumbledores, one had an expression of exasperated fondness, the other, untamed terror. The frightened Dumbledore disappeared in a flash of green flame to reveal,

"Harry?" Hermione asked, her voice frail, a far cry from her usual confident voice. Harry whimpered, then nodded, looking Hermione straight in the eyes. Both party members flinched as Harry's occlumency walls faltered and Hermione was shown Harry's fear, absolute unadulterated terror. How Hermione was able to see his fear, neither quite knew, but on that day, she looked into the mind of her best friend. With a quick stride, Hermione broke the mind link, and enveloped Harry in a warm hug. Ron snapped out of his stupor, and rushed over to hug his friend too.

"It will take a lot more than that to scare me away, Harry." Hermione whispered into Harry's ear. And the dam broke. Slumping in the arms of his best friends arms, Harry began to cry. Dumbledore had taken the exchange as his que to leave.

The fragile eleven year old cried in the warm embrace of true friends, until he had no tears left to cry. Both of his friends fought back tears as Harry told them everything, from his full treatment at the Dursley household, to how he felt after the dragon incident, up to the final fight with Quirrell. Harry did not want any more secrets with his friends, and he knew he would have to tell them the truth about what he was. Pulling away from his friends, Harry took a deep breath,

"Guys, there's something you have to see." he started, Hermione nodded, already knowing what he was about to show them, but deciding to not say anything. It might throw Harry off, and make him clam up. Harry stood, and took a deep breath. He was engulfed in green flames again, and he was replaced by a quadruped creature. Hermione gave a soft sigh, proud that her friend had mustered the courage to show them. Very Gryffindor. Ron's reaction was much more obvious. Ron flinched, and took a step back, looking at the shiny black horse like creature in front of him. Harry's ears flattened on his skull. His eyes watered, and a low, pitiful whine emerged from his throat. Ron mentally smacked himself, before he approached Harry.

"No, no, no. Harry, i didn't mean that… i'm just, surprised." Ron spoke softly, as if too loud of a sound would frighten Harry off, and he would never see him again. Harry sniffed, before he buried his head into Ron's gut, keeping his pointed horn far away from Ron's vulnerable belly. Ron gave a small laugh, absently petting the back of Harry's head. He quickly realized what he was doing, however, and made to pull back, or he would have, had he not heard the purr coming from Harry with each stroke. Hermione giggled at the display, before she approached as well. Settling down with Harry in between herself and Ron, Hermione petted Harry as well. Under normal circumstances, Harry would have protested such and act, but he found that he didn't really care at the moment. Harry purred and purred, growing more embarrassed but also very pleased at the display.

Albus had returned to the Hospital ward, with a small bag of lemon drops clutched his his hand, to find the most adorable sight he had ever laid eyes upon. Harry sat atop his bed, with his two best friends beside him, Ron leaning against the headboard to Harry's left, with Hermione sitting cross-legged to his right. Both of the friends were playing with Harry's mane and wings, much to the boy's slight annoyance. Albus let out a small chuckle at the scene in front of him. The three on the bed looked at the headmaster, before Hermione blushed, and let go of Harry's wing. Said wing fluttered for a bit, before pressing snugly at his side.

"Well then, i do believe that the two of you are taking Harry's…. Situation rather well. But i am afraid that it is time for the two of you to go to bed. Off you trot." the headmaster said, his eyes twinkling kindly. Hermione and Ron looked hesitant to leave their friend, but gave in. with one last hug from both of them, they bid Harry goodnight. As the two walked off to Gryffindor tower, Dumbledore gave Harry a pat on the head. "Time for you to sleep as well, Harry." he said, and Harry nodded quietly. The headmaster bade him goodnight, and Harry fell into a blissful sleep, with his beloved owl standing guard for her master.