Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Thank you once again to Periculum…I'm really really not sure what I would do without you!

Chapter Six

In the week following Harry's birthday, no one had been able to pinpoint just what kind of creature inheritance he had received. Hearing Harry heave a heavy sigh, seconds before he dropped the latest book he had been attempting to read and bury his head in his arms in misery, Lucius gently brushed his hand across the nape of the young man's neck, instantly grounding Harry, and therefore stopping the magically conjured breeze that had started to swirl around the room.

"Thanks," he heard Harry mumble from the depths of his arms.

Nodding his head slightly in acknowledgement, Lucius continued to gently message Harry's neck while looking at Severus in concern. The uncontrolled magic that spread from Harry whenever his emotions changed had been something that they had discovered right quickly, and just as fast they had found out that himself and Severus with just a gentle touch could stop the leakage. It had, however, been growing stronger with time.

This was just another clue as to what the young man had become, but so far nothing seemed to fit. Looking over at the chalk board, he once more read over the pitifully few clues they had generated.

Harry's wandless magic had gone through the roof. Lucius had been surprised with the amount of wandless magic Harry could do before, but now, it seemed that anything Harry could do with a wand, he could do better wandless. It almost seemed that instead of his wand enhancing his abilities; it allowed him to hold back on how much magic he used - something that he was having trouble controlling when not using his wand.

Lucius had been even more surprised when the others simply took this in stride, shrugging their shoulders and continued on with their work. It had been Draco who had pulled him aside (under Harry's watchful eyes) before he could say anything that would upset Harry, and explained their reactions. The answer his son had given echoed through his mind every time they found out something new, and that the others seemed to never react to.

(flashback)

"Father, we all expect the unexpected from Scarhead. We all know just how powerful he is. I knew every time I taunted him in the halls that I was playing with fire, and every time, I wondered if this time, would be the time he sent my flying, but I did it anyway."

"Then why do something so foolish?" Lucius asked.

"Because if I didn't, someone who wasn't prepared for what he could do would have pushed him over the edge," Draco had responded with a shrug.

"Draco…"

"Look, I know it's not how a Slytherin works, but it needed to be done. The more he heard the taunts from me, the less likely he would be to respond to them from someone else. I've known since I first met him that my life could go in two different directions. I chose to follow him, even if it meant making myself into a target, so that he didn't hurt anyone else without just cause. It was the only thing I could think of to help keep all the magic he has at his disposal from over reacting. You know I've always been able to see auras and his…" Draco trailed off, shuddering slightly. "If he ever loses full control, the damage it could do would either kill him or break him, and I really don't want to know what would become of the rest of us, if that should happen."

Lucius had remained quiet as Draco looked over the group that surrounded Harry. "Even though they don't say it, the others know what could happen, and take steps to combat it. No one reacts the way you would expect when we learn something new about Harry, because if they did, it would alienate him even more than he already is. Deep down this scares the shit out of all of us, but letting him see that would break him almost more than it would if he lost control. We do what we have to in order to help him, regardless of what we may think," Draco finished his explanation, looking his father dead in the eye. "We protect him, while he protects us. Even if it means being his enemy."

Later that night, Lucius had related the conversation to Severus while Harry slept fitfully, and was not surprised when Severus merely nodded his head in understanding. "Draco is entirely correct. You heard Harry's reaction when he found about his inheritance. If he found out that the others were even remotely frightened of him, he would lock himself into his own mind, and never let anyone in. There is no way anyone would be able to break down his walls to get in to him again."

"So that's what we do then, bury everything that we feel so that he can feel better about himself?" Lucius demanded.

"No, Luc, we give Harry the help and support he needs from us, and gather the same thing from those who know what's going on. Deal with what we feel away from where he can see it, and then when he's comfortable with the situation, we talk to him calmly. Make no mistake he'll figure out what we're doing and confront us all. But until he does, we don't say anything about it," Severus said, his eyes softening in understanding.

(end flashback)

Lucius was pulled from his thoughts by Hermione dropping a large book on the table and glaring around the room. "We have been going about this all wrong!" She exclaimed, eliciting small snorts of laughter from Ron and Harry.

"Where have we heard that one before, mate?" Ron asked.

"I'm not sure, but first year comes to mind," Harry replied, throwing a lopsided smile at the girl in question.

"Ha ha, you two, very funny."

"Explain if you will, Miss Granger, just what it is that we are doing wrong," Severus sneered.

"What if, this inheritance wasn't actually passed down from within the family?" Hermione said, looking around the room. "What if this is something that happened to Harry that is just now taking effect?"

"Impossible," Lucius stated flatly. "I've never heard of anything of this sort happening before that wasn't passed down from somewhere within the family."

Harry leaned back in his chair, stretching. "Then it's entirely possible. After all, this 'is' me we're talking about."

"Exactly," Ron nodded along. "The impossible always happens to Harry, otherwise how do you explain the fact that he survived the killing curse?"

"Continue, Miss Granger, I would like to hear your thinking on the matter," Severus added, sending Lucius a slight shake of the head to stop him from responding.

"Well, if you think about it, it's really not that hard to explain. Harry's been attacked by different creatures every year, and they have all left behind some kind of mark. It's entirely possible that his magic has… mutated… for lack of a better word, and has melded together all of the characteristics of from those creatures and added them to his own genetic makeup."

Silenced settle around the group for a few minutes, as they all tried to come up with a reason to dispute Hermione's logic. Finally Harry sighed again, and looked down at top of the table, allowing his hair to fall forward to hide his face. "So I'm even more of a freak then we thought?"

Harry didn't have time to react as he was hauled out of his chair and punched hard enough to land him on his back. Ginny was standing over him, her eyes sparking in fury. "Don't ever let me catch you saying that about yourself again, Harry. You have never been a freak and you never will be. That is only the pitiful excuse for human beings that share blood with you talking," she hissed with deadly intent. "If I EVER hear those words from you again, or even see you think them, I will beat sense into you myself."

Rubbing his painful jaw, Harry looked wide-eyed around the rest of the room, and found matching expressions on everyone. Gulping silently, he meekly nodded his head. "Of course, Ginny, whatever you say," he said quickly.

Ginny watched Harry intently for a moment before nodding her head. "If you'll all excuse me," she growled, before stomping her way out of the room and slamming the door behind her.

Everyone watched as Harry slowly picked himself up off the ground, still staring at the door, before going back to the books they had been going through, all of them wondering silently if this would be the first step to Harry finally believing in himself.