Mariposa

Harry hasn't been feeling very well all summer and now something is happening that will change his life forever. What has this year got in store for Harry and will he finally find a family to love and be loved by.

Warnings: Creature Harry, Harry/? Probable MALE PREGNANCY AU Definite Slash, m/m, m/m/m, gay pairings and gay relationships don't like don't read. Nothing explicit. Hermione and Ron bashing probably some Dumbledore bashing, brief mentioning of self harm, child abuse and suicidal thoughts, AU end of OOTP, AU sixth year. Flames will be used to keep the beverages warm for everyone else.

Wow that was longer than I thought it was going to be, obviously everything Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling and the various companies that hold rights.

An: Yes, I've been bitten by the bug too and this has become my baby. All I can do is to try my best.

Chapter 1

For weeks now, Harry had been feeling very strange. There had been moments where Harry had found himself feeling faint and nauseous. The scruffy teenage boy held his stomach as it rolled at the smell of breakfast wafting through the doors of the Great Hall. He yawned tiredly, bringing up his hand towards his mouth in a long-learned gesture of etiquette.

His Aunt and Uncle had ensured from a very young age, that he knew his place within their household and that was on the bottom rung. He was to be seen and not heard. Anything that required his family to acknowledge his presence, was to be apologized for in the politest manner. It ensured that whilst out of the house everyone thought that he was charming.

Aunt Petunia told everyone she could, that as both Dudley and Harry were boarding she wanted them to be as independent as possible. That was why Harry could be seen doing the weekly shopping in the local supermarket, going to the take-away, picking up parcels from the Post Office. No-one ever mentioned the fact that they had never seen Dudley do any of these things.

After all Petunia Dursley would never treat the two children in her care any differently. She was the model of English suburban housewifery.

He wasn't sure that he could make it into the hall and to the table where Ron and Hermione were eating without at the very least gagging. Especially if Ron was sporting his usual eating habits.

That thing he did with chicken was beyond vile.

In Harry's book, there were no excuses for bad table manners. He'd been raised by people that hated him and often withheld food as a punishment.

Ron often ate like he had received advance news of a ten-year-long famine.

Some people would put that down to the fact that he came from a large family and that he probably had to eat fast to ensure that he actually got anything, but Harry knew that wasn't true. For one his siblings that were in school didn't have such appalling manners nor would Mrs. Weasley ever let any of her children go hungry. It was just the way that Ron was.

Despite his strange and often vile eating habits, they had been firm friends.

He yawned again repeating his earlier actions. As well as his other problems, he found himself managing to get less sleep each night. After living with the Dursley's all these years he had learned to cope without much sleep.

If he thought back all of this had started after his 16th birthday.

It was something to do with all the emotions that he was repressing, he was sure. Even after two weeks back at school and the entire summer holidays, he had yet to cry for Sirius. Maybe it was because deep down beneath all the layers that he put around himself, Harry found himself pretending that Sirius was on the run again and he would hear from him soon.

Denial was a nice place to live but he couldn't stay there forever. Ignoring all of this and pushing on with his life seemed to be the best option for the moment though. It wasn't as if he had the time to do anything else.

Gradually the feeling of nausea faded away and he made his way over to the Gryffindor tables. Because of his hesitance at the door the space that Hermione had been trying to save further down the table had been taken by one of the new first years.

Harry found himself at somewhat of a loss. Over the last five years even during their falling out the 'Golden Trio' as they had been named had always sat together.

Harry bit his lip, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, looking at the spaces that were left. There was no way on earth that he was sitting next to Cormack McLaggan. Especially after the news that he had been made the new Quidditch captain.

Arrogance rolled off that guy in waves.

To his luck Dean saved him by grabbing his hand and dragging him over to where he Seamus and Neville were sitting. Harry blushed as everyone at the table turned to look at him. He was gently guided into a seat and he proceeded to pick at his breakfast. There was little that appealed to him. Why was half of the table taken up by meat and dairy dishes?

Slowly he piled all the fruit he could find onto his plate.

"Are you alright Harry mate, you look really pale?" Seamus asked concernedly turning in his seat, a half-eaten piece of toast in his hands.

"I'm fine! I've just been feeling a bit funny lately." Harry replied, holding a goblet full of iced pumpkin juice to his forehead as a hot feeling came over him.

"You should probably get yourself looked over by Madame Pomfrey." Dean added, reaching over to add another helping of muesli to his bowl.

Despite his upbringing where he had been taught to hide any illnesses or injuries to avoid them being exploited it felt good to open up to people. Leaving or hiding something generally only made it worse in the long run and Harry didn't really have the energy to argue.

Listlessly he ate the little fruit he had managed to acquire from the table that wasn't coated in sugar syrup, before saying goodbye to his dorm mates and heading towards the infirmary.

The tiny sixth year had barely made it halfway there when he collapsed.