49 Chapter 16: Revealing The Truth
"That was quite an exhausting session." Hermione admitted as they made their way back to the Ravenclaw Tower. "Is it just me, or is every session when Professor Snape decides to participate more tiring than usual?"
"Having three teachers means that they can pay more attentionto each student." Neville commented. "Malfoy seems to be improving a lot, I don't think I'd like to go up against him outside a practice duel."
"He is getting good." Hermione admitted while Harry nodded in agreement, having been partnered against the Blond Slytherin.
~Rend, tear, destroy!~
Harry paused as he heard the whispering voice and Hermione gave him a curious look.
"I just remembered something." Harry said, looking round. "Pardon me."
Hermione huffed as Harry ran off, following the noise as it moved through the walls, then his eyes widened as he saw what it was.
"Bloody hell." He murmured, tapping his wrist-comm. "That's a big snake. Jor-El?"
"How can I help you, sir?"
"I'm about to take out a giant snake."
"I have it on my scanners, sir. What do you want to do with it?"
"Can you take it to Potter Manor and keep it secure? I think it's sentient, so killing it wouldn't be right. Perhaps we could keep it in one of the greenhouses?"
"Of course, sir. I am moving the shuttle into position now and commencing reinforcement of Greenhouse Four."
Harry sprinted ahead of the snake in the wall and lined himself up with one of the windows. Skidding to a halt, he braced himself, then punched straight through the wall, his fist crashing into the side of the monstrous snake's head. Grabbing its jaws, Harry pulled the snake so that it started to slide out of the wall, then the window opened behind him.
"I have it, sir."
Harry watched as the seemingly-endless snake flowed past, pulled into the shuttle's cargo bay by the gravetic tractors. As the tail finally vanished into the maw of the shuttle, Harry grinned, then turned to find Hermione staring at him in shock.
"Ah, erm, there's a good explanation for this. Honest." Harry quickly said, frantically trying to work out how to pass it off as less than it was.
"This is another Troll thing, isn't it?" Hermione demanded, then she looked out the window just in time to see the unconscious snake vanishing into an invisible container. "No… it's more than that. Harry?"
Harry slumped. "I don't suppose I could just ask you to ignore what you've just seen? No? Damn."
"Harry James Potter." Hermione growled. "Don't force me to go all tigress on you!"
"It's a long story and one which needs privacy to tell." Harry finally sighed. "Lots of privacy… such as at the Pottery."
"Isn't that where you sent that…thing?" Hermione asked tensely and Harry gave another shrug.
"Sure, but it'll be safe. I wonder what it is?"
Hermione glared at Harry and he walked past her.
"Come on. I'll let Uncle Fil know that you and I are heading out for a bit, then when we're there, I can explain."
"You'd better." Hermione half-growled. "I could be writing another letter to Nick and Penny right now!"
"That's a thought." Harry mused. "Maybe I should send them comm-watches too? Or are they in a different time zone?"
.
.
"Okay, I expected to come to your house, but why are we out here?" Hermione asked as Harry led her across the lawn.
"You'll see." Harry said, his normal smile in abeyance and Hermione looked ahead of them.
"That… isn't that?"
"My parent's grave." Harry confirmed. "I had them quietly moved here from Godric's Hollow with the aid of the Goblins. It seemed… appropriate."
Hermione went silent as they came to a stop in front of the large headstone and Hermione read it.
Here lie James Linfred Potter (Born March 27th 1960)
and his wife Lily Joanne Potter nee Evans (Born January 30th 1960)
Cruelly slain on Halloween (October 31st 1981) while protecting their son.
Let them live forever more in our memories.
"The old gravestone has The last enemy that shall be defeated is death inscribed on it." Harry said quietly. "No idea why. It must be a quote, but I didn't see how it related."
Hermione stood quietly for a few moments, then she spotted a smaller, unmarked stone close by.
"And what's that?"
"That is the grave of Harry James Potter."
Hermione blinked. "What? But…"
"I am not their true-born son." Harry explained quietly. "He was. However, before he was born, Lily was hit by a hex cast by a Death Eater, one that injured her and caused him to be stillborn. Lily was heartbroken, but then I showed up. Sirius found me and James realized that by using a Blood-Adoption ritual on me, I could become their son."
"But… who are you?" Hermione asked, turning to look at Harry.
"Legally and by blood adoption, I am Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter." Harry stated. "By birth, though, I am Kal-El, the son of Jor-El and his wife, Lara Van-El. I am the only survivor of the planet Krypton, sent to Earth to escape the destruction of that planet."
Hermione stared at him, wide-eyed. "You… you're kidding, right?"
"No, I am not." Harry said as he turned away from the graves and began walking back to the house. "It's why I am so much stronger than anyone else, why my senses are so much better. And those advantages are why I chose not to be a Chaser, Seeker or Beater but a Keeper. I never lose sight of the Snitch, so as a Seeker, the match would be over in minutes... if not seconds. I am incredibly tough, so as Chaser I would be tempted to simply barge people out of the way. My strength means that should I strike a Bludger, I would turn it from an obstacle into a lethal projectile. As a Keeper, I am more limited and as last year proved, I am not an instant-win card for our House."
"But… another planet?" Hermione shook her head. "What are the chances of it? You shouldn't look so… human."
"Jor-El has been researching the archives my father included in the pod that brought me to Earth." Harry said as they walked up the path to The Pottery. "Some of the records indicate that life was sparked and guided on several planets by a race whose name has been lost in the mists of time. It's not that I look human or humans look Kryptonian, it's that both of our races look like the Precursors who came before us and who guided our development before they left."
"That… makes sense." Hermione admitted as they stepped into the dining room, then she halted, staring at the thing which had replaced the table (which in turn was now against one wall). "Is that…?"
"The pod which transported me to Earth." Harry confirmed. "and which held an A.I. programmed by my father, an A.I. which uses his name and appearance."
Hermione stepped forwards, obviously not paying attention to him and stroked the symbol embossed on the nose of the pod.
"I saw you use this symbol during your duel." She whispered. "What does it mean?"
"Hope." Harry said, then he chuckled. "Well, it actually has three main meanings, Hope, Contemplation and Serenity. It's also the sigil of the House of El."
"House of El…" Hermione breathed, then she face-palmed. "Urgh, of course! Kal-El. Jor-El… Your mother was from the House of Van and married into the House of El, didn't she?"
"Very good." Harry congratulated her.
"But… this means you…" Hermione struggled.
"Hermione, I'm still me. Still the wig-wearing boy you befriended on the train. All that this means is that I have more history than you thought, but I haven't changed."
Hermione looked away. "I know that intellectually, but it's still…"
"Come on." Harry said. "Have a sit-down in the library. We both know that books make you feel better."
Hermione gave him a mild glare, but allowed herself to be led into the library, where she settled on one of the seats.
"I'll leave you alone with your thoughts." Harry offered as a tray floated by loaded with a tea-set and some biscuits. "Call if you need anything. In the meantime, I believe that I have another guest coming… a scaly one."
Hermione gave an absent nod as she poured herself a cup of tea and Harry left the library, jogging through the mansion and emerging near the greenhouses, one of which had the roof open to accept the payload of the shuttle above it.
"Sir," Jor-El spoke up through his earbud, "I have been performing scans on our new guest and there are certain energy fluctuations remarkably similar to old Kryptonian control spells. Do you wish me to break them?"
"Do it." Harry commanded as the roof of the Greenhouse closed over the giant snake that had been lowered into it from the shuttle. An instant later, the greenhouse seemed to flash with light of a color that Harry couldn't describe.
"Done, sir. The Snake is starting to wake up."
~What is going on? Where am I?~
Harry stepped up to the door and tapped on it. Inside the Greenhouse, the coils of the snake shifted and slid until its head appeared, staring at him.
~You are a Speaker!~
"I am." Harry confirmed, his mind flashing back to the snake he had understood prior to his enrollment at Hogwarts. "How did you know?"
~You still live, even though I look at you.~ The Snake said with a shrug.
"Not entirely false, sir. The glass is absorbing a low-level emanation originating from our guest's eyes. None of it is getting through." Jor-El commented so that the snake couldn't hear him.
~I do not feel the commands that were placed upon me any more.~ The snake continued. ~What happened?~
"I thought you might be a threat to the other students, so I punched you out, brought you to my home and broke the spells on you." Harry supplied. "My name is Harry Potter, what should I call you?"
~My father, Salazar, called me SssSthss.~ The giant serpent said, looking round curiously. ~I like this place, it is nice and warm.~
"Well, you can stay here if you want." Harry said with a wry smile. "I think Jor-El would like to have someone to talk to."
~Is this Jor-El a speaker too?~
"I think he can be." Harry mused, then he jolted as something floated over his shoulder. "Dammit! Don't do that to me… what is it?"
~I am curious as well.~ SssSthss said, then it flinched back as it realised that the device was turning its words into english. ~How?~
"Apparently it's a basic translation device that can be programmed remotely." Harry said as he finished listening to Jor-El's explanation. "Jor-El's making one you can wear and which will also protect people from your gaze… unless you want to hurt them, that is. However, I would appreciate it if you refrained from doing so unless the person in question is an actual threat."
~I am starting to get hungry.~ SssSthss said. ~A tasty cow or pig would be nice.~
"I'll see what I can get for you." Harry said as SssSthss ducked back into its coils. "Jor-El, any of the farms nearby selling their stock?"
.
.
"Harry, I've… why are you moving a herd of cows up the drive?" Hermione asked from the front door. "Are you opening a dairy farm?"
"Most of these are oxen, Hermione." Harry said as he watched Kelex and Kelor float out to take over the task of preventing them straying before they reached the enclosure that had been built for them. "My new guest was hungry and it turns out that she's a Basilisk."
Hermione froze. "A… Basilisk?" She squeaked. "But it was… it must have been fifty feet long!"
"A hair over fifty-seven feet, but good guess." Harry smiled as the cattle were driven around the corner. "Apparently SssSthss was woken up by someone who used the control spells that someone called Tom Riddle had placed on her when he woke her up fifty years ago… but who did it this time? She said that it was a different person but the magic was the same, so…"
"I believe that I may have the answer for you." Jor-El answered.
