Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Summary: Harry receives a letter a day before his fifteen birthday. This particular letter changes his life for better or for worse. Truths are unravelled and Harry Potter learns that he isn't really a Potter and that Dumbledore...isn't so light as everyone chooses to believe.

Warnings: Language. Possible Violence. Bashing of Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Molly and Dumbledore also Umbridge but she's bad anyway. Somewhat Slutty Ginny. M/M. Good!Dark. Bad!Light. Good Voldemort, Malfoy's, Bellatrix, Slytherins, Fred, George, Remus and Sirius. Panic Attacks/Anxiety. Hints at Abusive Dursley's. No Sex Scenes but Will Contain Kissing/Snogging/Groping/etc.

Future Warnings/Notes: M/M, Future Draco/Harry (Damien) -JUST WANT TO SAY BECAUSE OF ALL THE RUDE GUEST RESPONSES ABOUT THERE BEING DRARRY, IF YOU DON'T LIKE DRARRY, DON'T READ IT AND DON'T REVIEW ABOUT IT. BECAUSE I DON'T NEED IT. I DON'T WANT PEOPLE SAYING 'ugh another Drarry' MY WORK IS MORE THAN JUST THAT. I AM NOT FORCING ANYONE TO READ IT, THEREFORE YOU DON'T NEED TO REVIEW ABOUT IT.

Set in the summer of fourth year through to fifth year.

KEY
"speech"
'thoughts'
'letters'
books/information/files/newspaper

Harry sighed. It was the week of his birthday, he'd be fifteen in a day, not that anyone cared. The Dursley's had oddly enough been quite lenient on him for once, probably because Sirius had once again threatened them or something like that. A bang startled him from his thoughts. It was an owl. Petting the creature, he gave it a small treat before grabbing the letter and allowing the bird to fly away. The address on the front was written in such an elegant way, Harry couldn't help but admire it before opening the envelope. Not knowing that the contents inside would change everything, for better or for worse.

'Dearest son,

You may be wondering why we have not written your name and we shall get to that momentarily. You see, you aren't biologically mine or James', Dumbledore came to us one night on the 31st of July with you. We were told you were a poor innocent victim of the Dark, but we didn't quite believe the old man, yet we took you in because I had, in fact, had a miscarriage and wanted a child to protect and cherish and there you were.

You may be wondering why we were able to convince people you were ours. Well to put it simply, the miscarriage caused me to fall into depression, I had not left the house for 6 months, the last time anyone had in fact seen me was when I was heavily pregnant. I had been hit by a spell, causing the miscarriage. As such, no one, not even Remus or Sirius or Peter, had seen me. This made it simple to convince people you were ours and that I had been staying at home out of the public to look after you. We then gave you a glamouring potion when you were one.

This leads me onto my next point, although I'm not entirely sure we needed a glamouring potion, see your eyes were only a shade darker than mine and you had the same hair colour as James. However, Dumbledore convinced us to (although he assumed we used an unbreakable one). You see the potion we gave you was powerful, no one could see through it, the one issue was unlike most glamours, charms, inheritances, etc, this wears off exactly fifteen years after it's been applied, which is the day we got you and dubbed your birthday. I dearly hope you get this before your fifteenth -happy birthday, by the way, my beautiful boy even if you aren't mine and it isn't your real birthday.

Despite all of this, we still regard you as our own. Our blood may be different, but we loved you as though you were ours. Even when Dumbledore told us the prophecy could be of you and that Voldemort would come after you, we wanted to protect you with our lives. Which depending on if you are getting this, then I hope we did.

My final wish, my dear darling boy, is that you find someone with your blood. You must have family somewhere, we can only hope you find them and our cherished dearly. Please, can you also inform Severus Snape that both I and James are sorry. He will know what we are on about.

Now, my boy, we love you. We love you ever so much, never doubt it.

Lots of Love,
Your Mum and Dad,
Lily and James.'

Harry could only stare in shock. His hands trembled.

"If…if I'm not related to them, then why the bloody hell has Dumbledore left me with these pigs?" Harry couldn't help but question angrily, "The blood wards wouldn't exist…That bastard knew I wasn't related! Oh, Merlin, I'm going to be sick."

—LINE BREAK—

The clock struck twelve. Pain enveloped him. His body. His soul. It all burned. The agony was too much to make him scream. 00:01, the twenty-four-hour clock read. Harry felt the world closing in. 00:02 and he had passed out.

—LINE BREAK—

When Harry came to, he sought out a mirror after removing his glasses as he no longer needed them. Dragging his pained body across to the bathroom as quietly as he could. He gasped. His hair remained short and possibly grew a shade lighter but it had noticeably become straighter and more manageable, however, his eyes changed quite a lot. They were more noticeable, somewhat larger and rounder. But it was the striking colour that captivated him. Sure the eyes he had under the glamour were a stunning shade of green, but these…these were more…much more deadly. They were a purer green, like a beautiful emerald. They resembled the killing curse much closer than they did before. Harry's face became more shaped, his jawline and cheekbones were sharp. To Harry, the changes weren't much, but they were enough to not make people think he was Harry James Potter. He seemed to have grown slightly, but he was still small, in fact, the slight growth made him look even skinnier! Harry stopped gazing in the mirror. He had to leave. His apparent 'family' had gone out for the day, leaving him the perfect opportunity to go. Rushing back into his dingy bedroom, Harry grabbed the few belongings he had in there, before rushing down to the cupboard under the stairs and putting them in his trunk. He ran back upstairs, letting Hedwig from her cage. Scribbling something quickly onto a piece of scrap paper, he gave it to her.

"Hedwig, you know where to go. Once you've given it to them, I need you to come find me, I'll be at the Leaky Cauldron. Be discreet. Good girl. See you soon, Hedwig." Harry watched as she flew away before grabbing his trunk and slamming the door to number 4 Privet Drive. He was metaphorically slamming a door to a piece of his life shut. Quite poetic, he thought.

—LINE BREAK—

Harry quickly arrived at the Leaky Cauldron after the Knight Bus dropped him there. Lugging his trunk inside, he asked Tom for a room.

"Hi, could I please get a room?"

"Certainly, my boy. How long will you be needing it?"

"I'm not sure, I'll probably need it for at least a week."

"That is fine, I'll let you just pay and check out whenever if that's the case."

"Thank you."

"Now I just need a name and your signature."

"Hadrian Nescio." He used as an alias, he'd been thinking about it on the bus and chose to go with a fancier version of his old name, just to simplify things, but it was the surname he was impressed with. Nescio meant 'I don't know' in Latin. Which was true, he really didn't know his last -or first name for that matter.

"Thank you, your room is number 7. Contact me should you need anything."

Thanking the old man once more, Harry made his way to the room. Within moments of him entering, Hedwig arrived with a note.

'Harry,
We will see you at the Leaky Cauldron at 3 pm.
-Fred and George.'

"Good girl." Harry murmured as he stroked his owl, "Right, I have a few hours to do some jobs. Hedwig, you can go out if you want but please be discreet, okay?" The owl squawked in agreement before flying away. Harry left the Leaky Cauldron and made his way to Diagon Alley -or more specifically…Gringotts.

—LINE BREAK—

As Harry arrived at Gringotts, he was summoned to the Head Goblin's office.

"Ah, Mr Potter, or rather Mr Nescio as you are currently going by. It's a rather intuitive alias." Murmured the Goblin before he looked up from the paperwork on his desk and gesturing for Harry to take a seat, "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Well, Mr Alkoff…I was wondering about my vault-"

"I believe 'vaults.' is the correct term," Interrupted the Goblin who emphasised the 's'.

"Oh…umm…okay, sorry? Well, sir, I was wondering if I still had access to it -them as I am no longer a Potter."

"Yes. You will always have access to the Potter vaults. Whether you bear a different name or appearance. You will always have access." There was a short silence as Harry took this in.

"May I ask why?"

"A thirst for knowledge." Murmured the Goblin in approval, "Certainly. You see in the wizarding world, blood is a very sacred and powerful thing. You can change your appearance but you can never change the blood you were born with -many have tried and painfully failed. Lily and James Potter knew this when they gave you the glamouring potion, therefore they made it so only yours and their blood could access the Potter vaults. I do believe this caused a hissy fit with the old fool."

"Dumbledore?"

"Mr Nescio, he is not what he seems. Tread carefully especially now that you are learning the truth." Is all Alkoff said.

Harry shortly left after thanking the Head Goblin and grabbing some money from his trust vault as he couldn't access the others until he was sixteen. Wandering through Diagon Alley, Harry stopped to purchase some new clothes -mostly Muggle clothing as he much preferred it to Wizards clothing- as he intended to throw all of the hand-me-downs he had (i.e. all of his clothes except his school robes). Finally, Harry ended up going to Flourish and Blotts, spending a good forty-five minutes in the store before paying for about 10 books.

Checking his watch, Harry headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. He changed into some of his new clothes, before throwing on a large hoodie and grabbing one of his books and heading downstairs to find a table in a corner, whilst he waited for his two favourite red-heads. It took Harry several moments to realise that the two red-heads had arrived as he was lost in the world of knowledge, the book was about the more advanced and less known defence spells.

"Hello-"
"Harrikins-"
"You-"
"Summoned-"
"Us?" They finished in unison.

"Fred! George!" Harry replied happily, yet he did not raise his head "I…umm…please read this letter and then I'll…I'll…" He cut himself off, the twins glanced at each other in worry for their young friend, but they took the letter and read it.

Moments of silence passed. Harry was practically trembling in worry and felt a panic attack brewing.

"Well, let's see ya-"
"For all we know, you could've gotten-"
"More sexy and you're not showing us!" They said, Harry burst out laughing at their antics, they smiled to themselves, glad that they had managed to get him happy again. Harry then lifted his head, showing them the slight changes.

"Huh. You look the same but also different enough to not cause a fuss." Fred murmured,

"Yeah, and you're even sexier than before." Chuckled George, the other two joined in.

"Do…how should…how will I find out my…my real family and my name?" Harry asked with a lost tone to his voice,

"We can go to the Department of Life tomorrow." Answered George,

"Believe it or not but it's actually pretty easier to find out. I mean compared to all the corruption and complications in the Ministry, it's extremely simple to find out these things." Fred added,

"Will…will you both come with me?" He once again asked somewhat hesitantly,

"Of course we will!"
"We even brought overnight essentials and clothes for tomorrow!"
"We'll just get a room."
"Then head up to yours if that's alright." They said, taking it in turns to speak.

"I…thank you." He gave them the brightest smile he could muster, "Wait…you said you brought stuff, but you have no bags?"

"Ah, we'll tell you about that in a momento!" Answered Fred as George went and got them a room, it was number 8, which was very handy.

"You see-" They began to finish each other's sentences once again, starting with George,
"Little Grasshopper-"
"We've been experimenting-"
"And inventing a lot this summer."
"And this amazing thing here." George dug into his pocket and pulled out a mini version of a trunk, as did Fred,
"Is a smaller version of one's trunk. It's so owners can easily carry their belongings.-"
"Now, you may be wondering,-"
"'What's the point? Surely people can just use their wands to make their trunks smaller?'-"
"Well Harry, this is so underage wizards can get away with not using magic. All you have to do is murmur a word of their choosing and it grows bigger or smaller."

"Oh. That's actually quite smart." Harry murmured before yawning.

"We'll be across the corridor if you need us, have a good night Harry." Whispered Fred as he hugged the tired teenager, George followed his slightly older brother actions before they left.

—LINE BREAK—

When Harry woke the next day, it was 8 am. He smiled to himself as he thought over the previous day whilst he showered and dressed. He was supposed to meet Fred and George at 8:45 am, but they were late. Finally, the two twins came down at 9 am, their appearances were extremely…disheveled. Fred had his t-shirt inside out, whereas George had his on back to front, Fred had one sock on his left foot and no shoe but his right foot had a shoe and a sock on the outside of it…covering the actual shoe, George, on the other hand, was wearing a Gryffindor red sock on his right foot and then a Slytherin green one on his left, yet he had no shoes. Harry burst out laughing.

"Dear Merlin! The Hell happened to you two?"

"We missed our alarms and woke up 2 minutes ago." They grumbled in unison, Harry couldn't stop laughing, but he managed to breathlessly tell them to sort themselves out and that they weren't in a hurry. Less than 10 minutes later, they both returned looking oddly immaculate considering their previous appearances. The three of them flooed to the Ministry of Magic, where Fred and George led Harry to the Department of Life.

"Welcome to the Department of Life. How can I help you?" Smiled the witch at the reception desk,

"We're just here to collect Hadrian's file." Replied Fred,

"Oh yes." She continued to smile pleasantly, "Please do go in. Should you need any help, feel free to ask me." The three boys then walked through the second door and into the vast but somewhat small room. Files and columns filled the majority of the room, much like a clustered library, it went very far -Harry couldn't even see the end!

"Harry, you need to prick your finger on the pin." George pointed to the pin that was set on a small desk in the corner. Doing just that Harry watched as the small drop of blood seemed to rise into the air before darting away.

"This usually takes at least 5 minutes. May as well sit down." Muttered Fred as he gestured for Harry to sit between the two of them.

"Can you guys explain to me, how this all works?" Harry asked as he sat down,

"Sure."

"It is a bit difficult to explain, but we can try." They replied.

"This Department -along with the Department of Death- doesn't use a wizard or witches magic. It's solely Lady Magics work. This is why no person is actually getting your file." Fred started a bit hesitantly,

"The only people who have access to an owners file is them and their parents or guardian until the child reaches the age of five after that only the owner can access their files with their blood. This is a security protocol, I guess. I mean it stops the file from getting into the wrong hands." George continued,

"Has anyone told you about the significance of blood and all?" Harry nodded, so Fred continued, "Well then, what you saw when you pricked your finger was Magic using your blood to find the file with the matching DNA."

"So basically. My blood goes on a little trip until it matches with the blood in one of the files?"

"Pretty much." The twins replied in unison.

"Oh." Harry murmured before asking a question, "So is there a system or something? I mean you said no one works in here, so what happens with the files when someone dies or something?"

"Well…okay, let's see…" Muttered George, "Basically this is set out in different categories."

"For example," Fred said taking over for his brother, "The files closest to us will be for infants so from birth to 3 years old. Then after those files, there are the children's which is from age 4 to 10. After that would be adolescents so age 11 to 18. After them is for adults so from 19 to 65 years. The final rows would be for the elderly so 65 years and up to 100. Before finally going to 100+ people as wizards live longer than Muggles."

"Once someone, for example, turns 19, their file will be shifted into the correct alphabetical place in the adult section. Also when someone dies, their file will be shifted over to the Department of Death."

"Ah, here's your file." Added Fred after George had finished, "Also, Harry, if you want to learn more about the departments, there will be some books somewhere, they might explain things a bit better."

"Thanks, guys." Harry then stood up and watched as his file was gently placed on the desk next to the pin he'd pricked his finger on. Hesitantly, Harry picked it up, but he didn't open it.

—LINE BREAK—

The three Gryffindors left the department with the folder, which had yet to be open.

"Come on Harry, we know the perfect place for you to open it." Whispered George as he wrapped his arm around Harry in a comforting manner, both he and Fred could see the anxiety on the boys paler face.

"I…I was taken when I was a month old…even if I do find out who my family is -assuming they're still alive- they…they might've…they might've moved on…they could've had a big family, they…they probably wouldn't want me barging in and…and ruin…ruining everything." He stammered as tears welled up in his eyes. They were still in the Ministry -on their ways to the floo- when both Weasley's stopped instantly, ignoring the annoyed reactions of the busy people around them, they quickly wrapped Harry into a hug.

"Don't you say that." They said harshly. Calming down slightly, the three of them took a floo back to the Leaky Cauldron, Fred and George then took Harry to a quiet park they had found a few years ago.

None of them realised that a certain blonde man had been watching them with sharp eyes and listening to them. None of them realised it even as the man followed them through the floo.

—LINE BREAK—

The twins sat a bit away from Harry, indulging the younger boy some privacy whilst he uncovered the truth. Harry took a seat leaning against a tree.

Harry stared at the cover of the brown file. A large, bold and red stamp stretched across the middle of the front with the word 'MISSING'. With a deep breath, he pried open the large file. He read the first page of the life-changing file. His face became a deathly pale, his pulse and breathing quickly turned rapid, hands clammy as he stared at the folder, his eyes no longer seeing what was in front of him. Shock had consumed his very being.

Fred and George quickly realised something was wrong with their friend and rushed over to him. They removed the file from his lap and closed it, as they did so, neither felt compelled to look in the folder. Worry filled their minds as they tried to help their best friend.

"He's in shock." Came the familiar voice of the person who had been following them.

"Malfoy!" Exclaimed Fred and George in surprise,

"Yes." Lucius picked up the file that had been placed next to Harry, he looked inside before the twins could stop him. They watched as Lucius' eyes widened. "We're apparating now. Hold on to me." He demanded and the twins complied in fear of what he would do to Harry should they not. Grabbing hold of Lucius' arms and hoisting Harry into their arms, they disappeared.

—LINE BREAK—

Reappearing in a grand hallway, the twins jaws dropped open as they stared at a luxurious double staircase, between them was a comfy little table and chairs area with a large window. At the top of the two sets of stairs was a balcony, but that was all they could see before the two sides probably led to rooms.

"Follow me." The two hesitantly did so, Fred was carrying Harry as they followed the aristocrat passed the stairs and to the left where they were taken to two grand dark oak doors. Lucius knocked on one of the double doors and an unfamiliar 'enter' sounded through them.

Entering, Fred and George stared at the man behind the large desk covered in paperwork. He had short brown hair and dark eyes. He seemed to be in his late twenties, early thirties. No one said anything as the Weasley's -along with Harry- stayed by the door, watching as Lucius placed the file in front of the man. The word on the front disappeared and was replaced with the word 'FOUND' before that too slowly vanished.

"You mean-"

"Yes. That is your son." Lucius confirmed as the man fell back into the chair, Harry seemed to have come out of his shock momentarily when he heard this. The man stood up and walked over to Harry who had been put down by Fred, the man held Harry's head gently in his hands.

"My son, my boy. My little Damien." He murmured softly,

"Voldemort" Harry whispered before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out, falling limply into the arms of Fred and George who stared in worry, shock and a little fear as the Dark Lord stood before them. Voldemort sighed.

Author's Notes: I understand that the Department of Life (and Death) bit may confuse you all (btw I made this bit up), it was extremely complicated to explain I thought, which is why I had the twins say it was difficult to explain as no one really understands how it works in the magical world.

Anyway,

Thank you for reading,
Hope you enjoyed,
Please review,
No hate,

Bye~