DZ2 'BLACK SHEEP' CHALLENGE RESPONSE

Plot: Petunia wasn't Harry's only relation, let alone one without magic: what nobody told him was that there was another, but there's a reason they never talk about him/her.

Rules: Grey, Dark or Evil Harry Dark Grey though Evil-ish moments are not ruled out

Powerful Harry or stronger

When the story starts is up to you Pre-Hogwarts

The 'black sheep' MUST either be a magical relation of either Lily or James

In either case, they MUST be an elder sibling

Why they are the black sheep is up to you, but I'd PREFER it if they had something about them that makes them persona non grata as far as Lily/James and their friends were concerned Lily's older brother John was initiated into her family business and was not bothered by the blood on his hands while she vehemently turned her back on it

If Harry meets his estranged relative when at Hogwarts, it MUST start with a letter to him while at Hogwarts

If Harry meets his estranged relative during the summer at Hogwarts, however, it can either be a chance encounter, an arranged meeting or some other way

If Harry meets his estranged relative before Hogwarts, the relative MUST remind the Dursleys why they were never supposed to be raising Harry

At least one of Lily/James' friends - including Petunia if you want - MUST be against the idea of the relation taking care of Harry

If/When Harry discovers the truth about why his relative is PNG with the family, they MUST have an argument about the relative's true intentions

While mentoring Harry, the relative MUST teach him at least one branch of magic not taught at Hogwarts

All pairings are welcome

Guidelines:

-Crossovers Sort-of accepted: scattered John Wick references & John raising Harry

-Super/OP Harry Eventually OP

-Dark-Lord Harry Not quite Dark Lord but he is not Mr. Nice Guy

-Lily was actually a pure-blood Accepted sort of; see note before story start

-BOTH Lily and James had black sheep who help Harry Maybe

-The relative took a new surname No

-The relative wants to turn Harry into a leader like Tom or an anti-Dumbledore Maybe

-The relative became a Dark Creature Half-accepted; the entire bloodline has creature blood from its earliest roots

-The relative is actually a canon character who took their new name after being cast out No

-Harry has a cousin other than Dudley (relative's kid) No

-Harry makes/requests/is given an Unbreakable Vow or some other equally-binding magical promise before trusting his relative Accepted

-Slash Not for Harry but others are possible *cough*NEVILLE*cough*

-Harems No

-Harry/Multi Accepted; the max is two, one is Luna for sure but the other is undecided

-The relative trains Harry in certain Muggle techniques to aid him (e.g. weapons training, self-defence, mentalism etc.) Accepted

-For some reason, the relative convinces Harry to side with Tom, but not as a mere pawn No

-After leaving Privet Drive, the blood wards' magic switches to the relative No, Johns paranoia would see him erect his own wards and protections that outclass the blodwards

Forbidden:

-Light Harry

-Petunia as Harry's only blood relative

-Harry turning away from his magical relative, even after their argument

-The relative younger than Lily or James

-Meet at Hogwarts: not sending a letter/information to Harry first

-Meet before Hogwarts: the Dursleys not facing justice

-Weak Harry

-The relative NOT making Harry better than he is in canon

-The relative out to manipulate Harry to his death

Note: About Lily being a Pureblood, I'm going to toy with hinted at backstory revealed in the latest John Wick movie for this to make sense. There are no spoilers so don't get your metadata panties in a bunch. In John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, John reveals he is the last of his tribe while on his quest to survive. What if within the Ruska Roma, John's tribe was considered Royalty among Russian Gypsies? He never expands on it in the movie and this is fanfic so its possible. Being the oldest male would make John the new King and his younger sister Lily the default princess to the throne; this would make her, in the eyes of British Purebloods, a Pureblood herself but her turning her back on it and John would strip her status in the eyes of the gypsy clans. Therefore the next in line to the John's throne would be his nephew, Harry, if anything happened to John.

"Kill the woman and child. Torture the whale before you kill him. Make it look like a murder-suicide thing."

"Kill the kid? Mr. Wick, I hate these flesh bags as much as the next but-"

"They nearly murdered my nephew. Kill them or I'll do it myself and kill you just for disobeying the High King of the High Table."

Six year old Harry James Potter had seen a lot happen in short life. He had felt a lot happen to him in his short lifetime but the secene before him… this was terrifying in its own right. His aunt, uncle and cousin were held at gun point by two of the local armed police while a man he had never seen before approached him with gun in hand. His survival instincts, honed by surviving his relatives, screamed for him to run as two pops filled the air as his uncle screamed bloody murder as the light left Dudley's eyes. Scrambling backwards in fear he could care less as a whimper left his lips. Any pretense of courage and bravery could be kicked to the curb for the time being until he was safe away from these men.

The man one of the cops identified as Mr. Wick sighed and holstered the pistol on his hip. "Peace Matroyshka, I have no intent to harm you" he said kneeling down as the young boys skeletal thin form backed into a wall.

For a moment Harry's eyes glazed over as a half remembered memory surfaced. Red hair, loving green eyes, a woman calling him her innocent matroyshka and singing him a lullaby but it wasn't in english. "H-how do yo-"

"I know your mother called you Matroyska because it was what our mother had done to us. We were her Matroyska, her innocent dolls, as small children and even though Liliana turned her back on me & the ways of our people, I know she would carry on our mothers traditon with her children. Well, I should say child since you are the only one" the man said offering a hand out to the boy. "What is your name little one?"

Harry looked at the hand with a mixture of trepidation and curiostiy. On the one hand this person claimed to be family and know his mother. On the other hand, he seemed to hold enough power to have two cops murder his aunt and cousin- what could he do him? The silence was heavy and tense until his stomach roared making his hunger known causing a massive blush to stain across his cheeks. He wanted to curse his body for betraying his hunger but it had been four days since he was allowed to eat..

"You don't have to tell me now, how about that? What say I make you something to eat and we can talk when you're ready" the man suggested with a kind smile. "I swear on my life-blood and soul I will never hurt you intentionally Matroyshka unless I am training you to defend yourself. I protect my kin from harm, not be the cause of it" he promised, a silver glow encompassing his form.

A shuddering warmth filled Harry as he felt something connect to some part of him on a primal level. He didn't have the foggiest clue what that something was but he knew it was there. "Harry.. Harry James Potter" he said hesitantly taking the mans hand. "But I don't… I don't know if that's right…" he said struggling for a moment to choose his words.

The man frowned and gently led Harry to the kitchen. "What do you mean you're not sure?" he asked helping nephew, his near feather light nephew, into a chair and pushed it in before searching cupboards to see what was where to make Harry something to eat.

"I… I have this dream sometimes… A pretty lady with green eyes and red hair… She's looking at me and she calls me something different" Harry said looking down at the table, his eyes focused on the grain of the wood.

The man looked over sharply at that. Did Liliana not name her child as he said it was? If she didn't then what did she name his nephew? Better yet, how could he remember her saying it? He couldn't have been more than an infant if she ever told him what his true name was. "That lady was your mother Liliana though she prefered to be called Lily" he said crouching down beside the chair his nephew was sat on. "Tell me what she called you in this dreams of yours" he said gently tilting Harry's head so bright emerald green eyes met dark brown.

"I.. I don't know if this is how you say it but… Hadrian Hak..Hakan? Jono-"

A light sparked to life within the mans eyes. "Jonovich" he said finishing for Harry who nodded. "A strong name for a Prince."

Harry looked up in surprise at that as the man stood with a sense of pride exuding from his being. "A Prince? But I'm not a Prince of anything.." he said weakly.

"Perhaps me introducing myself will help clear up a few things. My name is Jardani Jonovich though I am most recognized by the name of John Wick. I am the Gypsy High King, Head of the High Table and more importantly I am your real uncle. I am your mother Liliana's older brother" the man said as he glanced to the living room where a third gun shot went off and saw the fat mans limp hand fall away, a hole through the back of his skull and brain mattter splatter the wall. "Stay right there ok? I'll be right back to make you some food but I need to have some choice words with that experiment on the couch."

Harry couldn't get a word out before the man was gone into the living area where the armed cops were.

"I know you're still alive Vernon" John said with a dark demented smile on his lips. "You really thought you could get away with it didn't you, abusing my blood and turning him into something he was not destined to be.. Yet here I am… Blood wards would have kept me away if it was't for one thing. Care to make a guess?"

Vernon made a gurgling moaning sound as blood fell from his lips in rivlets of increasing volume.

"Give the filthy commoner a prize! Yes Vernon, the wards were made using my sisters blood! They couldn't keep you safe from me forever" John said with a sneer curling his lip. In a flash three shots were put into the man fatty flesh though he was mindful to make them fatal but not immediately death inducing blows. "Your family, Albus Dumbledore and this filthy nation may have stolen my sister from the mortal coil but you will not steal my nephew from me!" he said with a menacing growl.

Harry, despite his hunger, pushed the chair back and stumbled over to John. Even if the man was lying to him, he wouldn't have been the first to do so, he was the first to be genuinely kind to him. "He's not worth it" he said hugging onto one leg tightly.

John looked down, his expression softening and growl dying in his throat. "You're right Matroyshka, he isn't worth it." He knelt down moving a hand to card through the raven colored locks. A small amused glint appeared momentarily as Harry almost purred at the gentle affectionate touch while he filed it away for later contemplation. "Lets get you fed before I take you home with me. We have so much time to make up for and so much for me to teach you."

Harry blinked innocently and cocked his head cutely. "Teach me?" he asked sounding as perplexed as he looked. "What is there to teach me?"

"There's a lot for me to teach you, you're a wizard like me and your mum Matroyshka."

A/N: Before the torches get lit and tossed at me I'll say a few things off the bat to head off what I'm guessing will be the most common questions/criticisms:

"Harry just watched his relatives get murdered so its going to scar him!"

*Considering the abuse he suffered at the Dursley's hands, it isn't going to scar him. If anything, it'll become a treasured memory that they got what was coming to them AND family he didn't know he had was the one to save him makes it more so.

"Why is Harry willing to trust John so readily after seeing what he did and was able to order the cops to do?"

*John saved Harry and ended the one threat that was always looming over his head. Discounting John is his uncle, Harry would view him as a guardian angel that saved him and answered his many desperate pleas for help.

"Why is John calling Harry Matroyshka and why is Harry fine with being called it? What does it mean?"

* Johnh already explained it in context to their family. Matroyshka is the term/name used for Russian Nesting Dolls. As for Harry not making a fuss about being called Matroyshka by John, he associates a warmth of being called Matroyshka by the half remembered memory of his mother calling him it as an infant; it acts in the same sense for him as a blanket most children cling to when scared in the dark.

"Why is Harry purring at having John run his fingers? Is this a hint of him being a feline animagus in the future?"

*Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Maybe its just him relishing a positive physical touch for the first time since his parents were murdered. He was an abused and neglected child remember?

"How did John know where Harry was and he needed him? Why didn't he appear sooner to help Harry?"

*Dumbledore did something to the blood wards that made John blind to where Harry was until the latest beating that put him inches from critical care. Family magic called out to John. Theres going to be a better explanation next chapter so content yourself with this for now.

"Why did the cops follow John's orders? British cops adhere to different gun laws."

*Fair point but the criminal underground of assassins, thieves and every other sort of undesireable spans the globe & offer services when the gold coin is flashed. Assassins being in mundane police departments won't care about gun laws.

"How is Vernon alive after 'shooting himself' in the head?! That should kill you automatically!"

*People have survived gun shot wounds to the head. What matters in cases lilke that is where the entry and exit wound is.

I think that should be the bulk of main questions/criticisms answered pre-emptively. All reviews, favorites, follows and subs appreciated and make it more rewarding to me when I do post. I know I need to update other stories but they're being redone with a fine tooth comb and I'm going over drafts I had done to see if I need to redo them. I appreciate you all.

Toodles loves~