Season of Change by: Elsbeth There were only a few things in Harry Potter's life that never changed, he was the son of Lily and James Potter and that he was born a male. What happens when he discovers the truth.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all of it belong to J.K Rowling, I am just playing in her sandbox for a while.

Authors Note: This is obviously not cannon: Its also not my first fanfic but its my first Harry Potter, so I hope you enjoy it. The story starts at the end of the 5th Book.

As Alya Black rubbed her left breast, Andromeda Tonks looked annoyed, Ted amused and Nymphadora, embarrassed. Feeling guilty while telling her story, especially afterward when Dora threw herself into a bone crushing hug, Alya couldn't even imagine what happened next.

"What was that for, Tonks? What do you think I'm dressed in drag?" Alya grimaced, not believing that she had just been pinched.

"I'm sorry, Harry" Nymphadora looked away embarrassed.

"Alya."

"What?"

"My name is Alya Cassiopeia Black. "

"Fine, I just can't believe it, this shouldn't be possible," Tonks grumbled.

"Right sort of like surviving the killing curse," was Alya's retort.

"Whatever, and what's with the name? Did you make it up?" Tonks was growing more than a little irritated. One second she was speaking to the mysterious Alya Black and the next, she discovers the same girl to be none other than Harry Potter.

"Black book of names." Andromeda stepped in. She quickly explained how older families often used the same names, recycling them through different generations. Parents who couldn't decide on a name would frequently just pick out the next one that would come up.

The explanation seemed to deflate the growing tension building between the two.

"I didn't mean to make you angry; my little escape just took on a mind of its own. It's hard to explain. The feeling of freedom was just too overwhelming. But I am truly sorry that I hurt you."

"Mab's breath, I was so worried for you. One second you're at the Dursleys, the next you disappear without a trace. You even pretended not to know me." Tonks sighed unhappily. "I thought you would have trusted me, considering."

"Right about that, I want to hear more about that kiss, Dora," Andromeda said disapprovingly.

Nymphadora shrunk down in her chair. Although she might call herself an adult, it took very little for her mother to make her feel like she was six years old again.

"Mom really, it was nothing," Tonks whispered while giving Alya the eye hoping for support. She had no clue how she would explain to her parents that right before the Christmas Hols she had almost snogged a fifteen-year-old.

Realizing that talking about it further wasn't terribly wise, Alya just nodded. True, it wasn't her fault that Tonks wouldn't believe that she used to be Harry Potter. That changed immediately after she brought up their little Christmas Holidays shopping trip.

Finding themselves under the mistletoe, they kissed. Somehow, a simple peck on the lips started to turn into a full on snogging session. If they weren't standing in the middle of Dominic Maestro's it might have done just that. Surprised at the intensity of the kiss, however, as both had feelings for others, they promised to keep the little incident to themselves.

Andromeda watched the display of emotions crossing her young niece's face. The facade of the pureblood princess had fallen away while her daughter and Alya now threw playful insults back and forth, then suddenly like a door closing, it returned. She couldn't help but also notice the slight shadow of sadness passing across her daughter's eyes as well.

Deciding to speak to her daughter later, Andromeda steered the conversation back on topic. "So do you believe what you experienced inside the Department of Ministries contributed to your transformation?"

"I think so but then again…" Alya sat back on her chair and sighed. "So much happened afterward, it's hard to say. It could have been that room or another. I just don't know."

"Your dreams though, they have been different since your return," Ted asked.

"Right, although lately, they appear to be a little less chaotic. Unfortunately, the less chaotic ones I don't remember. Still, anything is better than dreaming about old snake face."

"So you said you had experienced something like this before?" Tonks asked still a little confused.

"Switching into a girl thing, no, but my hair grew once overnight." Alya chuckled. "It happened when I was little. My Aunt didn't want to pay for a cut, so she did it herself, quite the hack job. The next morning it just grew back."

"Nice bit of accidental magic."

"That's what I always assumed, Tonks."

"So how does this ritual work, this Mut…"

“Mutatio-femina Andromeda,” replied to her husband while lost in thought. If the ritual had changed the child, why did she suddenly switch back? “If it failed it should have been fatal.”

“I agree.” Reaching into her robes, Alya unshrunk the little red spell book. Opening it, she leafed through a few pages before passing it to her Aunt. "That's where I'm still not sure that's the cause. Only because it's a Black family ritual did it make any sense."

Ted stood up and looked over his wife's shoulder as she leafed through a few pages. "Glad I never took Ancient Runes."

"You and your Muggle Studies," Andromeda said dismissively, returning the book to Alya.

"What, it was an easy grade." Ted smiled warmly at his wife.

Tonks frowned for a moment and then asked. "So, does this mean you plan on telling everyone what happened?"

Alya looked at her as if she was insane. "Why would I do that? Why would I purposely allow myself to be put in a position to be manipulated once again?"

"Who do you think is manipulating you?" Andromeda asked carefully. She had ideas who it might be, never comfortable with her daughter's choice to join the Order of the Phoenix. She was under no illusion that Dumbledore, like other leaders, would knowingly manipulate others to further their goals.

"Who is Albus Dumbledore?"

Tonks frowned not understanding the question. "Dumbledore, Head Master of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards…"

"Right, too many titles to be named." Alya interrupted her. "What is he to Harry Potter? I can tell you he isn't a relative. So who is he?"

"I don't know; your headmaster."

"Exactly, so by what right does he have to interfere with my life? What right did he have to place me with the Dursleys?" Alya replied angrily. "By what right did he have to take me from my father's arms to be cast into the home of those people?"

"But the wards…."

"Protected me from dangers from the outside, but what about from within?" Frustrated tears started to run down Alya's face. "They didn't protect me from starvation, or kicks from my cousin, or a broken arm when I accidentally dropped a dinner plate? Nor did they tell me that my name wasn't freak. No that took me going to school and embarrassing myself in front of the entire class because I didn't even know my name."

The room suddenly became quite at that admission.

"Shouldn't he have known? Did he not check on you?" Andromeda looked in the direction of her husband, who was sitting there quietly. Suddenly she understood that this might be more complicated, wondering what else Alya had revealed to her husband.

"Not once, however, Mrs. Figg, she's a squib that lived near me for years, also happened to be Dumbledore's spy. Guess it would have been too much trouble for her to interfere when my cousin and his friends were out Harry Hunting," Alya made a fist, her nails biting into the soft part of her hand as she explained exactly what that comment meant.

"So he knew?" Tonks whispered, upset to find that her childhood hero might not have been as heroic as she once thought. She had heard a rumor from the others about how the Dursleys treated Harry. To her shame, she thought the story about them putting bars on his window an exaggeration.

"One would think, especially as my first letter was addressed to Harry Potter, who lived in a cupboard." Alya finally laid her head on her hands. She wanted to believe Tonks; she had to believe that she wouldn't betray her. When asked for more about her childhood, Alya refused to speak further.

"Why did you finally confide with me?”

"I hoped our kiss meant something. Plus, I know you're not the type of person who would do something like that for nefarious purposes." Alya smiled, her green eyes sparkling under the warm lap light. "There are only a few people I trust now, Tonks; you are one of them but sorry. Anyway, the Oath protects both of us."

"You look exhausted, Alya. When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?"

Rubbing her eyes, she sat up. "Full night sleep…good question, Auntie."

Smiling at the name, Andromeda helped the sleepy Head of House out of the chair. "Come on; we can continue this in the morning."

"Oh, you're going to spend the night." Alya looked around the room hopefully. When they all agreed, she called for Kreacher to set up rooms for everyone.

"So, she wouldn't allow you to help her undress." Ted looked up from his Fire Whiskey as his daughter entered the back parlor.

Grabbing her glass, she slid into the comfortable love seat. "Something like that."

"Talk to me, princess," Ted said to his daughter, who looked a little bit lost.

"It's just all a bit much, although if this happened to anyone, it would be Harry. Dad, you wouldn't believe half of the crazy things that's happened to him. Shite, I feel terrible for yelling at him now, I can't imagine what he is going through."

"She."

"What?"

"What 'she' is going through now. And I think you need to get used to using the name Alya." Ted murmured.

"Right." Slipping the glass back, she emptied it in one motion. Tonks then reached for the bottle, filling another.

"So that was more than just a kiss, wasn't it?"

Tonks' head shot up, she looked at her father for a second then nodded. "It's not fair." She whispered.

"Was Harry the reason why you and Remus didn't work out?" Ted hadn't been too unhappy when his daughter told them of the breakup. Although he didn't dislike the man, he thought him too old for his daughter.

"I know you and mom didn't exactly like him." Tonks shrugged, taking a sip of the whiskey. "Although perhaps Harry was part of it, I realized that I wanted to be with Remus so I could fix him."

"Fix him." Ted couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that Remus was also a werewolf.

Realizing what she said, Tonks harrumphed. "Prat, that's not what I meant. I mean that I felt my life was such a mess, that if I could somehow help another person put their house in order, it would help with mine."

"Sounds like a perfect reason to get together." Ted almost said but stopped himself. Instead, he asked. "What about Harry?"

The smile on her face startled him; he hadn't seen it in a long time.

"She has always treated me like I was just a normal girl."

"What do you mean?"

Leaning back, Tonks cupped the glass with both hands lost in thought. "Harry had never asked me to be anything else but me. When people discover that I'm a Metamorphmagus, the first thing they ask is who else I can turn into. Harry on the other hand, just wanted to know about Tonks."

"She sounds like a special person," Ted said, looking closely at his daughter.

"He was," Tonks whispered.

"Dora, Harry didn't die."

Looking at the fire whiskey glass, she slugs it back finishing another one in one gulp. "Why does it feel that way to me?"

"Was getting our daughter drunk necessarily?" Andromeda walked into the parlor to find her husband laying a blanket on a passed out Nymphadora.

"Trust me, love, she needed no help from me. How is Milady Black?" Ted looked up concerned; also noticing the displeased look on his wife's face. He understood some of her anger was directed at him as well.

"You and I have much to discuss." The annoyed look quickly turned warm, as she gently kissed his lips. "I worry for our new Head of House. I spoke with Aunt Walburga; since Alya arrived, she hasn't stopped. Either she is studying for her OWLs, going through the Black Library or learning pureblood etiquette."

"I would have thought she would have taken her OWLs last year?" Ted remembered Dora has spoken that he had just finished his 5th year.

"Yes, well Harry Potter might have, but Alya Black has not. I believe she plans on attending Hogwarts, for good or for bad." Andromeda sighed. "She is looking ahead, which is all well and good; however I don't believe Alya hasn't truly come to terms with what has happened to her."

Ted nodded. "She is handling it better than I would."

"Tomorrow might be painful for her as well, but necessary. I spoke with Alya, and she reluctantly agreed with me to take her to St Mungos for a full checkup. I flooed Charlotte; she will meet us there early." Andromeda had already done some preliminary scans, but she wanted the hospital's resources available if there were unforeseen problems.

"She's a good friend; especially since both of you have the day off."

"That she is." Andromeda looked down at her daughter. "And what shall we do with this one? I would spare her the pain, but Alya will need all of our help in the days ahead." Quickly she called a House Elf, sending Nymphadora to sleep in one of the spare bedrooms. The two would be having a discussion in the morning.

Ted nodded. "Of course, that's what family's for." With a smile, he reaches for his wife's hand. "Come, it's been a long day."

As the two went upstairs, Andromeda closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the Black family magic swirling about them. It was good to be home.

*Edited 4/14/17 Elsbeth*