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: AU: Its 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.

Language Note: "I'm speaking a different language"

Black family Etiquette : Note as someone pointed out in the Black family tree (I have a lovely copy of it) how technically Narcissa and Andromeda are not Alya's Aunts, you are correct. However, in many families including my own, it is common to call older cousins, usually those near our parents age Aunt and Uncle. Members of the Black family do the same.

Sorry for the late update, as usual work has been keeping me busy.

A special thanks to djkauf/Missy Mousey for beta. If you have the time, I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading!

Hermione gave a small smile as Tonks passed her on the stairs, she seem pleased with herself for some reason. Inordinately so for the past few days, however, the bushy-haired girl wasn't concerned for the Metamorphmagus, no, her concern was for her best friend who sat in the parlor studying a large parchment.

"So are you actually getting any work done over there?" Hermione asked as she entered the room.

Alya looked up startled. Madam Bones had asked for her opinion on the Bone's manor's runic array. With repairs almost completed, they needed to start thinking about rebuilding the shattered wards.

Alya couldnt help but admire the array. Some of the wards were impressive, close to some of the 'war wards' currently protecting 12 Grimmauld Place. Unfortunately, Goblin wards most families bought from Gringotts were somewhat vanilla. Amelie wanted to see if the old ones could somehow be rebuilt.

"A little."

"Are you still upset about this coming Friday?"

Plans had been made for Harry Potter to appear in Diagon Alley with Luna and Hermione. Alya had agreed, as much as going to a different school made sense, the so-called 'Chosen One' vanishing from British soil wasn't going to be good for moral.

Instead, Harry Potter would be seen shopping, and spending time with some friends. Afterwards, he would make a statement that although he will not be attending Hogwarts, he will be staying in Britain for training.

Of course, Tonks would be by his side the whole time as the ministry official bodyguard. However, for this all to happen, Alya would need to take Polyjuice potion.

She had done it once already to make sure it worked. Surprisingly, it totally felt uncomfortable and wrong as if she was putting on a Harry Potter costume. Worse, all those feelings she had admittedly been suppressing came to the front. Afterwards, she had been an emotional mess.

"Happy, no, but I think can now deal with a few hours of playing the role. Still, I hope that I won't have to repeat it anytime soon. And no, I am not planning on meeting Dumbledore either, as much as he begs me to."

Rubbing her eyes, Alya sat back before glancing at the parchment sitting next to her. It had arrived just after lunch. "I will admit it's an impressive apology. On one hand, the old goat asks for forgiveness but still manages to sound condescending."

Even though, according to him, there were plans to return the money before Harry turned seventeen, Dumbledore explained because of politics it was better to 'borrow' the money from the Potter vaults than to go directly to the Board of Governors.

The Headmaster continued, commenting that he was disappointed that Harry hadn't approached him personally, as opposed to getting Gringotts involved thereby damaging the school's reputation.

"You're still going ask the goblins not to add interest to the money the school owes?"

"Actually, the Potter family is simply going to forgive the debt. I'll have you send some papers to that effect to my uncle's firm."

Hermione nodded, she had been quite active in some of the political and financial on goings with the Potter family since Alya hired her earlier in the summer. "Still, doesn't seem fair that the school has to pay some of the fines."

"The gold ended up in their vault." Alya shrugged. "It's not like the goblins care about fairness."

The two sat quioetly for a moment before Hermione said, sounding pleased. "I don't imagine he is taking the Dursleys incarceration well either."

Alya still hadn't confided with her for everything, but she knew enough. However, when her best friend discovered her so-called family was pulling in several hundred Quid a month to take care of her, it was the last straw.

Alya frowned. "Once again, he was very disappointed that my so called relatives now resided at Her Majesties Leisure. Bastard kept insisting that Private Drive was the safest place."

Alya had been surprised how quickly the whole arrest had taken place. What she hadn't known originally was that Charlotte Abbott had contacts in Child Services and she had already done some leg work. All it took then were for officials to collect enough information and conduct interviews with the Dursley's neighbors.

"Well at least you get a little closure." Hermione gave her friend a hopeful smile.

"And I even have the memories of their arrest." Alya grinned. "You should have seen Uncle Vernon's face when they arrested him at his office."

Considering my family, they are rather lucky we decided to go through the muggle courts even though politically it was for the best. We didn't need to inspire more muggle hatred for the abuse of the 'Boy who Lived.'"

Hermione tried not to shudder knowing that Alya's Aunts would have taken care of the problem a different way and a small part of her thought that Harry's relatives would have deserved it.

"Well there is our little trouble maker." A voice interrupted their conversation as one of Alya's Aunts entered from the other side of the room.

"What did I do now?" The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes good naturally as her Aunt Narcissa took a seat across from her.

"New professors."

"Ahh, so did Slughorn agree? I was told that you actually had to get Dumbledore involved."

"Yes, we had to make a few concessions to both of them but Hogwarts has a new Potions Professor."

"Wow, Alya, what happened to Professor Snape? Did you have him canned?" Tonks laughed as she entered the parlor. Everyone was aware that Narcissa had just returned from the Board of Governor's meeting.

"Canned is such a plebeian expression my dear." Alya raised her nose, giving her cousin a look of haughty disdain but then grinned. "Actually, I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse."

"Prat." Tonks murmured. "So what did you do to him?"

"She didn't do anything to him." Narcissa replied. "Not really other than offer him a new job. One which we insisted he take."

Alya shrugged. "You're all well aware of the stupid stunt my father pulled almost getting Snape—"

"Professor Snape." Hermione said.

"Whatever." Alya continued. "getting him killed by Remus. As much as it pains me, I believed that we owed him some sort of restitution."

"So you gave him a job?"

"The man can't teach. Oh he is a brilliant researcher but for example because of him Aurors and healers are at an all time low."

"What do you mean?"

Alya shifted in her chair to look at her friend. "Tonks will tell you, Mia. The only reason she became an Auror was because of her mother's tutoring."

The Metamorphmagus nodded."True."

"Or if you're a member of Slytherin House." Cissy sighed.

"That's not fair."

"Not in the least bit." Alya explained. "So as Head of House Black, I refuse to have my family taught by a substandard professor. It's bad enough that a dead man teaching history is a better teacher. Plus, could you imagine me being in his class? You know how much he loathed Sirius."

"Must have been a good job however, what about his other Master?"

Alya grinned at Tonks. "Yes, that's actually the offer he couldn't refuse. Oh, don't get me wrong. It's a great job working for a research group in France. However with that little tattoo on his arm, he would still be in danger."

"True."

"So I removed it."

"What." Hermione exclaimed.

Narcissa frowned at the Muggleborn. She had first been hesitant to even speaking to the child, considering her son's opinion of her. However, the young woman had done an excellent job working for the Potter family as a Scrivener. Moreover, she was an intelligent girl, something the former Malfoy wife approved of.

"Please remember nothing of what we say goes beyond this room."

Alya smiled to her in thanks, and then continued. "Earlier in the summer the Kartal's managed to discover that the mark was a corrupted Slavic slave brand."

"How was it corrupted?"

"Though the use of parsel-magic."

Hermione nodded, not in the least bit surprised. "You helped."

"Of course." Alya smiled. "We even managed to remove it from someone else first."

Narcissa gave a secret smile. Alya had done more than that. Through old connections, several dark families, who Narcissa knew were less than thrilled with the Dark Lord, had approached the Family to renew old alliances.

After numerous oaths, a number of once influential Death Eaters were no longer marked and some of them actually working secretly against their former master.

"I read in some of the reports that those marked mentioned it's not an exactly pain free ritual to have one added." Tonks smirked.

"My ex-husband said it felt quite like being hit with the Cruciatus Curse."

As the other women in the room shivered, Alya just shrugged. A little pain, well a lot of pain, for Snape for her to be finally free from that man forever wasn't too much of a sacrifice. She could live with that.

"Stupid gits. Can't a girl be allowed to shop in peace." Regimental sergeant major Kevin Ross overheard a young girl complain as two wizards dragged into a bookstore.

He had been a little confused and somewhat alarmed when his wife explained after a number of strange occurrences happened around their youngest child Annabeth that she was a Squib.

At least that news had prepared him for the arrival of a small man claiming to be something called a Charms Professor from a boarding school in Scotland. However, what it didn't prepare him for was to be dropping in the center of an armed conflict.

When a group of masked men appeared in the center of the alley shooting bright lights into buildings and people around him, the Regimental sergeant major reacted when one of the bastards had the nerve to point the stick at his wife and daughter. Slipping under the outreached hand of their attacker, he took the man down, breaking the man's arm as well as that little stick.

Unfortunately, as he tried to get his wife and child to safety, another masked man, seeing his comrade down threw some sort of light showering the sergeant major with bricks and other debris. Kevin was sure if it wasn't for the intervention of the young woman and her group, he and his family would be been in trouble.

"Hold still, sir." One of the men who helped him off the street said in a professional tone.

"My family." Kevin began.

"Your wife and child are fine." The man smiled while running his stick up and down the sergeant major legs.

Looking down, Kevin noticed a tan looking bag with a red cross on it. "You're a medic?"

"My grandfather actually, part of 15th Infantry Division during WWII." The healer explained while smiling fondly at the satchel over his hip. "The bag comes in handy holding supplies. Then again, I guess I am following in his footsteps after becoming a healer for our Hit-Wizard Corp."

"Good man." The sergeant didn't exactly know what a Hit-Wizard was but he always respected those men and women who often exposed themselves to enemy fire to help a wounded comrade.

After checking that his wife and child were indeed well, he pointed over to a small group of woman standing in front of the bookstore. One of them, who appeared only a few years older than his daughter, stood in the center of the alleyway giving out what appeared to be orders.

As she ignored the incoming spells, it reminded him of an incident in Kosovo in which his regiment came under fire from insurgents. The officer in charge also walked around giving out orders, ignoring the incoming rounds that peppered the ground around him.

"Who's the young lady?"

Turning around with a smile, the healer said. "Head of my House, Alya Black."

In front of the Diagon Alley bookstore, Alya frowned while keeping an eye at the fight down towards the Leaky Cauldron. Since receiving their letters from Hogwarts, she and her family decided that a dozen or so would make a day of shopping at Diagon Alley.

One it would help the stores impacted financially due to the war. In addition, it would show the magical community Black family unity. She didn't expect it to be the day that most of the Muggleborn families were shopping, nor did she expect Death Eaters to appear.

However, really, she shouldn't have been surprised.

"Are all the non-magicals inside Flourish and Blotts?"

"Aye, lass." One of her older cousins replied as he shielded the group from a dark purple spell before replying with several of his own.

"Good." Alya turned to her Aunt who had pinned three Death Eaters in an alley. "Mira, stop playing with them already, we need to get inside. Let the Aurors do their jobs."

Bellatrix nodded blasting a small group of Death Eaters into a stonewall. After making sure that none of them would be getting up anytime soon, she gave one unhappy look down the alley.

She had hoped to get into the fight proper that appeared to be spreading in and around the Leaky Cauldron. However, Bellatrix would say one thing; Aurors were still doing a hell of a job cornering the Death Eaters. Director Bones must have had a good number of them hidden just in case of an attack.

For Filius Flitwick the day at started rather well, he always enjoyed introducing Muggleborn to the wizarding world. Normally it would have fallen to Minerva but she was overwhelmed with new responsibilities as Headmistress.

Even with the new Head of House, as he escorted the group of Muggleborn, he had been concerned seeing some familiar faces of the Black Family. However, they were the first to step forward to help those in need when the Death Eater arrived, even going so far as protecting the muggle parents. Something unheard of for a pure-blood family who were supposedly fanatical supporters of Voldemort.

He was about to thank the Black Head of House for helping, when he stopped to watch her burn runes on the shop's doorframe. In fact, the entire room became quite as they listened to the young woman chant what sounded like Hebrew.

"Won't keep them out but will sure slow them down." Alya turned to Bellatrix with a grin.

"Thank you Miss Black." Flitwick approached the young woman who was now the Head of House Black.

"I'm glad we can help. It's terrible that for many of these families their first exposure to the Wizarding world is to see us at our worst."

"And our best." The Professor smiled.

Alya tried to hide a blush as her cousin approached. "Alya, the Floo's not working."

"The system is pretty locked down now a days." Alya's Capella who had joined Alya on the trip, along with her two children approached from the back of the store. "It appears to be some something localized."

The group looked up as one of the Muggle men approached and said. "Did those terrorists know that we would be shopping today?"

From the man's bearing, she could tell he most likely was in the military. "Good question. Professor?"

Flitwick sighed realizing that the attack had not been a coincidence. "It was no secret."

Alya frowned, looking over the room of scared people. Although it appeared that the Aurors were doing a good job, it would be safer if everyone could evacuate to some place else.

"If we can get to Gringotts maybe-."

Suddenly, the room became cold and from the outside, terrible screams filled the air.

"Dementors"

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