Immortals

Chapter One

A/N: Hi! I'd just like to take a moment to thank you for checking out this story. This story begins at summer before Harry's fourth year, but is Slightly AU from third year onward. Hopefully you'll know what I mean once you've read this chapter. I am not great with summaries, but ill give it a shot.

'It's the summer before Harry's fourth year. Harry decides to take a new approach to his education. Tom Riddle's quest for immortality brings new players to the board. New Friends, New Enemies and new Adventures. The war just got alot more complicated.'

Note: This fic is rated T for now. I will not announce any pairings(you will just have to find out!), and there will be no blatant bashing of any character. This fic will contain many aspects of several genre. Action, Romance, Mystery, Adventure, You name it. This fic is will be of epic length and will span beyond the parameters of book 7. I hope you stick around for the long haul. Enjoy!

Harry jolted straight up in his bed, a scream caught in his throat. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to reign in his emotions. wiping the sweat from his face with his arm he realized that he was drenched from head to toe in sweat. He desperately tried to hold on to the memory of his nightmare. He had witnessed the death of an old muggle man. Frank Bryce as he remembered.

That was the problem with these dreams, he felt as if he knew things about the victims that he normally wouldn't. Voldemort and Wormtail had been been discussing the murder of a witch from the ministry, a murder that harry had also witnessed through his connection with the Dark Lord. This murder seemed to be a small piece of a much larger plan, and they planning to murder someone else...him.

This of course, was not a surprise, Voldemort had tried three times thus far. It was the fact that the strange connection seemed to be getting stronger that worried him. Was the connection getting stronger because Voldemort was nearby? Harry thought briefly if he should write Dumbledore about it, but he quickly decided that weird dreams weren't important enough to bother the headmaster with.

He ended his short meditation with a frustrated sigh. Getting up, he made his way over to his desk and flipped on his desk lamp. This had become a frequent occurrence for the fourteen year-old wizard. He would wake suddenly from a nightmare drenched in sweat, towel himself off, then study until it was time to start his chores.

It had started shortly after completing his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Like every year prior, it had been a year full of danger and adventure for Harry. Looking back however, he accepted that this year had been good for several reasons.

Harry had been able to meet his parents' best friends; Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Sirius, his godfather, the most wanted wizard in Britain, turned out to be innocent of his crimes, and after revealing to Harry the true identity of the man that had betrayed James and Lily Potter, had been able to narrowly escape capture and had promised to write him once he was able to find a safe place to hide out. Unfortunately the true culprit Peter Pettigrew had been able to escape as well.

Shaking his head of all thoughts of the rat. Harry looked at the clock and saw it was only four o'clock. he rose from his desk and removed a book from the loose floorboard under his bed. Harry was not allowed to have any of his school things over summer - his relatives had locked all of his magical possession in his former bedroom, the cupboard under the stairs. Anticipating their actions, was able to discreetly hide two books in his room. This particular book, Wand and Shield: Advanced Defensive Theory, was given to him by his parents' other best friend. Harry had spent the better part of last year with the man and had learned a great deal from him. Harry had spent nearly every night being privately tutored by the intelligent Marauders. Remus, or Moony as he preferred Harry to call him, had taught Harry many things, but Magic was not the only topic of their discussions.

Remus had told Harry about his parents, told him stories from their childhood, he taught Harry about The Marauders.

It took nearly two months, but Harry had finally opened up to Remus about what his life had been like. Internally, Remus had been angry beyond all reasoning, but on the outside he had merely smiled sadly and promised Harry he would be there for him and teach him the things he had been denied. Remus did not disappoint.

Remus introduced and taught Harry about finances and politics, which were things he knew nothing about. He taught Harry about his place in the Wizarding World, both as The-Boy-Who-Lived, and as Heir to an Ancient and Noble House. Remus even went as far as to teach him a bit about girls. Harry laughed at the memory.

Thanks to Remus, Harry felt a lot more comfortable in his own skin. The changes were small, but to Harry, he felt like a new person. Harry was taking a more active role in his life and his education. Up until now, he had been trying to just skate by as unnoticed as possible through school, but now he realized that, thanks to his status as The-Boy-Who-Lived, he was never going to just be average and by trying to do so was only harming himself.

And so, Harry had been studying ahead. Defense Against the Dark Arts was his favorite subject, so he had decided that over the summer, he would focus on that since he enjoyed it. This particular book was fascinating to him, he already had read most of the book, and he couldn't wait to try the spells he read about.

Harry clasped his hand over his scar as a sudden pain shot through it. The pain was gone nearly as fast as it had come but it left him in a stunned state for several seconds. This was nothing new either. It seemed that every day the pain in his scar would come more frequently.

Attempting to shake off the odd headache that usually accompanied these pains, Harry decided to get washed up before he started the day's chores. He marked his place and set his book under the loose floorboard. After making sure that the board was aligned perfectly with the others, he grabbed a towel and headed for the shower.

It had been a good summer, at least better than his summers usually were. The Dursleys were terrified of his godfather. Harry knew that any mention of Sirius could immediately turn a situation in his favor. He had been able to survive Dudley's diet by eating food and sweets he had hidden under his loose floorboard. He had allot more freedom than he usually had over the summer, as long as his chores were done, he was allowed to do whatever he liked.

Harry was in the kitchen when his Aunt Petunia entered. Without looking at him she began to rummage through the pantry. "Get started squeezing some orange juice, and when you are finished, start cutting fruit."

Harry rose from his place at the table and set to work. Cooking for the Dursleys had become significantly easier since they began Dudley's diet. Instead of preparing piles of food, he would merely cut up some fruit or pop some whole-grain bread in the toaster.

It wasn't long before breakfast was served. Harry kept his face blank and silently ate his piece of grapefruit, while internally laughing at the solemn look on Dudley's face as he stared at his already empty plate.

Uncle Vernon had left early for work (Harry believed it was so he could get a better breakfast near the office.) so it was just the three of them at the table this morning. When Harry rose to gather the dishes Aunt Petunia spoke. "Listen boy, I am going to be baking cookies today and I want you to bring them to our new neighbor this afternoon. So after you finish in the garden I want you wash up and change into some acceptable clothes."

Standing at the sink, Harry glanced over his shoulder at his aunt. "When did we get a new neighbor?"

Frowning slightly Petunia responded. "He moved in yesterday; a young man in his early twenties. Doesn't seem to have a wife or children."

Harry kept his face impassive as he thought about this information. Privet Drive was a fairly quiet neighborhood, mainly occupied by families and the occasional widow. A young single man moving in was definitely out of the ordinary. "So you want me to go and spy on him for you?"

Aunt Petunia shrill voice replied. "No, freak. I want you to bring him my cookies! I am being a welcoming neighbor! and you will not let your freakishness set a bad impression, do I make myself clear?"

Harry turned back to the dishes. "If you're so worried, why don't you have Dudley do it?"

Without having to turning around Harry knew that Dudley would jump on this opportunity. "Yeah, mom. Don't send the freak, I'll do it."

Aunt Petunia's entire demeanor shifted. "That's so sweet of you Dudders! but you don't need the unnecessary temptation. Don't worry because you have been doing so well on your diet, I'll leave a couple cookies out of the batch for you." Dudley's face brightened slightly but Harry knew he was disappointed. "and besides, if this man is some sort of murderer or pervert, it is safer to send the freak first."

Harry snorted at that, he expected something like that to be the case - but he tried another attempt at getting out of the task. "I don't have any 'acceptable' clothes. Unless you want me to walk over in my school robes, all I have are Dud's cast offs."

Aunt Petunia was silent for a few moments, no doubt horrified at such a thought. Eventually she rose from the table and stomped out of the kitchen. He heard Dudley snickering from the table. "I bet she's getting the belt."

Harry finished up the last of the dishes and turned to Dudley. "Yeah your probably right Dud. I wonder what my godfather would say if I told him she was belting me again?". That was all Harry needed to say to shut him up. Dudley's face became stricken with horror and became very pale. He began to sputter something but was interrupted when Petunia re-entered the kitchen holding a folded pile of clothes.

She slammed the pile down next to him on the counter before turning to him. "You best be grateful freak."

Harry examined the clothes they were actually very nice. A couple pair of Dark blue jeans that appeared to be in different cut. a bag of brand new black undershirts, 3 tee shirts of different brands, a sports jacket, and a new pair of shoes. With no small amount of awe and surprise he asked. "You bought these for me?"

"Of course not!" she replied indignantly. "These were given to use by a family on Magnolia Crescent who saw you walking around in rags." Petunia's face grown red at the apparently embarrassing memory. "They had assumed we were very poor! I, of course told them that you were merely a slob who refused to wear the decent clothing we bought you!"

Harry laughed at this. Of course she would have told these people that. His aunt had weaved together an image that Harry was a hoodlum, a slob, a hooligan and borderline criminal who that had 'graciously' tried to raise as one own their own children. Most people in his old school and the neighborhood had believed the tales, and that he attended a corrections school for criminal teens. Harry felt extremely dumb for assuming for even a second that his relatives had actually bought him decent clothes. "So why do you take them, if I would 'refuse' to wear them?"

"We hoped Dudders would fit in them eventually." she replied promptly as if it was a completely reasonable reason.

Harry snorted at the mere thought. Glancing at his aunt he bowed his head respectively. "Thank you Aunt Petunia". He figured he should at least be thankful for the new clothes, even though they were more for her benefit than his own.

"Yes, yes." she said grumpily. "You just take care of them. Those are the only new clothes that you will get! and you are only to wear them when I saw you are allowed!"

Harry sighed exasperatedly and went upstairs to put his clothing away. Harry did his chores quickly and efficiently only really slowing down when he stepped into the garden. This was one of his few pleasures at Privet Drive. As much his Aunt bragged about 'her prized garden', Harry considered it his own(As he was the only one who took care of it.). There was just something about taking care of his garden that filled him with joy. When neighbors complimented his aunt on 'her' garden it filled him with a silent pride. Little did they know that many of the plants were magical in origin. His friend, Neville, had sent him several seeds that would provide him with useful potion ingredients so that he could start his own potions reserve. The various assortments of plants were very nice vibrant and relatively normal looking, so nobody noticed that they were out of the ordinary.

It didn't seem like very long before he was finished tending to the garden and he was trying on his new clothes. Checking himself out he had to admit, it felt good to wear nice clothes. They didn't feel fancy or feel like his school robes - they just felt right. He felt like he didn't have the weight of his upbringing weighing down on him. It was amazing what a change of clothes could do for a person.

Harry made his way downstairs into the kitchen where his aunt was wrapping a platter of cookies with plastic wrap. Dudley was seated at the table with a plate in front of him. Harry noticed that he was picking cookie crumbs off his plate as if he was performing a delicate surgery. He was about to ask if he could get this errand over with when his aunt hurriedly brought the platter over to him and began giving him instructions. "Take this across the street, be sure to introduce yourself respectfully. Tell him these are from me. Do. Not. let slip any of your freakishness. Find out his name and anything else about him. Do. Not. Talk. About. Yourself. Do I make myself clear?" Petunia said in what Harry supposed was supposed to be an intimidating tone. He nodded and made his way outside.

Number Five privet drive was a carbon copy of Number Four, every house on privet drive was exactly the same, but as Harry approached the door he noticed something was...slightly off about the house. He couldn't quite place it but there was something different about this house; something that he didn't notice before today. He shrugged the feeling off as he knocked on the door.

The door swung open revealing a young man dressed casually in jeans and muscle shirt. The man was fairly tall and well built with cleanly cut brown hair and brown-green eyes. To Harry, he looked allot like the athletes he saw in magazines or on T.V. His face was slender and clean-shaven, and seemed to be easygoing and kind.

"Hi, What can I do for you?" The man asked with a grin and in a clear strong voice. Harry was caught off guard by the man's greeting. His smile was so genuine - like Harry was a close friend who had come to visit.

The grin was contagious, Harry couldn't stop himself from grinning back at the man. "Hi, My name's Harry - I live across the street." he pointed over his shoulder at Number Four. "My aunt Petunia made these for you."

The man looked up at Number Four for a brief second before taking the platter from Harry and examining a piece of paper attached. He seemed to think for several moments before that grin returned full force. "Harry huh? I'm Will. It's nice to meet you. Thanks for the cookies mate, Tell your aunt I appreciate the gesture, I'd be happy to meet her and her husband sometime soon."

Harry nodded and shook Will's hand. "Sure, I'll see you around Will." Still wearing that infectious grin Will closed the door. Harry liked Will, It was a nice change to have a neighbor different from the norm.

As Harry entered the kitchen Aunt Petunia pounced on him before he could shut the door behind him. "Well? What did he say?" she asked shrilly.

Harry smirked at his aunt's obvious anticipation. "His name is Will. He thanks you for the cookies, and agrees to meet you and Uncle Vernon sometime soon."

Aunt Petunia's eyes flashed with momentary glee before they squinted with suspicion. "and?"

"I didn't say anything 'freakish' to him." Harry sighed.

A week had passed since Harry had delivered the cookies. Nothing had changed, Harry did his normal chores, and studied in his room. He had received a letter from Sirius a few days ago. He was encouraging Harry in his studies and had encouraging him to get some exercise too. Sirius was an ex-auror and had told him about how purebloods and their most common weakness - physical activity. So Harry had taken up jogging around Privet Drive and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Harry was working in his garden one afternoon, it was a hot day and he was examining the growth of a plant that had grown unexpectedly. Harry had learned a bit about cross-breeding plants, but this plant had started growing between a muggle lotus and one of his magical plants, the problem was he couldn't figure out which one. As he knelt in the flowerbed he felt an odd sensation. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck and he felt as if he was being watched. He glanced up and down the street, but saw nothing. He stood and scanned the area around him, but didn't see anything. Returning to his plant, the feeling eventually went away.

"Hey Harry"

Harry jumped and whirled around to see Will with that grin plastered across his face. Harry tried to calm himself, he noticed he had reached for his wand, which he did not have. Composing himself he spoke "Geez Will, I didn't even hear you walking over. How's it going?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty light on my feet." Will laughed. "Listen, I could use a hand unloading some boxes if you want to make a little pocket money?".

Harry was surprised by the offer, but accepted after a little thought. "Sure, I'll change and be right over."

Will pointed to his house. "I'll be in the garage sorting through boxes, so just come on in."

Fifteen minutes later, Harry had made his way over to Will's house. He knocked twice before entering. The first thing he had noticed was that the inside looked nothing like his relative's house. As he entered passed through the entryway that led to the garage, he noted that most of Will's furniture was a sleek modern style, unlike the misplaced 'antiques' his aunt seemed to love. The place had a comfortable welcome feel to it.

Harry found Will stepping down from a ladder with a large box under one arm. He stacked the box on a pile behind him before turning to Harry. "Ready to get to work?"

They had worked for nearly two hours. To Harry's surprise, the majority of the boxes they had unloaded were books and nicnaks. Will had told Harry that he had spent allot of time traveling the world once he had finished business school. He picked up several unique objects and books throughout his travels and had built quite the collection. There were several objects that looked vaguely familiar to Harry but he couldn't figure out where he had seen them. After organizing Will's office and private library, they were now finishing with the living room. Harry was putting the last two books on a slim bookshelf when. Will stretched loudly. "Looks like that the last of them, That was allot easier than I expected." He smiled, "Take a load off, mate. Ill grab us some drinks."

Harry stretched and slumped in one of the leather chairs. He looked around Will's living room. The sleek furniture and shelves lined with books and various unique objects had a nice feel. It was what Harry imagined those executive suites his Uncle Vernon always raved about would look like.

Will returned with two bottles of coke, he handed one to Harry before sitting opposite Harry. He took a drink before setting the bottle down and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

Harry took several gulps of the fizzy drink, this was a rare treat for him, he was never allowed to have any sodas at the Dursleys, and they didn't serve them at Hogwarts. He set his bottle down and looked over at Will. What he saw startled him slightly.

Will was looking at Harry oddly. It was like he was examining one of the objects from his travels, and he had forgotten where he had found it. His ever present grin was no longer there, with his face absent of any discernible emotion, Will looked rather intimidating.

Harry wondered briefly what he had done wrong. They had been getting along great all day. Will had told him tons of stories of his adventures and Harry had even told him about some of the stunts he pulled on his cousin and his goons. The entire day Will had that grin plastered on his face. That grin that was so genuine, and held a mischievousness and foxy cleverness that reminded him so much of the pictures of the Marauders that Remus had shown him. Harry was about to ask what was wrong when Will spoke his voice held no anger, but it held something Harry couldn't place.

"Would you mind telling me why you reek of mutt?"

This question shocked Harry. He had no idea how to respond to the question. It was a rather rude thing to ask someone, and he had asked so bluntly that it sounded like he was expecting Harry to know the answer.

"I - Uh...What?" He asked intelligently.

Will was still watching him closely. "Why do you smell like mutt." it wasn't as much of a question this time.

Harry began to ask what he meant when a knock came at the front door. Will rose and headed to answer it. "Excuse me a moment", he said simply.

When Will was out of sight, Harry rose to his feet but didn't move. 'What's going on here? Is he crazy?'. Harry smelled his arm and his shirt testing for stink. That's when Harry heard his aunt's voice from the hall. "I'm terribly sorry, Will. I saw my nephew head over here earlier, I do hope he isn't bothering you. He is such a troubled child, and I -"

"That's quite alright Mrs. Dursley. Harry was just helping me with some boxes. I'll be sure to send him home when we are finished." Will said, his voice seemed just as it had before normal, and with a smile in his voice.

"Oh fantastic! I am so glad he is able to help you out. Please tell him that Dudley, Vernon and I are heading to London for the night. We will be back tomorrow morning - I'll leave some money on the table so he can order some dinner." Petunia answered.

Harry froze at hearing this. She was leaving money for him to order dinner? 'What the Hell?'. Something was very wrong, his aunt's voice sounded off somehow. It wasn't the usual false refinement that she usually used when speaking to neighbors. Her voice now sounded... softer, more relaxed.

Harry was broken from his thoughts by the sound of the door closing and Will re-entering the living room. "I take it you heard that?"

Harry nodded slowly. He raised an eyebrow quizzically at Will. "She left me money to order dinner?"

Will chuckled at the teens obvious suspicion. "Yes, well the compulsion was for her to take her family away for the rest of the night." Will returned to his seat and took a swig from his coke. "I very well couldn't leave you without dinner- Though from what you told me, your rather gifted in the kitchen on your own."

Harry was still standing, his right hand resting where he usually kept his wand. He didn't have it, but it was a defensive position that made him feel more secure. "You're...you're a wizard?" He asked uncertainly.

Will clasped his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair and gained a thoughtful, expression. He seemed to think very hard about the question. Harry waited impatiently for a response, worried that he had fallen into a trap of some sort. His thoughts drifted back to his dream from last week. 'Is will working for Voldemort? ...No he can't be he doesn't act like most wizards, especially not the pureblood type that usually followed him. He is way too comfortable in the muggle world to be one of his followers'. Harry still didn't relax though.

Will seemed to have made a decision, he smirked, "I was".

Harry didn't really understand. "You were?"

Will nodded and leaned forward once again. "I was a wizard once." Will paused for a moment. "But now I am more." he added simply.

Harry groaned internally. 'This can't be good'. "So what are you then?"

"I am..." Will paused as if worried about how Harry would react.

"... a Vampire".

A/N: Thanks again for reading. We've got a bit of a cliffhanger here. My advice to you is to assume nothing. Please take a moment to let me know what you think.