Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters you recognize; they belong to Ms. J.K. Rowling. I DO claim the plot line and any of the unique characters you will see in here.

Beta: Winter Moonglade

The Bloodshed After The War

Chapter One: The Problem With Being Yourself

The war was finally over. Voldemort was dead and peace was restored thanks to Harry Potter's legendary duel with the Dark Lord. The Ministry was busy cleaning up the mess the Death Eaters had left in their wake.

Harry was relieved. He had only seven months left and he would graduate. The Auror program was heavily recruiting him as well as three professional Quidditch teams. However, all he wanted to do now was spend a little time by himself, escaping the demanding public image he had created.

He was no Golden boy of the Light. In fact, it was only due to large amounts of sunscreen that he was able to go out without getting a painful sunburn in a matter of minutes. In his third year, Remus had shown him a more effective potion that he took every other day to protect his sensitive skin.

He had to admit, Remus was the best professor he ever had. He learned defense, but more importantly, he learned about himself and his family.

He never thought that he was called a freak because of the random things that happened around him. No, he always thought it was because small animals disappeared around him. The whole neighborhood blamed him for their dead or missing pets. For once, they were right.

For as long as he could remember, rats and mice met their doom to slake his thirst. Considering how often his aunt and uncle punished him by withholding food, it ended up being a good thing that he truly craved an alternative diet.

After he got Hedwig, it became so much easier to get what he craved. When she went hunting, she would always remember to bring him something back.

Hedwig was the first improvement in his life. Remus was the second. Come to find out, he was not as much of a freak as he thought he was. Apparently, the Potter line repeatedly bred with vampires. It happened so often in the past that it was common for Potters to turn before the age of seventeen. The more magically powerful were born vampires, which was the case with Harry.

The Marauders were well aware of the Potter family's dirty secret and swore an Unbreakable Vow to never reveal it to anyone else. Eventually, that Vow grew to include Harry and to protect his secret until the day they died.

In fifth year, when he stayed at Grimmauld Place, Sirius and Remus covered for him and made sure he was taken aside once a day to feed. Being a magical vampire, he was lucky. Any muggles that were turned were much more sensitive to sunlight and could not conceal their pale skin. They were easy to identify by sight if the person knew what to look for.

All vampires could withdraw their fangs enough so that they merely looked like sharp canines. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done about their stunning eyes. It was why he and his father wore glasses. They had perfect eyesight, but the glass helped to conceal their unnatural shine.

Vampires were naturally agile and had exceedingly quick reflexes. Considering the common beliefs and prejudice about vampires, it was helpful in getting out of tight spots that feeding usually put them in.

The Ministry, in its desire to protect the public and prevent anymore uprisings of Dark Lords, decided to create harsher laws against Dark Creatures. The laws against werewolves had been in existence for the past century and were easily carried out since it was impossible to hide their frequent absences due to the full moon.

But werewolves were only dangerous three nights out of the month. Vampires were dangerous all of the time. This was only increased by their ability to assimilate into muggle society and the wizarding vampires' ability to perfectly conceal their physical differences.

In order to combat this, the Ministry opened a new division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement called the Department of Vampire Control, or simply, Hunters.

Harry was at a loss for what to do. He had already sacrificed his childhood for the well-being of the Wizarding World, but he doubted that he would be left alone if word got out that he was a vampire. He only had Remus to talk to about this new development, but he was out of reach and these were not things he would trust to a letter.

He decided to sound out his best friends' opinions and hope they would stand by him in this new conflict like they did in the last.

Harry made his way up to the Gryffindor Common Room, silently practicing the conversation he wanted to start with his friends without leading them to the correct conclusions. He felt rather blessed that Hermione never figured out what he was, especially since the segment on vampires Remus conducted in third year.

The Fat Lady smiled at him and opened as he spoke the password, "Unity".

Seventh years were sprawled about the chairs with various job pamphlets, trying desperately to make a responsible decision and yet still be happy with their chosen paths. Harry scanned the crowd, but did not see Ron or Hermione anywhere.

Suddenly, the calm was disturbed by a raucous shout. "Yes! I've been accepted! They actually wanted me! I figured the extra training would pay off and get me into the Auror program; but this is even better!"

Harry swiveled his head to spot Ron flying down the stairs that led to the boys' dormitory. Hermione was following quickly after him. He was waving a piece of parchment around and jumping around frantically. Hermione had a broad grin across her face, clearly proud of whatever news Ron had just gotten.

"Harry, mate, you'll never believe what's just happened!"

"Okay Ron, calm down. What's this good news you're yelling about and disturbing everyone else with?"

"I've got accepted to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Not just any department either; but the highest paying division, the Department of Vampire Control. I'm going to be a Hunter mate!"

Harry's smile wavered, but he managed to hold it plastered to his face. "Oh really? Wow, that's really… something."

Harry turned to Hermione, hoping for a voice of reason, or at least a voice of conservatism. She was the one who preached for house elf rights. There was no way she would support the senseless killing of vampires. "What do you think of this Mione? You're engaged to the fellow. What do you think of being the wife of a Hunter?"

Hermione had a dopey look on her face, bordering on hero worship. "This is more prestigious than being an Auror, Harry. Not to mention better paying. The clean up from the war is nearly over. There's a new threat now. The vampires are dangerous. It's better for everyone if we get rid of the threat now before they have a chance to take over the spot left by the vanquishing of Voldemort. You know Harry, maybe you should apply there. I know the Aurors have been after you since last June, but this is a much better opportunity. Just think, maybe you two could be partners, the perfect team!"

Harry did not know how to react. There his two best friends were, happy that Ron had gotten a job, but he just could not feel content with this. His best friend of seven years had just taken a job to train to kill him. It left one thing completely clear, he could not talk about his problems to either of them. "I don't know. I'm kind of tired of all of the fighting. It's why I haven't accepted the offers I've been given for the Auror program. This just sounds like it would be even worse. And besides, it's a really new division, who knows if it will even last long enough to make a career out of it. The laws may be changed soon and make the department irrelevant. That doesn't sound too dependable to me."

Harry was looking everywhere but at Ron and Hermione. He was trying to find a way to gracefully exit the Common Room so that he could find someplace to sit and think quietly. It was to no avail though.

"What do you mean, undependable? The only time this job will be gone is when we've hunted down every last one of them and left them nothing but a pile of ashes," Ron exclaimed.

Harry shook his head. He felt sorry for Ron. Their friendship was over and he did not even realize it yet. "If you say so mate." Harry glanced around the room once more. "Look, I think I'm going to head out to Hagrid's and see how he's doing. See you around."

Harry turned around and walked out of the portrait door. He had a larger problem now than he did an hour ago. He was officially on the Dark side of this war and it was not even by his choosing. Of course, in another light, it was actually the Wizarding World playing the bad guys and even though he was a Dark Creature, he was still on the Light side. The constant role switching was not making his headache any better. A conversation with Hagrid over a cup of tea would be just the thing to soothe his frazzled nerves. After all, the man was half giant, he doubted he would agree with these ridiculous new laws.

The dark haired teen made his way out onto the grounds just as the sun was setting behind the Forbidden Forest. The hut that stood on the edge of the forest had smoke coming out the tiny, rickety chimney. The windows glowed a warm orange that beckoned to Harry as he sought friendly guidance.

Harry knocked on the door several times before hearing a muffled reply, "Comin', comin'." The door creaked open as Hagrid looked out, a baffled look on his face. "'Arry, what're yeh doin' out 'ere at this time o' night. It's dangerous."

"I know Hagrid. I just wanted to get away from the Common Room for a little while. Can I come in?"

"Sure yeh can, 'Arry." Hagrid stepped aside and let Harry make his way into the one-roomed cabin and took a seat by the fire.

"Would yeh like some tea there?"

"Yes, that would be great," Harry grabbed the cup a gently brought it to his lips. He may not truly like human food, but tea was passable and even enjoyable when it was hot enough.

"So, wha' brings yeh out 'ere? I doubt it was jus' ta see me," Hagrid said as he sat in the seat opposite Harry.

Harry gave a small smile. "You're right. I was just tired about hearing about all of the vampire mess up at the castle. Ron's just gotten accepted as a Hunter and Hermione is really proud of him. It seems like the only topic for discussion right now."

"Ah 'Arry, ya've done yer part. No one expects yeh to race off and fight the next evil. I don' blame yeh for not joinin' them right away. But don' worry, there's still plenty o' time before yeh have to make a decision about what yeh want to do."

A frown flickered across Harry's face. It sounded like Hagrid actually supported the war against the vampires. He was happy that Hagrid understood his reasons for not going into the Auror training program. But something just seemed off about his whole tone. "Hagrid, what do you think about the Ministry's new policies about vampires?" Harry mentally crossed his fingers.

"Vampires? Met several o' them in Romania a while back. Nasty lot, they are. Now, I may not 'ave met all o' them, but I can tell yeh right now that no good's ever come o' those creatures. Fer once the Ministry is in the right o' things. I can assure yeh, 'Arry, that the Ministry and the Hunters'll take care o' the problem right quick, don't yeh worry about it." With that Hagrid patted Harry on his knee.

Harry gave a weak smile and set his half empty tea cup down. "Well, thanks for the tea Hagrid, I really appreciated it. It's getting late, I think I'm going to head back up to the castle. Good night." With that, Harry slipped out of the hut and made his way across the dark grounds to the castle that he had always thought of as his first home. He did not know how much longer he could keep thinking of it as home though. With the way everything was spiraling out of control, it was only a matter of time before he would have to flee the Wizarding World. He only hoped that he would be able to graduate before that time came.