Title: Eyes On Fire

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: Harry/Cedric

Timeline: AU, Seventh year

Rating: M

Summary: Harry once had a very special friend, someone who kept him safe and warm at night when the Dursley's refused him food and comfort. Now, years after he lost her, he's gaining back what was always rightfully his, as well as a few surprises along the way. HPCD SLASH

Warnings: This fic contains SLASH. Please refrain from pointing this out to the author as she will most likely point and laugh at your foolish blindness in not reading this. It is also set in an AU setting, so, therefore, we can safely assume a great deal of things will differ from canon. So, if you see Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape at Hogwarts, I beg of you, do not tell the author! CANON characters will be featured in various OOCness, which is planned, and several OCs will appear, some main characters, others minor. Oh, and there are VAMPIRES here, so, there will be BITING and blood drinking. Obviously.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Harry Potter and affiliated characters. All originals belong to me unless so stated.

A/N: Hey, hey! So, I know I havent' updated anything for ages and ages. I don't have an awfully large amount of time anymore and I'm finding it hard to keep hold of my muses for Shadow's Secret (not that this means I'm giving up because I definetly haven't). Real life sucks, by the way, in case any of you still had some illusions to the contrary. But, I've finally decided to post this, since I've been putting it off ever since Twilight suddenly became hugely popular. (I have booked tickets for it, too!)

Just so we are clear: this fic was originally started in 2005, and was recently re-edited. No vampires will glitter, or sparkle, nor will they eat animal blood. This is in no way influenced by Twilight.

With many great thanks to Disco-Dancing on the roof who is the best person ever! Chapter credited to you, love!

Chapter One— This Is New (also know as So You Thought You Were Normal)

The Moon stretched its silvery rays across the sleeping town of Little Whingeing, alighting on every dark shadow until it final crept over number four, Privet Drive. It shined within the window of the second bedroom on the second floor, moving almost lovingly over the figure wrapped up in a thin sheet, twisting and turning with pain and fear.

Sensing the young man's almost desperate mental plea for help, the silvery beams wrapped around him as if they were the arms of a loving mother, soothing a poor, frightened child in the midst of a terrible nightmare. And indeed, the Moon saw herself as this teen's mother, for he had none left in this life. Reaching deep within his soul, she searched for the link she held with him and slowly unravelled the powerful block placed upon it, opening him up so that power flowed through his veins, causing his magical core to pulse with the energy.

She lifted a silver hand and stroked it over his hair, his pained whimpers slowly quieting, even as his hair ruffled in an unseen breeze. She smiled down at him, settling herself in to keep him safe from what plagued his young mind, even as she reached out and called into the night.

She would watch over him, tonight and far into the realm of day, as she must.

HPCDHPCDHPCDHPCDHPCDHPCDHPCDHPCDHPCDHPCDHPCDHPCD

Harry blinked his eyes open, his mind lethargic. He felt as if he'd actually gotten several hours of uninterrupted sleep. A pleased feeling filled him as she stretched languidly on his barely there mattress, not caring for the first time in a long time about his living standards. He yawned, turning and looking out the window. He froze, seeing the sun high in the sky and he swore under his breath. His aunt was likely to kill him when he stepped outside his room; he was supposed to of cooked breakfast for his uncle and precious Duddikims.

"You do not need worry about them, dear Harry."

Shooting up, Harry's hand moved to grab his wand from inside the pillow case and his ears laid back flat against his head.

Wait.

Ears?

His eyes widened and he lifted a shaking hand to his head, feeling his wild hair and almost sighing in relief until he felt a light tug and his fingers came into contact with velvety soft fur. He slowly moved his fingers, feeling out more and more of the soft fur until it ended in a softly curved tip.

"Oh, fuck."

A soft, melodious laugh filled the air. "Language, Harry."

He turned and looked at what seemed to be a hazy figure. He reached blindly for his glasses, slipping them on and blinking in surprise as everything was suddenly thrown out of focus. He pulled them off and the world became sharply defined. Except for the figure. "Who are you?"

The figure moved, stepping out of the sun's rays and into the shadows and she was suddenly there, a stranger he'd used to dream of when he was a naïve child. "I thought you'd remember me, Harry."

"I…"

She smiled down at him, her pitch black eyes dark against the shimmery tone on her pale skin. Long, wispy silver hair hung down around her face, sliding over her shoulders and the flimsy looking grey dress she wore. She sat down on the edge of his bed, a pale hand rising to brush his hair away from his wide eyes.

"I knew you'd remember me, little one." She peered into his wide eyes, seeing the wariness shifting in the emerald depths. "I should never have left you alone here, nor even in your Wizarding school, but I am willing to see the error of my ways and I shall move to correct the mistakes made since."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Forgive me for sounding probably a little daft, but, I don't know who you are and how the hell did you get through the wards and past the Dursley's without me hearing it?"

She smiled again. "I came in a…slightly different way than is normal, and your—kind relatives are sleeping quite peacefully, I might add."

"Different way? What way? If there's a way in through the wards Voldemort," and here Harry noticed she didn't so much as blink at the name, "might be able to get through!"

"Hush, little one," she smoothed a wild tuft of hair down. "The way I move is far different from the norm for wizards such as this most recent Dark Lord." She sighed, lifting a slim hand and brushing it through her silver hair. "He cannot get near you while I am here, for I have a power he has been unable to obtain despite his less than stellar efforts to do so."

"Power the Dark Lord knows not," Harry said softly, pain and sadness making his head bow until his chin touched his chest.

The woman shifted closer, wrapping her arm around him and pulling him against her side. "You dream such awful things, little one, but I only saw what was there this past night and I should have seen everything for all this time, no matter that I retreated from you." Her voice held a great sorrow that made the lilting accent strengthen slightly. "Something has hid you from me for so long, child, and only now can I see you clearly once more."

"What do you mean?"

"I have always watched those who belong to the Night, and to me. But, something powerful enough to hide what you are, hid you from my sight as well and for years I have searched blindly all over the world, hoping to somehow chance across you once more." She raised a hand and stroked her fingers lightly over the large ears on his head; they twitched in response. "I do not know what this was, but I fear it's influence over you and I will not allow it to take hold once more. I shall stay with you until a guard can be procured—one which I have access to and who shall watch over you when I cannot."

"I don't need to be coddled," Harry hissed, sitting up and shrugging out of her arms. He slipped off his bed and stood, slightly shaky on his own legs. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go see what the fuck is on my head."

"They are ears, I thought that much was fairly obvious when you touched them."

"Oh, the ear part was easy, but I seem to have two lots now!"

The woman watched him silently, before she rose smoothly. Harry envied her gracefulness. "Very well, once you have I shall explain that which was denied to you at such a young age."

She followed him down the hall, her dark eyes casting a hateful glare at the locks on the outside of his door. He ignored her, not wanting to even acknowledge the comfortable way he felt around her, like he had found something lost. He remembered the dreams he'd had when he was little, dreams that had stopped when he turned nine, ripped away from him and leaving him with no comfort in a dreary surrounding. He'd always seen the silver-haired lady as a sort of protector, a guardian for when he let his defences down.

And now she stood behind him as he squeezed his eyes shut, not quite wanting to see what was really on his head.

"It is quite alright, little one, to be afraid. I only wish I could have allowed this when you were younger, to allow you time to become used to it all."

"The Dursley's would have killed me," he said softly.

"And that is the reason I could not, because you were placed with such—unpleasant people."

He snorted. "Sounds strange when you say it, almost like you want to say something else but you're trying to match your voice and speech with your words."

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Open your eyes, child, and see what was always rightfully your's to have."

With a deep breath, Harry flickered his eyes open. His emerald eyes widened at the sight of the large, oversized ears nestled within his messy hair. They twitched, sitting up a little more as he watched them curiously. He could feel the tug of muscles that had never been there before as one of them swivelled slightly to the side and a soft snore reached him.

"Whoa."

She smiled behind him. "I believe that the Potter family has always held this inheritance within their blood, though they were quite accomplished at powerful glamour's to hide them from sight."

He glanced at her in the mirror. "You knew my father? His father?"

"No," she shook her head and the pitch black eyes gazed at him sadly. "I felt no need to link them to me anymore than necessary. You were a special case."

"How wonderful."

She laughed softly, reaching out to touch his ears with slim fingers. The ear flicked away as he frowned. "They will react to both your thoughts and your emotions—they are a simple way to read your thoughts in as uncomplicated way as should be possible. You will find yourself controlling your emotions and reactions a lot more than is natural for a wizard of your calibre."

"What's that supposed to mean? My 'calibre'?"

"You are an exceptionally powerful wizard, little one, and it is the culmination of all that power that finally allowed me to find you, right where I had left you. Or, almost," she smiled down at him.

"Powerful," he mumbled, eyes fixed on the way his ears were flopping forward a little. "I've never felt powerful before."

"And you would not have. This is a part of who you are, child, and locking it away caused a part of yourself to be hidden from you, like a caged animal separated from its mate. You were shaped and that piece was left to be nothing more than a rarely glimpsed facet of your personality."

"Slytherin," he whispered, eyes widening in realisation. "I really should have been in Slytherin, shouldn't I?"

"I do not know and we shall never truly find out. You have been forced to adapt yourself to a given situation, and have changed from how you origionally were."

"Voldemort. I really am the only one who can fight him, you know."

"No, child, you are not the only one with the power to fight against him, but you are the only one with the determination and courage to face him on a battlefield."

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair, absentmindedly scratching at the base of his ears. "So, what am I? And who are you really?"

She smiled, motioning him to follow her. She led him down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she waved a hand at the table and a plate full of pancakes drizzled in syrup appeared. Harry's stomach grumbled and he blushed, seating himself and picking up the fork. He looked at her pointedly before he began to eat.

"My name is Leune, but perhaps that name has been lost through the ages, since I doubt any wizard or witch would recognise me as separate to the Lord of Night. Perhaps, the Lady of the Moon?"

Harry frowned. "I think Hermione may have mentioned that once."

Leune nodded, smiling down at him. "Your friend is quite an extraordinary witch."

"I thought you said you could never find me?"

"I could sense you, as a vague whisper of light and mingled shadows. I knew who was around you and who you were close to, though it was never enough." She shook her head, silver strands flashing in the sunlight from where she stood in the shadow cast by the fridge. "I am, as I have stated, the Lady of the Moon, the physical aspect of the Moon's spirit."

"You're the moon?"

"A part of it, but the part which has a name none the less."

"The moon?"

She laughed softly, "yes, little one, the Moon."

Harry nodded, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of pancake. "Makes sense. I thought you were like a ray of moonlight, something I never really saw back then." He shook his head, sighing. "So what am I?"

"You are a Shadow Fox."

A/N: Yes, the chapter is incredibly, depressingly short. _cries_ Next chapter is, however, longer. If enough people like this (or if I get desperate to post) I'll put the next one up!