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

Previously:

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.

Chapter Two: To Teach War

The next day was not any better for Harry. Apparently the vampire community found out about the laws and were beyond angry; they were furious. Several Aurors who had been sneaking around vampire strongholds and safe houses had turned up dead the next day. It was unclear if the Aurors had decided to take the initiative and attack first, or if the vampires had already taken a no-tolerance policy. Either way, it meant open war between the Vampire and Wizarding Communities.

Breakfast was a record breaking disaster. As everyone's copies of the Daily Prophet landed beside their meals, the announcements started a school-wide panic. It was even more spectacular than the mess Quirrel had created by announcing that there was a troll loose in the school.

Minister Declares Open War Against Vampires

Special Correspondent: Vibridus Slane

In a press conference early this morning, the Minister stated, "The vampires have attacked four Aurors, killing three. The fourth is in critical condition in St. Mungo's. This shows open hostility and we cannot shirk from our responsibilities to protect the people. The Vampires must be stopped at all costs. I have asked the Wizengamot to allocate more funding for the newly created Department of Vampire Control and I am confident that we will receive it. I refuse to allow Darkness to overtake our community after such a long and arduous battle against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Never again will we fear for our lives."

Not only has the Minister appropriated funds to improve this new division in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he has also set aside funds for new wards to be installed at Hogwarts to protect our children from the growing threat. Expert Curse-Breakers and Warders will be sent to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade to ensure that no vampire can enter the grounds. It is comforting to know that our Minister is doing all he can to protect our present and our future.

Harry put down the paper with a sigh. This was going to become much more difficult than he had already imagined it to be. He did not know one thing about these types of wards. Anti-apparition and anti-portkey were fairly obvious and straight forward; they merely prevented magical travel, which was geared to a spell tracer. But he had no idea how would they guarantee that all vampires would be excluded, both wizarding and traditional. For that matter, he did not know if it would affect someone already residing in the castle. It was possible that the moment the wards were activated he would be shoved brutally outside and his secret left open for everyone to know. He needed to find out details about these wards.

Albus Dumbledore stood up from the Head Table. "Silence! If everyone would please remain calm. I received word from the Minister immediately before breakfast about these wards. They will be erected as soon as possible. The team that has been commissioned will be arriving this evening and will start their initial scouting tomorrow morning. I assure you, you will all be perfectly safe within the castle. Hogsmeade trips will be canceled until the wards are fully operational. Classes will continue as scheduled."

Dumbledore sat down heavily into his chair, a small frown creasing his brow. Harry noticed his expression. If there was one person that would be on his side, regardless of what he was, it would be Albus Dumbledore. The man may be slightly manipulative, but he went through great lengths to make sure that Harry made it through the Final Battle the victor. He still had the irritating habit of keeping secrets from people, but with a man that old, there were bound to be many secrets. Harry just hoped that this could be one of them.

Harry continued to glance up at the Headmaster throughout breakfast as he casually moved his eggs around to make it seem like he had eaten. The man was lost in thought and clearly troubled. The only question was whether he was troubled about a new war or if he was troubled that the Wizarding World had not learned its lesson about bigotry. Harry hoped it was the latter.

He was disturbed from his thoughts by one of the most ridiculous and ignorant comments he had heard. "Those stupid vampires. They don't know what they're in for now. Just you wait Mione. When I'm a Hunter, they'll run in fear from me."

Harry was torn between snickering at Ron's idiocy and depression. He resolved to just reserve a mental laugh at the thought that the boy could not even tell that his roommate of nearly seven years was a vampire. Some Hunter he would make.

Ron's constant bragging was getting on his nerves. They had only just gotten to Charms class and he had not stopped yet. He had just finished going over the importance of the wards that would be erected during the week for the second time already that day.

Harry sat down in a seat slightly behind his two supposed best friends and prepared to review the finer points of the eye color glamour charms that they had been studying the past week. They had to be sure to get them right or else the person could be permanently blinded. The eye was much more sensitive than hair or skin, which made this type of glamour extremely complicated.

Professor Flitwick entered the room looking slightly flustered before standing on his usual stack of books and addressing the class. "There has been a slight change of plans in the course materials. Due to the situation we find ourselves in, the School Board feels that we would spend our time best to teach you what you will need to know to protect yourselves from a vampire attack. We will be pushing back our regular course work until next week."

Harry started to slip down into his seat. He wanted nothing more than to vanish on the spot. Now, he had to protect himself from attacks that could prove fatal to himself without drawing suspicion. This was becoming more and more complicated as the minutes rolled by.

"Now, as everyone should know, a Vampire is extremely sensitive to sunlight. Non-wizarding Vampires are known to spontaneously combust in direct sunlight. Not much is known about their magical brethren, except that the result is not as immediate. So, today, we will practice the Sunlight Charm."

Harry felt relieved that he had taken his potion that morning. If this lesson had been tomorrow, the potion would have been weaker and he probably would have ended the class with a serious case of sunburn. As it was, he would just have to be careful not to step directly into anyone else's beam of light.

He had officially had it; casting sunlight in Charms, conjuring stakes in Transfiguration, anatomy of the vampire in Defense, not a single subject was safe. He was already on edge enough as it was. But now, he was constantly jumping at the slightest of sound. His nerves were frazzled. He had one more class before the day was over -- Potions.

Professor Snape burst through the doors with a dramatic flair as he always did. It seemed that the rumor that he was really a vampire had once again resurfaced and was circulating throughout the school. Most of the student body, excluding the Slytherins, were betting on when he would be discovered. Harry knew better. The man was simply vicious and had a taste for melodrama, but he was still mortal.

"As I am sure you are aware, the curriculum has been modified since this insurrection of sorts. So, instead of continuing with our previously scheduled and highly useful healing potion, we will be brewing the Shade of Night Potion."

Harry froze. There was no way that he would get out of this unless he deliberately ruined the potion. The problem was that he could brew this particular potion in his sleep and in under twenty minutes. For once, he was praying for Neville to create a catastrophic accident or for Malfoy to have a spark of the old antagonistic Draco before his entire family was sentenced to Azkaban, leaving him with the responsibilities of a Lord. Harry sneaked a glance to see that familiar pale face instead looking somber and focused on his task. Neville, thankfully, looked just as nervous as he always did. There was hope in that direction at least.

"This potion is ingested by Vampires to lessen the effects of the sun. Non-magical Vampires cannot go outside without drinking this potion every day. However, Wizarding Vampires have a stronger immunity to the sun and the potion lasts longer in their system. It is generally recommended that they take the potion once every other day, but can go for as long as four days if they avoid direct sunlight. Muggle sunscreens have been known to work well on Magical Vampires as a temporary substitute for the potion and reduces the chances of sunburn as long as they are not in direct sunlight for more than four hours consecutively.

"Once you are finished with your potions, we will discuss the differences in color and texture between it and similar looking potions. You have half an hour. Begin."

Harry slowly made his way to the storage cabinet. He felt like he was sleep-walking through his ingredient gathering. He placed his small collection of herbs and other magical parts at his workspace before deftly reaching for the main ingredient and base for the potion, nightshade.

Ron leaned over to whisper into his ear. "Why are we learning to make this? Wouldn't it be better to learn the antidote to weaken them? I bet he's just having us make it as an excuse to cover his own use of it."

"Mr. Weasley, can you not focus on your own work? For once in his educational career, Mt. Potter is correctly brewing a potion. Are you so selfish that you wish to drag his grade down with yours? You may not need your Potions NEWT anymore, but if he wishes to actually get into the Auror program, he still needs to pass this class. So cease and desist your incessant nattering!"

Ron shrunk back with a glare and a muttered, "Vampire!" under his breath.

Harry felt mildly guilty for wishing for an accident or even contemplating deliberately ruining his potion. He realized that the compliments were only there as a way to shame Ron, but they were still present. Placing the last ingredient, fox glove, into the cauldron, he sat back to wait for it to turn a light ecru before turning off the flame and letting it cool for several minutes. He pulled out a vial and took a sample of his potion. Harry casually contemplated taking several vials for his own use, but quickly discarded that idea because of the probability that he would be caught.

He placed his sample on Snape's desk. The dark professor quickly examined the content in his vial and gave a brief nod.

Harry slipped back behind his cauldron and absent-mindedly toyed with his quill.

"If you potions are correctly brewed, you should be done by now. If it is not an ecru color, vanish the contents of your cauldron and look off a neighbor."

Ron scowled at his bright red sludge and quickly said, "Evanesco". He scooted his stool closer to Harry and peered into the pewter cauldron.

Snape proceeded to prowl about the classroom, carefully noting which student got the potion correct and which were forced to share. "This potion can commonly be mistaken for several more human ones. The most obvious is the nutrient potion. The dosages of the nutrient potion and the frequency between doses is the same. Even the colors are similar. The nutrient potion is closer to a gray; however a slightly misbrewed one could have the same exact ecru color. The only tell-tale difference between the two at that point is texture. The Shade of Night Potion has a near water consistency whereas the nutrient potion, incorrectly brewed or not, is thicker and tends to stick to the sides of the container it is in. It is very difficult to determine the differences between the two without a sample and ample time to study it. However, Vampires have never been known to be so foolish as to leave this potion unguarded. It is essential for them to pass in normal society and as such, it is too important to be left in the open where it could be tampered with."

Harry zoned out at this point. He was well aware of what potions could commonly be mistaken with the Shade of Night, in fact, he commonly used this to his advantage. His friends were well aware of the mistreatment he suffered at the Dursley's and that he was undernourished. He always kept a stash of nutrient potion on the top of his trunk. In actuality, he was drinking the Shade of Night, but none of the other boys had ever noticed the switch.

"Hey Harry."

"Yeah."

"Don't you have a stash of nutrient potion in our room?"

Harry knew it was too good to last. He slowly nodded, pretending that he was avoiding Snape's notice.

"Would you mind taking an extra sample from your cauldron to bring back to the room so that we can compare the two?"

Harry turned his head slightly to speak to Ron, "You mean you actually found something Snape taught us useful? I think I'm going to hide, the world is clearly ending."

"Very funny Harry." Ron sat back down in his stool and paid attention to the rest of the lecture, much to everyone's surprise, including Professor Snape's.

They packed up the rest of their books and Ron took a sample of Harry's potion to compare with the nutrient potion in their dorm. Never before was he so happy that he had a password-activated false bottom in his trunk.

He made a mental note to approach the Headmaster the next day about the wards and see his take on the whole debacle was. He had a limited amount of time to find a solution for this new problem as the Warders and the Curse-Breakers were showing up that night and beginning their preliminary scans the first thing the morning the next day.

A/N: These will be much shorter chapters than Founders' Heirs because there is less to explain and I can't justify the need to write 16 page chapters for a much less intricate story.