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Chapter 2

Before school.

Devotion and Knowledge.

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Alicia woke herself between two smaller forms. This was the first time she felt so safe, so comfortable. I have good masters. They would protect me, care for me, like proper masters should. Father always said that good masters care for their coven. He would like them. But he also said that love without respect is nothing; or lacking both, fear would do as well. Terror is also good, but only for enemies. A little fear is good, but terror makes your own people stupid. They have to be rational enough to think for their own, unless of course you don't want them to think. He also said that the relations between master and servant go both ways. Even if I am weak now, I will grow stronger, I will repay them with love and devotion. Next time I will help in protecting them. I will serve them well.

"Alicia?"

Alicia jerked fully awake at Harry's amused voice. She realized that she was nuzzling her mistress neck and her fangs were half-extended. She jerked from the tempting target and jumped out of bed bowing her head in shame. "I am sorry master."

"It's ok; there is no need to apologize. She seemed to enjoy the attention too."

Lucy came fully awake and smiled at the abject look on the vampire face. "Don't worry. Come here."

The vampire approached the smiling figure and kneeled at the edge of the bed, at the feet of her young mistress. Her head was taken in the other girls lap and Alice sighed in contentment as she felt hands gently going through her hair.

"Alicia, are you hungry?" Lucy smiled at the vampire response, witch originated from her belly. "What kind of food will you need? Food, blood or both?"

"Vampires eat food. But we need blood as well, especially when we exert ourselves or when we heal from injuries. It is recommended to drink daily, but I can skip a few days without feeling great discomfort. After a weak, though weakness and lethargy sets in. After a month vampires begin to go feral if they do not feed. After two months hibernation sets in. Baby vampires are scared with stories, the Lost Ones – vampires that do not feed and spend centuries in deep sleep. But shouldn't you know these things? I mean shouldn't you know these things from the memories of the assassin?"

Lucy begun to explain her ability as Harry went to the phone to get room-service for three. "Well … first I didn't have time to download anything but memories of how to fight, or how to control vampire abilities; second, it is harder to download memories, especially memories that are important and well guarded; and third I do not like to make a full memory dump. It is hard to get rid of unwanted memories. The first person we did was a librarian. We got lucky and found a nice 60 years old guy with photographic memory who read over ten thousand books. He liked movies too. The first time we ever saw an entire movie was in his memory. It was Star Wars. After that we went to see some college professors. However one of them had some ways to give extra credits to some of the female students. We really didn't need to know some things, especially at our age. After that we learned how to delete memories. Then I learned how to only download certain things like martial arts, history, science or how to steal a car."

Alicia nodded. "But isn't it too much information? How can you hold so many things? Isn't it confusing to know so many things?"

Lucy shrugged. "It isn't that hard. I could do full memory downloads for ten thousand years and I'd still have enough space. And only some memories I have were closely examined. They are in a kind of library. If I need something I open it; if not then it doesn't bother me. We have a highly organized mind. I have even learned how to make pseudo-personality. For example I could make a personality to make my homework, while I was doing something else. After it is finished I can integrate what it learned and how it did it."

Harry grinned at the open enthusiasm on Lucy's face. "Yeah, she was pretty proud of that".

"So I should tell you about vampires, seeing as I am one … and you are part-vampires as well. Or should you take it directly out of my mind?"

"No, or not now, we still have yet to complete the integration of the things we picked up yesterday. It is better to wait. You should give us an overview though. But we should eat first." Harry then walked at the door and opened it after Lucy restored their glamour.

The delivery girl blushed after glancing at the vampire that was still being petted. She was stopped from leaving after doing her job by Harry. He made a puncture wound on her wrist and let her blood fill three small glasses. After closing her wound with a lick, he gave her a big tip and escorted the glaze-eyed girl to the door. He closed the door after the confused girl and went to the table.

They all gulped down the warm blood and smiled at the warm feeling it gave them.

After they finished eating Alicia started her explanation about her kind.

"Even if vampires are considered to be evil undead things by most wizards, we are just one of the many different types of magical creatures. Vampires come into existence in two ways. The first is to be born a vampire. It is very rare since only master vampires can breed. And vampires are not very fertile creatures. Natural vampires are very rare. However the bright side is that natural vampires like me, become master vampires when we mature. The other way is to make one is by draining then giving your own blood to the one you intent on converting. Only a tenth survive. It is impossible to know whether one can survive it. A powerful wizard may die and a muggle may survive. No one knows why. New vampires or baby-vampires are then usually educated by their sire for a few years. After that the normal vampires take centuries to become master vampires. Vampires tend to flock to powerful masters. That is how covens form. The coven leader is the absolute master. Small covens usually have only one master, but big covens may have many master vampires, but only one coven leader. Vampires expect and need a strong coven master. It is not a democracy. Those who do not wish to be either master or servant, become solitary vampires, however most vampires crave the contact of their kin. Also vampires have some weaknesses. Vampires loose the ability to do magic, if they ever had any; however vampires have their own type of magic. We are vulnerable to some spells. The sunlight irritates us, especially the younger or less powerful ones. A master vampire can easily function in sunlight, however after a few hours of exposure; pain will set in the locations touched by the sun. Shorts periods of exposure will only sting a bit. Also vampires will feel sluggish in daylight, even in the deep underground. Only in the night are vampires at their strongest."

"Well, we never feel pain in sunlight, so it seams that we got the benefits without the vulnerabilities." Harry seemed deep in thought. "Alicia how do you feel?"

Alicia blinked in confusion at the complete change of topic. "I am feeling well master. Actually, I haven't felt this good in weeks."

"Well have you not observed that it is daylight? Shouldn't you feel tired?"

Alicia twitched in surprise. "Now that you mention it, I feel no weakness. Considering my injuries and exhausted state I should have slept till nightfall."

"Well this is interesting."

The vampire bounced on her feet in excitement. "Since we have a connection now due to my acceptance in to your coven, and you do not have the vampire weakness, it is possible that you shared some of your vampire skills with me. We should test this." Alicia ran to the window, opened it, and then froze in the sunlight."

Harry was slightly alarmed at her state of unresponsiveness. "Alicia!?"

Alicia went to her masters and gave them a big hug. "I didn't feel anything; no pain; nothing."

Lucy smiled at the excited girl. "We're happy that you are happy with the changes."

Harry nodded. "We'll have to see what other changes we discover."

After they discussed more about vampires, the twins' told the vampire about their life.

"What do you know about the goblins? Can we risk going to Gringotts?"

Alicia smiled. "Yes there will be no danger. The goblins work with all magical beings. They never betray the secrets they are sworn to protect. They also never break contracts. So, Dumbledore's ability to use Potter money means that he somehow made himself your guardian or manager." She continued quickly at the expression on their face. "You don't have to worry; he's only able to draw small funds from your accounts. He may be able to draw some small funds, but they will not put a significant dent in to your vault. The goblins will make sure of it."

"Is there a way to get rid of Dumbledore as our guardian?"

Alicia smiled confidently. "Trust me. You will get rid of him one way or another. The goblins will consider him in breach of contract. At the very least you may get another guardian. If we are lucky you may be able to claim your lordship and become emancipated."

"That's good to hear."

Alicia then put a serious expression on her face. "Whatever happens, don't try to use your mental powers on a goblin, especially in Gringotts. Goblins have extremely strong mental shields to protect the information they possess. They are allowed by treaty to kill anyone who makes unprovoked mental attacks."

The twins both nodded seriously.

"There is another reason to go to the goblins. You have some strange abilities. I think we can find out more if we discover who your ancestors were. It seams that one or more of them bred with something other than humans. It's a slim chance, but it's the best we have. The goblins have magic that will show you your family line. It is very expensive, but they should deduce the cost from your family vault."

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A few days later, three cloaked figures entered Gringotts. After they asked to see the Potter family account manager, they were led to a private room.

A goblin entered five minutes later nodding in greeting at the three figures. "Mr. and Ms. Potter I am Killjoy. What can I do for you?"

Harry smiled at the goblin and begun speaking. "Hello Killjoy. We are here for several reasons. The first is to inform you that my guardian is in breach of contract. I believe he is Mr. Dumbledore." At the goblins nod Harry continued. "We wish for Dumbledore to be dismissed from his position as guardian. We also want steps taken against those who have wronged us. We want to explore the possibility of becoming emancipated, or if not possible, finding a guardian of our choice."

Killjoy nodded. "I think it can be arranged, It will take some time though."

Harry smiled gratefully. "We also want a lineage test."

The goblin raised an eyebrow. "I do not see a problem with that either. The cost is 2000 galleons. This sum will be taken from your family account, not your private one, witch has only 50000 galleons. Your family account is over 100 million galleons, so this is not a significant dent to the family vault. If you will be as kind as to go with Backbreaker, I will get the papers while you go to the lineage room."

-x-x-x-

The children arrived at the strange room.

A goblin motioned to them to approach a big pyramid. They stopped at the base of the ten foot object, inscribed with thousand upon thousands of small strange writings.

The goblin brought two small bowls and drew a few drops of blood from their hands. For a few moments nothing happened, then some of the writings from the pyramid begun to glow. Another goblin gave them two pieces of parchment, then ushered them outside.

Backbreaker took them back to Killjoy.

Killjoy smiled a goblin smile. "Well?"

Harry silently handed him the two parchments. The first one was black as if someone took a black paint brush to the parchment. Killjoy took the parchment and stuck it to a wall. The strange paper grew and turned itself in an inverted pyramid of names. At the base were the twins names, then their parent's name, then their grandparents, and so on. However the weird things were that between their parents names was another name as it they had two fathers and not one.

The goblin read the name aloud. " Tom Riddle, Lord Slytherin. Interesting, very interesting!"

He then read the other parchment. "Mr. Potter, you are Lord Potter. You are Lord Black thanks to your deceased godfather Sirius Black. You are also Lord Gryffindor as the Potters are the only family related to Gryffindor and there are no Gryffindors still alive. You are also Lord of Slytherin thanks to your ritual adoption into Slytherin by Tom Riddle. Your sister is your heir to all these titles." The goblin then looked at Lucy. "Ms. Potter You are Lady Ravenclaw as your mother was the last of that noble line. Since inheritance in the Ravenclaw house pass primarily thru the female line, you are the Lady and your brother is your heir to this particular title."

Lucy asked slowly. "Aren't those last three titles the names of the founders?"

The goblin grinned a ferociously. "Yes my Lady. You are quite lucky. These titles will give you a big political, social and economical power. Also if you accept them, you will automatically become adults under the law since these particular titles do not care about your age. You will have several privileges: you will be able to use magic outside of school; if you choose to go to Hogwarts, you can use your title as Lords to claim separate quarters; as heir to one of the founders you can even use the founders private quarters; and to top it off you are the owners of Hogwarts." He then leaned back into his chair and starred in Harry's green eyes. "If you choose to reveal your founder title to the public at large, you can even sack Dumbledore from the position of headmaster."

Harry thought for a few moments then shook his head. "No, I'd rather have him, fat, dumb, and happy. We will claim all the titles, but we will hide the founders' titles."

Killjoy grinned in approval, then shouted something to Backbreaker. "Lord Potter… may I suggest something?"

Harry nodded.

"If you wish to hide the founders' titles, your sister will have no title to protect her. You could cede you title of Lord Black to your sister. This way she will enjoy the same rights and privileges as you."

Harry smiled at the idea. "Thank you, Killjoy. I have a question. Won't people wonder how I claimed the lordships while being underage?"

"No Lord Potter, sometimes Lords decide that their heirs may ascend to the Lordship even if they are underage. Dumbledore or anyone else will not know if such a stipulation was made by the Potter or Black family heads."

Backbreaker returned with five rings. Killjoy gave one of the rings to Lucy and the rest to Harry. They put them on their fingers and felt them draw their blood and then shrinking to fit their fingers. Harry then pulled the black ring and handed it to Lucy. She put it on and smiled as it drew blood again.

"Congratulations Lord Potter, Lady Black. You may order the rings to become invisible if you wish."

Harry and Lucy commanded the three founders' rings to not show themselves.

"You have five votes in the Wizengamot. When you wish to inform it of your lordship, you just need to tell the rings. The rings are also portkeys to the family properties. You just need to tap it with your wand or concentrate on the ring then say the location."

Killjoy then gave them a thick folder of papers. "These are all your properties, money, investments, shares and everything else."

Harry opened the property lists and whistled in amazement.

"Lord Potter, Lady Black, I would recommend to make your home one of the founders' castle. They are all on hidden isles and have extremely powerful wards.

Harry rose to his feat. "Thank you Killjoy. You have been most helpful. Whatever I'm paying you, double it.

"Thank you Lord Potter."

-x-x-x-

The three took the advice of the goblin and visited the founders' castles. They found the three founders portraits and had some nice long chats with them after finding that they would be faithful only to the young lords.

They decided to take the portraits and take them to Rowena's castle. It had the best wards, and the best training facility. They were informed that the strange room that provided anything they wished for was called the Room of Requirements.

They got to know the portraits that took the role of mentors and parental figures. Harry found a kindred spirit in Salazar. Godric seemed very knowledgeable of the vampire ways and took Alicia under his wing. Lucy seemed quite taken to Rowena. She had the same ability as Lucy, though it was even weaker than Harry's. They found out how Rowena got as knowledgeable as she was. It seamed that in the founders' youth they got in a lot of fights with each other and other wizards. After Rowena perfected her ability she routinely raided the people she defeated for any new knowledge they had. The only one that frustrated her was Salazar, who, after finding out about her abilities, found a great interest in parselmagic and parseltongue.

The six decided to concentrating on training the vampire skills was their best option for the moment. The twins had a very big core, but the founders decided that even their hybrid bodies would not react well to the constant use of powerful magic. They would have to wait until they grew a little older. Until then, they would learn the theory of magic and master a broad spectrum of basic spells.

They rummaged thru the armories of the three castles and found some strange armor that would constantly leach part of their power and grow and strengthen along with them. The twins also found wands amongst a collection of a few hundred wands. At Godric's insistence they each got two spare wands and holsters. As they browsed thru the weapons, Harry had the idea of using a sword to parry and deflect incoming spells. Godric explained that skilled wizards could use their wands to do this. Seeing as they were much faster than normal wizards and could use vampire skills, they decided that the twins would use a wand in one hand and a sword in the other. The twins both chose a three foot black katana; Alicia took a liking to a four foot katana and a two foot knife. Then she took about a dozen small knifes and put them on various positions on her body. The twins imitated her as best they could in the placement of the small weapons.

-x-x-x-

After a few years of intensive training their eleventh birthday approached and their Hogwarts letter had arrived. The twins had decided to attend school and they responded to the letter informing the school that they will arrive with the Hogwarts express at the start of term.

The next day another letter came. The headmaster wanted to visit them and asked if they would be kind enough to tell him their location. The six all laughed at the poor attempt and informed the headmaster that if he wished they would come to Hogwarts at 2 PM. The headmaster was disappointed but accepted.

Two days later, the twins and Alicia shadow-traveled to Hogsmeade and then walked to the gates of Hogwarts. As they crossed the wards they felled the castle welcoming her true masters.

They were greeted by a scowling professor, who introduced himself as Severus Snape. He then sneered a command to follow him and walked fast without looking back.

When they entered the headmaster's office, they were greeted by the severe face of a woman who introduced herself as professor Mcgonagal, and the disgustingly twinkling eyes and grandfatherly face of Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah! Mr. Potter, Ms. Potter. I am Albus Dumbledore, your new headmaster… and if I may ask who your companion might be?"

The creepy voice of the black-clad Alicia came from her shrouded head. "My name is unimportant. I am here merely as an escort."

Mcgonagal frowned in disapproval, Snape's sneer went up a notch and Dumbledore continued to twinkle madly. "We are among friends here, surely sharing your name isn't too much."

Alicia said nothing for a moment, and then in the same voice she replied. "No."

Dumbledore sighed in disappointment. "As you wish. Please sit."

The two children took their seats and Alicia stationed herself at their back like a proper bodyguard.

"Well, to be honest, you had us all worried with your disappearance act. We were quite worried that we could not find you all these years. You, my children, made a few people very worried." Dumbledore seemed disappointed at the lack of response. "Unfortunately we could not find your family. Do you, by any chance, know where they are?"

"No."

"I was afraid of that. Since we can't locate your family, we will have to find you a new place to stay. We made a small list of good families that would be overjoyed to welcome you as their children. You'll have to meet them and decide the family you like best."

"No."

"I beg your pardon?"

Harry took a deep breath. "I said no. I do not need a new family, nor do I need another home. I am satisfied with what I have."

"I am afraid I must insist Harry."

"I am afraid I must disagree."

"I am afraid you can not. You are a minor and I am your headmaster. The law is on my side."

"I am afraid it isn't." Harry raised his hand and showed it to Dumbledore. "Do you know what this is?"

"A ring?"

"Yes, but what kind of ring?"

"The Potter family ring." Dumbledore didn't seem happy with the admission.

"Yes, and do you know what it signifies?" At Dumbledore's lack of comment, Harry continued. "It means I am emancipated. As such, I and my sister can do as we wish."

Dumbledore sighed in resignation. "Very well. But I must insist that I am to be allowed to inspect the place you are living and the persons that live with you."

"No." At his short response Harry felt Dumbledore's legilimency probe touch his mental shields.

Alicia did not have a connection as strong as the twin-link, but after years of close proximity and blood-sharing, she could feel her masters' emotions, the state of their bodies, magic and health and their mental shields. This is why, at the first brush off her masters' shields, she went into action. Alicia suddenly appeared between the headmaster and the twins, with her katana and knife held in a threatening position. "Desist!!"

Only the twins did not shudder at her voice.

Snape and Mcgonagal went for their wands.

Alicia ignored them. "If you ever use legilimency on them again, I may have to kill you."

Dumbledore raised a hand as if pleading. "I am sorry. I'm afraid we started badly. I believe we should continue this discussion after the term starts. Minerva, maybe you could show the children their future common-room and dorms."

"Of course I will, Albus."

"It will not be necessary. We will not be staying in the Gryffindor dorms."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Come now mister Potter, your parents and all the Potters have been in Gryffindor. I'm sure you will follow in their steps as well."

"I did not mean that I will not be in your house. I meant that I will be staying in my private quarters."

Snape sneered at him. "You're even more arrogant than your father, Potter."

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid I can not give you special treatment."

"I did not ask for that. As Lord Potter I am entitled to private quarters."

"Very well. But your sister will have to stay in the dorms. I can not bend rules for you."

"It is traditionally allowed for relatives to sleep in the private quarters. But fortunately this is not the case here."

Lucy raised her hand and showed them her ring. "The Black ring."

Harry smiled. "You see headmaster, as lords we are entitled to private quarters. Good day."

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