Hi there!^_^

First off, I would like to thank little-bast not only for a wonderful review, but also for making a few great suggestions, some of which will be implemented later on in the story.^_^

Well, here is the next chapter of this story! And it is within the deadline I promised you, my dear readers, as well! I assure you that even though I have had a very strong streak of faltering when it came to updating a story until recently, the fire within me that makes me continue with this story is burning fiercer than ever!^_^

Viktor: Excellent speech!

Lady A.: Thank you, Viktor. Now, the disclaimer, if you will.

Viktor: Certainly *clears throat* Lady Avotil does not own the "Underworld" series or the "Harry Potter" series, only the plot of this story.

Lady A.: Unfortunately, that is true. Otherwise I would have owned Viktor…

Viktor: Did you say something about me? *narrows eyes in suspicion*

Lady A.: No, not at all! *smiles as if nothing is wrong* Thanks for saying the disclaimer.

Viktor: You are welcome *walks back to his room*

Lady A.: Now, on to the story! *smiles*

HPxUnderworld*************************************************

Chapter 2: Family

Viktor closed his eyes as he tried to calm his shaking descendant. He did not blame the young boy for losing his composure after reliving the terrible memories of his unhappy childhood. His supposed relatives had treated the black-haired boy even worse than how Viktor had treated the lycans when they were still mere slaves to the vampires. Just the thought of what the black-haired boy had endured at the hands of the Dursleys made the vampire Elder seethe in anger, his neon blue eyes turning an even brighter shade of blue behind his closed eyelids. What those monsters had done to the boy in his arms was unforgivable. Shaking his head slightly, the regal vampire concentrated once again on the quivering form of his heir sitting on his lap.

Harry, meanwhile, tried to desperately lock his worst memories in the furthest part of his mind once again. He did not want to watch them repeatedly replay themselves in front of his eyes, each time getting more and more vivid. His uncontrollable trembling increased when a sudden thought occurred to the young vampire's mind – what did his ancestor think of him now? Was he ashamed to have such a weak and vulnerable descendant? Would his ancestor now deny being related to him because of it?

That was all Harry's currently fragile nervous system could take. The fear of rejection from the only living – or not-so-living – relative he had overwhelmed him. The last thing Harry saw before a black veil descended over his eyes was the memory of Vernon Dursley swinging a belt with a sharp buckle at the end down towards his uncovered back and calling him a "good for nothing freak".

Noticing the sudden stillness of his heir's form and just as sudden stop of crying, the vampire Elder looked down at the young boy's face. It appeared that he had fainted. Neon blue yes darkened to a soft azure colour as they observed the peaceful slumber the black-haired boy had fallen into. Viktor sighed sadly as he slowly stood up from his comfortable armchair, his arms holding Harry steadily against his chest. Stopping in front of the couch, he slowly lowered the sleeping young vampire onto it.

The older vampire sat down next to his heir, watching the steady rise and fall of the boy's chest. He made a silent promise then and there that he would take care of Harry, as if he were his own son and nothing less. He would also not make the same mistakes he did with his first two children, Sonja and Selene. Harry would grow into a fine young man, who would be more than worthy to one day take his place as an Elder, a leader of the coven.

Four hours later…

Neon blue eyes snapped open as Harry woke up from his nightmare-filled sleep and abruptly sat up bolt right. The black-haired boy breathed heavily as he looked around the room he was in and recognized it as the one in which he had met his ancestor. The thought of his ancestor brought back the tormenting questions that had plagued his mind before he had fallen unconscious and which had then followed him into his dream, conjuring up images of the strict-looking Elder unceremoniously kicking him out of the mansion.

"Calm down", came a voice from his left, startling Harry. Turning around, neon blue eyes met a pair of soft azure ones. Harry quickly scrambled off the couch and turned so that he was face to face with his ancestor.

"What are you going to do to me?", the question flew out of the black-haired boy's mouth before he could stop it.

The vampire Elder recoiled, as if he had been slapped in the face, his eyes wide in surprise. Did his own descendant really think that he would actually hurt him? Those monsters the young boy had had to unfortunately call his relatives his entire life had truly damaged him to make him think such a horrid thought.

"I apologize for my actions before but I had to make sure that you were telling the truth. As for my intentions – I intend for you to stay here, Harry. You are, after all, my heir and as such it is only right for you to live here", Viktor informed the apparently startled young vampire. Did the boy really think that he would reject him?

"Y-Yo-You won't re-reject me?", Harry asked uncertainly, his recent dream at the forefront of his mind causing him to stutter in fear of his ancestor's answer.

Viktor could only stare at his descendant, his mouth slightly open. The boy really did think he would reject him! The betrayal of his two best friends and his surrogate family had had a greater scarring effect on the boy than Viktor had thought. He knew, of course, that with betrayal came a heightened sense of distrust towards other people, but for Harry to have so little trust in Viktor, his only living relative, somehow wounded the Elder. Perhaps he should not have reacted the way he had when the boy had come to him…Unfortunately, that was in the past and he could not change it. He could only hope that, as time went by, Harry would trust him more.

"Of course not!", the older vampire exclaimed before his voice took on a softer and more fatherly tone, "Child, I know what you have been through and let me assure you – I will never allow something like that to ever happen to you again", Viktor told his young heir, cupping the boy's cheek lovingly with his hand as he spoke.

The effect of that small gesture in combination with the older vampire's promise was almost immediate. The tenseness in Harry's shoulders went away and the clearly visible fear in his eyes was replaced by a look of immense relief. Harry closed his eyes in contentedness and leaned his face into his ancestor's hand. This was the first act of affection anyone had ever shown him – the students at Hogwarts had always seemed to stay away from him, as if he were either dangerous or had some kind of horrible disease. Yes, they always avoided him like the plague. Even his two best friends – former best friend he reminded himself – seemed to do that, despite the fact that the black-haired boy had seen various students around the castle who were friends hug each other when they were happy or comfort each other when they were sad.

A small smile appeared on the vampire Elder's face when he saw his heir's reaction to his gesture. Viktor was very happy that his descendant had chosen to come here instead of going somewhere else. He felt like he had been given a second chance to correct his past mistakes. Well, third chance, actually, but the sentiment about it remained the same. This was a chance for a new life for both him and Harry.

"I have had your room prepared", Viktor informed the black-haired boy, "Follow me".

With that he turned around, walked to the door, opened it and went outside into the hallway. Not waiting to be told twice by his ancestor, Harry quickly went after him. Viktor's long, black coat billowed slightly as the vampire Elder strode down the hallway, reminding Harry of Severus Snape, his old Potion's Professor at Hogwarts. However, unlike Snape's, Viktor's presence was more calming than frightening, a sense of power radiating from his person. Snape, on the other hand, always seemed to exude a sense of malice and hate whenever he walked down the hallways of Hogwarts.

Hogwarts…Harry supposed that there would always be a part of him that would stay connected to the ancient castle. Despite Hermione's opinion and constant attempts to make him think otherwise, Harry had always thought that the castle was at least semi-sentient. It always made Harry feel welcome there and on the day of his expulsion the castle had seemed to have an aura of sadness to it, like the one a mother would most probably have when she had to let go of her child. It was that feeling of motherly love that endeared the magical castle to Harry's heart and which left no doubt in his mind that it was his true home. Unfortunately, that was no longer the case. He had been banned from Hogwarts permanently, like an indefinite house-arrest outside of his home. The black-haired boy wondered, if he would ever feel the same sense of belonging anywhere else.

The mansion where his ancestor and his coven lived reminded Harry to an extent of Hogwarts. There was no doubt in his mind that this building was old, possibly as old as Hogwarts. Old buildings always had that little something that made them stand apart from those who were modern day ones. The mansion might actually become my new home, Harry silently mused.

The young vampire was so deep in thought that he almost crashed into his ancestor when the vampire Elder suddenly stopped.

"Your room is the one on the right. Mine is right across from yours", Viktor informed his young heir, motioning with his right arm to the bistre-coloured door with intricate Celtic carvings on the doorframe. Cautiously, as if the older vampire would suddenly shout at him and punish him somehow, Harry opened the door. What he saw inside made his jaw drop in surprise and stare in complete disbelief.

The room was at least three times as big as the room the Dursleys had "graciously" given him "out of the goodness of their hearts". Within was the basic furniture one would expect a bedroom to contain – a bed, a bedside table, a desk with a chair in front of it, a dresser and a big bookshelf. What was so unusual about the ones inside the room was that they were all decorated with magnificent Byzantine carvings and all of them looked just as old as the mansion appeared to be. This, however, gave the room an even nobler appearance, perhaps even a royal one with the huge four-poster bed and dresser. The bookshelf contained a lot of leather-bound books. An exotic-looking, carmine-coloured Persian rug covered a major part of the floor, with various animal pelts covering the rest. All of this is mine?, Harry wondered, turning around to look at his ancestor.

"This is my room?", the black-haired boy inquired of the vampire Elder, a look of surprise, but also happiness on his face. The regal vampire nodded.

Viktor soon found himself with an armful of young vampire as Harry almost hugged the life – or maybe death? – out of him. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around the idea that as simple an action as showing the boy his new room could make the young vampire so happy. He knew, of course, from Harry's memories that the Dursleys had not given him a nice room, but he knew that four-poster beds were normal at Hogwarts. Well, he had a lot of time to get to know his newly-discovered heir.

"I take it that you like it", Viktor commented, a small chuckle escaping him as he did.

"Like it? I love it!", the young vampire exclaimed, tightening his arms around his ancestor even more.

After a few more moments standing like that, Harry finally released the vampire Elder, a small blush spreading across his cheeks. Deciding that he didn't want to face Viktor after such an embarrassing, for him anyway, moment, the young, black-haired vampire quickly turned around and went into his room, intent on taking a closer look at it. Especially all of those books in his bookshelf – who knew what kind of interesting information he would find in them? Going over to the furniture in question, Harry took out a random book and looked at the title.

To his utter dismay, it was in Hungarian! Pouting, Harry put the book back and chose another one. This one was, unfortunately for Harry, also in Hungarian. An uneasy feeling started to creep up in the back of his mind. The books couldn't all be in Hungarian, could they? Quickly running a finger along the spines of the books, the young vampire discovered that the answer to that question was "Yes". No fair! Hearing a light chuckle behind him, he turned around and saw it had come from his ancestor, a twinkle of amusement lighting up his neon blue eyes.

"Yes, you will have to learn Hungarian to read those books", Viktor confirmed the thought that was going through his heir's mind. But it would also help you communicate more easily with the vampires in this coven, the Elder silently added. The older vampire watched in amusement as his descendant let out a rather theatrical sigh.

"Harry", Viktor began, carefully thinking his question over. Would Harry accept his offer? He could only hope.

"Yes?", the young vampire replied, looking at his ancestor expectantly.

"I know that your wound from the betrayal of your friends and surrogate family is still fresh, but I was wondering…if you would allow me the honour of calling you my son", the vampire Elder slightly hesitantly asked, a small, almost invisible flicker of hope in his neon blue eyes.

Harry could only stare at his ancestor. Son? Normally he would have jumped at such an opportunity but his former best friends' and surrogate family's perfidy made him cautious of such chances. He could not, would not, go through such a heinous experience again, if he could avoid it. But he made me a promise, the black-haired boy reminded himself. His ancestor – possibly soon-to-be father? – was more than willing to trust him, so shouldn't he be able to do the same? Besides, wasn't it his greatest wish since he was a small boy to be part of an actual family? Slowly a small smile emerged on Harry's face.

"The honour would be mine…father", the 12-year-old answered, tasting the new title on his tongue. The smile became even wider. It seemed right to call his ancestor "father".

It was one of the happiest moments in Viktor's life. He could not believe that his descendant had agreed to become his son! The vampire Elder's heart was jumping in joy at the thought of not only finally having a son, but also having a child again. Embracing his new son, Viktor vowed to himself that he would never let Harry down. He could only hope that the black-haired boy would never let him down as well. The vampire Elder let go of Harry, put his hands on the boy's shoulders and looked him in the eye.

"Excellent", he said, "Now, go to bed. Dawn is upon us and you will need all the sleep you can get. After all, tomorrow evening I will present you as my son and heir to the entire coven", the vampire Elder explained to his new son.

"Um…does it have to be tomorrow evening?"

Harry fervently hoped that his father (he couldn't help but smile at that thought) would tell him that it was a joke and that there would either be no presentation at all or that it would be later in the week. He was not sure he was ready for a presentation. Besides, wouldn't it be better, if he had some time to learn about vampire traditions and laws and various other things? Hm, that actually sounds like a good argument, the black-haired boy mused. Seeing his father was about to reply, Harry decided to intervene.

"I mean, wouldn't it be better, if I had some time to learn about vampire traditions and laws?", Harry proposed, trying not to let the desperation slip into his voice, though at the end of his suggestion it became audible anyway. Viktor's reaction to this was a chuckle and a slight nod.

"You make a valid argument, my son. Very well, your presentation to the coven will be in…two months", the vampire Elder declared, startling the young boy with his decision.

"Um…why did you suddenly go from "in one day" to "in two months", father? I am slightly confused", Harry questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"The traditions and laws of our species are very special, Harry, as is the way a coven functions. I will teach you the basics of the dance of politics and the basics of how to defend yourself with both old and new weapons", Viktor explained, seeing his son's neon blue eyes light up in curiosity and excitement. He was very happy that Harry was so eager to learn from him.

"Fighting? Great!", the young vampire shouted, doing a victory sign, before looking at Viktor doubtfully, "Is the politics part really necessary?", the black-haired boy wearily asked, unease clearly visible on his face. The politics in the Wizarding World were horrible and if the ones in the coven were the same…

"The dangers of the world outside are no greater than those in the council chamber. To be able to fight in there you must know the dance of politics", the Elder slightly lectured his son, repeating the words he had said to his daughter so long ago. Viktor was pleased when he saw a gleam of interest enter his son's eyes at the mention of politics being like a fight. Ah, so he is a fighter. Like me. That is not a surprise – after all, he is my heir, the older vampire fondly thought as he observed the 12-year-old consider his statement.

"I will leave you to your thoughts", the regal vampire told his son before swiftly turning on his heel and exiting the room, a small smile tugging at his lips. He had not been this content for centuries.

Harry watched his father close the door of his room. He supposed that getting used to a vampire's bedtime hours would be necessary. Then again, that was only a minor price for what he had gained tonight – a family.

With that joyful thought in mind, the young vampire changed into his pajama bottoms, which he found were in the wardrobe, along with all of his other new clothes the goblins had purchased for him. After making sure that the curtains covering the window were tightly closed, Harry slipped under the duvet covers of his very comfortable bed. The moment his head hit the pillow, the young vampire fell asleep, his dreams filled for once with happy scenes.

HPxUnderworld*************************************************

Okay, so it has been confirmed that I cannot write a decent conversation, if my life depended on it. Still, I hope it wasn't too sappy or anything like that. I will try to make Viktor act more like himself in the next chapters, I promise!^_^

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a nice and long review!^_^

Viktor: *takes Lady A's hand and bows over it* I am very grateful to you.

Lady A: *sweatdrops* Didn't we go over this the last time? You owe me nothing. Now, me, on the other hand, I owe you. After all, if you didn't exist, then this story would never have been possible.

Viktor: *smiles smugly* True.

Lady A: Aha! Now there is the Viktor we all love and know! *grins*

Viktor: Whatever do you mean by that? I was always here *walks away*

Lady A: Trying to cover up his uncharacteristic behaviour from last chapter, eh? Well, let him cover it up then *turns to readers* Remember, dear readers! Read and review!^_^