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:
Harry resigned himself to carefully repotting the plants that would one day soon be a part of a powder that would leave him bare for the world to see. He never liked attention and the thought of his last mask falling sent cold shivers down his spine.
Chapter Four: To Need an Ally
It was quiet in the hallways. It was just after nine o' clock in the evening and the lower years were restricted to their respective Common Rooms for the rest of the evening. Only a few stray upper years could be seen wandering, most of them were in the library working in the near silence.
The Warders were done with their preliminary scans of the Hogwarts grounds and were ready to tackle the first phase of construction in the morning. Harry was hoping that he would have had at least one more day of respite before having to throw himself to the mercy of the Headmaster and leader of the Light. He had no idea how he was going to broach the subject with the man he had come to respect as some form of surrogate grandfather.
Taking a deep breath, Harry approached the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's Office and muttered, "Fainting Fancies." The gargoyle moved out of the way with a groan and Harry ascended the stairs slowly, pausing at the ornately carved doors. Stealing himself, he gathered the last remnants of his courage and knocked on the door.
He heard a distinct, "Enter," and pushed the doors open to reveal a tired and worn looking Albus Dumbledore sitting behind his desk.
"Ah, Harry. What can I do for you this evening?"
Harry cautiously approached the desk and sat in the chair in front of the aging wizard. Harry swallowed, then began, "I have a few questions and concerns I need to talk to you about Headmaster."
"Of course my dear boy. And you know that you can call me Albus." It was clear that the Headmaster was trying to get Harry more comfortable with what he had come to discuss. However, he just seemed to become flustered and more agitated. "Perhaps you could tell me the topic you would like to discuss and we can go from there."
Harry nodded. "Well sir, I am rather concerned about this vampire situation."
He was about to elaborate, but was cut off by Dumbledore. "You do not need to fret Harry, the castle is very secure and once the wards are up you will not need to worry about your or your friends' protection."
This was not the response Harry was looking for. He was about to get up and leave the office. He knew he owned several properties; he was sure that he could hide out in one of them. Perhaps he would finish his schooling later. Technically, he was already an adult and legally permitted to practice magic outside of school. His mixed emotions must have been clear on his face because his mental ramblings were interrupted by a gentle voice. "I assume that was not the aspect you wished to discuss with me."
Harry glanced up and saw a small twinkle return to the old wizard's eyes. "No sir. I am concerned that the Wizarding World hasn't learned its lesson. We just won a war that was fought because of the prejudices towards other people. The Wizarding World got what it wanted, equal treatment for all of its citizens. But now, it's doing just what Voldemort did. Except this time it's the majority acting, not the minority." Harry voice had risen and grown more confident as he proceeded.
Dumbledore gave a soft smile. "Once again Mr. Potter, you make me proud. You are absolutely right. Except this time, I have no idea what to do to prevent this war or how to show them that they are being bigoted. The fear and hatred of vampires has lasted centuries, if not millennia. It is something that is so ingrained in the human condition that I doubt that it can be rectified. I am pleased that you see that they are our equals Harry. Perhaps with the two of us working together, we can stop this nonsense before it escalates too far."
Harry slowly shook his head. "I don't know if I'll be able to do that Headmaster."
Dumbledore's eyebrows pinched together in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Harry started to toy with the hems on his sleeves. He was looking down and not focusing on anything other than his own thoughts. He was pleased that at least Dumbledore did not agree with the negative propaganda. But that did not stop him from being concerned about where the conversation was now headed.
Slowly, he evened his breathing out so that he could continue, calmly. "Sir, how much do you know of the Potter line?"
Dumbledore sat back, clearly uncertain about where Harry was going with this line of questioning, but was willing to go along with it because it was clearly part of what was troubling the young man. "They are one of the oldest pureblood families. Most of the Potters have been in Gryffindor with one or two in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. They are one of the few pureblooded families that has avoided too much inbreeding, despite their age. Other than that, I don't know too much more."
Harry nodded again. "That is about all that anyone knows sir. But there is a reason that inbreeding has been kept to such a minimum. The Potters have a tendency to marry other beings and have done so for the last one thousand years. More specifically, the only other type of being that the Potters have married have been vampires."
Dumbledore leaned forward again, "Harry, what are you getting at?"
Harry gazed steadily at the Headmaster, he was determined to get through the rest of the conversation. "We have bred so much and so often with vampires, that many of us have become vampires. My grandfather did not have enough magic to complete the change and he remained human. My father, however, turned at the age of ten. My mother and father were so magically gifted that I was born a vampire."
The office was silent. He had finally said it. Now, his future resided in the hands of another. He trusted Dumbledore; but it was far easier to trust a man who had already sworn a Wizarding Oath to keep your secrets until their death.
Dumbledore softly spoke, "Harry, would you let me see your true face?"
He was momentarily stunned by this tacit request. He had been prepared for many reactions, anything between calm acceptance to calling in the Aurors. However, he had not expected the Headmaster to want to see his vampiric form. "Um ... Okay."
Harry slid his glasses off of his face and tucked them into his pocket. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of wanting to hide and let it disappear. Slowly reopening his eyes, he was startled to see Dumbledore kneeling in front of him.
"Oh my dear boy, it never ceases for you, does it?" Dumbledore's aging hand made its way to touch Harry's cold, pale cheek. His soft blue eyes locked with Harry's shimmering, unnatural emerald eyes.
Harry's voice trembled, "Professor, I don't know what to do." As he spoke, small white fangs could be seen.
Dumbledore placed his hands on Harry's knees. Harry could not restrain himself any longer. All of the problems that had been building came pouring out of his mouth. "I can't believe it. After all that's happened, they pass this stupid law. Now, I'm running from my friends and they don't even know it. I can't ever remember being afraid of Ron and Hermione; but now I fear for my life every time we go to class. All of the hateful things people are saying is making it hard for me to keep my mask. People are practicing the Sunlight Charm in the hallways. I've had to boost how often I take the Shade of Night potion just to make sure that I don't get a suspicious sunburn from being shot by a poorly aimed spell. Ron keeps bragging about being a Hunter and how he'll make sure that 'all of those creatures are nothing more than dust'. And now these wards. I asked Bill about how they worked. Apparently, if I'm still in the castle when they go up, chances are that I'll explode from the sheer amount of magical backlash."
Tears were streaming down Harry's cold cheeks as he vented all of the problems that had come from this latest Ministerial Decree.
"Oh my poor boy." Dumbledore's hands enveloped him a warm embrace as Harry wept at the injustice he was facing. He merely held the young vampire until his muffled sobs quieted and was calm enough to continue. Harry sat back in his chair.
"I think I have the answer to your most pressing problem at least." Dumbledore rose from his knees and started searching through his desk drawers. "Ah, here we go." He pulled his hand out from the back of the desk drawer and held it up for Harry to see.
It was a necklace with a small onyx pendant. It was clearly muggle in origin. The necklace itself was made of a black thick twine. The onyx had several fake silver pieces surrounding it and connecting it to the twine. All together, it looked like it may have only cost a few pounds in an accessory store. "We will charm this necklace to key you into the wards. As I am sure you are aware, you cannot take this off for any reason, not even to shower."
Dumbledore casually waved his wand over the necklace, before it glowed slightly blue. "There you go now; the most pressing problem is solved."
Harry took the necklace and quickly clasped it around his neck. He instantly felt more secure and gave the Headmaster a thankful grin.
"Now, there is nothing I can do about Mr. Weasley or these changes in the curriculum. I can guarantee you that these lessons will be done at the end of the week and classes will go back to normal. However, I must warn you that the Hunter training program will be taking place in the Defense classroom. I will continue trying to get these laws repealed. But you are right, if you say too much, it would bring too much suspicion on you."
Dumbledore grew silent as he contemplated the young vampire in front of him. "Harry, you have managed to deceive everyone, including me, for seven years. I am confident that you will be fine for the remainder of the year. I highly doubt that anyone would expect the Hero of the Light to be a vampire. As long as you are careful and do not noticeably change your habits, you should be fine."
Harry nodded. "Sir, what am I to do about the powder? I highly doubt Ron will be able to control himself when he first gets it. He tends to show off when he gets new things and this will be no exception."
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his forehead with one wrinkled hand. "I believe that is a bridge we will have to cross when we get there. It will take some time before the trainees are giving their own bags of Revealing Powder. I will make sure to tell them that it is so expensive and rare that it must be reserved for situations when they truly believe that they are faced with a Magical Vampire. Hopefully that will keep Mr. Weasley from tossing it about in the Common Room."
Harry grimaced. It was better than nothing, but the odds were that Ron would still feel the need to show Hermione and him and some point. Hopefully, that would just involve opening the bag and seeing the contents.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, concern clearly etched into with weathered face.
"No Headmaster. I will stop by the kitchens for my dinner and then go back to Gryffindor. Would you mind writing me a note so that everyone knows where I was this evening?"
"Of course my boy."
Harry was handed a note in neat, swirling letters and quickly tucked it into his pocket. Feeling his glasses, he pulled them out and fingered them gently. Letting the familiar slide of his vampiric-style glamour slide over him, he gracefully set his glasses on his nose. With that, all traces of the young vampire were gone and Harry Potter was once more the capable Hero of the Wizarding World.
"Thank you Headmaster. Have a good evening." With that, Harry slid into the darkened corridor and made his way to the kitchens and the ever-happy-to-please House Elves.
A/N: Finally, someone is on Harry's side in this whole mess. Of course, since I gave him the most powerful player on the board … Well, I can't make this too easy on Harry, now can I? See you next time.
