Chapter 4; A Sirius conversation.

Chapter 57; Reviving the dead.

It should be noted that any and all interferences with natural deaths should be avoided. A natural death is simply the soul's way of saying it is ready to begin the next phase of its life and delaying or even reversing this process can have serious side effects on the soul in question.

Dementia, Depression, Displays of unnatural or unprovoked aggression, and Suicidal tendencies are just a few of the many possible side effects of interfering with a natural death.

However, many forms of unnatural death can be altered or reversed without any side effects. These deaths are usually, unless by sheer coincidence, before the soul is ready to move on. Because of this, they can be quickly and easily revived... Provided you allow it, of course.

Step one; Determining the souls 'lifespan'; Should you find yourself in a situation where you'd like to revive a recently, or not so recently deceased person. The first thing you must do is determine how much time the person could have been expected to live naturally. In your natural form, this is as simple as looking at the person in question. Your domain over the dead will allow you to instinctively understand the mortal soul and predict its lifespan.

However, your M.S will, at first, hinder your ability to sense souls. Because of this, a timepiece is necessary for determining a souls remaining time; Simply Place the timepiece on the deceased's chest, just below the heart, then place one hand above their heart and the other on top of their scalp. This allows your power to temporarily function as a soul anchor and cause the body to return to life.

Now comes the slightly more difficult part.

Step two; returning the soul; Congratulations, you've successfully brought a body back to life... But without a soul to control it, it might as well have remained dead. So now, you must find the soul inside 'The Gray' and pull them back into their, or a replacement, body.

Again, while this is much easier in your natural form. It can be done in your M.S, as well.

In your natural form, it's as simple as placing a hand on the crown of the deceased's head and will their soul to return.

Though in your M.S it can be a little more difficult, it is still a fairly easy thing to accomplish; While keeping your hands in position, simply focus on the deceased and imagine pulling their soul, this is important, back into their body. Be careful not to lose concentration during this process and accidentally grab the wrong soul.

While it is an easy fix. It can be fairly annoying depending on the soul.

You have been warned.

Continue reading in the next chapter for information on how to do this.

Continued in Chapter 58; Replacing a soul

James, Lily, and one of their closest friends and allies; Sirius Black were standing in the kitchen of number 12, Grimmauld place. Lily was in the process of making breakfast for the three of them, so she was constantly walking back and forth across the room. While James and Sirius had resolved to stay out of the angry red-heads way and had relegated themselves to a small corner of the room.

Every few seconds or so, James and Sirius would hear Lily utter a curse under her breath. One particularly nasty curse had sent the two much larger men scurrying away from her after she described how she wanted to string a certain rat up by his 'dangly bits'... James honestly felt bad for their (ex)friend if Lily got her hands on him.

"Are you sure about this, Sirius?" James whispered.

Sirius groaned and glanced at his best friend. "For the tenth time, I know what I saw, James. Pettigrew was there."

James leaned against the wall and sighed. "I know... It's just so hard to believe. Why would Peter do this? Was he tortured? Did he seem wounded in any way to you?"

"Not that I could see. Though we both know that doesn't mean he wasn't tortured." Sirius replied. The normally obnoxiously cheerful man was, for once, incredibly somber at the thought of his friend being tortured... But you don't get raised in a house like the Blacks without a healthy dose of paranoia and suspicion towards everyone. Sirius had always believed something wasn't right with Peter; The way he looked at Lily when he thought no one was watching, how he would talk about his friends behind their backs, and more recently, how he was always anxious whenever he was around little Eliza. Unlike the ever-optimistic James, Sirius had noticed these things and they were the reason for his most recent fight with the rat.

After being woken up in the middle of the night to an alarm blaring and realizing it was coming from a small model house Lily had given him. He figured something must have happened to the Potters, so he jumped out of bed and raced over to Godric's Hollow in little more than his bathrobe and a pair of slippers. When he arrived at the Potter residence, he immediately noticed the still smoking house and his friend Peter standing just outside the front door.

Sirius ran up to Peter and grabbed the Rat's shoulder.

"Peter, what's happened!" Sirius yelled. His only reply was a sudden punch to the jaw and Peter fleeing the scene.

In another time and universe, this would have been the moment Sirius raced after a fleeing Peter Pettigrew. However, this time, he was stopped by the sound of Lily's voice as the three Potters exited the house. After a brief conversation in which they assured him they were fine and would tell him everything in the morning, the four of them returned to Grimmauld place.

Which is why the three of them now sat around a small table in the kitchen as James told them both about what happened and his interactions with 'The Pale Man' over breakfast... They weren't taking it as well as he hoped.

Lily was staring at her plate in silence. She hadn't said a word since James revealed to her that she had, in fact, died protecting their daughter. While she understood that magic could do almost anything and that she clearly didn't know every aspect of it. She was sure that reviving the dead wasn't something just anyone could do and if what she'd learned in Hogwarts was true. Magic involving the dead was usually an aspect of dark magic and right now, she honestly wasn't sure how to process that information.

Sirius was seriously pissed. Not at the fact that his friends were alive, oh no, for that he was extremely grateful to this 'Pale man' as James had called him. But he was angry at several people for their parts in the Potter's deaths; He was angry at Dumbledore for not setting up more powerful wards and suggesting the Fidelus Charm in the first place. He was angry at You-know-who for targeting and killing them. He was furious with Peter and while James still hoped that Peter was forced to give them up. Sirius wasn't so forgiving and was already planning the Rat's downfall. But the person Sirius was most angry with... Was himself. He wasn't there when they needed him. He failed in his duty to protect his brother in all but blood and Lily... and he hated himself for it.

A sudden knock at the door halted Sirius' response to James' 'revelation' and the three of them moved to answer the door with wands drawn.

"On three." James whispered.

Sirius and Lily nodded, then got into position on either side of the door.

James opened the door and peeked out to see an unruly mess of dark hair and startling green eyes.

"Morning." The pale man smiled.

James slammed the door in surprise and turned to Lily.

"It's him!"

Lily was understandably confused at his statement and asked. "Who, James? Who is it?"

"The pale man!"

Sirius and Lily's eyes widened in surprise, then Lily pushed James out of the way and yanked the door open. What she saw standing on the other side of the door caused her to take a step back as she locked eyes with the man.

He was tall, taller than even James who was nearly six feet tall. He had an unruly mess of dark hair that looked as if it hadn't been properly combed in over a year and the most breathtakingly green eyes she'd ever seen.

"Good morning... Are you going to slam the door in my face too?"

Lily blinked at the musical tone of his voice, then his words registered.

"Of course not! I'm so sorry about my husband. He can be a bit... Slow, sometimes."

"Hey!" James protested. But a quick glare from Lily caused him to clamp down on his next words.

Lily noticed the pale man's face look almost sad for the briefest of moments before it was replaced with an easy smile.

"I apologize for bothering you so early in the morning. But may I come in?"

"Yes. I mean, of course!" Lily stepped away from the door and beckoned him in.

"I just finished making breakfast if you'd like some?" She asked as she led him into the kitchen where James and Sirius where already waiting for them.

"No thank you I... I've already eaten this morning."

"Well, let me know if you change your mind."

He nodded in response, then sat down in the chair she'd pointed out for him to take.

The pale man looked between Sirius and James' almost comically attempt to suppress their questions and said, "I'm guessing you have a few questions for me?"

James and Sirius jumped at the chance and began rambling off any questions that popped into their heads. And would have overwhelmed him with questions had Lily not smacked them on the back of their heads and apologized on their behalf.

"It's quite alright." The pale man laughed.

James, as if just remembering something, jumped to his feet and dropped to his knees in front of the pale man.

"I know this is late... But... Thank you. Thank you for saving my family when I couldn't... I owe you more than I can ever possibly repay."

James felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see the pale man awkwardly smiling at him. "You're welcome."

Lily put her hand on the pale man's shoulder and whole-heartedly agreed with her husband.

The two of them returned to their seats and then patiently waited for the pale man to start speaking.

"Well... Um... My name is Harry." he paused, "Just Harry. And I guess I should just get this out of the way. I'm a vampire."

Their eyes simultaneously widened.

"Bullshit." Sirius replied.

"Sirius!" Lily yelled.

"What!? I don't know why he's lying, but its daylight outside. Vampires can't survive going outside during the day!"

While Sirius and Lily started arguing. James and Harry just looked at each other and simultaneously sighed.

"Will this prove it?" Harry asked as he opened his mouth to reveal a set of perfect teeth... That suddenly shifted into something you'd normally expect to see on a shark.

"Oh Shit!' Sirius fell backward out of his chair in surprise, then quickly climbed to his feet and pointed his wand at Harry.

Harry's teeth returned to normal and he closed his mouth.

"Sirius put it down."

"But James, it's a-"

"Sirius!" James barked. The normally laid-back James was gone and James Potter; Lord of the most ancient house of Potter was present "Regardless of what he is. It doesn't change who he is. He saved our lives and the life of our daughter, and I will Not have you threaten him."

Sirius opened and closed his mouth a few times as if he were going to say something, but he eventually sighed and sat back down. "You're right. I apologize for my outburst."

Harry nodded. "It's an understandable reaction, so no harm was done."

"Thank you."

A few moments passed before Harry resumed speaking.

"As I was saying. I am a vampire, but not a normal one."

"You mean you're some kind of new type of vampire?"

"Not 'new', exactly. More like... Extremely uncommon. I'm what's known as a Mystic Vampire."

While James and Lily didn't understand the difference and stated as much. Sirius did understand what Harry was saying.

"You kept your magic?" Sirius breathed.

"... Something like that." Harry admitted.

"How?" Sirius replied.

"Now, that is a story for another time."

Although Sirius was dissatisfied with Harry's response. He simply nodded his head and motioned for him to continue.

"Speaking of which. I can't explain most of what I did last night, at this time." Harry admitted with a sheepish grin. "However, I can tell you what I know of the situation; Voldemort-" Cue group flinch," Is dead. He was dead before I arrived. "And your daughter has some dark magic in the scar on her forehead."

"How did you know about the scar?" James asked, even as Lily was getting up to go check on Liz.

"I can smell it." Harry replied while tapping his nose for emphasis.

"You... Smell dark magic?" Sirius skeptically asked.

"Not exactly. I smell this particular brand of dark magic because it reeks of death."

"What!?" Lily screamed from the doorway. She was holding a still napping Liz tightly to her chest and her outburst had woken the toddler up.

"Shh, It's okay. Mum's sorry, she didn't mean to wake you." Lily whispered into Liz's ear as she returned to her seat.

"Unfortunately, yes. I recommend getting it checked out by a curse-breaker as soon as possible."

"Oh, we'll be doing much more than that." Lily said under her breath. Though Harry still heard her and smiled in response.

Another knock at the front door interrupted whatever else Harry was going to say and he stood up.

"It looks like my time is up." He announced.

"What is it?" Lily replied in alarm.

"Nothing important. Though I'd prefer it if no one else knew I stopped by... Or really anything about me." Harry replied.

"Will we see you again?" She asked.

"I'll certainly stop by from time to time."

Another knock at the door caused James, Sirius, and Lily to look towards the door and when they looked back the only thing to show that Harry had been there, was a golden pocket watch hanging off the back of his chair...