Leaving it all behind

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter except a copy of the books. No, the honour belongs to Ms JK Rowling. Nor do I own the game series of Final Fantasy. Squaresoft does, less I be mistaken. I don't own Lord of the Rings, where ideas and names have been used, Tolkien owns that. Other elements have been taken from the Indian religion, I'm not bashing or anything (I am Indian!) but I'm using knowledge that's available to me.

Summary: Harry knew about the horcruxes when he is faced with betrayal. Fleeing, he enters a new school. If he has to die then he will drag the SOB Voldemort with him. Facing death, Harry leaves it all behind. HPxOMC AU!4567!

Inspiration: Go read Bloody Skies by Toki Mirage. It is simply brilliant! And Miranda Flairgold! Geniuses I tell thee! I bow to them and Ms Rowling! Some magic is inspired by the Final Fantasy games.

Note 1: I'm losing my mind trying to write this story. I know it's similar to Toki Mirage's Bloody Skies. It's my basis of inspiration but I like to think there are different in various elements. My Harry is dying. I know the school sounds the same but Shikaan is Japanese (?) and Shakti is Sanskrit (Indian). I'm merely using my personal knowledge to my advantage. You will see the story will diverge from the similar line of Bloody Skies from this chapter onwards...

Beta-d by skyflyte12 :)

Love her for the lack of typos and for bearing my rants...

~0~0~0~

Chapter 3

"The greatest power that a person can possess is the power to choose."

- J. Martin Kobe.

~0~0~0~

Salus was surprised when he entered the classroom for Summoning. He was usually one of the first students present. This time he was the last. He said nothing as he walked to the only free desk in the first row. The seating arrangement had not changed from the first day, but the soft chatter had died down when he entered the room. At that, Salus rolled his eyes. Some things never change.

"Morning," Salus said quietly as he dropped his bag onto the desk. He was unsure of what he would need for a practical lesson so he brought his usual bag and notebook. The bag itself had a potions compartment and was charmed weightless, and obviously also charmed to hold much more than what a normal bag would.

"Morning," came the general reply. Salus took his seat and stifled a yawn. The staring had started up, again. The silence that followed was oppressive and Salus eyed the empty teacher's desk. Vaan wasn't in the class which was unusual in and of itself as well. But the stares didn't stop.

"You know," Salus said to the four other students, not looking up from digging around in his bag, "you should take picture; it would last longer."

The twins and Welms flinched back from that and looked away uncomfortably. The veela snorted. Salus finally found the gum he'd been looking for and popped one piece in his mouth. Frowning, he pushed his hair behind his ears. The long hair idea had not been so brilliant in hindsight as it was annoying and got in his way a lot. The bandana kept it out of his face, but it kept spilling over his shoulders. 'Maybe I should just tie it back?' he wondered.

"How very muggle of you," Siene said dryly as she met his gaze.

Salus shrugged and replied with a simple, "Halfblood."

"But," one of the Druien's said, "The question remains. What is a human doing at Shakti and how did you get in?"

Salus snorted, "I applied. I got tested. I was accepted." And he stared at them, daring them to say something.

"And, how does a human gain the favour of a seer?" Fillia Welms asked snidely. From what Salus had been able to pick up, she was a werecat-earth sprite hybrid. Anya had laughed her ass off when she heard they were in the same class and begged Salus to 'hit the bitch at any chance you get.'

Apparently Welms had been commissioned by her two clans to gain Anya's favour and ended pissing her off more than anything else. She acted nice but was really a 'stone-hearted, backstabbing bitch'. Not his words. Well, the apparent dislike she held for him proved that fact. First she was nice and then she's ice cold. Salus sighed. 'Women.'

"Anya showed me around when I first got here and decided that she wanted to spend time with a human," Salus replied with a half truth. Like hell he was going to say 'because she wants to see the chaos I will cause'; he wasn't suicidal, thank you very much.

The elves sneered at that. Seine looked at him weirdly but said nothing.

"I would watch your back," the younger twin, Elkric said after a few moments. Salus looked confused. The elves never offered to interact before. It was like they held themselves above the other races.

"Why?" he asked, "Apart from being in Shakti."

Elkric gave him a levelled look, "People assumed you were a hybrid. News is spreading that you're human and a powerful one. Excelling in all the classes just added fuel to the fire. You're basically a 7th year apart form your electives and a few subjects. Someone might decide to see how far the protection the Seer is giving you extends."

Salus froze. "Thanks," he said belatedly as his brain caught up with what was being said. 'No one figured out I was human?' he pondered, 'Well, I don't look human and I don't have a scent anymore, so it is possible. The ones I see with purple and blue hair are sprites or hybrids...'

Vaan decided at that moment to walk in. He was dressed in Chinese styled robes today. Salus raised an eyebrow at the change from his usual dress slacks and poet shirt, but said nothing. It was rather formal today. But who was he to question his eccentric teacher's dress sense?

"Morning class, I do believe that we have a practical today," he said with a small smile. Purple eyes flashed as he looked at each of them. "Well, stand up. Move the desks and we shall begin. We will start with the basics elements of Materia: Fire, Water, Thunder, Blizzard. After that, you may try your hand at the curative status magics. Prove to me you can cast and control all of the Materia at base level and you are dismissed form all practical lessons until further notice."

They stood up and picked up their things. With a wave of his hand, Vaan banished the tables and chairs to who knows where. Salus sighed. He could cast most of his defensive spells and offensive spells wandlessly, but he was lacking in the 'general' magic area. Internally he winced at the amount of extra work he would need to do just to survive Shakti, especially if there were rumours going around about him.

"Who wants to go first?" the professor asked, eyes blank and a small smile on his lips. Salus regarded the vampire's mask. It was skilful, but then again being alive for centuries would no doubt allow one to perfect things. But Vaan Alcander was an enigma, even to Anya who just shrugged whenever he asked about him. He was pretty old and yet did not get involved with the politics of the Vampire Realm. He didn't even belong to a clan, and yet he had quite the reservoir of power and skill. He was a High Master Summoner, one of twenty in all the realms. No vampire crossed him at the school, or so the rumour went. He was reserved and emotionless; hidden behind his mask. Salus would be lying if he said the vampire didn't intrigue him. It was like a half solved puzzle begging to be finished. And Salus knew that curiosity killed the cat. 'Then again,' he mused, 'I may have nine lives… wonder how many I have left by now if that was the case…'

In the end, the twins went first. Watching closely, Salus tried to understand the difference in casting normal magic and Materia. In truth, he could see nothing. The twins quickly went through everything and were exempted from further practicals. Salus winced as Seine was also exempted after her display of skill.

Welms finished with a smirk. She looked at her professor expectantly. Vaan looked at her and nodded, almost sagely, Salus mused. "Miss Welms, you're exempt from practicals until further notice. You may leave."

She nodded and picked up her bag as she walked towards the door. Passing Salus she paused, "Good luck Moriens. It usually takes half a year for someone to learn the basic elements of Materia." With one last smirk, she left, closing the door behind her. Salus didn't react on the outside, but internally he groaned.

Salus turned and walked towards his professor. Vaan was standing near the middle of the empty room, facing the back wall. The wall was covered in a black substance and didn't show any signs of spell damage.

"Mr Moriens," Vaan called in his soft voice. Salus blushed lightly and looked away from the wall. He turned his gaze to his professor. The man, er, vampire gave him a small smile. "The theory we covered in class will now come into practice. Materia, even base levels, needs a starting point. The concept of casting it is not very different, Mr Moriens, to when you cast a spell. Though, instead of drawing on your natural magic, you are going to be drawing on a different source."

Salus nodded as his mind went to when he 'Summoned' Shiva. The Magical Summoning Power. His MSP. It felt different, yet the same, when he used it. "I have to use MSP, professor?"

Vaan nodded. "You have to draw on it and shape it to what you wish to cast. Usually, a beginner will use Materia stones to get the basis of forming the spell." The vampire walked to his desk and rummaged around in his drawer. He found what he was looking for and walked back to Salus, and offered him a glowing red orb.

Salus stared. They had covered Materia stones. But those stones were heavily monitored and could only be created by a Master Summoner. Salus looked lost for a moment before slowly taking the orb. It flared brightly in his hand and Salus could feel his magic reaching out to it, curious.

Vaan watched with thinly veiled interest as his human student examined the stone. The boy had an unusual talent for Summoning and it seemed that he was favoured by the Aeons. He had never seen something like this before, never in all his years as a Master Summoner. All one thousand of them.

Salus 'felt' his magic poke and prod the fist sized orb that he held. The power was exhilarating, and it felt almost like he was holding solid fire as it burned in his grip. Then, abruptly, the Salus felt his magic retreat. The orb had stopped glowing. Salus looked at his professor for instructions.

"Cast the spell using the orb as a conduct. It will give you a certain feeling of how to do it." Vaan explained patiently. Though Salus could see the curiosity in his gaze. "You can try casting the Fire Materia by yourself after you have mastered the Materia Stone."

Salus nodded and raised the hand with the orb. Internally he withdrew to his magic, searching out the MSP he had. Again, MSP was like Death Magic; once used it grows. Salus frowned as he shifted through his magic. He could feel that his magic was 'alive' in a sense, due to its instinctual nature. Then, there was a patch of his magic that was grounded but untameable, which Salus had concluded was his 'Wild' magic. But he couldn't find his MSP. There was no trace of it.

Salus bit back a growl as he frowned. "Mr Moriens? What's the matter?" his professor asked, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"I can't find my MSP," Salus reluctantly said. Most of the professors at Shakti didn't care if their students got themselves killed, as long as they didn't make a mess. There were these interesting rumours of a student that blew themselves up and made a mess. Faeli apparently resurrected the guy and made him clean it up, before killing him again.

"Mr Moriens, why don't you do just what you did before?" came the patient instructions, Salus frowned, 'Before?' Then it clicked. 'Right, the tests. But I just used my normal magic for that...' Biting his lip, Salus sent a tendril of his magic through the orb. The dull red turned crimson before heating. Salus' eyes shot open as he felt the build up of magic. Instinct kicked in and he threw the orb at the wall.

Well, he tried too at least. The orb exploded a foot from his hand and Salus was thrown backwards. He would have been burnt from the intense heat if he had not wandlessly cast a generalised shield spell seconds before the explosion. The shield collapsed after the explosion and Salus groaned as he sat up.

His magic was already tingling across his skin, healing any minor burns that he had. Salus had to sigh as he took in the rather large scorch mark on the floor and ceiling. The orb itself lay innocently on the floor against the wall. Salus scowled.

"Impressive, Mr Moriens. You managed to get a reaction on your first try," Vaan said as he dusted off his robes. Salus winced as he looked at his professor, praying that he did not damage the vampire's robes. He really didn't need to be killed by his teacher. But Vaan seemed fine, as did the intricate black and gold Chinese robes. Salus sighed as he stood.

"Sorry about that Professor," he said, blushing. Salus sighed again as he looked at the scorch marks. He pulled out his dominant wand and waved it, cleaning up the classroom. It was the least he could do for almost blowing them up. He had overpowered the Stone; which in itself was an amplifier.

Salus froze again as he heard a deep rumbling chuckle. He turned around to stare wide eyed at his teacher who was laughing lightly at him. Vaan chuckled as he walked towards his student. Wandlessly, he summoned the orb to him as he regarded his student. He almost never played favourites, but this one had potential.

"Mr Moriens," came the amused voice as he watched his dumbstruck student. "Do you have the form of the Fire Materia?"

Salus nodded slowly as he thought about it. He knew how the Materia felt as it was cast and how his magic formed the fire...

Vaan nodded as he pocketed the Materia Stone. "And am I correct to say that you used your normal magic?"

Salus nodded, slightly shocked at how the vampire knew. His professor nodded as he looked thoughtful, "It seems that due to the highly unusual nature of your magic, it's gained the basis of MSP in its adaptation. You over-powered the Materia due to your control and amount of normal magic."

It took a moment for Salus to understand what he just said. Thankfully, he had a lot of practice translating 'smart talk' into 'normal talk' due to his old friendship with Hermione. Salus scowled at the thought and pushed it out of his mind. It was not his fault she was a knowledge hungry backstabber...

"So," Salus said slowly, "my magic holds elements of MSP in its natural form. And because I have a lot of natural magic, I used too much in casting the Fire spell?"

Vaan looked amused, yet again and he nodded, "Exactly, Mr Moriens. You are indeed a curious case. I suspect that you will be able to cast the Fire Materia even without the stone. Your Instinctive magic gives you quite a large advantage."

Salus looked startled for all of two seconds before his face morphed into one of determination. He looked at the wall and raised his hand slowly. He pulled a thin string of power and channelled it to his palm, like he would do for wandless magic.

From his memory, Salus pulled on the feeling of the Fire Materia; the wild, passionate form as his magic twisted to match his mind. His hand glowed a soft red before he forced the magic from it. The fire exploded out from his hand, causing Salus to yelp at the burn, but the stream of fire licked at the wall five feet away. Salus cut the string of magic, making the fire die away.

Wincing, he channelled his magic to the burn and let it heal him. His skin was left pink, raw and sensitive. Sighing, he summoned the burn salve from his bag. He had to let out a pained hiss as he applied it.

"Close," Vaan said, unperturbed by the injury his student had gotten, "Again. It seems that these will be individual lessons until you master the Materia at base level."

Salus bit back a groan. He had to have individual lessons because everyone else had already mastered the base levels. "Professor," Salus asked, trying to buy some time for the salve to actually work before he blew off his hand, again. "What are the other levels of Materia? The textbooks vaguely talk about the four levels but I can't find any exact information on them."

Violet eyes stared at his student before his lips quirked and he answered, but his tone belied the fact he knew what Salus was doing, "That's next week's lesson but I'll tell you. There are four levels: base, intermediate, high and adept. Generally the Materia evolve in power as you go on to higher in levels. For example, you get the Fire Materia which is the base. Fira is the intermediate. Firaga is the high. Adept spells are for the non-elemental Materia, such as Holy and Flare. These are of the highest level for Materia and the hardest to control. They may not be of an element but they tend to do the most damage."

Salus nodded and banished the salve to his bag. He got ready to cast the spell again and hopefully not lose any fingers in the process.

Salus frowned as he concentrated his magic, pooling it at his finger tips. He started to shape the Fire Materia and his magic followed his lead and shaped accordingly. Salus felt his magic shift of its own accord, changing the format of the Fire and cutting off the link to his core. The magic stayed in his hand, almost forming an orb of magic as his hand glowed crimson. The shape stay locked in place and Salus forced it away from him.

He watched in awe as a perfect Fire Materia emerged from his hand, grazing the wall in licks of flames. His jaw dropped subtly. But unknown to him, Vaan was just as startled. It usually took a few weeks to grasp each Materia but this human did within his first few tries.

'Just how much of an advantage does his instinctual magic give him?' Vaan wondered to himself as he watched his student compose himself.

Salus turned to his professor with a small grin playing on his lips. Vaan nodded with a smirk on his lips.

"Well, you have Fire down. Only Blizzard, Thunder, Water and the curative Materia left."

Salus stared at his teacher. He had to cover all of that in one lesson?

"Cast each of them from the Stones and get a feel for the form. If you don't perfect all of them today you must do so in your own time for next week's lesson," Professor Alcander said with a straight face.

Salus sighed but said nothing. He valued his life, thank you very much.

~0~0~0~

Albus Dumbledore felt old, for the first time in a long time. This would be the third war he would fight in and a part of him hated humanity for not being able to keep the peace.

'But it's the fault of the Dark Lords like Voldemort,' he thought grimly to himself. He was sitting in his office, as the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and pondered what the next move would be.

Voldemort had rescued his last horcrux before the Order could retrieve it. Albus knew the man could not risk creating more as his soul was so fractured; any more breakages would result in the loss of his magic. And magic was the one thing that the Dark Lord valued even over an immortal life.

The number of attacks was growing steadily daily. The fear was seeping into the people, and panic would set in soon. The political scene was a mess and it seemed that he was at the Ministry everyday trying to keep the calm and order. Fudge had been ousted with Bones put in as Interim Minister. There would be a vote, but the candidates weren't looking too good. Lucius Malfoy was running, along with several other suspected Death Eaters. The Light's best hope was Rufus Scrimgeour.

But at least preparations were underway. Aurors were put into fast tracked training, as were the Unspeakables, and recruitment for both groups was at an all time high. Even in Hogwarts, the lessons were more defence orientated, especially with Severus Snape at the helm of DADA.

But the Death Eaters were everywhere, in every section of society. They were far too spread out and there was a lack of evidence to arrest the masses of them. And the Order was struggling. Information was scarce and it was near impossible to stop the attacks. It seemed that all they could do was play a passive role at the moment.

But the people were losing hope since the betrayal of their Saviour. Albus sighed. He knew that they had to kill the boy to save their world, and as wrong as that was it was the only way he saw Britain surviving. The prophecy spoke of the 'neither can live while the other survives.' Harry could not live with the horcrux in him; he would have to spend every moment on guard in case of a possession attempt.

But the boy ran. He somehow over-powered the ritual and ran. He left them to their destruction and a small part of Albus understood his feelings. But it was all for the greater good. Sometimes, one could not be selfish, as much as they wished to be.

But it was Harry's new found power that bothered him. Where did it all come from? Was Harry tapping into Voldemort's magic? Did the ritual even work? And where was Harry?

The manhunt for Harry Potter was all over Britain and spreading to Europe. Albus himself had Order members scouring the globe in search of the boy. There was no wand to track and all the tracking spells that had been attached to him were gone. Even the illegal blood magic did not work. The threat had to be eliminated to save their world. Why did Harry not understand this? Was he willing to let the thousands of innocent people, innocent children, die?

Albus sighed as he sucked on a lemon drop, head in his hands. It was late, well into the early morning, but it seemed that his work was just never done. They needed to find Harry Potter, before he condemned them all.

Before he condemns us like we did to him...

~0~0~0~

"Why?" the soft voice asked, pleaded; "Why my baby?"

"I asked you to watch over him if anything happened to me!" the man's angry voice shouted.

"Did we mean nothing to you that you would throw our child away like that?" Came the sorrowful voice that had been once filled with laughter.

The voices, they echoed in the darkness that surrounded him. No matter how much he tried to stop them, to leave, he never could. Every night they tormented him. Sometimes they were angry, sometimes they were sad. Most of the time they were disappointed.

He groaned and shut his eyes. Gripping his hair, he crouched low, trying to curling up into a ball as he tried to block out the voices. But they went on and on.

"My son, my heir!"

"He was my life!"

"How could you?"

"How could you?"

"How could you!"

"We trusted you!"

He whimpered at the words, eyes firmly shut. He was scared to open them, just in case those he thought of as family were standing in front of him. He couldn't face them, not after what happened.

"Well, you can be sure that I will be very interested in what Sirius and my parents think of you for doing this, Lupin." Came the broken, rasping voice.

Remus shot upright in his bed as he tried to dispel the memory of the recurring nightmare. It was always the same. Lily, James and Sirius was always there and in horror of what he did.

Weary amber eyes looked tiredly around his room. His house had been a gift from the three, as a birthday present and so that no matter what the Ministry did, he would always have a home. The house itself was a Potter home but he was the keeper.

A lodge hidden in the forests of Wales; a well furnished, comfortable home. It even had a werewolf-proof room in the basement for full moons. And yet, looking at the room swathed in greens and browns, Remus found himself flinching.

He had betrayed his friends. Once when the first war was happening and he drifted away. The second time was when Sirius was imprisoned in Azkaban. And again, when Lily and James died and Harry was sent to the Dursleys. He knew how Petunia was but he didn't go to Harry. And now, he had betrayed Harry directly.

He was tired. A soul-weary exhaustion seeped through his bones. In his dreams he pleaded his explanations, his reasons and defences against the behaviour. But they always shot them down, found the flaws in the plan he always knew were there.

Harry had been right; they had wanted to take the easy way out. Even if it meant killing him. And not for the first time, tears burned amber eyes.

And even now, a month later as the manhunt went on, Remus Lupin got on his knees by his bed and prayed. He prayed for forgiveness. He prayed for the Wizarding World. And he prayed for the little emerald-eyed boy who used to smile brighter than the sun. For his brother's child.

He prayed that Harry was okay. That he was alive and safe.

Because that was all he could do.

~0~0~0~

Red eyes gleamed with malevolent glee, or as much as a Dark Lord could ever express as Voldemort sat on his throne in the Meeting Room. The war had taken a turn after the betrayal of the Boy-Who-Lived. At that, Voldemort had to snort. They expected the boy to allow them to kill him? The brat may be all for the Light but that was a bit much. After all, they were alot alike; he, Lord Voldemort, and Harry Potter, Golden Boy.

Both of them grew up with in the muggle world, and both were mistreated by their muggle caretakers. Except, Harry Potter was firmly under Dumbledore's thumb and willing to forgive those filthy muggles. Well, he was, right up until the old man made his final mistake, resulting in the loss of their 'Saviour'.

They tried to kill the boy, giving him enough time to secure his Horcrux. The Hufflepuff cup was now safely tucked away in a location only he knew of, and Harry Potter was disillusioned with the Light Side. The boy was on the run and his Death Eaters were searching for him, along with Dumbledore's Order and the Ministry. It was a race to find him, but Voldemort had to smirk at the last thought. He ignored the squeak of fear from Wormtail.

'They may find the brat first but he will join me. Why would he fight for them? Why should he when they tried to kill him? When they betrayed him and threw him away. With me, he can get his revenge on those that pretended to care!'

"My Lord?" a voice timidly asked as the figure in black grovelled on the floor in front of the dais upon which his throne rested. Voldemort was pulled from his musings to see the familiar figure of Severus Snape.

"What news do you bring about the Order, Snape?" Voldemort hissed. It seemed that Potter had basilisk venom in his blood from the Diary Horcrux incident in the boy's second year. The change in the blood structure affected the resurrection ritual and gave him more snake-like qualities. Not that Voldemort was complaining too much.

"They are focussing on either stopping the raids or finding Potter, my lord, but Dumbledore's forces are stretching thin," Snape replied smoothly. Voldemort nodded, his eyes firmly fixed upon his most slippery of servants. He knew full well that Snape was part of the ritual used on Harry Potter and that in and of itself spoke of the amount of trust that Dumbledore put in the man. That did not sit comfortably with him.

Just what did Snape do to ensure such trust? What information did he give up? Red eyes narrowed – or what did the man discover and tell? Voldemort did not know who told the old man about his Horcruxes.

"And the potion I asked for?"

"It's in the last stage of brewing. The longer it's left to stand before last ingredients the more potent it becomes. It will be ready by sunrise as the ingredients need to be added in the moonlight," Snape explained as he knelt.

Voldemort nodded, "Good. Dismissed."

Mentally, Snape checked his shields and let out sigh of relief. It seemed that the Dark Lord was preoccupied, and that never bode well for anyone. Bowing again, he made to move to the door. Dumbledore had to know that he was brewing a blood locator potion for Voldemort. The Dark Lord shared the same blood as Potter and it was likely to work in finding the brat.

The Potter brat was another headache that Snape did not want to go anywhere near. The son of the one woman he loved, who betrayed him and married the one man he hated more that anyone else in this world. The man that drove him to the Dark Lord's side. But the guilt ate away at him. Lily left because of what circumstances had dictated and he had gotten her killed.

And the small voice screamed at him that he, Severus Snape, had vowed to her that he would watch over her son. To keep him safe. Severus hated the very symbol of everything he had lost, of what he could never be or have. And he failed his vows to Lily Evans.

"Oh, and Snape," Voldemort all but purred as Snape stood by the door ready to slink out. Snape suppressed a wince at his carelessness.

Snape turned and bowed, "My Lord?"

"Crucio!"

From the large circular chamber, draped in thick black curtains and red candles, emitted the insane chuckles of the current Dark Lord of Britain, Lord Voldemort.

And like an omen from the Heavens that the wizards did not believe in, a cold wind swept through the country eliciting shivers of foreboding in the population.

~0~0~0~

Saturday at four in the afternoon, Salus found himself in the potions classroom with de Rez and Leon as they waited on their eccentric professor to show. Salus himself had arrived five minutes early to find Maxlene waiting there already. They had struck up a very stilted conversation about the coursework but Salus could see the interest that simmered in her eyes about his more 'peculiar abilities'. She was itching to ask but she knew better than to ask right out, especially at Shakti. It could get you killed.

Tor Leon had skidded into the room at exactly four, panting and clutching his bag. The two had stared at the bronze boy until he caught his breathe. He had laughed them off and leaned against one of the desks. The conversation had stopped then as they waited for the missing professor.

The minutes ticked by in awkward silence. Diverting his gaze, Salus opted to stare at the classroom. It was an average classroom; workstations and stools, artificial lighting and drab red stone walls. 'Well,' Salus mused to himself, 'anything is better than getting in a staring contest with those two.'

It was Tor who broke the silence, asking, "So where is Vinno?" Salus looked over at him and shrugged, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Maxlene shrug in response as well. But before the conversation could continue into dangerous waters, Tor's head turned towards the door. He cocked it to the side, as if he was listening to something. Maxlene also turned to look, prompting Salus to look at the door in reflex. Moments later, the voices could be heard.

The bickering voices reverberated off the walls and carried down the corridor towards the open classroom. The three stood waiting as they recognised the voice of Vinno, albeit sounding pissed off. Salus' eyebrows rose when he recognised the second voice as Litiso's.

"Oh, stuff it blondie! The one time I mess up a potion when you are present, the ONE time! And you never let it, Durga damn it, die!" Vinno's angry voice resounded, coming closer.

"Someone has to remind you that you aren't Kali's gift to us immortals," Came the dry reply. Salus' eyebrow rose further.

"Oh, but my dear Darian, if you would only realise and wake up to the truth," Vinno sighed as he walked through the door. Darian Litiso was right behind him, with an amused look on his face as he stepped through the door.

"Well," Vinno said as his grey-blue eyes caught sight of his students. His lips twisted into a grin and the maniacal light that entered the man's eyes scared Salus slightly. "If it isn't my newest slaves!"

Litiso snorted at that, "Please, they will have to stop you from destroying the new labs Xeroz built you. Kali knows why he did that considering how many times you have blown up your personal labs."

"No one wanted your uneducated opinion, house elf," Vinno turned around and snapped before turning back towards them with the same maniacal smile. The only sound in the room came from Litiso who was muttering fluently in a musical language while glaring at Vinno. The fae seemed unconcerned.

"Today, my minions, we will be working in the specialist labs preparing the potions needed by the Shakti Clinic. Professor Litiso will be here to lend a hand and as 'required' supervision. Personally, I think he's here to perv on me, but that may just be me."

A chocking sound came from Litiso and Salus had to suppress a snort. Though Leon didn't bother to hide the laugh and Maxlene hid behind a hand. Vinno waited for no one as he swept back out the door, leaving the three students plus teacher to follow him. The three reshouldered their bags and made for the door, Maxlene leading with an amused Leon.

Salus followed the pair as they trailed after Vinno, only to find Litiso falling into step beside him. Salus gave his Healing teacher a curious glance, and was met with a beautiful smile. The man was tall, easily six foot four, with long blond hair. His hair was braided into a long plait over his left shoulder that day. And he had clear green eyes, like cut jade stones, that seemed to smile to match his lips. Salus mentally hit himself.

'Stop checking him out!' he grumbled to himself mentally, thanking God for his occlumency skills. Again, as Salus pushed down his blush.

"Mr Moriens," his Elvin teacher said, his voice still carrying the musical quality of his native tongue, "I'm somewhat surprised to see you on his team of brewers."

Salus didn't know how the react to that. Was it an insult or a compliment? It sounded like an insult but do you react to one when it's your teacher who could kill you in a heart beat? It made his blood boil with fury at the thought of someone underestimating his skills. The skills he spent hours slaving under Salazar to attain.

"I had a competent tutor and Professor Vinno deemed my skills enough to be part of the team," Salus replied evenly, mask firmly in place. They descended down, taking the carved staircase. The school itself did not have the old charm of Hogwarts but it held the almost tangible feel of magic with an 'other-worldly beauty'. Something that transcended even immortal understanding, something divine. Shakti was, as Salus read, carved into the side of a copy of the Himalayas. The dimension fold created was a copy of Asia, and the size of it, hidden in the fold. The structure of the school was most comparative to a castle built with all the elegance of a palace.

The school was made of a blood-red coloured marble-like stone that came from the mountains that it was carved out off, called Jhangi stone. This was more common in the 'other realms' rather than the Human Realm as it held various magical properties, including magic retention. The school had been started by the Demons but expanded over time as other races joined and added to the school, namely the alumni.

"My apologies. I did not intend to insult your skill, Mr Moriens," Litiso said, amusement lacing his voice. "I was surprised to see you taking potions as a minor in your seventh year. I thought, with your talent, you would be doing a White or Red Mage path. I was surprised when Vinno informed me that you are doing the Warriors Path."

Salus had to stop and look at his teacher at that. Was it really that different for him to be doing the Warriors Path? He knew Shakti offered various core courses where specialisation into a specific field was then offered. The Warriors Path offered combat training. The White Mage path offered a career in healing while a Black Mage offered a magic-focused combat scenario. Red Mage was a mixture of the two and the Archaic Path offered a more runes and arithmetic careers like warding and specialised magics like wand making. Then, Shakti offered 'race'-specific courses that taught them things about their own race. Like a Veela Path, where they would be taught their magics, history ect... These were usually taken when the student was specialising.

"May I ask why?" Salus asked curiously as he started walking again. They had fallen further from his classmates but this didn't fool him into believing that they weren't listening in on his conversation with Litiso. As Anya had said; "Information is a war of its own at Shakti. The less you know of the enemy, the worse off you are."

Litiso chuckled and nodded, "I guess I don't see you as someone who would actively look for a fight." Salus could hear the unsaid question, 'you got yourself out of a war, so why are you training for it?'

"It was the course that covered the most basics that I knew and it's always a good thing to know how to defend yourself and family if or when the occasion arose." Salus replied, lacing the truth with a little white lie. Litiso inclined his head in agreement.

"It would be hypocritical of me not to understand your viewpoint, though I would like to give you some advice, Mr Moriens," he replied as Vinno opened the door to a basement room, and most likely, the specialist labs.

Salus kept walking, ignoring the curious gaze of his potion's professor as he waited for the advice.

"Even the most vicious of warriors can be Healers and save lives in another way than on the battlefield," Litiso said with a small smile on pale pink lips. Salus eyed his teacher, trying to understand what he was trying to say. A snort interrupted his musings as Vinno waited, holding the door for them to enter the room after Maxlene and Leon.

Salus nodded and entered the room, with the two professors following him. The room had only five workstations, each separated by glass walls to stop the potions from mixing. Otherwise, it looked just like the other labs, though he spotted a storeroom at the other end of the room.

"Well," Vinno said seriously as the three of them turned to listen to him, "this is the specialist lab. Apart form the specialising students, you three alone have complete access. I currently have four 7th year students studying for their Potions Major, two first year specialising students and three second year specialising students who will also be helping us now and then. If they are here when you are working, as I will not be with you all time, leave them alone and do not touch their work. They will be working with more volatile potions."

The three nodded in response and from his slack pockets, Vinno pulled folded pieces of papers. He handed one to de Rez and one to Leon. "The contracts to the terms agreed on. You will be paid in Zeons, forty per hour worked on the potion or research.' Maxlene read it through carefully and nodded and Leon also scrutinised the contract.

"Mr Moriens," Vinno turned to Salus as he held the last paper, "you contract is incomplete as you said you would need an oath from me, and in extension, the team, about some abilities. If you would please explain that. Professor Litiso, if you would step outside for a moment."

Litiso said nothing, despite probably knowing more about his abilities than Salus himself, and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Vinno touched a rune on the wall, pulling up the privacy shields and silencing spells. He then vowed not to reveal any of the abilities revealed to him by the one he knows as Salus Moriens. Maxlene and Tor followed his lead and vowed as he did. Then, blue-grey eyes stared at him expectantly. Salus had the urge to duck his head.

'But that would be seen as a sign of weakness here,' he thought with a sigh.

"Well," Salus said slowly as he licked his lips, "I have a small aptitude for wild magic." Vinno's eyebrows rose at that and glee started to spread across his face. "I'm also a parselmouth." Vinno's grin broadened. "My magic also has instinctual properties and tends to make any potions that use latent magic more potent."

At that Vinno looked like he would break out into a dance. Maxlene had a flat out shocked expression on her face, one that did not flatter it at all. Tor's jaw was in danger of being dislocated. Salus repressed the urge to shuffle his feet under the scrutiny.

"I have one other Parselmouth on my team and he will be joining us today to work on some potions. There are a few rarer potions that require a chant in parselmouth to make the potion more potent and more effective. My wild magic user started his Masters last year; it's good to have another," Vinno said, grin still on his face. He offered Salus the contract, which Salus read. Most of it was as long winded as some of Godric's texts and Rowena's explanations, but he was pretty sure that there was nothing malevolent in it. Even the term with his abilities were listed in the contract. Subtly, Salus checked the spell work on the contract and found only the spell to prevent changes and tampering. Signing it, he handed it back to his professor.

Clapping his hands, he switched topics, again, "Now, I think we need to have basic introductions to each other. We are on the same team, after all! I'll start!"

"Sinclair Vinno, when we are working on the team you may call me Sinclair or Sin. Don't call me Clair, ever. I'm way too old to reveal my age and I am a male Fae. I am single and still searching for appropriate potential mates. Potions Mastery under Potion Master Anelka. Favourite colour is yellow and favourite book is that human book, Sherlock Holmes."

The three stared at the fae. 'Some of that information was random.' There was silence and no one offered to follow his lead.

"I'll go next then," Leon said, "Tor Leon. You can call me Tor as my older brother is usually called Leon. I'm a werecat of the Solus clan from the Moon Realm. I'm doing the Black Mage Path with Were Skills, Runes and Arithmancy. I plan to become the first Black Magus in my clan, specialising in War tactics and Warding. Single, I guess, and my favourite colour is green."

Salus offered the guy a small smile. He seemed like a good guy but he was studying most of the Black magics which were deadly and only possible for those whose magics were naturally 'darker'. Then again, he was a were with mainly Earth Magic ties, and Luna Magic ties which were closer to the classification of 'dark' than 'light'.

"Salus Moriens. Salus is fine, I guess. I'm human from the Human Realm and I'm doing the Warriors Path with Summons, Death and Blood Magics. I'm not really sure what I'm going to specialise in. My favourite colour is blue."

That got a snort of amusement from Tor. Salus gave him a curious look. Tor rolled his eyes and gave Salus a pointed look as he said, "Dude, your hair!"

"Wait!," Maxlene said in a strange voice, "you human? A full-blooded human?"

Again, the déjà vu. Salus frowned, "Full-blooded human, half-blood wizard. But it doesn't make a difference because I applied and I got accepted on my own." And he stared at the others, daring them to say otherwise. It was just bloody frustrating when people couldn't get over the fact that he was bloody human!

Maxlene blushed and looked away, muttering that she was sure he had been a hybrid. Tor looked at him strangely for all of two minutes before shrugging and grinning easily. Salus felt himself warming up to the Were for not over-reacting like others.

"Um. Maxlene de Rez or just Maxlene. I'm a mixed hybrid, my mother was a fire-sprite-fae hybrid and my father was a veers-earth-sprite hybrid. I'm from the Gaie Realm and doing the Archaic Path with Sprite elemental magics and Blood Magic. And my favourite colour is red."

Vinno nodded, "Excellent. Now I better let the blond in before he gets impatient and breaks down the door, again. I swear for a Healer that elf is bloody impatient. Then again he is a first Class Warrior," he said to himself as he deactivated the rune and opened the door.

Litiso walked in followed by an eight foot tall being. The male was bald with a dark brown skin and snake-slit pupils in yellow eyes. But it seemed like a fire was burning in the yellow. And he was hissing, not that Salus noticed as he listened to the ranting of the strange looking being who had scales on his neck and hands.

"Bloody Vinno. He calls a meeting and locks me out of the damn thing! The idiot has no respect for time or anyone else. I still have that research paper of his due on Monday and the how in the Hellfire can I do it when I have to run around and do his work. And now this potions team is full of incompetent seventh years! Fucking Clair!" the male mutter viciously as he walked in and glared at Vinno.

Salus opened his mouth to answer on impulse before closing it. He did not know who that was or what he was. It may be wiser to keep quiet in this instance and it seemed that neitherTor or Maxlene were going to say anything.

"This is Vincent Sidiaz, Draconis and Parselmouth. Vin, these are Maxlene de Rez, mixed hybrid. Tor Leon, werecat of Solus. And Salus Moriens, human. He will be your partner for this year on the team," Vinno introduced them. The last comment got Salus a glare.

'Great, now my lab partner may want me dead as well.'

"Now that the whole team, plus one, is here," Vinno said with a serious face, "Today we will be doing Healing potions. I'll put up the potions on the board. Maxlene you're with Tor. Salus you're with Vin, and Darian dear, you're with me. If you don't know the potions, there are books in the reference room connected to the store room. Get your ingredients in the store room and get to work. The others have already brewed some of the potions. If we can finish what's on today's agenda then we can have all the healing potions done by next week and we can start experimenting. If you need help, ask."

Vinno went to the board and started writing up the teams and the potions to be made by each Tor and Maxlene gave Salus one last smile as they took over one of the workstations. Salus turned to his partner who glared at him before turning around and opening the glass door to enter one of the workstations.

Salus sighed and followed. 'Great, I get the grumpy Draconis,' he thought sarcastically. Closing the door, Salus hooked his bag on the hook on the door and slipped out of his loose black jacket. The room would become warm when they started brewing and the jacket would get in the way. Thankfully he had thought ahead and was dressed in comfortable dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a yellow smiley face on the front. Walking towards the cauldron, and hence his partner, Salus tied his hair back with a transfigured hair band, so it didn't get in his way even if the bandana kept it out of his face.

"I'm stuck with a seventh year. He better not blow us up or I will kill him personally," Vincent muttered as he checked the equipment in the drawer in the workstation.

"I think I'm a little better than that," Salus replied dryly. If they were going to work together then they should get along. Plus, the snake language always interested him and before, he couldn't hold a conversation with anyone because only he and Tommy boy could speak it. It would be nice to use Parseltongue and not be feared for it.

Vincent spun around, eyes wide as he stared in Salus shocked. "You can speak!"

It took a moment for Salus to figure out what and why Vincent had said. Salus grinned sheepishly, "Er, yeah. I'm also a parselmouth but no one can know."

'No wonder no one was saying anything about his mutterings. They couldn't understand it!' Salus thought with a laugh.

"Why?" Vincent looked at him with suspicious now, "And I thought you were human."

"I am. Growing up I was told it was dark skill and humans are killed for having it. Here, it would be of an ace up my sleeve," Salus replied.

Vincent stared at him, and Salus would admit that the yellow eyes did creep him out. "Fair enough. But you should consider doing Parselmagic as a course."

Salus' eyebrow's rose at that. 'They offer parselmagic? There is such thing as parselmagic?' He would need to investigate that.

"Anyway," Vincent continued, "we need to brew the Extro-Venom potion and the Semini blood clotting potion. Both need a parselmagic chant to work. Salus, right?"

Salus nodded in response as he turned around to see the board to read what Vinno had written. Vincent had pulled out a book from his bag, "Heejit Vermil's Parsel Potions. I recommend you get a copy. You read them over and I'll get the ingredients. I've brewed them before; with two people it will take about four or five hours."

"Er, sure," Salus replied as the tall Draconis hung his bag on the other hook behind the door before leaving the 'room'.

'He did a complete 180 when he realised I was a parselmouth,' Salus mused as he moved to read the book. It was a thin book and the contents page said it held just over three hundred potions. Salus quickly found the Extro-Venom potion. 'A potion applied to the bite that pulls the poison out when applied or if imbibed the person expels the potion by throwing it up. Handy but complicated as hell.'

Salus read through the instructions twice and had to whistle at it. He had never done anything as complicated as this potion. Even the ingredients had to be cut in a certain thickness or cut in a specific way with a certain type of blade. Not forgetting when to add the ingredients and how.

"It's not that bad," Vincent said as he placed the ingredients onto the table magically, from floating behind him. The table expanded magically to create more space. "You prepare and I'll mix. I'll explain as we go along."

Vincent handed him a silver knife and pointed to the bellerin roots as he set up the cauldron with distilled water with a 0.5 concentration of lemon. Salus reread the preparation instructions before he cut the roots in two by two inch cubes after skinning the roots.

"Vincent, can I ask why you're so friendly after you found out I could speak?" Salus asked as he cut the roots carefully but fairly quickly.

Vincent stirred the lemon water and checked the fire before picking up a bronze knife and started slicing the aardapel in paper-thin sheets. "You can call me Vin." he replied as he worked quickly, "I thought that Sin was just trying to get on my nerves by pairing me with a newbie. I didn't realise that you could speak. It's the gift of my race, and we respect those who can speak it. Not many can. I didn't realise Sin was asking me to teach another Speaker and not just another seventh year."

And after that they worked in relative silence except for when Vin was explaining something or correcting Salus, or when Salus was asking a question. It was efficient as the potion was done in just under two hours. Leaving the potion to brew, as per the instructions, Vin pulled Salus from the room and taught him the incantation outside the room. They cast the chant without any hassle and bottled the potion as per request: four large ones for the Clinic, and smaller ones for Sin, Vin and him.

A rune sent the cauldron somewhere to be cleaned and they got another on from the storage room. Vin showed and explained the storage system used as they gathered the ingredients for the new potion.

That went well and faster than the first one and they were done and bottled within an hour and a half. Vinno and Litiso had finished almost an hour ahead of them and were bickering by the board, from what Salus could see. It was weird to see two teachers fight openly, but most of the insults didn't hold any real venom or hate. The more he watched the more it seemed like game between the two.

Packing up their things, Vin asked, "May I tell the other Draconi that you Speak? They won't tell anyone, Draconis Honour."

Salus looked startled for a moment as he bit his lower lip as he thought it over. 'They will know my secret and that could link me with Harry Potter but no one seems to really care about the Human Realm here, it will only affect their meetings in it. And they won't tell because I remember reading it's a 'protected' gift with them.' He eyed Vin for a moment before nodding, "Sure. I would appreciate it if it wasn't spread around, though. I really don't need to be made more a target than I already am."

Vincent let out a raspy chuckle at that, "You are the one the Seer likes. There are some people pretty pissed at that. I would watch your back, but you're welcome to join the Draconi table at anytime. With us, you won't have to watch your back, I promise you that." Vincent offered. Salus understood that.

When you are with us we will protect you like you're one of us.

Salus smiled gratefully and nodded, slipping on his jacket and shouldering his bag as they stepped out of their 'room'.

"You're going to give in one of these days, dear Darian. You can't resist me, I know that. It would make it easier for the both of us of you would just become my mate," Vinno argued with Litiso as he went toe to toe with the elf, even though he was slightly shorter than the blond. Salus stopped short at that. Vincent snorted.

"I believe in one mate, unlike you fae who are polygamous, Vinno. So, get it through your head that I won't ever agree to change from potential to actual mate," Litiso replied easily as if he had said it a hundred times, "And as hot as you may think yourself may be, I have far more self control and have seen far many more gorgeous men in my time."

Salus winced at that as Vincent chuckled lowly, "They've been at it for years. Sin is a fae and fae have many mates. Elves on the other hand, only have one lifemate. Litiso is a potential mate of Sin, so they are caught in a game of courtship where Sin wants Litiso and Litiso doesn't want Sin. They tend to fight a lot because of that."

Salus frowned, "Then why does Professor- I mean- Sin chase after Litiso?"

"Simple," Vin said, "Sin wants Litiso and Litiso isn't mated and therefore free." Salus shook his head as they approached their waring and flirting teachers.

"Done already?" Vinno asked and Vincent nodded in response, "Salus was a huge help. I suspect that the potions will be more potent than before."

Salus felt his cheeks warm lightly at that but he said nothing. He felt proud of his work at those extremely advanced potions and he would be damn proud of his work.

Litiso nodded and accepted the vials with a grateful smile, "Thank you."

Salus and Vincent nodded in response. "We'll brew the next lot on Monday evening. Be here at 8pm," Vinno said as he checked the potion with interest.

"I'll see you in class, Mr Moriens," Litiso added as they were dismissed. Salus threw a glance at Maxlene and Tor who were still brewing. They were busy. Shrugging, he followed Vincent to the door.

Outside, Vincent started walking and said in English, "Dinner's still on. Are you going to eat in the Hall?"

Salus looked up from his PDA that he had finished from his pocket. He had a message from Anya who wanted to meet him for dinner in the Hall; something about a new project from Faeli she wanted to rant about.

"Um, yeah. Apparently I am," Salus replied awkwardly in English. It felt strange to speak in English after speaking for so long in Parseltongue. He sent a message to Anya asking if she was in the Hall. A few seconds later he got a reply saying she was waiting for him at their table.

"The seer?" Vin asked with curiosity. "We stay out of the seer thing. We respect them but have no need for them." Salus nodded.

They eventually made it to the Hall and they split by the door, Salus heading for Anya. She was sitting with a large scowl on her face as she slammed another large book closed and put it away, along with her notepad, in her bag. There was a pile of paper to her left that she promptly lit on fire and watched with maniacal glee as it burned.

Taking a seat, Salus eyed her.

"Is it safe for me to sit here?" he asked half sarcastically as she hit the rune for privacy and silencing charms before casting her own. Salus said nothing as he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm starting my application project for Death Magic. I have to write the history report on every damned person whose theory I'm using. Do you realise how many people that is?" Anya growled, "And if any of these fuckers decide to steal my project idea I will castrate them and stuff their cocks down their throats so they chock to death!"

Salus stared at her. "I think I'm going to be safer sitting with the vampires," he said dryly as made to stand.

Anya went silent at his statement before giggling slightly. She waved her hand for him to sit again. "Thanks. I needed that. I'm just pissed off at the amount of work I have. How was your day? Anything interesting?"

And she sat forward at that like Lavender and Parvati did when they were hearing a new juicy piece of gossip. And that scared Salus more than anything Anya would claim to do, or so he thought.

"Well," Salus said slowly, "I had my first summoning practical lesson and I'm about a year behind everyone else because they all had some form of training."

Anya waved that off like a princess with an unimportant fact, "That's normal for such a specialised subject. Clans pick up the talent early. I suspect by the end of the first test you will have individual lessons with Alcander as everyone will be moved to their level class."

Salus scowled at that. It pissed him off that he was so behind everyone else. And he felt it was because he couldn't learn anything because it wasn't taught in the Human Realm.

"Don't look like that! It's a good thing," Anya cut in exasperated, "you'll be taught more and in greater detail. Most students taking that class would kill for a one on one lesson with Alcander. He's one of the best."

Salus looked startled as that.

"And that potions meeting was now, right? How did that go?"

Salus looked at the table as he pondered what to tell her, 'I can't tell her I'm a parselmouth. But then how to I explain why Vin is accepting of me?'

"I, as one of my names as Anya Valsura, do by swear on my magic that I will not divulge any secrets or abilities told to me by one known as Salus Moriens unless otherwise stated," Anya vowed with ease.

Salus sat and stared at her. 'How?... She didn't?..'

"I didn't 'See' that but it had to come at a certain point. It's only logical seeing that you have some rare talent, like Summoning. I need in on your secrets to be entertained," she said with a shit-eating grin.

Salus sighed and replied, "It went well. I was paired with Vincent Sidiaz, the Draconis, and we brewed two Parsel Potions."

Anya's eyebrow's rose at that, "So you're...?"

"Parselmouth? Yes, which brings us the next titbit of information. I'm invited to sit with them. Will that be likely to get me killed?" Salus asked.

Anya stared at him for a full minute in silence before she broke out laughing. "What," she gasped out, "are the Durga given chances that you would be friends with one of the few races that don't care if I'm a seer!"

Salus said nothing as she calmed down.

"It's fine. The other races stay away from them," Anya said offhandedly, "now order so you can eat and we can get out of here. I need to crash in your room to get work done. I have clans breaking down my door, all of them trying to secure alliances for the year. The next one who asks I'm killing and using their animated body as a coat rack!"

Salus wisely said nothing as he selected his meal option.

~0~0~0~

Where in the World is Harry Potter?

-Rita Skeeter

Harry Potter sightings have been coming in from across the globe as the manhunt for Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Betrayed (for more information see page 6) enters its second month. Potter, who left the Wizarding World to the Dark Lord (For Death Eater attacks see page 17) on the night of the 1st of July has yet to be found. As the attacks increase daily, one has to ask 'Where in the world is Harry Potter?'

Sightings of the traitor have been spotted across Europe and a few in Asia. Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour has requested that countries watch their population and apprehend the criminal at once. At each of the sightings, the Aurors have checked but to no avail.

And there have been no traces found of the boy-traitor at any of the locations. My sources say that the Ministry believe that he is in fact, out of Britain. So rest assured, my readers, you are safe for the time being.

The latest rumours are that he has retreated to the wild and dark magic in the American Continent to train. It is the popular opinion of various high ranking officials, who will not be named, that Harry Potter will return as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's right hand man.

The Ministry has been tirelessly tracking down every piece of information to bring in the traitor, once saviour, and urges anyone who has seen Harry Potter to inform the Aurors. "Do not approach him! He is dangerous and may attack to kill," is the warning Auror head, veteran Alastor Moody, has stated for the public, "Let the trained Aurors deal with him." Though the search has stretched the forces thin when it comes to preparing and fighting the Dark Lord, the experts believe the apprehension and sentencing of Harry Potter will weaken the Dark side by some margin. (For previous, deceived 'friends' of Harry Potter, see page 28; including Weasley family statements and muggleborn Hermione Granger.)

Security around Hogwarts has been increased, in case Potter decides to return and attack the children. (For more information of Harry Potter's years at Hogwarts see page 22.) Headmaster Dumbledore has reassured us that "no harm shall come to any child in Hogwarts." New security measures include updated wards and 'body checks' for the dark mark.

All that can be said is that this reporter hopes that the traitor Harry potter be caught quickly by the brave wizards and witches of the Ministry so the sentence of Treason can be carried out and that we can sleep safely at night.

~0~0~0~

The second week started after a long weekend of studying and extra reading, while entertaining a frustrated Anya in his living room. She had not been kidding about the clans bugging her. When they had walked to her room that was two floors above Salus', there were four representatives carrying missives from their clans waiting for her.

Salus, on the other hand, managed to finish all of his homework and practice duelling. In return for camping out in his rooms, Anya offered to help him train using both his wands and his wandless magic. He even had a few hours to work on his Materia magic. He could now cast Fire, Blizzard and Thunder perfectly. He almost had Water mastered, but it gave him more trouble as he couldn't get a proper grip on the feel of the magic.

On Monday morning, Salus was in a good mood. That was until he entered Blood magic and Setos decided to PMS at the class. She was spitting fire at everyone in the class and the amount of information she gave them made Salus' head spin. That was without the homework assignment due on Friday. Rumour was that some of her seventh year students had tried a blood magic ritual on the weekend and blew themselves, and the rooms, up.

Runes was a little bit better, especially considering that it seemed that Jullian had taken to ignoring him in general. The work itself was rather easy currently, but she had warned them it was the foundation to the rune work of warding.

It was Death Magic that Salus was cautious in entering. Anya was at the teacher's desk, scribbling away at her ever present notepad. Faeli was nowhere to be seen, but Salus shrugged that off and walked to his desk at the back. He nodded at Aewrentilla as he passed her. She gave him a small smile in response. They were tentative friends, er, allies. They both knew what it was like to be an anomaly of their race.

Taking his seat, Salus sighed as he pulled out his work. This subject had to be the most fascinating of his subjects at the moment. Necromancy was, in fact, a combination of Soul, Death and Life Magic. It seemed that the Ancient Egyptians were correct in their assumption that Death Magic would resurrect and Life Magic would kill.

They had covered all the theory for raising a muggle inferi. It required the least amount of magic and skill, and there was no soul work involved. It was only through higher level resurrections that allowed beings with the required talent in the field to summon the body's soul from beyond the veil and back into the body for a short period of time. Cutting the Life Magic would send the Soul and the body back to death.

The class filled relatively quickly as the others arrived in their groups. As Anya packed up her things, Faeli walked through the door dressed to kill in tight black jeans, knee high boots and a wine red coloured shirt. The foreign magic washed through the room and Salus felt his magic rising yet again to fight. Anya had let slip over the weekend when he explained his instinctual magic that he was probably feeling Faeli's allure and fighting it.

"Pack away your things," he said as red eyes danced with amusement, "today we have a practical lesson. It's easier to teach this by practice than by memorising theory that you won't understand." He handed each student a black cord twisted into a bracelet.

"Put these on and they will readjust to fit you properly. They will transport us to our location," Faeli explained as Salus was passed a bracelet from one of the Rolest twins. He slipped it on his hand and watch as it shrank so that it wouldn't fall off. 'Other Realms' tended to use 'Orbing' as the 'Portkey' form of transportation. "These will transport you back to this classroom in case of an emergency so don't take them off."

And they were off.

Unlike portkeys, this gave you a gentle landing and no nausea, which made Salus love it immediately. No ugly feelings and he could land on his feet? Perfect! But looking around, Salus noted they were in a graveyard that was distinctly muggle. The stone angels gave it away. Wizards and Witches didn't have angels above their graves. They didn't believe in God, so they didn't believe in Heaven or Angels.

'Come to think of it, what do have wizards have by their graves?' Salus mused, 'I've never been to my parents graves so I wouldn't know.' The thought struck him like lightening, shocking him. 'I'll go one weekend,' he promised himself.

"Today," Faeli said from the front of the class, "I will be raising a muggle inferi and explaining the steps. Half of you will get to try it today and the other half in our next lesson, due to the size of the class."

Anya, in the meanwhile, set up the rune protection with salt around it for good measure. One around the students, one for her and one for the professor as Faeli lectured on how to locate a good body.

Salus understood rather easily and got the hang of it quickly. Faeli wanted them to use their magic like a radar to sense the bodies and their state of decay. It was something his magic always did, so for Salus it was a piece of cake. By the smirk on her face, Anya knew this as well as she watched the group struggle with getting their magic to 'sense.'

After ten minutes, Faeli gave the instructions to practice in their own time and proceeded to demonstrate how to raise a muggle zombie.

"First you locate," he explained, "and then, from your core, pull a thin string of death magic and pool it somewhere else in your body. I don't care where but you never connect an inferi directly to your core. A magical inferi can drain your core and hence, give it an artificial 'awakened' life, much like Soul magic. It will drain all your magic and kill you. It will then go on a rampage until the magic runs out. Any of you do that, and I will raise you back from the dead, put your soul back in you and re-raise your inferi to make it eat you. Just for your sheer stupidity and the amount of paper work you will create for me when you die."

Salus winced at that. 'No wonder Setos was pissed,' he thought.

"Then, all you do is channel the magic into the body and voila! You have an inferi," Faeli finished, serious throughout the whole lecture. He then demonstrated by raising a muggle woman of thirty-something years and in relatively good condition. "Who wants to try?"

Athena Zlamir was 'volunteered' by Faeli to try first. Her face was impassive as she stood at the front of the group, eyes closed as she searched out a body to raise. It took twenty minutes for her to raise her muggle, with more instructions and guidance from Faeli. But she managed an eighty year old man who had recently died.

Dante Hemez went next and managed to do his in a few minutes faster than Athena. Faeli nodded and dismissed the two of them. Looking at his watch, he called for the next person, Tirre Bendolf to try. He did in fifteen.

'Come to think of it,' Salus thought, 'this is the longest I've seen him serious...'

The Rolest twins tried, and one took twenty minutes and the other twenty-five. Once they were done they too were dismissed with orders to leave the bracelets on his desk.

"Moriens, you're up. The rest of you can head back if you don't want to watch," Faeli said. The class left promptly, leaving Salus alone with Anya and Faeli in a graveyard. Salus stepped forward but within the protections. "Whenever you're ready, Moriens."

Salus took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Calming his nerve, he sent his magic out to find a muggle body still in tact. It was like a radar search and Salus found one not twenty feet in front of him. Well, there was one eighteen feet behind him as well, but he would rather have one in front of him and not sneaking up on him.

He then turned inwardly and searched his magic for the tainted, death-ouched magic in his core. For Salus, he core was like the ocean; vast, open and free. He floated around until he found the corner his wild magic mixed with his natural magic. The mixed magic had a deaden feel. That magic, Salus pulled out slowly and pooled a small amount in his hand. Locating the body again, Salus pushed the magic, much like a spell of Materia, from his body to the body.

Salus relaxed as the magic left him and connected with his selected body. Moments passed before the soil shifted from the grave and the inferi climbed out of its grave slowly and stumbled towards them. It stood six feet from them, upright and mindless.

"And to send it back; channel the magic into the flow of death magic in the ground," Faeli instructed. Salus nodded and sent a nudge of his magic at it, firing the synapses in the dead brain of the inferi to obey his orders. The inferi stumbled back to his grave and climbed back in, pulling the soil back. It then let go of the Death magic, releasing it into the stream in the ground.

He had to grin when he turned to Anya and Faeli, though the grin faltered as Faeli's magic once again washed over him. And, once again, Salus' magic rushed to his skin, stoping the allure from affecting him. 'This is getting old, fast,' Salus sighed.

"Well, Salus," Faeli purred, "that as very well done. Just under fifteen minutes. Very impressive, especially for a human." The man stepped from his circle and practically stalked over to Salus, like a black panther hunting his prey. Salus swallowed but refused to show any reactions; even when he felt like a tasty piece of meat that the panther was eyeing up.

"Thank you, Professor Faeli," Salus replied evenly.

And the man stepped into Salus' personal bubble. Salus had to force himself to breath normally and not to blush as his eyes locked with a crimson pair. He couldn't help himself. Salus really tried but his eyes just dropped slightly, breaking the gaze and catching the sight of soft lips. Salus bit back a groan. He was screwed when it came to these types of games! And the smirk on Faeli's lips showed that the incubus knew that.

"Now Salus," he purred in his deep voice as he circled behind his lovely student, "I thought I told you to call me Castiel." And he knew he shouldn't, but Castiel couldn't resist draping his arms around the bluenette and talk directly into his ear. The boy was quite gorgeous and powerful enough to fight off his allure; and a virgin. Castiel had to resist the urge to lick his lips at the thought of pure, untouched skin and magic...

Salus stiffened as arms circled him and rested on his chest and the warm breath that drifted across his ear. There was no stopping this blush as he face went a pink-red. Looking forward, Salus was met with the amused gaze of Anya who was smirking at his predicament.

"I need to check your magic now, Salus," Castiel whispered into Salus' right ear, licking it ever so slightly. He had to smirk at the light shudder that ran through the younger male. 'Responsive,' Castiel thought with a bigger grin. "You will need to let me through your shields to your core."

Salus flinched at the thought of letting this man near his core. He was practically jumping him and he wanted Salus to let him touch Salus' magical core when the incubus used manipulative magic? Salus snorted. He wasn't an idiot. He had read about the 'seeds' used in manipulation.

"I would prefer if Anya checked my core, Professor." Salus said stiffly, "No offence."

The arms withdrew slowly, fingers trailing over him. "As you wish, Salus. Maybe next time," Castiel murmured. Inwardly he grinned at the thought of the chase he would have to follow to get the blue haired beauty into his bed.

Anya glared over his shoulder as she stepped up in front of him. She gave him a small smile.

"Open you magic to mine and meet me in your core," she said. They soon found themselves in Salus' ocean of power. Anya's magic felt different to anything he ever felt before. It was tightly packed and controlled, but spicy and wild. Like a wildfire. There just something unsettling about it.

'Probably her seer abilities,' Salus thought as Anya poked at his death magic before withdrawing.

"His magic has accepted his Death Magic. It shouldn't have been possible but his Death magic comes from the mixing of his Natural and Wild magic, so I don't think he's in any danger of losing himself in the power, his Wild magic stops that and his Natural magic is pretty accepting," Anya told Faeli. And the man looked all the more curiously at Salus.

Salus bit back a groan. 'It's going to be a long year.'

And Anya laughed out loud before orbing back to Shakti. Rolling his eyes, Salus followed.

~0~0~0~

Characters:

Salus Moriens (Sal-lus Moor-reens)

Age: 16

Race: human (male)

Special abilities: Instinctive Magic**, Death Magic.

**Due to IM, Salus has adapted Wild Magic and Summoning Magic into his core. Also has an appitude for self-healing.

**Bonds between Soul, Magic and Body are breaking, causing his soul to collapse and break from his body. ie. He dies.

Year: 6th (1st at Shakti) Warriors Path.

Anya Valsura (Aan-ya Val-suur-ra)

Female.

Special abilities: Seer.

Mastery: Seer.

Specialisation: Death Magic and Healing.

**Allied herself with Salus.

**Terrible at potions.

Sinclair Vinno (Sin-clar Vi-no)

Race: fae (male) (Poligimous)

Mastery: Potions (under Potions Master Anelka.)

**Has a Studnt's Potions Team. Has invited Salus

**.Potential mate: Darian Litiso.

Darian Litiso (Daar-ri-an Lit-ti-so)

Race: elf (male)

Mastery: Healing

**Elvin Warrior, 1st Class.

**Potential mate: Sinclair Vinno

Vaan Alcander (Varn Al-can-der)

Race: vampire (male)

Mastery: Summoning and Runes.

Elkric Druien (El-Krik Dru-een)

Race: elf (male)

**Twin: Eldric

**Younger twin.

Eldric Druien (El-Drik Dru-een)

Race: elf (male)

**Twin: Elkric

**Older twin.

Fillia Welms (Fil-li-a Welms)

Race: werecat-earth sprite hybrid

**Daughter of Master Welms: Summoner.

**Wants an alliance with Seer Anya.

Maxlene de Rez (Max-leen de Res)

Race: Mixed Hybrid.

**Invited onto Potions Team

**Archaic Path with Blood Magic and Sprite elemental magic.

Seine de Silvos (Si-ana de Sil-vos)

Race: veela (female)

**Human Realm: Canada, Villi-Rose clan.

Tor Leon (Tore Lee-on)

Race: Werecat (male) of Solus Clan.

**Invited onto Potions Team.

**Black Mage Path with Runes, Were Skills and Arithmacy.

Year: 7 (2nd at Shakti).

~0~0~0~

This is half of the original chpater. It was too long so I cut it.

Leave a review if you want another chapter, or I will throw a tantrum of note and not update. * Insert evil laughter here* Yes, I shall hold the next chapter ransom! *Insert manical laughter here.*

Seriously, leave a review.

Amira D.