A Different Life
Summary: What if Voldemort was Harry's real father, and that on Harry's birthday Voldemort came to claim what is his? How will the child of a Dark Lord ever blend in normally? Well, maybe he doesn't even try to…
Spoilers: Um, close to none. You need to know what Horocruxes is, and the Chamber of Secrets. If I come up with something else, you will know.
Pairings: I've been turning ideas in and out, checking out every pairing I can think off and the suggestions you readers gave to me. I know I wrote replies, dropping some hints maybe but now it's decided: NO PAIRINGS. At all. Sorry about that, but it's easier if they don't pair up. If I had done a pairing with Harry, it would have been with a guy. Sorry, but I like yaoi. As some of you readers don't, I won't make any pairings to keep as many as possible happy.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They belong rightfully to Mrs Rowling; I just borrow them for the time being.
Other notes: I have changed Hermione totally. She will be a pureblood witch with a love for Dark Arts and the urge to hurt Muggles since she was treated badly at the Muggle orphanage she was raised in. Harry will also not be known as Harry, but as Erus Sicarius Salazar Riddle.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Parseltongue"
-o-
Thank you for all of the reviews. Seems like the last chapter was well-liked so to speak. Enjoy this chapter as well.
-o-
UPDATED 2010-10-10
-o-
Chapter Nine: Savings, Truths and Traps
Previously:
"Wonder if he will be angry if I killed his precious son?"
Erus stood absolutely still, watching Rulein warily. This was not good at all. Erus had been to madam Pince and asked about Rulein. The woman had been surprised the raven-haired boy knew that man's name. She had told him though. Not that it had been much to tell.
The man had attended Hogwarts 1963, and had always strived to become a better wizard than lord Voldemort. The wish took him him and passion became obsession. He had returned to the school when he was 29, asking about the Philosopher's Stone. He wanted immortality because that way he would be superior to the Dark Lord.
Erus now knew what the man was after. Nicolas Flamel's stone, which would be able to do immortality potion.
"Can't talk little one?" Rulein asked. "What's wrong?"
The boy weighed his options. The corridor was empty and there was no sounds indicating that someone was coming this way. He had his wand in his pocket, but this man would be much faster than him. Erus knew that despite his knowledge and strength he would not be able to win against this man alone. He could always cast an Unforgivable but that would be noticed and he didn't really want to deal with that. He settled for looking at the man with what he hoped would be cold eyes. The man chuckled.
"You're as good as dead," Rulein said and raised his wand. "You will die, and the Dark Lord will finally see me!"
'Definitely mental.'
Erus rolled away from the first curse and got out his wand. He cast a Protego as the next curse came and it bounced off. Rulein smiled his insane smile and said:
"Let's see how long you will hold out."
Erus cast away the shield and called out:
"Stupefy!"
He knew it was a ridiculous spell, but it was almost the only one he would get away with from the headmaster. However, the man dodged it and the boy swore. He neatly dodged a cutting curse and cast another Protego as next curse came. However, the Protego was weak and was destroyed after a few more curses. Rulein became frustrated and screamed:
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The light of jet green flew against the unprotected Erus, and he could not move. His father had done the curse many times, and Erus had even tried it. His emerald eyes widened as it come closer, but before he could rise his wand to create a shield one was already there. With a roar, Lupin cast the darkest curse he knew on the intruder, his amber eyes burning with a dark force that even made Erus widen his eyes a bit, and Rulein barely managed dodging it. The insane man quickly took off as he realized this man was going to be more than he could handle for the moment. Erus looked at the former Marauder with still wide eyes. After a while he succeeded to stutter out:
"Thank you."
"I've already alarmed the personal that there is an intruder," the werewolf said. "Meanwhile, I'm going to have my answers now."
The raven-haired boy looked at him for a while with a blank stare and then said:
"If you really want that, fine."
-o-
They were soon seated in the man's private chambers, with the door locked and the whole room warded. Erus looked a bit too calm to just have met with a man who wanted him dead. Lupin noticed this and looked thoughtfully at the emerald-eyed boy for a bit. Said boy stared back at him.
"Fire away, professor," Erus said with a polite smile.
"Who are you?"
"You know who I am," the boy said and stopped at the man's glare. "Wow, you're taking after Sev."
"Sev?"
"Severus," the emerald-eyed boy said. "My godfather and this school's potions master."
"I didn't know he was your godfather," Lupin said. "But I guess it makes sense, the way he protects you. Answer my question now, if you please."
"My full name is Erus Sicarius Salazar Riddle," Erus said and looked steadily at the werewolf. "And I'm not from Ireland, neither is my family."
'Salazar?' Lupin thought, his eyes widening as he heard the name.
"Riddle is from my father's father," Erus continued and his polite smile grew into a wider smile. "Who happened to be a Muggle."
The werewolf understood, as he had heard from the headmaster of that family. Erus' grandfather had the name Riddle, who was a Muggle. He looked at the boy and said weakly:
"Do your father happen to be named Tom?"
"Yes," Erus answered. "Tom Marvolo Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort to be exact. I'm his son; nice to meet you."
-o-
There was a long silence. Erus honestly expected to be cursed, or at least that the man would yell. But the werewolf just sat there, his eyes slowly returning to its' normal size.
"How come we never knew of you?" he said softly and Erus' smile became a grin.
"Duh, Sev's my godfather. He's a spy for dad," the emerald-eyed boy said. "It's just that Dumbledore believes Sev is his spy, but really it's the other way around."
So Severus was a traitor to the Light. Not that Lupin blamed him; this child was so sweet at some times you would never think he even knew of the word 'evil'. Erus looked at the man and said with a tilted head:
"You're awfully quiet for being someone who sits with the son of Voldemort."
"Really?"
"Yeah, most people would've tried to curse me, kill me or just try to run away."
"And what happens when they do?"
"Dad kills them." Here Erus' smile made him shiver.
The child was not a stranger to death then, Lupin concluded. What should he do? If he had been a good little obedient Light wizard he would rapport this to Dumbledore, but those eyes…
"Who's your mother?" he said, sincerely hoping for the answer he wanted to hear. Just something left of her…
"Lily," Erus began and then paused. His brow furrowed in deep thought and he looked up at the werewolf. Then he continued, "Lily Morphis Mortimer, more known to the Light side as Lily Evans and later on Lily Potter."
Lupin stared at the child, almost wanting to get up and scream. It was him. He opened his mouth and got out:
"You are… Harry?"
The emerald-eyed boy looked at the werewolf, his eyes dark as the forest at night and said:
"Yes, I am. But dad gave me a better name, so don't call me Harry. I'm Erus."
This time Erus got a reaction, if only a delayed one. Lupin got up from the chair and shakily leaned onto the desk, closing his eyes tightly and his fists clenching at the wood. The emerald-eyed boy carefully asked:
"You were close to my mother?"
"She…" the werewolf began and then broke off. He took a few breaths and continued, "She was the only real friend I had. She was the one who understood my pain while Sirius and James did not know. She even told me about her real name, her real family… and her dream man."
"And who was that?"
"A man with pale skin and black hair who had the most terrifying red eyes ever," Lupin said. "She said he was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her."
"My dad…?"
"Most likely," the man answered. Erus saw he was lying but couldn't decide on what and let it pass.
"You knew, and never told anyone?" Erus asked, confusion written clearly in his eyes.
"Why? She didn't want anyone else to know, and I keep my promises to her," Lupin said.
They sat silent for a while. Then Erus looked at him and said:
"Are you going to tell Dumbledore?"
The werewolf looked at the boy for a while and then said:
"That would mean I had to break one of Lily's promises."
"What?"
"I promised to protect her child," the man continued. "And you are quite extraordinary that I don't want Dumbledore to find out."
"That means you're betraying the Light," the emerald-eyed child said quietly.
The man's eyes glittered with life for the first time since Lily had died and he replied with a sly smile:
"What is life without a challenge?"
-o-
Erus was doing a victory-dance in his room while Draco and Blaise eyed him oddly.
"What are you doing, Erus?" the blonde finally asked. "You're acting a bit too giddy for your own good…"
"We got one werewolf on our side," Erus sing-songed and looked at their baffled faces. "Lupin is on the Dark side now."
"What? How did you do that?" Draco shouted. "He's friend with two of the people supporting Dumbledore the most!"
"He was friend with my mother only," the raven-haired boy said, "and he says he rather be with me than Dumbledore; at least on the Dark side, he'll get more accepted."
"You like bringing Dumbledore's people to the Dark side don't you?" Blaise asked.
The child of Voldemort grinned, his eyes flashing with the light of the killing curse.
-o-
The search of Rulein turned out to be hopeless; the man was no longer inside Hogwarts. The students gossiped about it, but Erus did not feel obliged in sharing what really happened. His father had been informed and it was close the man had come to Hogwarts just to kill off Rulein by himself. But Severus managed to calm the Dark Lord down. Just barely though.
Erus sat by the Slytherin table on a Monday morning around three weeks since Rulein's attack when Cynthia sat down next to him with a frown. His fork stopped half-way to his mouth as he saw her face. Putting the fork aside, he turned to the girl and said:
"What's wrong?"
"Our classes on Care of Magical Creatures are cancelled this week," she answered.
"And you're sorry for that?" One slender eyebrow raised up.
"Instead, we're going to have a midnight class on Thursday," she snapped. "By the Forbidden Forest, with that giant and Gryffindors!"
Erus looked horrified at her. Most of all he wanted to scream 'Why?', tear his head and the curse the giant teacher to death but figured it would not be appreciated and answered instead:
"I'm going to kill that bloody giant one day…"
-o-
Erus was in a bad mood as Hagrid led them cheerfully to the Forbidden Forest. This was bloody ridiculous! And worst of all, it was the bloody full moon! That giant was insane!
"Everyone 'ere?" Hagrid called out. "We're going to study blood-sucking bugbears and I captured one not too long ago. Come along now, nothin' to be afraid of."
Erus groaned while Cynthia huffed. Draco rolled his eyes and Blaise looked on the giant as the man was a blood-sucking bugbear himself. The same question went through their mind:
'Why the bloody hell did they need to work at midnight just to see a stupid animal?'
Erus looked, bored, at the animal, who was staring right back at him. The Gryffindors had begun scaring each other by telling their friends of all the monsters that was in the forest. Erus almost began to laugh as he heard the stories; some of the animals could not even live on land.
Draco was yawning, wanting to go back to his warm bed and Blaise pretended to read. Cynthia was playing with her quill, already done the questions. Erus was done as well, but the class did not end until another 30 minutes so he just sat there… staring at the animal.
A loud howl made everyone whip their heads up. Erus recognized it as a werewolf and groaned. Hagrid looked around and said:
"I think we better get up to the school."
'The best bloody idea you've given this school year,' Erus thought irritably and got up.
Something came running out of the forest, black shapes and soon was recognized as werewolves approaching them. Hagrid screamed at everyone to get away. Erus saw the werewolves watched the running students (he was one of them because he was not about to get eaten by one of them) with hunger while the giant tried to get the creatures to leave. That's when he noticed the lack of a weight around his neck. The emerald-eyed boy stuck his hand underneath his shirt and froze. The amulet was gone. His amulet his father had told him to never take off.
Erus ignored Cynthia's startled call when he turned and ran back. His wand was out and he whispered a 'Lumos'. The area lit up and he brought his cloak around him tighter. It was cold, he was freezing, there were bloody werewolves around here and he had lost his amulet. Yeah, nice class Hagrid had… at least that bloody dog was not there to drool all over his clothing. He hated that dog.
He breathed a huge sigh of relief as he saw his treasured gift Voldemort had given him. He picked up the amulet and hung it on him. How he dropped it he had no idea. He was in the safe refugee by Hagrid's hut right now, and could not be seen. Just in case, he activated both his necklace and ring he had gotten on his eleventh birthday. They could protect him against most curses, and recently Severus had added so that the ring could keep him safe from a physical attack. He felt the magic surge around him and saw that Hagrid had fled as well. He cursed softly. Here he would eventually be seen, and he could not get inside that giant's hut. The two doors were in plain view to the werewolves. He had no other choice then.
'Bloody werewolves,' he thought as he made his way into the Forbidden Forest.
-o-
Cynthia was almost being dragged back to the school by Pansy and Millicent while Blaise and Theodore had to literally drag Draco. The blonde fought against their restraints, almost hitting them so they would release him but it was futile. The two boys were slightly stronger than Draco so they could get him inside.
Teachers greeted the children by the entrance and saw Hagrid come.
"Why are werewolves 'ere?" the giant asked the headmaster. "They shouldn't be 'ere!"
Cynthia tried to run out again, but was stopped by McGonagall.
"What are you doing, Ms Granger?" the witch almost shouted.
"Erus is still out there!" she screamed right back, her nails clawing at the woman's clothing. "What kind of teacher leaves one of his students behind?"
They now noted that Draco was fighting to get out as well. Prefect Flint had joined Theodore and Blaise and was holding the blonde in a steel-grip.
"Severus," the headmaster said and the pale potions master turned to the older man. "I'll take Minerva, Rubeus and Filius and search. Can you go with Sirius, James and Rolanda?"
The two former Marauders glared at Dumbledore, but the potions master was too worried about his godson to even feel upset. He just drew his wand and rushed outside, followed by the other teachers.
-o-
As soon as Erus got into the forest, he knew something was very wrong. He looked around; there was no sound. It was simply too quiet. A shiver went through his body and he whipped around. This was not really the time to suddenly be scared, but this feeling felt like…
A branch cracked. The raven-haired boy whipped around to face the sound. Nothing.
Another branch, but still nothing. Erus backed up against a tree, momentarily forgetting he could pull his mirror out and call on his father. Suddenly a cackling laughter began and Erus froze.
'I know there is no God… but sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve this.'
And then he ran.
-o-
The teachers had to be quiet, to not attract the attention of whatever animal could be in the forest, most of it all the werewolves. But they noticed something was off. Severus stopped and the Lumos light grew stronger.
"Stop it, Snape!" James snapped.
The potions master ignored him, bent down and grabbed something. His hands were shaking slightly.
"What is it?" Madam Hooch asked.
"It's Erus' wand."
-o-
Erus was running, every breath felt like a burning fire in his abused lungs, but something made him keep on running. He jumped over branches, landing on his feet with no sound, nothing that disturbed the ground underneath him. Fenrir had taught him that.
He dared to stop for a little while and looked around. His breath came in harsh gasps and his body was shaking of fear. A cracking sound made him whip around. He had been an idiot and lost his wand, so now he could only rely on the ring and the necklace to keep him safe. He could not make a shield wandlessly and would not aim spells on shadows. He began to run as the cackling laughter began anew.
He had walked right into a trap. That bloody mental Rulein was out to kill him. He must have ripped off Erus' amulet at some time, and just waited for his chance to lure the boy into the forest.
'I hate mental freaks,' the boy thought bitterly.
Due to distraction he missed a branch and fell down on the ground. He rose onto his elbows with a groan when he realized he was lying in something wet. Something sticky and thick, and smelling a lot like…
Blood.
Erus scrambled up to his knees and looked at his hands. Blood was almost black in the moonlight, the emerald-eyed one mused and the boy looked around. He had not afraid of blood, only the one who would have cause this severe blood loss. The fear was bubbling inside him, and he was surprised. It took a lot to scare him. It was not the forest itself that made him this terrified, but something inside it.
Something closed around his throat, cutting off his breathing and drawing blood from his throat due to long claws and out of instinct he screamed.
-o-
Sirius snapped his head up with the others as he heard the scream. Before any of the others could blink, the potions master was already running towards the sound. Madam Hooch was not far behind. James looked after them and said:
"We can't just let a child die, Padfoot."
Sirius nodded and they ran off. While James only thought of the school's reputation if Erus would die, the other man thought of something else:
'That child… is the only one who can make Moony smile for real.'
-o-
The shape was suddenly thrown away. Erus first coughed and then gasped for breath. He was holding his hands to his throat, feeling the blood trickling down his neck and onto his shirt. Something picked him up and sprinted off. The emerald-eyed boy opened his eyes for the first time since he had been attacked and exclaimed:
"Fenrir!"
The werewolf looked down at him and said:
"What are you doing out in the Forbidden Forest during the full moon, young master?"
"Ask that bloody giant to teacher!" Erus threw back, feeling oddly reassured seeing Fenrir in his fearsome werewolf form. "He's an idiot!"
Fenrir stopped and looked around a bit. Erus noted that this must be the first time Fenrir had ever held him in a caring way. The werewolf was not the one up for hugging or holding.
"Look, there is something coming, and it's not friendly" the older wizard, temporary turned monster, said. "Climb up into the tree. I sense teachers from Hogwarts closing in, so you should be safe."
Erus was lifted up to the lowest branch and he climbed up. Fenrir looked around and said:
"Doesn't seem like the young master to drop his wand."
"Well, young master is allowed to panic from time to time," Erus snapped as he continued to climb.
"It should be with Severus by now," the werewolf said. "It'll be safe with him."
Erus came up to a branch good enough to hold him and sat down as Fenrir followed his movements to make sure the boy would not fall. The werewolf turned around as he heard a cracking sound and against his will the raven-haired boy began to shake.
"Young master, hold onto that branch if you're going to shake like a leaf!"
Then Fenrir saw what had grabbed Erus' throat. It was not Rulein. From its mouth blood dripped down to its cape. Its eyes were hollow and every breath was deep and raspy.
"Looks like a Dementor", the werewolf mumbled, "but I know it's not…" He had seen what it had killed when he found Erus. A werewolf's corpse had been thrown aside so he knew that thing could handle one.
Meanwhile Erus had gained control of his body and instead his mind was filled with anger. Without knowing it, the amulet he wore began to shine and the creature looked up. It gave up a scream as the light of the amulet hit it, the sound echoing like a thousand screeching voices and then it was gone. Fenrir stared at Voldemort's son, who wore an expression of pure hatred and saw yet another example why this child was to be feared.
-o-
The four teachers came closer to where they had heard the screams and shuddered as they saw the blood that was splattered along the ground and even up to the trees. The four teachers had their wands out, ready for any attack.
"He should be around here," the witch said.
Severus looked around, until he felt the familiar aura of the child. He looked up towards the source, and blinked a few times.
"Mind me telling how you got up there, Erus?" he asked after a while.
"Yes, I do mind," a young voice answered.
The three others looked up. They stared at the boy. He had stains of blood in his deathly white face and it seemed like blood from his hands were on the branches on the way up. The boy was shivering and he sat curled up.
"Come down," the potions master said.
"Would love to, but not as long as that thing is there."
They all turned to see a werewolf come running towards them. Fenrir was long gone. Sirius made a slashing movement with his wand and the werewolf crashed into a tree. He then conjured ropes and bound it.
"Nice, professor Black," Erus said.
"Now then?" the black-dressed man said with a small huff to his godson.
"Fine."
The emerald-eyed carefully began climbing down, and not even the former Marauders could keep their winces inside. The boy's hands were injured gravely, and he seemed to have a wound on his right leg. Severus froze up as Erus lost his balance for a moment, only regaining it at the last second and figured it would be easier to levitate the child down. Not even James could find anything bad about that.
Erus was put down onto the ground and he leaned to the tree to not support his weight on his right leg. Now they could all see the boy's neck, which was badly bruised and bloodied. Severus picked the boy up and said:
"Call back the others. I'll take him to the Infirmary."
"Again?" the raven-haired boy groaned.
"You seem to like it in there," the potions master said, amused.
"Why don't you guys go ahead and give me a room there, since I'm destined to end up there all the time."
-o-
"And what happened this time?"
Erus sighed as he told his story yet again since Severus had forced him to tell as they went back to the castle. The wound on his leg and hands were only from the trees, so nothing poisonous. The wounds on his throat were from nothing poisonous as well but of course, Madam Pomfrey wanted to check this.
She huffed and went to get some salve for his wounds and throat while Severus busied himself by healing the small scratches the boy had received on his face. The wounds on his throat were a bit deep and they wanted to make sure they were not infected.
"Wouldn't want your father to see them," the potions master said as he cleaned a scratch on Erus' forehead. "He's worried enough as it is."
"Does he know?"
"Fenrir must be back and told him something," Severus said. "I'll fill the story in later."
"I'm tired."
"I can imagine. Now stay still."
Erus let the man hold his chin and he felt the familiar feeling of warm aura as Severus healed the cut.
"My amulet shone up," he said. "Think I should tell dad?"
"Probably," the potions master said. "I have not much experience of those amulets; your father has even gone so far to learn about how to make amulets."
"Is it hard?" the raven-haired boy said.
"Quite hard," the potions master said. "Your father told me he had no such ability to make such a demanding thing as an amulet; only a few has."
The medic witch returned, but they did not stop talking because of that. There was a small smile on her face throughout the conversation.
-o-
Voldemort paced the library, thinking of every curse he knew to throw on Rulein. Twice in only three weeks! That bloody man was as good as dead.
Fenrir watched the man, slightly nervous but not afraid.
"He's fine now?" the Dark Lord finally said, eyes looking at Fenrir.
"I tracked Severus up to the castle," the werewolf said. "Your son was fine. Had a few scratches and some bruises, but they are probably healed by now."
"What of Lupin? Was he one of the werewolves?"
"He drinks the Wolfsbane potion," Fenrir said. "He's in the dungeons according to Severus. Harmless."
"Good," the man said. "Wouldn't want to kill him for hurting Erus; that child seem to enjoy Lupin's company."
"I knew Remus a bit," the werewolf said. "He's good with kids, and he seems to have taken a liking to your son."
"Even better. That means Lupin will protect him."
"Many are ready to protect that child, sir."
Voldemort looked at the werewolf with an amused smile. 'Many indeed,' he thought. 'What do you say now, Albus, when I've stolen your teachers and made even the castle hate you?'
-o-
Draco and Cynthia were let inside the Hospital Wing and they both ran up to Erus.
"You alright?" the girl asked anxiously.
"I'm pretty good," the raven-haired boy answered. "Leg hurts a bit, but Poppy says it'll be gone in the morning."
Draco looked at the fading bruise on the slightly smaller boy's neck and Erus answered the silent question:
"Not Rulein, but a creature probably ordered by that freak. Fenrir saved me."
"Fenrir?" Cynthia said with a small frown.
"A werewolf," the emerald-eyed boy answered. "A decent guy."
"Who still calls you young master", Severus finished.
"He doesn't stop!" Erus said. "I've told him over and over again to stop calling me that, but he won't listen!"
-o-
Weeks went by, and Erus did not see Rulein again. He was aware that Fenrir was in the Forbidden Forest, making sure no dark creatures could enter the grounds. Severus loomed around in the dungeons, checking all the rooms every day. Lupin patrolled a bit more than usual, and Madam Pomfrey promised he could always come to her. McGonagall was perfectly fine with sending small notes to him with the owl she had given him. The emerald-eyed boy had tried to protest when she had presented the snow-white owl to him, but the owl seemed to like him. He had named her Hedwig.
And it was quite funny see Dumbledore's angry face whenever he received the notes; Erus could only imagine what the letters would do if the headmaster tried to open them. Every time the notes ended up in his hands McGonagall smiled smugly, and the raven-haired boy had to remind himself not to grin back. The Weasley twins were quite happy to help Erus in any way they could, which often led them to meet in Severus' chambers. Erus now began to concentrate on the Philosopher's Stone.
Thanks to some favours, the boy soon began to thread together everything. Voldemort would have been impressed if he saw with what speed his son worked, and how fast he could get the information.
By the middle of March, Erus had figured out pretty much everything, and he got a bit worried. Rulein wanted the stone to make himself immortality potion. Dumbledore got the stone to the school to protect it for his friend Flamel. Hagrid had gone to get it on Gringotts; Rulein had tried to rob the wizard bank a few hours later. It was now most likely hidden underneath that hatch, guarded by Fluffy (the bloody Cerberus) and the spells of the professors. Erus could not help but feel uneasy about it though. Rulein was pretty smart, even being insane, and it only took Erus one visit to the library to find out Fluffy's weakness.
So he waited, intending to let the teachers do their work until they caught Rulein, or he had to do something.
The days turned into weeks and soon they were rewarded with Easter. Erus lay awake on his bed six on the morning and stared up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes after a while and focused to feel the auras around him. He found Draco's and Blaise's quickly and moved further out. His father had insisted that he would learn the art of 'seeing' the auras instead of relying on his eyes too much. After some prodding from the man, Erus had given in and started on it.
When he reached the Great Hall, he was shaking and sweating with the energy spent and decided to retreat. But as he retreated, he caught a small flaring aura that radiated darkness. He caught the aura and 'saw' the person. Rulein, around the school grounds. How he had felt the weak aura he had no idea. He felt Fenrir coming in fast and the werewolf's reassuring aura saying he could let go. The raven-haired boy complied and opened his eyes. The blonde had at some time woken up and gone to his bed. He looked at the boy lying in bed and said:
"You were shaking all over. Drink this."
"I'm not sick."
"Yeah, I know but it's just water," Draco answered. "Drink it."
Erus accepted the cup and drank the cool liquid.
"You need to change clothing as well," the blonde commented.
The smaller boy nodded absently and said:
"I felt Rulein when I was doing my practise."
"Rulein?"
"Fenrir has probably chased him away by now," Erus said.
The blonde growled and then shook his head.
"Tell Severus," he said to Erus.
"I was planning to," the emerald-eyed boy said. "I'm planning to let Remus meet Fenrir again."
"You sure that will be fine?"
"Remus had no objection when I suggested it," Erus said. "We just need to find a place and time."
"We?"
-o-
The same night Draco found himself going somewhere he really had no wish to be.
"My father, mother, Severus AND your father are going to kill me!"
"Shut up, Draco," Erus replied irritably. "We're merely taking a walk."
"In the Forbidden Forest you don't take a walk, Erus!"
"I do," the raven-haired boy said and swirled around a bit to demonstrate.
"That's because you aren't afraid," the blonde said.
"You are then?"
"No!"
"Then why are you complaining?"
Draco groaned and the other boy simply shook his head before continuing. He looked around, and said:
"I'm leaving you behind, Draco!"
"What?" he heard the blonde shriek. "Don't you dare leave me here!"
They finally reached a small opening in the forest and a person turned around. Fangs shone visible in the moonlight for a moment before they shrunk back to their normal size.
"Young Erus," the man said.
Draco looked at Erus and gulped. He knew the boy had some connections, but vampires? This one looked different from most too, with white clothes and white hair making him shine in the moonlight.
"It's been a while Noir," the boy said. "I see you have everyone with you as usual."
"They have little desire to leave me unguarded," Noir replied before giving the boy a small bow. "What can we do for you this lovely evening?"
"I need information," Erus said. "You guys are best at that."
"We're honoured of the praise," the leader vampire, Noir said. The rest stood still silent. "What do you need?"
"I was planning on stealing the Philosopher's Stone," Erus said. "I need to know everything about it, to the smallest detail."
"Why would you need that?" Noir asked, a bit confused.
"I've been trying to find anything about in the school, but that's impossible. Dumbledore watches everyone, me included," Erus said. "I know you can get me the information I need."
"You plan to steal it? Why? Is it the wish for immortality?" Noir said with tilted head, mildly curious.
"No," the raven-haired boy answered. "One of my enemies is going to steal it because of that immortality. I simply want to deny him that little pleasure by stealing it just when he's about to take it."
Noir nodded and said:
"We shall find everything you need. But it's unusual that you use us."
"I don't wish my father to know," Erus said. "I've worried him enough this year."
Noir bowed and after the normal formalities, the vampires disappeared. Draco stared at Erus.
"What?"
"I've not even seen your dad being so commanding," the blonde answered. "Or being able to make them listen so easily."
"Then you've never seen him on Death Eater meetings," Erus said. "He's a true leader."
"And so are you," Draco mumbled as they made their way back to the castle, escorted by Fenrir.
Tbc…
Chapter nine done, yay!
Next will be an interlude… not a real chapter, okay? The interlude will be about the exams.
More about chapter ten when you've read the interlude!
Until later,
Ja,
Tiro