DISCLAIMER: I do not own Negima or Harry Potter. Negima is the property of Ken Akamatsu, and Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.

Italics text = character thinking to themselves.

Underline+Italics = character communicating with telepathy

Bold text = shouting

Bold+Italcs = Casting Spell/Ability

Chapter Twenty-five

The Darkness Emerges

Negi and the Ala Alba spent the day with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville.

They talked about various aspects of the British magical society, mostly complaining about the stupidity of the Ministry, every time they were near a certain toad, mind you. Negi and Harry were given a brief - in her opinion - description from Hermione regarding the rights and privileges that came with the position of head of an Ancient and Noble House, Neville occasionally giving his input. Ron, well, he didn't like the subject, mainly because the Weasleys had never been a Noble House. Sure, they weren't always as poor, but they were never as rich as the Potters. Also, Harry found out, the Weasleys appeared at the same time as the Malfoys, and there have always been hate between the two because the difference in wealth and the blood relations.

Ron scowled at the bushy haired witch for bringing that up, but Harry, who would have usually changed the subject so it wouldn't bother his friend, found out that he honestly didn't give a damn about Ron's jealously of his wealth. It was his money, his inheritance, and he sure as hell wasn't going to give everything he owned to charity and live the life of an eunuch, just to satisfy the ego of a jealous prat.

It was quite an awkward moment when Negi asked Neville about who was the Head of the Longbottom House.

"Well, it should have been my dad, but he can't actually keep the position in his current state of health, so Gran is temporary Head." Neville said hesitantly.

"Oh, I see." Negi said, catching on that it was something the boy didn't want to talk about.

"Yeah, both his parents went insane when they got tortured by Death Eaters." Ron said so casually, as if talking about the weather.

The whole group froze at those words and glanced at Neville, who was trying to avoid everyone's gaze, a sad look in his eyes. Without further ado, the girls turned towards Ron with expressions ranging from disgust to anger, and then, much to the red head' horror, took turns to slap him, Asuna and Eva hitting so hard that he had to drag himself to the Hospital Wing. Meanwhile, Harry, Kotarou and Negi were comforting Neville.

"Is it true, what that idiot said?" Kotarou asked soberly.

"Yes. They've been in St. Mungo for over 14 years." Neville said quietly.

"A group of Death Eaters tried to find out Voldemort' location. It was the day after my parents died." Harry said quietly.

"How did you know, Harry?" Neville asked surprised.

"Last year, I saw Dumbledore' memory of the trial. It was quite disturbing, since Crouch Jr. was begging Crouch Sr. to save him, with Mrs. Crouch there and all." Harry grimaced at the memory, before he suddenly smiled "though I can tell you for sure that everyone liked your parents, Nev. That wasn't the only trial I've seen and the support for your parents was overwhelming."

"Thanks Harry." Neville smiled.

"Neville, do you know what spells were used on them?" Konoka inquired softly "Maybe there's something in eastern magic that can help."

"It was the Cruciatus, the torture curse." Neville replied.

"Hold on, that can't be right!" Eva countered.

"Huh?" the others looked at her in confuse.

"The Cruciatus activates all the pain receptors in the body, except the brain. It was particularity made that way, because of its initial purpose." Eva explained.

"Original purpose?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. It was made as a magical variant of the muggle defibrillator. It was made to be used on dieing patients to keep their hearts beating. So you see, it couldn't have driven them insane." Eva said.

"Now that you mention it, I was able to think quite clearly when Voldemort had me under it. Sure, the pain was excruciating, but I was able to still think." Harry remarked.

"Yes. That way you can feel the pain better. If it fried your brain it would be over too quick." Eva said in distaste.

"Hold on, if my parents aren't suffering from over exposure to the Cruciatus, then what did happen to them?" Neville asked, wide eyed.

"No idea." Eva shrugged "We would have to see them in order to be sure."

"Guess we're visiting St. Mungo's during the winter break." Konoka smiled.

"Maybe Nekane-onechan could come as well. She HAS been a healer for a few years." Negi mussed.

"Sounds good to me." Eva shrugged.

"You said the Cruciatus was created with medical use in mind. What about the other Unforgivables?" Harry asked curiously.

"The Imperius was made to help stop suicidal people. As for the AK curse..." Eva looked him in the eye "it grants a painless death."

"I see." Harry murmured, lowering his gaze.

After that they resumed their discussion about the obligations of a Head of House.

They spent most of the day in the library looking through several books on magical families. Needless to say, Nodoka, Yue, Hermione and Negi were in their element. After lunch they found a book on the methods used by goblins to identify bloodlines. A point of interest was that the one of the rituals showed not only ones entire family tree, but also the race and level of magical power each family member had.

"Hermione, you should try this one as well. Maybe you have some magical ancestors." Harry suggested.

"Hm, I think I will." Hermione mussed as she read the description of the procedure. "I suppose it would be nice to get Malfoy to stop using that word when addressing me."

"I think we all should take the test. It would be quite useful to have a precise measurement of our power." Negi suggested.

"Oh, is that a challenge, boya?" Evangeline smirked.

"Maybe." Negi grinned.

"One question though" Harry drew their attention "How will that work for me? You know my magic has two sources." he pointed out.

"Well, while they weren't both yours initially, you earned the second one by the right of conquest. And you did so three times for the same core." Negi explained.

"By the way, since it's now yours, you are also heir by magic of whatever the previous owner might have been." Eva mentioned.

"Um, I have a pretty good guess on that. Is there any way to get any details about this?" Harry hesitated.

"Don't worry, it's part of this ritual." Hermione said. "And, while I'm not 100% sure about what you're trying to keep secret, if it has anything to do with you being a parcelmouth, then you have more influence in this castle then you ever wanted." Hermione said with a sly grin towards Harry.

"Can't hide anything from you, can we?" Asuna asked amused.

"Well, he did show proof in front of the whole school..." Hermione trailed off.

"Yes, it was quite obvious to most of those born in wizarding families that you are the Heir of Slytherin, either by blood or by magic." a dreamy voice was heard as the owner approached the group.

"Hello Miss Lovegood." Negi greeted with a smile.

"Hello everyone." Luna said as she looked around at the group before focusing on the young teacher "Happy Birthday professor Springfield and congratulations on for your new title. I believe we'll be seeing each other in the Wizengot in the near future. Same with you, Harry." she smiled towards the surprised wizard.

"You're of a house Head as well?" Harry asked surprised.

"Not yet, but I will be by the middle of December." Luna said.

"But what about your father?" Hermione asked surprised.

"My mother was the previous family Head. You see, it was my father who married into the family." Luna explained.

"Oh yeah, now that you mentioned it, I do remember that the Lovegoods are one of the few families that had long ago given up on the tradition that only males can lead the family." Ginny said.

"Yeah, another proof that they're wacky . Everyone knows that men are better then women." Ron said as he approached the table.

Before anyone could get up and show their distaste for what he said, Luna had taken out her wand and hit Ron with a pale purple beam of light. Without another word, the red head had turned around and ran out of the library.

"What did you do to him? Where did he go, for that matter?" Neville asked curiously.

"Oh, don't mind him. He just felt the irresistible desire to wash his face." Luna said before adding "In a toilet in the girls' bathroom."

"That wasn't the Imperio, was it?" Hermione asked worriedly while the others were rolling on the floor with laughter.

"No, just a combination of a Confundus and Compulsion charm." the blonde Ravenclaw explained.

"Combined spells? I never heard of them before!" Hermione said excited.

"No surprise there, with the amount of work required to combine the effects of two spells, most people would keep them as family secrets, locked up in their Grimoire." Eva remarked.

"Indeed." Luna smiled and waved goodbye as she left.

As she walked away, Harry' eyes followed her until Kotarou began waving his hand before his eyes.

"What's up with you, Harry?" Neville asked.

"Staring at a girl now, hm? Is this love I smell in the air?" Haruna teased.

"I barely know her!" Harry defended before looking away and muttering "Though she is kinda cute" in a low voice that everyone in the group still heard.

While Kotarou started to pretend he was vomiting, Negi let out an amused chuckle. Most of he girls on the other hand were exchanging miscellaneous looks. But when they were about to tease the green eyed wizard some more they noticed the look in Hermione' eyes: sad, discouraged and... Was that jealousy?

"Anyway, like Luna said, you'll find out details when we go to Gringotts." Ginny broke the silence.

"To be honest, I'm kinda curious myself." Negi admitted "I found out a lot about my mother and her side family during the summer, but I don't know very much about my father' side."

"Well sensei, from what Anya-chan told me, throughout your Academy days you were more focused on combat magic then history, though you got top marks on that too." Nodoka revealed.

"Um, yeah... About that..." Negi fidgeted "I kinda skipped more then half of my history classes because I knew all of the material."

"You're kidding, right?" Eva asked in disbelief "What did your history teacher say?"

"Nothing. That was whole point. He was so tired of catching me working on something else during his classes that he allowed me to ship, provided I don't fall behind the rest of the class." Negi smiled.

"Oh, if that's the case..." Ginny began with a wide smile.

"No chance in Hell." Eva cut her of firmly.

"But I didn't even ask!" the Weasley girl complained.

"And you won't, if you know what's good for you, coppice?" the vampire countered before turning to Negi "Still, if I were to take a guess I would say that you're Ravenclaw' descendant. That analytic mind of yours is proof enough."

"That may be so, but we're talking about relatives from my father' line." Negi reminded her.

"Ugh, you're right. Nagi Springfield the descendant of Helena Ravenclaw? What was I thinking!" Eva said.

"Why is it so unbelievable? You always said he was amazing." Neville asked.

"Well, let me put it this way" Eva began "If you asked anyone who met him for a short description, they would say "He was an idiot." So you see, the profile doesn't really fit a Ravenclaw."

"Isn't that the understatement of the millennium?" Negi chuckled.

A few hours later, after the group had split up, Negi was being led by Asuna and Chachamaru through the corridors on the seventh floor.

"Um, Asuna? What are you doing?" Negi asked in a concerned voice as the girl was pacing back and forth in front of a hideous tapestry, all the while muttering under her breath. Not very assuring for her mental health.

As she finished her third pass, a large double door appeared on the empty wall.

"Just making these doors appear." Asuna smirked at his wide eyes.

"After you, sensei." Chachamaru said, giving him a light push.

As Negi opened the doors he was welcomed by complete darkness. He could see neither walls, floor or ceiling. He walked a few feet into the room along with the girls before the doors closed. He was about to cast some light spells when the room was suddenly flooded with colors and cheers.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEGI-SENSEI!" everyone called out.

"Wha?" Negi blinked in amazement.

Everyone he came with from Mahora was there, as well as the Gryffindor Quidittch team - except Ron, Neville, Hermione, Ginny, and several other students Negi had become friends with since he arrived, such as Luna Lovegood and Astoria Greengrass from Ravenclaw, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott from Huflepuff, and even Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davies from Slytherin.

To say that Negi was happy would be like saying that fire was just a little warm. The eleven year old was ecstatic! And the huge cake in the middle of the room, that he was informed was the Room of Requirement, made him even happier.

He was half through the opening of presents when it happened. He had just opened the present from Evangeline, a rather dark artifact. Apparently, it was an elixir made with the blood of an old, now extinct, eastern clan. According to Eva, that clan had a very high affinity for fire, lightning and darkness elements.

The elixir was supposed to finalize the transformation his body had been going through since he learned Magia Erebea.

"All you have to do is to make a small cut on each of your hands in the middle of the swirls of the Magia Erebea spell pattern. After that, you open the bottle with the elixir and put some blood in it. The elixir will then be absorbed by the spell pattern when you activate the Actus Noctis Erebae." Evangeline explained.

"That sounds awesome! Hey Negi, go ahead and use it!" Kotarou suggested.

"Sure, go ahead." Eva shrugged in response to Negi' questioning look.

With a nod, Negi went through the instructed process under everyone's curious eyes. But when he activated his Actus Noctis Erebae and the elixir turned to a dark crimson mist, things went wrong.

The mist had mostly been absorbed by the spell pattern when a loud crack was heard. There was no need to look for the source as a rather ominous black aura enveloped Harry, starting from the ring he had received from Eva that sported a now cracked black stone and racing towards his bleeding lightning bolt scar.

Some of the remaining mist headed for the wizard as well, but both it and the aura stopped and returned to their proper places once Asuna put a hand on Harry' shoulder, focusing her magic canceling ability around Harry.

"Hm, that's odd." Eva frowned at the unusual development until she noticed how black the stone on Harry' ring was.

With a meaningful look from the vampire, Chao retreated in a secluded corner and did a time jump to the past, took three of the white-stoned rings that Eva had made a few months ago, and returned to the party just a few seconds after she had left.

While Negi was opening his other presents and passing the disturbance as a small prank of his, Chao, Asuna and Eva took Harry aside for a short chat.

"Alright, what the hell happened? Even if the containment stone was completely full, that still doesn't explain why the darkness tried to get to your scar!" Eva demanded.

"Yeah, why is it bleeding anyway?" Asuna asked as she was wiping the blood away.

"It reacts to Voldemort' presence and emotions. It burns when he's either angry or happy, or when he's casting a particularly dark curse. Though this is the first time it bleed." Harry explained.

"Hm, I'm gonna do some research on it. But for it to be so sensitive to darkness, I might have to search all the Restricted Section of the Library." Eva mussed.

"Good luck with that!" Harry snorted. "I wasted almost two months at the beginning of my fourth year looking through those books. I found nothing useful in there."

"And how exactly did you gain access to them?" Asuna raised an eyebrow.

"I... Um..." Harry stuttered.

"Yes?" Eva insisted.

"Alright." Harry gave up and looked around cautiously. "I used the Invisibility Cloak my father left me."

"A Cloak that your father left you? And it still works? Those things rarely last a decade." Eva said surprised.

"Dumbledore said that it was in my family for generations." Harry shrugged.

"I see." Eva narrowed her eyes. "You said there are no useful books in the library?"

"None. I asked Madam Pince and she said that those kind of books were removed over thirty years ago." Harry replied.

"You don't say." Eva muttered.

"Anyway, why don't you put these new rings on, ne?" Chao cut in.

"Oh, thanks." Harry said as he took the offered rings. "Should I take the old one off?"

"Not yet. Put these on first. Then fix the crack on that ring." Chao instructed.

"Okay, done." Harry said, showing his hand.

"Stand still a second." Eva instructed as she began chanting "Lic lac la lillac! Sagitta Magica Lucis Capturae Stagnans Crystalis!"

Three small transparent arrows of light appeared and enveloped the black stone like chains before turning into a white crystal.

With a snap of the vampire' fingers, the old ring shattered to dust and the stone levitated to her hand.

"Alright, let's have some fun now. We'll worry about your scar later." Asuna suggested.

"Speaking of worry, I wonder why Voldemort was so happy tonight..." Harry muttered grimly.

A.N.: Here's the new chapter! I know that I might have make some changes from canon like the scar bleeding before as well as that final part having a different timing, but hey, It's my story.

Starting with the next chapter there will be a lot more interactions between Harry and the Ala Alba. There will also be some inter-house cooperation or more... Well, we'll get to that some other time!