Prince Consort

Chapter 25

"Harry!" Theodore called out, relief and happiness spreading across his face, as Maria let Harry into the 'apartment' they were sharing. Or rather Maria had one bedroom, while Blaise and he shared another. The letter clutched in his hand quickly forgotten, "How are you feeling?" he asked him as Harry made his way over to the couch to sit next to him. "Blaise will be back in a few seconds." no doubt Harry could smell Blaise in here anyway so telling him was probably unneeded.

"Shhh," Harry said, wincing at the loudness of Theodore's voice, "Talk quiet, I'm still getting used to this whole hearing thing," he got headaches very easily.

"Sorry, but how are you?" Theodore asked his voice lower, it had been days since they saw him. He and Blaise had just been doing the rest of their summer homework, playing chess, exploding snap or just reading and conversing.

"I'm doing a lot better," Harry informed him with a genuine smile, they didn't know about the Horcruxes, and Harry didn't want to tell them. It could endanger their lives if they ended up caught, especially Theodore…his father was relentless, and judging by the letter balled up in Theodore's fist he knew that his dad had been at him again. He was very familiar with the look Theo got on his face after his dad wrote to him. "Your dad?"

Theodore scowled down at the letter, "Yeah, another threat to cut me off, says he means it this time though." his father could be ruthless when he wanted to be, but he'd never lifted a hand to him. He did have a lot of expectations for him, expectations that he definitely didn't want to live up to. He didn't want to lose his best friends, they say that wouldn't happen, but Theodore wasn't stupid, they'd keep secrets from him and slowly they would distance themselves, he would be a Death Eater, on the dark side, while they were neutral. He could guess how many other Slytherins would or already had taken the mark, and he quite frankly couldn't stand any of them. Voldemort had already lost once, the chances were he'd lose again, and he didn't want to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban.

"Did you move your trust vault like Blaise suggested?" Harry asked, concerned, listening to the toilet flush and the door open before Blaise wandered in, not surprised to see Harry since he'd heard Theodore calling out a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, it's in my own name, I have the only key, I did it well before all this happened," Theodore admitted, "I don't think my father has found out though, I think he'd be writing to me a lot more pissed than he is now."

"I'd imagine so," Blaise said snorting wryly. "So what's it like, mate?" sitting down next to Theodore, his mum began her stitching again, he wondered what this tapestry would look like when she was done.

"Honestly? There's not that much different, except it's exhausting to keep up the pretense of breathing," Harry said sniggering in amusement.

"Have you tasted blood yet?" Blaise asked in morbid curiosity.

Maria cleared her throat loudly, giving her son a disproving look.

"No, I want to hunt first, the book makes it sound…" Harry trailed off licking his lips, almost purring as the words he'd read wrote out in his mind's eye, he'd never forget anything. Yes, the thought of hunting with Severus was quite thrilling, he'd told him as much but they hadn't been able to talk about it since he had left the room to come here, feeling quite smug about it.

Blaise and Theo screwed their noses up in disgust, as Blaise regretted asking in the first place, while his mum! His MUM! Stifled her laughter behind the cloth she was using to do her tapestry.

"So…the party tonight?" Blaise said hastily, not very Slytherin but right now he didn't care overly much other than ensuring the subject got changed.

"Very subtle," Harry said drolly, "Everyone's all over the place today, and people are coming in, well, vampires' really; I've never seen them so I think they're there for the party,"

"Probably are, those with an international Portkey have to come when its set to go, those closer will more than likely just show up when its time," Theodore commented, unsurprisingly his friends nodded, very much aware of that. He and Blaise had worked hard to make sure Harry understood absolutely everything from a pureblood standard, only because Harry asked. It was either that or have Harry with his nose buried in more books honesty!

"Have you received your robes yet?" Harry queried, genuinely curious, his and Severus' hadn't come yet, and he knew his dad's hadn't either.

"No, not yet," Maria was the one who commented, and she sounded very excited, Raymond was very exclusive, he had a certain clientele, and those she knew would have cut their own arms off to have one of his designs, no matter their money and offers they had given the wizard, he had declined very gracefully. She hadn't asked she refused to embarrass herself by practically begging someone. She never imagined in a million years she'd get a dress from him here of all places. "They will be here by this afternoon, most certainly."

"Yeah," Harry said thoughtfully, he couldn't imagine how many he was making for this party, six he knew for certain, but probably a lot more. He must have worked day and night to get them all done; he must be getting paid quite a lot too. It wouldn't surprise if him Severus was paying top galleon for decent robes, the amount he'd transferred over to his bank account was bloody enormous.

"Do you know what's going to happen, Harry?" Maria asked, just wishing to be on the safe side.

"Er…what do you mean?" Harry asked turning back to face her, his face set with an enquiring look.

"Has nobody told you what you need to say while you are sworn in as Lord Consort?" Maria asked her lips pursed in dissatisfaction.

"That's going to happen?" Harry asked gaping in stunned disbelief, why hadn't Sev told him?

"Come over here and we shall read one of Zara Zabini's journals, this will tell us everything, and if it doesn't occur then we can just relax can't we?" Maria said, summoning Zara's journals to her with a flick of her wand. Waiting patiently for Harry to join her, and as always, she explained things to him in a way he would memorise.

"Come on, might as well play a game of chess," Blaise said sniggering; they'd be there all afternoon.

Prince Castle was becoming extremely overcrowded, to say the least, but exceedingly beautifully decorated inside and out. Gorgeous white table and chairs were spread out as far as the eye could see around one section of the gardens, with umbrellas that were for now white, but would soon become translucent as the night darkened allowing it to appear as if everyone was gazing at the night sky. Bobbing waves of magical lanterns that were for the moment unlit, were spread out more so around the large pool to prevent anyone from toppling in presumably. The inside was impossibly even more impressive, there truly had been no expense spared for this spread they were putting on. No not spread, celebration, one of the most important ones, none more important than a wedding or birth of a child who would continue the Prince line. Everyone was brimming with excitement, the entire clan was going to be under one roof for the entire night, so friends, partners what have you, were all going to be able to spend time together, something they didn't get to do at times, especially with them being so busy these days. Every human there had been vetted and sworn not to reveal anything, Severus was extremely cautious these days, it was his mate after all and he knew how fickle humans were. It had been a vow or nothing; it would see them die before they could form the words that would betray him.

There was only one other person who wasn't as enthusiastic as everyone else for the upcoming festivities, well perhaps two, but Sirius Black had been confined to his room for the evening forbidden from showing his face. Harry felt very conflicted, while he was somewhat happy he'd actually get to spend some time with his friends…he also felt as though he was just going to be put on a pedestal for show. To prance around like a play thing, something that had been won while everyone celebrated. He didn't like to think things like that, he wasn't sure if it was the truth, a jaded part of him or panic and fear talking.

He'd gone his entire childhood ignored, stuffed under a cupboard until they wanted something done for them. Even school had been a tough time for him, Muggle school worse than Hogwarts admittedly, since he had the most wonderful friends, Teddy and Blaise were great, they'd stuck by him through thick and thin when they could have saved themselves the bother of siding with him - a Potter in Slytherin, the other Slytherin's hadn't been happy with his placement, to say the least. Nor had a few of the teachers, who acted like spoiled toddlers and made him feel as though he was some sort of traitor because of where a scrap of cloth had shouted out where he was supposed to go. Not that he regretted that, the hat had said he'd find his true friends there, and he had. Perhaps it was fear causing him to question things, he knew Severus cared, even though he'd gone about it the wrong way.

Harry swallowed thickly, no, he wasn't going to let his self-doubt bring him down, he always did this, sabotaged everything good in his life because he didn't think he was worth it. He always gave everyone a hard time, because he was so used to everyone just walking away or stabbing him in the back. When he was eleven if they had given up it would have only been his own fault for doing what he did, same with his dad, he'd already made Severus work harder than he should for his mate…and by Merlin he knew how to make him feel alive, to feel happy like he'd never felt for anyone else. He always made sure that he knew he was important, that he came first…he would never find anyone else like that, he knew it deep down. He couldn't continue questioning everything that made him happy, it was time to put the Dursley's memories to rest, stop them from interfering with his new life, get rid of the anger, Sev had been right, it was taking him places he never wanted to be.

Having made up his mind, Harry moved over to the cupboard where the robes hung for tonight, they were unlike anything he'd ever worn, resplendent and they were so soft and fine that Harry feared ripping it. He wondered momentarily what it was made from, Acromantula silk? He didn't think so, Acromantula silk was very rare and very expensive…then again this was the Princes they were talking about here, they could afford whatever they liked, the Princes vaults were probably quad-triple the amount of even the Malfoy's who were quite high up with monetary wealth. Maria Zabini, the woman Harry thought of as a mother figure was directly under Malfoy in terms of wealth, although Harry summarised it wouldn't remain that way for long, Malfoy was probably giving it up in a bid to aid the war with his Lord.

The sound of the other vampires and those who were coming to the castle was muted; the rooms here were very steeped in privacy spells. Harry slowly began to change, he still wasn't one hundred percent capable of reining in his vampire strength, and he definitely didn't want to rip the robes, they were a lovely shade of green, that reminded Harry of trees and made him think of a forest, blue and silver were woven in intricately, blue and silver were the colours of the Princes, had been for centuries, he was slowing learning everything he could about them, about this new world he was in. It didn't go beyond his notice that most 'mates' didn't bother with the politics, they were perfectly content to leave it to their husbands, being nothing more than a parent and wife or husband, they didn't take active parts in it. Harry didn't want to be like them, he wanted to take part in it, give his opinion, make it known, another reason he was actually paying more attention to the books these days about their ways.

The robes once on, Harry realized they were the most comfortable thing he'd ever worn; they felt like a second skin. Moving over to the mirror, he gazed at himself, but the robes brought out the colour of his eyes, one of the few things he actually liked about himself. He decided upon using the Prince Hair clasp, he wanted to wear his hair up and out of his face, giving his thick tresses a quick brush; he clipped the hair piece into place, there. He was ready, well except one thing, he was hardly going to go barefoot, he moved to the wall beside the door, where the shoes were kept, and slid his feet into his welsh green dragon hide boots.

Harry quickly shoved his hand out when the door began to open suddenly; he knew it could only be Severus since nobody else would just walk in; in fact, the guards rarely entered their rooms. Severus valued what privacy he was able to achieve, he also made sure the other vampires whether they were guard or not, had privacy in their own rooms, the wings were smothered in spells in moderation, spelled to be lifted at the first sign of trouble, something he had done himself which impressed him to no end. He was absolutely brilliant, and Harry often time wondered what the hell he saw in him, he was not smart like Severus. He once again forced those thoughts away, he was young still, and he could and would prove himself. He was determined to.

"Are you ready?" Severus asked, not quite able to see Harry until he walked in when he did get to see his mate in the robes they were matching in, his breath caught in his throat. He was breathtaking, and by Merlin, he would do everything to keep him, Harry was his, and he'd make that abundantly clear to absolutely everyone tonight.

"Yes," Harry replied, flushing a little at the heated look on Severus' face, he wasn't used to people looking at him like that either. "You look amazing," he told Severus, watching surprise flicker through his eyes, Severus it seemed was just as damaged as him in some ways. Had nobody ever complimented him before? Or was it just something rare or maybe it was the fact it was him saying it and not the others…Sev might just think they were saying it for the sake of it, or to suck up.

"Thank you," Severus said quietly, stepping forward, his fingers sweeping along Harry's jaw and into his hair, those green eyes would be the death of him, "And you, my delectable mate, are just breathtaking, tonight will be extremely hard," Harry flushed completely at the words, understanding the innuendo behind it, oh he loved making Harry flush just so, it was extremely endearing to say the least, but as teasing as he was being, it was nothing but the truth, as much as he was going to enjoy showing him off, the night was going to be a long one.

Severus leaned down and pressed his head against Harry's, "If it gets too much for you, just let me know," he told him as his fingers rubbed soothingly and absently against his head. "I know you've not been looking forward to this overly much."

Harry leaned into the caress, surprised that Severus had noticed his hesitation, better still that he would leave the party if it did get too overwhelming for him. "I'm not used to people staring," Harry replied, sharing part of the reason, "Not after being mostly ignored all the time," but after what Sev had just said, he would do his best to grin and bear it all night.

"You don't deserve to be ignored, you are an intelligent wizard, beautiful and can hold your own, and I have every belief in you, Harry," Severus said solemnly, meaning every word. If he had his way Harry would never be ignored again, and he would always put him first as long as he was able. He pressed his lips to Harry's in a brief chaste kiss, even just a chaste kiss Severus found it very difficult to pull away, especially seeing as Harry had a grip on his arm and clothed hip, he wanted Harry very badly, but he had promised him to go at his pace and it was Harry's pace they would go. Severus chuckled at the pout Harry displayed at the short kiss. He had been such a fool to think himself happy before he got his mate here.

Unable to deny his mate, Severus gripped Harry tightly, bringing him flush against him and kissing him much more ardently than before. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for the pair, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Giving Harry's pouting lip a nibble, he reluctantly withdrew, thinking of all the slimiest things he could, in an effort to calm his rapidly swelling erection, just seeing Harry was enough to get his attention never mind being so close to him.

"Yes?" Severus snapped a little more curtly than normal, annoyed at being interrupted, he only had a short time as it was with his mate.

"It's time, Sir," Corin said.

"Very well," Severus said his voice just slightly calmer. "I believe it's time for us to depart," with that he stepped back and offered his hand to his mate, which was gladly and immediately accepted. Severus' lips twitched, he was unbelievably proud of Harry, he couldn't wait to show him off and see everyone, but he did hope the celebrations went by very quickly; these things usually did though so he wasn't too worried. "Is there anything you wish to ask? Need to know?" he asked his hand on the door, ready to open it but not doing so quite yet.

"I've read all about it, enter together, introductions, you talk, introduce me then more talking to the higher up in the circle before doing whatever we want," Harry said, he had read the journal with Maria extensively, it was better than any other book when it came to understanding the ins and outs of daily life here at the castle. It also showed how depressed she was, how secluded she felt and how torn she was since she'd loved Artemis but didn't want the life that came with it, but knowing how much Artemis valued family and responsibility she knew he would never walk away from it, not when he was the only heir, and so she'd done what she had to.

Severus' lips twitched once more, if only it were that simple to get it over with, Harry obviously didn't realize just how many vampires and people he held in high regard. He was about to find out, he thought to himself wryly, and with that he opened the door and Corin gazed at them wide-eyed, Harry was normally just dressed in Muggle clothes although he had worn his new clothes a few times, but they were nothing on these robes he was wearing tonight, so to see him so finely dressed was probably quite shocking despite knowing he would be.

"My Lords," she said with a touch of reverence, "You both look resplendent tonight,"

"Thank you," Harry and Severus both said, delivering their thanks, something they knew they would be doing more than their fair share of tonight. At the same time, Severus tightened his hold and brought Harry closer to him, not liking even Corin looking at Harry that way, yes, tonight was going to be a long ardours task indeed.

"Let's proceed," Severus added, and with that they began to walk down the corridor, making their way to the Great Hall where everyone would be. Thankfully the Great Hall was extremely large and would fit everyone that was invited, but it would definitely be crowded though.

"Remus!" called Teddy and Blaise running towards him.

"Theodore, Blaise, how are you both?" Remus asked, patting them on the back as they hugged him.

"We're fine, have you seen Harry?" Theo asked, craning his neck and looking around barely seeing the beauty in front of him more interested in seeing his best friend, who he had just seen this morning.

"He won't arrive until everyone is here, boys," Maria scolded as she finally caught up to them, she never lowered herself to running, but her son could do whatever he liked unless it was his parties then she expected proper decorum. "Which should be round about now," she added noticing the guards moving towards the door, ready to open them and allow the Lord's to make their grand entrance.

"You won't be able to talk to him right away," Remus commented, gazing at the doors himself now, having looked when Maria spoke. "He must be introduced to Sev-Lord Prince's court." he had to use official titles tonight, the last thing he wanted was irate vampires on him for not showing their Lord's their proper respect and they were very big on that.

"Remus is correct, it will be at least half an hour before you boys can do whatever you like," Maria nodded, knowing the ways of the vampires.

Theo and Blaise didn't really mind, they just couldn't wait to spend some time with Harry, he'd been so busy of late they'd hardly seen each other. Well compared to how they usually were, the three were inseparable, spent nearly every waken moment together. Except when Theodore had to go home and Harry was with Remus of course. It was never longer than a few days before they spent the day together.

Remus watched the doors open and he had only eyes for his son as he walked in, he was dressed in the finest material money could buy. He deserved every single bit of it; he still couldn't believe James had been so stupid as to let the Potter estate fall into such a state of disrepair. It meant that Harry wasn't able to splurge on himself. Harry hadn't minded though, but he wasn't sure Harry realized just how considerable the Potter wealth had been. It mattered little now; Harry would be given everything he could ever hope to receive, a family, attention, more importantly, the things he himself couldn't give Harry. He loved him, cared for him, given him all the attention he could, but he still felt lacking and saddened he hadn't been able to give him all the things he should - all the things he would have had growing up. He couldn't solely blame James, Dumbledore had continued taking the money despite the fact the Order was no longer working, and it wasn't as if the old fool wouldn't know since Gringotts gave out monthly statements.

He looked…a little awkward but his eyes were sparkling, he wondered what had caused it, something Severus had said or something he was thinking? The fact he would get to spend time with his friends? It was rather rare seeing such a sparkle in Harry's eyes, in that brief moment, Lily shone through brightly. Merlin Harry looked unburdened, he'd just seen him a day ago what could have happened in such a short time to see this drastic affect? Maybe Severus was a much more positive influence on Harry than he thought he would be.

"…Lord Prince and his consort Harry James Potter-Prince," Remus was swiftly brought out of his thoughts and clapped politely wincing at the thunderous applause, Harry doing pretty much the same thing, he was new to this life and wasn't quite able to tolerate the loudness as the others obviously were. The vampires noticed and immediately slowed the vigour in their cheering, to a minimal level but still showing how excited they were by the new generation that was coming. They hadn't had to wait quite as long for Rose and Glenn their previous Lord and Lady, but it was still a very exciting time for them.

Harry gazed around curiously, actually having to bite his tongue; he wasn't sure why they were so insistent on celebrating tonight. Sure finding your soul mate was a big thing, especially to a vampire, or half vampire as he and Severus were. They weren't really celebrating him though, they were celebrating the continuation of the Prince line, and he couldn't help but wonder if they expected him to take a back seat to everything they planned just like the others. Did they think the only time they'd have to protect him was when they were attacked or when he went out shopping? Oh, no, that wasn't him and he would make that abundantly clear to the others…to everyone. A slow smirk spread across his face, igniting the curiosity of many.

"Oh no, Harry's up to something," Blaise said, gazing at the smirk, he rarely had that look unless he planned on ripping someone to shreds or doing it in that subtle way that nobody ever found out it was him. Nothing like a prank, more of a degrading humiliation or curses, he doubted Harry's dad even knew a quarter of the things Harry had gotten up to in school.

Theodore sniggered, trying to contain himself as he thought of all those times he'd made a big fool of Marcus Flint and the others who'd tried to make Harry's life hell. After seeing him do it once, there had been no doubt about his placement in Slytherin. Hopefully, Harry wouldn't pull any of those things here in a party that was just for him. As Slytherin as he was, there was no way he'd get away with it and he'd only embarrass himself and his partner, it wasn't something that would be forgiven.

Severus glanced at his mate, his eyes narrowing shrewdly, sincerely hoping that Harry wouldn't start anything tonight, not of all nights. He supposed it was one of the downsides to having such a young mate, and he was very young, which had been pointed out to him very frequently, both subtle and not so subtle. He watched with pride as Harry was sworn in as Prince Consort, promising to aid Severus and be a fair leader to all those under his care. Harry had an odd look on his face when he was asked to say that part; it was part incredulous part boredom. He definitely wanted to ask him what it was all about.

"Harry, may I introduce you to Glenn and Rose…my grandparents, again," Severus said slowly.

"Congratulations on your bonding, may you have many years of happiness and they be blessed," Glenn said, his tone professional.

Harry just blinked at him, nodding just slightly, he had sounded bored and as if he felt it was his duty to say it…like he didn't really want to be there or say it at all.

"Harry! It's lovely to see you again, how are you feeling?" Rose said, smiling at him barely refraining from hugging him, she didn't know him well enough for that. She wasn't even sure he would want to talk to them he couldn't have gotten away sooner the last time they spoke. "I am sorry we didn't get the chance to speak more thoroughly last time."

"Well I hope circumstances in the future change so you can spend more time here, I have a lot of questions I'd like to ask you," Harry said, shaking her hand, returning her smile. He certainly liked Rose better than Glenn at the moment. Twice he had met him and he almost just looked through him.

"About the change?" Rose queried, accepting the glass of blood that was given to her, despite the fact they were no longer 'Lord and Lady' they were still afforded a lot of respect in the vampire community.

"No thank you," Harry said, declining the drink, the blood was enticing, it smelt like heaven, but he wanted to wait until he was shown how to hunt, even if it was only once. "And no, not just about the change, although there's not really much to talk about now that it is done." he noticed that Severus and Glenn were talking quietly as was everyone else actually. Still standing in the same position though, but Harry knew they wouldn't start enjoying their night until he'd spoken to everyone that Severus had in his most trusted within his court. He could hear everyone's conversations, but he successfully blocked them out by staring at Rose and listening.

"Oh there will be many questions still regarding the change, I would have liked if there was someone whom I could speak to when I first went through it," Rose confessed sweetly, "They told me the change would be difficult but I was unprepared for how tough it would be."

"There wasn't?" Harry was surprised.

"Oh no, unfortunately not, but I had Glenn who helped make it a little easier for me," Rose admitted, her love shining clear as day for the wizard/vampire.

"How long did it take for you to complete the change?" Harry asked, beginning to like Rose a lot, she was warm and loving, she reminded Harry of the softer side of Maria Zabini, and how she treated them when she was with them in private.

"Three days," Rose replied, "The third day wasn't so bad, I was largely just recovering." she didn't ask about his, she knew it had taken over five days for him to recover from his bite, she couldn't imagine how bad it was, fortunately it was over now and he could continue his life, a few days of pain was nothing on an elongated life with the one you love.

Harry just grinned; "He wouldn't let you up would he?" his green eyes sparkling with mirth, it had been that way for him too.

Rose's lips twitched, if anyone understood being human and having a vampire mate it would be Harry, admittedly he was no longer fully human of course. "Oh, he learned I could take care of myself," she said eyes bright, Harry was a wonderful consort for Severus, hopefully, he would be able to bring her grandson out of his shell a little more. She noticed he hadn't taken his eyes off Harry, despite the fact nobody other than her was near him. Part of her wondered if it was that he didn't trust her, but she knew deep down he was just protective and Harry was absolutely stunning. She knew a lot of people wouldn't be able to keep their eyes off him.

"Come, let's meet the others, they're very eager to meet you properly," Severus informed his mate, wrapping his arm possessively around Harry's middle, feeling smug when Harry leaned against him contently. To think a few weeks ago he assumed this would never happen, more fool him, and he shouldn't have let those thoughts fester for a second.

"I believe you've already met Robert Langdon," Severus said, introducing him to his Hogwarts teacher, only this time the tables had turned, Langdon was in no way in charge of Harry here the dynamics were different.

"My Lords," Langdon said bowing to Harry in deference.

"Hey, Professor," Harry said grinning, unsurprised to see him since he already knew.

"Robert, please, you don't seem surprised to see me here," Robert said, "Nor were you the last time." he realized curiously.

"I'm not," Harry said feeling more at ease, Langdon was one of his favourite professors, admittedly they'd never quite conversed like this, but just talking to someone from his old life was fun. "I knew from the moment I looked at the Prince coat of arms and what it meant."

Robert blinked, "I don't quite understand," he admitted, frowning in contemplation as if he could somehow unravel the meaning.

"The pendant, I assume it's a Portkey right?" Harry pointed out to his shirt where the pendant was located.

Robert's hand automatically went to the pendant, his eyes wide; he couldn't believe he had been as stupid as to let anyone see it. The whole point of him being a spy was to keep quiet and he had obviously screwed up at one point. If Harry knew…what if others did? No, the teachers couldn't possibly know, it was impossible, if they did, Dumbledore would have come after him of that he had no doubt. "When?" he asked, Harry had been more observant even as a human than he'd given him credit for.

"My fifth year," Harry commented, "I don't think anyone else noticed, certainly not Blaise or he would have said something," Blaise knew every single coat of arms, his mum; Maria had made sure of that. Theodore had been taught as well, just not as much as Blaise; Maria had wanted to ensure Blaise knew everyone in the magical world so he wouldn't be caught unawares.

Robert glanced at Severus briefly, wondering if he knew, but his Lord gave nothing away. He still wanted to kick himself for such a rookie mistake to make; there was nothing to be done now he would just have to be more careful in future. "And will I be having you as a student in my class this year?" he asked, curious about the answer.

"No," Harry replied shaking his head before Severus could so much as open his mouth to say what he wanted, which also had been a resounding no. it was much too dangerous to return to Hogwarts, he wasn't going to risk his friend's lives.

"You still wish to take defense mastery?" Robert queried.

Severus' eyebrow quirked just slightly, that was news to him, but as much as it pained him he didn't know everything about Harry yet, but he would. He did unconsciously tighten his hold on Harry, while he wanted Harry to be happy here, the familiarity in which they were speaking wound him up the wrong way despite the fact he knew he had nothing to fear.

"That or healing," Harry informed him.

"Both wonderful choices, you would do any of those careers proud," Robert said, once again dipping his head in respect.

"Thanks," Harry said, and with that, he was moved along before he could even say goodbye.

"This is Adam and Selvic," Severus said, introducing the two vampires that Harry was unfamiliar with.

"You just had a child right?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer, he remembered hearing about it when he first came here.

"We did, a son, he's over a month old," Adam said proudly, surprised that he would be interested.

"Congratulations," Harry said sincerely, "Hopefully I'll get to meet him one day,"

"You will, my Lord," Selvic said, bowing, well he was showing an interest in their lives that was a good thing.

And so it continued until Harry had met them all, Storm and Jackson, Corin and Simon, Dalton, Cenric, Zarek and Kieran a lot of them were couples that were usually split up doing different tasks all day. Quite a few of them he knew, they had been 'keeping him safe' and trailing him ever since he got here. Harry made an effort to talk to them about things he knew they liked, finding it much easier as they went along, and Severus never once left his side.

When that particular task was over he hadn't waited even five minutes before launching himself at his friend's direction.

"Hey, guys! You look great!" Harry proclaimed, even the Yule ball had paled into insignificance.

Maria surprised him by abruptly hugging him, "You've grown into such a handsome man, Harry," she said as she let him go, she had been unable to catch her breath when she saw him. He had always been a good looking boy, but the moment he stepped into that room, it was like seeing a duckling magically transformed into a swan, there was no other word for it.

Harry flushed bright red at her words, "Thank you," he murmured quietly abashed. "Shut it you two!" Harry said, giving them a gimlet glare when they began to snigger at him, which only made them worse when he pouted at them.

"How was it?" Blaise asked curiously, they were right next to the buffet which had human food piled up high, Theodore was already helping himself to it, and Blaise despite his discussion began to eagerly dig in too.

"Wasn't as bad as I feared," Harry admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "Are you okay, Dad?" he was awfully quiet.

"I'm fine," Remus informed him, his amber eyes brighter than normal, "I'm just very proud of you," of how far he'd come. He grunted when Harry barrelled into him hugging him again.

"Have you heard back from Tonks yet?" Harry queried.

"Not yet, but hopefully soon," Remus sighed, that was one thing he wasn't looking forward to. He had yet to tell Sirius now that was going to be a hell of a conversation.

"Can you convince him to let you come to Hogwarts?" Theodore whispered, looking hopeful. Glancing up when he saw movement, to see that Maria and Remus had moved off to the side, having a quiet conversation - and presumably to let them three have some time together. The room was emptying actually, most of them must be going outside, and he knew vampires could get a little claustrophobic so he wasn't too surprised.

"Actually it's me that doesn't really want to go back, I'm going to take my N.E.W.T's at the Ministry," Harry replied, Hogwarts had never been 'home' for him, nor had it been easy, constantly defending himself, Teddy and Blaise were the only things that made it worthwhile. It was only one more year and then Teddy and Blaise would start working on their own desired fields and gain their own masteries or degrees.

"You'll pass with flying colours," Blaise admitted, saddened that Harry wouldn't be there but understanding nonetheless, especially if Dumbledore got away with what he did, it wouldn't be safe, that and Voldemort would expect Harry there…making it ten times more dangerous for him…even more so in Slytherin.

"You'll be safer there without me," Harry admitted, "It's going to be really dangerous as it is…I mean the wannabe Death Eaters or the actual ones who've been marked…I'm good but not enough to fight them all off…I wouldn't want anything to happen to you guys,"

"This is your decision isn't it?" Theodore whispered, eyes concerned, solely for his friend and his happiness.

"Yes, most definitely, we haven't discussed it at all," Harry pointed out, but even he knew Severus wouldn't want him to go. "You'll be coming here during the breaks right?"

"Of course, mum will be here anyway and it's just too dangerous for Theo to go home…mum asked Lord Prince if Theo could get a Portkey just in case…it will bring him here if things get worse…" Blaise explained quickly.

"Did you get a howler again?" Harry winced; Theo was one step away from being 'disowned' for being an embarrassment to the Nott name.

"Just letters, none since this morning," Nott said shaking his head, "Should we join everyone else outside?" changing the subject, "Everyone else is gone and we are the only ones left." he added smoothly succeeding in his ability to change the subject, or so he thought, Harry just grinned at him and the trio of friends left the building all of them had plates filled with mountains of food.

"Whoa," Harry said gazing around in awe; he hadn't seen the outside before now. His and Severus' living quarters faced the opposite direction.

"Wow," Blaise murmured in complete agreement with Harry, "I've been to a lot of pureblood parties, but this one…this one goes to the top of the list."

"Definitely," Theodore agreed, "Come on let's find a seat,"

A magical bubble suddenly domed around them, causing them to looking around and relax when it was only Remus, "Do not stay with them all night, this is both yours and Severus' night tonight, you're supposed to spend time as a couple." Remus informed him, patting Harry's shoulder coming from absolutely nowhere. "You can talk and spend time with Blaise and Theo any other time."

"Remus' is right, you're both hosts and should be doing this together," Blaise agreed reluctantly.

"Meet up at ours tomorrow?" Nott suggested seeing Harry conflicted.

"Alright," Harry agreed, on one hand, he didn't really want to leave his friends…on the other hand, he had admitted even only to himself he wanted to take part in the politics, to be more than just a consort that gives the next Prince heir. Which he wouldn't be doing for a very long time yet. "Do you know where he is?" nodding and smiling briefly at the vampire who bowed to him, he didn't know who he was.

"Severus is over there," Remus pointed him out, he was on by far the biggest table outside, it was rectangular instead of circular, and he was seated at the head of the table, as Lord, of course, it was his place. With that, he flicked his wand and made the silencing bubble disappear easily enough.

Harry said a quick goodbye to his friends before he began to make his way through the throng of people, everyone moved out of his way so it wasn't as if it was a hard thing to do. While that happened, he noticed he was being tailed, which caused him to sigh resignedly that was one thing he knew he wouldn't be able to change. The table was absolutely full, there wasn't a single seat unclaimed when they noticed him everyone stood up, with the obvious exception of Severus. He did notice the vampire at the end, Cenric gesturing for him to take the seat at the end, customary but Harry didn't care for that sort of thing, instead, he just shook his head and gestured for Cenric to sit back down. If this was his party then surely he could do whatever he liked?

He moved over to the empty table to his left and picked up one of the seats and moved back over, then he plopped the chair down right next to Severus' and sat down, giving a little smirk at the looks he was getting, he doubted he'd ever get used to that, he rather hoped it would stay amusing. He glanced impishly at Severus, hoping that he wasn't doing something really; really stupid or insulting to him because it truly was the last thing Harry wanted to do.

Severus lips only twitched just a little before intertwining Harry's fingers with his own. Truly grateful that Harry had returned, he had assumed he would spend the night with his friends and father. It presented them in an, even more, firm light; it showed that despite his age that Harry cared about the people. Which he had proven tonight without a doubt, he remembered details from before he was turned with startling clarity that left him impressed. "Do you want a drink?" Severus asked his mate, eyes warming just for him.

"No, I'm fine," Harry said repeating his earlier words, giving him a smile. His uncle had put him off drinking, at least anything in ways of hard liquor. Blood he didn't want his first time to be from a goblet, he wanted to experience a hunt. The only thing he drank was Butterbeer but that wasn't exactly alcohol really drinking lots of that would only make you need to pee. Instead, as the conversations started back up, he just squeezed their chairs together as much as possible and leaned against Severus listening to the conversations around him. Nothing was catching his interest as of yet, but he was sure hopeful that something would.

Oddly enough after a while, Harry realized there was nowhere else he wanted to be, not even with his friends right now. He was very much content.

There we go :) only a page added to this one with a little taken out :D R&R please