Prince Consort

Chapter 26

Severus woke up to the sound of the door opening and closing, stretching languidly, he sat up, wondering what time it was, it felt early, and while Harry wasn't one for sleeping in, he didn't think Harry had gotten up so early before then again he had been human, Harry would no longer feel the need to sleep so much.

Yesterday had been a surprise to say the least, he wasn't sure what he had expected, but it definitely hadn't been what occurred. He shouldn't have underestimated Harry, as a Slytherin as well, he felt like kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner, or at all really. Harry had everyone eating out of the palm of his hand, even Selvic and Adam, who found it difficult to trust people, and they weren't merely tolerating Harry as their Lord's consort, they genuinely liked him, and had sat for an entire half hour talking and listening to them, even getting the new parents to show him a few pictures of their son. Harry had cooed over the pictures, absolutely smitten with the baby, and Severus actually wanted to know whether it was put on or if Harry did want children in future. It didn't matter right now, Harry was far too young, and he had a lot of living to do before he even thought of having a child, that's if they could be blessed with one. Male pregnancies were rare and risky, only six couples had given birth to a child in the past couple of decades, not only rare, but it was exceedingly rare for the pregnancy to last more than a single month. Your magic was used to magically hold the baby in question, and more often than not, it failed, there was no reason as to why, they had never found common denominators to explain it.

Vehemently shaking off those thoughts, but his traitorous mind conjured up an image of what a child of his and Harry would look like. How he would like the baby to look at least, and if he ever had one, he would prefer it to look like Harry, the inbreeding had done a number on the Prince line, while Glenn and Rose were able to hold their own; there was no denying that magic had been declining in the Prince family for generations. His mother had magic, but she wasn't able to cast much in the way of spells, she'd barely graduated Hogwarts. Her written work had been one hundred percent, but the practical work had left a lot to be desired, except potions and the subjects she'd taken that did not require a wand. For the longest time he had assumed that was why she'd left, to think it was something as inane as the fact she didn't come to her creatures inheritance, and denied him the knowledge of his birthright, which would have made his schooling infinitely easier. It was his belief that his mother marrying and producing a child with a Muggle had led to his extraordinary magical powers, he was probably the fourth or fifth powerful wizard in the magical world and he wasn't boasting, he was a Slytherin, he kept the true extent of his powers hidden, except when he had no other choice but to use it.

Shoving the covers off himself, he stretched again before heading to the bathroom to complete his normal morning ablutions. Fifteen minutes later, he exited the bathroom, paying no attention to the smoke billowing out behind him, before getting dressed in his usual robes. The robes they'd had on last night had already been cleaned and placed on the wardrobe door to hang, Harry had looked stunning in those robes, and he hoped he got to see him wearing something like that or even them again soon, he had looked very regal, honestly it was hard to believe it was the same boy who prefers lounging around in his Muggle clothes.

He was literally just adjusting his collar when a knock on the door startled him, he knew it was Alfred, he knew all his people by smell, and had memorised them a long time ago. "Enter," he called out, taking the seat beside his desk, early start or not, he still had work to do, and it couldn't go undone, the joy of being a leader he thought with sarcasm.

"Your mail, Severus," Alfred said, wandering over and placing the newspaper and letters side by side and the parcels at the top left hand corner.

"Thank you," Severus replied he would reluctantly have to get through everything; he didn't like delegating tasks like this, especially when it came to being information from all his people. A few times he had, Alfred had taken copious amount of notes, didn't leave anything out that he felt was important, but Severus still preferred knowing what was going on himself. Even if it did take over an hour, and that was with him being a vampire and able to read extremely quickly.

"It seems I may have been premature in my comments that Harry is just a little too young," Alfred commented, never afraid to admit when he was wrong, but rather just learn from it, he was too old to feel such reckless pride.

Severus' lips twitched, "He may be young in years, especially compared to you, but Harry was never able to be just a child, in that sort of environment he had to grow up quickly, to survive which believe me wasn't easy," by the end his brow was furrowed as he thought on the Dursley's. When Remus had told him about the scars he had sneakily went about getting evidence for his own eyes, which had practically sent him into a rage at the fact his mate had been hurt. That Harry had been hurt. Although the change had made them less obvious, he and all other creatures would always see them, humans however, would be ignorant to anything being there, their eyesight were just so weak.

"He seems to have taken a shine to Adam and Selvic, and vice versa," Alfred commented, flicking his wand and sitting on a seat he summoned from the far side of the room. He didn't always sit down and have a discussion with Severus, but today they definitely had something worth discussing.

"Indeed," Severus said wryly, he was pretty sure everyone had noticed it and would be discussing it at great length. Dipping his quill into his ink, he began to write on a clean piece of parchment, replying to the first of many letters he had to read.

"It seems he has political aspirations…" Alfred questioned his tone unsure, "It's not something you learn at Hogwarts…and I must admit I haven't seen him with a book on it…yet, have you been teaching him all he needs to know?"

"You forget who his best friends are," Severus pointed out, continuing to write, he knew Alfred wouldn't take offence with his actions, Alfred was probably one of the few who knew just how much work being Lord Prince actually was. "Blaise and Theodore I'm sure took it upon themselves to teach Harry what he needed to know, to survive in Slytherin and within the social circles. I must admit I am pleased they had the forethought to do so, it will make this adjustment much easier." signing his name, Severus placed the letter to the side to let it dry, turning to face Alfred again.

"I had not considered that," Alfred mused thoughtfully, nodding almost sheepishly for not having thought of it earlier. "Adjustment easier? I assume that your consort will be taking his exams? And lessons to help along the way?" now that he had creature blood rushing through his veins, it would be very easy for him to fly through the exams with flying colours.

"He will," Severus replied, "I plan on interviewing three potentials, whether they are the right fit or not remains to be seen. I will send out requests today," Harry had made it clear he wasn't returning to Hogwarts without him even bringing up the subject. He would have tried to convince Harry to study independently, but now there was no need.

"Why not use us?" Alfred probed, rather curiously, or more surprised really, Severus was paranoid about safety, he had a whole castle full of people who had sworn their loyalty to him, yet he wanted to bring in strangers to teach his mate and consort? No doubt they would be made to swear all manners of oaths themselves before they were allowed in the same room as Harry alone, but he was still undeniably curious, why use teachers when they themselves would love nothing more than to teach their Lord's consort.

"I won't overwork everyone; between your normal duties and our plans for the Death Eaters, the Horcruxes…it would be highly unfair to ask more of anyone." Severus replied firmly, they had lives of their own, they deserved personal time, he had always been fair to them, although those in his court worked longer hours and remained in the castle with him at all times unless he gave them leave, they were the primary protection that Severus and Harry received from any threat that could come at any second.

"It would be my pleasure to teach Harry whatever he needs to pass his exams," Alfred said honestly, "As you know I am merely an advisor of sorts, I have no further duties, and I think I can keep a handle on both tasks without a problem." he didn't like the thought of more outsiders being brought in. His Lord already had many humans on his pay role; he honestly would feel better if no more humans were granted entrance to the castle. It always made him on edge, not just him but others as well, there were ways in which one can betray you, and there was the chance they could be tagged with a tracking charm. Sure they checked them, but there was always new magic, always new ways of trickery and treachery. He would prefer knowing that his Lord and his Lord's consort were safe.

Surprise flittered over Severus' face, eyes sharpening, he gazed shrewdly at Alfred, judging his sincerity, "I believe you told me you wouldn't do it again if you were asked." Severus pointed out wryly, his lips twitching in remembrance.

"Yes, you wanted me to train seven newborn vampires," Alfred said dryly, "They didn't have one ounce of civility in them. Quite frankly that task felt more like a punishment."

Severus snorted, "They owe you everything, it wasn't all bad," Severus replied amused.

"Towards the end? No, it wasn't, and heaven forbid, I also know it wasn't their fault, it was solely their creator that was to blame." Alfred grimaced; he had hunted the vampire down himself and killed him. Tarek had turned over ten people, kept them strung up, caged, feeding them only a little to survive, they were wild, two had managed to get free and the others had been freed. It was then Severus got involved, they had only been able to save seven. Four had died, three by the Auror's and Severus had been forced to deal with the other, he was completely broken, he had been the oldest of the captives by far, putting him out of his misery had been the hardest thing to do, but it was the humane thing to do, the right thing. Alfred had hunted Tarek down until he found the vampire and laid waste to him, ripped him to pieces and burnt him. Nobody else would ever be hurt by the vampire, who had been trying to build up his own vampire army, to take over the Ministry of magic of all things. Ten years had passed since then, and those vampires? They had proven themselves beyond a shadow of a doubt and were welcomed with open arms once they settled into vampire life. In fact two of the group had become Severus' most trusted, members of his court, Adam and Selvic.

"Yes, it certainly was." Severus replied he'd just taken over himself when all that had occurred. He was glad it had, Adam and Selvic had his complete and total trust. He was godfather to their newborn son; neither man had any family, so they had immediately made arrangements for their son just in case anything happened. Including their combined assets at Gringotts written into a will, making sure that whoever got their child was only able to take so much out, ensuring that the majority of the money would still be there upon their child's seventeenth birthday. Which was why he was still so surprised that Adam and Selvic had surprised him by actually relaxing and having a good time with Harry. "Are you sure?" it certainly wouldn't be a harder task than the one they'd just discussed - albeit not in detail - not that there was any need. In fact it was never discussed, out of respect for both Adam and Selvic and the others, truthfully none of the vampires wanted their past thrown in their faces, and they just wanted to move on.

"I am," Alfred stated seriously, "I can have a timetable written up with the hours I can work, Lord Harry to fill the rest of it in with the subjects he wishes to take and we will take it from there."

"That would be appreciated," Severus nodded thoughtfully, it was one less thing for him to do, he could now discard the plan to write the three letters to send out to the best tutors he felt worthy of tutoring Harry.

"I'll get to it now," Alfred said standing up, giving a small bow of respect before banishing the chair back to its original position before leaving Severus to himself.

Without any distractions Severus was able to write the beginnings of truces between two of the French and his vampires, the French and UK vampires (not the Prince clan) had been at each others throats for as long as they could remember. He was pretty sure the original reason was probably lost in time too, it was more out of tradition than any real desire to fight at least he assumed so. The more support he had, the better it would be for all concerned, especially with his plans.

Opening the packages, he found the first one was a large box containing the potion ingredients he'd ordered from America five days ago, all properly preserved, which pleased him greatly. The second box was filled with books, scrolls and pages of hieroglyphics, all yellow faded and well extremely brittle. Each book, scroll or page had their own individual sleeve that had a mountain of spells on it for protection and preservation. The urge to abandon everything and just read was very strong, but the quicker they were put into the vault the better. Placing the box aside for a moment he opened the last one and found it was the items he'd ordered for Harry.

Opening his bottom drawer, he placed it inside, before taking both the books and the potion ingredients and leaving the wing. If it had been anything else other than delicate and rare books and potion ingredients he would have handed them off to the others to deal with, but they were and he wanted to see it done himself. Nobody else got to touch his potion ingredients, especially not these ones; they weren't grown in Britain, although Sam was going to try apparently.

"My Lord," Corin said, bowing but remaining seated when Severus entered the huge hermetically sealed vault.

"My Lord," Kieran said curiously, remaining seated as well, both of them had been until then going over very delicate scrolls. They had set up a new section, soul magic it said on the plaque. Anything to do with soul magic would be added there overtime, or rather anything not sectioned would be placed there.

"How are you both doing?" Severus asked, genuinely curious, he began to remove the books, scrolls and paperwork taking it to the brand new section of the vault, which was solely his, everyone knew not to remove anything from there, but they were free to read it as long as they put it back how it was. The hieroglyphics paper went straight under the glass case, before it was closed tightly, it wouldn't be opened again, and anyone wishing to read it would either have to copy it or read it from the glass. Severus unfortunately wasn't familiar with Egyptian hieroglyphics it's something he'd need to learn or ask someone who knows the language to translate it for him.

"Uh, we've not had much luck, anything that mentions soul pieces don't actually call them Horcruxes, maybe it was before they were named…it barely tells you what it does, and I've not seen anything that explains the process or how to remove it." Kieran admitted, a small hint of frustration bleeding into his voice.

"Fourth book along will tell you how they're created, none Alfred or I looked at before gave much away either, the further back you go the more chance you have of finding something. It seems to me that the Ministry don't want anyone remembering such magic, not that I can blame them seeing as the act of creating a Horcrux is rather…horrifying I must admit." Severus pointed to the book he was talking about, recognizing the spine as one he had read previously on his search for answers. "I assume you're staying away from books that have both our scent on them? There is no point to going through them twice, and the scent will be recent obviously." he added rather redundantly.

"The feel of it is wrong, never mind knowing how they're created," Corin said through slightly clenched teeth.

"Indeed," Severus replied, "Do not overdo it, remember to feed, the most urgent part is over with." he warned them.

"Of course," Corin said, slightly insulted he wasn't a newborn, not that he actually let that feeling show through either his eyes or tone.

"My Lord," Kieran bowed, he had served under a different vampire sire back in the day, and he knew and understood that Severus cared unlike the others who had just used them for their own ends. He closed his eyes and shook off his thoughts, not wishing to think on them, no, he wanted to find out how to destroy the Horcruxes. When he opened them again he noticed their Lord was gone, and Corin had returned back to the scroll with renewed determination.

Nodding thoughtfully he stiffened his spine and returned to his reading, delicately winding the scroll one way after he had read all he possibly could before starting from the top again.

Just as Severus had stepped into the dungeons he felt his mate enter the castle again, followed by his guards a few moments later. Harry had gotten used to being shadowed a lot quicker than he had, he'd noticed them last night and rather than getting angry he'd just rolled his eyes and sighed a little in what Severus presumed was exasperation. He felt himself unconsciously relaxing, and it wasn't due to the fact he was in the potions lab - it was the knowledge his mate was here and safe.

He removed the ingredients from their containers and placed the in ones of his own, which no doubt had better preservation charms on them since it wouldn't do well to have the containers spelled preserved for years, it meant less business, he knew how it worked he had worked in a few potion shops while gaining his mastery. In his immaculate scrawl, he wrote out the ingredient on the label before attaching it to the glass container before replacing the glass lid then repeated the process a dozen times until all ingredients were shelved for later use.

Sighing softly, he didn't get to spend anywhere near as much time in his lab anymore; it was disheartening, to say the least. Potions were not only his chosen profession, of sorts but his passion too. One day, he thought to himself as he left the dungeons, closing the door behind him, one day he would brew until his heart was content, until then he would just make do with the hour or so (either collectively or together) he managed to squeeze in, at a time. He moved quickly and met Harry just as he was about to go up the stairs to their bedroom (he presumed)

"Hey," Harry said giving him a wide smile, green eyes gleaming.

"Did you eat breakfast?" Severus questioned concerned, he knew it was a needless one, but he liked Harry knowing he cared about him.

"I did," Harry admitted, as he walked with Severus. Smirking amused when the door was held open for him, wandering in he felt the simmer of silencing spells.

"Alfred would like to be your tutor," Severus commented, it was nearly lunch time; they both would have nothing to do until after lunch.

"My tutor in what?" Harry queried puzzled.

"Everything you need to learn to take your exams," Severus informed him. "But the choice is most definitely yours."

"I could easily enough pass all my exams," Harry informed him, shaking his head, "I always read ahead at least a year or two, I missed a lot not knowing about the magical world growing up, and I hated that everyone knew the basics, plus dad had all the books from when he was at school, I was able to read them during the summer holidays. He started hiding them when I was reading too much, but when I asked he couldn't say no." a smug grin on his face as he revealed that titbit of information. He was a Slytherin, and the hat had said he had a thirst to prove himself, and he sure as hell had.

"I see," Severus said, giving Harry a thoughtful look, wondering if he really could actually take his NEWTS earlier, truthfully though he wouldn't be surprised if that were true. Harry liked to read quite a lot, he was always in the library with one book or another. Quite advanced books too, and now with him being a creature of the night, his memory was sharper, he would be able to retain information much easier. "Is that what you would prefer to do? Take your exams early?" instead of a tutor was certainly implied.

"A little studying for my NEWTS would be required before I take them, just to be on the safe side," Harry said slowly, thinking on it. "Especially for subjects that I need to brush up on," the ones he didn't care much for but wanted to pass all exams with flying colours. He didn't want to be just another average student from Hogwarts, he wanted more out of life, and a job that would one, be something he really enjoyed, and two, and bring in some money. It had always been his aspirations, his biological father had completely screwed up, the Potter finances had been left in disarray and Dumbledore had ended up with the majority of his parent's money - his money. Growing up with second-hand clothes had led to him wanting to be able to buy nice things. It wasn't needed now, but Harry wasn't going to rely on Sev, he wanted a job or at least a Mastery and nothing would stop him.

"Then speak to Alfred about the subjects you wish to brush upon, and he will set a schedule," Severus commented.

"If I agree to this, I want something in turn," Harry said, gazing at Severus' his lips twitching just so.

Severus inwardly groaned, well, he should have expected it, Harry was after all a Slytherin, and showing it more and more each day. "And that would be?" not sure what to expect, probably demands to visit his friends at Hogwarts during the trips to Hogsmeade or something. He was very loyal to his friends, and Severus silently commended him on it. Severus took a seat, turning the chair around to properly see Harry.

"I want you to teach me potions," Harry said seriously, he was the youngest Potions Master, who better to learn from? He knew Severus was busy and it probably wasn't right to ask him and take advantage of the fact Severus wouldn't want to say no to him, but quite frankly any opportunity to spend time with him would be great. He rarely got to see him and that wasn't the life Harry wanted out of a partnership, relationship, and he would need to tell Severus that too. He'd gone the first ten years of his life being ignored, and while Severus didn't ignore him per se, he still felt as everything else was more important. Who would want to live like that? Perhaps those who cared more about the position they gained from being at 'Lord Prince's' side but Harry wasn't one of them. Sure there was plenty of money, but Harry would rather earn it than live the way things were.

Surprised filtered through Severus' dark eyes, well that he hadn't expected. "I am not a patient man when it comes to teaching Potions, Harry, I do not believe it would be…a good idea."

"Why is that?" Harry asked seriously, sitting on the chest at the bottom of the bed.

"Potions are my passion, I knew up to the seventh year curriculum by the time I entered Hogwarts. I find it very annoying when people do not live up to my standards, hence why I've never considered taking on an apprentice, despite the fact I had many, many people begging or bragging to take them on. It simply wouldn't be fair to them, I know I don't have what it takes to teach, and there are many who do teach that cant, and I won't add to the number." Severus explained, crossing his legs, wondering at his response and hoping that Harry would let the matter rest.

"Since my second year I've received outstanding in all my tests and I received an Outstanding on my OWLS exam for both my written and practical participation in potions." Harry pointed out, "If that's not good enough I'm not sure what else could be." completely misunderstanding the point Severus was trying to make.

"I am not implying that I think you are incompetent at Potions, Harry," Severus said dryly, "I mean that I would not be a suitable teacher for you. I am impatient and demanding, and quite frankly I won't risk you coming to detest me for my attitude in a teaching setting."

"Fine, three lessons then, if I don't like your attitude you can get someone else to teach me, deal?" Harry said, green eyes gleaming determinedly.

Severus' lips twitched, a persistent little thing he was, when compared him he was little, "Very well, three lessons it is," he conceded to Harry's demands which were to be fair - very ideal and fair.

"Can we brew today?" Harry asked, a hint of hopefulness spreading across his face.

"I don't…" Severus was about to say he didn't have the time, he had meetings back to back in less than twenty minutes for the rest of the day. Unfortunately for him, he just happened to have a mate who was not only a Slytherin but quite adept at underhand manipulation.

"Last night was the first time we've actually spent more than an hour together!" Harry exclaimed impatiently. "Is this how it's always going to be? Am I always going to be the least important thing to you?"

"You know that is not true, and that blatant attempt at manipulation is not alright, Harry," Severus stated sharply, unimpressed.

"Not all of it," Harry argued right back, "You wanted me here, yet most of the time I hardly see you," he would have probably have been better off returning to Hogwarts…although that was impossible now thanks the news getting out about him defeating Voldemort.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, things had gotten tense extremely quick, and the joys of having a partner that was so much younger than you. Although young or not, it didn't mean Harry didn't have a point. "I will try and make more time for you," Severus promised, after a few minutes of thought. "I am doing my best here." he knew Harry was as well.

Harry stood up and turned away from Severus, facing the window as he looked out at the beautiful grounds, which had already been put back to normal from last night. "I know you do, I'm not trying to be ungrateful…I just…" Harry huffed unable to articulate his own feelings properly.

Severus stood up as well, try as he may, to be annoyed or angry that Harry was trying to manipulate him, he couldn't be. Not when it was clear that all Harry wanted was to spend more time with him. Which meant there was a big chance that after the time was up Harry wouldn't want to leave. He obviously had feelings for him, whether Harry understood those feelings or not remained to be seen. Walking up to Harry, he wrapped his arms around him, laying his chin on his head. "How about you and I go on a hunt today? I'll teach you what you need to know to feed, then perhaps afterwards we can do something else…something you'd enjoy, anywhere you want, you just name it." Severus said. They didn't need a lot of blood due to the fact it was an inheritance, but the desire was there, just weakened, that and they could consume normal food. Still, it was something of a tradition to be taught how to hunt; Alfred had taught him after his turning, just like he'd taught him everything else. "Just the two of us."

Harry sniggered, "You think you can convince the others to back off?"

"They will do as I ask, however reluctant they might be," Severus said wryly. "And probably try and shadow us a few miles."

"That's more like it," Harry said, amused, "I'm sorry about earlier…"

"Are you?" Severus said thoughtfully.

"I know how busy you are, it was really great being able to talk to you for more than just half an hour at dinner, and being able to talk to the others too. I just don't like being on my own, reminds me too much of the Dursley's." Harry admitted, trying to shrug his shoulders but unable to do it due to the fact Severus held him tightly against his chest.

Severus sighed as he pressed his mouth against the side of Harry's neck where the claiming mark was. Kissing it absently, as he tried to see it from Harry's point of view, which wasn't all that difficult. He would just need to prioritize his work, cut down on the interviews either that or get Alfred to pick up the slack when it was needed. He couldn't become his…grandfather, seeing Harry only at dinner then at bedtime definitely wasn't something he wanted. Evidently, it wasn't what Harry wanted either, so yes, a compromise was needed here. He absolutely refused to lose him, not like his ancestor Artemis had lost his mate. "Do not wait and let it build up, when you feel this way, tell me." Severus stated, "Promise me."

Harry relaxed back against Severus, "I promise." he said sincerely, he was definitely excited for tomorrow though, to actually get to spend time with Severus alone? It was more than he'd hoped for, considering he hadn't started this with anything in mind…well it was great.

Severus himself relaxed, just enjoying holding Harry close, which he didn't get to do much. His mind thought of all the meetings he had the ones he could delegate. Since both of them were leaving without planning in advanced so they should be safe. Despite the fact he wanted to go alone the others would come but keep their distance to give them the appearance of privacy. "For the past fourteen years I've built this up, it wasn't easy, and I never once held any regrets, despite the fact I would have loved to take more time to brew and invent potions…until you came along. I would put aside everything to give you what you want, but it isn't just me I have to factor in…our history isn't good, a lot of bad things happened when my grandparents stepped down. The ones who took charge did not care for those under their charge; it is why so many are loyal to our clan."

Guilt began to squirm inside of Harry at his selfishness, "I don't want you to stop, I never want that." he declared vehemently.

"I did not mean to imply that you do or did," Severus explained quietly, "I am trying to tell you that you are the most important thing to me."

"Have you ever tried to change the laws?" Harry asked, suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Severus enquired, blinking, slightly off-put by the suddenness of the change of subject.

"The laws, can they be changed?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

"They can," Severus said cautiously, not sure where Harry was going with this. "Majority rules. Although no rule has been changed in the past, many of the people here are set in their ways." what was his little mate up to now?

"But how?" Harry queried.

"By gathering everyone to a formal meeting, all those that had been sworn in would come to attend, one could compare it to a Wizengamot meeting, the proposal would be put forth and an argument made as to why the law should be changed then there would be those who would argue against it. At the end of the meeting…unless they need time to think a decision would be made to whether accept or decline the proposal." Severus explained, he'd held formal meetings, but never changed a law, proposed new ones for sure, yes but never change. "What are you up to?" he finally asked his sneaky little Slytherin.

"I don't know yet, are the laws written down somewhere?" Harry asked they were obviously not the same as real laws in the magical world, but rather their own system, their own hierarchy.

"They're bound in book form in the vault," Severus said dryly, already knowing where Harry would be heading soon enough. Which was a good thing really; since he did have a meeting he could NOT miss it was one he had been trying to get with the French vampire leader for the past year. "Kieran and Corin will help you find it; they're both currently down there doing research."

"Research? For what?" Harry asked perking up, turning around green eyes blazing curiously.

"On how to destroy Horcruxes," Severus revealed the truth; if he couldn't trust his mate then who could he trust? Young or not, Harry had a good head on his shoulders, he would know better than to blab about it, although truthfully he wouldn't get near enough to people who didn't know to say anything. Not without them knowing at any rate, their hearing is impeccable. Feeling the wards give a little, he realized that the vampire had arrived for the meeting via Portkey of course. "I have to attend this meeting, and speak to Alfred about your decision on your education so that he doesn't waste his time coming up with a timetable. After the meeting, we can leave."

Harry nodded his head, closing his eyes to enjoy the last few seconds; Severus tightened his hold briefly before letting go altogether.

"I'll see you soon," Severus murmured quietly, before he moved out of the bedroom, giving a stern look to the two on guard. There were strangers in their home, their priority was keeping Harry safe, and he had others attending it with him so he would be safe.

They understood his meaning all too well, and gave serious nods in turn; they would protect Harry with their lives. With that he turned and walked down to the entrance hall, his game face already on, ready to greet them.

Harry however, stayed staring at the window, Severus' words circling around his mind like a bird circling his prey. Ever since Severus had explained what happened when his grandparents had stepped down as tradition dictates when the heir turns seventeen, or rather once they finished their education, meaning nearly eighteen by that point they took over. Eileen, Severus' mum hadn't been able to take over, and it had caused a lot of problems for the people who had sworn their allegiance to the Prince clan.

He had to do something about that, to stop it happening again, and truthfully, it wasn't fair that any teenager would be forced into this…the pressure alone to take over had to be awful, he'd been forced into it but he wasn't exactly the same thing as being brought up being told it was going to be there's. Even Sev hadn't had that sort of burden placed upon them, part of him felt for Eileen, not only those expectations but not coming to her inheritance? It was little wonder she fled, no wonder she'd kept it from her son, after having it all heaped on her…it certainly isn't something he'd want for any child of his.

He'd always wanted a big family, and a big family always meant more than one child. As a young boy he hadn't exactly imagined himself giving birth, but the magical world had changed all that for him. He wanted at least two, not right now, he wanted to live a little first, if he could do such a thing now, and he wasn't sure what his future held.

If he could get that law changed…not only would he be protecting everyone here and now, but he'd also be protecting any child he had in future. It felt wrong to put that burden on a child, so he was going to demand the change in the law, so that their firstborn son, or oldest daughter (if they only had daughters) wouldn't need to take over when they were seventeen and it wouldn't need to be the first born either. Admittedly Severus' admission could mean they wouldn't approve, but when he got an idea…he would see it through to the end.

He needed something to keep him occupied for a while anyway, stiffening his shoulders determinedly, he gave himself a nod and turned around and made his way out of the bedroom, giving a smile to the two guards before making his way to the vault, he needed to read the laws before he could even think of getting their attention.

"My Lord," both men stood as he entered, dipping their heads in respect.

"Hi," Harry said, feeling a little awkward but not letting it show, he still wasn't used to being spoken to this way. "Can you tell me where the books or book on the laws for the clan are?"

"They're the third row down, about half way along," it was Corin who answered.

"Thank you, please don't let me disturb you," Harry said, moving away. Passing two rows before going down the third, his eyes trailing from book to book as he looked for the one he wanted. After a few more minutes of searching, he found it, removing it with a sense of satisfaction. He couldn't help but overhear the conversation between the two of them, both discussing possible ways to destroy the Horcruxes.

"Ever thought you're thinking too much about it?" Harry questioned as he wandered back towards them, ready to leave the vault and dig into the laws of this world. "I know you're leery of fire…but nothing can survive a Fiendfyre, it says a soul can't survive without a container right? So if the containers destroyed in essence the soul piece is destroyed too?"

"Well yes," Kieran said slowly, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

"Other than remorse anyway, the books all say you have to feel genuine remorse, but that puts your soul back into the host, not kill it." Corin explained, quickly getting over his surprise.

Harry laughed sardonically, "I somehow doubt he will ever feel remorse, not from the things I've heard in Slytherin about him." mostly from Blaise and Theo though, the others wouldn't talk about stuff like that in front of anyone they knew wouldn't join the 'Dark Lord'.

"I agree remorse is definitely not in his repertoire," Kieran replied sitting back, stretching out a little. They'd been at this for days, going through every available piece of information but they weren't getting much to work with.

"We can't destroy it right now anyway, but it is a good idea to test the theory when it's possible," Corin admitted they would need to talk to Lord Prince and see what he said about it.

"Why not?" Harry asked both curious and confused. Wasn't that what they were trying to do? Destroy the Horcruxes?

Corin and Kieran shared a look, not sure whether they should reveal everything, they hadn't explicitly been forbidden to do so…but the fact Harry didn't know…did it mean that their Lord did not wish for his Consort to know? He already apparently knew about the Horcruxes though and well, he was their Lord as well or would be when they married right now the technical term was Consort Potter-Prince but they were referring to him as Lord Consort, or Lord Potter-Prince both could be applied.

In the end, there was only one option, their Lord's consort had asked a question, they would answer it. "We're trying to find a way to use the piece we have as a way to find the rest of them."

"Oh, that makes sense, it's quite sneaky as well, and it's a bit like the Marauders map my father and dad made when they were at school. You should either talk to my dad about it or tell whoever is in charge of that task." Harry pointed out if it worked out it was quite an ingenious idea. "My dad might have a few ideas or point them in a direction that would prove beneficial. Not that I'm saying you guys can't do it."

"We know," Corin said smirking wryly.

"I'll leave you to it," Harry said, hoisting the book further into his chest, before he turned and made his way out, "Bye!" he called over his shoulder before the vault closed and sealed behind him.

Remus paused in his conversation with Sirius when he heard footsteps since there were no other occupants in the area near them; he knew without a doubt that they were coming here to this room. Mere seconds after thinking it there was three hard raps on the door, Remus stood up and made his way curiously to the door. Sirius knew about Tonks being pregnant and had taken it rather well, just some shouting, had they bothered the vampires?

"Yes?" Remus inquired curiously, opening the door to see two vampires he wasn't overly familiar with, he knew each one in Severus' main court, or at least most of them since they were in charge of keeping his son safe.

"Harry said we could come to you if we had questions," Kieran told the werewolf, seeing the surprise and confusion on his face he began to elaborate. "He said you created a marauders map,"

"We'd like to know more about it so we can understand why he suggested we talk to you about it," Corin added they'd do anything to get it done as quickly as possible.

"Come in," Remus said kindly, but he went outside his room, flicking out his wand before summoning this 'map' they were talking about. Considering this was his room, they could only come to the conclusion that Harry was in possession of the map. The two vampires took a seat and waited patiently, ignoring how uncomfortable Sirius Black was with their presence in the room.

"Are you planning on making a map of the castle?" Remus queried as he stood at the desk, the map spread out in front of him. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." he murmured, tapping his wand on the paper, and immediately afterwards ink began to spread forth, making shapes as well as writing names the vampires observed.

"Not quite," Corin said, avidly scanning the map with suppressed glee, this could be exactly what they were looking for after all.

"What was the process that went into making this?" Kieran questioned leaning forward gazing at Remus with intent.

"What age were you when you made this? You had to have been at Hogwarts surely…" Corin murmured, awed over the creation of this map.

"Fifteen, we all were, me, James and Sirius created it together combined effort," Remus explained, answering Corin's question first as he sat down.

"No wonder Harry's such a smart teen, growing up with you and having James Potter as a father," Corin mused.

"Don't let Severus hear you say that," Remus said seriously, no hint of amusement, "Smart he may have been, but James had the capacity to be quite cruel." giving Sirius a glare to cut him off, already knowing he would come to James defence. "So why are you so curious about it if you have no intentions of creating a map of the castle?"

"We're intending on using part of the idea to find certain things, we only want to imbue one magical signature into it," Kieran was the once to respond, impatient to know more but not showing it.

"What things?" Sirius asked bluntly.

"I am not at the liberty to say," Kieran informed Sirius, he wasn't in on the know so he definitely wasn't going to reveal an important piece of information to the wizard.

Remus' amber eyes glimmered in realization; he suspected heavily exactly what the map was going to be used for. How they intended on getting the magical signature he had no idea. So without further stalling, Remus began to tell the two vampires the entire process that had gone into creating the map, the charms, the potions and more importantly the spells to activate it - and he wasn't meaning the password either.

"And you did all this at fifteen?" Kieran blurted out once Remus had finished explaining the process, Corin was busy scribbling everything down despite the fact they had perfect recall. Sixteen spells had gone into making the map into what it was, and at that age, it was absolutely amazing.

"It's not that impressive," Remus replied, and he wasn't being modest he didn't see what he had done as something amazing. Truthfully though, most of the work had been done by him, at least all the research, but it had been James' initial idea he'd worked off. "I would very much like to help you, I'll ask Severus when he and Harry return." knowing better than to think they'd tell him anything without Severus' approval.

"Until then, we'll bid you goodbye, let you get back to what you were doing before we interrupted you." Corin said, "Thank you for the help."

"No problem, its Harry you should thank really," Remus answered, as always deflecting any praise that came his way.

Both of them nodded in acknowledgment before departing, closing the door behind them.

"How can you say that about James?!" Sirius asked, still feeling shocked and angry about it.

"Because it's the truth, he grew out of it yes, but Severus didn't get to see that, you were worse," Remus stated, with Harry in his life he had changed. Somehow Harry had made him feel unashamed of his status as a werewolf, given him the strength to have a backbone, before Harry came into his life he would never have considered saying such a thing out loud. He did feel a little bad when Sirius flinched as if he had been greatly pained by it, but he refused to take it back. Sirius' thoughtless actions had almost resulted in him biting someone, his greatest fear! If he had done so there would have been no sweeping it under the rug, the Ministry would have found out and he would have been arrested and 'put down' or worse placed in Azkaban.

"Come on, we weren't that bad," Sirius mumbled half defensively.

"I'm not going to get into this, I shouldn't have brought it up, we both promised to put the past aside and try anew," Remus informed the dog Animagus.

"Tell that to Harry," Sirius said morosely. He may be living under the same roof as Harry yet he only ever saw him from afar, the vampires intervened if he went anywhere near the area Harry was in telling him to leave. It wasn't his fault, he had been duped by Dumbledore, and it wasn't fair that he had to pay the price.

"I've told you, just give him time, he'll come around when he's had a chance to think it through properly," Remus replied calmly, Harry was extremely smart, he would inevitably go with his head rather than his heart when it came to Sirius. They'd never be what Sirius would wish them to be though, he wasn't stupid enough to think that but he'd at least be on friendly terms with him.

"How much longer will I have to wait? I want to get to know my godson!" Sirius grumbled, his anger at Dumbledore growing exponentially. He had done this; he had taken away his chance of watching his godson grow up.

"You could ask me," Remus pointed out, he knew everything about his son, which probably irked Sirius more, but at the same time relieve some of the guilt. At least one of them had been there for him and made sure he didn't end up returning to those disgusting, despicable Muggles again.

"What was he like when you first saw him?" Sirius asked a note of desperation and deep aching sadness in his voice.

"I first met Harry in Diagon Alley; he wrote to me and told me he would be going there that morning after he entered Hogwarts. I was admittedly confused, wondering why he would need to be going there, but the chance of meeting him was motivating so I immediately made my way there. He was with his Head of House, Professor Slughorn, I was admittedly surprised that he was a Slytherin but I didn't care, I was just really glad to see him." Remus began his tale, his tone thoughtful. "I learned later he was wearing clothes from his friend, a fellow first year because he hadn't gotten his school things, his uncle refused to buy them…he was obviously unaware of Harry's wealth, and Harry was too until we went to Gringotts. If wealth is the right word for what was left really."

Sirius cocked his head to the side, listening intently trying to envision the scene, oddly enough he felt as though a memory was trying to work its way to the surface.

"While we were at Gringotts we found out that James had set up monthly payments to come from the vault, one hundred galleons to St. Mungo's, two hundred to the Hogwarts scholarship fund and two and a half thousand to the Order." Remus told him grimly, an appalled gasp of horror met his ears, "We stopped them immediately and I told them to begin smaller investments to try and bring some money in for the first time in a decade. After that I took him to get his eyes correct when I noticed him squinting at things, it didn't help that the Dursley's had given him glasses that were not the correct prescription."

"Just like James then," Sirius said ruefully, he had missed out on so much, the gentle teasing and ribbing.

"It's just about the only thing you could use to compare James and Harry," Remus nodded in agreement, "If he had grown up with his father then he might have been more like him but he isn't. You should have seen his face when he entered the bookstore, he lit up, Merlin each summer he would plough through all my books and even got ahead of his year…and it wasn't just me teaching him either, his friends helped him learn about the law and such. I could never get him to stop, even hiding the books didn't help, and he's one of the biggest bookworms I've ever seen."

Sirius groaned, "Not another one," he said.

"He was woefully unprepared for the magical world; nobody can fault him for wanting to learn absolutely everything he could. He was the top of his classes come his second year, he is driven, methodical and just brilliant." Remus told him honestly. He was so proud of Harry; he didn't think he could be prouder even if he had been his biological son.

"I can understand that," Sirius nodded grudgingly.

"Everything was normal, then Voldemort had to come back," Remus said bitterly, "He took Harry from Hogwarts and used his blood in his resurrection thankfully Harry was smart enough to get away. Voldemort has a single-minded determination to kill Harry, for surviving that night now, as if he wasn't already after him because he'd been embarrassed by a fourteen-year-old."

Sirius winced, just thinking about it.

"If that was bad what Dumbledore decided to do was worse, but thankfully it worked in Harry's favor." Remus finished, and it had worked in Harry's favor. Harry was becoming to love Severus, he could see that clear as day, the start of their relationship didn't matter; it helped by the fact Severus obviously hadn't pushed Harry. Now they were leaving for romantic getaways, and Remus didn't need to worry, Harry was well protected short of being caught unawares by Voldemort's entire army they could protect themselves.

Sirius nodded, sighing softly, Harry would never need him the way he wanted to be needed - not now anyway. Anything he needed it would be Snape who helped him. It was funny though, he'd never really been interested in having kids, neither had Remus, he'd not wanted any for fear of passing on his 'disease' as he called it often in the past. Harry was different, he was their godson (only him officially of course) and he didn't run the risk of inheriting anything. Here and now, Remus didn't seem to care about that particular fear, he just wanted to be part of the baby's life, to make sure Tonks got what she needed to be comfortable during the duration of her pregnancy.

In other words, the world had changed since Dumbledore had decided to play with him and he was struggling to play catch up.

"Maybe one-day things will be good," Sirius said quietly, so unsure about everything but he did know he wanted Remus and his godson, so he would persevere until something good came out of this situation.

"It will be," Remus replied with an air of determined authority, his sense of smell let him know that Alfred was approaching no doubt with the mail and newspapers, not that there was a lot of mail for them, in fact since coming here only two or three letters on a whole had come. Standing back up he opened the door before Alfred could knock, giving him a kind smile, which was returned. "Thank you, Alfred."

"No problem, have a good day," Alfred said before moving on, it was time to visit Maria Zabini with her post now. All post was directed to a single location to ensure nothing was cursed hexed or worse tracked.

"There's post for you, Sirius, from the Ministry," Remus said thoughtfully handing the official letter over.

"The trial, it's…its set, they need me to testify." Sirius said shakily, he honestly didn't know if he could face Dumbledore - not without losing complete control.

"When is the date?" Remus asked, sitting back down, reading the missive carefully.

"Two months time, they're going to need me there early, I don't know why they still do that," Sirius sighed, "The constant waiting, I probably won't be called up for at least three hours." his stomach was churning now, he could only imagine what it would be like when the time came. The whole court process took nearly a day to deliberate but the public were only there for half of it. Sirius closed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists and gritted his teeth loudly. He couldn't wait until the trial was over and Dumbledore was rotting in Azkaban.

"You aren't the only one," Remus pointed out, "I think Harry will be attending the court date along with Severus and some of the others."

"Really?" Sirius said surprised, "Well I suppose he would want to see the old fool go down."

"Yes, it will be amusing to see Dumbledore's face when he finds out the man he did deals with was Severus," Remus said with dark amusement.

"Wait, are you telling me Dumbledore did negotiations with Snape but didn't know who it was?" Sirius practically squawked the words out.

"He did negotiations with the Lord of the Vampires, Prince of the vampires I suppose," Remus corrected. "He has no idea about Severus having taken up his rightful position. He assumed Prince was just a term, not the actual name you know how they are about secrecy." Sirius had been here long enough to realise it surely.

"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered shocked, until a smirk made its way onto his face, just imagining the look on the old fools face when he found out about it and the fact he was going to end up in Azkaban, there was no way to get out of it.

"We'll definitely need to let Harry and Severus know about the trial date and time when they return," Remus pointed out thoughtfully.

"Doesn't he have contacts? He probably already knows," Sirius scoffed, as much as it made him sick to think about it, Snape held a great deal of power in his hands, and it wasn't just vampires either. Which had come as a shock to him, that night the entire castle had been swarming in vampires and wizards and witches alike. He would say there had been over a hundred people there that night, but the real total was lost on him, he'd only been able to see them from the window.

"Perhaps," Remus said thoughtfully, "It still doesn't hurt to let him know just in case, I'd be telling Harry anyway, this information he will definitely need and want to know."

Sirius nodded, agreeing with him, "Is there anything you need to do today?" Sirius added as he filled his plate, knowing that when Remus spent time with Harry, he had to leave.

"Nothing until Harry gets back I want to hear about his first hunt," Remus said honestly, Harry had told him with smug satisfaction what had gone down earlier that day.

"Hunt?" Sirius froze fork half way to his mouth, wide-eyed. "Hunt?" he repeated squeaking it out.

Remus sighed in exasperation, "They don't kill people, Sirius, so don't be so dramatic!" rolling his eyes he filled his own plate and began to eat, waiting on Sirius to realize he was still gaping like an idiot.

There we go :) now to get it up on A03 :D R&R please