He called himself Mordred Eames and Harry liked him from the start. Unlike the honest Hagrid or venerable Dumbledore that Harry had also begun quick friendships with, Mordred seemed something new, exciting, and maybe a little dangerous. Mordred was striking and pleasing to the eye; a fine profile, with slender lips, an aquiline nose, and sharp, intense wine colored eyes. He wasn't overly tall but he still stood above many and his frame wasn't truly powerful. He held himself with a dancer's grace though; a sort of easy posturing that was extremely pleasant to watch.

The man reminded Harry strongly of his least favorite teacher, Professor Snape. Both had always seemed to be awkward in Wizard robes, although Snape's Jesuit style robes seemed fitting. Mordred was wearing robes that also seemed better suited on a priest than a Wizard; his were black, but sported a rich design of plum coloring on his cuffs and running up his pant legs. The dark purple and black theme was also evident in his black hair, which bore streaks of the plum hue. His hands, Harry noted, were covered with a tribal tattoo that was weaved over his middle and ring fingers and appeared to travel up his arms.

Mordred seemed to notice Harry staring at him and he smiled. "You're right, they go up all the way up my arms."

"On your forearms too?"

"Is that a way of asking if I am using the tribal motif to hid a Dark Mark?"

Harry stopped and waited for the answer. Mordred merely smiled and continued walking. Harry thought for a minute about how foolish that fear had been before laughing himself and following.

That should have been you're first warning…

But how could I have known? I'm just a kid.

No one knows about the Dark Mark, only Death Eaters…

"So what do you do, Mr. Eames?" Harry asked. "For a living?"

They were in Mordred's room at the Leaky Cauldron. The room was amazing to behold, filled from top to bottom with things strange and wondrous. Harry was walking around, gliding his hands over the odd treasures. He loved this room.

Harry and Ron were staying the night at Diagon Alley (despite Ron's parents' better judgment.) The past two years in recap: the summer following his fourth year had been littered with encounters and sightings with the infamous Dark Prince. Harry, who had never known the name, soon discovered that the Dark Prince was Voldemort's most prized soldier. Widely feared and incredibly elusive, the Prince had effectively created the prestige behind the Dark Lord's name. Some said that without the Prince, Voldemort would have been just another nightmare.

Harry's fifth year had seen two great blows to entire Magical Community, both orchestrated and executed by this master of warfare, the Dark Prince. The first attack had since been labeled "Silent Night," it was the Christmas day attack on the English Ministry of Magic, Hecate Academy for Aurors, Hogwarts for Magical Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Godric's Hollow. The brutal attack on the four points had lasted exactly 45 minutes. It had led to a formal declaration of war against Lord Voldemort. The second attack was something that sent collective shivers down the entire world, the Dark Prince had attacked and summarily destroyed Azkaban.

It was during Silent Night that Harry had first seen Professor Snape as a Death Eater. The Potions Master had taken Harry hostage while the other Death Eaters had fought in hand to hand combat against Hogwarts' teachers. If the prior four years wasn't enough for Harry to feel uncomfortable about Snape, that night sealed it. He still wasn't sure about Snape. No one had the will to kill as easily as he did could be good.

"I'm a collector, Harry. I collect the wonderful and strange."

"And what do you have of my father's that's wonderful and strange?"

Mordred threw himself onto his bed and laughed. "As uninteresting as this sounds, I have this."

He handed him a worn, leather diary. The front cover was torn and badly tattered. Harry took it into his hands and looked up at Mordred, wondering.

Mordred smiled softly. "I found it in a second hand store here in the Alley. I didn't know what it was till I read it.

Harry nodded. He studied the book. It was brown and similar to the Tom Riddle diary down to the engraved name, J. Potter, at the bottom. At first Harry had hoped it was exactly like Riddle's diary because that meant he could talk to his father. He felt a little disappointed when he opened it and saw plain, messy writing. Still, it was a tangible link to his father and Harry was grateful. He asked Mordred how long it went to.

"Well, James seems to have skipped around. He seemed to have only written when he was excited or anxious about something. It begins about two weeks prior to him starting Hogwarts and ends…" He paused.

Harry took the silence as his answer. He flipped to the back of the book and read the last reply.

"I'm not going to be afraid of him. Voldemort can kill me but he can't do anymore to me than he's already done. I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of but this I am proud of. It's a new feeling for me but so was being a dad. Harry and Lily are my all now. Voldemort can't hurt me. I just wish…"

The sentence was cut off. Harry could only guess what had happened. He swallowed hard. "Can I have this?"

"It's yours, Harry." Mordred said kindly. "But here, let me show you something else." He took the book from him and showed him a small pocket James had made by removing some of the fabric. Mordred smiled as he pulled out four small photos and handed them over. "I thought you might like to see these."

All four of them had James' handwriting on the backs. Harry turned them over and read them before actually seeing the pictures. The first one, called "Hogwarts Most Wanted," was a photo of the Marauders. They all seemed to be in their last years, if not already graduated. Sirius had Peter in a chokehold. Harry noticed that, interestingly enough, Remus and Lily were in each other's arms looking very much in love. Only James seemed out of the way and a little detached. His father's eyes were downcast and seemed almost sad.

The next photograph was of Remus and Lily, and James and another woman Harry had never seen before. She was beautiful and very striking with a long mane of dark hair and sharp, almost hawk-like eyes. James had his arms around her waist and he looked very much in love. The third photo was back at Hogwarts, during which was probably the middle years and it was an odd collection: a Quidditch team dressed in various House robes. The inscription on the back said, "Interschool Quidditch Match. Hecate vs. Hogwarts, 130- 190 Hogwarts. Atta boy, Morning Star." Harry smiled at the mix of Marauders and their Slytherin counterparts, the Illuminatti posed for picture. Sirius and a young Lucius were looking at each other with clear contempt. Peter was leaning back against a wall chatting with a Ravenclaw Chaser. There was a Hufflepuff keeper that resembled strongly Cedric Diggory but Harry didn't want to know if it was Amos. And rounding out the picture, both on their knees were Beater James Potter and the Slytherin Seeker, Severus Snape. There was something odd about the picture, about Snape and James especially. They were kneeling close together, with their shoulders touching, and arms behind their backs. No, that wasn't right. They had their arms around each other's shoulders.

"What's was going on…" Harry whispered.

The last picture was titled simply "Me and Alex. First year."

It was in front of Gringotts. A boy who looked sickly pale was carrying James piggyback. He was dressed in dark robes with a silver crest embroidered into the hem of the cloak. It was an amazing feat for such a frail looking boy but both seemed to be laughing. Then the boy in the picture looked up.

It was Snape.

Stop…

I should have let it die there…

Maybe then…don't think about it…how could you have known?

I should have known! I should have…

Rewind?

No, fast forward…now it's time for school to start…

"Harry!!" Hermione squealed. Despite being a sixteen year old who was dating Ron, Hermione could still break the sound barrier. Harry forced a smile and opened his arms just in time for her to come running into his arms.

"Did you hear?" She asked, taking him by her left arm and taking Ron by her right.

Harry shook his head. "Hear what?"

Ron was chuckling and motioned ahead of them where Lavender and Neville were doing something scandalous. Harry's jaw dropped as he looked to his friends, waiting for an explanation. They just shook their heads and smiled sheepishly. Harry was about to say to something when a soft, still whisper interrupted his thoughts.

"Miss Brown, Mr. Longbottom perhaps that sort of activity is condoned by Professor McGonagall but I assure you that I do not share her lack of protocol."

Neville almost toppled Lavender as he pushed past her to get away from Professor Snape. Harry turned around and saw his guardian demon standing there, a few feet away, leaning against a wall. It was an odd position for the starched Potions Master, and looked forced. Ron had pulled Hermione away and called for Harry to join them. Harry remained there.

This must have seemed odd for Snape, who was accustomed to children fleeing at the very sight of him. He hesitated. "Mr. Potter, can I help you?"

"I never got to thank you for saving my life last year." Harry said before he could actually think. He had meant to bring up the picture and the name Alex but he still didn't have the bravery for that. Facing Voldemort was easy compared to facing the Potions Master alone in a hallway with no one to save you.

Snape raised a brow.

"I mean when the Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts, you held me."

"I know what you're talking about." Snape assured him quietly. He seemed uneasy. He nodded briskly. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin, Mr. Potter. You should go take your seat."

"Yes Professor." Snape moved past him like a cool breath. Harry was going to watch him go before he blurted out. "Why did my dad call you Alex?"

The man stopped cold. He didn't turn around. He didn't even sigh. Inside, he inclined his head carefully. "Take your seat, Mr. Potter."

Why didn't he answer? He could have just explained…

"Another year and one that finds us in darker time." Dumbledore said, standing before his school. His face looked drawn and very tired. Snape and McGonagall were sitting on either side of him and looked like they were there to catch him should he fall. "Because of this return to war and re-emergence of the Dark Prince, the Ministry has suggested, and I concurred, that two full time Aurors be present at all times during this school year. As you know, Hogwarts was one of the targets last Christmas and, thanks to the superb skill of our Aurors and your faculty, we survived. Now, joining us this year is Sean Aciman." The Auror rose to his feet and bowed, casting a wary eye on Snape. Snape smirked at him. "And returning as both an Auror and adjunct Professor, Madame Kaiya Alchemy." And the crowd went wild. Now it was Kaiya's turn to give Snape a smug grin. He merely nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Lupin straighten up and gaze at Kaiya with an intense look. She was avoiding his eye contact at all costs. She sat down too fast for it to have been a coincidence.

"Now onward to better things…like food." Dumbledore said a little more pleasantly and a lot more energetically. He waved his hands and the food appeared.

The trouble started early that year too…