In cold blood

Written by Becca

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise and most things you don't.

Summary: From the word go, Harry's summer goes downhill and he sinks into a deep despair. With no hope and the resurrection of Lord Voldemort, Harry does what any normal teenager would do in those circumstances; he tries to take his life. When he awakes he finds himself in a family who seem to welcome him openly. He has changed, he is no longer human and yet he still has to defeat the darkest lord of the century...will he stand alone or will he find, in this family, what he had always desired...Love and affection?

Chapter Nine

The first day of lessons started and Harry found himself falling straight back into the usual routine. He and Ron barely made it for breakfast on time and Hermione was already arguing with her redheaded best friend. Harry sat listening to them bicker as he yawned and pushed his food to the side and then after a while, he had had enough and so he stood and left them too it whilst heading towards his first lesson of the day: Physical education.

Marius was already outside when Harry got there and he seemed nervous so Harry offered to run a couple of laps around the lake with him. They talked as they jogged and watched as the students filed out of the castle in groups. By the time the last student had arrived, they had run around three times and then came to stop just to the left of Hagrid's hut. Harry grinned at Marius and then sat besides Hermione on the grass and waited for it to begin

"Right...err...welcome to physical education" Marius started nervously and Harry glared over his shoulder as he heard Draco Malfoy snicker "As you know, this is a new class which has been made mandatory. Can anyone tell me how what I teach you can we used?" Marius asked, slightly more confident under Harry's supportive smile. When nobody, not even Hermione, lifted their hands, Harry sighed and lifted his

"Simple, when one is faced with a Dark Wizard and they have no wand or weapon close by then the only options are to either lie down and die or run for your life. In this class you can get us fit so that we may last longer in running and teach us muggle forms of Defence if it is made impossible to run. Few Dark wizards bother with that and so it shouldn't be that difficult" he said quietly and Marius grinned at him

"Great, the old fools got children teaching us now. This idiot cant be more older than we are" Malfoy muttered and Harry smirked, ohh he knew how Marius hated to be called young. He hated to be called old too but young was much worse. He watched as his brother tensed and then glared at the blonde

"I'd shut up if I were you Malfoy, or I will have you up here for every single demonstration I use. After all, Harry said most Dark Wizards couldn't fight the muggle way, how long do you think you will last?" Marius sneered and Harry laughed out loud before he could stop himself, he smirked as Malfoy paled but then Marius drew himself up tall

"As for my being your age. I sincerely doubt that. I am one hundred and ten years old," he said proudly and Harry snickered, what a way to break the news to everyone. Besides him Hermione tensed whilst Ron lent over and whispered in his ear

"He's a vampire! Can you believe it?"

"You're a vampire?" Malfoy repeated Ron's words loudly and the disgust in his voice was enough to bury a giant. Harry sneered over at him and wrinkled his nose but before he could say anything, Marius answered

"Yes I am and I'm proud of it. Did you know Mr. Malfoy that a vampire can sense a Dark Wizard from a mile away?" he sneered and Harry slapped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from snickering. It seemed as though Malfoy actually believed him because what little colour was left in his face drained away "Your father is in Hogsmeade by the way" Marius added seemingly absent-minded but Harry couldn't help it and he curled up giggling at the implications in that sentence.

"Just what are you implying? My father is a respectable member of the wizarding..." Malfoy started, drawing himself up and sticking his chest out proudly

"Oh button up Malfoy, we all know he spends his evenings on his knees, kissing Voldemorts feet" Harry said and rolled his eyes. Malfoy spluttered at him but Harry paid no attention and turned back to Marius, motioning for him to continue.

"Anyway, I've managed to get a good few lessons planned over the summer, thanks to Harry's help and so anything you don't like, blame him" he said smirking and this his eyes glittered mischievously "If you don't do what I say without fuss, you will spend the evening running around the lake, if you argue and fight, you will spend the week running around the lake and if you just piss me off, you'll spend another day running. Do I make myself clear?" he asked and arched an eyebrow. Harry rolled his eyes as everyone nodded quickly, eyes wide.

----------

As the days went on, Harry, Ron and Hermione still were not as close as they once had been but that would never change now. Harry merely walked off when his two friends started to argue and he spent as much time as he could with his family which neither Ron nor Hermione liked. To them, Harry had made some new friends to replace them and if they had the sense to talk to Harry about this, then he would simply tell them to stop being stupid...but they didn't.

As the weekend drew nearer, Harry found he couldn't concentrate much on anything but Snape and their date. He had to wonder what was going to happen and on Friday morning, he woke with a grin on his face from another of those weird but pleasant dreams. He saw Ron had already left without waking him. Shaking his head, Harry sighed and grabbed some clothes before heading into the shower, what had become of the infamous trio?

When he was ready for the day, he stretched and yawned before heading down for some breakfast whilst trying to remember what lessons he had that day. Herbology was one and Care of Magical creatures for another but besides that, he couldn't remember. As soon as he sat down at the Gryffindor table, Hermione jumped onto his knee and grinned at him before gathering some food on her fork and feeding it to him. He arched an eyebrow but said nothing and took what was offered, wondering what on earth had gotten in to the girl.

He looked up when the owl post arrived and then stopped as he saw a beautiful dark brown raven carrying an envelope and a single rose. He bit his lip when it was dropped in front of him again and he reached around Hermione to get them before smelling the rose again and opening the envelope, careful not to let her see.

"My beauty

Meet me at midnight in the Entrance Hall for our date. I can wait no longer. I have been informed that you own a tuxedo so if you could perhaps wear that; I think you will find it is suitable for where we will be going. Make no plans to return before sunrise. I love you and miss being able to hold you in my arms. 'Til tonight my beauty, my own, mine

And get that stupid bint off your knee

All my love

Severus"

Harry smiled beautifully and he smelt the rose again, ignoring the curious looks of his friends, he pushed Hermione forcefully off his knee and paid no attention as she hit the floor. He chanced a look up at the staff table to see Severus smirking at his friend and his family trying (and failing) to hold in their laughter. He shook his head and winced at the hurt and calculating look in Hermione's eye before he quickly hurried out of the room, letter and rose in his hand.

The day couldn't possibly go slower if Harry had wanted it too. His lessons seemed to drag on forever and he was still in the first class of the day, Defence. Remus and Sirius were looking at him oddly every now and again but Harry tried his best to ignore it. He supposed it was about time he made up with them now anyway; it hurt him just as much as it did them when he couldn't speak to them.

He had presumed it would be easier to keep his secret if he didn't have anyone to tell but as he was nearly ready to come out anyway and as it obviously hadn't worked...well...the two he loved like fathers didn't deserve to be treated like this. They deserved to know everything and so Harry thought he may get around to telling him sometime over the weekend.

"Today we are just going to review what you have learnt since first year. First you will be working through a small test of sorts and then we have some creatures which you will each be answering questions about" Remus said and then chuckled at the groans, Sirius moved to hand out the tests whilst Remus sat on the edge of his desk "You wont be graded on these, we just need to know what to concentrate on mostly, which areas you lack on, that sort of thing. You all have half an hour to finish, start now" he said when Sirius had finished.

Harry stared down at his test for a minute and then shrugged before opening the little booklet of questions. He had learned a lot during the summer and even more considering he spent most of his free time in the library. He looked up to see Remus watching him carefully, a calculating look in those amber eyes. Harry smiled weakly before lowering his eyes back to his paper.

"Section 1

- Spells and Curses

– Levels 1 to 6

Q: What is the name and incantation used when one wants to summon an object to them?

A: Accio

Q: What is the charm that causes a locked door to open?

A: Alohomora

Q: What is an animagus?

A: A witch or wizard who can transform into an animal

Q: What does an anti gravity mist do?

A:"

Harry stared at that last question and closed his eyes as he remembered, that had been just before that gigantic spider thing attacked him and Cedric. The scene played before his closed lids and he could remember it vividly, then he and Cedric were arguing over the cup, he convinced the Hufflepuff to take it with him and then... Harry shook his head to clear his thoughts and swallowed hard, he couldn't keep remembering like that whenever something reminded him of the maze. He looked back over his answers so far before dipping his quill in the ink again and answering that one

"A: Creates an innocent looking mist, which hovers above the ground. A person who steps into this mist immediately finds that up and down are reversed and they are hanging from the ground."

He looked up to see that Remus still hadn't stopped staring and he arched an eyebrow before shaking his head. Perhaps today was the day the man actually bothered to check to see if he was still human, he was a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher anyway; it was his job to know a vampire when he saw one.

"Q: What is the incantation to make invisible ink become visible?

A: Appareo

Q: What does the Cruciatus curse do to its victims?

A: Causes the victim to suffer almost intolerable pain. Some under prolonged use of this curse had been driven insane.

Q: What is the name of the charm that defends a person from hexes?

A: Hex-deflection"

Damn these were easy. But then again, most of this so far had been lower years and so now he would think them so. He remembered back in first year when he had had trouble with the levitation charm and even in his forth year, he remembered how long it had taken him to master the summoning charm. These all seemed soo trivial now, especially in the middle of a war but still, at least his family were teaching him what he needed to know to survive.

"Q: In which spell does this incantation Imperio belong?

A: The Imperius curse

Q: What does this curse do? Explain in length why this curse is called an unforgivable

A: The Imperius curse was created in 1935 by the Dark wizard Grindlewald, he created the three unforgivables just ten years before Albus Dumbledore defeated him. The memory of these spells though lived on and in Voldemorts first reign of terror, he and his deatheaters used them mercilessly to torture and kill their victims. Grindlewald made the Imperius curse for one of many reasons; to force people into following him, to get information, to get spies or to force a victim into harming another."

Harry paused for a minute and sighed, nibbling on the end of his quill. How much information should he give here? Would anyone suspect anything? He sighed and shook his head, just because he could read and learn didn't point to the fact that he was a vampire. He snorted silently at his stupidity before reading over what he had written so far

"The Imperius curse fights against the free will of a person and depending on the caster, a person may or may not have the strength to overthrow the curse. If the victim is not strong enough then their mind will be overcome and they will be unable to resist any command. Even if that person is ordered to do something he or she would not normally be able to do in reality, they have a strong compulsion to do so and manage the most extraordinary of things.

The Imperius curse is classed as the Dark Arts and is perhaps both one of the most...forgiving curses and yet one of the deadliest. There is no counter to this curse except the strength of ones own will. This curse is simply a work of art, a beautiful masterpiece that was not easy to create just as it is not easy to destroy."

Harry debated whether to leave that last paragraph off it or not but then changed his mind. Whether anyone wanted to admit it or not, the curse was a masterpiece even if it is one of the most used of Voldemort and his followers.

"Q: What does the Protego charm do?

A: creates a magical barrier, which will deflect hexes thrown at the caster.

Q: What type of spell would one use to defend themselves from dementors?

A: Patronus Charm, incantation, Expectro Patronum; Conjures a Patronus, a silvery phantom shape, usually that of an animal, which is the embodiment of the positive thoughts of the caster."

Ok, this was just getting boring now. Harry sighed and looked around, was he going to get to the difficult questions anytime soon? Every one else seemed to be hard at work, including Hermione and it seemed she actually had to think about something so maybe the harder questions were further on.

Sirius and Remus were both staring at him now and it was beginning to unnerve him. Couldn't they just come out and say what the problem was? If they knew then they could at least say something. It was driving him insane. Ugh, he just wanted to get this day over with and settle in Snape...Severus's arms. He wondered what it would be like to 'date' the potions master...

"Is there a problem Harry?" Remus called and Harry blinked, he realised he had been staring at them whilst lost in his little daydream. He scowled, how the hell did he have the cheek to pick at him for staring when he himself was doing so

"No sir, I was just wondering if there was something on my face," he said quietly before turning back to his paper. He just stared unseeingly at the parchment for a minute, tense, waiting for the blow he was sure to get now. Why did he have to go and be so rude? Just because his family promised not to hurt him, didn't mean no one else was going too.

"Ten points from Gryffindor and a detention" Sirius called and Harry looked up, he bit his lip and nodded silently, ok so he wouldn't get punished in front of the other students. That was understandable. Fear flashed through his eyes before he could hide it and then Remus was on his feet and frowning at him, he could smell the fear and he glared at Sirius before moving towards the boy and crouching down besides his desk

"Harry, you know none of us will ever hurt you," he whispered and Harry nodded sharply but did not look up nor did he even attempt to breath until he had moved away. When he had himself relatively calmed, he picked up his quill again and turned the page.

"Section 2

- Dark Creatures

- Level 1 to 6

Q: What is a grindylow?

A: A grindylow is a pale green water demon, which lives in the weeds on the bottom of lakes in Britain. They have long, brittle fingers which they use to grip their prey, sharp little horns, and green teeth.

Q: What is a kappa?

A: A kappa is a water-dweller, which resembles a scaly monkey with webbed hands; a kappa will grab and strangle waders in its pond. They are more commonly found in Mongolia and Japan.

Q: What is a red-cap?

A: A red cap is a small dwarf-like creature that loves bloodshed. They generally prefer to attack muggles on dark nights wandering around dungeons or out on a battlefield, they try to avoid wizards, as they can easily be repelled regulated

Q: What is a Hinkypunk?

A: A Hinkypunk is a small one-legged creature which some say are no more than smoke. They carry a small light, which they use to try and lure travellers into swamps and bogs

Q: What is a banshee?

A: A Banshee is a dark creature with the appearance of a woman with long black hair and a thin, green-tinged face. Their screams can kill"

Harry paused and sighed again, why were these on the test when Lupin had taught them all of these in his third year? Therefore it was obviously that they knew but then again, some may not remember. He rolled his neck to the side and just waited for the question he would undoubtedly see any minute now...

"Q: What is a Dementor and what do they do?

A: A Dementor is a creature that feeds off the positive human emotions; they drain a wizard of his powers if left with them too long. The dementors last and most powerful weapon is the dementors kiss. The Dementor pulls back its hood and secures its jaw around the mouth of the victim and sucks out his soul, leaving him an empty shell, alive but 'spent'

Q: what is a Boggart and how do you defeat them?

A: A Boggart is a shape-shifter that prefers to live in dark, closed off spaces. When presented with a 'human' they take the shape of what that person fears most. A Boggart appears to feed on the emotion of fear rather than using this ability as a defence, thus it's sorting as a Dark creature. Laughter and the Riddikulas charm are used to defeat the Boggarts

Q: What is a werewolf and why is it classed as a Dark Creature?

A: I refuse to believe they are Dark Creatures. To answer the question though, a werewolf is a human being who has been cursed. One night a month, said human suffers through a painful transformation into a werewolf. They are classed as Dark Creatures for many reasons. 1) They are seen to be untrustworthy my most of the population, 2) If they do not have access to the wolfbane potion, when they transform they do not keep their mind and so therefore become a 'blood-thirsty beast' and 3) They are different and therefore feared.

Q: What is a vampire and why are they Dark Creatures?

Harry stared at that for a minute and then narrowed his eyes. He looked at the difference between the werewolf question and the vampire one and then he lifted an eyebrow and looked at Lupin. He smirked and wrote "classed as" underneath it and an arrow pointing in between the "they" and "Dark"

Q: What is a vampire and why are they -classed as-Dark Creatures?

A: That question is completely hypocritical, how can one say that a werewolf is classed as a dark creature and then go on to say that vampires are dark creatures? A vampire is a human being who once again has gone under a curse but this time they have the curse of immortality and to survive they have to drink blood. A vampire is classed as a dark creature because they are feared greatly, they are stronger, faster and much more powerful than your average human being.

People think them Dark Creatures because the only vampires who have made themselves known are the ones who are tired of being shunned and decided to join the Dark Side therefore the only time a person hears about a vampire is when they kill. Millions of other vampires though stay to themselves and try to live their life normally. They have to drink blood to survive but they do not have to kill."

Harry finished his paper with ease and was positive none of his answers were wrong. He sat back in his chair and looked around to see he was the first to finish and so he let his mind wander to what he would be doing that evening, which would require the muggle suit. In all honestly, he couldn't wait to see what Severus looked like with one on.

"OK can you close your papers now, Sirius if you can collect them" Remus called with a smile. Harry snapped back to the present and handed his paper to his godfather without actually looking at him. When all papers were piled up on the desk in front, Remus stood up again "Now I'm going to be in the next room with a Boggart, I'll call some of you through individually to see you fight it and Sirius will be asking you questions in here" he said and Harry sighed before leaning back in his chair. He watched as Remus walked out of the room and then Ron was called through whilst Sirius turned to the others

"Now. I know you'll have just answered some of these questions on the paper, but I want to know your answers, they may change from what you wrote when you speak it. Firstly, what can you tell me about werewolves? Anyone?" he asked and only Hermione had her hand up but Sirius ignored her for the minute

"Harry?" he asked, Harry looked up and then looked pointedly at Hermione before sighing

"A werewolf is a person who has been cursed. One night a month they transform into werewolves and if they have the aid of the wolfbane then they can keep their mind and become nothing more than a forced animagus. If they don't have the potion then the wolf takes over and becomes a creature of the forest," he said simply and Sirius nodded,

Harry listened as Sirius asked other students about basically every dark creature he could think of and then he came to vampires. "Vampires are dark creatures" he started and Harry clenched his teeth but said nothing "They drink the blood of humans and leave them for dead, they are bloodthirsty monsters...can anyone tell me anything else about them?" Sirius asked and when nobody else offered to, Harry stuck up his hand

"Firstly, professor" he sneered and quickly tried to tone down his voice "they are classed as Dark Creatures, that does not make them so. Secondly, Professor McKnight, Professor De Constrella, Professor Van Alberict and Professor Von Richter are not bloodthirsty monsters. When a vampire feeds, it is true they need blood to survive but it is bullshit that they kill. We only hear of vampires when they do kill but we hear nothing of the millions of others who walk among us everyday and try to live normal lives." He said and then paused for a minute, noting that everyone was staring at him

"Us humans eat meat, does that make us monsters? Are we Dark Creatures just because of the one or two who go over to the Dark side? Should we be classed as animals just because Voldemorts a bastard? No we are not so why should it be any different for others? Vampires and Werewolves alike are only classed as dark creatures because humans fear them for their difference" he finished and then bit his lip. Perhaps he had taken that too personally but it hurt to know that his godfather thought him a bloodthirsty monster. The silence in the classroom was almost deafening as everyone stared at him and he shifted uncomfortably

"Harry" Remus's voice called him into the next room and Harry breathed a sigh of relief before jumping to his feet and running inside, shutting the door behind him. He forgot what he would be seeing in there though and so as soon as he turned around he was faced with Celeste

"What are you looking at Potter? You're nothing to me. Piss off and find some other family to annoy" she snapped and lifted her hand; she slapped him hard across the face and then turned in to the other four members of his family. Each of them slapped him hard and he backed away until he was touching the wall. Then Dumbledore came into view

"Ah Harry, I'd invite you in but I simply don't want to. You were supposed to kill Voldemort and then leave me alone but no, you're too weak to even attempt it, you're pathetic, nothing but a worthless piece of shit who is not worth the air you breath" Then it changed into Remus and then Sirius, both of them spitting out insults but Sirius got close enough and he slapped Harry hard across the face before kneeing him in the stomach, Harry dropped to his knees, tears in his eyes as Sirius kicked him again and again, then Severus appeared

"Beautiful? You? I don't think you; you are disgusting, vile and quite frankly one of the most hideous creatures I have come across" Snape sneered as he lifted Harry off his feet by his collar and slammed his head into the wall. Remus was just sat frozen to the spot and gaping in horror as the Boggart changed into Harry. The Boggarts shirt was missing and it reached forward and literally tore the real Harry's robes open.

The real Harry was pushed up against the wall by the Boggart and he allowed the tears to fall as his eyes fell on the scars the creature possessed. He did nothing as his own robes were torn off him, he just cringed back as his shirt followed out and now he wore nothing from the waist up. He shakily lifted his wand, ignoring the taunts the best he could

"Riddikulas" he whispered weakly but nothing happened, he couldn't picture himself in a funny way. Then Vernon Dursley came into view and Harry froze completely as the man charged at him, slamming his head again and again into the wall. Harry fell to his knees and shook his head to clear his vision whilst trying to wipe blood out of his eyes. He was being kicked viciously in the stomach.

Finally Remus jumped to his feet and stepped in front of the large man, it changed into the moon and popped away before the werewolf laughed and destroyed the Boggart. When that was done he fell to his knees besides Harry and tried to help him up but Harry shook his head. He grabbed his shirt and ran from the room.