If you have not read the chapter before this one, do so now! It is a new chapter and it has some relevance and context to this chapter.
Thank-you.
I don't know how many times I have to tell you but I'm editing earlier chapters and combining the short ones to make longer, better chapters. I really hope you aren't too confused.
Thanks.
"Now, what exactly happened?" Dumbledore wasn't asking really, he was demanding to know and the lack of twinkle in his eye proved this.
"Well," Draco knew this was a bad way to start a story but he couldn't really decide how to phrase it. "Harry and I were in the Astronomy tower, we'd decided to meet after visiting the Quidditch trophy shelves. Why is irrelevant. Up there, I, for reasons that are none of your concern, refused the bond of the Match."
Blaise dropped his jaw for he knew the reasons Draco would have done such a thing. Srene understood immediately what had happened but the rest had confused looks still.
"Then, the air started to glow and break into fragments that, when they hit the walls, burnt through. It was all dead magic, our power was trying to defuse back but it couldn't do so without being destroyed. Eventually the tower collapsed and because of the huge amount of dead magic, our soul and our bodies were all transported directly into the Afterlife."
"Wait, soul, singular?" Dumbledore frowned at this.
"We found out that a Match is a pair of people carrying two halves of a soul that was broken apart by the original owner, to prolong its, the soul's, life." Harry explained.
"Yes." Draco confirmed, "In the Afterlife we went to the Malfoy Estate and spoke with my deceased ancestors, including Relina and one of the first Malfoy women; Helene."
Snape realized who he was talking about, Helene of Troy, the second Match ever known, she and Paris that is.
"They explained everything, or parts of everything to us. We met Magnesius," Dumbledore had known that man. Smart as any other wizard ever born. "He told us who originally had our soul."
"Who?" Blaise asked.
"We'll get there." Draco assured.
"Then we met my parents," Harry said, excited. Ron grinned broadly.
"Really? Were they cool?"
"Yeah, my dad is really nice and my mum, she's wonderful," Harry smiled and couldn't contain his joy. He knew his parents!
"Wow," Ron was happy for his friend.
"Go on," Dumbledore insisted.
"Helene and I discussed how to return to life," Draco said. "She provided us with a potion," here he turned to Snape, "Nuras Vive? Have you heard of it?"
"Of course, it helps reaclimate people to life on earth after they've been away from their bodies for any prolonged amount of time. It's very lengthly to create though, months under normal circumstances."
"They keep a store of it for such occasions," Draco offered.
"We also got a copy of Destrium Encanta in case you had had funerals for us." Harry said.
"Oh, Mr. Zabini here kept that from happening," Srene said, Dumbledore looked put out at this. Proved so blatantly wrong.
"Yeah, I had a feeling," Blaise sounded so proud of himself.
Draco laughed, "then we came back through the Gateway at the head of the river Styx. We ended up on top of Notre Dam."
"Really?" Ron looked at Harry.
"Yeah, it was really pretty."
"We noticed I had wings but really what can you do? Then we tried to apperate ourselves to the nearby tavern so we could floo here but ended up just out back above the school."
"Ah," Dumbledore nodded, resuming his all knowing attitude.
"Yes, well, about your soul?" Adrian spoke up, he'd been standing by the door, with Snape on the other side.
"Oh, of course, thank you Professor Bren-Weasely," Draco nodded. "Do you know of Stanton Belle?"
Srene visibly flinched at the name and moved away from it like it was a real thing.
"Yes," Srene answered, it took effort to speak.
"What's wrong?" Adrian moved to his side.
"Belle or the Father, as he's sometimes called, is the leader of the clan of vampires that changed me a hundred years ago," Srene said.
The room was silent.
:One hundred and thirteen years ago in France:
(Yeah, I have a thing for Flashbacks all of the sudden, I KNOW!)
"Good night madam," Kristopher bowed to her and touched her hand to his forehead, a sign of respect.
"Good night Messuire Srene," she smiled coyly at him. Annaliese was a sly girl, a year or three older than he, a twenty-two year old heiress with money to burn and the attitude of a spoilt Queen.
Kristopher walked away from her, into the cool night. Down the street, lights burnt to keep travelers on the sidewalks. Few others were out, only a few men were leaving the opium dens hidden in basements nearby.
"Excuse me, sir?" Kristopher turned and saw a girl, about twelve, standing just outside a ring of light. Her features were lit, large pale blue eyes gazed at him innocently.
"Yes little miss?" he moved into the light, slightly concerned about her. Children shouldn't have been out so late, with the rash of disappearances.
"I'm terribly lost, might you help me?" she took a tiny step into the light. She was very gaunt, pale and ragged looking.
"Of course, are you all right?"
"No sir, I have just escaped a horrid man who has kept me locked up for many years," she let a tear escape but brushed it away.
"Who?"
"My Father, he is evil, a demon sir, please, help me," her voice became slightly panicked.
"Yes, come with me, we'll-" he had an arm around her, to lead her away but he stopped when he turned back and saw a ring of people standing around the circle. Staring with glowing eyes, he glanced down at the girl and saw her pale eyes glowing as well.
"Wha-"
"Too late Messuire," a woman said, mocking the title she'd used.
"Who are you all?"
"They are my children," a man appeared and entered the light.
His hair was black and curled at the ends, white dotted the roots but it was not from age. He held a staff, a gorgeous staff, made of iron and platinum that was crowned in a clawed hand grasping a sphere carved of diamond. Within it were six stones, all black, that glowed with some other worldly energy.
"Who are you?" Srene directed the question at him.
"The Father or the Dragon clan," he smirked, "we are vampires Messuire."
With a laugh the man pointed the head of the staff at Kristopher and he felt himself go mute. The man reached his hand out, the long fingers grasped his shoulder and brought him forward.
The man put his lips to Kristopher's neck, placing a delicate kiss on his pulse before piercing his skin with ivory fangs. Srene tried to scream but he could not. The laughing faces of the vampires around him spun in a haze almost like an opium high. Scared, Srene tried to fight back but his strength was gone.
It was blackness then. And when he awoke, he was undead.
:Hogwarts, Present:
"You look pale, Srene," Ron said, looking oddly at the vampire next to him.
"I haven't spent time in daylight in over a hundred years, I ought to look pale," Srene joked, still shaken by the memory.
The group laughed a little nervously.
"I should warn you," Srene started, unsure of himself for the first time in a long while, "the Father is a cruel man, vicious and…powerful. He won't like two humans wandering into his den claiming they have his old soul. He doesn't like humans at all, he barely even likes vampires and he is one. the Father will, we'll just say he will not be what you expect."
"Can he really be such a horrible person?"
"Easily," Srene assured them.
"We'll have to make him play nice then." Draco said in his slightly arrogant way.
Ron laughed and leaned on Blaise next to him on the couch, comfortable against his boyfriend.
"You're pretty," Blaise said, kissing the red hair.
"Thank-you," Ron turned his head and kissed the Italian's lips.
"Ew, gross," Draco stuck out his tongue at them.
"Ew your face," Blaise responded. He remembered the necklace he'd found and took it from around his own neck, "I found this in the rubble." He held it out.
"My- oh gods Blaise, thank-you. I missed it so," Draco took it in his left hand, the ring glinted and all attention was drawn to the incredible piece.
"Holy fuck," Adrian went wide eyed with shock at the priceless rings.
"Holy," Ron started.
"Fuck," Blaise finished.
"Holy fuck," Srene was shocked because he recognized what the stones were.
"Holy fuck?" Snape looked at the two men with blatant disapproval.
"Holy fuck," Dumbledore muttered, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"What?" Draco gave them all a weird look
"You're-" Blaise pointed at the rings.
"Wearing-" Adrian tried to say.
"The-" said Snape, trying to move them all along.
"The Amoras rings," Srene finished.
"Oh, yes, Helene gave them to us," Draco smiled at the ring he wore. Harry nodded and held his up.
"Gawds Drake, that thing must be worth billions," Blaise peered at it.
"They have no price," Snape said, looking at Blaise from the corner of his eye, "they're ancient and anyone fool enough to try sell them could never get a high enough amount."
"Oh," Blaise had the decency to look a little embarrassed.
Harry ignored them mostly, for he was looking at the necklace in Draco's hand. He hadn't put it on yet.
The three crests were all very pretty and caused Harry to wonder what the Potter crest looked like. Was it so rich and…pureblood as these two? What about the Weasely crest? This caused him to wonder about all the pureblood crests. Curiosity gripped him, later that day he would get Draco to explain it all.
Dumbledore herumphed from behind his desk to draw attention back to himself, the group turned, some with annoyed expressions.
"I think that Misters Potter and Malfoy should go to the hospital wing to be checked out, Professor Srene, if I may have a word with you?"
The majority of them departed, Adrian stayed and glared at the headmaster. In the hall Draco made sure to give his godfather a hug.
"I missed you Uncle."
Snape was stunned, more than a little stunned actually. Draco, since he was accepted to Hogwarts, had been very anti-contact and anti-affection.
"Yes, I missed you as well Draco," Snape ruffled his hair and grinned at him. "You've changed since we spoke last."
Draco knew this, as he had been to the Afterlife.
"Maybe you're just growing old Uncle, what about that?"
Snape gave him a look of false disapproval. "Perhaps I ought to hobble back to my dungeons and hunch over another cauldron, 'eh?"
"Just don't trip on any stairs, you'll break something," Draco said.
Snape rolled his black eyes and disappeared down the corridor.
"Come on, Madam Pomfrey needs to see us," Harry held out his hand.
"Yeah, sure she does," Draco rolled his eyes as his godfather had just done and took Harry's hand. "We're fine, Dumbledore just wanted us out since we weren't doing what he wanted us to."
"Don't be so judgmental of him, he's our headmaster, and a good man," Harry insisted as they drew nearer the Hospital Wing.
"You really are jaded Messuire Potter," Draco announced as though he'd discovered a cure for a grave disease.
"You're a pipsqueak," Harry said, nudging him lightly.
"Brute," Draco smirked at him and Harry was suddenly against a wall, the shorter blonde nearly wrapped around him.
Their lips were pressed flat against each other until Draco took Harry's bottom lip and began to suck on it. Harry groaned and wrapped his arms around Draco's waist, dragging them closer together.
Draco was proud of the response he'd earned and then drew back, licking his lips. "Come along," he held out his hand so they could continue.
"What?"
"Madam Pomfrey?" Draco reminded him.
"How can you expect me to sit around getting prodded by that old woman after you just did that?"
"Did what?" Draco acted innocent.
Harry made an odd noise of confusion but shook himself free of it and took his Match's hand. Bastard. Harry said to himself as they walked through the doors.
"I expected to see you two fairly soon," Madam Pomfrey said, eyeing them.
"Yes ma'am, you've seen us, we can go," Draco rounded on his heel and made to leave.
"Not so fast Mister Malfoy," she raised a hand and then clasped it again in front of her.
"What?"
"Let me see your wing joint," she motioned to the bed. Malfoy went over and lifted his shirt off.
Harry sucked in breath, his Match was perfectly built. His hips bones were visible and caused the eye to follow their line down below the belt of his black trousers. His stomach was flat but not over toned, his shoulder a little wider and his collar bone showed and looked gorgeous beneath his ivory skin.
Madam Pomfrey examined the wing joint, where they branched out from between his shoulder blades. She hm'd and tsk'd at them until she was satisfied they weren't dangerous to his health.
"Can I go now?" Draco asked, reaching for his shirt.
Madam Pomfrey shook her head and kept them another half hour, running tests, taking temperatures and all manner of things, including checking for poisoning.
Finally they were excused.
"I want a sundae," Harry announced, he looked down the hall with the kitchen and took his snake down that way.
"I want a bed and a good book or a naked Match, what are you going to do about that?" Draco asked as he followed Harry.
"After I get ice-cream," Harry tickled the pair and entered. Immediately they were silent when they saw Adrian and Snape sitting there talking.
"Kristopher isn't a threat to any one," Adrian was insisting.
"How can you be sure? You've only known him since August," Snape reminded him.
"I just do…" Adrian trailed off, "I think," he tried again, "I think he and I are more than just attracted to each other."
"What do you mean Adrian?"
You know how Drake and Harry are a Match?"
"Yes."
"I don't think Kristopher and I are a Match. We are, at least I really think we are, in…love," Adrian almost winced after he finished, in pre-emptive response to Snape's reaction.
"It's possible," Snape sipped his coffee, "love isn't impossible, especially when a you've been put through trials like this past month. And when you're alone, a warm soul is a great comfort."
"You talk as if you know, sir," Adrian had a small frown on his face.
"Of course, I was young once, not always a sneering thirty-something man in all black," Snape said with a small smirk.
Adrian chuckled and looked at the Potion's master as if expecting an explanation.
"He called himself Jade, because of the color of his eyes, and he rode a motorcycle and wore a leather jacket and had a pair of combat boots. He'd run away from home the year before I met him, we were sixteen. We met in London, I was there for a party with Lucius, Jade was there looking for answers about his mother. She'd died when he was young, or she'd left him and his father, I never found out. But, then he did, he discovered the truth about her or…something happened and he gave himself over to depression. He drove his bike off a bridge into the Thymes, I just wasn't enough to keep him around. He did that when were eighteen, and that same year I joined the Dark Lord," Snape said, his voice was hollow, as if reading from a book.
"Did you ever know his real name?" Adrian asked.
"No," Snape said, shaking his head.
Draco made a show of pushing open the door so it slammed against the wall. Both men snapped to look at him.
"Get your damn ice-cream," Draco said. He looked over at them and smiled, "hello, Harry just had a craving for ice-cream."
Lower, the blonde whispered to Harry, "and I have a craving for you, get a damn move-on."
Snape smiled at them both and stood. "I'll see you tomorrow Professor Weasley."
"Yeah, sure, bye Snape."
Okay: no that wasn't a random anecdote about Snape's past, it is significant. I feel sad that only 2 people have reviewed the chapter before this. Is something wrong with it? Or is everyone just confused about me editing and combining and reloading the earlier chapters and deleting other ones I put into bigger chapters?
I hope you all still like this story:sad face: