OF THY PRECIOUS BLOOD

Summary: After GOF Harry is blamed for a crime he didn't commit and sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. Betrayed by all those he loved what will happen when the boy-who-lived is saved by an enemy and made to go into hiding? HP/SS will be slash!

Rated: R

Disclaimer: I do not own anything about Harry Potter but the plot. Harry Potter belongs solely to MS. Rowling and the WB. You can't sue me so go bark up a tree! (after you read and review that is)

Author's Note: I hope no one becomes confused at this point. We are taking a brief interlude before Damian unravels the rest of the story. Any questions can be e-mailed to me or submitted in the review.

I'm really sorry about the weird page breaks! Windows was being a complete arse. Oh and my pitiful attempt to converse with my wonderful reviewers is at the bottom.

We previously left off at….

"POTTER!" The older man shouted angrily.

"WHAT MALFOY?"

The two were at a stand still until the older man took his hand out of his pocket and threw a golden ball through the bars in Harry's direction.

"Catch." He said and Harry's reflexes did the rest when his right hand, which he had been madly motioning with, caught the small golden object sailing his way. He felt the coolness of the little golden ball and then the nauseating tugging behind his navel that meant a portkey had been activated.

Oh hell not again. Was his last thought before the world spun away and he fell hard on his tailbone in the middle of a dingy room.

Chapter 2: A Grim Reality

Damian soon shook himself out of his reverie when he saw that he had reached the tombstone of one Amelia Elizabeth Spenster. Kneeling down by it he brushed a few fingers across his lips and pressed them to the tombstone.

"It's good to see you old mum." He whispered tears glistening in his eyes which he fought back as hard as possible reminding himself. Malfoys don't cry.

"I quit the construction job today you know. I'm moving out too but you don't have to worry about me. I'm an adult now and the band is bringing in a lot of money. I'll be well provided for even without that. My family will see to that."

Damian raised his head to the slight breeze that enveloped him and swept the hair out of his face, while drying any moisture in his eyes. Even in death she looked after him.

"I wanted to thank you and I know I do it every week but I-I'm not sure if I'll be coming back for a while. Things are changing and I can feel it all happening. I just have to give you my thanks one more time. So thank you, thank you for all your help Amelia-mum."

He spoke out loud, his voice cracked once at the thought of leaving her. He just wished that in some way she could hear him right now. Lapsing into silence to pay his respects Damian then pressed a kiss to the cold tombstone and whispered one last farewell before rising to face his demons.

But when he turned he saw no one, just heard the sharp yelp of a dog and a series of loud barking.

By the gates of the graveyard were two men standing outside a large white van struggling to keep a hold of the noose around a large black dog's neck as it barked and growled in its attempt to escape. Calling the dog large was simply an understatement; it was at least the size of a small pony and its fur was thick and matted. Hell if someone didn't know any better they would have mistaken it for a small bear.

The men keeping a hold on it did so reluctantly. If they didn't fear the dog would maul then the moment it had a chance they would have let it go. Pale yellow eyes glared at the men in blue uniforms and it salivated and growled menacingly.

There was no mistaking that dog even if Damian hadn't seen it for almost three years now. It was rather appropriate to find it by a graveyard. The dog that looked like a big hulking Grim frightened even the bravest of wizards. However that was no Grim, nor a dog, it was an animagus. One particular animagus named Sirius Black.

With a vicious snarl of his own Damian considered leaving him to the pound patrol. Perhaps he would learn not to roam the streets without a collar after they snipped his balls off. It would also teach him that his betrayal was a deep one.

As much as he wanted to leave the wizard to his fate he knew no good would come of it. As soon as Sirius realized what was going on he was going to transform and cause a scene. Oblivators from the Ministry would arrive and Damian would have himself some unwanted attention…not to mention Black would be caught.

Sighing deeply he knew that he couldn't do such a thing, the man knew he was here and if he was there to make trouble then he'd have to have his memory Obliviated.

Taking his time in walking calmly over to the van Damian relished every bit of fear pouring off the struggling group.

"And what pray tell do you think you're doing to my dog gentlemen?" He hissed in his coldest voice. It was true that he found some amusement out of their fearful expressions. He couldn't help being a sadist.

The rather short, portly fellow on the left of Sirius audibly gulped when he caught site of the well-known blonde. "T-terribly sorry s-sir. It's just that this dog has no collar. He has to be taken in."

Seeing the icy glare coming from the blonde the man on the right, who was the complete opposite of the one on the left, being tall and gangly, pulled at his collar in discomfort.

"Unless you have a license for the dog sir…" The skinny one looked at his partner who nodded.

Damian glared harder and stepped toward them. Never taking his eyes off the two he wrenched the pole out of their hands and pulled the noose over the dog's neck.

"O-or y-you can just take him sir. He seems to be responding well to you." At the sound of the portly man's voice Sirius snapped his jaw and snarled at the two. The stench of urine met the canine's nose and a wet patch covered the fronts of the men's uniforms.

"Good day gentlemen." Damian grabbed a good hold of the dog's scruff and pulled non too gently as he swept himself into a graceful about-face and started walking in the opposite direction of his current residence. He dog remained submissive to his touch and only elicited a few whimpers of pain when he tugged painfully on its scruff, easily pulling out small tufts of black hair.

Before long they hit a slum-type of neighborhood where Damian turned sharply into a dark alley. He pulled his submissive counterpart behind him and roughly shoved him away from his body.

Damian turned his snarling face toward the dog, the look of displeasure on his face could not be mistaken for anything else.

"I'll ask you once and only once." He paused for effect but did not lessen the extremity of his anger. "What the fuck are you doing here Black? Here to capture me and take me back to get the Dementor's Kiss?" he growled much like a dog himself and the canine whimpered, backing up further from the young man.

"What's the matter! Too much of a coward to face me Black? Show your fucking face already! I want the satisfaction of telling you off in person and seeing your traitorous face fall apart! Come on!"

In his rage Damian struck the animagus on the muzzle.

With a small 'pop' Sirius Black the convicted murderer, framed for the murder of killing 13 people and betraying his best friend's family stood before him. His light blue eyes focused on Damian's own green ones sadly. He held his hand up to his smarting cheek for a moment.

"Harry," he croaked reaching that same hand out to touch him but the blonde stepped back fluidly.

"Don't fucking call me that. I'm not Harry, I'm not your godson, I'm not the-fucking-boy-who-lived." He whispered, eyes hard and looking straight through Sirius'. "I'm the-boy-who-was-betrayed-by-his-own-friends! Now what the hell do you want you flea bitten excuse for a human being!" his scathing tone of voice did nothing to drive the man away though it did resulting the lowering of his eyes and a solitary tear to roll down his cheek.

"It's not what you think. Harry, please listen. I would never betray you like that. Harry don't you think I know all about being convicted for crimes I didn't commit?" With each word Sirius' voice became softer and softer and cracked under his desperation.

"Oh do shut up Black." The deep sneer on the young man's face threw Sirius off even more. If Padfoot wasn't so sure this was Harry he would have never made the connection himself.

"Don't you dare play the 'little poor escaped convict never gets a break' game with me. You either tell me what you're after of your own free will or I will force you. And believe me," He warned with steel ingrained in every word spoken. "Believe me, I will drag the answer out of you and make you wish you were never born."

"I-I swear! Harry--" Sirius barely registered the crunch when his nose was brutally broken, but the crunch in his heart was a million times more painful than any superficial injury he may have acquired on the surface. Blood gushed down his face and he could barely make out the grizzly expression on the blonde's face through his teary eyes.

"I warned you Black." Damian briefly glanced at the bloody rings on his fingers. There was a silver ring on each on his right hand. All coated with the infamous Black blood now. While his Slytherin mind suggested he should preserve it for the purposes of taking out his vengeance, the small part of him that remained Gryffindor crumbled.

The man currently kneeling at his feet was not an enemy that he would have no problem taking his final retribution on. This man had been there for him when he was most needed at one point in his life. This man escaped Azkaban for him. That was at least worth something, even if he didn't come through in the end.

"You're not worth my time. Leave, and don't follow me again." He was prepared to walk away and forget about the whole ordeal when a heavy body slammed into the backs of his knees and refused to relinquish its grip.

"Please, please, please, please listen to me." The broken man pressed his face into the boy's legs, forgetful of the blood pouring from his broken nose and the throbbing pain that accompanied it. "I know I don't deserve forgiveness. But please, I'm begging you. You have a full grown man on his knees begging you."

Damian was still frazzled but his temper calmed when he heard the desperate pleading. He truly pitied the other man. When he was allowed to turn he took in Sirius' haggard appearance with a neutral expression. He was extremely dirty, and bloody. His midnight black hair matted and tangled beyond belief. His eyes were sunken in and his cheekbones looked like they could cut through glass. Luckily it was summer because the torn robes the other man was wearing did nothing but protect his modesty.

"I swear though. I swear on the house of my ancestors, I swear on James' grave, I SWEAR ON MY MAGIC! I-" He screamed at first chance and found a hand up against his mouth stopping his tirade. The spell for a soundproof bubble was spoken and a moment later they were surrounded by it.

"You'd better hope that didn't draw any attention to us Black." He said gruffly and pulled the man up by the collar so he would be standing. The man just swore on his own magic, there wasn't any way he would be lying beyond this point. "Now speak." He was willing to let Sirius tell him his side of the story.

"Harry-" The boy growled and Sirius closed his mouth foregoing the name if it made the blonde less volatile.

"I've been looking for you for almost three years. I haven't been anywhere near wizarding public since I escaped three years ago!" He ranted and gripped the boy's shirt tightly before dropping to his knees yet again and unwilling to get up. He felt the other struggle against him when he wrapped his arms tightly around the blonde's slim waist and refused to let go.

"Black unhand me this instant!" Damian tried to pry the arms off of him and even pulled minutely on the ex-convicts hair to get his head off of his stomach but found it near impossible to dislodge the man without seriously hurting him.

"No not until you listen!" he cried. "I fought for you! I defied Dumbledore for you! And I escaped a second prison to find you!" He mumbled hysterically and squeezed the boy's body to himself.

Damian's eyes became round in disbelief. "What do you mean? Where did you escape from?" His voice waslaced with suspicion.

"I fought him, I grabbed him by the hair and then the blast and I wasn't myself at the trial! But you have to come back! Everyone's dying…"

No matter how hard he tried Sirius couldn't sound rational over his hysterical sobbing. So with difficulty Damian got down on his own knees and held the man's head between his hands forcing him to look into his eyes. The man's eyes were dilated beyond belief and he was breathing too rapidly for it to be healthy. Hyperventilation was setting in.

But about as cruelly as he'd treated him to this point he again violated the man in a way that could be considered unforgivable. With a whispered "Legilimens" and a mental shove he violently breeched the other man's mind. He felt Sirius convulse slightly under his fingers but ignored it and plunged forward calling forth a memory that would explain exactly what happened.

The swirling memories he was perusing came to a stop. He skipped over many. Some of a young Sirius playing with a younger boy that resembled him. Some memories were of a teenage Sirius making mischief with three others his age. Other memories were of his cold, harsh days in Azkaban. And finally he stopped in the office of one Albus Dumbledore. He looked just as Damian remembered him three years ago. Every wrinkle was in its proper place and the white hair just as long as he recalled. Separated by a large cherry wood desk Sirius stood across from him looking much healthier than he did now.

"Sirius I saw the evidence with my own two eyes. There were witnesses. Prior Incantatem was performed. There is nothing that can be done." The twinkle in Albus Dumbledore's eyes was non-existent at this point.

"NO! Albus that's dragon dung and you know it!" The younger of the two men yelled and punctuated by slamming his fist on the cherry wood desk in front of him.

"Mister Black there is nothing I can do for the time being. With any luck we will find something to help Harry, but until the hearing all you can do is pray for him." With a vexed sigh the old man walked around his desk and out of his office leaving the other to follow him in earnest.

Damian followed angrily as the memory progressed. The pain he buried inside himself was rapidly resurfacing. The mental healing that had occurred over the past few years was being erased.

"FUCK YOU, YOU OLD CODGER! You can shove your so-called evidence up your fucking arse! Don't tell me about witnesses! They don't mean anything! I want Veritaserum used at Harry's trial. I will not stand aside and see an innocent boy go to Azkaban!"

Sirius stopped short when Dumbledore's storming eyes turned on him and his ancient voice boomed in anger. "SIRIUS BLACK I advise you to watch your language and conduct in front of me. You are still a man wanted at large. Do not make me do something we'll both regret."

"A-are you threatening me?" His voice wavered in disbelief as he stared pointedly into the old man's face without backing down. "ME! SIRIUS BLACK! I was the first and only man to escape Azkaban! You dare to threaten me! I come from the most Noble and Ancient House of Black!" He whipped out his wand and angry red sparks started shooting from it with each yelled word. "And you don't threaten a Black." Sirius hissed.

The blonde couldn't help but feel impressed by Sirius' resolve. Mighty Gryffindor indeed.

"Yes, a house so dark that it bred three dark lords in the last five centuries. You however, are no dark lord Sirius. You are a disillusioned man that was badly affected by twelve years in the presence of Dementors." The old mage barely glanced down at the sparking wand and once again turned, unimpressed, leaving the words said fester and hang in the air.

"Call me what you will but I know I can hold my own with the best of them. Old man, if you let Harry go to Azkaban for a crime I know he did not commit…HARRY! THE SON OF LILY AND JAMES! DEFEATER OF VOLDEMORT! If you let him burn I'll--"

He was abruptly cut off. "You'll what Sirius? Join the mad man that killed your friend and brother? Work with the man that betrayed you? Are you going to except the mark that James and Lily died to purge from this world?"

"Lily and James didn't die to purge anything! They died to keep Harry alive. And you're pissing on their graves. You're pissing on Lily's sacrifice!"

"I disrespect no one's sacrifice Sirius. Harry did that all on his own by turning into something the Potters fought so hard against."

"MY GODSON IS NO MURDERER!"

In a fit of anger Sirius lunged forward with an animalistic snarl and grabbed the long white hair cascading down the back of the strongest wizard of the century wrapping it around his fist. Using all his strength and the Black temper the escaped convict whipped out his wand and pushed it up against the old man's throat.

Damian bit back a laugh when he saw that Black had in fact pulled the other man's hair. Despite having been disowned by his family he had no doubt that the Black's would have been proud of this display. For none had stood up to the great Albus Dumbledore in person.

"You think I don't know what you're doing Dumbledore? You think I don't know this is just an elaborate game of chess for you? I won't tolerate it anymore." So harsh were his words that he began to spit into the other man's face while pulling savagely back on his hair. What Sirius didn't anticipate was the burst of raw magic that ripped through him and hoisted him high into the air before slamming him into the nearest wall.

The sound of a wand clattering on the cold floor and the raspy breathing of the unconscious convict were the only ones in the hallway.

"Severus," The old mage's voice called to the shadow behind a suit of armor. "I suspect that Mister Black will need some help if he is to make it to Mister Potter's trial on time. I want you to bring the potions I instructed you to prepare for this occasion."

The sound of soft footsteps prompted the older man's departure and the sweeping of a cloak brought a new man into the fold. Severus Snape gazed coldly onto the body of his rival. But unbeknownst to anyone but Damian who had been watching carefully, behind those dark depths something sparked.

The memory faded away and Damian pulled himself out of Sirius' mind carefully until he was once again looking at the teary red-rimmed eyes of his godfather.

"Please." The man whispered brokenly again and shook with repressed sobs. The younger man couldn't help but feel angry for him and guilty over what he'd done. Sirius was once again accused of doing something he didn't do. The poor, innocent, escaped convict who never quite seemed to get a break. The man in front of him now was but a shell of the one he witnessed in the memory.

Tentatively he wrapped his arms around the other man gently and with one hand stroked his hair in a calming manner. It didn't take much for Sirius to completely lose himself and curl up like a child in the blonde's arms.

"Forgive me Sirius." Damian cursed himself for his harsh treatment of his godfather. How could he call himself Slytherin when he was still ruled by his Gryffindor tendencies of acting first and asking questions later? He was pathetic. Undeserving of his name.

"Please forgive me." He continued to hold the sobbing man and occasionally placing a kiss on top of the matted head of hair. "Paddy…" he whispered in his own desperation.

This was the worst betrayal of all. When family is betrayed. Damian truly felt like the scum of the Earth.

"H-Harry." Sirius pronounced his name between sniffles and crudely wiped his nose on his tattered sleeve. Damian couldn't find it in himself to be angry for the use of his old name or disgusted by the display.

"Yes?"

"There's nothing for me to forgive you of. It just couldn't be helped until it was too late."

"You're a far better person than I, Padfoot. Your ability to forgive…" He didn't know what to say.

"That's a good one." The ex-convict's laugh sounded almost like a canine's bark. "Coming from the boy that convinced me to spare the life of the traitor responsible for this whole mess."

"Hmm. Lets just assent to the fact that neither of us are saints." The blonde pointed out making the older man smile again. Though it looked rather pained, his nose looked destroyed after all and his eyes were starting to swell up.

"Hold still." He commanded and gently placed his hands on the sides of Sirius' face again. He let his thumbs rest on the man's cheekbones, getting as close as he could to the broken nose. And then he closed his eyes.

And when Damian closed his eyes Sirius' widened as much as they could in their swollen state. An icy sensation swept across his face from under the boy's thumbs until his face was completely numb. Gradually the cold receded, heat followed it leaving a warm flush on his skin. The pain of his broken nose and torn skin was suddenly a distant memory and the once emerald green eyes opened to reveal quicksilver orbs swirling with green until they were once again overcome by their regular color.

Sirius fancied that whatever had happened was nothing short of amazing and oddly beautiful. But perhaps he felt that way because the man who had just healed him was very beautiful himself. Anything coming from him would be as well. Except for that punch.

Just as he got lost in his speculation of the younger man the clear sound of his empty stomach growling menacingly stopped him from asking any questions. A healthy blush stole itself on Sirius' face when his body betrayed him.

Damian hearing the complaining stomach smiled sympathetically and kissed his temple. "Let me feed you?"

Sirius cocked an eyebrow, a shadow of the charming man he once had been passed over his face. "If that's what floats your boat these days kiddo." Sirius couldn't help but notice that a lot of kissing had been going on. He'd never known Harry to be so affectionate before and he knew exactly who to blame for that. The bloody muggles that he spent the first ten years of his life with did nothing to help Harry's ability to receive and give affection. And it was Dumbledore's fault for placing his godson in that household. It was Peter's fault that Voldemort made Harry an orphan and it was Voldemort's fault that Peter betrayed them and that Harry was forced into that life.

Sirius quickly shut down that train of thought before he lost his temper. He was already feeling light-headed as it was. If he passed out now he wouldn't have much dignity left afterwards. He just couldn't help wondering...who was responsible for this new affectionate Harry?

He huffed when Harry cuffed him lightly on the head for his previous insinuation but let himself be helped up from the ground before staggering on his feet a little. A steady hand came to the small of his back and kept him upright until he gained back his sense of equilibrium.

"Best to transform to Padfoot for a while. We'll be taking a cab. You're in no state to walk." He placed a hand on the older man's cheek fondly and brought their foreheads together. Damian hesitated a moment before letting go.

"And Sirius…I'm really glad to have you back."

"It's good to be back." Damian gave the man a kiss on the cheek thoroughly surprising him again. That didn't stop him from blushing though. Who would have thought that he'd still be blushing well into his thirties?

With a near-silent pop the older man was back to being the lovable Grim and this time Damian merely placed a hand on his back and led him along up to a busier street where he was able to flag down a cab.

Of course the taxi cab driver groused about having a dirty dog in his car but let them ride on account that Damian whom he recognized immediately would sign an autograph for his daughter Becky. This got a funny look out of Padfoot and a nudge from his cold nose but otherwise the trip was silent.

Arriving at 23rd Street and Park Avenue Damian pulled a crisp 50 pound note out of his pocket and told the cabbie to keep the change. He led the way into a fairly nice apartment building and rode the lift with Padfoot up to the 7th floor. Inside, the apartment was a mess. In fact it reminded Sirius of his own bachelor pad in his time fresh out of Hogwarts.

Clothes strewn around the floor were being stepped on and beer bottles on the floor roughly rolled under the couch.

"So-uh you live here alone?" Sirius asked in what he hoped to be a casual way once they stepped over the threshold of the decent sized apartment. Overstepping empty pizza boxes and even more empty beer bottles he wrinkled his nose at the strange smell that permeated the immediate living area. He wasn't one to be picky about a living area but this…"You know so much beer isn't good for you. I mean I know you're young and all and when I was young I liked the same thing but-"

"Sirius you're nagging." It was nice to have someone care about his well-being but he didn't exactly need his godfather to turn into a mother hen. "I don't live here alone and this mess definitely isn't mine. But seeing as I've overstayed my welcome I can't really be bothered to clean this mess up."

"Whose mess is this then and what gives them the right to just kick you out?" The man sounded fairly disgusted with whomever Damian shared the space with.

"Don't worry about it, the guy's been nice enough to let me stay this long. I kind of owe him to leave quietly now."

"Sounds like a real slob to me." He jumped when a small gray object scurried across the floor and under the couch. These days anything small, gray, and a rodent made him jump. Luckily the blonde didn't notice, and if he did he didn't comment.

"Something of the sort. Why don't you have a seat while I order some take-out. Does Italian sound okay?" The blonde's voice trailed off as he ventured further into the apartment and left Sirius to stand idly by the couch.

"Italian sounds great, haven't had it in years. Could you point me in the direction of the loo though?"

"It's the door at the end of that hall there." The blonde went off to the kitchen carrying a paper menu and one of those portable communication devices Sirius always saw the muggles using. Was it called again...a sell?

"I'm going to need enough of this for four people so there'll have to be four portions of everything I asked for. Oh, the lasagna serves two? Okay then I'll have two of those instead of four. Drinks? No, no thank you. I'll be paying with cash…yes, yes thank you. Forty minutes is fine. Goodbye."

Damian turned the phone off and banged his head on the kitchen table. Once, twice, three times and finally raised his head looking around inquiringly. Where was Sirius?

Blonde hair, silvery blonde hair everywhere. Cold blue eyes, silvery blue eyes. Disdain written all over their pale pointed faces. Aristocracy bred into their beautiful bodies. Mal fait the French would call them. Maleficus wizards of old would say.

"Malfoy." Sirius whispered pointedly. "Malfoy." He repeated, again and again and again.

"Damian Ares Malfoy to be exact." His godson's voice caught him off guard and he whirled around, the picture frame in his hand went crashing to the floor landing in a pile of shattered glass. The blonde boy so like the one's in the picture stood leaning against the doorframe to his room, coolly assessing his reaction.

"What? Why? How! I don't understand this…" Sirius trailed off stunned and unable to look away from the now familiar features on the boy's face. He recognized those arched eyebrows, that straight nose and high cheekbones.

"You can see them in me can't you? Do you see yourself also?"

Sirius frowned, his expression questioning. "Myself?"

"I have your jaw and chin, your temper as well if what I'm told is true." Damian paused and approached the man cautiously. He circled him and stood behind him, both of them facing the mirror. He was a few inches taller than Sirius but the resemblance still stood.

Seeing the still lost expression coupled with the man's speechlessness Damian pressed on.

"What do you know of my escape from the Ministry?" He pressed his hands on the other man's shoulders and pushed him down to sit on the queen sized bed in his room.

"They said that you somehow used Dark Magic to escape. Some rubbish about being Voldemort's apprentice."

Damian gave him a mirthless smile. "Why am I not surprised?" He pulled his desk chair up to the bed and sat directly in front of Sirius looking him square in the eye. "It's time you found out the truth Padfoot."

"Just about your escape?" The older of the two asked.

"About everything."

TBC….

Mal fait – French for 'bad faith'

Maleficus – Latin for 'evil-doer'

Once again sorry about the page breaks. Some of them are in the right places but some just spontaneously appeared and I can't get rid of them. I tried putting white-out on the screen but alas…I forgot about the scrolling. Gosh I'm so blonde!

I hoped you all liked it anyways. Review and let me know what you thought!

Weirkat – or may I call you Kat? As you can see I have a fondness for…what do you they call them…cliff hangers or something? I am thrilled that you you're enjoying the fic and I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long! ;)

HedwigPig – Merci beaucoup. I'm glad you're liking it so far.

xyvortex – you need only to wait for the next chapter if you're still reading, and then the next and the next….and so on :P

Strega – I am overjoyed that you appreciate the complexities of this new Harry. And may I say that you are quite evil. :D Much more joy will ensue in the coming chapters. Can you hear that? That lone whisper…vengeance does her own evil cackle

krissy – I find that more and more I am becoming like Lord Voldemort. No, I don't look snake-like and bald…and the red eyes are just from the allergies… What I meant is that your support along with the support of my other viewers makes me grow more determined to 'rule the world' a.k.a. keep writing this fic to the best of my abilities. thanks!

TexasRose – I think I'm becoming more of a conversationalist while writing replies to reviews than I am in real life. Wow. I have to admit I did look forward to reading your opinion and I look forward to the next one again. Don't worry about giving away the story to everyone else because I've changed it a bit as you can read. And since I like you so much I won't tease you about being so eager to leave reviews before you read the contents of the chapter. I am in fact very flattered that you remembered the story as it was before. Feel free to e-mail me any time if you have questions. I've become a dutiful e-mail answer-er….right. lol. Hope you enjoyed this one.

Jenni – I'm glad you liked the story so far but I'm afraid I'll have to leave you in the dark about where Harry was sent by Malfoy until the next chapter. I do agree that Harry really would look better as a brunette, but somehow having dark hair just didn't fit in with this story so I decided it was time for a change. ;) You'll find out why, I promise!

SeulWolfe – I thought it would be kind of ironic if he caught a snitch portkey. You're right, Malfoy did shove him out of a whole in the wall in the first version. But it sounds a little too crude for Lucius Malfoy don't you think? A snitch just seems more refined. :P As for the question about Sev, he really wouldn't have known until after the trial. Remember this takes place after GOF, he has yet to encumber himself back into Voldemort's ranks. But Snape has always been a believer that Harry is a do-good Gryffindor. I hope that answered your question without giving too much away. Thanks for the support!

lynn – Merci dearest! I am becoming quite big-headed, kind of like Gilderoy Lockhart. lol. At least my favorite color isn't lilac…yet.

SerpentSlaveChik – Thank you! I'm glad you approve. Kinky name btw. ;)

linz – thanks so much! I'm doing my best to keep it going.

IncorruptibleSin – Your name seriously makes me shiver. lol. I have quite the vivid imagination. Glad you like it and thanks for reviewing! Keep reading and I'll keep posting!

FroBoy – Glad you liked this one. Thanks for leaving me supportive comments!

High Low – I'm glad you're enjoying this H.L.! I believe the chapter's answered the question you asked. Sirius Black is the yellow-eyed shadow creeper!

silverspirit – thanks so much for remembering the story and coming back to read it! I really appreciate the fact that you haven't given up on waiting for more. I was struck with inspiration about a month ago and I finally got into gear and decided to rewrite and finish it. Thanks for leaving the comment, makes me feel uber special since you don't write a lot of them. Hope to hear more from you soon!