Harry Potter and the Blood Prophecies

by lethelynn

After the disastrous events of The Order of the Phoenix, Harry resolves to take control of the course of his life. Some things are easier said than done, however. A succession of events will lead Harry down paths that he never imagined, and he will discov

4. Chapter Four: Senef Mesha’ and Prophesie

Harry Potter and the Blood Prophesies
By Lethe a.k.a. Garner

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters and places included in the Harry Potter books belong to J.K. Rowling and her affiliates. Unfortunately, I am not J.K. Rowling. This story will most likely contain slash by the end. For the uninitiated, this means relationships between two males. If that disgusts you, read on at your own criticism is of course welcome and encouraged.

Author's Notes: I apologize for the delay on this chapter. It was extremely tough to slug through. I hope it's not too dry, but I had to get a lot of information across. I promise the story will get moving in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!

(Italics indicate parseltongue or telepathic speech)

Chapter Four: Senef Mesha' and Prophesies

Harry awoke to knocking on his door. He felt the comforting smoothness of Lethe on his wrist, walked over to the door, and called, "Who is it?"

"It is I, Tullius, Blood Child."

"One moment," Harry called. He pulled his wand from his sleeve, and canceled the wards on the door. He then opened the door and allowed Tullius to enter. Harry felt a little awkward just standing there, and yet it seemed silly to invite his captor to sit down. In the end, Tullius did it for him, and sat in one of the chairs. He motioned for Harry to do the same. Harry resisted the urge to sigh, and sat down.

"I imagine that you'd like explanation now. Am I correct?"

Harry nodded, "Indeed." "Very well then. Where to start... Well, first of all, I am not a Death Eater. The fact that the attack on your house, and our retrieval of you happened at the same time is merely coincidence. It is a fairly fortunate coincidence, not the fact that your relatives died, but we were having some trouble getting past the wards without doing something that drastic. We were watching your house for several days hoping that you would leave the wards. The fact that you did not, combined with the skillfulness that you displayed in evading the Death Eaters and the precautions that you have taken since you arrived here show an admirable amount of craftiness on your part.

Harry nodded his head slightly in acceptance of the complement. He supposed that he did have quite a bit of experience in the field of sneaking around.

"You are here to turn the tide of two wars. One of which you have already heard, and the other that dates back much further of which you are unaware, as is most of humankind. Before I get into that however, I must reeducate you on some very pertinent facts.

"Blood Child, do you know what the physiological difference between wizards and muggles is?" Tullius asked quietly.

Harry nodded slowly. He remembered that Hermione had mentioned Creo Enzymes at some point. Apparently they were responsible for producing magical energy in a wizard. "Creo Enzymes, correct?"

"Precisely. Every wizard's blood contains Creo Enzymes imprinted with the magical signature distinct to each wizard. What you may not know is that these Creo Enzymes, or CE's as they are sometimes called, burn red blood cells in your blood for energy. The bodies of wizards have compensated for this by increasing the rate of red blood cell production." Harry nodded in understanding. He remembered Hermione saying something along those lines.

Tullius continued, "This is why wizards become fatigued when they overexert themselves magically. Red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen and nutrients to various parts of the body. When a wizard exerts great amounts of magical energy the Creo Enzymes consume red blood cells at a rate faster than the body can produce them. This leaves a wizard with symptoms similar to blood loss. The level of Creo Enzymes in his blood determines the magical strength of a wizard. This level stays constant from the womb and can only be altered by strong dark magic, which has serious side effects. This level of Creo Enzymes is what determines a wizard's magical strength. The level of Creo Enzymes in a wizard's blood is directly proportional to the level of magical energy that a wizard is capable of producing.

Harry was shocked by this revelation, "Do those wizards with higher magical strength run the risk of burning too many red blood cells?" Harry could not help remember how many times people had told him that he had exceptional magical strength. Did this mean that he was in danger of hurting himself?

Tullius shook his head, "No. Each wizard's body sets and equilibrium while still in the womb, and produces sufficient levels of red blood cells to compensate for its Creo Enzymes. The human body is an amazing thing. Your Creo Enzymes have a failsafe and would temporarily shut down before your body could be drained of red blood cells. It is only when dark magic is used in the attempts to raise the level of Creo Enzymes that a wizard possesses that you run into trouble."

"I see," said Harry feeling slightly relieved, "So what does this have to do with why I am here?"

"Ah, yes... I was getting to that. What do you know about vampires, Blood Child?"

"I just know that they are bloodthirsty dark creatures that feed on the blood of humans, and why do you keep calling me that?" Harry was growing slightly alarmed. He was not sure that he liked where this conversation was heading. He glanced at Tullius' mouth when he smiled, and was slightly reassured when all of his teeth appeared to be the same length.

"I apologize, Harry, it is simply habit." Harry raised an eyebrow at this, but did not comment when Tullius continued, "Vampires are quite different then you have been led to believe, Harry. Please allow me to tell you a story."

"As I am sure you know, ancient Egypt was ruled mostly by wizards." He paused long enough for Harry to nod in acknowledgment. Ron had told him of all of the curses that Egyptian wizards had placed on the pyramids. "Well, around 2100 BC, Egypt was fragmented and warring with itself. Then along came a wizard who would later become known as Mentuhotep II, pharaoh of the 11th dynasty. He and his dark wizard priests began experimenting with ways of creating the perfect warriors. The priests collected muggleborn wizarding children under the age of five from their peasant parents for use as test subjects. The parents were simply told that their children had been chosen to serve the pharaoh. The parents were not given the option to refuse. Using the darkest of magic they created a magical virus, which they dubbed the Senef Virus. Senef is the ancient Egyptian word for blood. This virus when administered would induce the wizard's body to undergo numerous physical enhancements, including enhanced senses of sight, smell, hearing and taste, enhanced strength, endurance and agility and remarkable healing capabilities. They would be killable only by beheading or piercing through the heart. It would also give the wizard telepathic powers, and would stop the ageing process at twenty-five years of age, making the wizard practically immune to death by natural causes. Lastly, it would cause the Creo Enzymes in a wizard's blood to multiply to almost double the natural level. In order for the virus not to be attacked and overwhelmed by the children's immune systems, they were drained of half their blood before being administered the virus. It was discovered in the process of testing this virus that the subjects bodies were not capable of producing sufficient amounts of red blood cells to sustain the increase in Creo Enzymes. After losing several of their early test subjects with symptoms of blood loss, they decided to try administering blood to the remaining children. They discovered that as long as the children received several liters of blood every few days, they would remain healthy. After experimenting with different sources of blood they found that although the children could process the blood of animals, they required more than if they were given the blood of humans. It appeared that their bodies magically compensated for blood type as well, negating that concern. Also they found that the blood of wizards gave them a temporary magical energy boost. The wizards assumed that this was because the wizarding blood contained Creo Enzymes. It was not a sustained because their own Creo Enzymes would eventually breakdown the foreign ones. For about an hour though, any spells that were cast left a combined magical signature.

"As I said, the purpose of these experiments was to create an army for Mentuhotep. His ambition was to reunite the warring Egypt under his rule. Within a year he had about fifty muggleborn wizards and witches between the ages of three and six. The children were treated as favored royalty, and were showered with attention and toys. At the same time they were being educated and trained, both in magic and in combat. Mentuhotep still was not satisfied however. He knew that if he was going to overtake the rest of Egypt, that he would need more than fifty children, no matter how powerful they might be.

"Mentuhotep instructed his priests to administer the Senef Virus to a group of muggle children in an attempt to supplement his forces. The experiment was an unqualified disaster. Since the muggles possessed no Creo Enzymes naturally, the wizards fed them the blood of the children, who were already carriers of the virus. With this attempt they had hoped to give the muggle children the capability to produce magic. Their bodies were unable to handle the invasion by Creo Enzymes, and their minds began to breakdown. In the end, although the change was successful, the muggle children had the mentality of wild animals. They were able to produce small amounts of uncontrolled magic, but the Creo Enzymes consumed red blood cells at a rate that their muggle bodies were totally unprepared for. These children had to feed daily in order to stay alive, and in their reduced mental state, they were consumed by bloodlust. The wizards termed the muggle children Deviants and destroyed them vowing to only use wizarding children in the future. They scoured the countryside for muggleborn wizarding children, for even Mentuhotep was not willing to alienate his fellow wizarding nobles by taking their children.

"Over the next fifteen years he was able to raise the number of his young army to a hundred. He named them the Senef Mesha', the Blood Army, and they were unstoppable. He had enhanced the virus in his warriors. They were made sterile, both male and female. He did not want to chance outside breeding that would dilute the Senef Mesha' bloodline, and he did not wish to have any of his warriors out of commission with pregnancy. The only way that one of the Senef Mesha' could reproduce was to select a wizarding child, drain their blood and administer them blood from themselves. When the two exchanged blood in this manner, a magical bond was created that made them as good as parent and child. The last enhancement was elongated upper and lower canines. These fangs allowed the Senef Mesha' to feed of the blood of their enemies during battle. Within a year Mentuhotep had reunited Egypt, and reigned supreme.

"The Senef Mesha' continued to serve the line of pharaohs until the collapse of the 13th dynasty around 1550 BC. They had been honored by Mentuhotep, but over the centuries the pharaohs became weaker, and grew distrustful of the powerful Senef Mesha'. Those outsiders that knew of their origins were long dried in the sand, and they vowed to keep their secrets to themselves. After the collapse they swore to only ally themselves to rulers, never to serve them. For the next 600 years they worked as mercenaries, paid fighters for various rulers, but looked to their own interests first and foremost.

"Around 700 BC, word of new civilizations across the sea began to filter into Egypt. The ancient civilization around them was crumbling. By this time their numbers had swelled to over 400, all appearing to be no older than twenty-five. Two half-brothers, Tullius Maecenas and Artemis Agamemnon, led them. It was decided that the clan was growing too large to remain inconspicuous. They split into two groups Tullius led one group to Rome, and Artemis led the other to Athens. They spent the next few hundred years working with the governments of each country. They hired themselves as trainers for the armies, but kept their own secrets. In 339 BC, the Grecian Senef Mesha' allied themselves with Alexander the Great. They campaigned with him all over the Mediterranean until his death in 323 BC. They then went to Rome to rejoin their brethren who were fighting in the 2nd Samnite War. As an elite mercenary army of 500, they spent a very bloody 300 years fighting for the Romans.

"In 43 AD their numbers had dwindled to 200 in the many wars. The decision was made to migrate to the newly conquered Britain to rest. For the next 700 years they remained in Britain gradually increasing in numbers. Although they did see fighting, it was nowhere near the scale that they had seen in Rome. Many of their number became discontent with their sedentary life, and longed for action.

"What you must understand, Harry, is that just because the Senef Mesha' were created using the darkest of magic, this did not make them necessarily evil. I know that you are familiar with a werewolf. Werewolves are considered by the Ministries of Magic and much of the wizarding population to be evil dark creatures intent on human blood. As you know however, this is not always the case. One of the codes that the Senef Mesha' had set before they ever left Egypt was not to feed off of innocent humans. They considered it their right to feed during battle, but would not seek out human blood in times of peace. They subsisted mainly off the blood of cattle at other times. This is why many of the Senef Mesha' were growing tired of their peaceful life, and were longing for wars to fight.

"At this point in history the Roman Empire was in its last years. Many of the Senef Mesha' saw opportunity in the various warring states. After a great argument among the elders of the clan, they split into five groups. Tullius and Artemis led the two largest. Tullius formed the Argentum Clan and stayed in what would eventually be Scotland, and Artemis formed the Rutilus Clan and moved them to what would become Wales. The Viridis Clan went to fight in the eastern Roman Empire, but eventually settled in what is now Germany. The Crocinus Clan went south along the continent to what is now Spain, but eventually migrated to the Americas in the 1500's. The Niveus Clan which was comprised of about forty younger vampires, went east and eventually allied with the Franks, which would ultimately be the biggest mistake yet to be made by any Senef Mesha'.

"The younger warriors had all been sired after the flight from Egypt, and therefore had not been witness to Mentuhotep's experiments. Although they knew of the ban of the creation of Deviants, they were full of their own arrogance. Stultitia Verus, the leader of the Niveus, defied the most sacred of the Senef Mesha' codes and told the leaders of the Franks of the Senef Mesha' abilities. The Franks were wary of these warriors, but in their greed for power, agreed to Stultitia's plan. She had them gather almost two hundred of their children together, all of who were muggles, and she and her followers sired them.

"The fledgling Deviants turned on their elders in their madness. Hundreds were slaughtered on all sides. The Argentum and Rutilus Clans came to the rescue, but by that time many of the Deviants had escaped. These rogue Deviants ravaged the countryside with no concept of secrecy. Soon, both the muggle and the wizarding world were aware and in arms over these so-called 'vampires'. Not wanting to face the entirety of Western Europe, the Senef Mesha' clans went into hiding. They built their own fortresses that were so well warded that not even the strongest wizards would even see them. They have remained as such to this day."

It took Harry a few minutes to absorb all of this information. He had stiffened at the mention that Tullius Maecenas was a vampire, or rather Senef Mesha', but his curiosity to hear the rest won out. He wondered why it was that he always seemed to end up in these types of situations. His eyes widened when Tullius replied as if he had spoken aloud, "You are a Child of Fate, Blood Child. Such people come along in times of great need. It is Fate's way of balancing the evil in this world."

"Before you grow alarmed, please let me reassure you that I mean you no harm, and will do nothing to you without your consent." Harry relaxed slightly. He understood his point about the ministry and its opinion on dark creatures. Merlin knows you couldn't believe everything that the ministry had said about Harry himself. He had not been given any reason to mistrust this man, well, other than being kidnapped that is. "Ah... yes... well I am sorry about that. I am afraid that it was necessary at the time, as you will hopefully come to understand in the near future."

"So, you are one of these Senef Mesha'?" Harry inquired.

"Yes, I am the leader of the Argentum Clan, and you are here on our island, Pax Castellum."

Harry touched his own teeth, "Concealment charm?"

"Ah, yes," as Harry watched as four three-quarter inch fangs appeared in Tullius' mouth, "I did not wish to alarm you. We always use concealment charms when it becomes necessary to move amongst the outside world."

"You didn't use a wand or a spell," Harry was astonished. The only person that Harry had seen do wandless and spelless magic was Dumbledore.

"Wands are an inconvenience in battle, as they can be lost or broken. Plus without a wand there is nothing for your enemy to relieve you of. With our high levels of Creo Enzymes, wands are not really necessary. It is simply a matter of learning control, and we have had plenty of time to master that. A spell is simply a trigger that tells your mind the type and level of magical energy to create. It is the intent behind the spell that makes it effective. With proper control of your mind it becomes unnecessary to speak them out loud."

Harry was intrigued, "I see, so really anyone could learn the control necessary to do it." He smiled inwardly at the thought of the crafty headmaster. "So, why am I here? You mentioned two wars. I assume one of them has to do with Voldemort, but what of the other one?"

Tullius looked saddened for a moment before he replied, "I am afraid the other war is now inextricably entwined with your war against Voldemort. You remember the split of the clans that I told you of?" Harry nodded. "Unfortunately many of my kind have grown tired of quelling our bloodlust on animals. My younger half-brother is among the most vocal of the dissidents. He and his followers have grown tired of living in hiding. Also warfare among the muggles has become so technologically based that there is very little call for warriors of our kind anymore. Voldemort has learned of our kind, and is attempting to sway us to his side. His promise of the blood of muggles and muggleborns is very enticing to Artemis and his followers. You have to understand, Harry, that wizarding blood is like a drug to the Senef Mesha'. The boost that we receive from wizarding blood is a very strong high. It is only our morals and codes that restrain us. Therefore Voldemort has offered a very effective bargaining chip to my brother and his ilk. As of yet, Artemis has made no pact, but I fear that he yet may."

Harry shuddered at the thought of Voldemort with an army of Senef Mesha' lusting after wizarding blood. It was not a pretty image. "That cannot happen. What can I do?"

Tullius smiled a very genuine smile, "You see, Harry, the Child of Fate is always ready to right the wrongs of the world. Long ago when the Senef Mesha' broke the yoke that the pharaohs had placed on them, the leaders created a set of Codes that all of them agreed to live by. 1. No warrior would reveal his or her true nature to any outsider. 2. No warrior would take human blood outside battle. 3. No warrior would assist in the creation of Deviants. 4. All warriors who chose to sire a child would be responsible for teaching them the ways of the Senef Mesha' and would have the care of them for a period of a hundred years. At this time, a prophesy was made by the seer among the Senef Mesha'. It was attached to the code, and when the time came for it to be fulfilled, all of the Senef Mesha' would be required to assist in its fulfillment:

There will come a time when the clans are in strife.
Many will be tempted by darkness and the sweet words of the Serpent's Heir.
Do not despair for one of Fate's Children shall save you.

Mortal Child
Born of light
Kissed by lighting
Conqueror of hardship
Thrice Savior
Vanquisher of Death

Blood Child
Saved by ancients
The fledgling immortal
Its powers enhanced
Mate of the Raven
Unifier of Clans

Light Child
Leader of races
Protector of right
Liberator of oppressed
Guardian of peace
Watcher of the world

As Tullius finished reciting the prophecy, a great shiver ran down Harry's spine. He may have failed his Divination O.W.L., but he was not stupid by any means. "You believe that this child is me." It was not a question.

"Yes, Blood Child. I have watched you for years, and I am most pleased with your progress. You may wonder why I left you with your relatives, and waited to intervene. Your path has not, nor will it ever be an easy one. However it is the hardships that you overcome that make you into the person you must become. Your treatment at the hands of the Dursley's taught you to how not to treat others. Had you grown up in the wizarding world you would have been idolized, and as you have experienced, the love of the masses is very fickle indeed. I know people have made comparisons between your life and that of Voldemort, but the fundamental difference between the two of you is that he allowed all the hardships in his life to make him bitter and took the experience gained from them to a dark place, while you were able to learn from yours.

"Now, however it is time for you to fulfill your destiny, but neither myself nor anyone else can force you, the choice must be yours and yours alone. I can help you on your path however. It is my desire to take you as my blood child and become your sire, but that is not a decision that needs to be made just yet. If you became one of the Senef Mesha', you would have all of our abilities at your disposal. You would be much better equipped to fight the battles that you have ahead of you. Also, under the Code of the Senef Mesha' you would have my protection, and as the Child of the Prophecy you would have that of all the clans.

"I must in all fairness however, warn you. There will be those of your kind that will turn on you should you accept my offer, especially amongst the Ministries. Your true friends, however, will always be there for you. Now, it is very late, or should I say early. Do not give me your answer now. Think about what I have said, and tomorrow I will return, and show you our home. Even if you should refuse us, I would still wish to instruct you on some of our fighting and magical skills that would help you in your fight. Either way we will return you to your school by the 1st of September. Please consider my offer, though. I especially, have waited a long time for you to come."

With that Tullius stood and made his way to the door, "Goodnight, Blood Child." He then slipped out of sight.

Harry remained seated for several moments. He felt movement on his wrist, a raised his fist to eyelevel. "Well," he hissed.

"Well indeed," she replied. "You are in no condition to make any kind of decision now," she advised. "Let us get some sleep. Things will be clearer in the morning."

"Agreed." Harry replaced the wards on his door, and moved his tired body and mind to the bed, stripping as he went.

"Sweet dreams, Harry."

"Do snakes dream?" he inquired.

"Of course. I am rather fond of ones involving crickets. Nice and crunchy."