Black Ascension

by Omni Black

Post OoTP will have HPB Spoilers. Harry decides that he wants to be in control and away from Dumbledore's Manipulations. Appearences and perceptions are changing, true faces are shown, secrets revealed. Independant, dark, not evil. Grims and Heritage.

17. Chapter 17

Okay, here is the next chapter. Hope you guys and gals like it. Hopefully things will start to pick up, but there is a lot more that I want to do, so it may just stay slow paced for a while. Anyway, on with the story.

Last Time…

"I have already told you who I am," Knox said to him. "Regardless of you not being a, I will gift you with something, as I do all that we see. I gift upon you a partial Martial ability and a partial affinity of the wind. Martial will allow you to fight better and learn through experience, as well as making it easier to learn weapons. It is a partial ability though, so you will have to train it harder. The wind affinity, once trained will be a valuable tool in fighting, and if you can train it well enough, a good way to travel as well. Good luck, Heir of MalFoi." Knox told him.

"Like I told my own heir, I will gift you with nothing but the access to the knowledge I left behind. I believe that you have already benefited from my work on the mind arts. Continue training, and seek out the book of time. It is within my Heir's possession but I do not think that he knows its power. Precautions must be taken though; an ample supply of food and drink will be needed. Take care of any business you may have for the set amount of time. Do not exceed the set amount of time or their may be consequences." The first Black told Draco cryptically. Draco nodded and the people and the clearing began to fade out.

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Chapter 17: (……………………)

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"How was it?" Seraph asked Draco at breakfast.

"Different, sort of like Christmas but you get powers instead of things." Draco said absentmindedly. He was very tired and he blamed it on the gathering that had taken place in his mind, or his dreams, or something.

"What did you get? What did you choose?" Neville asked, very interested as he would go through the same in close to a month's time.

"A few things. Should make fighting a bit easier, the mind arts too. As for your second question, that is none of your business, Longbotom." Draco said. Neville gave the boy a reproachful look but Seraph shrugged, and told Neville that it was a personal choice that never needed to be told. Actions spoke louder then words anyway. Neville thought about this as they continued to eat breakfast.

"I do have a message to pass on though." Draco spoke up.

"What's that?" Seraph asked. The last bit of advice from Meissa had been invaluable.

"He wants us to use the 'Book of Time' or whatever that is. Said that you have to be careful though, to bring a lot of food and don't exceed the set amount of time or there could be consequences, but he did not say what. He told me that you already have the book, but don't know its power or maybe its use." Draco told him, going over the conversation in his mind again. Seraph looked pensive for a moment, before he opened the trunk he always seemed to have on him. It was convenient, Draco supposed, to have anything you need within a finger's reach.

"I do, its called 'Chrono Potentia'. The name translates to 'Time Power'. I guess you could call that the book of time. Bought it from Borgin, as well as a few other items a couple of weeks back. Cheleb talked him out of a curse meant for me and I got rid of his memory of the event." Seraph said from the bowels of his trunk, his voice echoing slightly. He came back out with the old leather bound book in his hands, the title reflected oddly silver, as if written in Unicorn blood.

"What?" He asked as he saw Draco's disbelieving stare.

"That was you? You're the one who obliviated Borgin?" Draco asked, seemingly not being able to wrap his mind around the possibility.

"Yeah, why? And how do you know about it?" Seraph asked. Maybe he had not made as clean a getaway as he originally thought.

"Everyone knows about it. His nephew had to come and take over the shop because Borgin was no longer capable of answering to his own name, let alone run a business." Draco said, and this time Seraph looked at him in disbelief. "Yeah, you wiped his mind, pretty much all of it, I'd say."

"I followed the instructions from the book, and Borgin said that it was a hard charm to do so I did put as much power as I could behind it. I wanted Cheleb and I, as well as the transaction to be forgotten, not his life." Seraph said. He wasn't sad about wiping the man's mind, not really. He was more disappointed in the fact that he had done the damn charm wrong.

"You would have to first take into account that Borgin is about as strong, magically speaking, as Longbottom, or what Longbottom used to be, or maybe still is. Don't know, haven't seen him cast anything lately. Either way, the man was weak. You would probably be the equivalent of Dumbledore to him, and Dumbledore would be the equivalent of a god, or Merlin compared. The hard part was probably not the power put into the spell, since the man knew how to do it, but concentrating on removing the memories correctly. I've heard Father speaking of new recruits not able to perform it correctly because they have no understanding of Occlumency." Draco told him. Seraph nodded. And Neville flexed his muscles, probably imagining crushing Malfoy's head as a spoon somehow became a compacted ball. Draco did not appear to be fazed but did not saying anything else during breakfast.

'Memory charms could be broken, but at great expense to the mind,' Seraph thought to himself, 'Maybe the best way to obliviate someone would be to mentally remove the memory. I suppose it would be like what Vulcan was talking about; only not duplicating the memory…I'm going to have to look into this.'

They made their way up to the Ghost Room and began a light workout. Neville ran for a bit but then concentrated on the weights, enjoying the challenge of stacking as many weights as he could to push himself, eventually he had to use sticking charms to add more. He did that until one of the bars broke and nearly impaled his leg. Draco had searched through the armory for a pair of Rapiers and was now dueling one of the dummies. He was taking well to the new gift, only bearing shallow cuts across his arms, face, and chest. He had gotten a good hit on the dummy, a large gash went from the right shoulder to the left hip, but it had been the only one. Seraph had sat down and attempted to open the Book of Time. It was an odd looking book, the cover was worn and frayed leather and from what he could see, the pages were clothe like. It had its own aura though, and that bothered Seraph. The aura was a light red and a deep bronze, and while the book looked amazingly old, its aura felt timeless. He tried to open the book, but the cover would not budge, but there was a magical flash in the title of the book. Had he not been a scanner, he would not have seen it. Still, the flash did not really tell him anything.

"Chrono Potentia" Seraph said aloud. The words flashed again, and words appeared under it. They were in English and he said them aloud again.

"Book of Time." The words, like those before it flashed. More words appeared and replaced the English words.

"Ein Geschenk zu den Männern mangels der Zeit" He said, expecting the words to flash again. They did not.

"A Gift to man in need" Seraph said as the slight dizziness he had begun to associate with his language gift left him. The words flashed. Japanese, Chinese, Gaelic, Anglo Saxon, French, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Runic, Druidic, surprisingly Grimtongue, and unexpectedly a squiggly text that he recognized as Parseltongue after an amazing bout of dizziness that made him want to take a nap, as well as a few other magical languages he had never heard of. Each language said something different. From them, he learned that the book was a gift from a lesser 'god', one of the first true magic wielders. To the muggles, he would be known as a prophet of sorts, but the book did not tell his name. This 'god' had a unique ability above all others though; he had a power over time. With this power he was able to live for an unimaginable amount of time. He grew tired of life eventually and decided to help those who he found worthy. He put every last ounce of his power into his book. That was when the book had opened.

The page that it had turned to glowed with a grayish light as words were written in gold across its pages, completely in Aramaic.

I must thank you for opening this book. Not many can say the same. This book is a powerful magical artifact that is not to be taken lightly. It is a training tool of the highest order, to be used by those who need to prepare for conflict or the betterment of the self. This 'book' is nothing more then a vessel to hold my enchantment and power. This will be the last time this book as used and it will move no farther. In order to use this tool, sacrifice must be given. The sacrifice is not of a barbaric nature, no, it requires the sacrifice of a single room. This room will never be used again for its original purpose and will only serve as a means to use the tool. The larger the room, the better, as the magic in the book will not have to work as hard to increase the size. If the book uses less power in converting the sacrificed space, more power can be used to increase the amount of time allowed within the room, and less time taken to recharge it.

The room becomes a place in which time has little meaning. The majority of my power is used to create a tear in the dimension to bring the room to another one. A dimension that is very different from our own. The room is used to contain the rip. If the book was activated in an open space, there would be severe magical backlash, destroying everything for a thousand miles from the point of the tear. I do not recommend doing that. More information can be found inside the room once it is created.

Before entering, a great amount of food must be brought into the room, for once you activate the room, you may not exit. It is suggested that all business with the outside world is either postponed or completed. Do not exceed the set amount of time within the room or you will be forced to age the time spent within the room.

To activate, place the book in the center of the outside of the door to the room you wish to use. Open the book and place five drops of blood on the page. You must complete the chant.

Seraph closed the book after leafing through a few of the pages and seeing that there was nothing else to be read. 'Well, that was informative, in a vague sort of way.' Seraph thought to himself. He would have to change the Ghost Room, as it was the largest that he had. He was sure that the book would not change much more then the fact that time was slower within it. He put the book down and transfigured metal replicas of his long blade, only maybe three times as heavy as it was. They were crude, and he realized that he needed to actually start learning and practicing spells. He tested the balance and activated a dummy.

The dummy took the offered weapon and studied it for a moment, testing its swing, balance, and weight before taking an offensive position. Evidently it knew what it was doing. Seraph took his preferred balanced position and waited. The dummy did not take long to make a move and struck with a fast overhead attack. Seraph dodged and rolled behind the dummy and sliced the dummy behind the left knee, getting splashed in the face with blood for his effort. The dummy limped for a moment but then stood up again; ignoring the fact that it had lost the mobility of its leg. The dummy struck again with a smooth arc that clanged against the block Seraph put up. The two jumped back at the same time, and charged, both had their blades held high. A series sparks and clangs resulted when they met. Seraph received a deep gash to the cheek and the dummy lost the use of his off hand. Well the whole arm, actually. It had been caught by a particularly strong upward arc from Seraph to its armpit, due to the dull edges; the sword did not sever the appendage, but did damage several nerves. The dummy, now with a weaker grip on its blade settled for faster attacks then strong, and caught Seraph in the chest. The dummy charged again, and was about to impale Seraph in the gut when its opponent suddenly jumped over its head in a graceful curve, landing behind it. Seraph had initially wanted to jump above the blade, but once he was at the top of the jump, he felt the same push he felt as a grim and it vaulted him over the dummy and he landed on his feet, as if jumping and doing a flip to behind a charging opponent was an every day occurrence. Seraph felt a burning in his hands again. The black glow around his palm suddenly erupted into flames and climbed up the blunt katana he was wielding as he was in the process of giving the dummy one last hit. The dummy turned around in time to see a flaming black sword slice cleanly through its upper torso and chest. The two sections of the body stayed intact for a moment, and the dummy looked like it wanted to attack again, before the upper part slid off to the side and the bottom half fell to its knees and then to the ground, its nondescript eyes seeming to dim.

Neville, who had been boxing another dummy, had stopped in order to watch Seraph. When he saw the black flame and a severed dummy torso, he ran over.

"I think you did more then paralyze it this time, Seraph." Neville told him. Seraph gave a rueful laugh and agreed.

"I think you killed it. I mean, I don't think it could get fixed. Whatever you did closed up the wounds." Draco said as he joined them. He sported a few more cuts as well as a heavily flowing gash on his upper left arm.

"Hopefully Winky can save it. I know not to do that again, unless I can improve the resistance of them. And we were just complaining about them being too strong. Maybe I'll get some armor or something for them. I can't keep cutting them in half or risk burning it to a crisp. I need to learn how to fight with it, and this won't cut it." Seraph said, watching as the transfigured sword melted in his hand and turned to ash.

"How did you do that, anyway?" Draco asked, noticing the melted sword and the scorch marks on the body just above and below the cut.

"No harm in telling you, you're going to see it anyway. I have a fire affinity. Black fire. Seems to destroy or burn everything but me." Seraph said as he concentrated on the feeling again. He succeeded in making a small ball of fire in the palm of his left hand. The ball increased in size until it was as big as his fist. On a whim, he did the same with the other hand until he had two fist sized balls of fire. He stepped back from the two and slowly pushed the two balls of fire together, creating a large fireball in the palms of his hands. Seraph smirked as he turned from them and pushed with all the he had into his palms. The black and silver ball of fire shot from his hands like a cannon and left a trailing black flame after image, actually pushing him back a couple of feet. There was no arch to it, just a straight shot that impacted the stands on the other side of the field. The impact blew the stands apart and sent flaming shrapnel everywhere. The burning pieces turned to ash before they hit the ground and Draco and Neville looked at Seraph with a new respect.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to have to learn to control that." Seraph said, a little above a strained whisper.

"You think?" Neville said, but was shocked to see Seraph on the ground, starting to stand up shakily.

"Maybe I put too much behind it…" He mumbled to himself, looking at the destruction. Draco nodded, thinking about what sort of use he could find for his air affinity. He had felt it when jumping back from a parry, a nonexistent wind pushed him a bit further then he planned to. It helped him keep his balance after a shaky dodge, but not much more.

"Did you find out anything about the book?" Neville asked, still looking at the ruined section of the stands across the field.

"Yeah, it basically turns a room into a rip to another dimension where time travels slower then in ours, not sure about the actual difference though. Once you go in, you can't come back out for set amount of time. Go past that time, you age. Not being able to leave gives rise to the problem of food and equipment, so the elves will have to join us, your mother too, Draco. The room it uses can't be used for anything else again, ever. I'm going to activate it for this room; hopefully it won't change it too much. Besides the obvious. I can't help but think that there is more too it though, but the book won't say anymore." Seraph told them. Neville shook his head and Draco tried to wrap his head around a rip into another dimension.

"Don't do anything by half, do you?" Neville asked. "Need more time to train, well I would think that if they had the nerve to get one, they would use a time turner. Not you though. You have to use some probably long lost magical artifact that's so old history has forgotten it that creates your very own portal to another dimension."

"Yeah, something like that." Seraph told him.

"So when do we start?" Draco asked, surprising Seraph. He would not have thought that the boy would be eager to try something like this, but maybe he could mellow out and stop being an idiot. He wondered what the knowledge of who he was would do to him, but mentally shrugged. His identity could wait until later, it wasn't like he was that person anymore anyway.

"As soon as we can gather the food, elves, your mother, clothes, my trunk, and I think I'll clean out the stock of ritual items at Flytr's. I don't know how long we can stay in there, but it will be longer then usual because were using a larger room. I say tomorrow night at the soonest." Seraph told him. The other two nodded.

"Two months till the start of school…" Neville said, and Seraph saw a strange glint in the boy's eye. His light brown eyes had turned a brownish green like algae, and Seraph knew that Neville's animal was stirring within him. "I can't wait." The shaggy boy said as he went in search of Cheleb for a run, he could not keep up with anyone else. Winky was called in to heal Seraph and Draco and then set upon the dummy. After nearly an hour at work she could not get the lower half to stay working. The top half worked just as well as it always had, but the various things connecting the two halves, things like organ, bones, skin, veins and more were burned closed. She threw her hands up in frustration and popped out to make lunch, with instructions to tell Dobby to buy as much food as he could and begin placing preserving charms on a large majority of it. Seraph was hesitant to give an order like that to a house elf, if the ones in the Hogwarts kitchen's were anything to go by, but shrugged the thought off.

"Looks like I'll be visiting Vulcan. I can hit Flytr's as well as Spinner's Ice box. I meant to go there anyway. It will be easier to keep the food good in an Ice Box instead of having to constantly cast preserving charms on them." Seraph said to Draco.

"I'll speak to my mother and tell her what is going to be happening. She won't be very happy about this." Draco told him.

"Not my problem, just tell her that she might finally be of some use soon." Seraph told him as he levitated the dummy behind him and walked out of the Ghost Room. He dressed in his usual gear, made sure his blades were strapped to his back and hidden inside of his cloak, silver reflective shades dawned, he put the dummy into his trunk, turned it into a ring and flooed to the 'Leaky Cauldron'. 'Perhaps I should have flooed to Vulcan's place instead.' Seraph thought to himself as he received many hateful and scared looks. He changed his eyes to a warm and shinning blue, not unlike the old bastard's, and took off his sun glasses. The eyes and a warm smile of the stranger seemed to put them more at ease and they stopped glaring at him, some even returned the smile. 'Idiots,' Seraph thought as he made his way through the backdoor. 'Bright eyes and a smile doesn't mean that I'm friendly.'

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Diagon Alley was a little less bright and cheery then it usually was. This seemed due to the loss of Azkaban. Whether or not people believed the Ministry about Death Eater involvement, a major safety net had been lost. It had been said that half of the wizard population only slept soundly at night because they knew that Azkaban held the bad elements. Now it was gone, and there could be escaped convicts anywhere. Aurors were posted at the entrances of the Alley and at the apparition point. Seraph scoffed. They were preaching to the choir. An escaped convict is not about to walk through the Brightside of the Alley. If they wanted to actually find something, they should patrol Knocturn, or more specifically, the slums of Knocturn. But Fudge was probably only posting guards where they were so that he would not lose public support.

'Spinner's Ice box' was the first stop. The establishment was… small. When you walked into the overly large closet that was an excuse for a shop, you were met by a counter that held a large book and a clerk. The clerk looked to be fresh from Hogwarts and was twirling her hair with her finger, popping a piece of gum in her mouth.

"Hi there… what can I do for you?" The not yet a woman asked him, eyes trailing over his chest. Her accent was noticeably not British.

"Yeah, I need appliances." He told her. "For food?" He said when he was met with a blank look. She seemed to catch on and leaned over the table to show Seraph the book that was right in front of him, nearly loosing one of her breasts out of her robes in the process. Seraph was tempted to help with her…problem, but decided to against it. Her aura had a distinctly red and greasy appearance and it made him feel dirty. When she looked back up Seraph delved into her mind. She was seventeen, a drop out from the Salem Witch's Academy. Her uncle's friend owned the shop and he had given her a job. Before then she worked as a muggle prostitute, using magic to keep her clean, for the most part. Seraph left her mind quickly after seeing a rather graphic memory involving several hundred dollars and a man named Bud…and Bud's dog, Buck. As he was pulling back though, he was able to actually pick up on her thoughts, something that the book had mentioned but he had not tried yet. If he had not seen into her mind, or seen her aura, he may have been tempted. But as it was, he could not wait to get out of the small shop.

"Right here, see? Just choose what you want. I don't know much about them, just that they hold food and stuff. If what you want is in stock, then you can take it now. They are shrunk, free of charge. But I'm sure you're used to carrying a large package, aren't you?" The young whore asked him. Seraph decided to ignore the comment instead of losing his breakfast, images of Buck in his head and he considered self obliviation. 'Bloody yanks' Seraph thought as he looked through the large catalog. Everything that you would ever want was in there, Hogwarts style ovens, tables, lights, chairs, various bits of furniture that Seraph had no idea what they were for, kitchen utensils, Ice boxes, and a myriad of other things. Seraph chose one of the Hogwarts style ovens, several ice boxes, a few overly large preserving-pantries for food stuffs and potion and ritual ingredients as well as anything else he thought they might need and a few things he thought they wouldn't like logs of wood and slabs of metal. They would find some use for them. As it happened, everything that he wanted was in stock, and he left quickly after leaving with a large bag of shrunken items. The bag was placed in is trunk and he made his way to Flytr's.

He walked into the shop, ignoring the dummy that was pretending to read at the front desk and twisted the broken bezoar.

"Can I help…oh, its you. What will you be needing this time?" The lady asked as she went back to doing her nails.

"Everything, actually." He told her, unshrinking his trunk and pulling out his wand.

"That's rich…hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" She demanded, taking notice of the trunk and wand.

"Taking everything, like I said." He told her.

"You can't afford all this, and if you plan on stealing it, know that you won't be walking out of here!" She said vehemently.

"I own all this, so it's not like I'm stealing. How long will it take to restock everything?" He asked her. She looked at him dumbly for a moment before she realized that he was being serious.

"Three weeks for everything to be reordered and stocked again." She told him. She knew that there was a new owner, but she had thought she would never meet them, like the last owners.

"How much do you make a week?"

"About four-fifty galleons a week." She told him. Her statement felt wrong to his ears, and he realized that she was lying. 'Interesting' he thought to himself.

"You're lying," He told her, and she paled slightly, "But I'll give you 200 galleons now and I want you to close the shop up until everything is restocked. Go on vacation or something, I don't care." He said, pulling out his money bag and dumping the correct amount of gold pieces on the table. She looked at him oddly once again, then at the money and nodded before she scooped it all up and went to the front of the store. Seraph opened up the trunk to one of the larger rooms and set the pantries up on the walls. From inside of the trunk he began to concentrate on what he wanted.

"Accio" He intoned, thinking of everything in the shop above him. Various ingredients began to shoot towards the pantries, ordering themselves on the shelves the way that they were in the shop. Various packages like the Animagus Pack set themselves next to the pantries. Within ten minutes everything was packed away into the pantries and Seraph felt like he wanted pass out.

"I may be getting stronger physically, but I still need to get stronger magically." He said to himself as he climbed out of the trunk. His trunk secured on his finger, he left Flytr's and headed towards Vulcan's shop.

Seraph was welcomed warmly when he showed up. That was until he dumped the two pieces of the dummy at Vulcan' feet.

"What did you do to it?" Vulcan asked sadly, checking for a pulse. Seraph would have laughed, but he did not want Vulcan to yell at him. The man looked close to tears, actually.

"I'd say I killed it. I didn't mean to though, we were sparring and I set the blunt blade I was using on fire and it went clean through." Seraph told him. Vulcan nodded and began to cast a number of spells under his breath. The dummy slowly began to mend itself together and soon it stood up on its own.

"Done," A very tired looking Vulcan told him. "Just don't do that again." Seraph nodded.

"Do you have anything here that is fire resistant? I can put armor on it when I plan to use my affinity. I also want to know why they don't behave like humans. I mean physically. When I set the level before the fight, I think my hand should have gone through its chest. Its bones don't break like they should, and they don't slow down for pain." Seraph told him.

"You set the dummies before the fight, yes? Well that's your problem. They react to the strength you show first, and your skill second. At a base strength level they are stronger the usual human, still no match for the strength of a magical creature, or you, though. Once you hit it, it sets it strength to above yours. Its body changes to accommodate your strength. A bone is generally hard to break by a punch or kick, but with your strength, it would not be a problem. Their bones and body are augmented so that it becomes as hard to break as an average person would find breaking a bone would be. You may be able to bend one of my swords, but it would be hard for you to bend one that was made to resist your strength, got it? The skill is set once you begin fighting and changes as needed." Vulcan told him. Seraph nodded and put the dummy into his trunk again.

"I'm going to need a few good Rapiers and some practice swords like these" Seraph told him as he showed Vulcan his katana and tanto, "As well as some dragon hid vests for the dummies, fire proof if possible. And any books that you have on mechanics would be helpful. I'm not going to be available for a while, not sure how long, but I plan to do a lot of things in a short amount of time." Seraph told him cryptically.

"Ah…I see. I was going to suggest that you charm your training clothing heavier, but if you are going to use that then I suppose there will be no need." Vulcan said, equally as cryptic as Seraph had been.

"Right…" Seraph said eloquently.

"Yes, well, let's see what we have here." Vulcan said as he began to go through a pile of swords, absentmindedly tossing the ones that he did not need over his shoulder, directly at Seraph. Seraph was able to dodge the first one that nearly impaled him through the chest and began to catch them and put them on an empty table nearby. It was a lethal juggle, but Seraph was entertaining himself by seeing how fast he could snatch them out of the sky before they hit him. He missed a couple of times, resulting in light cuts, but avoided serious injury.

"All right, here we are." Vulcan said, turning around with a five or six rapiers in his hands and taking in Seraph's appearance. "You could have moved, you know." Vulcan told him, setting the thin swords on the front counter. "Who are the rapiers for?"

"Draco Malfoy. He had his choice last night and must have received a gift with it, probably the martial ability as well. I'm sure he gained an affinity as well, but I don't know what it is. The other boy, Neville, should be having his choice in the next couple of weeks. His birthday is the day before mine. They both went through the Animagus transformations, both look like they were full, from the changes they went through anyway." He told the large sooty man.

"How strong do you think they got?" Vulcan asked as he began to pull out a few books from a small shelf behind the counter.

"We all increased in strength after the transformation, speed too. I know that I'm still stronger then Malfoy, but his speed increased dramatically. I'm faster then him for the moment, but I'm going to have to train hard to make sure it stays that way. Neville is stronger then both of us, but much slower then us as well. He looks like a smaller version you now, only much more green."

"Me if I was smaller and greenish…he must be earth bound then?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"I sensed the affinity in him, but it was slightly locked. The small part that isn't is what that family calls their 'green thumb gift'. After his choice it should be unlocked. I'll give you a couple of claymores as well, they should suite him." Vulcan said.

"Those should work. What about protection for the dummies?" Seraph asked and Vulcan went into the back for a moment, returning a few minutes later with his arms full.

"Here are three battle robes, highly fire retardant. They won't protect them from physical hits and spells as well as your's will, but they should work. A couple of practice katana and the claymores, as well as another suit for the Malfoy boy. They will set to him once he puts them on. There are a few books here, one on weapon making, and another on manipulating, purifying, and conjuring metal. One on healing the dummies, and fourth one on general crafting, this one should show you how to make usable enchanted items." Vulcan explained to him, motioning to each item as he spoke about them.

"Excellent. Thanks, Vulcan." Seraph told him.

"It is my pleasure, young master. Come see me the next time that you can, I'm sure it will be longer for you then for me." Vulcan said, laughing as Seraph walked out of the store.

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"Dobby." Seraph called once he returned to the Keep.

"Yes, Master Black sir?"

"Fill these ice boxes with the food you got. If you got too much for the boxes, then go to Spinner's and buy a few more. I got a Hogwarts style oven for you guys to use once I set the room up." Seraph explained to the now overly excited house elf.

"Yes sir!" Dobby said, his ears flapping wildly as he nodded his head emphatically. Seraph pulled out a book from his trunk and began to read. Walking around the alley reminded him that he had not been out for a while, and going out was not going to be an option for a while if they went through with the time book. He decided that he wanted to go out tonight and see what was so special about the muggle clubs his cousin raved about. Not that the fat tub of lard had ever been twenty feet from one of them. They tended to be very selective, and according to Dudley, he 'Didn't want to be caught dead in a place so discriminatory.' The irony had not escaped Seraph at the time.

There was a problem though. Should there be a situation, Voldemort or otherwise, they did not have any means to escape quickly. Well Seraph did, but the others did not. Apparition, while something that he planned on mastering soon, was not something that had studied yet. That is why Draco and Neville found Seraph at the kitchen table a few hours later looking over a large book, his wand out, and several mundane objects in front of him.

"Seraph, what you working on?" Neville asked. His question was answered a moment later when Seraph picked up a small fork and tapped it with his wand, saying 'Portus' clearly. The fork glowed a deep blue, before returning to its original color. Seraph took a small piece of parchment and dropped it on the fork. A small flash was seen as the fork and parchment look as if it was being sucked through a small hole before they disappeared completely.

"What am I doing wrong?" They heard him ask himself, not even realizing that they were there. "Power, intention, device, destination…That's where I went wrong. I wonder where that fork ended up then…" Seraph asked the room in general. He picked up a saucer and took on a look of deep concentration and tapped it with his wand, muttering 'Portus' again. He put the small plate back down onto the table and put a piece of string on top of the plate. Unlike the last attempt, the plate did not disappear on contact.

"Voice Test: Activate." Seraph told the plate. The saucer flashed a dark purple this time as it was sucked into itself and disappeared. A moment later the plate appeared. Right on top of Neville's head. The sudden weight on the boy's head made him jump and the plate smashed on the ground.

"Thought I didn't know you were there?" Seraph asked, as he turned around and picked up a piece of the broken plate.

"Yeah…actually. What were you doing anyway?" Neville asked.

"That was a portkey, Longbottom. Merlin." Draco said, exasperated.

"Shut up. I knew what it was. Have you ever seen one made?" Neville asked. The silver haired boy turned away, just in time to catch a piece of the broken plate that Seraph had picked up a moment before.

"What was that for…?" Draco trailed off as he felt a pull from his stomach he associated with portkey travel. The boy appeared a split second later at the other side of the kitchen.

"Good, all three work." Seraph said to himself.

"You just used me as a test subject!" The Malfoy Lord yelled in an undignified fashion.

"Yeah. That was a timed portkey. Had you not been distracted, you would have seen me make it and avoided catching it. Not my fault." Seraph said with a shrug while Neville laughed. Draco glared at Seraph but stopped when it was met unflinchingly. "I figure that since we can't apparate yet, portkey would be the next best thing to use for a quick escape. They are much harder to ward against then apparition. Test 2: Activate." Seraph said as the small piece of plate in Draco's hand suddenly gave off a dull deep purple light and the boy vanished again. Draco returned a moment later in the space that he had originally occupied before the first portkey trip.

"Multiple uses worked as well." Seraph said off handedly, ignoring the death glare he was receiving from Draco. "Chill, Draco. I bear gifts for my transgressions, Happy Birthday and all that" Seraph told the fuming boy who now looked momentarily stunned at having someone wish him a happy birthday. His mother had wished him one earlier in the morning, but she was always the only one who did. Seraph opened up his trunk and pulled out the dragon hide outfit that Vulcan had supplied and the other swords he had been given.

"Some rapiers, claymores, and my practice blades. These are all dragon hide, both Neville and I have them already." Seraph told them. Neville picked up a claymore in each hand and gave them an experimental swing. A small smile appeared on the boy's face as he twirled them in his hands expertly. He took one in his hand and attempted to bend it, only find that apart from the usually flexibility, it did not give.

"These are good…" Neville said. Draco had taken the rapiers and selected a thin silver one that reflected blue on its fuller. The wire hilt was filled in with a blue tinted metal, making the guard look intricate while providing a little bit more protection to the knuckles. He picked up the bundle of black leather and put on the odd robe. What kind of battle robe was left open in the front anyway? That was when he noticed the vests and the pants, along with the boots and holster.

"Layered for better protection and mobility." Seraph explained and Draco nodded, still inspecting the pants. "I've been practicing creating portkeys because I figure tonight would be as good a night as any to check out muggle London. Especially if we are going to be stuck in the 'Ghost Room' for a while." Seraph told them. Neville nodded, looking forward to seeing muggle London. He had never been allowed to go anywhere but Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade by himself, and never anywhere not magical with his Gran. Draco was having other thoughts.

"Muggle London?" He asked incredulously. "You are kidding, right? Learning muggle fighting techniques is bad enough, but I refuse to associate with muggles." Draco said with a sneer. Seraph just looked at him for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and turned towards Neville.

"Be ready in about twenty minutes." He told him. Neville nodded and left to get ready. Seraph left as well, leaving Draco alone in the kitchen, muttering to himself about muggle filth. He stayed there, muttering to himself, for the next five minutes, before realizing that it was unlikely that he would see outside of this house, muggle or not, anytime soon.

"Damn muggles." He said as he went to his room to change.

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The boys met back in the kitchen fifteen minutes later. Draco was sporting his new dragon hide suit, sans the trench robe, with a blue shirt. Neville, after being told that nothing but his dragon hide suit would be accepted in the muggle world (and barely even then) wore it, also without the coat, wearing a undershirt he had cut the sleeves off instead. Seraph was decked out in full regalia, silver tinted glasses et all.

"Glad you could join us, Draco." Seraph said, taking in the boy's appearance. He was glad that he would not have to dress the boy like he had nearly had to do with Neville. 'Damn Purebloods' He thought.

"Yeah, yeah. We going to go?" Draco asked. He may not like muggles, but anything sounded better right now then being stuck here.

"Yeah, here take these." He said, handing them both a silver chain necklace. He had found them in his desk, several of them in fact. He figured that they were probably used for the same purpose he was planning on using them for. He tapped each of them, saying 'Portus'. After he did it to a third, he put it around his neck.

"Those will take you to the alley just outside of the Leakey Cauldron. They return to here with the activation phrase 'Grim's Keep'. They are set to activate in about ten seconds." He told them as they hurriedly put them over their necks as well.

"Do you have any place in mind?" Neville asked.

"Not really, but my cousin-" Seraph was cut off as the portkey activated. Unlike the usual feeling of being pulled from his stomach, Seraph felt like he had been forced to stay still as the rest of the world was pulled around him. Still confused as to why that was, or if the portkey had malfunctioned, he did not realize that he had already made it to his destination. On his feet.

"I hate those things." Neville muttered as he caught himself before he fell over. Draco had landed on his feet, but he too looked slightly off balanced.

"That was…odd." Seraph commented. The two looked at him for a minute before Seraph shrugged and continued what he was saying before the portkey had activated. "My cousin always said that a cab driver can always take you to the hotspots, not like he would know though."

"Cab?" Draco asked. His question went unanswered as he followed Seraph and Neville to the street. Seraph failed to hail a cab for about three minutes before he got fed up and made a loud parseltongue hiss which sounded like a high-pitched whistle. Three taxi's immediately stopped in front of him and Seraph motioned for the two to get in.

"Oi, mate, that's quite the whistle you got there. Probably heard you down at the docks, they would! Now what can I do you gents for 'tis evenin'?" The hairy cab driver asked. Seraph answered after a moment.

"A club." He told the driver.

"Fine choice that is. What kind of club?"

"A dance club." Neville told the man.

"Well aint they all dance clubs, eh!" The Driver said, laughing at his own wit. A smell of whiskey permeated the air. The man was close to pissing himself with laughter now.

"The best." Draco yelled at the driver who sobered up, slightly.

"Like they'd let you lot in there! Fine, fine, I'll take you to the best bleedin' club in the West End." The driver took off and stopped not five minutes away at a large building with bright purple lights proclaiming it to be 'Doon'. Seraph reached into his black velvet pouch, hoping he could pull muggle money out of it as well as well. He could, and paid the cabbie before following the other two out of the car.

"What now?" Neville asked. Seraph pointed to a line that was forming in front of the door to the club. They stood in line for about ten minutes before Draco threatened he would hex someone if they didn't move. A few people in front of them gave him odd looks. A couple of minutes later they made it to the front where two large bouncers, both bald, one black, the other white, put a thick velvet rope across Draco's path.

"Club's full." The large white guy said.

"Hey, Rodie, let me in, babe!" A short but well proportioned woman said from behind them. The rope was pulled back up and she went in, giving a kiss to the large black man, obviously 'Rodie'.

"What the hell was that?" Draco demanded. He was a Malfoy, he got what he wanted, whatever it was at the time. To be denied by muggles of all things was highly degrading.

"Club's full, we don't like you kind here. So leave, damn punks." The man who was not Rodie said. Draco's face flushed, and Seraph grabbed his arm as he was reaching for his wand.

"Hey, you don't want to go in there anyway, bunch of stuck up pricks trying to get into their bosses good graces." A slender girl said off to the side. Draco looked at her, and his eyes flashed almost imperceptivity, but Seraph saw it.

"I think she's right." Draco said after a moment.

"Well come on then!" She said, motioning the three over.

"Hey, I'm Carla…and you must be delicious." She said to Draco, rubbing her hand across his chest. Draco nearly jumped three feet back, whether from the contact or the fact that she was a muggle, Seraph was not sure.

"Oh, that's too bad, my cousin is gay too." She said. The way her voice rang, Seraph was sure that she was only playing at being disappointed, but the statement about her cousin was true. His Legilimencey must have gotten stronger after the gift had activated.

"I'm not gay!" Draco screamed in a slightly unmanly manner. She nodded placating way.

"Of course not, but I'm sure your friends won't think any different of you when you come out of the closet." She told him reassuringly. Neville was now laughing his arse off and Seraph was not far behind.

"I'm not gay!" Draco shouted, more shrilly this time, but the girl, Carla, ignored him in favor of a new specimen.

"Hey there, tough stuff, love the arms." She told Neville, as she caressed them. Neville's face turned a bright Weasley red at this, not used to any feminine contact.

"Th-Thanks." He managed to say.

"Oh, and he's shy! Strong and silent, my kind of man. I know the perfect place to go. 'Punks' of all kinds are welcome, even you there, Mr. Goth." She said, looking at Seraph.

"Lead on then." Seraph told her. Carla took Neville's arm in her's and led the way, Draco still stuttering behind them about not being gay. They arrived at a shady looking factory about ten minutes later with no sign and seemingly no entrance. Muffled booms could be felt beneath their feet though. After a moment, Seraph realized that it was a beat and that he could almost make out the words to some song.

"It's below us?" Seraph asked.

"Yep, come on lover," She said, dragging Neville along. "It's this way." She lead them to a large slab of metal that fit into the road smoothly and kicked it two times, then again, then another two times and waited. A minute later, the metal split into two and an elevator appeared. "Well, hop on." She told them as she entered the large cube, pulling Neville with her. The other two followed a bit more hesitantly. Seraph was sure that she had not lied to them once, but he was not sure he liked the situation all that much. Draco seemed torn as well, but for different reasons. His fright of muggle machinery, which he would never admit to, and the indignation he felt at the muggles accusations. The warring in his head prevented him from feeling the slight warning that flashed through his mind. The two stepped into the elevator and it went down slowly.

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The atmosphere that met them once they reached the bottom of the lift left the boys momentarily stunned. They all had to immediately cover their ears. They were able to slowly get used to the sound, but the deep bass and the shrill screaming was slightly irritating.

"Come on!" Carla yelled over the din. "I've got some friends I want you to meet!" The three boys nodded and followed. Carla led them to a table in an upper balcony, away from most of the noise.

"Carla, your back! And I see you brought friends with you." A young women with blood red lips said, giving a lecherous grin to Draco, who while no stranger to girls, promptly gulped. Girls, as in Pansy Parkinson. Seraph smiled at the assembled women, until he noticed something strange. It was their auras. Muggles did not have auras. Seraph's smiled dropped quickly. He looked around, studying their auras and noticed while they looked like any wizard's or witches', there was also a deep red haze at the center and outside, even Carla's, whose aura had just sprang up. 'She must have been able to hide it like Dexter did.' Seraph mused to himself.

"They look delicious…" Another girl said, this one a voluptuous red head.

"Draco, I think you read that burst of insight wrong." Seraph said.

"Why's that?" Draco asked.

"These aren't muggles." He told him. Draco tried to understand what was meant by that and Neville just looked confused.

"Wizards…even better." Another girl said, and Seraph caught a flash of her teeth. They were white, unnaturally so, but they were sharp. Especially the top canines.

"Vampires…" Seraph breathed, causing the room to pause.

"Quick one he is…might make a good slave…" One of the girls muttered to another.

"A strong first kill for the princess…" Another said. Seraph drew his wand and saw Draco and Neville do the same. The lady vamps all stood up suddenly, their teeth elongating.

"Stop!" a slightly soft, yet commanding, voice said. The vampires still stood, but they made no motion to move. Draco and Neville lowered their wands down slightly, but Seraph felt the compulsion of the voice and maintained his stance, wand still poised.

"Who are you?" The voice asked, softer this time. Seraph tried to find where the voice was coming from, but could not see it.

"Who are we speaking to?" Seraph asked. His question raised many hisses from the female vampires. Apparently this was someone important. A few moments later a young woman, maybe no older then Seraph, walked into the room from out of nowhere.

"I am the princess of the Moon Clan. Who are you?" The young princess asked. She wore a thin veil that covered her mouth and nose. A hood covered most of her forehead, leaving only here bright blue eyes to be properly seen. Her deep black robes were regal looking and the material reflected purple in the chaotic lighting that was flashing through the screen separating the balcony to the rest of the club. Seraph noted the airy voice and her fluid movements. There was something off about her that stuck out in the back of his mind.

"I am Black." He told her simply. She looked at him intently for a moment, before a slight smile could almost be seen through the veil.

"And they said you were dead." The princess said. "But when do the wizards ever get anything right?" She asked her self softly. A soft sigh escaped her lips and Seraph noted the bright ends of her otherwise dark hair. Her aura flared slightly and Seraph saw the light blue and gold strands that made it up. The red haze that the others had was not there; instead she had a deep red ball of light at the center of her aura. Red haze aside, her aura looked familiar, like he should know it.

"What are you talking about?" Seraph asked.

"Don't play games with me, Mr. Black." She said almost playfully. "I know who you are." She said dreamily in a sing-song voice. Seraph heard an almost audible click in his head and looked at Neville sharply. The boy still looked bewildered. Seraph looked back at the princess and smiled in a lopsided, yet feral, manner. The odd grin confused the vampires for a moment before Seraph made his next comment.

"So, Luna, how has your summer been?"

And all hell broke loose.

EndChapter EndChapter EndChapter EndChapter EndChapter EndChapter EndChapter EndChapter EndChapter EndChapter

Hope you all enjoyed that. I did not get to where I wanted in this chapter (which was answering a few questions and the room of time) but I'll make sure to get to them next chapter.

I thought that the ending was an interesting twist, plus an introduction to the vampires

Sorry that it took so long to update, I really don't have an excuse past 'life'. Had orientation at my new school, nice place, if a bit small. I was going to put a rant about Alpena, Michigan, but I decided against it. Nice place, really, but I don't want to interact with anyone aside from my family up there. More like they don't want to interact with me, but that's a tangent I don't want to get on to.

I had half of this chapter written for about three weeks before I could make myself write the rest of it. Really, I want to continue it, but I think it would make this chapter too long, and I don't want another 15,000 chapter.

Allright, remember to Review. I want to thank all of those who have given me reviews even though I can't mention them by name. Personally, I think that rule about no author notes was made up by someone pissed off about reading a 30,000 word story, only to find half of it was author notes or something. I haven't seen anything in the rules (and I had to read through them again to post 'Magi Evolution' since they have been updated) about no author notes. Oh well.

Hope you all enjoyed, as I said above, Review, they help (and not just in motivation).

-Omni