I would like to thank HoshiHikari4ever, Sky, Tigerblak, Klover P, blackdragonofslytherin, SheWolfe7, Lady Phasma, chaser1, Elven Warrior, and allexandrya for reviewing. It's readers like you that keep this fic going /giggles/ sorry but I had to pull PBS thing on you...I hope you all like this chapter!
Chapter Five
Harry grabbed at the clasp of his new cloak; its dark sapphire gleamed in the lights of the shop. The silver of the crest twinkled at him, and Harry found himself wondering how often he would have to wear it. Harry looked up at Sin and asked, "Must I?"
Sin smiled at him and flitted around Harry, examining how the cloak fell over his new robes. Sin's hands strayed to the crest Harry was fiddling with and absently pulled Harry's hands away from it.
"Only on special occasions," Sin explained, "like council meetings, I'll have to take you to those eventually...but at the moment, you have no need to worry about wearing it. Besides," Sin said teasingly, leaning down to place a soft kiss on Harry's cheek, "they look nice on you."
Harry flushed and pulled away shyly from Sin, who reached out and straightened the crest on the cloak.
"Now get out of that," Sin told Harry, "and we'll get you fitted for a couple more cloaks."
"Why do I need so many clothes?" Harry whined walking over to changing room, the tailor's assistant flitting behind him nervously.
"Because, Harry," Sin replied, "I said you do."
Harry rolled his eyes and walked into the changing room muttering, "'because I said'—well that just makes everything okay, doesn't it?"
The tailor raised an eyebrow and looked imploringly at Sin; wanting to figure something out...Sin turned to the tailor and pursed his lips.
"Get a heavier material, he needs a winter cloak," Sin told the tailor, who rushed off. His assistant followed after with the fancy suit, robes, and cloak Harry had just been wearing.
Harry stared at the small pendulum, swaying slowly in his hand. The pink crystal twinkling as Harry studied it, his upside-down reflection staring back at him. Harry lowered the crystal down by its string and slowly coiled the thread around the crystal, moving on to the next oddity.
The large chunk of quartz glowed when Harry touched it; the dark, smooth river stone exploded in heat as Harry's finger hovered over it; the tiny frog fashioned from a pink gem hopped around on the shelf; and the small hand mirror showed him with long hair tied back with a silver ribbon his scar gone and his eyes cold and glinting with hidden knowledge and wisdom that Harry couldn't fathom as he was now.
Harry moved on, the next object was a tiny flickering piece of silver, Harry's brow furrowed in confusion as he reached out for it. The piece of silver exploded under his hand, floating up in front of him, bright colors swirling out of it and into unusual shapes around the tiny piece of metal. Harry watched amazed as the colors fell back into the fleck of silver and the silver fell into his hand.
Suddenly Sin rounded a shelf in the store and ran up to Harry, grabbing his wrist and yelling, "You stupid, stupid boy! Do you have any idea of what that is or how lucky you are?!"
Harry blinked and looked at the sliver of metal in his palm.
"That," Sin explained, "is a weapon made to kill on contact."
Harry stared at the harmless piece of metal and slowly held his hand out further away from himself.
"Now, you're scared of it," Sin muttered dryly rolling his eyes, "put it down."
Harry dropped it back on its shelf and stared at the little piece of metal. Then Sin grabbed Harry and pulled him into a hug. "You stupid, stupid boy, don't ever touch something when you don't know what it is."
Sin pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead and let him go.
"Don't ever do that again," Sin commanded, his deep chocolate eyes staring into Harry's. Harry slowly nodded, his eyes darting back over to the small sliver of silver sitting harmlessly on the shelf.
"Ah, yes," Sin nodded softly, "that, Harry, is a weapon developed to implode any sort of magic in a person on contact. So, if you were to throw that at me my magic would explode and kill me as soon as it touched me."
"Why didn't it kill me?" Harry asked.
"Simple," Sin replied, "someone has to wield a weapon, or else it's not a weapon, just a pretty decoration...anyway, I guess we'll be getting the stupid thing for you," Sin glared at the small piece of silver for trying to kill his childe. "Well, pick it up, let's go. Chop, chop."
Harry tilted his head in confusion. "Wait... what?"
"Well, I've given it some thought," Sin explained, "and I think it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to have a weapon—especially a really dangerous one that will kill on contact."
Harry blinked and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Okay, you know what," Harry asked, "I'm going to go over there now." Harry pointed behind him and then turned and walked away.
Severus was pleased when he saw Harry and Sin walking out of a shop that specialized in unusual magical artifacts. Sin would be good for Harry, he would get the boy to think about what he did and the consequences they would have others. Harry would also begin to understand the war he was involved in and that he was the key to winning.
Perhaps Harry would finally realize what Dumbledore was up to.
Sin had taken a great risk to go after Harry and make him his heir, especially after his other heirs had ended up dead. Sin though would make sure nothing would ever happen to Harry and that Harry would get his place in the council., a good thing because Harry would need to have his feet firm in the vampire council if he were to get the vampires to back him.
Severus watched the boy and his sire walked toward Knockturn Alley, probably for potions to allow Harry out in the sunlight...at least until the power transfer took place.
Severus decided he would follow the pair, just to see how the boy was fairing.
"Knockturn Alley?" Harry demanded anxiously.
"I assure you," Sin replied his eyes flashing to something across the street, "that Knockturn Alley is a perfectly respectful place after midnight."
"Only after midnight?" Harry asked with a grin and a raised eyebrow.
"Twelve to four," Sin replied, "most people don't know it, but then again most people don't know Diagon Alley is open after dark."
"Why?" Harry asked incredulous.
Sin shrugged, "People are odd, they have an unnatural fear of the dark and they therefore stay away from it."
"Why?"
"Why do they have an unnatural fear?" Sin asked, "Or why do they stay away from the dark?"
"Unnatural fear," Harry replied looking up at Sin curiously.
"Well, the night is dark and makes it hard to see so your mind plays tricks on you...like little children thinking a monster lives in their closet, except adults give it a more corporal form—dark magic," Sin explained shooting another glance across the street. "So they avoid the dark and convince themselves they have nothing to worry about. Thus Diagon Alley is thought by many, not to be open at night because of the threat of dark magic. Fear is the product of an overactive imagination; very little fear is actually justified...remember that."
Harry nodded assent and the two of them continued down Knockturn Alley. It was very different from the way Harry remembered it there were no hags or suspicious looking people...but then again Sin had said it became a perfectly respectable place after midnight...
Sin reached out and grabbed Harry's arm, Harry looked up at him in confusion, and Sin grinned and said, "I think you need to learn how to get around Knockturn Alley, the way a native would, and who better to teach you than me?"
The next thing Harry knew he was being pulled down an alley just off the main street.
"We," Sin explained pulling Harry along behind him, "are going to go to a potions store run by a man named Salius. This store is impossible to find unless you know where it is, but it is the only place to find potions that 'dark creatures' would need, such as a potion that will allow you to go out in daylight or a potion to repress your need for blood."
"Why will I need those?" Harry asked as he was pulled along by Sin.
"You'll be going to school, won't you?" Sin asked, looking at Harry, his head tilted in curiosity, "and you'll still be something of a vampire in a month won't you?"
Harry pouted and flushed for not being able to figure that out on his own. Sin grinned and pulled Harry into another alley. "Also this nice little trip will set that professor of yours off our trail for a little while."
"I hate shopping," Harry exclaimed throwing himself on his bed and closing his eyes.
Sin laughed and went over to the bags of clothes sitting on the floor and began sorting through them. Throwing the plastic bags away from him once the clothes were recovered from them...a very noisy and annoying task.
"No..." Harry whined opening his eyes and glaring at Sin. "Wanna sleep..."
Sin blinked and looked up at Harry throwing a bag away from him and staring at Harry. "If you want to sleep," Sin replied, "you'll have to eat first."
Harry pouted and then slid reluctantly off the bed and walked over to where Sin was sitting on the floor. Sin smiled at Harry and held his wrist up to his mouth ripping the skin open with his fangs then held his wrist out to Harry.