A/N ok this chapter and the next should be the last of the major canon twists for now. So basically forget everything you read in the books it is completely different now.

I am trying to be careful about making Harry too strong. Hopefully I succeeded relatively well.

This is also longer then the previous chapters.

I am going to start making time move faster since all the groundwork is laid out. I think all the action of this story will take place in 6th year. Which should be in another two chapters or so. My best guess is this story is approximately a third of the way done but I'm not sure.

Now that all the boring information is out of the way here is a nice long chapter for you to enjoy.

One more note to let this chapter make sense, remember that the potions room is the only one without portraits reporting to Dumbledore. If you forget that and some things won't make sense or will look suspicious.

Chapter Ten

Testing Potions and Christmas Planning

Last time

They finally decided that the second one they brewed was the most likely candidate now all they needed to do was test it.

Harry and Severus decided it would be best if they took it first. That way if anything was wrong with it their immortality would hopefully protect them. The only problem they ran into was that they were both already taking Harry's original Presence masking potion. It would interfere with testing the new potion and give skewed results.

They were left with a dilemma, take the new potion with the old one in their systems, or risk exposure and let the old run out of their bloodstream. After a few more tests they found the potion would not interfere with the other. However it could still give erroneous results because of the different levels of substances in their blood.

Together they decided on a course of action. One of them would take it along with the normal masking potion, and the other would wait and take it after it ran its course. Now the only question would be which one of them would take which action.

Talking it over the answer became obvious. Harry's vampirism must be kept secret at all costs. Severus however would be safe either way thanks to his role as a spy. That decided it Harry would take it right then and Severus would wait.

Ladling out a goblet of potion for himself he said a small prayer to whatever deities were watching and drank it down. At first he felt no change. Then a small barrage of pain coiled its way through his nerves, followed by a wave of heat that flooded across his preternatural flesh. Then the wind was knocked out of his lungs. Finally all sensation left and he found himself gasping in a heap on the floor.

He stood up on shaky legs to have his Sire look him over for any problems. Severus circled him sensing him in everyway, first with his vampiric senses and then with a few spells. Finally all that was left was a physically examination and they ran into another problem. Harry was very reluctant to take his shirt off and let his Sire touch him.

Severus finally managed to get him to take off his shirt. At first he couldn't tell why Harry had been so reluctant until a thought hit him like a semi truck. "Harry you're going to have to drop your glamours." He told him quietly.

"How did you know about those?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Don't ever make the mistake of thinking I'm stupid. How else would you hide your changes? Plus it was just a hunch you confirmed it when you got defensive." He said with a smirk.

"Greasy git," Harry mumbled under his breath.

"Nice try but I have heard it all before. Stop stalling and drop your glamours." He ordered forcibly.

Harry sighed and finally did as he was told. Severus found out immediately why Harry had been so reluctant. His torso and back were heavily scarred. Nothing was very fresh but they were all of different ages and severity.

"What happened to you?" Severus managed to ask after a few minutes just looking.

"My relatives are not nice people. During the day time and anywhere people could be watching they were just neglectful and arrogant. When everyone else was asleep they were abusive and brutal. They always made sure I was well enough to work and to walk normally. It wouldn't do for anyone not in their pockets to notice something wrong. I managed to make it through so I don't dwell on it. I just don't want to make people uncomfortable by showing my scars. Not to mention they all expect me to save them if something goes wrong. How long do you think it would be before they malign me when they find out I couldn't even defend myself against a muggle?" Harry explained calmly.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Severus asked.

"Anyone I told in the muggle world would be bought off and I would just get hurt more. I didn't tell anyone here because Dumbledore already knows. He has had people watching me since I was little. My first Hogwarts letter was addressed to my first bedroom, the cupboard under the stairs." Harry replied in the same calm voice.

"Albus knew about this? Well that explains a few things." Severus said to himself so quietly it made Harry wonder if he realized he had said it out loud.

"What does it explain?" Harry asked curiously wondering what the Headmaster was up to.

"The summer before your first year Dumbledore called a staff meeting and explained a few things to us. He said you would be coming and then told us you were basically an arrogant attention seeking brat. We were told to not be lenient with you at all. In fact we were to be harsh to you to the point of blatant injustice.

I had already been instructed by Dumbledore to be hard on you to not jeopardize my spying should the Dark Lord ever come back. I just decided to be extra hard on you and if you complained Dumbledore would just think you were arrogantly looking for attention. I knew the others couldn't or wouldn't sink to that level. I made a promise to myself that I would not let you get a swelled head.

Even then I had to admit you would probably be a leader in our world. I wanted you to have a level head and be able to take criticism in stride. I would be harsh and you would hopefully learn more then potions from me.

Then you came to class and you acted nothing like I thought you would. You were quiet to the point of shyness. You only got angry when you were under attack for a prolonged length of time. I was blinded though from two sources. You carried the features of my worst rival in school and Dumbledore had led us to believe you were a copy of James Potter not just in looks but mannerisms as well.

In school James was not a nice child. He was arrogant and cruel. He played pranks on people that resulted in embarrassment and pain rather then laughter for the victim.

I do admit that he grew out of it once he had a taste of the real world, but he still had that arrogant attitude. Now that I know you I realize how wrong I was but I just couldn't see it then." Severus explained to his Childe.

"I forgave you a long time ago, Sire. Draco explained to me over the summer about the Slytherin's take on my dad. No apology from me will make what my dad did alright but for what its worth I do not condone that at all. Notice all of last year Draco and I did not get along yet we never actively tried to hurt each other. Now can we get on with the exam? I can put the glamour back up if that makes you uncomfortable." Harry asked.

"Yes we can get going, and it's your choice about the glamours. I have my own scars so yours won't bother me." Severus told him as gently as Severus Snape could manage.

"I would feel more comfortable with it up. You will still be able to feel them but you won't have to look and see how bad each one is." Harry decided after a moment, so he replaced the glamour.

To Severus it felt strange, the skin appeared smooth and completely unblemished. His finger tips told a different story. Old scars were sunken into the flesh while new ones were raised. He managed with some difficulty to ignore the scars and take in the information he needed.

Half an hour later Harry was pulling his shirt on and they were looking through the results. The potion appeared to have raised his blood pressure marginally and slowed his reflexes marginally. Appearance wise it made his skin warm to the touch, made him have to breath, and put a tan on his skin. It basically made him appear completely mortal. Presence and signature wise it masked his presence and his magical signature read out as an above average wizard.

So far the potion appeared to be a success but Severus test was going to be the final vampire test. They just had to wait for the old potion to get out of his system which would take a few days. Harry decided to continue to take the new potion and record anymore changes should they occur.

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A week long nerve wracking wait ensued. Harry kept expecting Dumbledore to sweep in and lead his Sire out in chains. Severus Presence grew and grew until both Harry and he felt it was safe to try their experimental potion.

This testing everyone who knew the truth convened. If this test was a success then the two vampires would be administering the potion to them. Harry checked to make sure nothing had changed in the potion even though they had cast a stasis spell. They couldn't be too careful when dealing with experimental potions.

Severus took it and experienced a slightly different change. The heat wave was the same but the pain was less and he only breathed harshly instead of losing his breath entirely. Soon it was through and he had managed to stay upright the entire time.

Severus had been using the past week to teach Harry the diagnostic spells he would need. Harry performed them now to see if any changes were different then his own.

Severus had the same mortal appearance as Harry and his reaction levels had lowered by the same amount. Physically his blood pressure did rise but not by as much. They concluded that the changes were the same but they were more intense with harry. The intensity could be attributed to having different levels of chemicals in his blood. They could also hypothesis that Harry's changes would eventually be on the same level as Severus as time passed.

Now that they knew the affects it was time to testy it on the others. They only had to decide who was first.

Draco volunteered to go first. Before he could take it Severus cast a spell on him. The spell was designed to reveal any creature signatures he had. Draco was right he was half Veela and half wizard.

He drank it and instead of the feeling of heat he felt like ice was flooding his body. He felt some pain but it wasn't burning or intense. His pale complexion got rosier, and his eyes changed to steel grey instead of swirling mercury. Signature wise he was just left with his wizard's signature although it registered him as more powerful then the first scan had indicated.

Pansy decided to go next and her first scan revealed something strange. She was about twenty percent wood nymph but she also had about five percent vampire blood. It was then that Harry remembered her saying she had vampires in her family.

The potion made her feel pleasantly warm and she very little pain. Her complexion actually got a little paler. Her heart rate increased marginally where Draco's hadn't changed. Her signatures had managed to give her a slight power boost but nothing to write home about.

Blaise then went, and his scan showed he did not have any other blood but wizard. When he took it nothing changed, no temperature change or pain. His signature remained the same and his vital signs stayed the same.

Harry was able to see a pattern to the changes. First point was his changes were different then Severus not because of the extra potion but from other reasons.

He figured the temperature changes were changing their core temperature to that of a mortal. Severus and him got heat because a vampire was colder then a mortal. Draco got cold because Veela were warmer then mortals.

The pain signified how much of a change was occurring. He had the most pain because he had been turned twice rather then Severus's once. Draco had more then Pansy because he had more creature blood in him.

The extra power their magical signatures received came from possessing the abilities from their creature inheritance. Blaise experienced nothing because there was nothing to change.

Pansy's experience was the most interesting. She grew warm because Vampires needed heat and Nymphs needed cold but the vampire required more heat then the nymph required cold. She experienced little pain because a Nymph was very close to a mortal already and she didn't have much Vampire blood in her. The creature blood was so diluted in her that she did not register much of a change to her magical signature.

Those tests proclaimed the potion safe and effective. Harry and Severus would take turns making the potion and distributing it. Unlike the original Presence potion this one lasted a full month rather then a week.

Harry was now worried about the rest of Slytherin. They needed a way to get the potions to the ones who needed it without alerting the ones that didn't.

Severus came up with a plan. He would teach each of them the spell that reveals signatures. They would discreetly test each person. When they did find a person that had a creature signature, that person would be held after class for some reason and be told what was going to happen. They would be given the potion and shielded against mind attacks if they wanted it. If they chose not to then they would be Obliviated.

They all agreed to the plan and set out to work on perfecting the signature spell. It would be best if they could pull it off silently. Dumbledore had the portraits working for them and they did not want to get caught. Harry and Draco picked it up quickly because of their heavier then normal training. The other two struggled but finally managed it.

After that they began the slow process of protecting every student in Slytherin. Harry found out really fast that magical creature blood was a very common thing. It appeared the Purebloods would rather marry magical creatures then a muggle born. This resulted in some odd combinations of creatures.

It took a full month to get everyone and more then half of them needed the potion. Each batch of potion made about ten doses and the doses would keep for three months. They found the most effective and least suspicious method of making all of the potion was to do it every other month with the order Severus received from Poppy for the infirmary.

The students who needed it came down to the room in groups of two to receive their doses. Every time they received a dose Harry or Severus would check and make sure the mind shields were holding up. Severus was proud to see they were holding up well. He had deliberately made Harry be the one to shield them to give him practice. He had done a good job with that.

Harry and Severus still hunted and held lessons, but they now had to hide better then ever. Their lessons together happened around 1 AM and they hunted around 3.

Harry never brought up what Severus had seen during the examination and he had thought Severus was dropping the topic. He was wrong Severus had not forgotten and was working on a way to help Harry. There was no way in Hades he was letting his Childe go back to that house. He couldn't take Harry that would make so many warning bells ring in Dumbledore's mind.

He could make sure that the conditions at his home were discovered by someone other then Dumbledore's fan club. That left any of his Slytherins. He needed to find just the right family so Dumbledore doesn't object and Harry can have his own way in the war. He just had to figure out which family was neutral and wouldn't care if his vampirism were discovered.

That left him with about five families, the Bulstrodes, the Parkinsons, the Zabinis, the Puceys, and the Flints. He knew it would work out best if the Parkinsons or Zabinis took him in. he knew the Parkinsins were already offering to take in Draco since Pansy and him were betrothed. That left the Zabinis, which means he needed to talk to Blaise alone.

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To say Blaise was shocked by the suggestion would be an understatement. He knew it had to be serious if Severus was using that specific tone of voice. His Head of House helped him write a letter to his parents to ask if Harry could visit during the Christmas holidays. Severus didn't want Harry to be too suspicious so he asked if they wouldn't mind having some other students come as well.

The Zabinis response was polite yet puzzled. They said that it would be alright for them to host Christmas that year. They were puzzled about why Severus wanted to see them before the holidays.

Time passed quickly for them. Halloween passed uneventfully as the term wore on towards Christmas break. Harry had all his friends training hard. He had been deadly serious when he said he wanted to create a third party to the war. He needed everyone close to him to be as strong as possible. Severus and he had been working with Pansy and Draco to see exactly what talents they got from their creature blood.

None of them would come into their full inheritance until they turned fifteen. When that happened they would be able to train fully. Untill then they read what Severus told them to and practiced at a steadily increasing pace. All of their marks in class rose and Slytherin was in the lead with house points despite McGonagall's efforts to sway it to Gryffindor.

Finally it was a week before Christmas break and time for Severus to meet with the Zabinis. He snuck away from the school and went to the private parlor he had reserved at the Leaky Cauldron for this purpose. The Zabinis were already there he kissed Adaeze Zabini's hand and shook Dakarai's hand.

He knew he didn't have long so he briefly explained what he had discovered and what he wanted from them. By the end of his story both the Zabinis looked saddened and grave. Dakarai answered for both him and his wife, "we will watch him over Christmas but I don't see a reason why we couldn't take him. I am sure my wife and I agree with you that he cannot go back to that house. He might open up to Adaeze more then the two of us. It could be good for him. Do you want us to tell him over Christmas or wait longer?"

"Why don't we give him the present he will never forget and tell him on Christmas?" Severus said.

"You're welcome to come, Severus. We will have plenty of room and I'm sure the children wont mind." Adaeze invited.

"I could stay for a few days I will have to take him hunting at least once during that time." Severus explained.

"Why don't you come on the twenty-fourth and leave the twenty-sixth?" Dakarai offered.

"Alright, I have to be getting back to Hogwarts now. Remember you are shielded from Dumbledore but still use discretion when speaking about it." Severus told them. "Is there anything you wanted me to pass onto Blaise?"

"Just give him our love and tell him we will see him soon. I will explain the situation to him the first night he comes back." Dakarai said to him.

Severus nodded his head and swept out of the room to leave the Zabinis in peace and return to Hogwarts undetected. It was a close call but he made it safely into the castle and down to the dungeons a few minutes before the next batch of Slytherins came down to retrieve their potions. Harry would have known immediately that something was up if he had been late for that. He meant to keep this a surprise for as long as possible.

He let Blaise have the pleasure of inviting all of them to Christmas. The look of shock and hope on Harry's face was hard to miss. He couldn't believe he was actually getting a nice Christmas for once. He let his joy carry him through the last week of school before break in happy contentment. He had such an adrenaline rush that when it came to packing the night before the train would carry them to the Zabini's Draco was threatening to force feed him a calming draught.

With that threat Harry visibly tried to calm down but it just wasn't working. Anyone even remotely close to Harry was indulgent towards him. Plus it took some talent to get the normally controlled Malfoy heir to lose it completely.

They soon abandoned packing altogether promising to finish later. They quite in favor of a large snowball fight outside in the fresh snow. It was a furious battle split between the girls and the guys. The embarrassing part was the girls were winning. So true to the boy's motto if you can't beat them, cheat. Their secret weapon came in the form of one very disgruntled potions master. It took Harry twenty minutes of cajoling badgering and finally begging through the mind link to get him to even think about coming outside.

Harry knew enough by then that he was only putting up a fight to save face. Harry could tell by the overlay of amusement in his Sire's thoughts that he just wanted to see how far Harry would go to get him outside. Severus however was not prepared for his childes devious nature. When Harry figured out telepathy wasn't going to work he went back inside. Severus made the mistake of looking his Childe in the eye. Harry used every ounce of hypnosis and innocence he possessed to give the kicked puppy look.

No Sire could withstand that look from their Childe for long and Harry knew it. Severus had taught it to him not that long ago in their lessons. It was a modification on the hypnosis they used on there pray.

It worked for his purposes and soon Sire and childe presented a united front and the others soon found out that it was unfair teams. Soon it was Harry and Severus against the twenty or so Slytherins that had migrated outside during Harry's attempts at getting Severus to come outside.

It turns out all of the ones that showed up outside were ones taking the potion. They were all able to relax around each other knowing if in their excitement something happened that mortals can't do it would be overlooked. In fact they were all cheating outrageously using this opportunity to practice with the gifts nature had bestowed on them.

Harry took advantage of a small lull in the fighting to take stock of everyone. He observed something very interesting. He looked out over his friends and fellow creatures and knew he was looking at the beginnings of his own army. Each had talents that could be built on one another. He was beginning to feel the first stirrings of hope. His radical plan might not be such a shot in the dark as he thought. After all who better to take that shot then someone who had perfect night vision?

Severus finally managed to regain control and get his house back indoors when night began to fall. He knew he would have to hunt with his childe tonight. He would only be able to hunt once while at the Zabinis so they needed to feed as much as they could that night and then immediately after Harry's return after Christmas. Hopefully by that time Harry would have a new name to add to his collection.

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Draco and Harry did manage to finish packing having worked off all the excitement in the snowball fight. Draco was asleep barely a moment after his head hit the pillow. Harry however stayed up and went hunting with his Sire. Normally he would feed just enough to let him last a week but he didn't know when he would feed next so he took more.

Severus took his normal amount because he would have the opportunity to hunt where Harry would not. They both walked back to the castle in a companionable silence. They exchanged blood again before parting ways and going into their respective rooms.

Draco stirred and mumbled something unintelligible when Harry was undressing but soon both boys were in the blissful oblivion of sleep. A useful side effect of the potion was Harry could now sleep with his eyes closed but his dreams were still the same. Memories dredged up from the past clear as crystal.

That night he dreamed of his parents fondly. The memories caressed his mind and made him feel safe and warm almost like a last goodbye. He would look back on that night and think it was his subconscious mind preparing him for what was ahead. He knew it was only by accepting the past the good and the bad did he have a chance to rebuild his life anew.

The next day was a lot of hustle and bustle of students either leaving or saying goodbye to the ones that were staying. Harry, Draco, Blaise, and Pansy stuck together through the chaos and managed to get a compartment to themselves on the train. It was then that Harry learned an interesting fact. Magic was only restricted in the summer, to allow students to show off a little during Christmas and Easter. Even if it was restricted all pureblood manors were warded in such a way as to block the ministry from sensing underage magic.

That would explain the difference between most Purebloods and Muggleborns. Purebloods got to practice and Muggleborns didn't. Harry wished he didn't have to go back to the Dursleys that summer. He found himself zoning out contemplating how much more magic he could learn if he had the whole summer free to practice what he wanted. He would find out real soon the truth behind the muggle adage be careful what you wish for. Sometimes it can be a good wish granted, but not very often.

The wiled away the morning and early part of the afternoon playing wizards chess and just talking over their eventful first term. Harry noticed most of them reluctant to speak about anything that occurred before or after that.

Soon they were pulling into platform 9 ¾ and found Blaise's parents waiting for them. Harry was introduced and the others were reacquainted. Dakarai then pulled out a worn leather bound book. The others all touched it but Draco caught Harry's puzzled look. Harry had read about portkeys but he didn't care much for the description of the sensation of a hook grabbing you.

Draco saw his reluctance and encouraged him gently to go ahead and touch it. He reluctantly put his hand on it and a few minutes later felt the sensation the book had described. Like someone had taken a hook and pulled around his navel. He didn't like it much and felt faintly green.

When they landed his vampire grace was the only thing that kept him from falling into an unceremonious heap. Pansy and Blaise were not so lucky they both had to be helped up. Once Harry was reassured that his friends were alright he let his eyes observe what his other senses had already taken in.

Zabini manor was large and had gothic style architecture. It was beautiful with chiseled stone walls and a beautiful ice garden that he imagined would be stunning in the summer months. The inside was cavernous yet cozy and lived in at the same time. The stone walls practically screamed with age and memories. Harry thought that if walls could talk these ones wouldn't stop for years.

He fell in love with it immediately. It was easily the most beautiful and impressive home he had ever been in. he knew no other word but home could describe this place. It held to much memories and life within the weather beaten stone to be called a manor and Merlin forbid anyone call it a house.

Blaise was told to lead them to their rooms and let them freshen up while his parents caught up with their son. Blaise was happy to oblige and took them all to rooms close by each other. Pansy got a blue and cream room with expansive windows and beautiful light wood furniture. Draco's room was mainly silver with green and black accents. He also got large windows and dramatic mahogany woodwork.

Finally Blaise showed Harry his room. It suited him perfectly. The walls were a deep forest green with the ceiling painted to look like a full moon night. He couldn't identify what type of wood his furniture was but it complimented the room beautifully. The bed hanging and plush carpet were a deep earthen brown. It was a fitting room for a stalker of the night.

Blaise then left them to go to the aforementioned meeting with his parents. Harry was left in his beautiful room. His trunk had already been brought up so he unpacked his meager possessions and then lounged on the bed. He didn't even notice himself when he drifted into a light dose. This time he had his eyes half open and his body completely boneless.

An hour later he was awoken by Blaise knocking on his door telling him that dinner was ready for them. The three other children knew by his slightly glazed expression and slowed reactions that he had just woken up. One disadvantage of vampire sleep was it made it difficult to wake up.

He did manage to get himself into the realm of the living during the meal and was fine the rest of the evening. He liked it when there weren't so many people around him. He had never been fond of a lot of people. Gryffindor tower had been excruciating being loud and always active. Slytherin was a lot better quiet and laid back, but he still preferred being alone or just with his special group of friends.

Because of his nap that afternoon it took him longer to get to sleep that night so he was able to think on his situation some. He couldn't believe the roller coaster ride his life had taken. He knew this was not the last of the twists in store for him but he was at least ready to face it. If he was given the choice whether to change it or not he wouldn't. Even with all the bad he could not overlook the fact the good outweighed the bad by a large margin.

A/N I told you in the beginning this would be a longer chapter please review and tell me if the extra work was worth it. I need to know your opinions so I can tailor the story to what you want to read about. I hope you enjoyed it the next chapter we see Harry's reaction and I will move several years in a single chapter (hopefully) I will try to make future chapters at least three thousand words but no guarantees.