Author's Note: I'm baaaack! Hello! Here's the long awaited Chapter 55! Woot! Sorry it took so long. I know some of you looked at my bio to see what was going on. Thanks to everyone for their well-wishes for my speedy recovery.
"Deshi!" Harry jerked awake at hearing his defense teacher snapping his nickname. He fumbled for his glasses, misjudged the amount of bed he had left, and toppled to the floor. "Call him off!"
Call who off? Harry wondered blearily as he pushed himself up off the floor. He raised his head and stared at the sight before him. Sensei Leonard was dangling from Khalid Haven's hands. Dangling. "Khalid, put him down," Harry rasped as his eyes adjusted to the pre-dawn light. "Now."
"Spoil my fun," Khalid pouted as he lowered the other man to the ground. "You know him, yes?"
"Yes, I know him," Harry snapped, his annoyance at being awake this early coming through. "Let me make introductions so no one ends up a snack." Harry stood up. Too early for this diplomatic stuff... "Is Paul here, too?" Harry moved towards the door.
"Downstairs," Sensei told him. Sensei turned and eyed the vampire with no amount of trust in his eyes. "You know this?" He asked.
"Yes," Harry opened his door and started down the stairs. "Try not to harm each other while I'm gone." Harry stumbled into the hallway and down the stairs. The security guard nodded to him from his chair and Harry grunted in response.
Remus had found the guards yesterday and a few had come over right away for Harry to interview. He had chosen four different wizards whom each held a six hour shift in his aunt's home. The first day had been spent showing the wizards how life worked in his house. After that, they sort of melted into the background. He hadn't counted on Khalid appearing.
(Flashback)
Harry sat up in bed. Something had just entered his room. "Calm, little one." The smooth tones of Khalid's voice met Harry's ears.
"Khalid?" Harry asked, locating his glasses and pulling them on. He squinted through the darkness and spelled on his lamp. "What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Protecting you." Khalid answered as he perched on the top of Harry's bookshelf. "I wanted to make sure that you were alright. That, and I have become bored with Hogwarts. I would like to stay with my little Magus for a while. There seems to be entertainment around you." Khalid explained.
"Am I in danger that I don't know about yet?" Harry asked as he ran his hand through his hair. He hated having to wake up and think right away. It wasn't fair.
"No." Khalid said shortly. "You should just go back to sleep. I can stop any wizard that comes this way."
"Unless they shoot sunlight at you." Harry told the vampire.
"That is what sun block is for." Khalid said as he stood and walked up to the bed. "You worry too much." Khalid stood and looked down at Harry. "You're getting worry lines." He said, drawing one finger down over Harry's forehead. Harry's eyes crossed for a moment to stare at the finger in front of him. It passed at an angle that had him looking up past the hand in front of him and into Khalid's eyes.
Khalid smirked as the boy fell backwards into bed. He gathered up the disturbed blanket and tucked in the child, humming a song forgotten by most of humanity as he did so. He smoothed the wild hair down and smiled. They always looked so innocent while they were asleep! He moved back to the desk and settled on the edge. He pulled a book from his cloak and began reading.
Harry had no idea what Khalid had meant by "entertainment", but he was willing to put up with the vampire so long as it added another layer of protection to the home. Khalid had promised not to snack on either Harry's aunt or bodyguards, so Harry figured it was okay.
He heard voices coming from the kitchen. He bumped into the wall (ignoring the guard's snort from behind him) and walked into the room. "Paul," Harry said to the man nursing a cup of tea. "I need you to come meet someone upstairs so I can go back to sleep."
"Sorry, kiddo, but that didn't make much sense," Paul said as he stood up. He wrapped an arm around Harry and gave Harry a hug. "Good to see you, Harry. You're up early."
"M not supposed to be," Harry whined. "Stupid vampire."
"What?" Paul asked.
Harry latched onto Paul's arm and started dragging him towards the stairs. "You'll meet him, then he'll leave me in peace so I can sleep." Harry was muttering to himself as the pair went up the stairs. "I just want sleep."
"You're still not making sense," Paul warned Harry as they finished the stairs and went down the hallway to his room.
Harry opened the door to his room and saw Khalid and Sensei glaring at each other. "Khalid, this is Dr. Paul Lauter, my therapist, trusted friend, sometimes bodyguard. I trust him with my life. This man," he motioned to Sensei, "is my martial arts and defense teacher, Sensei Leonard Ricer. Both men have acted as my bodyguards more than once and I trust them with my life. Paul, Sensei, meet Khalid Haven, a vampire I met while I was imprisoned at Hogwarts and can't get rid of. I trust him." He sank onto his bed and burrowed into the covers. "Everyone's introduced. Now let me sleep."
The three men watched as Harry dropped off in a matter of seconds. "Well, I believe the lad wants to sleep, as they often do at that age," Khalid said softly. "Leave him to his slumber." Khalid motioned the two men towards the door.
"You, too." Sensei said as he entered the hallway.
"I am his night guard. He'll see you after dawn." Khalid shut the door and returned to guarding Harry while the boy slept. He knew that the boy was safe; there were guards downstairs and that aunt of his wouldn't let anything through if she could help it. He just felt better watching the boy sleep.
Harry rolled over and sighed as his eyes registered sunlight coming in through his window. He pulled on his glasses and saw a note resting beneath them. He picked it up and studied it.
Until sunset, my little magus. Your friends are downstairs. KH
Harry's brow furrowed as he tried to think of what Khalid meant by "friends". He jumped out of bed in the next instant. Paul and Sensei were here!
Harry nearly tripped over Alden in his haste to remove himself from bed. The dog only looked up, gave Harry a glare and returned to his boneless position on the floor. "Sure, don't move at all." Harry told the dog as he left his bedroom for the bathroom. "I'll even serve you breakfast in bed, if you like." He joked to the animal. "Just come downstairs when you're ready." Alden thumped his tail once and went back to sleep. Huh. Some creatures had all the luck.
He took a quick shower to wake himself up and found clothing that mostly matched in record time. He was still pulling on shoes when he hit the stairwell and managed not to break his neck as he hopped down the first few steps. He ignored the guard snorting in the corner by the door and made it to the kitchen. He smelled breakfast.
"Morning!" Harry said as he entered the room. A chorus of good mornings came from the people gathered there. Paul, Sensei, Remus, and Petunia were all seated at the kitchen table with notes of some kind spread before them. "Breakfast?" He asked, knowing his nose hadn't lied to him.
"In the oven." Petunia said in response. "Help yourself."
"Did you eat?" He asked as he got out a plate for himself.
"Sometime around dawn," Remus said. "After your little scene with the vampire and you grumbling it was too early for diplomacy."
"I said that aloud?" Harry asked as he helped himself to waffles and sausage.
"That and a great many other things," Sensei grunted from his chair. "I did not hear foul language."
Harry wasn't sure if that was a warning or not. He poured syrup over his plate and went to the kitchen table to eat. "What are you doing?" He asked as he made space for his plate amid all the notes.
"Planning your therapy, education, and training." Petunia said calmly.
"Okay." Harry left the adults to it and paid attention to more pressing matters...like his stomach. "I can still be in the play, right?" He asked.
"That was number two on our list." Paul told him.
"What was number one?" Harry's curiosity asked.
"Therapy," Paul flipped a page of his notes. "We've pretty much figured out how this is going to work." Paul looked up at Harry demolishing his way through his breakfast. "You'll return to St. Jude's for now. You'll spend your usual class time with your classmates. You'll have therapy with me four times a week. I think you're ready to cut back a bit, but that doesn't mean I won't expect the same amount of effort out of you."
"Okay." Harry said happily as he sipped his orange juice. He felt the room go silent around him and he looked up. "What?" He asked, smearing his last sausage through the syrup.
"You're okay with us planning everything without you?" Petunia asked with a worried look.
"I know you four have my...what's that phrase you always use? 'Best interests'? I know you have my best interests in mind whenever you plan stuff for me. I also know that you aren't unreasonable and if I have any major objections that we can change things, right?" He stood up from the table and took his plate and glass to the sink. "I'm okay with this, guys." Harry smiled at the four adults and went back to the table. "How often am I going to be training with Sensei?" He asked, pulling the timetable towards him. "Remus? How often will you be coming by?"
"Uh, you'll be with Sensei every morning before your first class and Remus comes by on Saturday evenings to take care of business matters." Paul said as he checked his notes. "Sound okay?"
"Perfect." Harry said with a smile. He jumped when he heard rough howl coming from upstairs. Alden. He left the table and took the stairs two at a time. A quick glance in his bedroom told him that Alden had moved. "Alden?" he called out. He heard some snuffling coming from the bathroom and pushed the door open. A harassed-looking Alden was in the bathtub, covered in suds. Kreacher stood next to the tub, looking very pleased with himself as he scrubbed at the dog's fur. "Kreacher? What's going on?" Harry asked.
"Harry Potter, sir!" Attempts to get the elf calling him "Harry" were futile. "Nasty doggie needed a bath. He smelled too much like the woods. Kreacher makes the doggie smell nice and fresh." Harry tried not to laugh, but he couldn't stop a few chuckles.
"Alright, just make sure you dry him well, okay?" Harry asked the elf with a smile. "And ask next time before you start?"
"Yes, Harry Potter, sir." Kreacher snapped off a quick bow before turning back to his work.
Alden glared at Harry with all of his doggy hatred. Harry could only smile. "He's right, you know." Harry told the dog. "You are smelling pretty funky." The glare increased in strength and promised no rounds of fetch for the foreseeable future. Harry left his familiar and house elf to battle it out. Kreacher did have a good idea; Alden probably hadn't had a bath since he came into existence in his plane...wait, did that even make sense? Harry pushed the thought from his head and tried to ignore the unease that idea brought to him.
Harry pushed away the reports Remus had brought for him to look over and sighed. It was late; his aunt had gone to bed about three hours ago and he had told Khalid to take a walk for a while since he wasn't ready to go to sleep yet. He decided to see what Hermione was up to at Hogwarts. He was pleasantly surprised to see a message from her.
Oh, Harry! You wouldn't believe what is going on here! People are just going mad! It's brilliant! Everything started just after you Apparated through the wards! How did you do that? I demand an answer.
Dumbledore just stood there, looking completely lost and like he didn't know anyone around him. McGonagall finally took over, ordering everyone to go back to the common rooms. We did, of course. No one messes with her when she gets that look. You know the one I mean...that don't mess with me look. She can be downright scary when she wants to be.
Well, the next morning at breakfast, she takes Dumbledore's chair...that was enough to scare some of the first years – they thought he died – like Voldemort could be that lucky! She announces that Dumbledore has taken a leave of absence due to his "declining health". We both know the real reason, don't we, Harry?
I finally figured out what happened to him. He's confined to a private room in the Hospital Wing with wards on the door to keep him there. Something about his age catching up to him. I only heard about that by accident while I was visiting Drake down in Professor Snape's rooms. I don't think anyone else knows I know.
McGonagall's doing an admirable job, Harry. She's re-instated the DA...and told Mad-Eye to quit complaining about your disappearance. She snapped at him and said it obvious that you didn't feel safe here and she wouldn't hold your disappearance against you. She has started a nightly patrol of teachers...and they catch students with an ease that is uncanny...not that I'm speaking from experience...
Fudge has been here a lot, getting advice from McGonagall about things now. She's become the unofficial head of the old crowd now, and while the Ministry loathes the idea that the old crowd exists, they do use its resources often enough. Mostly the Order's new spy, whoever he is. Or she.
Ron's back to his old self. He'll defend you and your actions to his last breath although he still has moments of stupidity. ("Hermione, you wouldn't understand...it's an Auror thing.") Never mind that I taught him half of the spells he uses for the stupid Auror program. I know that sounds terribly petty of me, Harry, but I didn't realize how immature he could be. Has he always been this way?
You know that vampire Professor Zareh had here for a while? He disappeared around the same time as you. The professor says he comes and goes like that, but I have a feeling Zareh is worried, as though he isn't sure whether the disappearance is a good or bad thing yet.
Hogwarts itself is strong. Many of the students don't understand what happened. They couldn't hear what you said to Dumbledore and most likely don't want to know. A few first years were pulled out of school by superstitious parents. Don't take this the wrong way, but they think that Hogwarts is no longer safe because you left. Not because Dumbledore is gone. I get asked a lot of questions about you, where you are, why you left. I answer truthfully: Harry made his decision without any consultation or information on my part.
Why won't you press charges, Harry? Dumbledore almost killed you! I would have had him tossed in jail and left him to rot. He should have known was he was doing. Your life is already in enough danger from Voldemort. Why couldn't you prosecute the person who was supposed to be protecting you? I don't understand your reasoning, mostly because I HAVEN"T HEARD IT! I'm expecting an answer justifying your decision, and it had better be logical. P and Q and all that.
That's all for now. I'm looking forward to hearing your explanation (and it had better be a good one).
Love,
Hermione
Harry sat for a few minutes before reaching for a pen to answer Hermione. He knew that she would need the explanation, but there were a few things he couldn't tell her. He could only hope that she would forgive him when she found out about his plans later. After all, being the Dark Lord's student gave him a new set of skills.
Harry rolled off his bed and covered his head with his hands. His entire body tensed in preparation for his uncle's blows. They never came. He lay on the floor and shuddered as his dream caught up with his mind. He slowly uncoiled and prayed that Khalid was out. He didn't want the vampire to see him like this; the man would turn motherly on him and smother him with attention. It was disturbing during the times Harry only wanted to empty his stomach and beg for someone to Obliviate him. It was times like this that Harry hated Bleys.
Bleys had asked him about the holes in his memories. Harry hadn't believed him. Why in the world would he have holes in his memories? He had responded with a very teenage-like comment that Bleys obviously had holes in his own mind if he thought Harry's memories were incomplete. It had been the wrong thing to say. Bleys had lashed out and pinned Harry to his chair with magic even Harry couldn't fight off. Something had forced Harry's head up and his eyes open. Harry had stared into Bley's dark eyes for only a few seconds before his mind felt like there were fingernails shredding through it. He had panicked then, trying to fight the presence tearing his mind apart, pushing against the magic that was holding him down. His eyes had rolled back in his head as the nails withdrew and he had happily fallen into unconsciousness.
He had come to just as Bleys arranged a blanket over him. Harry was lying on the couch with his head in Bleys's lap. The man had smiled down at him and carded a hand through Harry's hair. "I'm sorry, child. You didn't deserve to have holes in your memory, no matter how bad they are." Bleys hadn't sounded sorry at all. Harry always forgot who he was dealing with when Bleys did things like this; Bleys's ethics were far different from the wizarding world's today. Cruciatus Curse? Nothing. Blade through his hand? No worries. Restoration of memories that were better off forgotten? For the best.
Harry's head had started throbbing as his mind tried to absorb all of the memories Bleys had forced on him. Stupid skewed ethics of ancient wizards! A vial had appeared at his lips and he drank the potion eagerly. The potion had taken effect quickly and Harry allowed himself to drift in the drugged haze. He was aware that his mind was in turmoil, but he just hadn't cared.
Harry shuddered and pulled his fraying nerves together as he pushed himself off the floor and stood. He removed his blanket from his bed and wrapped it around himself for warmth. He knew he wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. Tea. Tea sounded great. He padded down the hallway and stairs, nodding to the guard when the man had nodded to him. The kitchen was welcoming in the glare of the electric lights. He filled the kettle and put it on the stove, completely forgetting the fact that he had magic.
He had just settled on a chair in the living room with his cup of tea when he heard a light foot on the stairs. He looked up as Aunt Petunia entered the living room. "Harry? What's wrong?"
"Just a nightmare, Aunt Petunia," Harry told her calmly as he hugged his tea in his hands. "Just a dream."
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, settling next to him on the armrest of the chair. One of her hands reached out and started stroking his hair. Oh, that felt nice. He liked that. His head went back and rested against the back of the chair as he closed his eyes.
"Do you remember when I was in that coma thing and worried you all?" Harry asked calmly.
"Mm-hmm." Petunia answered. Her hand didn't stray from its path through Harry's hair. That felt wonderful.
"This is kind of hard to believe, so bear with me." He said, relaxing further into the chair. Oh, he could fall asleep like this. "While I was in a coma, I went somewhere else. A magical dimension, I guess I could call it." He paused to see if Petunia had any questions. No questions came and he continued on. "There was someone there; he taught Merlin, you know." Harry's hands lowered to his lap. Petunia reached out and took the tea from him and set it on the side table. "Well, this man, Bleys, taught me how to control my magic and use it without a wand."
"Really?" Petunia asked in a soft voice.
"Yeah." Harry held up a hand and blue flames covered it. "It doesn't hurt, Aunt Petunia." He told her. "Just tickles."
"Okay." Petunia went back to carding his hair and Harry smiled.
"Paul had said that I had repressed memories. You know what those are?" He asked. Petunia said yes and he continued his story. "Bleys said I had holes in my memories...I guess those were the repressed memories. Bleys gave them back to me somehow." Harry paused for a moment before continuing. "I wish he hadn't."
"What is in these memories, Harry?" Petunia asked. Harry shook his head and just wanted to feel his hair being played with and have the safe feeling he had missed come back to him. "Try?"
Harry frowned. He knew that he and Petunia had to communicate. Paul and Joe had said that often enough when it came to family therapy. This just felt wrong to do. He took a deep breath and attempted to gather his thoughts. "A few memories were of Dumbledore. Discussions he and I had had after a few events that nearly took my life at school." He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. "I knew about things that I wasn't supposed to know about...or so Dumbledore thought. Things Voldemort told me that had ended up being true that Dumbledore didn't want me to know, mostly spells that he didn't want me using...though some information was there as well." He fiddled with the blanket covering him and tried to stay calm. "The rest of the memories were about here."
He was having a hard time stopping now that he had started. "Remember when I told you that Uncle Vernon had hurt me once or twice?" He asked hesitantly. He wasn't sure how Aunt Petunia would take it.
"Did he hurt you more than that?" She asked calmly. Wow, his aunt hadn't decided to kill him. That was good.
"Yeah," Harry answered. "Whenever you went out with Dudley."
"Every time?" She asked in shock.
"Just about," Harry answered truthfully. "He...tried to hurt me. Hurt me so I wouldn't heal." Harry waited to feel his aunt's retribution that said she didn't believe him, that she was going back to Uncle Vernon and away from dishonest boys who didn't deserve her attention. She didn't.
"Tell me?" She said in a quivering voice. "Tell me what he did to you?"
Harry opened his eyes and looked up at his aunt to study her. She looked like she wanted to know, no, needed to know. "It's going to be hard." Harry warned.
"I know. Just tell me what he did to you." She told Harry.
Harry raised his head and nearly groaned at the crick in his neck. A hand carded through his hair and Harry smiled at the sensation. "Good morning, Aunt Petunia." He said, his voice a little thick from crying earlier.
"Good morning, dear." She said with a smile. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah." He told her. He had slept well.
"Good. Now, go and get ready for the day. Remus is coming over for a while." Petunia nudged him off the couch where the two had finally settled after Harry's revelations. He had cried himself to sleep and his aunt had held him just like Harry had always wished she would when he was little.
Harry smiled at her and made his way upstairs. Maybe he could convince his aunt that pizza was in order. And ice cream of the mint chocolate chip variety.
Harry was backstage at St. Jude's, fiddling with the cape that the costume crew swore he had to wear to get into the part. He rolled his eyes to himself and smiled when he thought of the reception that he had received upon appearing in the dining hall for lunch. Allen had run up to him, dropped to his knees, and begged Harry to take the part of "Dracula". Allen then proceeded to make a fool of himself by hugging Harry's knees when Harry said that he would take the part, so long as Bevie said it was okay.
Bevie had no problem with it. In fact, he had muttered something along the lines of "Thank God" when Harry said he was still interested in the part. It seemed that Allen hadn't warmed to the part at all after Harry had disappeared and had felt like he was betraying his friend by taking his part.
Explaining his disappearance was a little difficult. His friends didn't remember much from that night. Bug said that there were a lot of people and he had noticed that his friend had just disappeared at one point. He had assumed that Sensei had snagged Harry and taken him away from the mob, but Sensei's actions later had proved him wrong. They had been worried when told that Evan had disappeared and then later turned up, unharmed and no worse for the wear. Harry had given his friends a carefully edited story about the man trying to kill him and how he had spent a few days dodging the now crazy man who thought he owed Harry a home since he had killed Harry's parents. All of his friends had expressed their horror and promised to keep an eye out for suspicious characters, even with the bodyguard following Harry around.
Petunia had insisted that Harry take his own team of bodyguards to St. Jude's, just to be safe. Paul had smoothed everything over with school officials and they were allowed to accompany Harry everywhere but the bathroom and therapy. It was a little maddening, but his friends thought it was brilliant and kept asking to see the bodyguards' guns. The guards refused, of course. They only had wands, but dressed as Muggles while working at St. Jude's.
Harry had appealed to Remus in getting the guards removed. That didn't work at all the way he had hoped; Remus had threatened to increase the guards. Harry didn't mind the guards, not really. It was becoming extremely difficult to continue disappearing whenever the Dark Lord called him. Harry had explained the situation to Voldemort. The evil wizard remarkably understood after he had lashed Harry a bit. He then demanded that Harry continue appearing whenever Voldemort wished and would do so promptly. Harry had a feeling that he would be pulling some fast ones to guarantee that he could continue his lessons with Voldemort. He only hoped that the guards would forgive him for slipping through their defenses.
Harry heard his cue coming up and he wrapped the cloak around him as he stepped forward. He made it to his first mark. "I am...Dracula."
Author's Note 2: Okay, so not as long as my usual chapter...but I'm already working on the next one! I swear! It should be out a lot quicker than this one was. Also, if there are any native German speakers (or German language professors) who are really good at grammar reading this...could you please contact me? I'm not doing well in my classes...I need a bit of help with grammar. (says the English major!) Thanks in advance!