Author's rambling: The way Blake talks about the way homosexual teachers were treated was the way it was in the nineties. I wish I could say that things have changed enough for those attitudes to have changed, but just last month, I heard that a homosexual student can still be expelled from a catholic school here in Australia (where I live).
xXx
Harry felt like shit the next morning when he woke up. He could hear Severus's soft breathing but the man was curled up away from him. Not even his back touching his.
Harry slowly sat up on the side of the bed and picked up the jar of bruising balm off his bedside table where Severus had left it with a couple of vials of pain potion.
"Do you want me to put some on your back?"
Harry looked over his shoulder at Severus as the man looked back at him with dark eyes.
"Is there bruising back there?" Harry asked, passing the jar over.
Severus pulled himself up in a sitting position and placed his legs on either side of Harry's. He carefully worked the balm into the bruising on the man's back, before starting on his neck before passing it back for Harry to finish. Severus rested his chin on the man's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. The two sat like that for a while just taking comfort in the other before Harry patted Severus's knees and headed for the bathroom.
xXx
Harry looked up at the giant maps he had placed on the walls of his classroom. Every one of his walls had been covered in maps of Europe, the UK, the States and a couple of other places. The large bench he normally had pushed against one of the walls had been moved into the middle of the room, over the bronze circle in his floor, and he had piled up his files in neat sections down the length of it as he'd worked on the maps.
He looked closely at the file in his hand and put another pin in the map of Germany for Simpson's movements. The Headmaster had come through with Simpson's school records from the States and Harry had already marked out the map with the man's movements before he was exiled.
"Come in," Harry called at the knock at his door.
A low whistle had him turning his head to see Dracka standing there looking around with a few files in his hand.
"Looks like a battle-what the fuck happened to you?" Dracka demanded when he saw the bruises on his neck, his eyes flashing red.
"A brush with a very dark Horcrux," Harry said calmly, his voice still a little rough.
Dracka stepped forward, concern in his dark eyes as he touched light fingers to the bruising. Harry stepped back.
"Are they the files from your spies?" Harry asked, reaching for the files.
Dracka pulled them back. "What happened?"
Harry sighed and leaned back on the bench behind him.
"The dark magic of the Horcrux over took Severus," Harry said softly.
Dracka flinched back.
"I thought there was something wrong with him," Dracka said softly. "He's been avoiding me."
"Ha!" Harry barked. "He should know better than that."
Dracka gave him a grin, his eyes soft.
"Are you okay?" Dracka asked.
Harry looked away from the vampire as Dracka just let him gather his thoughts. That's why he liked dealing with the vampire. They both had age on their side and knew when to give a person time.
"I had a partner once," Harry said slowly. "We'd worked together for many years and we worked very well. We always knew what the other needed without words."
"Lover?"
"Um, no." Harry said, looking up at the other man. "Her name was Jessica she was married to one of my best friends from school. We were Aurors together…"
"What happened?"
"We were tasked with flushing out some Dark Wizards," Harry said softly. "I was only young and didn't have the skills I do now with dark magic. Didn't even really understand it or even knew I had dark magic."
Dracka felt a stab of forbidding in his stomach.
"Jess and I had the back of the mansion while another team had the front." Harry said remembering the day. "We had back up on standby…it was a trap."
Harry fell silent for a couple of minutes as Dracka leaned against the bench beside him.
"The minute we smashed through into the house they released the dark magic," Harry whispered. "It was…suffocating."
Dracka laid his hand on the other man's knee, understanding the feel of something taking over his mind, due to his demon.
"Jessica turned to me and stabbed her sword straight into my stomach before I could react," Harry continued softly, subconsciously rubbing the spot on his stomach. "The pain cleared my mind enough for me to roll out of the way when she swung the sword at my head. That day was the first day I pulled on the power of the hollows and felt the dark magic flood into my veins…
"The dark magic of the hollows ran through my system and I found myself standing with my own sword out and blocking Jess." Harry stopped talking for a second, seeing Jess's normally soft brown eyes blank and hollow before him.
"Did you kill her?" Dracka asked softly.
"Um, no." Harry said softly. "But I broke her leg in such a way that it never healed right and she was in St Mungo's for about three weeks. The other team didn't fare as well. They killed each other the minute that the trap was sprung. Took the backup team too long to counter the dark magic and get us out.
"The hollows saved my life that day," Harry whispered, looking down at Dracka's hand on his knee. "I can understand what it feels like when dark magic takes over your mind so completely. I don't think Severus has ever had much contact with such magic before."
"He is strong," Dracka said softly. "I'm sure his time with the Dark Lord will help him get passed this."
"He told you about that?" Harry asked in surprise.
Dracka grinned and passed him the files in his other hand.
"I was a bit surprised when he showed me the dark mark shortly after you had broken the connection," Dracka admitted.
Harry smiled sadly as took the files in hand and flicked the first one open.
"Doesn't seem the type?" Harry asked, as he placed each file open on the right pile on the table.
Dracka barked a laugh.
"Oh no," Dracka smirked darkly. "There is plenty of darkness in that man's core for him to be drawn to a Dark Lord."
"Oh, god." Harry snapped, turning to the vampire. "Please don't tell him that!"
"You haven't told him how much dark magic he has at his fingertips?" Dracka asked in surprise.
"No," Harry said softly. "I don't think that conversation would go down well."
Dracka barked a laugh before fixing his dark eyes on Harry's green ones.
"What happened with Jessica?" He asked softly.
Harry stilled at the table and looked away from the vampire.
"She killed herself six months later," Harry said softly and Dracka flinched back. "She couldn't deal with the dark magic and what it made her do. The funeral was pretty tense. Her husband came up to me, yelling in front of my wife and children and everyone else gathered and asked me to leave."
Harry could still remember that day and was sure he would remember it for as long as he lived. He had stood there in shock with little James's hand in his and Ginny holding Albus looking pale and in shock as Seamus yelled at Harry with tears running down his face as Ron tried to push through the crowd to get to them.
Harry had just let the man yell as he held his son close, when Seamus had run out of breath and before Ginny could let loose. He'd grabbed her arm and pulled her away and they had left with Seamus's words ringing in his ears.
"Wife?"
Dracka's question broke into Harry's thoughts and he looked up at the vampire.
"Ah, yeah." Harry said, looking put on the spot. "A wife and three children, well two at that stage, but that was many life times ago."
"And a different sexual preference," Dracka said with a leer.
Harry's fist hit Dracka's shoulder before the vampire even knew he was moving, which impressed the other man as he rubbed the spot and gave the man a leer.
"Shut it you," Harry snapped without heat. "Now help me mark these spots off on these maps."
Dracka gave the other man a sly smile before they turned to the work ahead of them.
xXx
Severus looked around Blake's classroom in interest as the man finished up on the phone. He had seen him briefly at dinner but he had left quickly after speaking to a couple of students and grabbing something to eat. Severus wasn't sure if it was because the man was busy or just wanted to get away from the whispers of the students since the bruising was still clear to see on his throat.
It had been interesting to see the way that Dracka had glared at the other man, while rubbing his arm. Severus had questioned him about it but all he got in reply was a glare of his own before the man stalked off.
"Okay…yeah," Blake said. "I'll look into it and get back to you, bye."
Blake hung up and moved back towards Severus with a smile.
"Like my wall art?" Blake questioned with a wave of his hand.
"It's lacking in style," Severus replied, nose in the air.
"Ha, ha." Blake said with a wink. "At least it has a flare of colour."
That it did, there were different coloured pins and lines all over the maps so that it looked more like a spider had gotten into a tin of paint and gone for a walk than anything else. Where there was a pin there was Blake's neat writing, in German, below it.
Severus studied the map of England with interest. There were lots of coloured pins and bright red lines everywhere and he wasn't sure how Blake could make any sense of it.
"The Dark Lord's movements," Blake explained. "The red lines are after he was reborn and the red and black ones are before. Well, as much as we can work out anyway."
"What is all this in aid of?" Severus asked.
Blake just grinned his pale green eyes shining.
"What did you do to Dracka?" Severus asked instead.
"Ha!" Blake laughed. "I hit him."
"You what?" Severus asked shocked. "Why?"
"He was being perverted," Blake deadpanned.
"So, you hit an elder vampire in the arm?" Severus asked sweetly. "And when isn't he being perverted?"
"It's a vampire thing," Blake replied with a grin. "I then made him do my work for me."
Severus gave a bark of laughter.
Blake was one of a kind, all right. The other man smiled up at him letting the laughter roll over him.
"Are you going to leave these maps here?" Severus asked looking around.
"Um," Blake said unsure. "Yeah I suppose. They probably won't be up for very long anyway and unless one of my students can read German it should be okay. I'll keep the door locked. If they get through that, they deserve the information. If they can work out what I can't, that is."
xXx
Harry moved down the hallway to Severus's lab and paused at the door, the man had locked it. Harry grinned and placed his hand on the handle and picked up the locking charm quickly and worked his way through it until it clicked softly and he opened the door silently.
He slipped into the room to find Severus peering into the cauldron in front of him and Harry closed the door and brought up the locking charm behind him. Severus glanced over at him and sighed.
"Breaking in to raid my supplies…again?" Severus drawled.
"Heard that Madam Pomfrey had put in a request for potions," Harry replied as he placed his notebook and files in his hand on the closest table as he moved towards Severus.
"Have you got a request to add?" Severus asked as he leaned his hip against the table as he stirred.
"No," Harry said calmly as he picked up the list before placing it down and moving to the supply cupboard.
"Why are you here, Blake?" Severus asked tiredly.
Harry paused and looked over at the man, he hadn't been sleeping well and Harry frowned in concern.
"I thought I would help you," Harry replied.
Severus looked him over with dark unreadable eyes and Harry gave him a grin as he started to pull out potion ingredients and a couple of potion books as he moved to one of the lab tables and set it up to prep the ingredients for Severus. The other man looked him over for a few seconds before going back to the potion he was working on.
Both men fell into silence as Harry prepped the ingredients and Severus brewed and they soon had a few potions going around them. Both men working seamlessly as they made their way through the list that Poppy had given Severus.
"Did you study under a potion master?" Severus asked suddenly.
"No," Harry replied softly. "The woman that taught me specialised in Charms with a hobby in potions. Brilliant woman with a quick wit and great sense of humour. She was doing work in combining charms and potions, which piped my interest."
"Department of Mysteries?" Severus asked.
"Yes," Harry replied, remembering the woman. "Promoted from the Auror Department."
The two men fell into a comfortable silence again as they worked.
"Dracka told me about Jessica," Severus said quietly.
Harry's hand stilled before he started cutting into the Beeroot carefully, with the knife in his hand.
"Yes," Harry replied. "I thought he might."
"I could have killed you," Severus said quietly.
"No," Harry snapped and turned to Severus.
He sighed when he looked at the man and placed the knife back on the table behind him as he moved towards the taller man. Severus watched him with wary eyes and Harry stopped as his heart clenched in his chest.
"Severus," Harry said softly then stopped.
Severus cast a status charm over the potion he was working on and turned to Harry as he leaned back on the bench.
"Dark magic likes to whisper in the back of your mind," Harry said as the cauldrons bubbled around them. "It doesn't want to be seen until it wants to."
"You make it sound like it is alive?" Severus drawled, but his eyes were intense.
"Everything is alive," Harry said with a quirk to his lips. "When you cast a spell, you give it life as you shape it. Dark and light power is such a potent kind of magic and that is why a lot of wizards won't know they even have that kind of magic until they are halfway through their lives or not at all. That is why they don't teach sensing or seeing magic here, so few children would understand it."
"The horcrux?" Severus questioned.
"Dark items like the horcrux is built up on dark magic and dark arts," Harry said. "The spell rips a part of the caster's soul away as they murder their victim, torturing them to death in pain and suffering. That is the personality that item gets. It wants to inflict pain and suffering. That was probably why it was moved to that vault to begin with. Each horcrux is different as each person is. That horcrux that took you over was whispering in my mind as well Severus."
Severus's eyes widened as they looked at him and Harry gave him a grim smile.
"What?" Harry asked with a quirk to his lips. "Do you think I'm immune to dark magic?"
"Yes," Severus answered and Harry barked a laugh.
"I just have a greater resistance against it, Severus." Harry said mildly. "I have worked with dark magic for a very long time. I have held it in my hands and moulded it to the way that I want before releasing it to destroy."
Harry could see a shiver run down Severus's back.
"It is not magic that you pick up lightly and think it's going to behave the same as your wizard core," Harry said as he looked the other man over. "You broke through the hold that horcrux had on you, Severus."
Severus started as he looked at him and Harry gave him a smile as he moved closer to him.
"Didn't feel like that," Severus whispered.
"It never does with dark magic," Harry replied. "Now, we should get back to work."
Severus moved forward and took the man in a hard hug before leaning down and capturing his lips in a kiss. Harry gave him a grin as he pulled back.
"Come on," Harry whispered. "We don't want a Neville Longbottom accident in here."
"Oh, god." Severus moaned.
Severus gave him one more look before they turned back to their work, with only the sounds of bubbling and cutting breaking the comfortable silence between them.
xXx
Harry looked at his class of fifth through seventh years as they sat around on the floor on conjured pillows or chairs as he sat on the bench at the back of his classroom. The maps still hung on his walls but the files had been put away. He could see a few students looking the maps over as he watched them.
"So," Harry started. "What do you want to learn today?"
The class groaned and Harry grinned wider as Ry snorted.
"Hey, come on you lot." Harry said with a smile. "I bet your other Professors don't ask you what you want to learn and we are in your time. So, come on. Yes, Ms Greengrass?"
"Um," The girl replied and Harry waved his hand. "Healing magic?"
"Can't help you," Harry said simply. "Next? Ms Granger?"
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"Really?" Harry asked looking around. "You don't know?"
"No, sir." Hermione said.
"You need a certain set of skills for healing magic," Harry replied. "I do not have them. I can do basic healing charms of course. Well, more like battle field healing charms. Let me give you a bit of advice, when a friend is bleeding out, you use what you know and then when the nurse yells at you when you have made it ten times harder for them. You grin and bear it. As long as you know what you are doing, otherwise just stick to the muggle way. Yes, Ms Greengrass?"
"Nurse?" The girl asked and Harry could see a couple of other students looking confused.
"Sorry," Harry said with a grin. "Forgive my muggle upbringing. Mediwitch or mediwizard."
"You were raised by muggles?" A fifth year Slytherin blurted out.
"Yep," Harry replied mildly.
"Does that mean you are muggleborn?" The Slytherin asked.
"Nope," Harry said with a grin. "Half blood, any more personal questions or can we move on?"
"Your leg," Mr Malfoy asked softly and the class went silent. "The mediwizards couldn't fix that?"
"There are limitations to all magic, Mr Malfoy." Harry said softly. "I was bitten by a Western Barred Snake. This snake is a magical creature and its venom eats into the muscles and flesh at the site of the bite. The Doctors can only work on what they have, there was nothing there to work with. They tried and I can walk, so I count myself lucky. Mr Potter?"
"But Skele-Gro works on bones," Ry said softly. "How come there isn't anything to work on muscles?"
"There are," Harry replied. "But when you are working on a magical injury. It gets complicated very quickly. The same as when you are working on an injury that is caused by silver, due to the fact the silver cuts the skin as well as your magic. You are best to leave those kinds of injuries to someone that knows what they are doing.
"Now, if you are interested in medical magic, I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey could test you to see if you would be suited for that kind of magic." Harry continued. "And I can teach you the basics, but I must warn you, I'm really not good at them. Ms Granger?"
"What are the skills you need?" Hermione asked softly.
"A well-trained mind to begin with," Harry replied. "Light magic helps, because it wants to heal and create and a working knowledge of the human body. There are reasons that nurses and doctors have to study for so long. Mr Malfoy?"
"So," Draco said with a frown. "People with dark magic can't do healing magic?"
"No," Harry answered. "They can. Not everything is about the kind of power you hold. Don't forget you are wizards and witches and you hold that power as well."
"Can you explain that, sir?" Draco asked.
"Which part?" Harry asked as he looked around.
"Wizard power and dark and light power?" Draco questioned.
"Right then, are you lot comfortable because this could take a while?" Harry said with a grin and sat back on the bench. "So as wizards or witches we all hold a wizard's core."
Harry held out a hand and a rainbow coloured ball formed in his hand and he floated it closer to the students.
"All of you, pull on this magic." Harry said, as he looked at the glowing ball.
Harry held his hand out again and a ball of white mists swirled into view.
"Light power," Harry explained and let it float close to the first ball.
The two balls moved closer together, like they were drawn to each other.
"They are two parts of the same," Harry explained, as the white mists swirled around the first ball of light. "They will be drawn together because they are both my magic."
The students stared as the ball of white mist swirled in with the rainbow coloured ball until it was one single ball. Seamlessly moving together as one.
"But sir," Malfoy called out. "You have dark power?"
"I do," Harry replied. "And due to the wards on this school, if I added that to the mix. The Headmaster would know and he wasn't pleased after the last time."
"But the light magic is your magic?" Hermione questioned.
"Yep," Harry replied. "I have both, which is rare, but it does happen. The dark magic would act the same as the light. It's all the same in the end."
"What about the dark arts then?" Malfoy asked.
"It's vile magic," Harry spat, as he looked at them all. "It twists your magic and your soul. There is a large difference between dark magic and the dark arts."
"Why do some books say they are the same?" Hermione asked.
"Because they were written by idiots," Harry replied, and a couple of students snickered at his language. "They do not understand what dark magic is and how it is used. I think that's it for tonight. Anyone wanting to learn healing magic let me know and I'll see what I can do for you. Good night, everyone."
Harry watched as all the students filed out marvelling again at the backwards thinking of the wizards of this age and the knowledge he held. He knew given time that people's attitudes would change. Well, everything would change as the muggles gained in technology and the wizards started to take notice, but that was only the beginning.
"Blake?"
Harry looked up to see Severus in the doorway looking at him with a frown.
"Yes?" Harry purred, not moving.
Severus moved into the room and shut the door behind him.
"You seemed to be somewhere else there?" Severus questioned, as he moved closer.
"Yes," Harry replied. "Are you after something?"
Severus moved until he stood in front of the other man with a frown.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Just the way people think now," Harry replied and ran a hand over his head. "I'm still getting used to it, even now."
"What was it like?" Severus asked softly, the man didn't talk about the time he had come from, then a thought came to him and he felt cold. "Would you go back?"
"No," Harry said shortly. "No, I wouldn't go back. I doubt I would even have a chance to. Time magic is a strange type of magic. The timeline I came from, wouldn't be the time line we are in now."
Severus cupped the man's face and looked into his eyes.
"No," Harry repeated again as he looked up at Severus. "I suppose stepping through that time rip was similar to when I would leave a name behind or life behind. Start over again."
Severus stepped between the other man's legs and Harry let his hands rest on his hips as he thought about the time he had come from.
"It wasn't illegal for Professors of Hogwarts, of the same sex, to have a relationship," Harry said softly. "Teachers that were homosexual weren't sneered at or discouraged. It wasn't counted as an act against god. That attitude changed quickly."
Severus's grip tightened on his legs and Harry looked up at him.
"People were more forgiving of other people's differences," Harry said as he looked at the other man. "As you know, I don't really care if people approve or not."
"Yes," Severus drawled. "You made that clear to the whole Great Hall."
Harry snorted and grinned as he pulled the other man closer.
"Have you always had male partners?" Harry asked, curiously.
"Yes," Severus answered shortly. "From your skills, I know you have had male partners before."
Harry barked a laugh and pulled the man down for a kiss.
"You sound surprised?" Harry questioned.
"At first I was," Severus admitted.
"Really?" Harry asked with a frown. "Why?"
"Mentioning a wife might have had something to do with that," Severus drawled.
Harry laughed as he ran his hands under the man's shirt, feeling the soft skin.
"Yes," Harry said softly. "I can understand the confusion."
Severus smiled as he looked down at him.
"You had children with her?" Severus whispered.
"Yes," Harry agreed. "Three. Two boys and a girl."
Severus cocked his head to the side.
"Any more?"
Harry looked away, the pain was still raw. Severus rubbed his thighs and let him collect his thoughts.
"I had two other children," Harry said softly. "They were killed just before I came here. Two little boys…"
Severus wrapped his arms around him and Harry let his head rest on the man's chest. Harry slipped his hands around the man's hips under his belt and let his hands rest there as Severus rubbed his back.
"So, did they throw dark and light magic around as much as you do, in your time?" Severus asked, his voice a rumble in his chest.
"I'm just special," Harry said as he pulled back and looked up at the man. "That's what happens when you have as many years working with magic that I have. You pull the magic that you believe you need at the time, regardless of the type, which is why I forget when I'm working. Until the Headmaster knocks on my door, which reminds me that I should look at that ward again."
Severus barked a laugh and kissed the man as his hands ran up his sides under his shirt. Harry slipped forward on the bench and wrapped his legs around the other man and pulled him closer. Severus shrugged out of his robes to leave him in his shirt and pants.
Harry ran his fingertips down the man's left forearm. The dark mark was completely gone now with only soft skin left behind, with no hint of the mark ever being there. Severus watched him with dark eyes as Harry placed his hand over the spot.
"I can't feel anything there anymore," Harry said softly. "I wasn't sure if the tattoo would completely disappear once the connection was broken…"
"The mark you put on Dracka and the vampires?" Severus asked softly.
"Had no connection to me," Harry said, as he looked up at the other man. "It was just a marker for the wards with no active connection."
"You were an Auror?" Severus asked and his hands stilled on Harry's thighs.
"I was," Harry replied as he leaned back on the bench. "Until I was medically retried after I was tortured."
"How long?" Severus asked softly.
"Was I an Auror?" Harry asked.
"Yes."
"About Fifty years, give or take." Harry said as he thought about it. "They wanted to assign me a desk after I recovered from being tortured but that would have driven me up the wall."
Severus snorted.
"We can't even keep you at this school for more than a couple of weeks," Severus drawled.
"Oh, yeah." Harry said with a smirk. "The goblins want me to do some work in the German branch. Plus, it would give me a chance to look into a few things while I'm over there about Simpson."
Severus gave him a grin and Harry smiled back.
"You know," Harry said as he looked at his watch. "I could go for a beer if you want to go to Hogsmead?"
Severus gave him a smirk and pulled him forward for a kiss.
"Or we could hire a room for the night?" Harry said when he pulled back. "It is a Friday night, we could make it a weekend? I could do with getting out of the castle for a little while."
xXx
Harry looked at the maps on Germany carefully as he added another pin as he waited for the others to arrive. He was getting closer and he was sure that Germany had something to do with it. He still wasn't sure why Simpson had left but he felt he was getting closer.
"Watch it vampire!"
Harry looked up as Dracka walked through the door smirking with Severus right after him glaring. Harry raised an eyebrow in question but the vampire just bared his fangs at him. The Headmaster entered last, shaking his head at the other two men.
"Problem?" Harry drawled.
"The boys were just having a bit of a disagreement," The Headmaster said, with a twinkle in his eyes. "They are done now."
"Um, right." Harry said slowly. "So, onto business then. I have found a time when Simpson and the Dark Lord could have crossed paths. It looks like the Dark Lord was in Germany back when I was meeting with the Council the first time in France."
Harry pointed out the spot on the map for the other men.
"Then for some reason," Harry kept going. "The Dark Lord was leaving and heading back here."
"Where did Simpson go?" Severus asked looking a little pale.
"We lose his trail for about six months," Harry said softly. "It looks like he goes to ground. Dracka's spies pick him back up over near the French border briefly. He must be a sneaky bastard to be able to evade vampires for so long."
Dracka grinned showing fangs to Severus who rolled his eyes. Harry ignored them both.
"The next time we pick him up," Harry said softly. "He has moved across the border into France. This is when it gets interesting."
Dracka frowned.
"What did you see in the files that I didn't?" Dracka asked while Severus sneered at him.
Harry flipped open a file and read out to the others.
"'Simpson seems to be gathering vampires to his side, I can feel more of a dark pull to the man' and from another spy. 'A giant has joined his cause, there is a darkness to this man.'" Harry looked up at the men around him. "I am concerned that he may have started dark rituals already to increase his power."
The room went silent around him.
"How close did you get to the man in the battle, Dracka?" Harry asked after a couple of minutes of silence.
"We tore through the curse breaker and his team," Dracka said. "Then I moved back over the wards and left my second in command. I don't recall feeling anything overly dark…well except you."
Harry snorted.
"Thanks," He said dryly. "Nice boost to my ego."
Severus smirked as the Headmaster looked amused.
"So, yeah." Harry said as Dracka leered at him. "He drops off the map again for a while, there are rumours of him crossing back into Germany, then he makes his strike against the Council and three other villages."
Harry limped back to the long table, that he had moved back to the middle of his room and picked up a stack of files.
"These are the files from the battle," Harry explained. "I have read through them three times at least. I can find no reference to a dark power."
"What does that mean?" Dracka asked.
"I don't think the man was at the battle," Harry said softly. "Not one person saw him."
"What?" Severus asked.
"If this is true," Harry said slowly. "We could be in a lot of trouble."
"What do you mean, my boy?" The Headmaster asked, frowning like the others.
Dracka paled as he stared at Harry and the man nodded.
"Tell them," Harry said softly.
"We could already have another Dark Lord," Dracka said into the silence.
Severus and Albus paled as the vampire's words sunk in.
"The power of a Dark Lord is clear," Harry said quietly. "Those that can sense magic, it's like a beacon, we can feel it the minute we come into contact with them. It was that reason that I could feel it when the Dark Lord arrived in the foyer of the Ministry of Magic from the Department of Mysteries."
"That's about six floors," Albus said softly.
"Dracka," Harry said instead. "How far off is my power to a Dark Lord's?"
Dracka's eyes flashed red and he grinned showing fangs, Harry pointed at the man as the Headmaster and Severus paled.
"Though most of the time," Dracka said slowly, red eyes shining. "You barely feel above a muggle."
"Really?" Harry asked surprised, Dracka just grinned his eyes changing back to black. "I keep my magic very close for that reason. A full Dark Lord just can't hold it that close unless they have hundreds of years of dealing with the magic and I cheat a bit."
"How so?" Severus asked.
"I also hold light magic," Harry purred, making Severus and Dracka shiver. "A Dark Lord can sense my power more easily. Dark Lord Voldemort offered me a place next to him the first time we met."
"Fuck," Dracka cursed as Severus and Albus paled.
"You never said…" Albus started then ran out of words in disbelief.
"What, you think I would change sides?" Harry asked, leaning on his cane and looked at them in amusement. "Are you serious? You idiots."
Dracka barked a laugh and slapped Harry's shoulder.
"Do I seem like someone that wants to rule the world?" Harry said softly. "I'm having trouble just trying to get Ry to pass potions."
Severus barked a laugh.
"I'm even sleeping with the Professor that marks his papers and that doesn't even help!" Harry smirked.
"I didn't hear that," Albus stated, as Dracka snorted.
"You say one word, Dracka." Harry warned, as the vampire opened his mouth.
"So, what do we do now?" Albus asked after a few minutes.
"We can't do much more until the man resurfaces," Harry said with a sigh.
"Then what?" Dracka asked.
"We need to get close enough to tell if the man has completed any dark rituals to become a Dark Lord," Harry said, leaning back on his table.
"You didn't do any…" Albus trailed off and Harry looked confused.
"I didn't what?" Harry asked, looking around at the other men in the room.
"I think…Albus is trying to say…" Severus said softly, as the other two looked at him. "Did you do any dark rituals…?"
"What!" Harry yelped. "You idiots!"
Harry looked around at each man speechless, not even Severus would meet his eyes.
"No!" Harry yelped. "Do you know what you have to do! To do one of those things!?"
"No, my boy." Albus said softly. "We don't."
Harry deflated looking around him before smacking the files down on the table and stalking out of the room. Severus went to go after him but Dracka's steel grip on his arm, stopped him. Severus turned on the vampire ready to lash out until he locked eyes with him.
"Mr Dracka?" Albus asked softly.
"To do any dark ritual to increase your power," Dracka said softly. "Involves murder."
Severus paled and looked at the door that Blake had just walked through.
"Each person you kill can increase your power in that ritual," Dracka calmly explained. "Some Dark Lords have murdered whole villages or even cities to do them."
"Did we just accuse Blake of mass murder?" Severus whispered.
Dracka snorted. "I'm sure he won't take it personally."
"That's because you didn't know what you were accusing me of," Harry said, as he came back through the door. "Except you vampire."
Dracka grinned showing fangs and Harry barred his teeth at the man briefly before holding a notebook out to the Headmaster.
"Don't read it on a full stomach," Harry warned. "And there are pictures."
Albus flicked the book open to see Blake's neat writing and looked at the first picture and paled.
"Don't let that book out of your sight," Harry warned.
Severus looked over the Headmaster's shoulder and paled as well as he saw the picture.
"You want to know what it takes to become a Dark Lord," Harry said softly. "Those pictures are stills from my memories of what we found after a Dark Lord had used one of her rituals. That woman's dark power made mine look like it was just grey."
"Did you kill her?' Dracka asked in interest.
"We didn't need to," Harry said, with a dark twist to his lips. "Her victims got their revenge in the end."
The other three men in the room shivered at Harry's words.