A/N: I am very sorry. This was a long wait. I wouldn't blame anyone for abandoning ship. I never, ever expected things to take this long. Thankfully, it should never be such a long wait again. There's nothing happening in the future, that I'm aware of, that will put kinks into my writing schedule.
Well, this chapter is thirty pages long so I hope that makes up for the wait a little.
Chapter 14: Serpents, Vampires, and Ghosts. Oh my!
Nalian heard the approaching footsteps long before the owner walked out onto the top of the tower.
There was a slight gasp of surprise as the person noticed him lying still on the stone floor.
"Nalian?" Hermione's voice asked hesitantly. "Are you... Are you all right?"
Nalian turned his head to look up at the Ravenclaw. "I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep, so I went for a little walk around the castle. Ended up here."
"You know you'll get in trouble for being out after curfew." Hermione said, sitting down next to him. She leaned back on her hands, tilting her head up to look at the sky.
"You're not supposed to be out here either." Nalian pointed out mildly. "Besides, I've no intention of getting caught."
"Just because you've no intention to get caught doesn't mean you won't." She grumbled.
"So why are you out so late tonight?" He changed the subject.
"I was reading," Hermione smiled slightly at Nalian's chuckle, "and came across some constellations, ones that aren't recognized today. I wanted to see if I could spot them." It wasn't a complete lie.
"Really? I love looking for constellations. If you tell me what they're supposed to look like maybe I could help you find them."
Hermione shook her head, thinking fast, "it'd be best to see the map, and I left it in my room. Maybe some other time?"
Nalian smiled, "that'd be nice."
"So is that what you're doing out here? Looking for constellations?"
"Yeah." He glanced at his friend, "it's relaxing to me. Something familiar. My father and I used to do it all the time. Family tradition, you could say."
Hermione gave Nalian a thoughtful look as he returned his attention to the stars. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up-I mean- I-I didn't mean to remind you of their deaths..."
"It's all right. I like thinking about my parents, like remembering them."
"Still, th-they only died fairly recently. It must be really hard on you and your uncle." Hermione whispered.
Nalian sat up and patted her hand. "You know what it feels like." He kissed her cheek. "I didn't mean to remind you of your own loss, Hermione. I'm sorry."
She wiped her eyes with a quick swipe of her sleeve. "It was nearly three years ago now." Hermione shrugged as she stood up. "I'll be fine. I think I'll look for those constellations some other time."
Nalian gave her a sorrowful smile, "goodnight, Hermione."
"Goodnight." Hermione made her way back down the tower, unable to stop thinking about her mother and the son-of-a-bitch death eater that had murdered her. Hermione's father had never quite recovered from the attack on their home either; stuck in a wheelchair, grieving his dead wife and never really accepting what had happened.
Her aunt wrote he acted like the living dead.
Reaching her room, Hermione settled on her bed, staring blankly at the cover of the latest book she was reading.
She hated the fact that she was stuck at school, unable to be there for her family.
Hermione flipped the book open, resolving to continue her studies and stop thinking of the painful subject. Still unable to concentrate on her reading her mind wandered back to Nalian, wondering how he had lost his parents. Or if he even really lost his parents in the first place.
He listened as the footsteps faded away to nothing. 'The stars are certainly bright tonight.' Nalian settled back down on the floor, pushing thoughts of Hermione to the back of his mind. He returned to the previous conversation he had been having with himself before Hermione had come along.
Snape. What was he going to do about him? The man knew more than Nalian was comfortable with, especially since Nalian didn't trust him, even if Draco did.
Nalian didn't have the resources or privacy to cast a spell to keep Snape's silence. Assassination was certainly out of the question: one, Draco would not be at all thrilled; two, Draco would know who'd killed his godfather; three, it would put the Hogwarts occupants under suspicion, probably especially Nalian himself if Sirius Black's feelings about him were any indication; and four, he didn't actually want to kill the man. As annoying as Snape was towards him, the man had an intelligence and quirky sense of humor that Nalian appreciated. Putting all that aside, Nalian didn't trust him, but there had to be something behind Draco's trust in the man.
Perhaps he should wait and consult with Draco on the matter. After all, Draco did know Snape best.
Settling the matter of Snape for the moment, Nalian turned to the other man occupying his thoughts.
Lucius Malfoy. Nalian was pretty sure no one had any right to be that attractive.
'And what right do you have to even think he's attractive?' A voice demanded in his head. 'Keep your mind on the objectives. You're hardly in a position to be contemplating romance!' Nalian mentally winced at the voice that sounded too similar to Geno, teacher extraordinaire and a huge pain in any mischief-maker's ass.
Professor Malfoy was attractive though. The man's looks combined with his personality made him like sin. There really was no point in denying that fact.
Besides, he had to think about the man, didn't he? It was no good to ignore something, or someone, that could potentially be a risk.
Lucius flustered him; that was certainly proven during Nalian's last lesson with him. That was a definite risk.
Nalian had flirted with him. Okay, it was slightly accidental, but he had still flirted. A very important fact Nalian noticed was that Lucius hadn't objected. Maybe he even flirted back in the smallest bit?
'Or maybe you're imagining things.' Geno's voice rang out in his mind. 'Don't delude yourself, Nalian. If he had been flirting, what would you do? For all you know, any interest that he may or may not have could be because he is part ice demon and you're part elf, not because he has any interest in you as a person.'
The Geno voice had a point. Lucius didn't even know who Nalian really was. Could a relationship even be built from lies?
Since when was he contemplating a relationship exactly?
Nalian worried his lip. Lucius had no idea who he was, but that didn't mean he couldn't get to know Nalian. He didn't need to know what Nalian's real identity was to know who he is. That idea was a definite risk too.
Either way, Lucius was a risk, and Nalian would prefer to take the fun risk rather than the depressing one.
Darian was going to kill him when he found out about this.
It was a good thing Nalian had weeks in the very least before Darian found out. Nalian smirked. The elf lord was going to be furious at him.
Nalian pulled himself off the floor, eyeing the lawns as he dusted off his robes.
It truly was a beautiful night. Hogwarts' grounds were covered in shadow and pale moonlight. The snow glittered like so many diamonds under the light of the night sky. He couldn't really appreciate the sight as his mind kept running through his mental list of to do's.
'And why the hell does the name 'Malfoy' keep niggling at my mind?' Nalian sighed as he trudged inside the castle. He suspected he'd find no sleep tonight.
Nalian shifted in his seat for the thousandth time as he waited for Lucius Malfoy to arrive. The man made an issue of him being on time and ended up being late himself! He couldn't help but wonder if it was a power play. Those types of games were played often enough back home.
'This isn't back home. And why would he even play power games with you anyway? He doesn't even think you're anyone but another student.' A snide voice said in the back of his mind. '...well, maybe not just a student.'
Lucius entered the room, thankfully ending Nalian's silent conversation with himself before it could even start. There was a small trunk trailing behind him.
"Good, you're here." Lucius flicked his wand towards the trunk, which immediately stopped moving as he popped the lid open. The trunk was full of bottles and bowls containing some substance or another. "Be careful with these. Some of them are magic sensitive." Lucius ordered. He was gently placing the containers on a desk.
"May I ask what we'll be doing?" Nalian said.
"It's a test, Mr. Morthen." Lucius explained, "You will be identifying each substance. Some you will be able to look at, and for others you will be blindfolded."
Nalian sighed, "I suppose that's better than making me identify each one in food."
"I tried to go that direction, but Dumbledore intervened." Lucius smirked.
"How comforting."
"Let's begin. The first," Lucius set a small bowl in front of him.
In the bowl was a dark, bluish paste with a hint of odor to it. "Deadly nightshade." Nalian said. "Also known as belladonna. It can cause shock and paralysis."
"Correct. And this?"
Nalian was given long, flat leaves this time. The center was light but turned a darker green nearer the edge. "This is diffenbachia. It's harmless unless one eats it. If one does eat the plant it causes burning and swelling, and even choking." Nalian bit back a smirk. He remembered the time when he slipped some into his friend's salad. He'd just started learning poisons and had been curious if it would really work. Melnos had recovered quickly with the right antidote, but their teacher Farra had still nearly skinned Nalian alive next time he saw her.
"This one is alihotsy." Nalian said for the third item. "When you eat the leaves it causes hysteria. The fluid of a Glumbumble is used as an antidote, since its fluid causes melancholy."
The next item was set in front of him, and so it went on. Nalian detected the poison of a basilisk right away, reigning in his curious questions on where Lucius had procured such a rare and valuable liquid. Others turned out to be bloodroot, thorn apple, bryony, and water dropwort. The Lobalug's poison confused him completely; he had never even heard of such a creature, let alone seen one or known it had a poison sac.
After twenty minutes of looking at various substances, Lucius pulled out a blindfold. "The other half of this test is, can you identify poisons without seeing them?"
"This is why I should write my will." Nalian said. "My teachers are intent on killing me. Really, I'm surprised there are so many students willing to attend Hogwarts."
Lucius' chuckle expelled a breath across the back of Nalian's neck, sending a shiver down his spine. He shivered again as Lucius' fingers slid slowly down the back of his neck once he had finished tying the blindfold on. There could be no way that was done on accident.
"Here's the first." He caught Nalian's hand and guided it to the bottle. "We don't want any accidental spills."
Nalian nearly choked as he sniffed at the bottle, jerking it away from him. "That's the Draught of Living Death. Not dangerous unless ingested, but an absolutely foul smell. It's hard to hide in food or drinks, because of it's odor."
The next was poppy, followed by two types of spider venom, one of which Nalian didn't recognize.
"You're nearly done. There's two left."
"This one is the venom of a copperhead snake." Nalian said. "It causes a whole slew of problems: swelling, weakness, shock, numbness."
"And the last?" Lucius asked, returning the venom to the trunk before setting the last vial in front of Nalian and carefully guiding him to it.
Nalian sniffed it slightly before recapping the vial and holding it out to Lucius. "Hemlock. A deadly plant, causing numbness and a feeling of coldness. Once ingested, it works it's way up; you start feeling numb in the feet, then the legs, and so on. When it reaches your heart you die. The process only takes a few hours."
"Very good, Mr. Morthen." Lucius said as Nalian tugged off the blindfold. "You knew most of them. Quite impressive. Severus would hate that."
"Thank you." Nalian hesitated, "may I ask... Where did you get so many valuable poisons? Some of them are quite common, but I know the venoms aren't easily obtained, particularly the basilisk venom."
"Most of the plants, as you said, are common, and Severus was kind enough to lend me the others." His professor said.
"Even the basilisk's venom?" Nalian asked doubtfully.
"Yes, even the venom." Lucius smiled.
"He must've paid a fortune."
"He has quite a few friends in the apothecary business."
"Still." Nalian said. "Basilisks are so rare. And when someone does come across one, they're not likely to survive the encounter."
"Where the basilisk came from, you'll have to ask Severus yourself." Lucius said. "Meanwhile, might I suggest some reading? You don't seem that familiar with poisons from animals, aside from snakes." Lucius wrote something on a slip of paper and handed it to him.
"'Creatures' Poisons and Why We Love Them', sir?" He asked. Lucius smirked. Nalian would've sworn his teacher was pure evil in that moment.
"Yes. The library doesn't have that book, even in the restricted section, but Professor Snape does. Since he knows what you're studying with me I'm sure he'll lend it to you."
His teacher was pure evil.
That little masochistic streak in him loved it.
"Draco, what should we do about Snape?" Nalian asked. "What do you think he would do with the information he has about me?" He propped himself against a pillow on Draco's bed. They had decided putting up privacy spells on Draco's bed would be the safest bet on having a private, undisturbed conversation.
Draco stared thoughtfully at his drapes. "I'm not really sure. Sev definitely won't go running to the Potters, if that's what you're wondering. He'll consider telling the Potters I'm sure, but he tends to keep other people's secrets until he wants to call in a favor."
Nalian's lips twitched. "How very Slytherin of him. Of course, there is the chance I will tell James and Lily before he wants some favor from me. The question is, would Snape realize that and what would he do if he did realize that?"
Draco rolled his eyes, "you're making everything complicated."
"It's in my nature," Nalian smiled cheekily.
"Severus may consider that aspect, but he doesn't know what any of your motives are. So with that in mind I bet he would wait until he knows more about why you're here." Draco paused. "If worse comes to worst- if we suspect he's going to act on what he knows- I can always tell him I know who you are and ask him to keep quiet."
"You know as well as I that that won't assuage his curiosity." Nalian muttered. "He'll want to know how you know that, if I know you know, and why you're keeping my secret."
Draco nodded, "and if I tell him that I know, he'll know immediately that I know more about you than I'm letting on. I may have a natural inclination to trust you, but Sev knows I wouldn't just accept the fact that you're the long-lost son of the Potters without some sort of explanation."
"And he'll want to know what you know." Nalian said. "Perhaps Snape could somehow find out that Dumbledore knows who I am?"
"Severus has probably already figured that out." Draco smirked. "Look, they may be on the same side, and my father and Sev may even work for Dumbledore at this point in time, but neither trust him or his motives. They don't even hold the same goals, but all agree that Voldemort needs to go down."
Nalian laughed at that, "I knew I liked those two. What sensible person would trust Dumbledore, a man who manipulates with such ease and holds so much influence over everyone?"
Draco gave him a look, "yet you're trusting him with your secret. You're smaller secret, sure, but your secret nonetheless."
He scowled, "Rub it in, why don't you? I never really had much say in this matter, did I, Dray? Dumbledore knew who I was even before I did. What am I supposed to do?"
"Tell the Potters and get it out of the way." Was Draco's flat out answer. He continued, ignoring Nalian's glare, "Don't look at me like that. It's a solution, isn't it? They're going to find out sooner or later, and frankly I don't know when it's better to tell them, but you need to tell them. Imagine if they heard it from Sev or, worse, Dumbledore?"
Nalian sighed, "I'm going back to the Potters after dinner tonight, to continue my translation work. I'll feel out the situation then."
"Good idea."
"You don't suppose they already know?"
"I suspect if they knew who you were they would storm the dungeons to find you." Draco commented dryly.
"Good point."
Nalian knocked softly on the office door. "James?" There was no answer. Quickly sticking his head inside the door, Nalian discovered the office was empty.
The sitting room was empty too, as was the kitchen. Maybe if he just slipped upstairs for a moment? It would've been nice to go straight down to the basement to work, but he needed Lily's or James' magical signature to get into the room, Nalian had discovered that the hard way. Being blasted twelve feet away from a warded door wasn't the most pleasant of experiences.
Nalian made a decision and headed up the stairs to the second floor. There were several rooms along the hallway, all with their doors closed. He sighed before stopping at the first door and knocking. "Lily? James? Are either of you up here anywhere?" He called before heading for the second door. Things proceeded in this manner until Nalian heard a soft noise behind the fifth door and called out again. There was no answer so he slowly eased the door open. It was small study. A small study empty of any living being. Nalian entered anyway, his curiosity peaked.
His attention was caught by the photos hanging on every bit of wall that didn't have a bookcase in front of it. He recognized Lily, James, and Black in many of the pictures, of when they were a lot younger; probably from when they'd attended Hogwarts, or right after their graduation. There were two other faces in these photos that Nalian didn't recognize. The first was a fairly tall, wiry man with blond hair, curious amber eyes, and a face that looked far too weary for a man in his late teens or early twenties. The second was shorter, blue eyes half hidden by dark blond hair as he laughed at something Sirius Black was saying.
"Those are two old school friends of ours." James spoke softly from behind him. Nalian's only reaction at being snuck up on was a small jerk of his head. "The short one is Peter Pettigrew, a turncoat who died serving his master." There was an bitter, angry note that faded into sadness as he moved on to the other man. "And he is Remus Lupin. Remy died fourteen years ago by an angry and scared mob."
Nalian looked surprised. "Why? Was he trampled?"
James sighed, "nothing so accidental. Our people were panicking about more and more dark creatures turning to Voldemort's side. It didn't help that there seemed to be spies of Voldemort's everywhere, even in the most loyal circles. Remus was more loyal to the light than most, but he was also a werewolf. The mob attacked him in the middle of Diagon Alley."
"Bloody hell." Nalian hissed. "That's awful. You'd think people would have more sense than that." James stayed silent. Unsure of what to say, Nalian moved on to other photos, feeling James' eyes watching him.
The next series of photos contained the same five people, occasionally with another new face, but there was one other addition. In every photo there was a tiny, green-eyed infant with a tuft of black hair being cradled in one of the adults' arms.
Nalian reached out, gently tracing the air over the baby boy's face. That was him, resting sleepily in the arms of his mother.
James took a deep breath behind him. "That was...is my son."
It was Nalian's turn to stay silent as he watched the smiling adults in the photograph. What was one supposed to say to that? Nalian doubted it was something James enjoyed discussing and Nalian could hardly turn around and declare he was their long-lost son.
He heard soft footsteps enter the room a few minutes before Lily spoke. "His name is Harry." There were tears in her voice. "He was kidnapped before his first birthday."
Nalian turned around, squashing his desire to study the photos some more. He was faced with his two heartbroken parents. "I... I'm sorry." Nalian said. He hated feeling helpless and that feeling was slowly making its way into his mind. "I shouldn't have come here."
Of course they didn't know what he meant by those seven words. Nalian wasn't sure he even knew himself. Maybe he should never have come to the wizarding world at all. Maybe it would've been better to have never found out about any of these people and their lives, their problems and heartaches.
Things would be so much easier. No worrying about his parents, about his place in their world, about the manipulative, nosy headmaster, about the maniac Voldemort, about his mission, about his stupid feelings for Malfoy- both of them, since Draco seemed almost like a brother to him. If he'd never come here... He wouldn't have to worry about all of them being killed.
Nalian silently scorned himself. Since when did he hold with maintaining ignorance? Never. He wasn't going to start that philosophy now either. Mentally shrugging off his emotions, filing them away to deal with later, he gave the Potters an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come barging in here like this." He said while edging around the two. "I should leave. I-I can come back later. Tomorrow maybe?"
"No, don't go! I mean..." Lily trailed off.
"She means it's hardly your fault we have pictures on our walls." James said, smiling slightly. "We're just used to people already knowing our family history."
"Oh. Isn't that annoying?" Nalian asked. "Everyone always knowing your business?"
"You get used to it." Lily said. "You can ask, you know."
"Ask what?"
"About Harry. Most people who don't know always have questions." James explained.
Nalian looked back and forth between the two. "I don't want to upset you or anything." Lily waved him off. "I- er- what- I mean, how... Do you think he's out there? Living a happy life and everything?"
Lily's eyes lit up, "I know he is. He's well and happy. Someday we hope to find him again."
Nalian gave her a startled look. "You know?"
"I can feel it." Lily nodded. "Call it mother's instinct or having a bit of Seer in me or whatever you want to call it, but I know."
"I heard Voldemort was, or rather is, after your family? You don't think it was him?" This was a touchy subject, one Nalian wasn't sure he should bring up, but he wanted to know if Voldemort was still after them.
James was giving him an odd look.
"What?"
He shook his head. "I must admit I'm a little surprised you knew about that, though it's not entirely correct."
"What do you mean?" Nalian asked, keeping the frown off of his face and out of his voice.
"Voldemort was never after us, Nalian." Lily said. "He was after Harry."
For one of the few times in his life Nalian did a double take. "What? He was after Harry? Why? Harry was just a baby!"
"Harry's a threat." James said. "As an adult Harry will rival Voldemort in power."
"So... You mean Voldemort was never after you two specifically?"
"No."
"Well, then wouldn't he have kept searching for Harry all this time?"
James shook his head, "when Harry was kidnapped his magical signature vanished. That doesn't mean he died, but only a few powerful spells would hide a wizard's magical signature, and they're hard to maintain. After nearly a year of finding no trace of Harry, Voldemort, along with most of the rest of the wizarding world, assumed he died."
Nalian frowned, "how do you know Voldemort gave up?"
"We have had several spies in Voldemort's ranks since the beginning, until recently."
"Recently," Lily added, "Dumbledore thought it wise to pull our spies out before they were caught."
"Are there spies in Hogwarts still?" Nalian asked. He'd bet anything there were at least a few. Personally he thought Dumbledore was an idiot for pulling out planted spies. Any information was useful.
"There are probably some." James gave a wolfish grin, "but we're weeding them out."
"But we've gotten off track, and I'm sure we all have things to do today." Lily pointed out with a smile, "any last questions, Nalian?"
He thought for a few seconds, bringing his mind back to the topic of the conversation. "Do your other children know about Harry?" Nalian couldn't help but feel a bit curious about this. If Lily was so adamant that her firstborn was well, did they tell their children about him?
"They know." James smiled, "it'd be a bit hard to hide the pictures from that nosy lot."
"From my understanding they're only nosy for scientific purposes." Nalian said. Lily and James doubled over with laughter. He felt absurdly proud of making them laugh. 'Oh gods above me,' Nalian mentally winced, 'I've grown attached to them.'
Finally getting himself under control, James grinned, saying. "If those are all of your questions, there is something you could help with, if you don't mind putting aside the translating for a couple hours."
"I don't know. What was it you had in mind?" Nalian asked.
Lily nodded towards the large bay window. "James and some others are training new recruits in the backyard. We've heard through the Hogwarts' grapevine that you've got some impressive knowledge in the area of self defense."
Nalian gave her a wary look before heading over to the window. Lily hadn't exaggerated, they had set up a rough training area right outside the house in the backyard. There were at least forty people down there, doing workouts or putting on mock fights. He watched as Sirius Black threw some twenty-year-old over his shoulder. The man crashed to the ground and apparently decided it was safer to stay there than try to getting back up. Black bent down, asking him something.
"I didn't hear anything on my way in." Nalian frowned. He should have too. There was no way that lot down there could be working anywhere near as quietly as they would need to be for Nalian not to hear them.
"We have charms set up so we don't disturb others." James said.
Nalian turned around to look at James, "so you're asking a seventeen-year-old to train men and women who are all at least three years older than he is, when you also have to have several veterans working down there already."
"Not all of them are older than you." Lily said immediately, as if she had expected him to argue. "Some of them are years younger than you are in fact. Katherine, our youngest, has had lessons since she was six."
"It's said you have quite a talent with a sword too," James gave a cheerful smile, "among other styles of fighting."
Nalian sighed. He knew he should have never let anyone watch him practice. "All right. I'll try it out, but I'm not promising anything."
They dragged him downstairs. It wasn't really fair to say 'dragged', Nalian had consented after all, but he wanted to put off as long as possible what was sure to end up a spectacle. He just knew that some of the aurors were going to make a big deal out of him helping out: partly because he was seventeen, partly because he was a parselmouth and an unknown transfer student, and partly because Sirius 'I Will Expose Morthen For The Fraud He Has To Be' Black was down there.
Sirius Black wasn't mean towards him, exactly; Lily made him toe the line. He was polite at the best of times, and rude most of the time. The man had a strong opinion, bordering on prejudice, against Nalian. He believed Nalian was an impostor working for Voldemort. Well, one out of two wasn't too bad.
James nudged him out the back door and down the three steps of the porch. He was led over to a group of seven all holding wooden swords. Nalian bit back a snort of amusement.
James motioned for them to gather around. "This," he told the group, "is Nalian Morthen, an accomplished swordsman." Someone snickered.
A second person, a woman with strawberry blond hair, asked, "isn't that the boy who speaks parseltongue? How does he know how to use a sword?"
Nalian spoke before James could. "Contrary to what you might believe, a person can both wield a sword and be a parselmouth." He eyed the blond woman and the man who snickered. "I've studied sword fighting for years." 'Since I was old enough to hold one.' He added silently. "If you doubt my ability I'm willing to face off with one of you- a sword fight only of course, no magic or other weapons allowed."
"I'll fight you." A cheerful voice called to their right. "After all, if you're as good as you say you'd have an unfair advantage over the others."
Nalian smiled at the approaching man. "Why Mr. Black. I had no idea you had an interest in swordplay."
"Likewise."
James looked between the two and sighed. "All right, clear an area for the match everyone." He turned to Nalian and Sirius. "This is a clean fight, you two. No tricks."
They agreed and took their stances as they were each handed a sword. Real swords, but they were blunt.
'They're made of good metal and have a nice weight.' Nalian thought in appreciation. They certainly knew a well-made weapon from shoddy workmanship.
They circled each other slowly before Sirius darted in for an attack.
'Damn, the man's faster than he looks.' Nalian thought, easily dodging before making his own move to hit the back of the man's legs. Black blocked, looking slightly surprised. 'He probably thought I was lying about being able to fight.' Nalian smirked.
Sirius swung the sword to slice across Nalian's left arm, Nalian blocking it quickly before making a strike of his own. The fight went on back and forth for twenty minutes, each attacking and blocking the other's move. Nalian spotted an opening. He feinted left then slid his sword in toward it's target, knocking his opponent's weapon from his hand. He smoothly went in for the kill, placing the blade against Black's neck.
"I yield." Black said after a moment, and Nalian was surprised to find something close to respect in his eyes. Maybe there was still hope for some sort of working relationship.
"You're a good fighter," Nalian said. "I haven't had a challenge like that in ages."
"Then maybe we can square off again sometime." Black smirked. "You won't get me next time."
Nalian rolled his eyes, allowing a smile to escape, "those are big words coming from a man who just had his ego bludgeoned a minute ago."
"I was going easy on you." He declared.
"Sure you were, Sirius." James grinned. "Now if the two of you have gotten that out of your systems? I would like Nalian to help out our fellow Hogsmeadeans."
Nalian and Sirius stared at him. "'Hogsmeadeans', James?" Sirius said.
"Shut up." James poked him in the ribs. "And stop interrupting things. Nalian, if you would?" He nodded towards the waiting group of aurors-in-training.
Nalian heard James drag Sirius away as he headed over to the group and got them to spread out in a line. "OK, if everyone's ready to start? To begin, your grip on your weapon is very important. Half of you are holding it wrong. You want to hold the sword like this..." The next few hours continued similarly as Nalian taught them several moves and a simple exercise pattern.
Night had fallen by the time Nalian left the Potters' house. Nalian rolled his shoulders to ease the tension as he started the long walk back to the castle. 'Staying hunched over a book for hours at a time really fucks with a person's back.' Nalian thought. It didn't help that before he started reading he had spent a few hours tossing a bunch of aurors on their asses.
Someone slammed into Nalian, sending both tumbling to the ground.
"Sorry." The someone groaned on his left. "I didn't see you there. Perhaps you might invest in wearing something not black?" The voice added reproachfully.
"I'm not the one who was running from Hogwarts like the hounds of hell were on his heels." Nalian said. He dragged himself off the ground and offered the other man a hand up.
"Ah, yes. Well. I am in a bit of a hurry." Charlie looked up at his student before accepting the hand. "In a hurry to find you, actually, Mr. Morthen."
"Me?"
"Yeah." Charlie motioned for Nalian to follow him. "It's the runespoors. They're acting odd. I wanted you to take a look, ask them what's wrong."
"Me?"
Charlie gave him an amused look. "You're the only parselmouth at Hogwarts that I know. If you know any others feel free to share; it never hurts to have a few hidden resources."
Nalian snorted, "How very Slytherin of you, Professor."
"I do try." Charlie said, eyes dancing with mischief. "I have to keep students on their toes in my class after all."
They reached the habitat the runespoors lived in. The serpents were such a vibrant shade of orange that they seemed to glow in the dark. There was something off about them as well. They flitted around their cage as if they were nervous or anticipating something.
What troubles you? Nalian asked with a frown. You move about endlessly as if you expect to run into a predator around the next corner.
We do expect that, Snake-speaker. The critical head of one of the snakes spoke. How can you not sense it!
Nalian imagined if a snake could sneer, that one would be sneering at him. I sense nothing, though an attack is expected to happen soon.
Have you no care for anything but yourselves? The critic of another runespoor hissed. How many of us will die in this attack, when you've made no attempt to keep us safe?
Why not let us go. The dreamer head added.
It is not my place to go around freeing all the creatures in Hogwarts. Nalian said. Tell me what you sense.
We have no time for conversation, we must plan. The first runespoor's planner head spoke.
We are already speaking. Explaining things to me can't possibly take as long as trying to get me to leave.
The dark one is coming. Something will happen soon. The critic explained waspishly.
Can you define 'soon'? Nalian asked urgently. Will it be days? Hours?
Days. The leader said. Not many days. He waits in the forest now, hungry. Always hungry.
How do you know this?
We sense it. Others have confirmed it when they passed this way.
Thank you. Nalian said before standing. Charlie was watching him with fascination. "They say they feel danger near." He really didn't feel like going into details. The Order already knew about the attack, already knew it was going to happen soon. They were prepared for anything at any moment. Nalian could see it in the way the aurors stood, and the way the adults prowled around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, as if expecting the bogey monster to jump from around every tree but willing to fight that monster with everything they had. "They say they think something will happen soon."
"How soon?" Charlie asked.
"Days." Nalian said. "You might want to inform the headmaster. I don't know how many people are going to believe a few runespoors, but if anyone will look into it it will be the headmaster."
Charlie nodded. "I'll walk you back to the castle, since I'm off to see the headmaster."
"Thanks." They made their way in silence, before going their separate ways with quiet goodbyes.
Nalian heaved a sigh before heading for his Head of House's office. He really didn't feel like putting up with Snape's suspicious glare, but he had a book to borrow.
Half of the seventh year Slytherins settled around Draco in their common room.
"Might we have a word, Draco?" Pansy inquired politely, staring holes into his head.
Draco frowned at her, "sure, if you know the answers to McGonagall's essay questions."
"That isn't quite what we had in mind." Blaise said.
"We've always stuck together, haven't we Dray?" Greg asked.
"For the most part, yes." Draco raised an eyebrow, "Is there a point to all of this?"
"We like Nalian. He's a nice enough guy from what we know of him, and we protect the members of our house, but you seem to have taken it a bit far." Pansy said. "What has he done for you to talk to him so often, trust him so much, and not confide in us about him at all?"
Draco sighed as he set his homework aside, carefully marking his place in his book as he thought how to answer their questions. "Yes, I trust Nalian. I know certain things about him. He confides in me."
"You lied to Severus for him." Blaise said flatly. "That does not make Nalian look like a good influence on you."
"What makes you think I lied to my godfather?"
Pansy snorted, "you said Nalian was feeling ill all day when he was sick in class."
"We all covered for Nalian, whether you meant to or not." Draco said.
"We're worried." Greg said. "What is so important to keep secret that you'd hide it from people you tell practically everything?"
"I'd tell Severus, but he is biased against Nalian, understandably. He's wrong in this matter. And Father supports him." Draco looked each of them in the eye. "You need to trust me in this matter."
"We do trust you, you know that," Blaise said. "That doesn't mean we can't be concerned, or ask you a few questions."
"Like, where exactly is he from?" Pansy demanded. "Obviously not from You-Know-Who, because we know you'd never help that monster out, but that still leaves quite a few possibilities."
"Trust. Me." Draco said. "I can't tell you, but I know Nalian isn't here to harm any of us. Just trust me. Please." His three friends look startled. "Yes, I do in fact know the word "please". I just don't use it all that often."
"More like you don't use it ever." Blaise muttered.
Greg nodded, "this is serious."
"So will you just trust me for now? Keep out of things, all right?" Draco asked.
Pansy nodded. "For now, we'll keep from being nosy. But we want answers, Draco, as soon as you can give them."
"And if anything bizarre happens we're going straight to Lucius and Severus." Blaise added.
Draco gave him an annoyed look before nodding reluctantly. "All right. I don't suppose I can get back to my work? This essay is due tomorrow."
"It is!" Greg looked alarmed. "I haven't even started!" He shot up, running to get his transfiguration book.
Pansy gave Draco a look, "we'll still be watching."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." Draco smirked at her.
"Professor Snape?" Nalian called, knocking on the man's office door for the fourth time. Initially when no one answered Nalian checked the classroom, but the room had been locked up so he'd returned to the teacher's office. No one was there either, it seemed.
"He's not in right now." A girl said helpfully from down the hall.
"Do you know where he is?" Nalian asked.
The fifth year Slytherin shrugged. "Andy said he was off to see Professor Weasley about something."
"Bill or Charlie Weasley?"
"Bill I think."
"Thanks," Nalian said, heading towards the stairway leading out of the dungeons.
It was a long trek to the charms teacher's classroom, and Nalian spent the walk trying to think of a reason why Snape would need to speak with Bill. The only thing he could come up with was they were collaborating on a lesson combining the two class subjects. Well, that or it was on Order business.
Nalian knocked; hope filling him as he noticed light leaking from under the door. There was no response. He did not come all this way for nothing! Trying the handle, he found the room to be unlocked and decided to let himself in. If Snape wasn't here, then maybe Bill could tell him where he'd gone.
The classroom turned out to be empty. Nalian scowled to himself, and as he turned to go he heard voices in Bill's office. The door behind Bill's desk was cracked open slightly. 'Perhaps there's some hope yet.' Nalian thought.
He knocked on the door as he pushed it open, "Professor, I..." Nalian broke off, shock written all over his face. He wasn't sure he could believe what he was seeing.
Bill was bent over his desk, arms braced on the top, trousers hanging around his ankles, with a completely naked Snape thrusting into him from behind, lips grazing Bill's back and neck. Both men froze when Nalian pushed open the door, staring at him with a mixture of shock and hazy lust.
"I, ah, just came for a book... I'll come back at a better time." Nalian said. He closed the door quickly and dashed out of the room. Best to leave them to it before either came to their senses and gave him a year's worth of detentions.
If Nalian thought Snape was bad before, he suspected it was going to get a lot worse. From what he had seen of the man, Snape treasured his privacy. 'Damn Lucius.' Nalian frowned as the logical side of him pointed out that Lucius wouldn't have expected Nalian to walk in on them. 'They were quite an attractive image though.' Nalian thought. 'Damn, I need to get laid.'
The important question was, now how was he going to borrow that book from Snape?
Nalian entered the common room, spotting Draco sitting near the fire with a quill and parchment. 'I wonder if I could get Draco to borrow the book?' He set aside the idea for later as he approached his friend.
Draco looked up as he drew near.
"We need to talk." Both of them said in unison.
As soon as they pulled Draco's bed curtains shut and set up their spells Draco started talking. "Blaise, Pans, and Greg confronted me earlier today, about you. Tell me you don't have anything more complicated than that."
"That's only the tip of the iceberg of problems, Draco." Nalian said. "You won't believe the day I've had. However since, hopefully, your story is shorter than mine, you start."
Draco flopped back on his bed. "My story is exactly what I said. Pansy, Greg, and Blaise confronted me about protecting you, about hiding things from Severus to help you."
"How much do they know?"
"Only that I know more about you than I'm saying, and that I haven't told them, Father, or Severus what I know about you. They know that I was covering for you in potions class. They know you don't work for Voldemort. They said they'll be watching out for any funny business, and if they find something too suspicious they're going to tell Father or Severus." Draco said.
"Anything we can do about it?" Nalian asked, wishing not for the first time that he had a good way of keeping these people silent.
"I don't think so." Draco said. "They're trusting me on this for now. It'll buy us a couple of weeks at least to think of something else."
"Meanwhile, we need to be more careful." Nalian scowled. "I thought things were being handled fairly well, but people right and left are getting suspicious."
"I'd have thought you'd be better at this whole espionage thing," Draco laughed.
Nalian gave him an aggrieved look, "This is sort of my first mission. It's my first long-term mission in any case. I may be brilliant, but even the geniuses need practice to get something perfected."
"You are not a genius." Draco grinned. "I see my attempts to take your ego down a few notches have failed."
"Getting back to the matter on hand. I might have a way to keep the Slytherins quiet at least. Our house trusts our house ghost, right?"
"The Baron has never led us wrong. When he deigns to speak to anyone that is."
Nalian filled Draco in on his meeting with the ghost a few days ago. "I don't know what he wants. I don't even know if the Baron can be trusted, but he might help me out in this one instance. He thinks it's a hoot that no one knows who I really am."
Nalian broke the ensuing silence a few minutes later. "Dumbledore lied."
"This comes as a surprise to you?" Draco arched an eyebrow.
Nalian ignored him. "He's hiding something, but I've no idea what."
"Welcome to the club. The members of said club include the entire fucking world." Draco drawled.
Nalian glared, "I don't suppose you could say something a bit more useful?"
Draco sat up, "perhaps you can explain exactly what he lied about."
"He told me that Voldemort used to be after the Potters." As Draco continued staring at him Nalian clarified, "Lily and James said Voldemort was after me."
"How did you get the Potters to tell you that?" Draco asked.
"They told me when I broached the subject. Lily and James are both astoundingly open with me."
"It's probably the fact that you seem to have this 'trust me' sign magicked to your forehead." Draco said. Nalian smirked at that.
Draco continued, "Going back to Dumbledore, it could have simply been a misunderstanding. Perhaps Dumbledore meant Voldemort was after you and not that he was after the Potters."
"I don't believe that."
"Neither do I."
"Well, I've no idea what the old man is plotting, but I'm sure I won't like it." Nalian muttered. "Moving on, I had a little chat with Charlie's runespoors. Professor Weasley asked me to see if I could find out why they're acting crazy. They seem to sense Voldemort in the forest, and they say Voldemort's going to attack in a few days."
"With the vampires?" Draco demanded.
"I can only assume so, yes."
"Should we tell anyone?"
"I told Charlie he should take the information to the headmaster, which I believe he did." Nalian said. "The Order already knows about the vampires. The population of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade have been trained for these types of situations; even the students. There's not much else we can do. Concerning the vampires, I'll write Derek if I don't hear from him by morning."
Draco sighed, "any other news I should know about?"
Nalian cleared his throat, "did you know about your godfather's love interest?"
"Bill? What about him?"
"Perhaps someone should talk to them about locking doors when they feel like fooling around on teachers' desks."
Draco gave him a startled look before laughing. "You walked in on them!" He howled.
"Yes." Nalian glared at him. "I'm glad you find this so amusing. Snape is going to kill me. Well, he'll try in any case." Draco's laughter doubled. Nalian narrowed his eyes, "though I have to admit the imminent torture is entirely worth the view I got."
Draco's laughter turned to choking. "That is not an image I need! It's bad enough you keep giving me bad images about my father! Don't you dare start with my godfather too!"
"Sorry, Dray. I should've been more considerate." Nalian gave him an innocent smile.
"You do know that smile doesn't work on me, right? I can see the evil lurking in your eyes." Draco said. "Why exactly were you seeking out Bill or Severus anyway?"
"I was looking for Snape, because your father suggested I borrow a book off of him."
"Father's really going to get it from Severus." Draco chuckled. "Probably nearly as bad as you're going to get it."
Severus was scribbling furiously on a third year's essay when Lucius arrived at his rooms.
"That poor student is going to burst into tears when he sees that report." Lucius said.
"The twerp probably deserves it." Was the terse response.
"Is something wrong, Severus?"
Snape threw down the quill and turned to glare at his friend. "Yes, something is wrong! Morthen has no sense of decorum. You think the idiot would have the sense to knock."
Lucius fought back a smirk, "oh? Care to fill me in?" He was surprised to see faint patches of red color Severus' cheeks.
"He walked in on myself and Bill... in flagrante delicto." Severus huffed, "for a book, apparently."
Lucius froze for half a second before he burst out laughing. "He-he... Sweet Salazar!" He clutched his sides, laughing harder.
"It is not that funny, Lucius." Severus said, eyes narrowing.
"Yes, i-it is." The blond gasped.
"You might remember I'm a Potions Master, and I do know how to kill you with no one the wiser."
Lucius finally got himself under control. "Yes, of course. Sorry, Severus." He coughed.
"I don't suppose you know why he felt the need to borrow a book from one of us?"
"I'm afraid I must apologize for that." Lucius fought to keep the smile off his face. "I recommended that he borrow a book from you. 'Creatures' Poisons and Why We Love Them'. I do hope you'll still lend it to him."
"I should kill you." Severus muttered.
"Considering Mr. Morthen walked in on you two, you couldn't have been in a very private place." Lucius said. "Don't blame me for your indiscretion."
Snape glowered. "His office."
"Pardon?"
"We were in Bill's office." Snape said. "And if I ever found out who directed Morthen there I will have them hanging in the dungeons by their toes."
"Why don't we take your mind off the incident?" Lucius chuckled. "I got a chance to study his magical signature during our lesson. There was something- oddabout it."
"Odd how?" Severus inquired.
"I don't know. It's different from any other aura I've ever seen."
"It's not human?"
"It's partly human, at least, but also there seems to be this not-human tinge. As if he were half human half something else."
"What would that 'something else' be?" Severus asked.
"That's just it! I've never seen any species with such a signature. I'm not even sure if the oddity signifies a type of species, it might just be some magical idiosyncrasy."
"Morthen, being the Potters' son, couldn't possibly have inhuman blood." Severus said. He paused thoughtfully.
"What is it?"
"When we did the Genealogia potion, there were at least two crests forming on Morthen's paper." Snape said. "One of them was the Potters, but what was the second? Could he have been bound to another family?"
"A family of magical beings who aren't necessarily human?" Lucius said.
"Exactly."
"Wonderful." Lucius drawled. "Another theory with no way of proving it. I wish we could question him on this. Getting a few straight answers from him would help immensely."
"It seems we'll just have to proceed as we have been." Severus said.
"I wonder if we would find any useful information at his home?" Lucius murmured.
"Does that matter? We're not in the best position to go running around breaking into muggle apartments, Lucius."
"It's something to consider." Lucius said. "We're walking around blind where Morthen is concerned. We need more to go on than half-formed theories and useless clues."
"It's a pity we can't question Dumbledore without letting him know we know more than he thinks we know."
"We don't even know what Dumbledore knows."
"He certainly knows more than he says he knows."
"He knows Nalian is Harry Potter, I'm sure. Does he know any more than that?"
"Well," Severus said. "He isn't stupid. Surely he would have looked at the boy's aura. If he did, then he should've noticed the oddity you mentioned seeing."
"Considering that Nalian is the Potter child, I think Dumbledore would ignore any possible risks." Lucius said.
"You don't think Dumbledore wants to use him for the prophecy?" Severus frowned. "Morthen can't possibly be the one it talks about. The prophecy clearly said 'and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal'. Voldemort never marked Harry Potter."
"No one else fits the prophecy either, Severus." Lucius said. "Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom have only ever been the two candidates. Longbottom hasn't been marked either. At the moment, Morthen fits the bill better than Longbottom."
"If that's Dumbledore's intention, the man has finally gone off his rocker."
Nalian just slipped into his bed, moving to close his curtains, when a barn owl shot past and settled onto his pillow.
Nalian sighed and yanked his curtains shut before accepting the letter from the softly hooting owl. It was from Derek. "Wait. I'll probably have a response for you." He told owl.
Nalian,
The Council has officially decided to deal with these rogue vampires you have discovered. A few vampires from every clan will be arriving in four days' time.
We will keep our activities and any developing battle in the forests; for the sake of our privacy and lives as well as yours, for I know if your wizards attacked us you'd try to stop them. (There is no point trying to deny it, Nalian. I know you too well.)
Amusingly enough, the council wishes to protect you, for all that half of them hate Darian, and you by association. They feel that having a spy to keep an eye on illegal vampire activity is a gift to hold on to. Don't be surprised if a few of them approach you privately to buy your loyalty.
If there are any other tidings write me immediately. I will not be reachable by dusk tomorrow.
Derek
Nalian slipped across the room and slid into Draco's bed, throwing up privacy charms. "Dray... Draco! Read this." He thrust the letter at the groggy blond.
"'S a etter," Draco yawn. "Waddya want, Nal?"
"Read the letter, Draco." Nalian said.
After a few minutes of silence, while Nalian waited for Draco to wake up and read the letter, Draco finally spoke, "So things are coming together it seems. Isn't this good news?"
"Yeah, if they get here in time." Nalian muttered. "I'm going to write back, telling him what we learned from the runespoors. Is there anything else you think I should mention?"
Draco thought for a while, "maybe... We should watch the forest. You and I at least will know what is happening in there, and we should be informed if any fights reach Hogwarts. Hogwarts is, after all, Voldemort's goal."
Nalian nodded slowly, "I'll work something out. Do you realize if the battle does move on to Hogwarts' grounds I'll have to explain things to the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Merlin forbid." Draco said. "They'd panic about you in all likelihood."
"You think they'd appreciate secret allies."
Draco snorted, "but none of you are allies." Draco waved off Nalian's objection, "you could be someday, but you aren't now. The only reason the vampires are helping is because they have rogue agents running around. The elves aren't helping us at all." He yawned.
"Yeah yeah." Nalian sighed. "Go back to bed Draco. I'll arrange for a scout for us and write Derek, anything else can wait until morning." He returned to his own bed, pulling out a quill and ink from his bedside table.
Derek,
Get here quick. Voldemort's forces plan to attack Hogwarts any day now, so the runespoors tell me. Don't give me that look. I've found that advice and warnings from snakes have been quite reliable in the past. We may have up to three days, but I suspect no more than that.
Yes, I would do what I could to protect your people, so don't let things come to that.
I'm going to try to find a scout I can trust to watch the forest: watch for the attack, watch for your people, and watch to see if any battles start to move to Hogwarts' grounds.
Don't worry about me. If worse comes to worst and the wizards turn against me I will flee the school and join in your fight outside. Let us try to avoid that however, since you know what a fit Darian would throw about having to plant another agent.
Thanks for the heads up,
Nalian
"All right. I need you to take this to Derek immediately. Be as quick as you can. Do you understand?" The owl hooted at him. Nalian gave her a handful of owl treats. He made sure the owl was out of the dungeons before doing anything else.
There was one last thing he had to do before he slept tonight.
Nalian tossed on a robe then quietly opened his trunk and dug out a small wooden chest. Slowly he snuck out of his dormitory and left the common room altogether, pocketing the chest. It wasn't difficult to find his way back to the torture chamber. If the Bloody Baron was going to be anywhere at the moment, it would be there.
Nalian felt relief as he saw his guess was correct. The Baron was hovering a few inches over the rack. "You're a masochistic bastard, you know that?"
The Baron smirked faintly, "'Bastard' is incorrect, considering my parents were married."
"You take the word too literally."
"Is there something you wished to discuss with me, or did you just desire to wander around the dungeons barefoot?"
"The cold doesn't bother me. Actually, I wanted to know if you'd be willing to do a few favors for me." Nalian said nonchalantly.
"What sort of favors, little Slytherin?"
"Some Slytherins are getting overly curious about me." Nalian said. "Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle, and Blaise Zabini. They'll keep out of things for now. I thought you could perhaps keep an eye on them and if they start to interfere have a word with them. After all," Nalian said carefully, "we wouldn't want the game to end before it's even begun."
The Baron chuckled, "I will have to add manipulative to my list of your traits. What of Draco? He has been far more curious about you than any of the others."
Nalian frowned. "You watch me too closely. I think you already know Draco knows more about me than anyone else at Hogwarts. Will you watch the others?"
The Baron gave him a considering look before bowing his head slightly. "I will."
"There is one other thing, of a more serious matter, and one of some urgency." Nalian said. "Whether you choose to assist me or not, I want you're word to keep this conversation between the two of us."
The Baron looked intrigued. "You have my word."
"Voldemort plans on attacking Hogwarts, which I'm sure you know. It will happen in the next few days. He has vampires with him this time. However, the vampire clans don't like their own kind to interfere with wizards, so they'll be arriving in the Forbidden Forest to take care of the rogue vampires." Nalian explained. "What I want you to do is watch the forest for arrival of the clans, and to warn me if any vampires enter Hogwarts' grounds."
"How do you expect me to watch the entire border of the forest?" The Baron snorted in derision.
"Have a little faith, Baron. I can perform a spell that will allow you to sense any vampire's presence within a mile of your person." Nalian said.
Nalian was subjected to the baron's contemplative stare for the second time that night. "All right. I will agree to this so long as you leave the spell on and working after all of this is over."
"That's agreeable."
"Then perform your spell, little snake. You have my word I will assist you in this matter with the vampires."
Nalian nodded solemnly, "and you have my word that I will not remove the spell."
He pulled the wooden chest out of his pocket, gently setting it on the floor and settling down next to it. "There are two tricks to this. The first is being able to make you a tangible spirit for the spilt second I'll need you to be, well, tangible. The second is having vampire's blood to perform the spell at all. Lucky for us, I have everything I will need."
He lit a few candles before pulling a small vial from the chest with something near reverence. "This is vampire's blood. It takes a lot to even get a vial this size, since it's so dangerous for the vampire. If you could sit down here?"
Nalian rose once the baron had settled on the floor, or rather settled hovering an inch or two above the floor. Slowly he began pouring the melted wax from the candles around the ghost, stopping once he had closed the circle. Next he used a piece of chalk to inscribe symbols all around the inside edge of the ring of wax then started a second line on the outside of the wax.
"Once I activate the spells on the floor, you will become solid for about three seconds." Nalian said. "I'll be tossing the vial of blood on you and you may feel a twist of magic. It's as simple as that."
The baron was studying the writing on the floor. "Can you use these two spells simultaneously?"
"Yes. They won't interfere with each other." Nalian said. "The inner inscription is actually bordering on a Summoning. It is what will make you tangible. That's what the circle of wax is for, to contain any magic from the demon world. But since this is relatively simple and doesn't involve Summoning any demon it isn't necessary to set up more precautions. The inscription on the outer rim of the wax is the spell to enhance your awareness of vampires."
"Shall we begin then?"
Nalian relaxed his body and made sure the vampire blood was at the ready before uttering the incantations, watching as the chalked words began to glow. 'Three...two...one...' He threw the vial onto the ghost. It hit against the body and the blood soaked into the baron's clothes. Nalian immediately picked up the second incantation.
When Nalian had finished the Bloody Baron stepped out of the circle. "Fascinating. I thank you, Nalian."
"You're welcome... Do you sense anything?"
The baron paused, "Yes. Twenty vampires in the forest. There are probably more but my new awareness does not stretch past a certain area."
"That's to be expected." Nalian said. "It is comforting to know where Voldemort has at least some of his forces."
"Why do you help them?" The baron asked suddenly.
Nalian looked startled, "Help whom?"
"The people here. Dumbledore. All of us." He frowned, "I cannot imagine that is why you came here, little snake."
"It's true, I came here for another purpose. I help, because the outcome of things here affect me too." It wasn't a complete lie, it just wasn't the complete truth either. Nalian wasn't sure he wanted to think about why he was doing all of this.
The baron gave him an amused look that said he knew he was lying. "Perhaps you should return to bed, Mr. Morthen. You must keep yourself as energized and aware as possible."
"Of course." He said, cleaning up the wax and chalk and packing up his supplies before heading out. "Goodnight, Baron."
Now that the baron had brought it up, Nalian couldn't take his mind off of the subject. He wasn't here to help these people, so why did he? Their lives didn't concern him. They shouldn't concern him.
If he was honest, he liked the people here. He felt compassion for them. Nalian had never meant to get close to anyone, but it had happened. He couldn't imagine leaving all these people to suffer under Voldemort's rule. Not even the ever annoying Severus Snape and Sirius Black. His parents were here. Hermione and Neville. Draco. Lucius...
...Lucius. Just thinking of the man Nalian could feel his presence, his scent, the heat from Lucius' body... Nalian took a shuddering breath. He wanted Lucius. He wanted him now. It felt like the man was standing right next to him, exuding his sexuality.
"Mr. Morthen, may I inquire as to why you are wandering the halls, and barefoot of all things?" A soft voice demanded from up the hall.
'Speak of the devil.' Nalian thought, fighting the urge to attack his professor. This wasn't the best time to run into Lucius Malfoy of all people. Lucius was definitely in full ice demon mode. It slightly unhinged Nalian's emotions, not to mention his self control. He was afraid he'd do something stupid.
"Mr. Morthen?"
Nalian returned his mind to the current situation. "I couldn't sleep. I couldn't find my slippers either, and the cold doesn't really bother me."
"I see." Lucius studied him. The younger Slytherin was looking enticing enough to take right there in the middle of the hall. Lucius frowned slightly. Something wasn't right. He felt inebriated, but that was ridiculous since he'd only had two drinks. "I'm afraid I must give you a detention. There is no leaving the common rooms after curfew. Come on, I'll return you to your dorm."
'This is not a good idea,' Nalian thought, unaware the same thought was going through his teacher's mind even as they started down the hall. "You've been drinking, Professor."
"Your point?"
"That's being a bad role model for students." Nalian felt tipsy. Seeing Lucius was doing something to him. He felt almost giddy. Nalian couldn't stop himself. There was no way he couldn't not...
"Professor?" He caught his teacher's arm.
"Morthen?" Lucius arched an eyebrow, turning to face him.
Nalian leaned over and planted his lips on the blonde's, happily surprised when Lucius didn't push him away. In fact, the man was doing just the opposite.
After a second of surprise, Lucius' tongue flicked across his lower lip, seeking entrance. Nalian parted his lips and Lucius' tongue slipped past, exploring his mouth.
Nalian's tongue met his, starting a playful battle for dominance. An arm snaked around his waist as he slid his fingers through Lucius' silky hair. Lucius was pressing up against him, pushing them backwards until Nalian's back hit a wall.
It felt as though they stayed like that for hours, Nalian wrapping himself around the blond as much as he could without causing them to tumble to the floor, though in retrospect that didn't sound like such a bad idea.
Lucius pulled back slowly, carefully, making sure their bodies still touched. "That was... Unexpected."
"I'm good at surprising people." Nalian said breathlessly.
"It was- is entirely inappropriate."
"For some reason I don't think you're the type to follow every societal rule."
"You should return to your dorm now."
"You could come with me." Was the sly answer.
"As tempting as that is, it isn't a good idea." Lucius said firmly, fighting off the very strong desire to drag Nalian back to his rooms.
"May we..." Nalian hesitated. "I don't want this to be the only time."
"I'm not particularly interested in flings." Merlin that was hard to say.
"Good. Neither am I."
"Mr. Morthen..."
"At this point I think it's okay to call me Nalian."
Lucius sighed, "Nalian, we are teacher and student. Anything between us would interfere with our working relationship."
"But there already is something between us. We might as well make the best of it. And," Nalian forged on, "if things can work out with us... Shouldn't we at least try?"
"You're my son's best friend. You're my son's age." Lucius pointed out.
"I don't think Draco would mind, and does age really matter?" Nalian said. "Can we try and see each other?"
Lucius smirked, "we see each other every day, Nalian."
"Ha ha. Very amusing." Nalian rolled his eyes. "I'm taking that for a yes, you know."
"It is a yes." Giving in to temptation, Lucius leaned over and placed a kiss lightly on his lips.
Nalian gave him a brilliant smile.
A/N: Once again, so sorry for the long, long, long wait!
I'm making much better headway with Lucius/Harry than I thought I would in this chapter. Tell me what you think, please!
Thanks very much everyone who reviewed!
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Misfit2008 - Okay! Don't torture me with veggies! Anything but that! I updated! -waves white flag-
Deritine - I decided to answer you via email again, since there were several things I wanted to reply to, but some I'm not sure I want to reveal to the world yet. ;) I do love your questions! They make me think. :D
TeeDee - I'm glad you liked it so much! I like the Draco-and-Harry-are-friends plot so much that I had to have it in this story, same goes for the Harry/Lucius pairing. :) I suppose RS has been going for a long time. You know, I didn't even realize I've been working on it for over a year now? It doesn't feel that long!
Arigazi - Nalian and Lucius' relationship will probably pick up the pace a little now. I don't know whether you'd consider that good or bad..? I thought Order and Chaos would have a bigger part in Nali's life, but as of yet they don't (they do when he's at his home though). Oh, Lucius is attracted to him. grin He's just good at hiding it. Of course, he'll love how Nalian looks in elf-mode. -wink-