The Sender

He couldn't understand why he hadn't seen it before. It wasn't about the unicorn. It was about the blood. They had been too busy researching the effects of unicorn blood that they hadn't even thought to research why he was being sent blood. But by who? Who would send it? Harry's thoughts were racing at a mile a minute, faster even then his feet that were sending an echo around the halls as he ran through the corridors of Hogwarts, he was trying to sort through each memory of the letter he had been sent. His marriage certificate drenched in the pure substance of unicorn blood...It was still fresh; he knew this because of the strange warmth he had felt through the envelope before he had opened it. His mind flashed to the memory of Draco's horrified face once the certificate had been pieced together and was lying in front of them. Mocking them. Hermione's tear filled eyes. Ron's exclamation. Silver seeping across the table like a molten version of the metal, including the metallic iron smell that reached his nose just after Ron told everyone what it was.

Harry slowed as he reached the library clutching a stitch in his side, with his breath escaping his mouth in short pants as his body attempted to pull as much oxygen into his lungs as humanly possible. With a final resolute breath he entered the library and practically sneaked to the restricted section, passing Pansy and Blaise who looked up in surprise. The two Slytherin's shared a look, each raising an eyebrow in question before standing up to follow the Gryffindor to the back of the library, right next to the closed off section.

"Harry?" Pansy called to her best friend's husband.

"Shh, what?" Harry whispered, pulling both of them even deeper into the stacks.

"What are you doing? Don't you have class? And where's Draco?"

"I'm looking up blood, yes I should be in class and that is where Draco is or should be if he hasn't followed me."

"Why are you looking up blood exactly?" Blaise asked.

"I'm not quite sure yet but I'll tell you when I find out."

Pansy rolled her eyes at the younger male before grabbing Blaise's arm and pulling him back to the table, "You've just got to ask what in the world Draco sees in him." Blaise gave Harry one last look before rolling his eyes and shrugging to his female friend.

"Just leave him alone Pansy, he's going through a lot. They both are."

Harry offered a small smile to his Slytherin friend before glancing over his shoulder and slipping into the corded off section that held the darkest books in Hogwarts. Harry was sure that his answers would be in here, even if he didn't exactly know which questions he was finding the answer for.

-----

"He might have a lot happening in his life Blaise but that gives him no right to just ignore me like that."

"Pans-" Blaise began but was cut off by his impatient female friend who clicked her tongue and began another rant.

"I don't even want to hear you making excuses up for him; you know that I'm right. Right?"

"Just listen to me okay? Yes maybe you are just a little bit right, Harry shouldn't have snubbed you like that, and yes he should have answered your questions properly." Just as the female was about to interrupt Blaise carried on, "But, he looked like he was onto something. Maybe if he had stopped to talk to you he would have lost his thought process and we would have lost our lead. He needs to find out why this person sent that letter and he needs to find out if they are a threat or else he'll never be able to relax. You've got to see this from his perspective Pansy, Harry is a submissive pregnant Elf who is mated and married to a dominant Veela and someone is threatening his family. Harry doesn't know if this person that is threatening him wants to kill him, his husband or his child."

Pansy was silent. For once she was actually speechless. She'd never heard Blaise say so much in one sitting before and she'd never heard Blaise be so sensitive to someone else before. Like most pureblood Slytherin's he had grown up in a wealthy but emotionally detached household and connecting with someone on an emotional level was not his strong point.

"Okay." She said softly, patting her best friends shoulder in comfort, "What are we supposed to do?"

"Sit here and wait for him to finish. He'll come to us when he finds something."

"Okay." She repeated.

The two didn't know how long they had been sat there for. Although it seemed like hours the two Slytherin's knew it had to have been less then an hour considering the lesson bell hadn't yet sounded. They absentmindedly flicked through the pages of the books in front of them, knowing that if Harry thought the answer was in the Restricted Section then there was no way they would find the answer in these, so called 'Light Magic' books so they didn't bother trying. But they wished Harry had told them more when he swept through they could be back there helping him.

"I have a feeling that this goes way beyond what we can deal with." Pansy stated as she stared at the page of the Library book. Looking at it, but not seeing it.

"What do you mean?"
"I just have a feeling that we can't handle The Sender." And from that Blaise knew exactly what she meant, "It's just a feeling. I think he's dangerous."

"He?" They had speculated on the gender of the sender and though a male was more likely a female hadn't been ruled out completely, "Pansy, I don't under-"

"I have it!" Harry practically shouted as he raced though the library, running right passed Blaise and Pansy and heading straight for the doors, ignoring an irate Madam Pince on his way out. The two Slytherin's raced to throw their things in their bags and follow their Gryffindor friend out of the library but they were too late. He had already disappeared from sight around one of the corners leading away from the library. They knew that one went in the direction of Harry's class, the one Draco was now in and the other led the way to the Headmasters office. But which one to choose?

-----

Harry raced down the corridors. Desperate to reach the classroom where Draco was, fearing to be out of sight of his mate who he knew would protect him. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle this thing alone. He should have known. As soon as he thought blood...he should have known. And this place wasn't safe. Hogwarts will never be safe until it is dead.

So eager to find Draco, Harry had ignored the first basic rule to safety, know your surroundings. He ran right into a person. Male, if the hard chest was any indication. This particular male wore long black robes that touched the floor and framed a slight but strong body that was topped with a long face and pitch black hair that was tied up behind the mans back.

"I am so, so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Do need any help?" Harry asked in a rush. He wanted to race off to continue to the classroom but common courtesy held him back and practically forced him to help the stranger that was stood in the corridors of Hogwarts.

"Do you need to find the Headmasters office? I know the way but I don't know the password I'm afraid." Harry continued looking up into almost black eyes.

"Harry Potter." The stranger stated in a voice that seemed to rattle Harry's bones to their core.

"Well, actually it's Potter-Malfoy now."

"Harry Potter." He repeated.

"Do you need any help?"

"Everything I need just fell into place."

A long fingered hand curled around Harry's wrist as the frightened Elf tried to back away. The black fingernails were like claws as they sunk into his skin and caused small droplets of blood to stain the surface of his skin. The hand was cold and pale. If Harry hadn't done his research he would have confused this...Thing...with a Vampire. Most of the traits were the same. But this wasn't a Vampire. This thing was much more dangerous then one of the Undead.

"You're-"

"Best not say it out loud Harry. Bad things may happen."

"Let me go!" Harry tried to tug his arm away but the grip tightened, threatening to shatter all the bones in his wrist.

"You will be coming with me."

"Never!"

"I did not give you a choice." Just as Harry felt his body dissipating into shadow he worked the ring of diamonds off his finger and allowed the beautiful ring to fall onto the ground with a barely audible tinkle.

A/N - You hate me. I know you do. But in my defense...Actually I have no defense. It's my fault I haven't written much so I'm really sorry for such a late chapter.

Thank's for sticking with this story and I hope you review.

Many thanks

E.V.S. X