Hi guys, back again with a second update for you. I want to apologise again for being gone for so long on this, life has really grabbed me by the metaphorical testicles and it's been squeezing.

This chapter is for my good friend Black Paradise, who is currently battling a nasty bout of flu and I think could use a little pick-me-up. Get well soon sweetness!

As always, nothing Harry Potter belongs to me and I make no money from this story.

Sumus Noctis

Chapter Six

Harry arrived at the club before Hermione and set about getting everything ready for the night ahead- they would be closed tomorrow, so no doubt it would be packed. Everyone seemed to flood to the club whenever they were closed for the next day, or if they decided to shut up shop for a week- sometimes even Vampires needed a break from constant work, it was tiring keeping long hours when you ran a club.

It wasn't too long before he heard the sound of the heavy front doors clanging shut and peered over the bar to find his much happier co-owner striding in wearing the red dress he had seen her in at lunch, her hair bounced behind her and her lips had been painted with a pale gloss.

"Well blow me down with a feather, don't you scrub up good," he called over with a whistle and a wink.

She twirled and did a little curtsy. "Well, at least I know how to look good without wearing all black."

He gave her the finger and they both laughed while she helped Harry stock up the optics, shelves and fridges with everything that he had bought at the wholesalers that morning. Hermione finished first and cleaned down all the tables of any dust they might have gathered and used a quick Scourgify on the floor. The black tiles were embedded with flecks of various colours that when the strobe lights hit them would give off a gentle sparkle.

Harry went up onto the upper balcony and into his office to do a quick update on his paperwork, making sure he placed the invoice for the drinks purchased into the 'to be paid' file, to take care of the next time they were open. Firing up the PC kept in there, he checked out the website and made a few changes; he added some information on some new drinks they were thinking of adding to their lists, and created a quick form for customers to fill in with any requests they might have. He then added some new photos of the club- he liked to change them around.

He had Flitwick to thank for the PC working under the amount of magic that was thrumming through the place. Finally, the Charms Master had found a way for electronics to run despite all the magical energy interfering with them. Now Harry could have anything he wanted in the club and it wouldn't have the batteries drained in seconds or the electrics sputter and die out within minutes.

Checking the time and seeing it was gone half seven, he shut down the PC and went to join Hermione at the bar- they always started their night with a drink together. It was a tradition they kept from day one of opening. Usually it was a shot of whatever they had strongest to see who ended up pulling the worst face when the fire of the liquor hit them.

"What's your choice of poison, ma'am?" Harry asked with a sly grin.

"Why, good sir, a woman of my stature does not drink poison, she drinks something that is an art form." Hermione sniggered.

"Forgive me, what is your choice of art then?"

"Ogden's of course."

Harry always enjoyed their playful banter- smiling, he poured them both a glass of Ogden's Finest both taking a sip and grimacing at the burn in their stomachs. It was one liquor that Harry had never developed a taste for. They laughed at each other's faces and they sat at the bar chattering away. Harry still wanted to know what had upset Hermione so much earlier in the day, but decided to wait until the end of the night- he didn't want to ruin the good mood they both were in.

The half hour they had left passed quickly, Harry asked Hermione to set up one of the music playlists that had been specially selected by them both for the club, a mixture of dark, fast paced music, some releases by the latest artists for the younger clubbers and some metal songs. The playlist was one of five, and each held over two-hundred songs so no clubbers could ever complain it was always the same music. One thing Harry had hated the few times he had entered Muggle nightclubs to get an idea of what his should be.

Harry went to unlock the main doors, allowing the clubbers already lined up to enter. He checked IDs and made sure no one was already too heavily intoxicated or under the influence of any narcotics. The doormen wouldn't be on until around ten, that's when they really started to get busy and they would be filled to capacity around eleven. Once all those queued had entered, he set a ward over the entrance to scan for any drugs, and no one under the age of eighteen could gain entry. They would just suddenly change their minds and leave.

With his first lot of customers already served and dancing out on the floor, Harry surveyed the club and checked all was in order. He couldn't see anything amiss, everyone looked happy and there were no troublemakers. He caught Hermione's attention and motioned that he was going out for a smoke, two fingers to his lips. She smiled and nodded, waving her hand for him to go ahead.

Slipping out the back door, Harry lit a Mayfair and inhaled deeply as the smoke hit his lungs. He blew a stream of blue smoke and thought back on today. Pansy would call if she needed anymore help with customers refusing to pay. Despite being what he was, there were still people in the Ministry who thought highly of Harry, and would listen if he suggested that some people get prosecuted for refusing to pay their bills.

His mind turned to Hermione- it still bothered him what could have caused such a volatile reaction in her. Very few people had the power to rile her up, she was always so calm and level-headed. She was the more rational of the two of them. Harry shrugged, there was nothing he could do about it until the end of the night. He finished his cig, crushed it against the sole of his boot and dropped it into the cig bin he kept out there.

Walking back into the club, he saw Hermione leaning against the bar- everyone was out on the dance floor or up on the balcony watching the others. They would be able to take it easy for a while, before the place got busy.

-oo0oo-

Hermione waved her hand at Harry, knowing that he wanted to go for a cig. The place wasn't busy, so it wasn't like he was leaving her when they were six people deep to the bar, and she knew it was something he did when he was troubled or needed to think.

She thought back on her run in with Professor Snape and couldn't believe how cold his words had been, like it was Harry's fault that they were Vampires. Yes, she had chosen the life of one, and it was a choice she was more than happy with. But for Harry, he had been turned against his will and had woken alone with no idea what had happened to him.

Hermione knew she would need to return to the Apothecary in a few days to restock on the rest of her ingredients. She could have words with him then and make him aware that she wouldn't tolerate further unkind words- she could threaten to warn others against using his Apothecary, or she could hex him and never go back. She preferred the first option- after all, she wanted to know what he really thought of them. Maybe it had just been a knee-jerk reaction to seeing her. She had been his most disliked student next to Harry.

She didn't really think that it would do any good, but something else was niggling in the back of her mind. Snape was the only accomplished Potions Master left in Britain- was it possible that he had been the creator of the Blood-Reversal Potion that Ron had used on her? She had seen it in the journal she'd bought that morning, but the creator had been listed under 'anonymous'.

Vampires had been around for centuries, so why now? Why create a potion that could reverse the bite of a Vampire after all this time? It bothered Hermione a great deal, because it meant either someone had made it to help them, or to prevent the changing of anymore Vampires. Meaning they would eventually become an extinct race.

Hermione saw Harry enter the club again from the corner of her eye and smile. How different her life had been until she had found him again. He had dropped off the face of the earth after the war had ended and she had searched for months to find him, only succeeding when she received an invite to go see Bill in Romania. Hermione had found Harry there, changed, terrified and unsure of what to do with his life from there. She had brought him back to England with her, and from there they had pulled their money together and opened Sumus Noctis- We Are the Night.

From thereon in, they had gone from strength to strength. Business was brilliant and they had a good life together. Then Ron had turned up for her, she had lost contact with him while she'd searched for Harry. Their friendship had been strained at best, Ron harbouring feelings for her when Hermione had none for him. He had never let it go, always appearing at her door to talk.

Hermione shook her head and pulled herself away from the past, there was no use in thinking about Ron, it only served to upset her and remind of things she wanted to forget.

Time passed and the doormen walked through to let them know they were in. She watched as Harry greeted them both and offered them a drink as always, which they refused as per usual. They occasionally popped in for a lemonade or pumpkin juice. Their purpose was more to stop people coming in with unwanted substances than damage control. Harry was more than able to handle any problems that arose.

-oo0o-

The night progressed and they were full to bursting point, Harry worked on and sent Hermione for regular breaks. She would go out onto the floor so she didn't wear herself out. He knew that she liked the odd dance with some of the customers, and to talk to a few of the regulars.

There was a slight lull in serving and Harry took the time to clean the ledge behind him. Catching sight of someone at the bar he turned without fully looking at them to ask what they wanted to drink.

A deep voice rang out. "Ogden's, with ice if you please, Mister Potter."

Harry's breath caught in his throat and he raised his moss-green eyes to the obsidian ones of Severus Snape. "Professor, Snape." Harry acknowledged.

He retrieved the drink for him and took the money from his palm, his hands warm against Harry's cold one. He couldn't understand why the man had shown up all of a sudden, a nightclub certainly didn't seem to be the sort of place that Snape would go to.

"Interesting place you run here, Mister Potter. Rather intriguing name for it." Snape raised the glass of Firewhiskey to his lips.

"If you look at it from a certain point of view, Professor." Harry's voice was flat.

"Indeed. Miss Granger tells me you own this place together."

"We do." Harry was cautious in his answers, he had no idea what the Potions Master was fishing for, and he really didn't want to give away anything in case he did see Harry feeding. The man had hated him for years, it wouldn't take much for him to go running to the Prophet.

"I had a rather interesting run in with her this morning."

It all clicked into place for Harry, Hermione's rage, the crying in the basement. A deep-seated anger burning away in his gut, his face twisting from its former blank expression to one of distaste.

"You're the one that upset her so much." Harry said coldly.

"I wouldn't put it that way, we both said some rather choice words. She seemed to think I was slating the name of your club, considering what you both are."

Harry raised an eyebrow, hand under the bar and fingering his wand. "And what, precisely, are we?"

"Night creatures."

Harry's temper reached boiling point, in his peripheral vision he saw Hermione round the bar and dump a load of bottles into the bin. She stopped when she saw Harry, the dark look on his face and made to say something but he'd already vaulted the bar and had Snape's robes in a vice grip.

"We are not night creatures, Snape! Vampires are perfectly capable of walking around in daylight, as you saw yourself when Hermione saw you. If I ever again have to deal with her crying in my house because of something you said to her, I will happily rip your throat out!" Harry hissed.

Snape didn't recoil, he laughed in Harry's face. "Please, Mister Potter, you do not scare me. Idle threats will get you nowhere."

"My threats aren't idle, Snape. No one, not even you, gets away with hurting my Childe!"

"Your Childe?" A look of confusion crossed Snape's face.

"I'm sure you are more than aware of who turned Hermione, she stays and so is my Childe until such a time that I release her."

"I am well aware of the physics of Sire and Childe, Potter, don't insult my intelligence!" He snarled.

"Then don't insult mine by hurting her. Hermione has been the one constant since my own change. Ron tried to hurt what was mine and look what happened to him!"

-oo0oo-

Snape's eyes widened. He had read up on the hearing of Potter and Granger, the verdict of Weasley's death and been classed as accidental. Is he hinting that he killed him? Snape never thought Potter had the kill instinct in him, but then again, he was a Vampire now, and he was certain Potter killed on a regular basis despite the law put in place by the Ministry.

"The Prophet said Weasley's death was accidental, Potter. You don't have it in you to kill."

Harry laughed and his lips turned in a sneer, the tips of his fangs showing. "You shouldn't believe everything you read in the papers, Snape. I could have prevented Ron's death, but I chose not to. He was a threat to me and Hermione, so I removed him from our lives."

Snape stumbled back as Harry released him, hearing Harry's hiss to leave them alone and disappearing back behind the bar. He saw Granger had been watching the whole conversation between them. He saw her shake her head softly, her eyes filled with sadness.

What in the name of Salazar has she got to be sad about? He saw Granger pull Potter into a hug. She said something to him and he nodded, giving her a brief smile. He turned to leave and walked up the balcony- before he disappeared behind a door, Potter turned and looked down at him. Snape was surprised to see tears glistening in the eyes that reminded him so much of Lily Evans, a sadness so gut-wrenching Snape lost the ability to breathe for a moment.

Then he was gone, the door closed. Even over the pounding music Snape heard things being smashed. Something had riled him up, but Snape could not begin to fathom what would have affected him so greatly that he would destroy his own room. Swallowing his drink in one, he stalked back to the bar.

"Granger!" He shouted over the music.

Hermione sauntered over, her eyes hard and cold. "What, Snape?"

"Did Potter really not stop Weasley's death?"

She blinked a moment. "Did Harry tell you that?"

"Not in so many words, but the implication was there. Is it true?" Th need to know was overwhelming. He remembered waking in the hospital wing and the way many had described the haunted look Potter had about him after killing the Dark Lord.

"What reason has he got to lie to you?" She sighed.

With a nod, he left the building and walked out into the cool night air, his thoughts all over the place. If Potter really had killed Weasley, then he wasn't averse to removing any threats to their lives. Does he see me as a threat? Is that why Granger was so upset? Is she afraid that I'll somehow disturb their peaceful little life? Snape sneered to himself, it was ridiculous, and he didn't care about Potter or Granger, nor their life. He wanted nothing more than to run his Apothecary and enjoy life for a while. He no longer had any masters to serve- he was free for the first time in over forty years. Stop lying to yourself! You do care. Snape quelled the voice in his head, telling himself to stop being an idiot.

-oo0oo-

Harry had turned at the last moment and looked at Snape, knowing there were tears in his eyes and feeling such pain and humiliation at himself. How could someone like him ever care for a thing like me. He turned and disappeared inside his office, releasing the breath he had been holding in. His sorrow quickly switching to anger. He strode across the room, grabbed the PC off the desk and threw it against the floor. He smashed anything that he could get his hands on before collapsing into the desk chair, head in his hands and sobbed.

Harry hadn't felt pain like that in such a long time, not since he had been in Romania with Bill and Fleur, his head ablaze with so many questions. Bill had been able to answer some of them, though not many. Not the most important one- who had changed him? He knew it had to be someone who disliked him, in order for him to have been left to wake alone, scared of what he had become. It was something only a cruel person would do.

Harry pulled himself together, stopped crying and surveyed the damage. Thank the Gods I'm a wizard, Hermione would kill me if she saw all this. Harry waved his hand and whispered 'Reparo!' Everything that was broken mended itself before returning to its original place. Anyone who walked in wouldn't know of the destruction that had been evident moments ago.

He left the office and returned to the bar to help a very flustered Hermione. He apologised for his behaviour and thanked her for handling the bar while he sorted himself out, the bar was overrun with people wanting drinks and guilt washed over him. Whether Snape was in or not, he had no right to leave Hermione to run the bar alone when they were at full capacity.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Hermione spoke a moment later, once the queue of mildly disgruntled party goers had died down.

"Yes. I'm alright, he caught me by surprise is all. I'll be fine." Harry sighed, his head giving a mighty thump and pain building behind his eyes. He needed to feed again and it concerned him it was so soon since his last one. Perhaps he'd burned through more energy and this was the result, especially when his emotions had been running high and the feelings he had experienced from Hermione through their bond.

He rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose to try and stave off the headache that was building. Right now, he needed to focus on being on the bar to help Hermione, he couldn't leave her again.

-oo0o-

Hermione looked her best friend over, his eyes were red from crying. She heaved a sigh, sadness filled her unbeating heart as she felt Harry's pain and self-loathing through the bond. She decided she would pay Severus Snape a visit tomorrow- he needed a serious dressing down. Maybe hearing a little of Harry's past would make him wake up and smell the coffee. He seemed to harbour a lot of ill will for her own kind, and she had no idea why.

She was determined she would find out what his problem was. If he was going to be popping up now, then she was going to set some boundaries to ensure he would not be aggravating Harry all the time. Hermione knew she had to play it carefully, she could not in any way reveal even a hint of Harry's feelings for their former professor.

The betrayal that Harry would feel terrified Hermione, she would not risk her relationship with him for anything. He was far too important to her to even consider interfering and trying to get Snape on side. No, best to find out what his problem was and then make sure he was not going to be an issue.

With that decided, Hermione spent the rest of the night keeping an eye on Harry while she kept their customers happy. He was her only focus to make sure Harry was okay to be ready to deal with any backlash of Snape's appearance. There was bound to be some, and she knew it was only a matter of time before it spilled out.