Whew, I got this part finished faster! I really had meant for this and the last chapter to be one, but that was going too be way too long! Anyways, enjoy this chapter!

~FS

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Chapter 2: The Ceremony

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Alek sighed as he read the paper. Sometimes he wished Voldemort had never existed; it might have made his job easier. But, he thought grimly as he continued to read, it had always been like this. Ever since he had become the All-Father of the Deti t'my, he had painfully watched his people become more and more persecuted. It did not help that some idiotic Dark Lords decided to not finish what they started. Honestly, if they were going to remake the world, they could have at least do the job right. Now, their rebellions only made people fear the Dark more!

The leader of his race sighed, leaning his head back. As the Vse Ottsa of his people, he needed to make sure they were eduacated properly. But bloody Dumbledore had taken Dark Arts off of the curriculum! How were those fused with the Darkness supposed to learn if they weren't taught about their natural magic? Thankfully, Hogwarts wasn't compulsive; he had managed to get the rest of his family to be accepted into Durmstrang where the Dark Arts were taught.

But this year, he may not get that luxury. Harry was the Savior of the Wizarding world according to Dumbledore. Honestly, prophecies were so fickle; some events foretold never came to pass soley due to the fact they were prophecied to occur! But with the Archnemesis of their "Savior" a Dark Lord, Harry was going to be hounded for studying at a place that taught the Dark Arts and for not being with the leader of the Light. It gave the man a headache trying to figure out a way to not have Harry go to Hogwarts.

He took his mind off of the problem while he thought about his sons. Alek was glad his son had met Harry; the way the boy was being treated was inexcusable. But he wasn't really heartless, he hadn't done too much to the Dursleys in retaliation, even if they did deserve it. His real enemy was that fool Dumbledore. Victory would be sweet when he paid that man back fo all the torture his son had suffered. Alek was glad that Veritas had taken such a liking to Harry; they were the best friends, even if they were still brothers. Of course they annoyed each other sometimes; Harry normally got the short end of the stick as he was smaller and weaker than his older brother. Of course, Veritas wouldn't do anything that bad, the worst was Harry getting hung by his underwear and that happened rarely.

Alek chuckled; he was getting the sneaking suspision that Veritas more than just liked Harry, but he didn't really care. It was nice to have them around and it was a heck of a lot better than them hating each other. He grinned as he saw the time. They'd probably be at their Christmas morning antics again.

...

Veritas crept up to his brother's bed, giddy with excitement. It was always like this Christmas morning; they'd always see who could wake the other up first. Almost every year, Harry had won. The blonde brother thought that Harry didn't even sleep the night before Christmas. But this time would be different. This time, he had gotten up first and would wake up his younger brother. He waited, waited for the digital clock on Harry's night stand to turn 5:00. When it did, he sprang forward, whooping with glee, "Wake up slacker! It's Christmas!" He pulled off the covers from Harry's slumbering form.

Harry wasn't there. Veritas didn't even have time to realize he had been duped before a very happy boy latched himself around his older brother's neck, "Gotcha brother!" Saying it in a sing-song voice. Veritas laughed with him, and as they fell from Veritas being caught off guard, they laughed even harder. The blonde loved it when his brother laughed, it was light, cheerful and happy. The abuse still affected him; Harry rarely opened up to those who weren't in the family. And really, "family" meant Father and Veritas. Even their close relatives that didn't live at the Manor anymore had a hard time getting him to open up.

So he did whatever he could to make the boy laugh. It was one of his joys in life really. The boy had suffered so much when he was younger, Harry needed to get to have a good time now that he had a family that loved him. Veritas pulled his little brother into a headlock and began giving him a noogie. Harry was laughing his head off, "I give, I give!" The blonde let go and ruffled his smaller brother's silky hair. "Come on let's wake up Father!" They went out of their rooms and snuck downstairs. The two had to pass the living room to get to their Dad's bedroom; they saw him awake in there. Sighing at the disappointment of not being able to wake him up, the went into the room.

"Hello boys; sorry if I ruined your fun, but I've had a busy morning." The brothers looked at the newspaper in his father's hands. NEW LAWS TO LIMIT DARK CREATURES screamed across the front. They looked at each other before looking concerningly at their Dad, "Is it bad Father?" Harry timidly asked. The man's smile was strained, "Not too bad. Yet. This is mainly just more safety precautions concerning werewolves. There isn't too big of an impact except that more and more succesfull legislation will make them more eager to pass anti-Dark laws." Their Father was looking thoughtfully at the article, "And as the patron for anything Dark, it worries me. I'm pulling my influence as best as I can, but still..."

Their Father turned to both of them, "Let's not dwell on that. It's Christmas after all!" The boy's cheered and ran over to the lit up tree, eagerly sorting out the presents they were allowed to open before the rest of the family got here. Veritas found one of his first; he eagerly ripped off the gift wrapping. He cheered loudly and happily as he pulled out a Nimbus 2000 from the long box. Harry was envious, but only slightly. Veritas said he was a natural but the younger brother didn't care too much about the sport. Harry quickly opened one of his two from their dad and was delighted to find a gold wizard chess set, Gold figures for the white side, Obsidion characters for the black side, board made of the same materials. He hugged his Father who smiled lovingly and insisted that both if them deserved no less.

Both were eager to try out their gifts but their Father reminded them there was one other present they could open this early. The brothers found the two identical boxes after a moment. After exchanging glances, they opened up the black packages. Sitting in both were rings bearing the family crest on them. The black Phoenixes rose from equally black flames made a gleaming black metal their father said was a special type of mithril, the strongest and longest lasting metal available currently. They had, in the background of the crest, been made of precious metals; Gold for Veritas (due to his hair) and Emerald for Harry (due to his eyes). They noticed their Father had a similar ring with a ruby background on his hand.

They were ecstatic and were about to put them on when their Father stopped them. "These rings bear special significance. Every member of the Sharp family had one made when they were ready to receive their inheritance and become one of us." Both boy's eyes widened. "Yes it means what you think it does." Their Dad said smiling, "I believe that both of you are ready. I know you want to receive it together and I think it'll be safe for Harry to do a few months early of his 11th. You had your birthday a few weeks ago Veritas, so all should be fine. We could do it whenever you're ready. We could do it now before everyone even gets here."

Both boys were excited, "Yes! Yes! We got to do it now!" Their Father rolled his eyes at their enthusiasm, and got up and led them to a room. It was a sleek room with walls of glass and a marble floor. Outside the glass, some weird reddish-purplish-blackish- slime filled the area just outside the room. In the center of the room a circular depression with steps leading down to it was covered with the family crest. The boy's looked suspiciously at the fluid outside. "That is liquid darkness," their Father said, striding to the center of the depression. "It is a material that enhances our power and is used to make the Black Mithril of our rings." He clicked a button and Black Mithril plates slid over the glass. "We found that by surrounding the room with Liquid Darkness and then making the walls of Black Mithril enhanced the ceremony to where it takes much less time to recover."

The boys looked at each other, "Recover?" Nodding, Father explained, "The ceremony had two parts. First the Transfer of Blood, where the All-Father, or head of our race, transfers some of his blood into your body. Your cells are transformed by this. One of the abilities you gain is healing. Immense healing. You can heal from mortal wounds in minutes. However, to start with, your body will heal slower, as it gets used to the healing process. That's where the second part comes in. The First Death." "Death?!" Harry exclaimed, suddenly very nervous. Veritas put a hand on his shoulder for support while their Dad explained.

"In it I mortally wound you. I promise to make it a painless wound. Anyways, it's to speed up your cell's conversion to Dark cells, and to get your body used to healing. You will be unconscious during this. This room's modifications will help speed it up even more, this making the whole process only take a few minutes." Their Father crouched down to their eye level. "Are you guys ready?" Harry looked nervously at his older brother, who gave his shoulder a squeeze of support. Both looked at their father and nodded their readiness.

Father led them into the center. They stood next to each other, nervous, but determined. Their Father began muttering some incantation causing the crest beneath them to light up. He pulled out a knife, made of the same metal, and gave it to them, "All you need to do is make a small cut, not deep, just enough to break the skin and bleed a bit." Harry was trembling so Veritas took the knife. He took his little brother's hand and looked in his eyes, to see if he was ready. Harry quickly nodded and looked away, squeezing his eyes shut. The blonde quickly made a shallow cut across Harry's palm, drawing a little blood. Harry gasped a bit at the pain and a tear went down his cheek. Guilt stabbed Veritas' heart and he quickly used a finger to wipe away the tear. He then cut his own palm, hissing softly at the bite of the blade.

Their Father took their hands; they watched in amazement as, before his hand closed around theirs, their Dad's hand opened up and the blood came out in tendrils. His hand closed around theirs and they could feel the blood from their Father entering their blood stream. After a couple moments, he let go and they looked in amazement at their hands now completely healed. "The process has started. Now for your First Deaths." They both looked up to see pistols pointed at their foreheads and then the world went white.

...

Groaning, Veritas pulled himself up. He would never let himself get shot in the head again. He shook to clear his head and saw Father sitting in a chair he had brought in with breakfast on the table he had also brought. Veritas looked over at the still unconsious form of his little brother. Well, not as little anymore. The blonde, grinning, pulled himself to his feet, as his Father conjured up a mirror so he could look at hinself. Veritas had stayed very much the same, though he had gained a couple inches, was a little more muscular, and the little acne he had gotten recently was gone. He gasped as he noticed that his blue eye had turned red. His emerald had stayed the same; he actually didn't really mind though. It looked pretty cool and uique.

He sat next to his father, "When will Harry wake up?" He asked, concerned. His Dad smiled and handed him a plate of French Toast, "As my biological son, you have a slight advantage in the process. Also his body is being corrected in more areas. Height, Sature, Posture, even fixing some eye damage. He should wake up in another ten minutes or so." Veritas settled down and watched his younger brother.

About twelve minutes later, Harry stirred, groaning. His older blonde brother hurried over and helped him up. "Getting shot in the head sucks," Harry mumbled, as both his brother and Father laughed at this. His eyes widened, as the fact he had been killed sank in. Veritas steadied his little brother and helped him up, "Want to see the improved you?" Said the blonde with a grin. Harry nodded and managed to pull himself and walk over to the mirror. He gasped, amazed. He was taller, still a little shorter than Veritas, but a littler taller than average size. He seemed a little more muscular and filled out than before, though still thin by anyone's standards. His hair had also gotten darker, closer to Father's black hair. And even though his glasses had fallen off, he could see perfectly.

Both members of his family walked over. His brother happily put an arm around his neck while their Dad put a hand on each of their shoulders. "You both look great. You should put the rings on now." Grinning from ear to ear, they both did, happier than they had ever been. Both could feel the power of the Deti t'my flowing through their veins. "Now sons," they looked at Father. "Only your Dark magic has been enhanced. So Sorry Veritas, unless you're casting Dark Magic you'll still suck at it." The blonde frowned in annoyance; his Dad smiled and continued, "However, you have been gifted with an enhanced body. Harry's was merely corrected to how he should have been all along if not for the Dursleys," the man said, growling a bit when he said Dursley.

Veriats and Harry looked at each other. "What do you mean "Enhanced"?" Harry asked timidly. Smiling approvingly, their Father continued, "Harry, it means you will be without a doubt unequaled in Magic by any wizard. You have natural Talent for Light magic, increased by your now close affinity to the Dark side of Magic. But don't worry Veritas," he said to the blonde's disappointed face. "Unlike Harry, your body has been enhanced. Remember those martial arts you learned? You'll find that you'll move faster, hit harder, and be able to take more damage. All in adittion to our race's massive healing factor. You'll learn to most likely dodge evry attack someone used against you. And remember, you now also have a natural Dark Magic affinity, meaning that you'll be able to duel with Dark Arts just fine."

Their Father backed up, "Congratulations, both of you! You are now Deti t'my!" As the two brothers celebrated, cheering and hugging, two letters were delivered by one of the couple house Elves. Alek didn't like slavery, but appreciated the help, so he paid his Elves and made sure that they'd be properly fed and attaired. Father took the two letters, eyes narrowing at the seal. Sighing, he gave the letters to his Sons. It appeared that Dumbledore would be making sure Harry attended Hogwarts after all.

...

Deti t'my: Children of Darkness

Vse Ottsa : All-Father

Now in response to a reviewer:

Ina Bauer:

"...I do not like Hogwarts. In too many FF's Hogwarts plays a major role..."

-I agree that it'd be nice to see another school besides Hogwarts (like Durmstrang), but I personally do not feel qualified to write about the school (I know very little about it and there's very little information on it either.) Also, in this story, its a bit necessary for them to go to Hogwarts. So sorry, but that won't be happening.

Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! We'll be going to Diagon Alley and meeting some more of the Sharp Family.

~FS