Harry Potter and the Vampiric Inheritance

ok so two review is great concidering i only put it up today ^__^

Right then, second chapter will be a little longer i think so i can fit more in. Hope you like it. o#o

“Hermione! I need you to come with me to the library after dinner!” His two friend look up from their place at the dinner table, Harry had been talking with Blaise and Draco about hanging out some time before moving to their houses tables.

“Oh hey best mate how are you? Hi Hermione how was you day?” Ron said sarcastically while smiling at his friend.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry hi, how’s you all doing? Please Hermione, please come with me. I just found out from Draco that Vampires are real and they were one of my all time favourite things to read about, I never knew they were real.”

Hermione’s eyes shone with the prospect of having an all out reading session.

“Ok, I’ll read up on them too, I’ve only read one magical book with vampires in and it was a little vague.”

“Hey, anyway what’s this about trying for a friendship with Malfoy?” Ron said while piling his plate with mash and sausages.

“Well, he just came up to me and said he wanted to call a truce, said the request for friendship in first year was really meant and he still wanted to be friends.

He said it was just school and other friends getting in the way of us getting over the little fight back then until we thought the other didn’t like us. Don’t worry though you guys will always be my best friends, its just Draco seemed genuine and maybe he could help us with all this ministry crap, you know, with his father being there and probably training Draco for when he leaves school.”

“Ok Harry, I’m going to trust you on this but I don’t want to be called mudblood for the rest of the year got it, you make sure he knows that or I’m going to give him a permanent wedgies hex.”

Hermione went back to her eating in between doing her homework. Ron stabbed a sausage and sighed.

“Ok, but if he pulls any sort of crap I wont hesitate to hex him.”

Harry hid his smile as he ate; his friends were such nice people until you got on their bad side…then they just got nasty.

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“Ok so there only seems to be five books that are fully based around Vampires. We have, eating habits of the dark kind, day walkers and night stalkers, Blood link and bonding- the Vampiric rituals, Vampiric blood-coming of age and Vampiric power- the secret of elemental.”

They each took a book the seemed interesting and began to read; Harry taking Vampiric Blood-coming of age, Ron took Feeding habits of the dark kind and Hermione read, Vampiric power- the secret of elemental.

As Harry read a frown began to form on his brow. He stopped and did a check over everything that had happened over the summer; He’d had a sort of tooth ache in his front teeth whenever he was tired, he only needed his glasses for reading and his eyes adjusting to the dark quicker, his hair had gone darker, he’d grown unnaturally quick and was now around 6ft 2”, he’d been hearing things that he shouldn’t be able to pick up on, peoples breathing, quills in class. All these thing where mention in the book he was reading as signs of coming into your Vampiric inheritance.

While Harry thought back over summer, Ron thought back over their first week back at school and his friends loss of appetite; Harry had eaten very little over the last week and it was usually this time of the school year Harry would eat the most, with his family underfeeding him and Quiddtich being a demanding hobby he would want to stack up on food to balance out what he hadn’t had over summer. Now he had taken to eating sugary stuff if he ever ate and for a sports player-that just wasn’t done. He supposed Harry could have just had more to eat over summer but, one would still have some sort of apatite.

Hermione on the other hand was thinking about the fact that creatures with elemental powers, not magical, weather into their inheritance or not were powerful with magic and their eyes turned cat like when using large amounts of it. She remembered when Harry got rid of the Dementors and when they were at the ministry. His eyes didn’t even seem to be of the same colour but she distinctly remembered them being cat-like slits where the pupil would be.

All three of them were thinking different things, yet all three with the same conclusion.

“I’ll have to keep an eye on that.”

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Over the last five years the students at Hogwarts had seen a lot; the youngest seeker in years, a basilisk, Dementors, the youngest tri-wizard champion ever and…Umbridge.

But not even that could prepare them for that Thursday afternoon; the golden trio laughing and joking with the rulers of Slytherin on the grass by Hagrid’s hut.

Lucky for them it was pretty secluded round there with it being Hagrid’s home and such.

“Ok so my question is who do you all fancy?” Hermione asked as she laid her head in Harry’s lap, the boy himself was sat cross legged leaning back on his hands.

It had been three week since they had started this friendship thing and it was working out pretty well; Hermione had told him countless times that Zabini was very well educated and rather hansom, Ron had been quite happy to teach wizards chess to Pansy (who he knew could play perfectly well because Draco had told him she had played with him and beaten the blonde countless times), and he and Draco had a surprising amount in common.

They both liked, to a certain extent, magical creatures, they both liked watching professional duelling, to which Harry admitted he hadn’t been to see a proper tournament, They came to an agreement that there was a time and place for wizard robes and muggle clothes; Draco admitting he did have a cupboard full of the muggle garments for lazing around the manor. They both wanted to move abroad after school for a few years and they both liked the winter season and loved the snow.

They disagreed on things also, such as; were as Harry didn’t mind summer, Draco despised it because he burnt easily and it was all to thin a line to walk with his beauty at risk. Harry liked muggle transportation so you could see the scenery where as Draco liked to get places fast. Draco loved keeping up with the male fashion yet Harry really didn’t mind as long as his clothes didn’t have holes in and could change his style when he wanted to.

“Well I like this girl at the minute but she’s a Gryffindor and I think she is going out with her friend.”

“That was so subtle Zabini.” Draco snorted in sarcasm. Hermione just blushed and looked away.

“I’m not going out with anyone, but there is someone I have my eye on.” Pansy said while catching Ron’s eye.

“I’m still waiting for the right guy to show up.” Draco said looking away to mask his nervousness of telling, even his Slytherin, friends of his preference.

They all stared at him for a minute and Harry smirked and went to say something but found two wands in his face.

“One bad word Potter and you’ll be spitting slugs for a month.” Draco turned back to them.

“Hey all I was gonna say was that was another thing in common. I’m Bi, as in I like both girls and guys.” Harry put his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat.

“You are?” Draco asked realising no one here looked particularly bothered about his or Harry’s preference.

“Yeah found out over the summer. Although I had my suspicions last year…So none of you mind, I thought you guys would have been brought up to hate stuff like that…the whole no heir thing could be a stickler for family line right?”

All but Harry shared a little chuckle until Hermione started explaining it to him.

“Harry The wizarding world is different to the muggle world; there a lot of people are driven by old religious beliefs that its wrong and others are so close minded that they can not accept it. But you have to be open-minded to use magic so there is no issue there and religion doesn’t have that type of hold on people here.

The whole heir issue is simple as well, there are potions, spells, and in some cases curses, that can let same sex couples conceive children with both their genes, although I’m not sure how it works. Oh and I read that in some cases, depending on species and power, that it is natural for the submissive in the relationship of a same sex couple to become pregnant through intercourse with there partner.”

“Yes well…that’s enough Hermione.” Harry smiled down at her when she poked her tongue out at him. “So why were you so nervous Draco? And why did you two think I was gonna say something bad?”

“Well the world might accept it, but children can be cruel as I’m pretty sure we showed you all for the past five years. They’ll probably change their opinion when they grow older and see more of the world but here isn’t exactly as private as your own home in an unplottable location.”

“Yes well…back to the question and answers? I’m not going out with anybody. I’m free and single as the saying goes” She smiled.

All three Slytherin mouths dropped.

“Hermione…I think you broke them.” Harry smirked trying to keep his laughter under control; he wanted to know what was so shocking.

“You…But…Potter and his hands…you…he…” Both Blaise and Draco stumbled over word for a while until Hermione sat up, frowning, and held up her hand to stop them.

“Me and Harry?” They both nodded. Harry was rolling on the ground with laughter now. Draco frowned at Harry and, folding his arms, pouted at the black haired teen.

“Well, you’re always pawing at each other and are so comfortable around each other.” He glared and his cheeks heated as he watched Harry hold his sides while Hermione explained.

“The pawing as you put it is because Martian Pint keeps ogling at me and Harry’s attention scares him enough from doing anything, we’re comfortable around each other because I know he will never like me like that, he says he’s bi but we all know he likes ass right Harry?!”

Harry coughed a few time and sat up again.

“Right, it’s like I look for guys but if a girl comes to me I, like, I won’t exactly push her away…sort of.” He saw the glare still directed at him and crawled over to Draco.

Once sat in front of him he pulled the blonde into a hug and started stroking his hair, knowing it would mess it up.

“There, there Draco I’m not with nasty ‘mione, I’m all yours oks, don’t worry love!” He said trying not to laugh as Draco struggled, complaining about his hair. Everyone else began to laugh as Draco tackled Harry to the ground giggling as Harry tickled his sides while he messed up the Gryffindor hair.

The week passed much the same way. Meeting up most afternoons to work on homework or just talk, usually out on the fields in the waning summer sun but as it began to rain regularly they met in the library under a silencing charm Draco knew.

As more time past since the trio found the vampire books and their collected data showed no sign as being wrong, they all knew that soon they would have to tell the others of their findings.

On the Friday night before a Hogsmeade weekend, while the three where studying with out their Slytherin counterparts, they had a Slytherin birthday party to go to. Hermione had had enough, as they where already in a study booth in the library; she pulled out her notes and looked at them both seriously.

“Now listen. What I’m about to tell you may sound far fetched and also quite impossible, and I will have to look through some more book before I confirm it but……Harry, I think you’re, at the very least, a dark creature. Actually I was thinking along the lines of a vampire.”

She was staring at two black faces until Ron looked at though he had had his very first idea.

“I knew it; I was reading that other book and I thought that too!” He pointed at Harry and nodded his head vehemently at Hermione.

Harry stared at them both for a long moment and then finally slumped in his seat and put his head on the table.

“Thank the gods! I thought I was going mental! I thought the same thing after reading that book on coming of age. I thought it might have just been me obsessing because I like the vampires.”

“Wait you two thought the same thing! Why didn’t any of you tell me!”

The boys both looked at each other and then smiled apologetically.

“Well, technically, you didn’t tell us either but I didn’t want to scared anyone, so I took some notes, you know made observations, like you say to do in class.” Ron said pulling the book he’d been reading with the notes he’d taken on Harry’s eating behaviour and pushing them over to her.

“Yeah I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just making it up so…I took down notes too.” Harry informed as he too took out some pieces of parchment and the book on coming of age.

Hermione smiled at them.

“I raised you boys’ right I see.” They all laughed and Hermione took the books and notes off them.

“Right I’m going to go through these and compare them with the facts in the books, why don’t you two get started on that homework. I already did mine at dinner.”

The boys rolled their eyes and took out their homework, settling in until curfew it seemed.

Draco, who had been sitting at the booth in front of them, smiled and got up.

‘Looks like the golden trio has figured it out. Sev’ should be please it didn’t take then too long.’

“Hey listen to this; In the Vampiric family there are four titles one must be aware of. Fledgling; the name given to an inexperienced vampire, or a vampire who has not yet drunk from his ancestors. Chide; the title one takes if a direct heir to the Master/Sire. Master; an experienced vampire with a control over their powers/ a vampire who has the knowledge of the families past, and Sire; The title given to a vampire that has taken a childe or has children of their own.”

“What so that means I’m a fledgling? How am I supposed to know about my family? SHIT! That means the old coot has been l..”

“Lying to you? That seems to pretty much sum it up. Sorry for eavesdropping but you have got to admit, talk of the boy wonder being a Vamp is pretty hot gossip”

“Malfoy you can’t! Harry would be...” Hermione looked between Draco and Harry, but her long time friend seemed oddly calm.

“You know about this stuff, what it all means and who best to talk to.” Harry stated, waving his hand to the seat next to Hermione indicating that the blonde could take the seat. Hermione moved over slightly giving him more room.

He took the seat and looked over the table with notes, homework and books scattered about.

“Yeah, I read the books over the summer, you know, got a summer lease on them, well sort of. But more importantly I know who you can go to. I doubt you’d believe me but…Snape, you need to go and tell him, he might be able to help more than anyone else, I can not say why he could but he’s your best shot.

Dumbledore might look all caring and understanding but there is stuff about the old war that was never released. He’s not as forgiving or as caring to your kind Harry.”

Harry studied Draco for awhile, watching his eyes and waiting for the feeling in him to decide if he trusted Draco. This was something else that had happened over the summer; he could feel it, like in his bones or something, what people’s intent was, it helped a lot with judging Vernon’s moods.

“Ok. We’ll go see Snape, tell him what we think and ask to meet with him tomorrow or something. We’ll go now and Draco will come too.”

As Draco waited for them to pack up he began to feel excitement. Harry would go see Severus tonight and by tomorrow morning Harry would be up to speed on everything and hopefully they could start a real friendship and he would know a real vampire his age.

Draco showed them the way to the living quarters of professor Snape. Harry was puzzled on how a student knew the way to their head of houses private quarters; it wasn’t common knowledge between the houses where their head of house resided for the night.

“Draco, how come you know the way to the professors’ private chambers?”

Draco turned and they could see his cheeks colour slightly.

“Well…he’s my godfather…he said if I had any problems I could go see him anytime.”

Draco waited for the onslaught of jokes and such but when he turned his head again to see, Harry was smiling and the other two shuck their head with smirks.

“Favourite pupil indeed.” And that was all that was said on the matter. They chatted on their way about different concepts mention in each Vampiric book until they reached a portrait of a wolf.

It growled at them and then sniffed the air. Suddenly it changed into a man; tall, pale skin and long white hair, he folded his arms and spoke in a voice that would freeze lava.

“The password.”

“Lahasta.”

The figure bowed his head and walked out of the painting leaving them stood there, waiting.

“Ok, one what did that password mean and two where did he go?” Harry asked moving next to Draco.

“Lahasta is ancient Vampiric for family and he went to tell Severus that he has visitors that know the password and don’t seem to mean any harm.”

“Why the extra protection to see if his visitors are harmless.” Hermione asked looking at the portrait.

“Er…if you want me to be truthful then I can’t answer that, not yet anyway.”

With that the man returned to the portrait. He bows slightly deeper, but still barely showing any respect, and the frame and painting transformed into a door.

It swung open and revealed a room bathed in a low golden light. The wood in the room was dark only four shades from black and the upholstery was red and detailed in black, but with all the dark colours is didn’t look dark or dingy, more regal and…well, with this light, cosy.

They all stepped in and turned to the sound of a door opening to their right. There stud Severus Snape in an emerald green tunic edged in black with black pants and shoes, his hair was down and seemed to have been just washed.

“You wished to speak with me.” Obviously it was a statement, or it could have been a subtle command to get on with it.

Draco stepped forward and nodded to Harry to go ahead. The golden boy stepped up and took a deep breath, all of a sudden he knew exactly what he had to say, something he never seemed to get a grip on.

“Well four weeks ago you assigned us a project on blood draughts. After discussing the uses with Draco I became aware of its use to Vampires, a race that until that day I had no idea existed but which interested me greatly, so I asked my friends if we could go to the library to find some book on them.

After finding them we all became intrigued and stayed there until curfew, during this time we all became aware of the similarities with the race and me. Draco said you might be able to help me make sure I’m not just on some wild goose chase and brought us here to see you.”

Severus stood there with a blank face and then smirked, motioning to the seating area by the fire. Draco took the armchair closest and to the side of the fire, while the trio all sat on the couch, Harry in the middle, Ron sat on the side closest to Draco and Hermione took his side closest to the armchair Snape had just sat in, directly opposite Draco.

“I have a guest that will need to be present here. Would this be fine with you Potter?” Harry took note that there was no sarcastic remark and that this man seemed to be nervous somehow, from what he could feel his professor did actually need this other person here and for some reason he knew he had to stay calm when the man explained all this.

With that he felt a calm mask fall over him, he was tense and observed everything, yet to everyone else he just looked clueless as ever.

“I guess so. Not that I could stop you sir; these are quarters after all.”

“Tick.” There was a small pop and a house elf rounded from Snape’s high backed armchair.

“Yes master Snape?” The house elf stood at a respectful distance from Severus and bowed its head slightly.

“Please inform our guest that it’s time for his arrival.” The house elf bowed and disappeared.

A moment later the fire turned green and a figure emerged from the flames.

There stood Lucius Malfoy.

Harry felt Hermione grab his hand and squeeze it slightly in apprehension. He looked from the corner of his eye and saw Ron was as white as a sheet.

Lucius looked from Severus to the other occupants in the room and nodded to his son, turning back to Severus.

“I believe this visit may take longer then I thought.” He walked over to the chair Draco had vacated for him and sat down, letting Draco sit on the arm of the chair and lean slightly on the high back.

“Thank you Draco.”

“First, Harry. Are there any questions you want answering now before you go and interrupt me during my explanation?” Severus waved his hand and a whisky glass of single malt Scotch appeared in front of himself and Lucius.

“Erm…Well, the burning question for me is how I can be a vampire? I mean, my parents were magical not elemental,” At the raised eyebrow from Severus, Harry explained, “The book said witches, wizards and werewolves were classed as magical and vampires, veelas, pixies, fairies and elves were elemental…because they control the weather and more raw magic.

“There is a sort of paternity test that you can take now that will determine your parents…I would ask you to take this before I answer the question.”

“I guess that means the old coot really did lie about my parents then. But you could do that…as in right now?” Harry looked up trying to stop the hope shining in his eyes too much.

“Yes, it’s simple. If you would like to do this privately I have a small work bench through there.” Severus pointed to the door he had emerged from when they first arrived.

Harry stood up and smiled apologetically to his friends.

“Yes please.”

Severus took him through the door and Harry managed to keep his blush under control; as soon as you walked through the door there was a large double bed, to the left was a wall covered in shelves, covered with potions, jars and, strangely enough, a few photos. To the right of the room was a large window taking up most of the wall with a work bench running the length of the wall, cauldrons set up bubbling and ingredients lined up.

What made Harry almost laugh was in all of Snape quarters, from what he’d seen, everything seemed to have a place, and be in it, but there was a towel just thrown on his bed. Obviously he had just washed before they came.

They walked over to the bench and Severus began rooting through his ready made potion in a small cupboard under the bench. He brought two vials back up with him and handed one to Harry.

“Take this one, you must drink it all, there needs to be enough to work its way through you blood stream properly.”

As Harry uncorked it and smelt it first before downing it, Severus was mixing two other potions together in a clean cauldron.

“The first one I put in was a separating potion; it will separate your magic, you fathers magic and your mothers magic. The second is a naming potion; that will name the magical signatures, if any, that are in any potion you mix it with. We’ll then need three drops of your blood. If I were to make each potion from scratch it would take about a week to get the results, hence I just added the ready made potions, but it doesn’t change its accuracy.”

Severus then handed Harry a small, clean, cutting knife.

“A slit on you thumb should bring enough blood for the mixture.” Harry took the knife and thought.

After this he would know who his real parents were. Did he want new parents? Could he handle being lied to that much for this long?

“Harry, I will tell you now that I know the truth and I also know you might not like the truth…but I ask that you listen to me before you make any rash decisions.”

Harry heard the quiver in the mans voice, felt the unease, self-loathing and defeat. He nodded and slit his thumb, waiting for the drop of blood to form and then holding it over the cauldron until a drop fell into it.

He took a deep breathe as Severus stirred the cauldron slowly ten times. As the potion turned red he took a small vial and gathered some of the mixture, placing it down on the bench in front of Harry as he motioned for the boy to add another drop into the cauldron.

The mixture in the cauldron then turned blue and the professor took another vial and filled it with the potion. After placing it with the others, and Harry had added the last drop of blood, he took another vial as the mixture turned again and this time to a red, not as deep at the first.

Then Severus pulled out three pieces of parchment and laid them out in front of the vials, one for each bottle. He then took the lighter red one and poured it onto the parchment.

Immediately it started moving and after a few attempts it turned into a small sketch portrait of Harry.

“This will happen if you pour each vial on its respected parchment, I’ll leave you to do this alone.”

“Wait how did you know mine was the light red one?”

“I can not answer any other question until you do this. You might not want any more answers after this.”

And with that he left. Harry looked at the vials; they held so much for such little bottles. He made a small prayer to his believed family hoping they would understand and telling himself he would never forget them.

Taking a deep breath he picked up the blue vial and poured it onto the parchment in front of it. Slowly it turned into a picture of a woman and then he recognised it, it was his mother; the one he thought always was his mother, Lilly Evens.

He shakily took the last vial and poured it out; there would be so many questions if this wasn’t James Potter.

The liquid on the paper moved about and stretched out; finally it took shape and revealed his biological father.

Severus Snape.

He let the calm mask he had on seep into his form and relax him some what. He said he would listen before he said anything and he would. He got up and took the, now dry, parchments with him.

When he entered there was a very tense atmosphere; although Draco was now their respected friend none of them new what was going on and so they must have waited quietly, although Lucius was now stood talking quietly with Severus as the man was back in his chair. Harry could sill feel the emotions from earlier coming off the man, so taking a deep breath he went and sat back down, Lucius following and taking his seat again.

He laid the parchments down so everyone could see the results and turned to his father.

“You asked if I would listen to you first. I’m hoping that meant you knew what my questions would be and how to answer them.” His voice was colder than it usually was but neutral all the same.

Severus took a moment to collect his thoughts and swilled his scotch in the glass. Taking a deep breath he turned and looked Harry Straight in the eyes.

“…Both your mothers family and mind are Vampiric. Prince and Evan are…very old lines.”

“But, your name is Snape.” Ron said incredulously, still looking at the portraits on the parchments.

“No…Snape is my fathers name, Vampiric yes, but born with less power than, even his host and for actions against the family and race, was cast out. It was about four years after I was born that he was exiled to the muggle world and was stripped of his blood links. My mothers name and mine where Prince from that day on; my mothers’ maiden name, it is to my knowledge that any inheritance from the Snape line is still active in me today but since the link is severed and how weak my father was anyway I doubt you would have inherited from him.

I digress though. I will be blunt with you Harry as this is the only way for you to know…Your mother loved you, I loved you, and for the part he thinks he played, James loved you. But you were not planned and the night you where conceived was not supposed to have happened.

Your mother and I were destined to be wed in our twentieth year. We were happy with this for the most part but as we grew our friendship grew stronger…but it did not develop into romantic love. You mother had been interested in a young man in her house and I with…someone also in her house, but we knew our duty and were happy to comply as we both shared an understanding; affairs are often bad things unless you both agree to it.

But something went wrong…your mother became ill and our families couldn’t find anything wrong with her. When she was taken to a Vampiric doctor, she was diagnosed with a disease that consumed the magic in her body to the point of exhaustion and if they didn’t find a cure, she would have been dead within three years.

This happened in our sixth year at Hogwarts and she trusted James and the other marauders with what she was and what had happened. Apparently James had been disgusted and wouldn’t talk to her for a week, the others tried to keep them all together, as one was an outcast from his family and the other a werewolf in hiding.

About two weeks after that, James had told Lilly that his families magical signature might have the cure but it would mean joining with her in marriage. She was reluctant, said our plans wouldn’t work then, but I convinced her it was for the best…After graduation they got married and moved to some Potter estate then to Godric Hollows three years later.

After graduation she was allowed to keep in touch with me and four years later she called me in the middle of the night. Obviously I went and when I got there she was sat in bed crying, she handed me a pensive crystal and said I had to see.

Apparently James had told her that if she couldn’t get pregnant he’d kill her, saying that was all she was good for. She told me they had been trying since they had gotten married and James was blaming her for it.

She…she asked me to help her…she wanted to be made love to, to be cared for and cherished, and also asked me to do this for her so she could become pregnant. I couldn’t deny her the love she deserved and I would not have let her die…”

“You did what you had to do. Knowing she would probably get pregnant and fool James. That way she lived, he got a child and mum felt loved in some way. You also knew she would have the power to protect me if needed and you were there close at hand if needed too.”

“Yes…But I wasn’t there if needed. I had joined Voldemort in the hopes of a chance to kill the man; I had wanted to get in his good graces so I could get close enough to him. But I worked too well and he found out about the prophecy, then he went after you. The rest about your mother is true from then on; she died protecting you, as did James.”

“If you knew about me and you knew I was yours why didn’t you take me?”

“You must remember the fact that only your mother and I new of your real heritage and, not even Dumbledore knew of our own families Vampiric blood. In the time between graduation and your birth I had been extremely busy.

I had joined Voldemort and found myself in his inner circle, betrayed him to Dumbledore and then set up an organisation of sorts in England, separate from any wizarding one and run by me, but I’ll explain that later. To have claimed you as mine would have put many lives, as well as your own, in danger. I can not give you an excuse because there is none.

I had hoped Dumbledore would have given you to a wizarding family, it would have been easier to track you and keep an eye on you but…he chose to give you to his niece and her oaf of a husband. Don’t ask me why because I just don’t know how the mans mind works.”

Everyone sat quietly working all the information into some order in there head. Harry was frowning in thought and Severus watched him closely; the boy was old enough to make his own decisions now and he would respect whatever he chose to do.

Harry then smirked and looked to his father.

“I know why my life was so complicated now; I was made from a complication.” Everyone was quiet until Draco snorted from trying to keep from laughing, but as soon as it was out he couldn’t stop and almost fell of his perch.

Then everyone joined in with a chuckle or two. Severus downed the rest of his drink and vanished the glass.

“You know, this is still all a bit fuzzy, there’s so much that I need to know. Like…”

Severus stopped him with a hand and stood up and walked to the bookshelves in the corner. Once he came to the curved section, in the corner, he took out a red book and placed it on the top shelf.

Suddenly the section of shelving shook slightly and then began to descend, revealing an archway covered by a curtain. He looked at Harry and the others and then went through the archway.

Harry looked to the other occupants and smiled slightly.

“Only Snape, eh?” They all smirked and followed the professor.

The room wasn’t anything spectacular save for the fact it looked like you where inside one of Trelawney’s crystal balls; the walls, floor and ceiling all joined in a curve and there was a layer of mist at their feet.

Severus went to the far wall and placed his hand in what seemed to be a carved circle in the stone. Suddenly there was a cracking noise and the room was bathed in light as the carvings all round the room, that didn’t seem to be there before, began to glow in the purple light.

“This room is like a pensive. I can see any memory I want and walk around the scene to see all different angles, like watching a play being rehearsed. I will show you important event and conversations. That should help clear things up.”

Severus’ posture changed to a relaxed state. The mist around them started to twitch and then began to pulse and grow until neither occupant could see the other. Then all of them could here laughing, two children by the sound of it.

The mist began to die down and then disappear leaving them to look upon a huge castle. What confirmed Lucius and Draco earlier suspicions was that they knew that castle, their leader had inherited it.

The one of the children they had heard came running towards them, she was only seven or eight. The girl had red hair and green eyes and flopped down by a large tree with a blanket under it.

“Severus! Come out, I give up I can’t find you, come tell me one of your stories instead please.” The little girl crawled to the blanket and lounged on her elbows, looking over the vast amounts of acres they usually play in.

The group of watches looked up to the tree when they heard something and suddenly a boy with black hair and black eyes jumps from the tree and sits next to the little girl, he too only being seven or eight.

The girl jumped slightly at the boy and stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled and leaned back on his hands.

“What do you want to here this time, Vampiric princesses, dopy trolls, werewolves, witch snatchers?”

The girl giggled and picked a daisy close to blanket.

“The one where the werewolves are brainwashed by the wizards and then go crazy.”

Harry stepped round the children looking and then looked around the memory. Severus froze the memory.

Hermione stepped up to Harry and put her hand on his shoulder.

The mist started again and within moments they were in another memory. This time Severus and Lily were older, in their sixth year. They were in a hospital room somewhere, if the white walls and beds were anything to go by.

Lily was crying on the teens shoulder. But this Lilly was very pale and her hair hung limp by her face. Severus was sat on the side of the bed holding her and looked as though he hadn’t slept in awhile.

What was strange was that a younger Lucius stood by the door as did, what looked to be, a younger Narcissa.

“Why, Severus? Why would someone do this?! Why are we hated?! Why Potter, he hates our kind; please don’t let them send me! Severus you said life would always be fun and happy because we would stick together!”

“Lily please! Listen to reason! You’re dieing, The Potters can cure you. I will not let you die! Please, please it’s for your own good. You know they can not harm you, there is an agreement remember, I can still come see you! Please…don’t hate me.” The teen held her and their unknown audience watched as the younger version of their cold hearted professor, godfather and friend cried silently into his friends’ hair.

Harry looked around the room and saw Snape leaning on the wall furthest from the two teens. He walked over to the man and stood next to him. Quietly he spoke, only a small waver in his voice.

“She asked ‘why would someone do this’. What is she talking about?”

“She was poisoned, by someone from the rebellion; a small but ruthless group of witches and wizards that couldn’t just let us live beside their world. They were mostly poorer wizarding families that thought our race didn’t deserve the wealth we had collected over our long lives. The poison would have been…uncomfortable for a wizard or witch, but because we rely on blood and the amount of magic that is in our blood, it was very poisonous.

The Potter family was known for there experiments with magical signatures and the magic in blood, nothing dark of course, but it was this that led our families to seek them out and trust them with our secret, and them to forcing James to marry your mother; so they could one, see if it worked and two, they would have a child to record as it grew and came of age into their magic and Vampiric inheritance.

You would have been a test for them yes but they would have at least kept you safe, and if James turned on the two of you the rest of the family would have kept you safe from him. From what I saw they were nice people.”

“What did she mean you said that life would be fun and happy, I thought you said you two didn’t like each other that way, wouldn’t you end up hating each other or being lonely.”

“…I didn’t love you mother the way I was told to but I did love her. As we grew older and became aware of things more…sexual we agreed that when we married we would have separate relationships, almost like just living with a roommate. Then it seemed so simple, we were friends and nothing more, it seemed like a good idea, that way we wouldn’t resent each other for lost chances at love. But, obviously, James wouldn’t see it our way.”

“Can you show me the night you went to see mother?” Harry asked as he rubbed one eye discreetly to get rid of the tears that had started; his mother had had her life ripped from her and thrust into the hands of a man that, from the looks of things, hated her kind.

Luckily he got the tears under control and turned to the rest of the group; The Malfoys had a semi cold mask up and Hermione was rubbing her eyes furiously while Ron subtly looked away from the scene in front of him to sniff a few times.

The mist rose again and the next thing they saw was Severus sat in a high back leather chair in a pair of muggle blue jeans and a black long sleeved t-shirt. He was reading a black, leather bound book. The room looked similar to his quarters at Hogwarts and it probably was, people did tend to buy new things over the years.

Suddenly the fire turned green and Severus waved his hand, obviously casting a receiving spell on the fire to take the call. Lilys’ head came through and she seemed to be crying from what the unseen audience could see.

“Severus I must speak with you please, come through. What I will ask of you if selfish and I’m sorry but you may understand if you hear me out.”

Severus didn’t even thing; he bookmarked his page and grabbed a pouch from his side table. He waited until the head disappeared and then stepped through the heatless flames.

When he stepped through he noticed he was in her and James’ bedroom. Lily was sat on the bed and grabbed a tissue from the bedside table, then dabbed her eyes and nose.

Severus sat by her side and gave her a pink vial to drink. He took her hand and waited for her to speak.

“Oh Severus I feel so retched! For a while I thought we could get through this with out any extreme measures but…James had ignored me for the most part but I could live with that.

The family is a little more stand off-ish than I expected but for the most part we get along. I know I’ve told you all of this before but I just don’t want you doing anything rash.

…James and I have been trying for a baby as you know, but we haven’t been having any luck. Well we tried again yesterday night and I took the test this morning and it was negative…he started shouting that he had had enough and that it was my fault for not being fertile enough and that stupid vampires being so unattractive.

…He…he threatened my life…he said that if I didn’t get pregnant the next time that was it, he’d have me killed and give me to his parents as a gift for experiments since they loved my kind so much.”

“Lily…I don’t know what to say,” He pulled her into a hug, “You beautiful darling, don’t ever forget that! And do not worry; I won’t let him kill you! By the firsts I won’t let him kill you!”

“Severus…please…make love to me. James doesn’t have to know. I know its asking too much but I don’t know what else to do. I’m so lost in this Severus.” She clung to his t-shirt as he thought it over.

Harry motioned for the memory to be stopped.

“Don’t you think the plan was a little risky? I mean, what if you didn’t get her pregnant on you first try? And even if you did, sooner or later they would have recognised my other paternal magical signature was Vampiric as well as it being yours.”

“Harry, the Vampiric race is a very…intimate race, we love whole heartedly and our magic is strong. And with so much love, platonically speaking in our case, and so much magic things become possible. Well that and Vampires are among the most fertile in the world. There was an eighty nine per cent chance your mother would have gotten pregnant. And that was with a love of only friendship and the fact that I preferred to…have relations with males.”

Harry watched as a light blush dusted his fathers cheeks and the man moved so his hair covered then. The others in the group, save for Lucius and Draco, seemed to be quite shocked at the news

“It’s ok dad, I’m Bi…or prefer to have relations with both males and females.” The group shared a smirk at his reciting of words from his father.

“Well…anyway, James would have found out. That’s the only thing that made me hesitate, but your mother was a strong headed woman. I knew that by the time he was able to know, if he ever got the idea you wasn’t his own child, then your mother would have had her magic strengthened to keep you and her safe.”

“What do you mean her magic would be strengthened?” Hermione asked as she bent to look at the chart at the end of lilys’ bed.

“Vampires use elemental magic; as in from the earth, we use the rawest of magic and because of this gift to be able to hold it we must drink the blood of humans so we are not consumed by the beast we hold. The firsts we derive our power from believe creation is a beautiful thing so to ensure that we continue to grow and create they give our submissives a power boost to be able to protect themselves and the baby.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Can you explain the firsts, sumbissives and consumed by the beast? Because you lost me.” Ron said rubbing his head.

“Well, submissive is a term given to…the one who will be pregnant; in a male-female relationship it would be the female, but in a male-male relationship it would be the male who…‘bottomed’ so to speak.

The firsts are exactly that; they were created by the earth and are pure elemental magic, it was a group of muggles that came to them and asked for the right to yield such power. A contract of sorts was made that stated that we had this power but we had to procreate. The firsts were entranced by the fact that when we had sex we could procreate and they wanted their power and legacy to be remembered, they knew that our children inherited from their parents and so it would stand to reason that they would have the elemental magic in them.

The contract also stated that in order to keep the power from taking us over we had to drink the blood of none magical muggles. Enough of their blood would ensure that the magic could not take over us all…it was about a hundred years later and our kind had flourished, yet the greedier ones; the ones who abused the power and just constantly drank for muggles like a free tap became muggles once again or weak. It became clear that if we drank enough blood of one species we become that species with no way of turning back. After a time the weaker ones became your witches and wizards of today, yet their magic is no match for ours and they do not need to drink the blood.”

Harry shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I have a lot to learn right?”

Severus smirked and let the memory drop; they had seen enough for tonight.

“Yes, but there is an easier way to learn it all…just not yet.”

They all walked back into the sitting room and waited until Severus had closed the bookshelf.

“Now there are some other things you must know but that can wait until tomorrow. I want you to meet Draco in the potions class room for your detentions for being out after curfew and then he will bring you here.”

All three Slytherin smirked at the look of shock at getting a detention for being out after curfew, when it was their professors fault.

“But you would have caught Draco too so he should get a detention too!” Ron exclaimed.

“It would be too conspicuous; I never give Draco detentions for being out after curfew. If you, Harry, could lend Draco the invisibility cloak, he would not be seen and then he could use it to get to the potions class room tomorrow without being seen also.”

Harry looked wary; it had been one of his first ever gifts. He sighed and took it out of his bag; having had it with him just in case they needed to get to the restricted section in the library.

“Please Draco…look after it, it has sentimental value ok.” He handed it over and Draco nodded earnestly.

Draco said good bye to his father, who then slipped through the green fire that had begun so he could go home, and then the teens left after that. Severus made a point of catching and giving Harry a detention in front of some portraits.

The next day, obviously, went gruellingly slow for the four teens. Draco had gone back to his dorm and informed Blaise and Pansy that he had taken Potter to Severus and the interesting information that Severus was the teen’s father.

Sufficed to say he was up until late explaining the less personal points; He related what Severus had told them but not what they had seen in the spherical room. They all came to an agreement that tomorrow would be about the organisation and explaining it to Harry.

“I still say you should have told us Drake. We could have…” Pansy trailed off trying to think of what they could have helped with.

“Exactly, there was nothing you could have done except stand around. Granger and Weasley were only allowed because Harry might have felt as though we were ganging up on him, intimidating him. But if it’s any consolation I just got an owl from Severus saying that when I take Harry to see him again tomorrow, the sidekicks are not allowed to be there.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat up for a while going over the all the news and Harry seemed to be taking it alright. With help from his friends he knew he could get though this.

He wasn’t mad at his father…every time he got mad he just thought about a man who had compromised himself for a friend, watched as a mad man went after them and then had to keep a distance from his own child for sixteen years.

It was going to take some emotional work but he would make this work, nothing had changed really, he was a vampire who had just found out his father was never his father and the man who seemed to love making his life hell, was…oh and there is a mad man after him because said mad man isn’t strong enough. No biggy right?