Lemon Drops and Blood Pops

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Chapter Fourteen:

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Harry didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to do. This had never happened to him before. Sure, he'd been asked out by people who wanted to fuck him, that he could dance to, but this...? The last thing he'd expected upon waking up in this Hermione-less wasteland was to find someone who... who wanted... him.

But that was the problem, wasn't it. Albus didn't actually know him. Here he was, reaping the benefits of the sex they'd had together, and not only had Albus not gotten off, but now he was finding out that the man actually wanted- actually seemed to think that he could-

But Harry was lying to him. What kind of relationship could they base on lies? And he- If he told Albus the truth, that he was a cold hearted killer, that he'd struck down defenceless men because he'd been ordered to, that he'd wiped out whole groups of innocent people just because they'd been in the way of a mark or in the way of a mission…

Hermione had... well, she'd not liked it. But she had come to terms with the fact that that was the only way he could seem to motivate himself. It was the only thing he seemed to be good at. She could also see the bigger picture with the history that they had together and see why and how it worked the way it did. She may not agree with everything he had to do, but they had long since agreed that it was better she just didn't know the details. That way, she couldn't be captured and tortured for information, nor could she see the truly despicable human being he was.

Except, he wasn't even a human being, was he? He was a half-vampire. So on top of his instinct to save, his instinct to protect, he had to deal with the killer buried deep down that actually took sick pleasure in the hunt, instead of doing it because it was his job.

And Albus didn't even know the tip of this ice-burg. How could he expect Harry to commit to anything with all that in the way? Hell, he probably didn't even know the exact depth of the hole that Harry had dug himself, and the assassin had no intention of dragging his ass out in order for someone to 'save him from himself.' After that one partner had tried to get him dragged into counselling to be turned back into a normal, puking-over-dead-bodies human being... well, he just didn't put up with that kind of shit anymore.

He had to do it. He couldn't let them try it. In the end it would just be too much weight on Albus, the poor man who didn't even know that the guy he was trying to- to- date was almost if not just as bad as Grindelwald. At least Grindelwald had been obvious about how evil he was and his desires. It was the enemy that you couldn't see that was more dangerous.

He had to do it.

But Albus was looking at him with so much hope, those eyes that seemed to cut at his resolve like razor blades, cutting up his arguments even as he formed them in his head. Valid arguments! He had to-

He had to do it. A cold ball of emotion that he couldn't identify dropped into his stomach like lead. He had to.

"Albus..."

The headmaster was watching him with such hope, such love in his eyes, it made Harry's stomach curdle even more for the lies that he was about to spout.

"I... I'm not what you want. I can't be what you want. You don't... you don't know what I am. Who I am." There. He'd said it.

But Albus just smiled and took the assassin's blood-stained, clenched fists in his hands and gave him the most soulful look he'd ever had the misfortune of being dealt. "I already told you. I'm willing to discover those things."

Harry shook his head. No, the man wasn't listening. "No, you don't get it. I'm wrong for you. I'm..." His throat seized and he had to swallow the stone of guilt that had clogged his throat. He was filthy, compared to the bright light of Albus Dumbledore. He killed people, and he didn't care, while Albus looked for the best in those around him and never gave up on their goodness.

Harry didn't have much goodness left.

Confusion had bloomed on Albus's face as Harry had an internal war with himself. Slowly, though, realization began to take its place. "Do you mean the inconsistencies between your history and the things you say? Because I've long since noticed that you have some secrets, my friend."

Harry averted his eyes. He wasn't all that surprised that Dumbledore had been able to pick up on those things. He'd always been an incredibly intelligent man, with his chess games made of real people and the miracles he'd pulled time and time again. He saw more than the average man, and it wasn't just because he was paying attention.

There was something that made this man different than all the other wizards Harry had ever known.

"That doesn't bother me, Harry," Albus said, a hand coming up to Harry's chin to grip it and pull it towards him. "You are a brilliant man, capable of amazing things, as I've seen time and time again. Why do you think you are so unworthy of this?"

Harry flinched back. Because he was unworthy. But if he told... if he told Dumbledore all the things that he had become... the disappointment would break him.

"We can't- I can't. I'm not- I can't." Harry pulled back, the stone ball in his stomach sinking lower at the expression on Albus's face. "I- You can't- I don't-" Letting out a frustrated growl, he spun away and punched his arm through the wall of Darcy and Irene's house before reconstructing it with angry magic even as he yanked his fist out. Biting his lip, he tried to hold back his trembling, but his whole body was shaking with the effort of keeping his furious magic contained.

A calming hand caressed his back, pulling a gasp from Harry as his eyes fell half shut. He leaned back into the cool licking strokes of Albus's calm magic, his body burning from the power he was reigning in with an iron will.

A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders even as a head came to rest at the back of his head, nose buried in his hair. "Please don't push me away, Harry."

Harry snorted. "You don't know what you're asking for."

"You keep saying that, but you haven't explained what you mean by it."

"I can't."

"You can't explain it, or you won't?"

What could Harry do? He was under oath to protect the Agency, even if he hadn't joined it for another sixty years or so in a future that he wasn't sure would even exist in this world.

He could use that, couldn't he.

"Magical oath."

Albus's arms tightened around his shoulders. "What kind of oath?"

Harry snorted. "If I tell you through any communicative means with the intent of doing so, I will suffer a great amount of pain, and likely death."

The headmaster gasped softly in surprise. "How- what- why would you have ever taken such an oath?"

Harry shook his head. "I can't tell you that either." Technically, he could, but the more "I can't"s that fell under the Magical Oath excuse, the better.

"What can you tell me, then."

Harry sighed. Wasn't that the question. Telling about the time travel would be the only thing that wouldn't bite him in the ass. All the important things involved his job or his history in his world. No matter what he let slip, it wouldn't make things any easier between them. It would just make Albus more aware of what Harry was lying about.

Which was not something the assassin wanted. He liked their friendship. It made his life in this dimension less boring. It was hard going from fighting a war to fighting a war below the radar to absolutely no war to fight.

The more he thought about it, the more stir crazy it was making him. He'd been trying to take this as a chance at some sort of 'peace' that Hermione always insisted he find, but it was backfiring on him like a plan upon first contact with the enemy.

"I can't tell you anything," he murmured. "And that's the problem."

Albus tightened his grip even more. "I can forget about that if you give this a chance, Harry."

Harry shook his head. "It's not a good idea."

The slightly taller man let out an impatient sound and suddenly shifted forward, using his weight to push Harry up against the wall. "Why are you being so negative about this? Give it a chance before you say it won't work. If you aren't interested in me, then just say so. Do you find me attractive or not?"

Harry swallowed and bowed his head. "Well, I hadn't really thought about it much before. You kind of... took me by surprise. And while I was drunk."

Albus pulled away abruptly. "So you only responded because you were drunk, then." A tinge of anger had entered his voice. "Is this part of what you said earlier? Having sex for 'work'? Were you a whore before you came to Hogwarts?"

Fury flooded Harry faster than he could consciously hold it back, and then next thing he knew he was holding Albus down against the couch, a hand wrapped around his throat, eyes blazing and teeth bared in a snarl. "Don't judge me when you don't even know me," he hissed, almost slipping into parseltongue.

Albus was suddenly calm in the face of his anger. "I can't know you if you won't let me inside, Harry. If you were a whore, or not, I doesn't matter to me, but I would rather know if you responded to me because you are attracted to me, or it was just a conditioned response due to your... condition."

Condition. Harry's eyes narrowed. "You mean my half-vampirism? Yes, it can make me extremely horny and difficult to satisfy. It also makes me incredibly bitchy when I haven't had blood every two weeks, and pushy professors are pushing more than they should push," he rumbled, shoving at Albus's chest. "I didn't invite you to make a move on me, so don't try to put this on me. I was drunk, and horny, and you put the moves on me. What was I supposed to do, tell you to fuck off?"

The hand that had wrapped so tightly around Albus's neck had loosened now, he noticed, gently cradling where before it had been tense and angry. How was it this man could drive him so?

"I would have preferred you saying no, if you indeed did not want to have sex with me."

Harry growled. "You're not getting it, Albus. Of course I wanted to have sex with. I still want to have sex with you. But you're not asking for sex. If this was a matter of two partners fucking because they couldn't find other partners to vent their sexual frustrations on, I'd be fine with fucking you. But you want something else. Something that I'm unprepared to share, no, something I'm incapable of sharing, something I've never even been asked to share, and you expect me to just agree and split open my heart before you and accept you with open arms and- and-" Emotion clogged his throat, and he angrily coughed to clear it. "Don't ask for something that I can't give you. It'll only lead to disappointment."

Albus stared at him, and the sad expression on his face almost made Harry want to hit him, but he would never do that. Could never hurt someone he cared about. No, he had to use words to push this away. If things got any deeper, it would only end in a broken heart for Albus. Harry... well, he wasn't sure he even had a heart left to break, to be honest. Hermione had always said that he did, that he'd find someone who would 'complete' him or some such crap, but...

Harry had never believed in fairy tales. When he had been forced to save an entire world from a psychotic Dark Lord due to some bogus prophecy by an old bat that nobody even thought capable of seeing the future, he had been forced to face the dark realities of the world. There were sick fucks out there that killed, raped, and tore minds apart for their own pleasure. Harry had been forced to witness these darker dredges of society for years. It had convinced him of humankind's depravity. There were few bright lights who led others on the right path, and Albus was one of those lights.

He wouldn't be the shadow that smothered it.

Decided, he reached for his clothes, finally realizing that he was still naked while Albus was completely dressed. Pulling on his boxers and pants with sharp, efficient movements, he tried to ignore the blue eyes that bore into him. It wouldn't work, he told himself again. No matter how much he would like that light, to own it, to make it his, he couldn't deprive the world of their Light. Albus Dumbledore was the name that would one day create hope in hearts of little boys and girls who, lacking that hope of their own, would need that light at the end of a long, dark tunnel to keep them going.

Like he had.

"Are you leaving?" Albus asked quietly, softly, his voice almost straining under an emotional weight that Harry chose not to turn his head to read. He wasn't sure what he would do if he saw the damage he had wrought.

"It's better this way, Albus," he said simply, pulling on his shirt with jerky motions. "It would be better if we remained friends."

"For you or for me?" Albus asked, voice flat and devoid of the life it usually possessed.

Harry swallowed his guilt, steeled his nerves, and faced this obstacle like he had faced countless others in his life: head on. Albus's eyes burned into his own. "It's better for the world," he said.

The older man's brow twisted and blue eyes hardened. "How can you say that?"

Harry let out a sigh and just shook his head. "I know things that you don't, Albus. But in time, perhaps it will become clear to you." He contemplated summoning his presents to him before leaving, but decided to not bother. It wasn't like he couldn't come back.

"That isn't an answer, Harry."

Harry smiled an empty smile. "And yet somehow it reminds me of a headmaster we all know and love."

He disapparated.

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Albus stayed sitting on the couch for what felt like hours before he finally moved from that spot, looking at the fur-covered bed on which he had thought he had finally taken in hand all that he wanted. Only for the cold truth to reveal itself shortly after, a man unwilling to take a chance at happiness and unable to open himself more than he had already.

Had Albus pushed to far? But no, while his heart ached and told him he should have done differently, logic dictated that Harry's mind had been far too made up. While he had seemed to be torn in the beginning, it hadn't been over his answer.

It had been over how to make Albus see it.

He didn't care about Albus in the same way. And if he did, whatever baggage he had hidden behind those glowing green eyes had come between them more thoroughly than any blunder the headmaster could have dealt. Logic told him this, and yet his heart ached after what had been so abruptly ripped from him. He had had that magnificent man under his hands, quivering and moaning in pleasure, responding to his every touch and word so exquisitely...

But the alcohol had apparently only allowed him to temporarily forget whatever it was that held him back. Sex, he said. Sex could have been arranged. Arranged as though it were only an activity to take care of one's bodily needs, and not the experience of connection and intimacy that it should be. What kind of history did Harry have that had twisted his heart so? That all he could see were the shadows dancing behind his eyes and the light eluded him entirely?

Albus had thought they could make it work. Had pictured the wonderful partnership that could have developed from the friendship he had so painstakingly cultivated these months, and now all of his hard work had become dust off the end of a broomstick. Lost in the wind.

And even if he tried to pick things up where they had been before, the guarded look Harry had had... the shield that had separated them as the magnificent man he had come to admire so had dressed and stood apart, prepared to deal a blow that he regretted but was forced to make...

It reminded him of-

Albus stood up abruptly, brushing off his robes and walking to the closet to retrieve his boots and cloak. Perhaps he could find answers elsewhere, if Harry's were so elusive. He needed more pieces to the puzzle before he could put it all together and figure out what kind of man Harry truly was, for it seemed Albus didn't know him as well as he thought he had.

And while that didn't stop him from wanting that man, it did open a new perspective he had yet to consider. The true depth of the web that Harry had woven, for it truly was a web.

And Albus had every intention of unravelling it.

With that decision made, he disapparated to Nurmengard. Even if Gellert could not offer any insight into Harry's mind, perhaps it was time things came to an end between them. If Albus chose to pursue Harry in spite of his reluctance, then he needed to be sure that Gellert no longer held a place in his heart.

The prison was just as he remembered it from many years ago. Dark, cold, the air as mouldy as the walls. He took his time climbing the steps, putting questions together as he arranged and rearranged the information that he possessed on his current interest. He was aware that Harry had lied to him or misled him with some answers. While the half-vampire had occlumency shields that Albus would be hard pressed to get past, he also had a very particular way about him when he lied. Normally he was engaged and open in his expressions, as though living in the moment with every bit of himself, but at other times... it seemed as though there was a stone wall between him and the world around him. When he lied, the walls came up around his eyes, and even though his expression would remain bright and open, his eyes revealed all.

Albus had only come to know this about his friend after many months of tea, chess matches, and the occasional spot of food. While it would take a pensieve to truly learn the extent of the web Harry had woven, there was much Albus could already put together. What most alarmed him was the possibility that Harry was more similar to Tom than Albus had first realized. It was true their personalities were quite different, but they both guarded their cards, holding them closely to their chests as though afraid someone would see something they did not like.

In Tom's case, it was more that he hid what lay inside in order to get what he wanted. Albus had learned that about him rather quickly while he was at school. Tom was plenty sugar-tongued and respectful on the outside, but Albus had been an eye-reader before he became a mind-reader.

Both carried shadows in their hearts, though Albus had never felt that Harry outright wished harm on other people. Tom, on the other hand, had enjoyed beating down others and winning the game. The only games Harry played were with Albus, and that was because the wizard had basically walked him into agreeing to play with him.

Albus nodded resolutely to himself. Yes, there may be some alarming things he didn't know about Harry, but he was no Tom. He couldn't be as bad as he seemed to think he was. He looked after those two girls as though they were his own daughters, giving them jobs and making sure they were safe. He had called in a marker with a hitman in order to ensure their safety.

Ah yes, the hitman. How had Harry even known him in the first place?

Albus paused on the mouldy staircase, brows furrowed in thought as his mind stretched after a connection that he could not yet see. Connections with a hitman. Said he was under magical oath and couldn't say many things about himself. Worked out like a soldier. Speed and power - enough to completely catch Albus off guard and pin him to a couch so fast it was a blur. The way his body had shifted, as though ready to fight, eyes tracing the exits as though planning-

No. Could he be...? Perhaps law enforcement? An unspeakable? But unspeakables never left the ministry. They were the researchers, they dealt in the darker things that wizarding society would rather ignore. No, he was far too familiar with battle for that to be the case. Perhaps he was a hitman himself?

Albus's eyes widened as his mind traced another pathway of thought. Harry had been exhausted the night they had waited to see if Darcy and Irene were rescued. He had been uptight and nearly bouncing with energy, on the edge of his seat. Back then Albus had assumed it was merely tension and anxiety, but now he wondered... what if... If he had ties to the unspeakables, it was possible for him to have a timeturner.

But what if he wasn't law enforcement? What if he was a freelancer? What if... he was a dark wizard?

What if he was another Grindelwald?

He shook his head. No, Grindelwald had been quick to anger, but also quick to cast. Harry had shown a remarkable ability to control his emotions, such that when he had mentioned he was a rather angry person, Albus had hardly been able to see it.

Now, however, he could see it. The way Harry had finally snapped at the end, when Albus had asked if he was a whore. His reaction alone either indicated he was very sore over it, or insulted Albus had ever suggested it. But then, what need would a soldier have for being a whore? He had also let slip when he was drunk that he had had sex for 'work' before. As much as Albus would rather not think about it, it was likely that Harry had had to have sex either for his old job in law enforcement, as a hitman, or... as an assassin.

Harry's smiling face flashed before his eyes, and for the first time Albus considered what would happen if he decided to end it here. Decided to follow Harry's advice. What had he said... that it would be better for the world if they weren't together. That had been a very strange thing to say. What had he meant by that? He'd also said that Albus shouldn't ask for something Harry was incapable of giving, that it would only lead to disappointment. The only way Harry would be incapable of love was if he were a sociopath or he had convinced himself that he was incapable of it.

Either way, it wasn't looking up for Albus.

"Who goes there?" a whispery, crackling voice called out into the tower as Albus continued his upwards ascent.

It was too late to turn back now.

"Gellert," Albus said calmly as he turned the corner to enter the main dungeon. Half the space was behind bars, the other half available for visitors.

Not that anyone visited the feared Grindelwald.

"Albus," the whispery voice finally responded with a note of disbelief. "Why have you come?"

Albus paused and resisted the urge to rest against a wall. Instead, he pulled out his wand and conjured a chair far more simple than he usually indulged in. He sat down with a small sigh, his twinkling robes reminding him of the magical afternoon that had turned into a night that went so utterly wrong.

A rough chuckle. "Now now, don't leave me in suspense. It is truly a rare honour indeed that you would choose to come visit me. I had expected you to leave me to rot here after your triumphant victory."

Albus gave the skulking shadow that was Gellert a sad look. "You left me no choice, my friend. It had to come to an end. The indiscriminate killings, the grand plan to clean the world of muggles..."

"Oh shut up. I'm not rotting in this cage right now so you can blather on about things that have long since passed. Tell me why you came here."

Albus didn't speak right away, putting his thoughts together. "I had been hoping... that an old friend could offer another old friend some advice."

"Ah." The shadow shifted and Gellert finally came into the light. He looked undernourished in his ratty clothes and sunken face, but his eyes carried the same intelligence and fire that they had so many years ago when Albus had fallen in love with him. Now, however, a pair of glowing green eyes had come to replace them in his mind, and he wasn't sure whether or not he was happy about that. "Having boy troubles are you, Albus?"

The headmaster looked up from where he'd been staring off in thought. "Are you going to make fun of me or offer me some insight into the mind of a man with more secrets than one cares to name?"

Gellert hummed thoughtfully. "You always did have a penchant for the man with grand ideals, dark magic, and a tendency for killing people. How's the new boyfriend?"

Albus stood up from the chair without a word. He wasn't going to subject himself to this if Gellert wasn't even going to be moderately helpful.

"DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME, DUMBLEDORE!"

Albus barely held back a flinch at the sheer volume of that voice that had sounded so scratchy just moments before. "If you won't engage in polite conversation, then I will leave."

"Fine, fine. I will be polite, just... just, sit down."

Without another word, Albus did as he was asked, choosing not to draw attention to the fact that Gellert's voice had been almost pleading. He waited for the other man to speak first, as he had already offered all the information he was willing to reveal until he was sure that Gellert could be trusted not to throw his words back in his face.

"Well, is he?" At Albus's blank look, Gellert scoffed. "Is he another budding Dark Lord?"

Albus frowned an shook his head. "Not that I can see."

Gellert grunted. "Then it must be someone else skulking around the old haunts."

Immediately, Albus's eyes shot to Gellert's own in alarm. "What?"

The shadow of a man shrugged. "There's someone new on the scene who's been digging up some of my old contacts. He's been making as many friends as enemies, from what I... don't hear... these walls being so thin," he said, ending in a wheezing chuckle.

Albus sighed. "I see. Do you perchance have a name?"

"Hmm. Calls himself Voldemort, from what I hear. Sounds like quite the moniker, if you ask me. Flight from death. The name itself gives away his whole goal in life: immortality."

Albus's lips pressed together in a line. "Do you think he will search for the Deathly Hallows?"

Gellert shrugged. "He's already been sniffing about. When I told him I didn't know anything about it, he left though. Nasty eyes he's got. Red as blood. I could name five dark rituals he might have done for that to have happened."

Albus's heart sank. Tom. "I... see."

An awkward silence spread for a moment before the captured man coughed. "So, why'd you come to me? I thought you never wanted to see my face again."

The headmaster sighed. "It's not that I didn't want to see your face, Gellert, it's just that... it hurt far more then than it does now."

"Mhmm. Now that you don't love me anymore."

"I will always love you, Gellert. I have just come to terms with the fact that our differences would never allow things to work out between us."

The man said nothing for a moment, eerily silent. "So what can I do about your other boy troubles?"

"Have you ever heard of a man named Harry Underwood?"

"Hmm..." Gellert appeared to think about it for a moment. "Can't say I have."

"Have you ever heard of a man with eyes glowing such a vivid green they resemble the Avada Kedavra?"

Gellert went eerily silent once more. "I have not heard of a man with those eyes."

Albus easily read the subtext. "Something other than a man?"

"There is a rumour of a green-eyed vampire that tore through the underworld looking for something not that long ago. Most of his victims were killed, butchered even."

Albus closed his eyes and took a deep, stabilizing breath. "Has he made many appearances?"

"Strangely, no. Only the one. And he was looking for a man in the Russian mafia. The White Tiger or something. It's very strange, isn't it, Albus?"

The headmaster froze, remembering the dangerous look on Harry's face when he had gotten that letter.

"Albus? You have that look on your face that's hiding the tinkering in your brain. What have you realized?"

Albus shook his head, standing up to pace the room. He couldn't- It had to be. Harry was the same man who had saved Darcy and Irene. Albus didn't know how he got his hands on a timeturner, but it was the only explanation.

Albus had given a massage to someone who had, if Gellert was telling the truth, slaughtered people on a warpath to find his girls.

The one thing that didn't make sense was why had he chosen to come teach at Hogwarts. A school full of children. Not only had he been teaching them for months without incident, but he had been doing an incredibly good job at it. The students he had asked in passing had sung his praises, and even those who hadn't really shown much enthusiasm for the course sounded like they were learning lots.

Albus didn't know what he should do.

"Albus?" Gellert asked again, coming so close to the bars his face almost touched. "What's going through that mind of yours?"

The headmaster stopped his pacing. "I'm not sure I should say."

Gellert scowled. "I shared my information without being stingy. The least you can do is return the favour."

Albus's frowned deepened. "I don't want to endanger anyone. I think... this is a decision I must make on my own."

Gellert made a disgusted sound. "And what of your boy troubles?"

Albus sighed as he remembered Harry's outright rejection. "He told me it wouldn't work out."

The German Dark Lord scoffed. "Well that can mean a lot of things. Can you give me anymore than that?"

"He said..." Albus wracked his brain for the memory. "He told me I didn't know what I was asking for. And he wouldn't explain when I asked for more details." He decided it was probably best that he didn't mention the magical oath bit. Gellert may be willing to share information, but he might pass it on just as easily, and the last thing Albus wanted people to know was that Harry Underwood was some sort of... hitman.

No, that would cause problems for both of them.

"Hm. Seems to me like the boy has a dark past he doesn't want you to know about. Sound familiar? I wonder why he thinks it wouldn't work out, with you being so understanding and everything." The sarcasm layered on was nearly suffocating it was so thick.

Albus shot Gellert a Look. "Well thank you for your insight. It was... interesting." He banished the chair from where it sat and moved to leave the tower.

"Albus."

The sober tone of his voice was the only thing that prompted the headmaster to turn around and meet the defeated Dark Lord's gaze.

"I may not be sorry for what I did, but I am sorry for hurting you."

Albus cracked a small smile. "Let's hope you're the only man who will ever say that to me," he said cryptically before taking his leave.

wWwWw

A letter was waiting on Albus's desk when he returned. Upon seeing it was from Harry, he cast a few spells to check for curses before deciding it was a rather silly thing to do. If Harry wanted him dead, he would surely be dead by now, no?

Picking up the letter, he sliced it open with a bit of wandless magic, one of the few things he was able to do without a wand. He had noticed it had become much easier since Harry had given him his little pieces of advice during a chess game with rum and eggnog.

Pushing the painfully happy memory away, he pulled the plain muggle paper out of its envelope and began to read.

Dear Headmaster Albus Dumbledore,

It is my greatest regret to inform you that I will be resigning effective at the end of this school year. I have come to realize that there are some things that I must do that will conflict with a position here at this school. I thank you for the opportunity to teach here. It truly has been a pleasure, and your company has been a light amongst the shadows of day to day life.

Best regards,

Harry

Albus stared at the signed name for a long moment, wondering if there was some sort of deeper meaning for the lack of a last name. Was Underwood a pseudonym? Was Harry's name actually Harry or did he prefer to use it for it's commonality?

More questions that he'd probably never have willingly answered. Sitting down in his chair, he frowned in thought. Harry had said he wasn't able to answer some questions, but that didn't mean that if he had had the choice, he would have chosen to share his secrets with Albus.

This man was proving to be even more intriguing and dangerous than Albus had first envisioned.

He was rather embarrassed to find that he was just as, if not even more interested now that he had gotten to know Harry better. Was he a bad man for being attracted to a man that may be a hitman?

Then he realized what it was exactly he was implying with that and he chuckled.

He was the man who had loved a Dark Lord until he had struck him down. Perhaps this time, he would succeed in pulling this man into the light instead of letting him keep himself in shadow.

Thinking of Harry's laughing to the point of tears upon discovering a dildo in his Christmas presents, he smiled softly to himself. Yes. He wouldn't give up so easily.

wWwWw

Harry waited for Albus to come to him about his letter of resignation, but the headmaster never did. No, after they finished fixing the Hogwarts wards, he continued to invite Harry up for games of chess as though nothing had happened.

Eventually, Harry let it go, believing the man had given up on pursuing him. But then, strange gifts began to appear in his rooms without his knowledge. It had to be the house elves. He'd wake up in the morning to discover a box of blood-filled chocolates. Homemade ones, that had cooling charms, and had been made with chicken's blood, pig's blood, and even sheep's blood for flavour.

Eventually, the harassment got to the point that he called Albus out on it.

Thump.

Albus looked up from his work, the dilation of his eyes showing that he was quite startled, but his expression not showing it otherwise. "Can I help you?" he asked calmly, putting his quill in its little stand and putting the cap on his ink before it could be knocked over by the projectiles Harry was throwing at him.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the man's innocent expression. "Stop sending me chocolate."

The headmaster raised an eyebrow over his spectacles, looking exactly as Harry remembered him when he'd demanded the man stop keeping secrets from him. The assassin's ire swirled around him like a cloud of magic before he forced it to settle around his shoulders, quiet but at the ready. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about, my friend."

Harry's eyes narrowed even more. "Don't play dumb with me. You're the only one who knows where I live." And it couldn't be Aldon, they had fixed that hole in the wards.

Albus let out a sigh. "I am not sending you chocolate, Harry. You informed me quite clearly that you did not appreciate such advances during the Holiday."

"It has to be you. There's no one else you could be sending me chocolate. Blood-filled chocolate, Albus."

At this, Albus's brows furrowed in alarm. "Perhaps the question you should be asking, is who else knows of your tastes besides myself, because I have not been sending you chocolate."

Harry scowled. "Aldon couldn't get through my wards if he decapitated himself, so it has to be you!"

Blue eyes sharpened. "Aldon, hm? The father of young Ruben, I believe. And how would he know that you enjoy blood-filled chocolates?"

Harry froze as he realized exactly what he'd let slip right then. "He could smell it."

"Mhmm."

They stared each other down, neither willing to back down. Finally, Harry let out an irritated scoff and fell through the floor, leaving the blood-filled chocolates on Albus's desk. Aldon couldn't be doing it.

He wasn't smart enough to figure out a way around Harry's wards.

wWwWw

Albus eyed the box of chocolates on his desk with a strange mixture of annoyance, intrigue, and jealousy. He had indeed not been sending Harry chocolate, so it begged the question of why the man was receiving such concoctions specifically designed for his vampiric tastes.

Aldon, Harry had said... he was obviously familiar with the man. Knew enough that he could be the one to do it, but was confident in what he knew to say that the man wouldn't be able to deliver the chocolates to him.

Which begged the question of how he was doing it.

"Tiffy."

With a small pop, a little house elf wearing an apron appeared before him. She bowed. "What can Tiffy be doing to help the great Master Dumblydore, sir?"

Albus nudged the box of chocolates with his wand, not wanting to touch the thing. "Have any of your elves been delivering chocolates to Harry Underwood's rooms?"

Tiffy's eyes widened. "I not being knowing sir. One moment sir, and I be checking, great Master Dumblydore." She disappeared with another pop.

A few moments later, she reappeared with another elf in toe. "This being the elf who deliver chocolates to Master Underwood, sir."

Albus nodded. "Thank you, Tiffy. What is your name?"

"Gimbly, sir Master Dumblydore sir." The elf looked positively terrified.

Albus smiled kindly. "Who have you been delivering these chocolates for, Gimbly?"

The elf took one glance at the chocolates and began wringing his hands together. "I'm sorry Master Dumblydore sir Gimbly din't know he couldn't be deliverin' presents to-"

"Gimbly. A name, please, and then you may go."

The elf nodded. "Ruben Vale," he said at nearly a whisper.

Albus smiled. "Thank you. Please pass this message on to the rest of the elves: No one is to be delivering any objects of any kind to Harry Underwood. Gimbly, Tiffy, you may both go."

They bowed in unison and vanished with a pop.

Albus looked down at the chocolates sitting so innocently on his desk. And a sinister plan was revealed to be nothing more than a child's crush. Pulling the lid off the box, he inspected the chocolates curiously, using his wand of course so he didn't have to touch them. He frowned as he saw that each chocolate had a small letter carved into the top in very swirly, curly writing.

He flipped the box around so it was sideways.

C o m e -

V i s i t

A g a i n

- V a l e

Albus's eyes narrowed. It had to be Aldon. Getting his kid to deliver them, too. These chocolates were far too expensive. Hand crafted, even. No child would be able to manage something like that.

He put the lid back on the box with a scowl.

Come- visit again -Vale.

Again.

Which meant that Harry had already been... wherever it was that Vale was. Aldon of the Valerius clan, the clan the most well known for the sheer amount of orgies that happened on a daily basis.

Albus was not impressed.

wWwWw

The chocolates stopped, thankfully. Harry let out a sigh of relief every time he woke up in the morning to find his coffee table bare. It seemed Albus had indeed been the culprit, and as much as Harry had hated to go up to his office and confront him like that, it was done, and the problem was fixed, and he needed to stop torturing himself over things that couldn't be.

But why did it have to be so damned hard? Every time they had tea, Albus had taken to serving it to him by hand, holding it out until Harry took it from him, making their hands touch oh so innocently. It was getting to the point where Harry was getting extremely paranoid. He couldn't believe that Albus would still talk to him, let alone seemed to be pursuing him. Not that he would admit it every time Harry gave him a Look or downright called him out on it. The man was going to drive him spare.

On top of the fact that he hadn't gotten laid in like, a month, he was seriously starting to consider going to one man or the other. Well, one man or the vampire. He didn't really want to let Aldon sink his fangs into him again, figuratively, but Albus was proving to be almost as leechlike with how he just wouldn't let go.

Harry was not impressed.

The next time Albus put his hands on him, he was going to slam him against the desk and fuck him until he was-

Harry's eyes widened in alarm before he groaned and scrubbed at his face with the heels of his hands. Sonovabitch.

He obviously needed to take care of this little problem before he accidentally jumped somebody.

Running through a mental catalogue of the supplies he had, he figured he might as well make use of the dildo Darcy had bought for him for Christmas. It wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but he was too impatient to conjure something that might disappear on him before he was done.

Summoning the dildo from under his bed, he kneeled in front of his fire and stripped out of his clothes in record time. Using a self lubrication charm, he didn't bother waiting and put the dildo to good use. Hissing at the uncomfortable stretch at first, he pushed past it and panted as he waited for his body to get used to the intrusion. He felt- he couldn't believe it'd come to him having to take care of himself before a chess match in order to prevent himself from fucking someone against the wall. The decrease in his control was really beginning to piss him off. He was The Phoenix. He'd killed more men than he could count and he couldn't-

"Aah-" he cut off the sound by biting his lip, turning the moan into a grunt. Damnit. Everything was fucked up. He needed to get out of this situation and find some stability. Kill something. Anything.

Twisting the object inside him, he went full tilt to get the most sensation in the shortest amount of time. He had a chess match to-

"-ope you don't mind, Harry, but I thought maybe we'd play... here... today..."

Harry looked up from where he was kneeling in front of the fire in alarm. Albus was keyed into his wards. Albus had just walked into his rooms.

They stared at each other for a long, frozen moment, until the object Harry was currently manipulating slipped out of his slick hands and shifted, making stars appear before his eyes. "Fuck," he grunted under his breath, planting his face in the carpet and trying to catch his breath. "C-can you leave for a few minutes, so I can clean-aaaaah! What are you-" A grunt cut him off as the dildo was masterfully twisted inside of him to nearly bring him to a complete collapse on the floor. "Fuck," he groaned as a warm hand touched his back and nearly lit him on fire. Why was he so out of control that he couldn't even tell Albus to stop-

"Ohgodpleasedon'tstop," he gasped as that hand trailed down his stomach teasingly until it gripped his dripping shaft and started twisting and pulling in a way that was so different from the way he handled his own equipment and the knowledge that it was Albus doing it-

"This isn't a game, this time, Harry," Albus murmured softly. "Come whenever you need to."

Harry groaned and panted, arms collapsing onto the ground until his head was holding up his weight as his back bowed and every muscle in his body tensed as he came harder than he ever had before with a dildo up his ass.

Gasping for breath, he closed his eyes and tried to bring his respiration and racing heart back under control. He jerked when the dildo was removed and replaced by a gentle, warm cloth. Realizing that Albus must have conjured it, he relaxed slightly and let the man take care of the clean up. He apparently had no compunctions with jerking Harry off now, so who was Harry to stop him from taking care of the mess?

"I thought sex wasn't enough for you," Harry grumbled into the carpet, not yet willing to meet Albus's eyes and figure all this shit out. After the past month of mixed messages left and right, he wasn't sure what to think anymore.

"I've decided to take what I can get, if you'll let me."

Harry stiffened in alarm, collapsing onto his side and propping his head up on one hand. With a burst of wandless magic, he was fully clothed. He watched Albus's face closely for all signs of emotion, but it was a wide open book. Love, desire, respect, caring, curiosity, and a small hint of a jealous sparkle. Was he worried someone else was fucking Harry?

"Are you going to insist that it's a closed, casual relationship then? Or can I fuck other people too?"

Albus scowled. "I'd rather you didn't."

Harry hummed thoughtfully, watching the expressions pass over Albus's face. "You realize and accept that I'm going to be taking off at the end of this year for parts unknown and you may not see me again?"

The man's lips tightened into a line. "I would like to continue seeing you, but if that is an unacceptable arrangement on your part, then I would be willing to compromise."

Harry hummed and stared at the man for a long moment. His eyes were dead serious, his magic calm. He was decided. Harry could hardly believe it. "What changed between then and now?"

Albus smiled. "There are some things that, if you fail to reach for them, you will regret for the rest of your life."

Huh. Well, it wasn't the worst excuse he'd heard for someone wanting to fuck him before. Shoving down the ball of nervous emotion in his stomach, he gracefully shrugged a shoulder. "Well, that's your prerogative. Do you wanna hit the sack instead of the board?"

The blue-eyed man raised his eyebrows. "Hit the sack?" But before Harry could clarify, realization flashed in his eyes. "Ah. Well..." He leaned forward, somehow managing to not make it look awkward, as Harry was still laying half propped up on the floor. "If that's your prerogative," he whispered against Harry's lips before kissing them. A warm fire licked up Harry's spine as he was gently pressed down onto the carpet, a comfortable weight settling above him that made him feel things that he didn't feel too comfortable feeling. Which was a contradiction in itself, but since when had Harry ever been simple?

He had no reason to feel safe in Albus's company. He could probably beat the man in a duel, if he played dirty. If they kept it clean... well, that he wasn't so sure about. It was hard to gauge his memories of the incredibly feats he'd seen accomplished against a man he didn't know as well as he'd thought.

Though, Albus had forgiven Severus and given him a new chance. Not only that, but he had protected him when it came down to it. What was it with this man and taking in stray, dark wizards? Was that what he was trying to do here? Turn Harry back to the light or some such bullshit?

Warm lips pulled away from his own as blue eyes bore into him. "You are thinking far too much, my friend," he said, settling more of his weight against Harry and rocking them together slightly. When Harry gasped softly at the friction against his quickly-growing erection, he smiled and kissed a trail down the man's neck. "I can see that your stamina does you a service," he murmured.

Harry grunted. "You gonna keep things vanilla all day? I get bored easily, old man," he shot back.

Instead of being insulted and backing away, though, Albus just laughed. "Vanilla, you say. Perhaps I am not being adventurous enough. Tell me, Harry, have you ever engaged in foreplay with a wizard with a Mastery in Transfiguration and Charms?"

Harry swallowed as his mind started running away along that line. "No..." he said, tentatively.

Albus chuckled throatily, and the next thing Harry knew a wand had vanished all of his clothes.

Harry raised a challenging eyebrow. "And what are you going to do with that?"

The headmaster just smiled this devious little smirk. "Now, that would be telling."

The next thing Harry knew, he was both blind and bound, suspended in the air. Gasping in alarm, his magic immediately rose to the surface, making glass in his apartment shake. A hand touched his shoulder, running down his back, magic stroking his own in a calming manner, but not a word was said. Slowly, Harry came to grips with his sudden lack of senses, his sensitive ears picking up Albus's calm breath, easy heartbeat, while his skin tingled at the wizard's touch.

"Since when do you know about the kinkier sides of sex?" Harry asked, on edge at the curve ball so suddenly thrown at him. How did Albus even- It blew his mind.

The headmaster finally made a sound, but it was just a deep, warm, amused chuckle that lapped at Harry's ears and made a shiver course down his spine. Shit. Albus was pushing all the right buttons.

Harry's entire body jerked in surprise before he even registered the sensation moving across his body. Adrenaline rode him like a wave as he tried to figure out exactly what it was that had started wrapping itself around his foot, then his calf, then his thigh, only slip up the crease of his ass and up his back and around his ribs and tease and- Harry gasped as his nipple was grazed by a sharper edge, making him realize that Albus was wrapping him up in ribbon. The snake-like fabric wrapped itself around the base of his neck and seemed to stop.

A second ribbon nibbled at his other foot before starting to climb up his leg and oh god Harry groaned as it abruptly sped up and wrapped around his balls, holding them down and away from his body to help keep him from coming. After securely wrapping itself around his balls like a present, it continued up past his hard shaft to trace patterns on his navel before connecting once again at his neck.

Expecting it this time, he barely twitched when two ribbons began wrapping themselves around his bound hands, held above his head in the air. They thoroughly wrapped around his arms until he felt like even his half-vampiric strength wouldn't be able to tear them apart. The real kicker, though, was when the ribbons around his legs very suddenly pulled his legs apart, baring him to the world just as the day he was born. His whole body was shifted until Harry lay suspended, slightly inclined forward, ass in the air and cock dribbling precum onto the floor.

The ribbon currently between his ass cheeks started moving, and he didn't even know how but it started to slide back and forth and tease and- Harry gasped as he felt the ribbon transfigure itself right against his hole, forming a long slender shaft that literally grew inside him until it was past the tight but already stretched muscles. "Oh my god," he groaned, cock twitching in the cool air. "Did you just transfigure a-" Abruptly, the transfigured ribbon shifted again and turned soft, this time expanding and stretching inside him almost uncomfortably before the pressure released and it turned back into the thin object it had been before.

Harry closed his eyes behind the blindfold and swallowed. Alright then. No talking. Silence reigned in the room for a long moment, filled only with Harry's panting breaths and the even breathing and elevated heartbeat of his current torturer. Finally, the ribbons began to move again, crawling across his body and covering him until the only things left bare were his nipples and cock. This time, the slow burn of being unable to come tingled in his every nerve, a pleasant heat that warmed him from the core to his ribbon-wrapped toes. Even his face had been covered with ribbon, except for his nose and mouth. The sensation all over his body was beginning to make his head dizzy, as each breath brought the silky smooth ribbon to slide against every plain and crease of his body.

Finally, he felt something touch his aching flesh, but to his frustration, it was only water and- the image of the control it took to float water around a hard cock almost set him off, his body jerking even as the ribbon pulled down on his balls and tightened around the base of his iron hard flesh.

"Fuck," he grimaced as the impending orgasm was halted, the quivering muscles of his body slowly releasing their tension and coming back under control.

Abruptly, the ribbon in his rear expanded and stretched him once again to the point of discomfort before releasing. Harry grinned behind the ribbon. Albus was playing! It wasn't just in his head. He chuckled purposefully, just to see what would happen.

A hand came down on his ass and slapped it hard. Harry's grin just widened as his teeth extended and he let loose a groan. The hand returned, rubbing in a gentle circle to sooth the burn, and that made Harry shudder in pleasure more than the hit or the ribbons wrapped around him. Harry wasn't the biggest fan of pain during sex, but he liked games, and respect.

He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter as a hand wrapped gently around his cock and began to stroke him so lightly it almost wasn't contact at all. If Albus kept hitting his buttons like this... He gasped as the object inside him began to grow again, this time turning into some unfamiliar shape that kept twisting until it nailed his prostate. His teeth went straight through his lip as he tried to keep from shouting something. If Albus kept pushing his buttons like this... The rhythmic pressure from behind and the heat from the front were beginning to drive him crazy. Was he supposed to beg? Was this the game? If Albus kept twisting his buttons like this... he didn't think he'd be able to let-

A warm mouth swallowed him down whole as the ribbons on his body came alive like snakes and a hand slipped up to his ass and began to manipulate the ribbon inside him just right and-

He gasped as his body rocked again, this time the ribbons loose and caressing around his balls as Albus sucked his soul out through his dick and sent magic bursting behind his eyes. He heard glass shatter, but it was only absently in the back of his mind as he metaphysically latched onto the aura of the man who held him in his hands with such care.

Fuck...

Harry wheezed for breath, suddenly realizing he could see and that somehow he'd gotten onto his back and Albus was gently moving them towards the couch. The headmaster sat down at one end while gently floating Harry's ribbon-wrapped, sated body onto the couch with him. He put Harry's head in his lap and slowly pulled the ribbons away until he could run his long, slender fingers through Harry's hair.

Glowing green eyes drifted shut, happy in the warm embrace of comfortable cushions and the strong hand that steadied him.

wWwWw

Warmth. Mmm... his bed was particularly comfortable that morning and he didn't want to get up... what did it matter if he had classes. He was too comfy.

He snuggled back into the warm cushions of his bed. The sun wasn't even out yet.

His pillow moved.

Before Harry even thought about it, he had a dagger in hand and his eyes snapped open to locate the disturbance.

In the cool light of dawn, his overly sensitive eyes picked out two bleary blue eyes opening, framed in a face that had become so unerringly familiar. Catching sight of him, those eyes widened, seeing the shadow that he must have created and the gentle glint of steel in the night.

"Albus?" Harry breathed to himself, questioning his own sanity as he tried to piece together what was going on. His eyes glazed in thought, but his mind was failing him for some reason. The picture before him snapped back into focus. "Wha...?" he frowned in confusion, wracking his mind for an explanation.

He took stock of himself and frowned when he realized he was naked. "How did..." Finally, the right connection snapped things back together and he gasped, the blade in his hand disintegrating into thin air. "We... you..." His half-hard morning wood sprang to full attention at the memory of the incredibly good sex he'd had the night before. He had... he had passed out. Multiple sessions with Aldon hadn't made him pass out, and only one game and Albus had worked him into the ground!

He stared, mouth parted in disbelief.

The light snapped on, illuminating their faces and making Harry's eyes hurt for a moment before they adjusted.

"You alright?" Albus's sleepy voice asked, looking around in the light for something. "Did you have a..."

Harry felt heat rise to his cheeks. "You... uh... startled me. I wasn't expecting to wake up with anybody."

Shit. Even when he'd slept with Aldon he'd been on the edge of alertness in the back of his mind, ready for any unpleasant surprises. But this...

He scrubbed at his face, his mind tired from trying to piece together this confusing... thing.

"Harry?"

The assassin let his body slump, suddenly very, very tired. A little voice in the back of his mind that sounded like Hermione was saying 'don't fuck it up', and a small part of him buried on galleons of blood just wanted to go to that warm place he'd awoken in.

A hand took a hold of his shoulder and pulled him forward to rest against a warm, solid chest. Harry let his eyes fall shut again as the lights were dimmed and allowed himself to just let it all go for a bit. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. And Albus had said that... whatever. He wasn't expecting anything. So Harry wouldn't expect to give anything.

But this was kinda nice while he had it.

He drifted back off to sleep to a hand gently running through his hair and the steady drumming of a human heartbeat.

wWwWw

Hey guys. It's me again. It wasn't my intention when I first started writing this fic to make it sexual, but somehow the relationship just twisted in that direction. Nobody or nothing to thank for this update but my poor unsatisfied sexual needs, so yeah. Had to make sure some poor bastard in this head of mine was getting some, or we'd all go insane. Also, to any rich people out there, all I want for xmas is an iPad, but it's not going to happen. Think you can work some magic?

Hahaha, happy holidays everyone,

-Mirage-