I still don't own Harry Potter

Chapter eight updated

Harry groaned as he hit the ground. Fucking portkeys, did they have to drop you so roughly? The boy stood and rubbed at his throbbing backside. He straightened his clothes. Well, they were actually little more than rags, dirty and blood soaked. Harry checked to make sure his glamour charms were still working after the rough landing. Once he was sure they were secure, he hunched his back and started crying before he stepped out of the dark little alcove of King's Cross Station where the slightly modified portkey had dropped him.

He had painstakingly worked on casting his glamours for at least three hours before he left. He had modified his appearance to hide all of his scars but the one on his face had to stay as the Weasleys had seen it already. He made himself look severely bruised, as he should if he'd managed to escape Lord Voldemort's clutches after being missing all summer. He'd gotten Shauna to break one of his legs for authenticity. He had also reluctantly taken the colours out of his hair, made it look shorter, though it still brushed his upper arms. He had even gotten a pair of glasses with clear lenses. Harry limped towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten for a moment before he was noticed by the Weasley family. Well, it seemed he had timed this well. Ginny and Molly ran forward, grabbed onto him as his knees buckled and caught him before he hit the ground.

"Harry? Harry, what happened to you?" Molly asked worriedly

Harry just whined lowly like an injured dog. Molly's grip tightened protectively.

"FRED! GEORGE!" Molly screamed

The twins ran to Harry, Fred took the boy from his mother and sister and held him more comfortably and fully supported his weight. Harry groaned painfully and curled into the heat of Fred's chest.

"What do we do?" he heard Ginny screech

"There's nothing we can do but take him to Hogwarts" Fred replied

"I read in an interesting muggle book that if someone has been badly injured you should keep them awake" Arthur said helpfully

Harry felt himself being shaken so he opened his eyes again sleepily. He stared into the eyes of Fred Weasley and cocked an eyebrow.

"You need to stay awake, Harry" the twin explained

"Why?" Harry asked weakly

"If you fall asleep it may get worse, Darling" Ginny cooed disgustingly

Harry decided to ignore the anger that coursed through his veins at such an affectionate name being used by someone other than his mate. It just didn't feel right.

"Where're we going?" Harry slurred tiredly

"Hogwarts. Don't worry Mate, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey will know what to do!" Ron told the other boy brightly

Harry growled lowly at Ron's use of the word "Mate", but Fred squeezed him just a little bit too tightly in warning. Harry coughed and cleared his throat to cover up his slip.

Fred rubbed Harry's back a little bit as the group hurried towards the barrier. Harry sighed as he felt the familiar sensation of passing through the fake wall envelope him for a mere moment. In Harry's opinion, it was rather like running under a waterfall of sorts, a split second of magic cascading over you, and then suddenly you've passed into a completely different world.

Fred carried Harry straight onto the train and into an empty compartment, followed by the rest of the Weasley family. Fred and George sat next to each other and draped Harry across their laps. Molly beat Ginny to sit by his head and started fussing over him. Ginny pouted and sat at Harry's feet instead. Ron and Arthur sat at the other side of the compartment.

"Now remember, Harry, you cannot fall asleep" Arthur told the boy

"Mmm hmm" Harry hummed tiredly

"Seriously, let's talk about something to keep you awake" Fred suggested

"Okay, you and George are going back to Hogwarts?" he asked as if he wouldn't already know whatever bullshit story they would tell him to keep up appearance. The boys had left Harry only two days ago after stripping the dye from their hair and informing their parents they'd been held captive.

"Yeah, we decided that because Umbridge was gone we should go back and finish our last year" George explained

"That's a very good idea. Quite mature coming from you actually" Hermione said as she entered the compartment with her face hidden by a book

"Hey 'Mione" Harry said weakly

"Hi Har- oh my goodness! What happened to you?" she asked as she caught sight of him over the top of her book

"I don't want to tell the story more than once" he protested

"That's okay, I can wait until you want to tell it, Harry" Hermione said gently

She went to sit on the floor beside Harry, ignoring the empty space beside Ron. The ginger boy fumed silently whilst the rest of the group tried to keep Harry awake. They talked about whatever came to mind until they felt the train start to slow down, at which point the younger occupants of the compartment left to change clothes while Molly and Arthur kept Harry awake. Harry insisted on walking to the carriages, but he only made it halfway before his broken leg buckled under him and Fred had to pick him up again.

They reached the castle and Arthur ran into the Great Hall to fetch Dumbledore, but came out a moment later and told them that Dumbledore needed them to bring Harry inside, just like Harry thought he would. So Fred carried the rag clad, blood soaked vampire into the Great Hall as the whole of Hogwarts looked on and whispered. Harry simply lay there limply, back arched, fingers nearly brushing the floor and head lolling from side to side with every step Fred took.

He peered at his classmates through his half lidded eyes. Most of them were horrified, the Gryffindor table especially. The majority of the Slytherins, knowing exactly where Harry had been all summer, hid their smirks as best they could. The other studentsHarry had contacted were good at hiding their allegiances, Harry observed, as Cho smirked at him through her crocodile tears, Seamus and Dean grasped hands and gasped lightly and Lee came forward to help Fred carry Harry. Together they got Harry to the front of the hall and laid him in front of Dumbledore's place at the table. The old man waved Madam Pomfrey over to them and stood stoically as she cast various diagnostic charms on Harry.

"Well?" Dumbledore asked the nurse

"He has been beaten repeatedly, has a bad,y broken leg, deep lacerations, he's still suffering from the aftermath of the Cruciatus curse and he is in a state of mild shock" Madam Pomfrey replied solemnly as she ran a comforting hand through the poor boy's hair. Harry fought down a smirk, his glamours had fooled even her diagnostic spells.

"H-how did he get h-hurt like that?" Hermione asked

"I don't know Ms Granger, and I'm afraid that isn't the worst of it" Madam Pomfrey told her

"Oh? And what is the worst?" Dumbledore asked curiously, as if they were discussing the weather

"I-I don't think that's something I should divulge without Harry's permission and certainly not in front of the whole school" Madam Pomfrey told the headmaster sharply

"S'okay" Harry slurred tiredly, "someone once told me that something that happened to me was a secret, and so naturally, the whole school knew about it. They'll find out somehow, may as well be with my permission"

Dumbledore smiled as Harry quoted him, the brat really was right in the palm of his hand. But where had the little snit been all summer? He would just have to find out once they were in private.

"He has been raped multiple times"

Madam Pomfrey said this relatively quietly, but with the room as quiet as the grave, her voice boomed and echoed. There was a moment of shocked silence before there was uproar. The students were so caught up in their outrage that none of them noticed Draco Malfoy, Cho Chang and Neville Longbottom sneak out of the Great Hall.

…..

The trio crept throughout the eerily silent castle, placing various undetectable charms everywhere they could. Cho sighed wistfully. Draco looked at Neville with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, Cho?" Neville asked the misty eyed girl

"Yes, Neville?" she asked in a dreamy voice

Draco snorted but covered it up with a cough when Neville glared at him.

"Are you alright? You seem …distracted" Neville continued

"Oh, I'm just thinking about how wonderful it's going to be" she replied

"How wonderful what is going to be?" Draco asked

"When Harry controls the wizarding world and we can be together without anybody coming between us" she told him with another sigh

"Alright, firstly, you are not permitted to call him that, only his close friends may call him by his name, his servants and underlings call him Emerald, so you will call him Emerald. Secondly, he will not rule the wizarding world, the Dark Lord will, and finally, he will never be with you. You…uh, aren't really his…type" Draco informed her coldly

"I will call him whatever I wish to call him! Seeing as I will be his wife in a matter of months! And of course he will rule the wizarding world; he will kill Voldemort and take absolute power, and, seeing as I was his first kiss, I would say I'm his type" Cho replied with a haughty sniff

"Wife?" Neville asked curiously

"Yes, my family has drawn up a wedding contract, it will be presented to Harry in a matter of weeks and once he signs it we can start preparations" Cho replied excitedly

"He won't sign it, he won't marry you and he certainly won't kill the Dark Lord!" Draco told the girl angrily

"Why wouldn't he sign it? He loves me!" Cho exclaimed

"Oh fuck, first the Weaslette, now you? Read my lips Cho! Harry. Is. Gay" Draco enunciated

"Yes Draco, and the sky is orange! I've kissed Harry, does it look like I'm a man?" She asked mockingly

"Do you really want me to answer that question, Chang?" Draco snapped

"Are you implying that I look like a man?" Cho questioned

"You said it Cho, not me" Draco replied with a smirk

Cho gasped and screamed wordlessly as she bounded forward and pounced on Draco. They loudly crashed to the floor and wrestled for a few minutes. Draco had just managed to get the upper hand when Neville fired a shield charm in between them and pressed the pair up against opposite sides of the hall.

"Enough! Both of you! You're going to get us caught and then we'll be found out and Harry will be found out! Is that what you want?" Neville hissed furiously

"NO! I would never want my Harry to be caught!" Cho insisted as Draco rolled his eyes

"Right, let's get back before we're missed then" Neville instructed as he lead the way back to the Great Hall

…..

The trio crept back into the hall and joined their respective houses. Cho sat with Terry Boot who smiled at her around the blood pop in his mouth. Neville sat with Dean and Seamus; the couple smiled and raised their intertwined hands in greeting. Draco went to sit with his housemates, but frowned when he felt a pull from the front of the hall. What was that? He frowned and looked to where he could feel the pull was coming from.

He looked at the crowded teachers table where each member of staff, the Weasleys, Granger and Dumbledore were crowded around Harry. He focused on each of them in turn and deduced that the pull was coming from Harry. He sighed, the feeling was clearly a Soul Pull. He knew that a veela felt Soul Pulls when their mate was near until the bond was completed. The Soul Pulls were to convince the veela to claim their mate and could drive the creature mad if ignored for too long.

He ignored the pull and went to stand with his housemates.

"Take Mr Potter to the Gryffindor common room please" Dumbledore requested of the Weasley twins

The uproar, which had quietened to background noise, immediately increased tenfold. Slytherins and Gryffindors alike protested Harry going to stay with the Gryffindors. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws protested that Harry needed a hospital.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore screamed

The students silenced immediately.

"Mr Potter will not leave Hogwarts until we have found out where he was, who he was with and what happened to him. Any student or member of staff caught trying to remove him from the castle will be punished severely" the old man informed coldly

The students mumbled a bit and Draco could practically feel loyalties shifting and solidifying. This was all going to work out very well for them. The Weasley twins went to lift the boy up, but he shook his head and sat up.

"Harry…" Fred started

"I can walk on my own! I'm fine" Harry insisted

Fred and George looked at each other before they let Harry stand on his own. The boy stumbled his way to the nearest house table, which just happened to be the Slytherin table. Fred smiled as he realised Harry was using his weakness as an excuse to sit where he felt comfortable.

Dumbledore scowled and glared at Harry, he couldn't have the boy mixing with the snakes.

"If we could all please sit at our house tables we can begin" the old man instructed

The students shuffled to sit. Dumbledore frowned when he saw that Harry was still seated at the Slytherin table, as were the Weasley twins, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Cho Chang and Ginny Weasley as well as several other students who shouldn't be there, Albus had just never bothered to learn their names.

"If we could all sit at our assigned house tables please? Gryffindors to the Gryffindor table, Slytherins to the Slytherin table and so on" Dumbledore asked more specifically as he glared at Potter and his little ragtag group of trouble makers, making it perfectly clear he was addressing them.

He was dumbstruck when Hermione Granger glared back at him with unmasked rage in her eyes. He looked around him and saw that some of the other students were also glaring at him, but only the very brave ones kept eye contact when he looked at them.

The Headmaster sighed and decided to concede on this point. After all, Potter had been hurt, quite badly in fact.

…

"I can't believe he's falling for this!" Fred exclaimed at the Slytherin table

"Nor can I actually, but keep your fucking voice down or you'll blow it!" Harry hissed

"Sorry" Fred replied sheepishly

"Harry… did the Dark Lord do this to you? Because last time I checked, you were allies!" Hermione whispered furiously

"Hermione I will explain all of this later. I'm organizing a meeting to weed out potential Death Eaters… you should be there. It'll probably be within the next month or so" Harry replied quietly

Hermione nodded mutely, truly considering it. She couldn't fucking stand the majority of the people the Dark Lord and Harry were fighting. But then again, the Dark Lord was completely against muggleborns being allowed into the magical world, so what would happen to her when Tom and Harry won the war?

"I'll think about it" she told Harry with a sigh

"That's all I ask" He replied kindly

He hissed as his broken leg snapped back into place and began to heal itself. He looked about until he caught the eye of one of the first years in line to be sorted. She had long dark hair, pretty blue eyes and glasses. The last of a healing incantation on her lips. Shauna had come to Hogwarts.

…..

"Welcome everyone" Snape spoke loudly in the quiet room

A few people mumbled a reply, but most of them were too busy gawping at the room. They had been informed the night before at the welcoming feast that Professor Dumbledore had been unable to find anyone willing to take up the supposedly cursed position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Professor Snape had kindly stepped forward and offered his services. So, until Dumbledore could find someone mad enough to take the job, Severus Snape would be teaching both Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Harry winced as another student's elbow bumped into a particularly nasty bruise on his arm. Madam Pomfrey had treated him and managed to fix most of the damage, but there would be bruising and sensitivity for about a week. He'd had to claim that Hermione had cast the healing incantation on his leg. He probably wouldn't have needed the Healer if he had fed. Very few people knew that if a vampire didn't feed for long enough, they became virtually human.

Professor Snape had completely changed what was now his Defence classroom. The room used to slightly resemble a muggle classroom with its long desks and dully painted walls decked out in various diagrams and motivational posters. But now, the floor was a mishmash of metal grates and glass panels, the walls were covered by black silk drapes and targets in different sizes and at different height on the wall, duelling platforms raised high off the ground, moving dummies armed with wands, swords and various other weapons were lined up against the far wall, one wall was completely covered with weapons, bows, swords, throwing knives and some things even Harry couldn't name. There was a trum of magic in the air.

Severus Snape stood in the middle of the room. Well, most of the students had to look twice to realise it was Professor Snape. The man had tied his long hair back into a tight knot at the base of his neck; there were only a few strands that weren't long enough to be trapped by the elastic holding the rest up, those hung around his face. He was out of his usual robes and had changed into a pair of dragon hide trousers and a matching jacket.

"Now, there weren't very many students who qualified to take Defense Against the Dark Arts at N.E.W.T level, and even less chose it" Snape paused to look around the room

Harry did the same and was proud to see that most of Dumbledore's Army who were in his year were in the room. He noticed that quite a few Slytherins were there too, including Draco, who shot Harry a small smile and then turned back to face the front of the room.

"Looking at your previous courses, I can see how uneducated you truly are. Your first teacher was a stuttering fool, your second was an imposter, the third was far too concerned with magical creatures, the fourth was a crazy ex auror obsessed with the Unforgivables, and the fifth was a ministry lackey who couldn't protect herself from a Pygmy Puff." Snape seethed to a chorus nervous giggles

"How is this year going to be any different?" asked a very unhappy Ron Weasley

"Because I am going to teach you how to protect yourselves and your loved ones, not only from other wizards, but from various creatures that could threaten you in the future" Snape drawled

Ron blinked and averted his eyes as the tips of his ears turned red. The rest of the class giggled and whispered jokes at the ginger's expense.

"Any more stupid questions? No? Alright then. The first thing you need for this class is a set of clothes that will protect you adequately from most spells" Professor Snape informed

Cho timidly raised her hand in the air

"Yes?" Severus asked

"Why do we need those, Sir? And where are we supposed to get them? There isn't a Hogsmeade weekend for weeks!" Cho exclaimed

"If you do not have suitable clothes, I will provide them for you" Professor Snape told them

"What counts as suitable?" Draco asked

"Dragon hide or muggle leather will deflect most minor spells" Snape replied

"Really? Muggle leather? As in cow's skin?" asked a surprised Hermione

"Quite a few muggle materials can block magic, but leather is the easiest to make clothes out of" Severus confirmed

"How odd" Hermione mused

Snape nodded and went to open a large trunk he had placed in the middle of the room.

"So, do any of you have dragon hide or leather clothes?" Snape asked

The students just mumbled inaudibly. Professor Snape sighed, it seemed they were a quiet bunch, for now.

"Move to the left of the room if you don't have any appropriate clothing" Snape ordered

His commanding tone broke the students out of their stupor. The majority of them shuffled to the left side if the room to stand by Severus' trunk. Out of the twenty five students in the class, only Harry, Draco, Cho, Terry Boot and Blaise Zabini remained.

"You five are free to go and change into your clothes. But please cover them up with a coat or something, some people may not take kindly to students walking the halls in leather" Snape told them

They nodded and left the room. Blaise and Draco went straight downstairs in the direction of the dungeons. Harry, Cho and Terry continued up towards the towers.

"So, Harry" Cho purred his name suggestively

"Yeah, Cho?" Harry asked, startled at her tone

"Like I said, the first Hogsmeade trip is in a few weeks…" she trailed off

"And?" Harry asked distractedly as he mentally sifted through his wardrobe

"I was wondering if you would like to try again. We could go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink" Cho told him

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, Cho" Harry asked, not paying any attention to her at all

Cho giggled happily and veered to the left in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower. Terry gawped at Harry, disbelief clear in his eyes.

"Harry? Do you know what you just agreed to?" he asked

"Huh? What? I agreed to something? When?" Harry asked as he snapped out of his stupor

"Just now! Cho asked you out and you agreed!" Terry exclaimed

"W-what? But, but I don't want to date Cho!" Harry whined

"Well you had better tell her that" Terry said as he left Harry's side and walked after Cho.

Harry stood there gaping like a fish for a moment before he sighed and walked off to the Gryffindor tower. He gave the password to the Fat Lady, strolled into the common room and ignored Ginny as she called his name. He ran right passed her and into the dormitory he shared with Neville, Ron, Dean and Seamus. He ran to his trunk and rummaged through it until he found all of his leather clothing. He laid it all out on his bed and tried to find something that was suitable to wear in school. He ruled out his leather shorts and anything else that didn't cover enough skin to protect him.

He ended up in a pair of tight leather trousers that fit like a second skin and allowed him to move freely, he threw a skirt over it so he could conceal weapons on his upper thighs and then put on a dragon hide corset Xander had given him as a going away present when Harry had left the gang and gone to live with the Death Eaters. Harry missed Xander dearly; the werewolf had been his mentor and protector. Harry knew he would be seeing him again, Fenrir's pack followed Voldemort and Xander had claimed Harry as his pup. Werewolves didn't take commitments like that lightly. No, Harry would definitely be seeing Xander again. Harry smiled softly do himself as he pulled on a leather jacket and a pair of muggle trainers. He covered the whole thing up with a long coat and ran out of the common room and through the halls.

"Harry!" Cho called after him just as he reached the door of the defence classroom

Harry turned and grimaced at the girl. He caught sight of Terry muffling his giggles behind her and glared at the other boy.

"Erm, hi Cho" Harry replied half heartedly

"Do you like my outfit?" she asked as she shrugged her coat off and batted her eyelashes

Harry looked down at her clothes, if her measly scraps of leather could even be classified as clothes. He gawped with his mouth wide open. She was wearing a brown leather bra and a matching miniskirt, her feet were clad in a pair of skyscraper heels that she was clearly having trouble walking in. she did a little twirl and Harry could clearly see her arse sticking out from under the tiny skirt.

"Oh, wow. You look very… nice" Harry told her as he used his tongue to wet his parched lips

Cho smiled widely and stumbled towards Harry. She tripped right beside him and he instinctually reached out to catch her. She simpered and curled closer to him. Harry blinked bemusedly and put her back onto her feet. She pouted.

"Harry, am I bleeding?" she asked, pointing to her nose

"I don't think so" Harry said without even looking, he would smell the blood if it was there

"Are you sure? It really hurts" Cho whined

Harry sighed and moved his head closer to her to get a better look. He was about to tell her that she was fine when the girl reached up and seized his face. Harry let out a muffled protest when her lips latched onto his, but he couldn't risk pulling back in case he hurt her. He winced at the stabbing pains that shot through him. The stupid necklace telling him she wasn't his mate. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know how to find his mate so for all he knew it could have been Cho. He just flailed his arms until she was finished. He stared at her with his eyes wide in surprise as she pulled back and shot a smug look over Harry's shoulder.

Harry turned around to find Draco and Blaise standing a few feet behind them. Blaise seemed indifferent but Draco's expression was heart wrenching. His jaw was clenched and his nose proudly in the air. The very façade of coldness and superiority. But his bottom lip was wobbling and his eyes were full of tears. Betrayal and hatred hidden under his carefully sculpted mask.

"Draco…" Harry said as he took a step forward, not sure why he felt so guilty

"Save your breath" Draco hissed as he stepped inside the classroom

Harry wrenched himself out of Cho's grasp and made to go after Draco but Blaise stretched his arm out to stop the other boy.

"Leave him for a moment, let him calm down. Then go explain whatever we just saw" the dark skinned boy told Harry with a slight warning in his voice

Harry nodded and followed Blaise into the classroom. The Slytherin went to stand with Draco. Harry cast a sad look in Draco's direction before going to stand with Ron and Hermione.

Professor Snape had dressed all of the students in baggy dragon hide trousers and matching shirts that hung off of all of them like tents. Anyone with hair long enough to be held back by an elastic band had their locks tied back away from their face. They all looked disgusting to say the least. Harry grimaced and pulled Hermione closer to him. He looked her up and down before he pulled his wand out and pointed it at her.

"OI! Don't you dare point your wand at her!" Ron exclaimed

He pulled Hermione behind himself and turned to face Harry. The ginger boy drew his own wand and pressed the tip hard into Harry's chest. The shorter boy lowered his wand and winced in pain but tried not to make a move that could antagonise Ron any further. He could feel himself start to shake slightly. He could deal with confrontation when he was prepared for it, or when he could blend in as a Death Eater and hide behind the mask.

But, as he stood there with Ron's imposing figure towering over him, wand jammed into his chest, Harry could think of nothing bit his uncle. How Vernon would stand over him, just like Ron was. How Vernon would scream at him, just like Ron did. How Vernon would hurt him, just like Ron surely would.

"That is enough, Mr Weasley" Professor Snape drawled from beside them

The professor placed a hand on Ron's wand and pushed it away from Harry's chest. But Harry, lost in his memories, just shook harder. Severus seized his shoulders and turned him to face his teacher. Snape shook the boy and tapped his face a few times, but it made no difference. Harry was hyperventilating now, and his skin was much paler than it should be, even as a vampire. Snape cursed and caught Harry as his knees buckled. Severus picked the boy up and started walking to his office in the corner of the room.

He kicked the door open and lay Harry on the desk inside, he slammed the door shut to give them some privacy, ignoring the mumbling students left behind in the classroom. He pulled a drawer in his desk open to reveal several large syringes full of a thick, red liquid. He pulled one out and pushed the needle through Harry's tightly clenched lips. He pushed the plunger down and tilted Harry's head back to let the blood run down the boy's throat.

Severus stood back and waited for a few minutes. He watched as the blood entered Harry's system. The young vampire's skin turned a better colour and a blush appeared high on his cheeks. The dark bruises faded and seemed to melt away, leaving only Harry's milky white, but severely scarred skin behind. Harry coughed weakly and came back to himself.

"Are you okay?" Severus asked concernedly

Harry nodded and sat up. Severus smiled softly when he noticed that Harry was refusing to meet his eyes. Snape moved to sit cross legged on the desk with Harry.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of" Severus told the boy

Harry looked up with surprise in his eyes.

"Harry, you've been through so much. You will get over it, but you need us to do that. You need your friends, your family" Severus said as he squeezed Harry's shoulder

Harry nodded dumbly. Severus smiled again.

"I take it you were trying to hide those scars?" the man asked as he gestured at the obscenities etched into Harry's skin and the long scar marring his face

I was using Glamour spells, but it looks like they wear off if I feed. That's really going to be quite a nuisance" Harry said as he studied the scars

"I think I can get rid of them" Severus mumbled as he walked to a cupboard and began rummaging through its contents

"Really?" Harry asked excitedly

"Not permanently. Only as long as you take the potion" Severus said regretfully

"Oh, well, how long will that be?" Harry asked, slightly downtrodden

"Well, seeing as you came into this room with just bruises, I think it would be highly suspicious if you left with scars all over your body. So I dare say you would need to take it for as long as you plan to be around people who don't know about the scars" Severus replied

"Alright, what potion am I taking?" Harry asked

"Are you familiar with Polyjuice potion?" Professor Snape questioned in return

Harry's lips quirked into a smirk as he remembered Ron, Hermione and himself brewing the potion in his second year.

"No, I don't believe I am" He replied

"Really? Because I seem to remember the ingredients used to make the potion mysteriously went missing a few years ago. How curious" Severus joked

Harry laughed and blushed slightly. Severus smiled and produced a vial of the potion from the cupboard and held it up for Harry to see. The thick, brown liquid bubbled slowly and dripped down the sides of the vial.

"Don't you have to add a hair?" Harry asked curiously

"It can be any body part actually, why do you ask?" Severus questioned

"Oh, well, won't I just look the same if we use part of me from now?" Harry wondered aloud

"Are you aware of how many times you've been unconscious in the hospital wing?" Severus asked sarcastically

"Uh, quite a few times, I'd say. Why?" Harry questioned

"Every time a student is in the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey takes a sample from them and gives them to me in case their condition deteriorates and she needs me to make potions specifically for them" Professor Snape informed

"Seriously?" Harry asked incredulously

"Indeed, Harry. Just think about how many times you have been in the Hospital Wing! I could make you look like yourself in pretty much any of your school years" Severus said with a chuckle

Harry blushed and looked away with an embarrassed grin. Snape opened one of the drawers in his desk and rifled through it for a moment before he pulled out a little piece of parchment that had been folded a few times. He sat the vial of uncompleted Polyjuice potion on the desk and unfolded the parchment. He held it out to Harry do that the boy could see quite a substantial amount of black hair nestled in the makeshift parcel.

"That's all mine?" Harry asked curiously

"Indeed, it was taken when Madam Pomfrey checked your injuries after your little gallivant to the Department of Mysteries at the end of last year" Severus replied

"How long will it last" Harry asked

"Well, if you don't use it around people who already know, namely Ms Granger, Draco, the Slytherins and anyone else you've told, then it should last the year." Severus told him

"I won't be able to spend much time with the Slytherins" Harry said worriedly

"I'm sure you and Miss Granger will figure something out" Professor Snape said knowingly

"You know something you're not telling me, don't you?" Harry questioned suspiciously

"Yes" Severus answered shortly

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Harry asked hopefully

"No, find out yourself" Severus replied as he walked to the door

"Wait! What are we going to tell them about my bruises?" Harry asked

"If anyone asks, tell them I gave you a calming draught and decided to heal the bruises while I was at it" Professor Snape replied

Harry carefully lengthened his hair so it looked no different to when he had entered the room and replaced long scar he'd not been able to conceal because of the Weasleys.

Harry nodded and followed as Severus left the office and went back to the front of the classroom. Harry went to stand next to Hermione again, the vampire didn't even look at Ron. But Ron was having none of it.

"What the bloody hell were you going to do to her?" the taller boy hissed angrily

Harry took a deep breath. He looked at Hermione for permission before pointing his wand at her again. Ron glared but didn't move to stop him like he had before. Harry whispered a spell, just to keep up the impression that he couldn't do it silently. Hermione's horrible, ill-fitting clothes shrunk to fit her perfectly. She smiled happily at him. Ron frowned as he looked at his own clothes. He could do that, Potter wasn't better than him. He wasn't! Ron smugly pointed his wand at himself and muttered a random incantation. His clothes disappeared and he was left standing there in only his boxers. The other students fell about themselves laughing. Harry sobered up long enough to take pity on Ron and conjured another set of protective clothes for the other boy.

Ron blushed bright red and pulled the robes on as quickly as humanly possible. Severus shouted for silence and the class stopped laughing almost immediately. He called up the students who had their own clothes. Harry, Blaise, Cho, Draco and Terry all walked up to the front of the classroom to allow Professor Snape to inspect their clothes. He pulled Blaise forward and nodded approvingly at the boy's casual dragon hide battle robes. He sent Blaise back to stand with the rest of the class who were silently watching the inspections. Severus pulled Terry forward before sending the boy back into the throng of students after approving his brown leather trousers and top. Snape took one look at Cho and sighed deeply.

"Miss Chang. Are you planning on fighting your attackers in a muggle strip club?" he asked sarcastically

"Pardon?" she asked, looking like a deer in headlights

"Your clothes would be completely ineffective against even a minor spell" Professor Snape informed her

"Why not?" Cho questioned incredulously

"Firstly, the dragon hide is fake, nothing more than a cheap plastic. Secondly, there is not enough of it, there is too much of your skin left vulnerable" Severus explained

"Oh, so what shall I do?" Cho asked

"You will wear a set of class robes until the first Hogsmeade weekend, during which I expect you to either purchase an appropriate set of clothes" he told her as he handed the girl a set of robes and sent her to get changed

Draco stepped forward and stood before his godfather. Harry's eyes roamed up and down Draco's physique. The blond was wearing a pair of quite tattered; tight leather trousers, a mesh leather shirt and a heavy pair what appeared to be muggle steel-toed boots. It took all Harry had to look away from the tantalizing sight. Severus approved Draco's clothes and the blond boy went to stand with Blaise without even a glance in Harry's direction.

Harry frowned as he stepped towards Professor Snape. He tried to ignore the pain of Draco's rejection, but it was physically painful for him not to be with his mate. He knew Draco was his mate, but he had heard Draco speaking with his father about loving someone else. Harry couldn't force him to choose Harry over the other person, so he would let Draco be happy.

Severus smiled comfortingly at him, well aware of how much Harry was hurting. The young vampire grimaced in return and shrugged off his coat. He grinned as he heard a collective gasp ripple through the classroom. This is what Harry lived for, he loved shocking people and destroying their expectations.

Everyone expected him to be the innocent little saviour. He was expected to be light to the core, Dumbledore's man through and through. And yet, here he stood before them, in a corset and a leather skirt, even though he had leather trousers on underneath, the skirt was still shocking to his classmates who knew him as his old self, clad in oversized jeans and tee shirts.

"Wonderful, Mr Potter. This is the ideal outfit to wear in a battle. The corset can be tightened or loosened to allow for things to be hidden and to make sure it doesn't fall off or restrict breathing, the skirt can conceal weapons and the trousers are flexible and offer appropriate coverage. Take note of all of that." Snape announced to the students with a subtle wink to Harry, he was obviously enjoying being able to see his students shocked

"I'm not dressing like a fucking faggot for a battle. Are we trying to kill our enemies with laughter?" a Ravenclaw exclaimed disgustedly from the back of the room

"Detention, Mr Duffy" Professor Snape drawled

"What! Why? All I did was speak my mind, you can't punish me for that!" the brunet boy protested

"Next time you feel the need to insult homosexuals, I suggest you ensure that your professor isn't one before you do so" Severus told the student bitingly

The whole class was instantly alive with amazement at the revelation. The students had always had theories about the man. That he was a vampire, that he was secretly Harry Potter's father or things like that, but nobody had thought he was gay. Whispers of disgust and delight alike raced throughout the room, from mouth to ear, emotions and opinions growing with every hushed word.

"For those of you who do not have suitable clothes and wish to buy a set, I suggest you model yourselves after Mr Potter's example" Snape said as if he couldn't hear the whispers

"Oh! You can help me pick them out on our date, Harry!" Cho shrieked as she bounded forward and latched onto the vampire's arm

"Date?" Draco asked incredulously

"Yes, Harry and I are going on a date during the first Hogsmeade weekend" Cho replied smugly as she flipped her hair in Draco's general direction

The whispers which had died down after Professor Snape's announcement, flared up again at the new gossip. Draco glared at Harry before the blond sniffed haughtily.

"Whatever. Have fun" he threw over his shoulder as he turned back to face the front of the classroom

"Why don't we get started? I'll pair you up and assign you each weapons. You can spend this lesson just getting to know a few different weapons, and Miss Chang? Please tie your hair back. You too actually, Mr Potter" Professor Snape drawled

He tossed two little elastic bands high into the air for them to catch. Harry caught his with ease but Cho fumbled for a moment before Harry sighed, snatched the band out of the air and handed it to her. She simpered out her thanks and used the elastic band to hold her hair in a bun at the top of her head. A few of the girls in the class complemented her on the hairstyle, telling her she looked beautiful and perfect, Harry couldn't see it. He rolled his eyes at the fawning females as he pulled his hair into a loose ponytail and watched Professor Snape walk around the room assigning pairs. As he stopped beside them, Cho tightened her grip on Harry's arm.

"I'm Harry's partner!" she exclaimed

"No you aren't. Mr Potter is far beyond your level, you would most likely get hurt" Snape informed her coolly

"But… THAT ISN'T FAIR!" the girl screeched angrily

"Miss Chang, please spare me your lovesick arguments and go work with Miss Parkinson" Snape said in a tone that left no doubt that it was not a request

Cho pouted and looked to Harry, hoping for some support. Harry just shrugged.

"Nothing I can do, Cho. He is the professor, so what he says goes" he told her

Cho stalked off in the other direction to stand with Pansy. Harry breathed a sigh of relief once she was out of earshot. Harry looked to Professor Snape to find out who his partner was.

"Draco Malfoy" Severus told him

"Are you sure? I don't think he particularly wants to see me at the minute" Harry said unhappily

"Well, if either of you fought a human, they could be hurt quite badly if you lost control" Snape murmured low enough for only Harry to hear

"I can control myself!" Harry argued

"Harry, you're used to killing humans, whether it be for food or training the Death Eaters. If you try to fight a human now then you'll kill them without even thinking about it!" Snape told him in a whisper

Harry frowned but nodded. Severus chuckled and clapped the boy on the shoulder before pushing him towards Draco. Harry stumbled and fell at the blond boy's feet. Draco looked down at him frostily before he walked off to the wall of weapons. Harry sighed but picked himself off of the floor and followed Draco across the room where Professor Snape was waiting for them. The Professor was surrounded by other pairs of students all waiting to get their weapons. Some of them were noticeably terrified and were hanging back from the main group, whereas others were jostling for position in Professor Snape's line of sight in an effort to get their weapons first. Harry followed Draco as the blond elbowed his way right to the front of the crowd. Snape eyed them for a moment before he handed the boys a pair of silver swords with brass hilts.

"Do your worst, boys" Snape said with a rare grin

Harry looked at Draco's livid expression and gulped before he led the blond boy to an empty space on the floor. Other pairs of students milled around, trying to get used to wielding weapons other than their wands. Harry saw Cho and Pansy both clutching archer's bows and aiming at targets on one of the walls. Pansy was quite good, Harry watched her fire an arrow straight into the centre of the target. Cho, however, was a complete disaster, she didn't hold the bow right and when she tried to hit the target, the arrow missed it's mark completely and sunk into the black drapes instead.

Harry snorted amusedly then hissed in pain as Draco's sword sliced into his shoulder, he looked at the smoking cut and grinned. He raised his sword and swung viciously at the blond boy. Draco ducked out of the way and slashed at Harry's legs. Harry jumped over the sword and moved back, determined not to be hit again. Draco advanced on him, swinging his sword as he came. But Harry just kept moving backwards. Draco ran out of patience after a few minutes of the chase and simply threw his sword at Harry. The raven haired vampire caught the weapon by the blade and quickly grabbed the handle instead as the silver burned his skin.

Harry moved quickly to throw Draco to the ground and place one of the swords at Draco's throat and the other over the boy's heart. The blond slumped in defeat. Harry threw the swords down and extended a hand to help Draco off of the floor. They stood together as Harry brushed some dirt off of Draco's clothes. They were startled by the sound of slow applause. They looked up to see that the whole class had stopped what they were doing to watch the pair of battling boys. Snape stood in front of the stunned students as he clapped with the tiniest hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. He stepped forward and stood beside Harry and Draco to address the class.

"That is a perfect example of how to take advantage of both your opponent's emotions and how to use the element of surprise to gain the upper hand. Mr Malfoy attacked Mr Potter from behind whilst he was distracted, but Mr Potter retaliated by making Mr Malfoy so agitated that he relinquished his weapon. Well done boys. Ten points to Slytherin and Gryffindor"

The students were surprised at this; Snape never gave points to Gryffindors.

"You can't be serious? You want us to attack our enemy while their back is turned? thats just cowardice!" Ron proclaimed haughtily

"There is no room for nobility in war, Weasley" Snape relied icily

Harry grinned at Draco but only received a scowl in response. Draco pushed a stray lock of blond hair out of his eyes, walked towards the collection of weapons and picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows. Harry did the same and followed the veela to the wall of targets. Harry moved into an archer's stance and fired six arrows, one after another. Five of them punctured the target in a perfect circle and the sixth one landed right in the bull's eye. Draco raised an eyebrow before he moved into position and followed Harry's example of firing six arrows. Harry looked on in awe as every one of the blond veela's arrows landed where Harry's were, splitting them all in half. The pitiful remains of Harry's arrows fell to the ground; Draco picked them up and placed them in the other boy's hands. Harry tried not to get upset, veela were born with uncanny archery skills, but he couldn't stop the embarrassed blush that crept up his cheeks.

"Draco? Can I talk to you?" Harry asked as the pair stood by the weapons again

"Feel free" the blond replied frostily

"What you saw in the corridor… it wasn't what it looked like" Harry told the blond

"Really? Well, I saw my mate kissing someone who wasn't me. What was really happening?" Draco asked in a hiss

"She kissed me! Wait... I'm your mate?" Harry asked incredulously

"Of course you are, you idiot!" Draco scolded him

"But… but I heard you say…" Harry stammered

"You heard me say what?" Draco snapped, secretly curious

"I heard you say that your mate didn't love you back" Harry replied

"Yes, and after your little display of affection in the corridor, that statement has been proven correct" Draco said with his signature sneer.

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Snape chose that moment to tell the pair off for not working. Harry waited for Draco to reach for something before he bent to whisper in the other boy's ear.

"She is a pushy slut and I'm gay. I dint know how to tell who my mate is, but if I could choose? There's no contest between you two"

Draco looked up at Harry with wide eyes and an even wider smile. Harry grabbed the weapon closest to him and walked to an empty spot to avoid Severus' wrath. The boys made their way around most of the weapons. They used daggers, spears and even nun-chucks, which, for Harry at least, was more pretending to be a ninja than actually fighting. By the time the first half of the lesson was over, the whole class was exhausted.

"You all look absolutely shattered" Snape said with a little smirk

The class all groaned in response. Harry let a little snigger pass through his lips.

"Alright, we have an hour left so I suppose we could to some theory work for the rest of class" Snape mused

The class all let out sounds of grateful consent so Severus drew his wand and tapped a large metal section of the floor. The metal grating seemed to melt and drip upwards to form a huge ring of metal tables. Severus waved his wand and twenty six very comfortable and squashy armchairs appeared around the tables, all upholstered in various house colours. Most of the Gryffindors ran for the red chairs, seeing it as an insult to sit in a chair that wasn't in their house colour. Harry rolled his eyes but grinned as he saw Hermione pointedly ignore the red chair Ron had saved for her and walk to a blue one beside Terry Boot instead. Harry looked away from the furious Ron when he saw Draco waving him over to an empty green chair with a little group of Slytherins. Harry began to walk towards them but only made it halfway before Ron grabbed onto his elbow and started tugging him roughly in another direction.

"I saved a seat just for you, Mate!" the ginger boy lied enthusiastically as he pointed to the seat Hermione had rejected

Harry looked back to the Slytherins and saw Blaise holding an obviously angry Draco back as the blond fought to get to Harry.

"Erm… no, I have a seat already thanks" Harry mumbled without meeting Ron's eyes

But Ron didn't relent; he just pulled Harry towards the red seats more quickly. Harry tried in vain to pull away from Ron's tightening grip.

"Mr Weasley" Snape droned from behind them

Ron jumped in surprise and twisted to face Snape, jerking Harry's wrist painfully. Harry let out a cry of pain and Ron suddenly had five wands pointed at him. Cho, Draco, Hermione, Blaise and Pansy had all raced to help Harry. Ron looked wearily at the wands pointed at him.

"I suggest you release Mr Potter and find your seat" Severus told the boy in a tone which made it clear he wasn't suggesting anything.

"Yes, Sir" Ron mumbled

He skulked off to the chair he had tried to force Harry into a moment earlier. Draco scowled at the ginger's back and led Harry off to the seat he had saved for him, Pansy and Blaise followed behind. Harry sunk into the plush green armchair with a little sigh of contentment. Draco smiled at the other boy and flopped down into the chair beside him. Harry immediately twisted to place his feet in Draco's lap. The veela smiled again and leant forward to rest his elbows on the metal table.

"Alright, I believe you did some work on magical creatures with Professor Lupin in your third year?" Snape asked

"Yes, Sir" rang out from several students

"Well, magical creatures very capable of causing your death. They are our first topic for the year" Severus said as a blank screen popped into existence

Snape tapped the screen with his wand and black lines seemed to bleed out from where his wand had touched the white material. After a moment, the lines blended together and the word 'Vampires' was written across the screen. Harry snorted quietly in amusement.

"Now, how many of you are in a Care of Magical Creatures class?" Professor Snape questioned

Only Terry Boot and Pansy Parkinson raised their hands. Harry was quite surprised; neither of them seemed like the type to want to care for animals.

"The difference between Care of Magical Creatures and my class is that you will not be learning to care for magical creatures, you will be learning how to defend yourself against them and how to destroy them. I believe we should start with vampires" Severus announced with a grin to Harry