A/N: I know long time no see. I've decided to revise my chapters to make them longer and add more details and such. I promise I haven't abandoned this story and the next chapter is half written however I don't think I'll release it until I've finished doing the other chapters. Don't hate me too much. I promise to be better form now on as I'm thankfully finally in a place where I do have time and energy to write. I'll try to do some revision at least every night so you don't have to wait too long. I'm posting this one chapter now but I'll wait till I've finished all of them before posting the others.
With much love and apologies, Ioli Ophelia.
Revised June 2016.
Important: No Horcrux's. Voldemort perished in Harry's first year when he failed to get the stone.
Warning: May contain triggering feelings. Topics including depression, child abuse/neglect and violence.
Disclaimer: I own next to nothing etc.…
Chapter 1
There was a moment in time in every year that Severus Snape anticipated more than any other. It wasn't any significant event nor a time narrowed to a specific date. No, this moment was simply made of collection of small occasions that only occurred in the few weeks he had during the year that he could spend doing anything his little Slytherin heart desired. Deep into the heart of Europe, in a beautiful valley filled with fields of magical flowers and tall strong ancient trees was an extravagant marbled manor where Severus Snape laid with his long-time lover and mate Lucius Malfoy. If Severus could choose any one thing to do with his time it would be either depending on his mood brewing potent potions deep in the depths of his murky dungeons or laying in a luxurious silk clad bed recovering from pleasant intimate relations with the love of his life.
If one were to inspect the dour man with a passing glance many would assume the serious looking man was a stern individual who lacked the ability to smile or express any type of outward affection. However if one were to take a closer look you would discover subtle expressions in his mannerisms that proved quite the opposite, not that the average person knew this after all no one really looks that close especially since all his outer dispositions stated the exact opposite; with his usual placed scowl showing his annoyance at dealing with the tedious task of educating the "precious next generation." If his scowl didn't give away his character then his lack of the ability to 'politely' communicate with others was. Not that language was a difficult subject for him, he seemed to have certain unique finesse for well-placed words when the mood struck him. If those certain traits weren't enough to ward the meek away then his bellowing dark robes that flared dramatically whenever he turned was more than enough to intimidate even the most confidant fellow.
Severus Snape was a smart man, he was very much aware of what kind of impression he gave at a single glance, with his oily ebony locks as he draped himself in the darkest of robes he could find. He understood how his personal image affected others opinions of him, but he cared little for it. In his opinion, the opinions of those around him mattered little compared to that of his mate. If his mate loved and cared for him despite his faults and appearance, then he was fine the way he was, scowl and all. After all Lucius Malfoy was his life and he was sure he would do anything for the man.
Though many only saw the one side of him, a sour looking man; there was much more to Severus Snape that met the eye. Like how he was a surprisingly good at exploding snap or how he adored Shakespeare or maybe how he was secretly a vampire.
Though it was a popular rumour about the man, many in his life simply dismissed the rumour to being only a child's made up story as it was a popular topic among the young students he taught. There was also the fact that vampires were not the type of dark creatures that went around sauntering around in public without a care in the wold. Vampires were known to be a secluded species that heavily relied on their covens for socialization. So a vampire working alone in a school filled with budding witches and wizards was thought to be very unlikely.
As one expects, there are many speculations and myths that one would hear when it came to the lore of vampires. Most vampires would scoff at the speculations do to the absurdity of them. For example stakes of wood weren't a particular problem, Severus quiet liked the scent of old wood himself, but they did cause injury when stabbed with it. Who wouldn't? Holy water was just the same as bath water to him. Water was water. In Severus's opinion it was a ridiculous notion to have protection with water. A muggle had once tried to banish him when he was in his teens by throwing a vile of holy water at him… he ate him of course.
Garlic didn't repulse him anymore then the next person. He didn't eat food often but he didn't mind it as a spice. There were limits of course but that was so for any person or creature. Then there were the ones that the wizards had gotten somewhat right. For example sunlight! Now that superstition was partially true. Though he was sure if any fare skinned idiot were to go streaking out in the hot sun then they too would most likely would develop a problem with burnt skin or some other type of skin condition. All those facts that aren't really definitive facts, there was only one thing the wizards had gotten absolutely right. It was common knowledge that vampires were magical creatures and like most magical creatures, every vampire had a mate of some kind or another.
Many of course would never, nor could they ever understand the true meaning or value of a mate to a magical creature. It was just one of those things ordinary muggles, witches and wizards would never understand.
A mate was not a wife, husband or some kind of ordinary significant other that one could choose out of an endless sea of suitors. A mate was everything to a creature, even though the individual wasn't someone they could choose themselves. Even with that fact, the bond formed between the mates was a bond that bound not only their deepest parts of their magical cores but potentially could form a permanent bond between their very souls. As cliché and romanticized as it sounded mates were basically "soul" mates. Though there are a few things that differ from the romanticised version that the muggles seemed so taken with there are many things in common with their speculations and lore.
There wasn't the typical the "one", where there was only that one said individual and that was it. No it was defiantly much more complicated then that, as a certain amount of criteria must be met before someone could actually make a simple mate connection let alone a full one. Though there may be a handful of individuals in the entire world that made the cut of being such a match the chances of meeting a perfect one let alone two was astronomical. One would probably think that fully mated pairs were more common, however most creatures in the magical wold had common partial mateships, not that they valued them as such.
Common partial mate connections could be made, held and bound by different compatible attributes. For example, a pair could be compatible magic wise however completely have opposing souls or visa versa though usually creatures would most often avoid magical incompatibility as most creatures were highly sensitive such things. Another influence would be the dominance and compatibility of their said creatures.
Dominance is most easily explained as the difference between a mother and a father. A submissive or in this example a mother would be the bearer of the young and homemaker as a dominant partner would be the later, the protector and provider.
Compatibility is simply common sense. If the creatures themselves were not compatible it would never work. After all you would never find a vampire werewolf couple, the two creatures simply hated each other and naturally would always do so.
In order to be a perfect mated pair a creature and its mate had to be compatible on every account; magic, soul, hierarchy and compatibility of their creatures. Perfect mates are very hard to find so such a mating wasn't something that happened every day.
When it comes to finding mates, some creatures are luckier than others. Some creatures found them close by and the unluckier ones, it took years to find someone if they did so at all. And that's just one mate. Sometimes one "soul mate" wasn't enough to satisfy a creature which luckily wasn't the usual case. However there is once in a while where one isn't enough. It isn't known why but the guesses are usually the creature or the odd time magical human, is too powerful to be satisfied with only one partner. Other guesses range from maybe some creatures having larger souls or that their magical cores are too large for one mate to support; however, all these are simply theory as nothing can be proven.
So obviously as a vampire Severus Snape indeed had a precious mate. Though this mate was a partial mate bound to him through magic and soul, it didn't make the dark man falter in any way. Lucius was his mate and nothing would change that, and if it weren't for them both being dominant creatures then the two would have been true mates.
Now, the two loved each other dearly, however both knew that they had a true mate out their somewhere but both decided to remain together rather than scratch that awful itch they had to find the said being.
As mentioned before some needed multiple mates, which was needed for certain unknown/unproven reasons. Yet for some reason, multiple mateships occurred much more often than strictly necessary and its most usually is a dominate creatures fault.
This fact known to be true due to the fact that a submissive creature could only mate once in its life time unless having the actual need for magic, or the presence of another soul. If a submissive creature were to suddenly decide that they wanted another mate without the actual need to have one, their magic would unfortunately lash out and punish them painfully whether or not that the actual second coupling was welcome or not. Dominants how ever were a different story and no one really seems to know why. A dominate creature could mate as many as they liked, not that most use the ability. Most creatures were family dependant for a content existence, which meant when a creature mated a submissive they usually were very attentive and strayed very rarely. Such wonderful gifts mates were and they all happened because of the existence of magic.
Magic…
The single entire force that governs and rules over nature and life itself. Such an enormous topic and energy that is rarely understood in any great manner by an average individual. Magic being such a huge misunderstood force, was simplified and separated into definitive categories by wizards through the flow of time. Categories that separated magic by ignorant man by making labels and definitions such as light and dark, good and evil. Terms that described really all one thing that made their world possible.
Though the terms all related and fit together some way or another they were still very important in order to understand the basics of magic. The terms such as dominate and submissive for example. As creatures those terms applied heavily to Severus and Lucius. Severus and Lucius were both dominate members of their respective species. Due to the fact that both individuals were dominate beings, it was impossible for a child to be born between the two which was a devastation to their inner creatures.
When Severus had turned sixteen and received his inheritance, Lucius Malfoy wasted no time in declaring the younger male as his mate. As you can imagine Abraxas Malfoy wasn't pleased that his son settled for a union that could never help the Malfoy bloodline, prestige and seemingly endless wealth grow. Knowing there was nothing the man could do to dissuade his son from his choice he instead choose to make a deal. As the elder Malfoy was the Lord of the household he had the power to dissolve any marriage type bond if the two chose to have one, and annoyingly so he also held the power to influence their entire futures for the good or the bad. Making his position and power clear to his displeased son he demanded that Lucius Malfoy, his one and only heir produce a worthy heir for the family before he ran away into the sunset with his little vampire. Seeing that they had no real choice but to meet his demands, one year later much to Severus's displeasure Draco Malfoy was born to the proud parents Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy nee Black.
Narcissa Malfoy nee Black had always been a close friend of Lucius and understood what her life would be like from a young age as much was expected of her. Not that she had said anything, but deep inside her heart she hated the future that awaited her. So many expectations would make anyone grow resentful of their already carved out path. A path she had to fallow all because she was born a Black. She had to finish her schooling as best as she possibly could, failure in the household of the Blacks was inexcusable. She had to remain perfect in appearance, display proper etiquette while preforming perfect obedience to whomever she would have been married to. Lucius being her close friend had known her true nature, her deepest wish and offered her an alternative. While it still meant she had to preform many things that was expected of her as a daughter of the Blacks there would be many freedoms she could have. The only request he had was raise his son well and in return he promised she would be given all the wealth and comforts that any Lady Malfoy deserved, as it wasn't likely Severus would be interested in such things.
As Lucius had expected his dear friend had immediately accepted the deal with little to no second thoughts what so ever. For appearances sakes for the Malfoy family as Abraxas wouldn't hear of having a bastard heir, Lucius and Narcissa were married to another on parchment only, despite Severus's dislike of the idea. Lucius understood he had a family duty and took everything in stride as he tried to keep his new vampire mate happy with the union. The marriage caused many fights between the two, but such turbulence in the relationship in the end strengthened them for the better.
After the marriage and the consummation much to Severus's ire, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black gave birth to a baby son who she named with much affection, Draco Abraxas Malfoy. Lucius held much pride for his baby son as many creatures valued young just as they did their mates. Unfortunately, that affection didn't carry to his mate as the child was not his in any way. Severus while didn't show dislike for the small pale child he didn't show affection or favoritism, thus confirming he was nothing but a stubborn dungeon bat to the next generation.
Time passed, Draco grew as did Lucius and Severus. They grew and aged beside one another, both content with the partial bonds to one another despite knowing that they had a soul bond out there somewhere, a soul bond that could complete the two so perfectly.
With being so in tuned to one another the two could easily and constantly feel the large hole in their bond. Their creatures constantly searched subconsciously for the said being, their submissive mate. Being so sensitive to the subject the two could feel the lack of the presence of the bond thus it was easy to conclude that the person in question who would fill that large void within was either to young, or dead. So even though it went against every instinct their creatures had, the two decided to be content with one another and chosen not to seek the third mate that would complete them.
So as the two panted in exertion from their pleasure filled activities, the feeling of a sudden brush of a new presence in that constant empty void they held trickled into their hearts. The gentle brush of the presence of a newly inherited soul had the two men sitting up gasping and shivering in shock. They didn't realize they would be able to feel a soul bond without being bound, and yet there it was almost like a promising whisper that that perfect being was somewhere out there waiting to be claimed by them, waiting to complete them in every way they could imagine. Panting the two sweat covered men looked to one another, silver eyes glistened with hope as ebony eyes shimmered in eagerness to see the unknown.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Far away from the two exhausted lovers, in a plain looking suburb in Little Whinging, Surry laid a bored fifteen year old boy who was eagerly awaiting for the clock to strike midnight. Taking calming deep breaths the glasses clad boy sat up to only turn his head to gaze at the scratched up digital alarm clock that he had received from his adoring relatives when they declared he could have it due to their precious son receiving a much better one.
11:48….
Scowling at the clock, as if it would quicken the seemingly slow passing time he sat staring and staring watching with mild annoyance as it took forever for the numbers to change to 11:49.
As he watched the clock obsessively he began to lose himself in thought, as he usually did when he faced slow time passing instances. A subject he was well versed in as he had nothing else to do in the tiny room that he happened to be locked in. His ever so caring relatives had decided he would remain in the tiny room like a prisoner just so he couldn't infect them with his ever so bothersome freakishness.
Now this clock staring obsessive boy wasn't just any clock staring obsessive boy. No this boy was much much more. His name was Harry James Potter aka The Boy Who Lived and The Boy Who Conquered. Harry despite the numerous titles, was very special. Special, as in he had a magical gift, a magical gift that made him a young wizard, and as a young wizard, like many of the young wizards in the world, he attended a magical school where they learned to wave wands, swish out spells, ride broomsticks and brew potions that did whatever you could imagine. And as a young wizard himself, Harry too attended a magical establishment.
His schools name was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and to him it was the most amazing magical place in the world. It was there Harry received many of his firsts at the tender age of eleven. He had received his first friends, his first home, his first remembered hug, his first celebrated holidays, enjoyable school days, and to top it off, at the end of his first exciting year at the school he took on and defeated the Dark Lord aka Lord Voldemort, the man who murdered his parents when was not but a babe.
So as you can imagine he was treated and saw as a hero in the magical world. Much to his annoyance at the treatment, he had gotten used to it as he had been treated as such even before his battle with the evilest man in the past century. He had been treated differently than his peers simply because it was thought that he had defeated the man once before, as it was speculated that he had somehow as an infant defeated the said dark lord when he had stormed into his home and murdered his parents.
Famous before he could walk he was treated by the magical people either as a hero or an enemy to be careful around. It was always one or the other much to Harry's frustration. He was either ogled at and patted at worshipingly or despised simply because he existed and was who he was. It was particularly bad with the Slytherin's and their ever so nasty head of house Severus Snape. Snape the very name made Harry shudder in anger and frustration. When it came to him, the man was downright vicious and completely unfair when anything regarded him.
Loved or hated, rarely neither.
Unfortunately the first two, neither seemed better than the other in young Harrys mind as he had never seen himself as something great or wonderful, he had always been and has remained as just Harry and thus hated when no one recognized him as such.
It was sad that he couldn't see himself as anything but a four eyed, messy haired, knobby kneed teen. His dismal self-esteem was all thanks to his wonder relatives the Dursley's and their treatment of him as he grew up with them. It was only through the efforts of his loving few friends that he saw himself worthy of learning and being a part of the magical world, a world that filled him with nothing but awe.
It was difficult to find them and weed them out of his adoring fans, but he had managed to find some friends he could depend on.
He had amazing friends and Harry would do anything for them, as he knew they would do for them. He would often reminisce on his first year when he had first entered the magical world and stepped onto the shiny red steam engine that took them to Hogwarts, the train where he would meet his first two friends.
His very first friend almost always brought a scowl to his face as he had ended up not being such a good friend. His name was Ron Weasely and at the time he was just ecstatic another boy wanted to talk to him not even caring that the said red headed boy seemed to be overly interested in his scar and title. The two both sorted into Gryffindor in their first year, were as thick as thieves and were more so after Harry's accomplishment with the defeat of the Dark Lord at the end of the year. Harry often recalled how Ron puffed up in pride taking the fame almost as if were his own. Not bothering with it as he had only thought he was proud of him he only began to see his colors when nearing the end of his second year Ron who was still high with pride become cruel and a bulled the smaller Slytherin first years. When Harry reprehended him for his ways Ron had taken it as an insult and quickly insinuated he was traitorous and undeserving of his fame. Having shown his true colors as a cruel jealous boy Harry sadly cut ties unable to fallow in his ways as he remembered what it was like to be on the receiving end of taunts and jeers. Moving on with his true friends Harry actually ended up on another adventure that ended up saving his precious godfather for a fate worse than death, by being kissed by a dementor in his third year. Realizing he had missed out on another fame causing adventure Ron had apologized begging for their favor, which was quickly denied.
Now his second friend however was much better. Her name was Hermione Granger and she was the smartest witch Harry knew and he loved her dearly for her smart sisterly manner. It was with her help he accomplished such good grades in second year and on, as he had foolishly fallowed Ron's attitude when it came to homework in his first year, which had led to abysmal marks. The mere thought of the said witch made him grin as only happy memories came at the thought of her.
After Ron's abandonment, Harry hesitantly searched other places for friends finding it difficult to find those who only saw him. A venture though hard he accomplished with much pride. He had found himself a handful of friends whom he could trust with his life.
Hermione Granger, the smartest witch to exist in his year.
Neville Longbottom, the shy gentle boy who helped him see beauty in herbology.
Fred and George Weasely, the devious twins who somehow always knew when he needed a laugh.
Luna Lovegood, the youngest of the group who was saw as strange and was bullied by many. A sort of kinship formed between the two which formed a deep bond between the two. Though sometimes strange, Harry adored her and her odd ways.
If he couldn't talk to his friends, then he could do so with his mentors, the men he saw as his only living family.
Sirius Black after having escaped Azkaban, and was declared innocent after the reveal of the rat Peter Pettigrew, he had kept in regular contact with his godson. Even after have moved to America with his Mate Remus Lupin, as America had much more flexible laws when regarding werewolves. Harry loved the two men who saw him as a son, a child, and a pup to protect and love, a feeling Harry cherished above all others.
The mere thought of the two men was a good enough distraction as he barely noticed as time passed, and only did so when he yawned so wide he could help but recall where he was and what he was waiting for. Blinking lazily he gazed at the green digital numbers, 11:58.
Two minutes, two till he was sixteen. One month till he left the small prison his relatives forced upon him and One year before he could leave the whole situation all together. Everything to him was a countdown till he could leave the small hell hole, the Dursley's of Private Drive.
Once again staring intensively at the green numbers, embarrassingly he almost pissed himself in startlement as a sudden loud knock knocked on his window breaking the silence he'd been secluded in. It didn't help he was only allowed out once, maybe twice at the most for a bathroom break. It all depended on the mood of his aunt as she was the only one who seemed to remember he was there. Turning his gaze to the window he blinked owlishly only to be mimicked by the dark grey owl that sat at his window. Sighing in a sort of relief he walked to his barred window never noticing the digital numbers turning to 11:59.
Smiling tentatively he opened the window as he could easily fit his small fingers through the bars to the latch of his window unlike his overweight uncle who seemed to have sausages for fingers. Kneeling to eye level he quietly greeted the owl before taking the mysterious letter that was attached to its leg by a single ribbon. Keeping as quiet as he could, as he would be punished severely if he woke his relatives with his freakish business; he gently retrieved the letter from the owls clutches. Giving a quiet hoot as if sensing its need to be quiet the large owl bobbed its head before turning away and flying off into the summer night. Frowning as he had not expected birthday wished until later in the day on his birthday as per usual he turned the letter reading the careful written letters.
Mr. Harry James Potter
Little Whinging, Surry, Private Drive.
Studying the odd timed letter he tilted his head slightly in bemusement when he spotted the Gringotts crest in the top right corner. He studied the crest curiously, never once realizing he was missing his usual ten second count down that he practiced annually.
His attentions turned away from the digital numbers he didn't see them turn from 11:59 to 12:00. If he did maybe it wouldn't have been as much as a shock. As soon as the numbers changed a sudden pressure took his breath away leaving him to fall to the scuffed wooden floor below. Feeling the need to gasp and take in a fresh lung full of air he quickly discovered he couldn't. He struggled and panicked as he felt as if he was suffocating as his magic painfully heated and encased around him. Magic thrummed through his lithe body leaving him breathless and withering on the floor in silent pained confusion. The only sounds in the quiet night was the small knocks of limbs as he couldn't even manage a distressed cry, not that he would willingly as his loving relatives were sleeping in the next room.
He scratched his nails at the wood beneath him as he wheezed and gasped through what felt like hot dry air. He wasn't sure how long he had been like that, it felt like forever. He almost prayed for death as he suffocated through heated pressure as his magic burned and licked at him making him wither on the floor. He wasn't sure when but it was some time later before it began to calm down, and eventually his body was left as sweaty quivering mess on the floor. Feeling shaky and weak he managed to turn his head back to the clock by his bed side. Reading the numbers with the hazy gaze and sluggishly understanding what it meant as looked at the digital 5:43 for a few seconds before falling to peaceful darkness of Morpheus call.
A/N: End of the chapter sorry. Hopefully it will help you get your interest back if you haven't lost it. So please Read and Review as I would love opinions on my new style. I did write this without a beta so there are bound to be issues, I did my best. I also wrote this late so there defiantly some mistakes please don't be too peeved at the sight of them. Have a great day and see you when I'm done the other chapters.