Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Lemon Drops and Blood Pops	By : TokiMirage Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 12434 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: JKRowling owns all that is Harry Potter. I own everything else. I make no money writing this.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
FFDOTNET'S A BITCH. And I hope they let us post soon. At least now we can log in, so some things are fixed... (grumbles)
Lemon Drops and Blood Pops
wWwWw
Chapter Eleven:
wWwWw
Harry swore under his breath as he helped the other professors escort the students to the Hogwarts’ Express. That blasted Minerva. She’d volunteered him for this ‘honour’ a week ago apparently, and he’d never even heard of it! They were tied at 3 points each, but he was so getting her something ‘special’ for Christmas.
When he noticed the children around him getting uneasy, he wiped the diabolical smirk off his face.
“Professor Underwood?” a familiar, timid voice asked from his side.
Blinking in surprise, Harry looked down to see Ruben standing there, staring up at him with his wide doe-eyes. How this third year had survived the other vampires so far, Harry had no idea. Wasn’t his father training him to survive?! He was like bait! A doe-eyed, timid, innocent, half-vampire shish kabob.
“Yes, Mr. Vale?”
Ruben scuffed his shoe against the snowy ground. “I just… wanted to say sorry. About yesterday.”
Harry blinked. “If you’re referring to my wrist, then it’s fine, Mr. Vale. Just keep yourself safe over the holidays, eh? Otherwise Dumbledore will have cast all those spells on your rooms for nothing.”
Ruben grinned a bit. “I’ll be safe. Dad’s got-“ Harry quickly cast a silencing ward around them, just in case. “-body guards for me. And Uncle Rincale is teaching me how to use a sword!”
Harry nodded, glad he’d put up a ward. Having other students learn about Ruben wielding a sword wouldn’t do much for his ‘ixnay on the ampire-vay’. “I trust you’ll be studying my subject too?”
The third year nodded with a bright grin. “Yep!”
“Good. Learning how to defend yourself with magic is just as important as physical combat. Vampires can easily overpower and out speed us. Magic is where we get our advantage.”
Ruben looked around them with wide eyes, but when no one appeared to notice their conversation he frowned.
“Never seen a silencing ward before? Might want to learn that.” Harry mentally grimaced. He was starting to care too much about this little pipsqueak.
“Will you teach me one?” he asked, using the doe-eyes again.
Harry twitched. “Depends on how long you take to learn it and how far you get ahead in my course outline during the holidays.”
Two brown eyes widened as the head bobbed quickly, sending wild black hair into an even messier mop than before. Harry internally grimaced. He just had to go and do that, didn’t he. Stupid saving people thing… If he was idiotic enough, he might even accidentally start another club like the DA. Wouldn’t that be a barrel of chuckles to teach. He mentally shuddered in disgust. “Good. I’ll see you in the New Year, then, Mr. Vale.”
Suddenly, the half-vampire got a little bashful. “Actually… there’s something else.”
Harry raised an eyebrow. “The train is leaving in five minutes, Mr. Vale,” he said after glancing at the time piece outside Hogwarts’ Station.
Ruben’s eyes widened. “Um, well, my father told me to tell you that you’re invited to the coven for the holidays as thanks for saving my life and he said he would have someone come by to pick you up, on whatever date you want. If you agree.”
Harry twitched. Was Aldon so obsessed with getting into Harry’s pants that’d he’d actually use his saving Ruben as an excuse to invite him to the coven? Harry wasn’t stupid. If he went there… well. He might be tempted not to return, and that was a bad idea. Vampire covens were full of many things he craved. Blood, sex, killing… Harry had been doing his best to abstain from them all for the past ten years, only letting out his darker side when dealing with the Russian Mafia Boss situation. If he got into the habit of indulging one vice, then he’d indulge another, and another, and then he’d turn into exactly what he was fighting. People like Voldemort. And vampires like Aldon.
He may be a half-vampire, but he’d never had a human drop of blood in his life. Because he knew if he did, he’d never be able to stop. And he had far too few compunctions with killing as it was.
“Tell your father that I am thankful for his invitation, but I will be declining. I am already very busy with my business, and the rest of my Christmas will be taken up with fixing the wards of Hogwarts to ensure your safety once you return.” There. That should be a good enough excuse, right? Well, if Aldon sent a vampire any way to pick him up, he’d just have to teach the vampire why you didn’t fuck with Harry Underwood.
Ruben looked a little disappointed, but nodded. Had he actually been looking forward to it? It seemed unlikely. “You might want to hurry up, Mr. Vale. The Express is leaving in a minute.”
Helping the panicking half-vampire onto the train, floating his luggage for him, Harry waved goodbye and felt relieved to finally see all the students leaving. Peace and quiet.
Well, until the next disaster, as his training screamed at him.
wWwWw
“Harry! Glad to see you could make the meeting. I’m sorry I sent it out so late. I was confirming the schedules of some of the other Professors,” Dumbledore greeted jovially, patting Harry on the shoulder and leading him farther into the staff room. The half-vampire blinked as he was manoeuvred over to a chair next to Dumbledore, but sat down without complaint.
“So what’s this I’ve heard about the wards weakening, Albus?” the astronomy teacher, Victoria last-name-Harry-never-bothered-to-remember asked haughtily. “The wards are hundreds of years old, and were constructed by the founders themselves. There are no weaknesses in such wards.”
Harry wanted to levitate a penny through her head for her attitude. Before Dumbledore could defend himself, Harry cut in with the intention of verbally gutting her. “Well obviously not, as we had a vampire break into the school. So why don’t you stick to star charts and leave the real magic to people with experience in their fields.”
Victoria stared at him for a moment, mouth slack in surprise. Harry wanted to sneer in derision, but kept his hate of her to a minimum. If he stayed calm and she lost her temper, it would be she who looked like a fool. “Why I never!” she said dramatically, a hand held to her chest as if she were mortally offended.
Harry opened his mouth to make another comment, but immediately snapped it shut again when Dumbledore placed a placating hand on his forearm. Sitting back in his chair, he settled for gazing at her as if she were a stupid woman not worthy of his insults. And he had nothing against women. Just stupid people.
“As Harry has mentioned, a vampire did indeed break into the school undetected last night. If it weren’t for Harry diligently walking the halls and detecting the vampire’s trail, one of our students would have died. Perhaps more, after the vampire was done.”
Most of the teachers had paled and were looking down at their coffee or tea with thoughtful and sad expressions, but Victoria was not so respectful. “How do we know he didn’t let them in?”
“Victoria!” Dumbledore barked, and the woman’s eyes widened as she nearly dropped her tea. Harry had never seen Dumbledore so irate with a fellow faculty member. Well, during this time line. But he mostly thought of the two Dumbledores as completely different people. “I will not have such accusations thrown around so lightly. He is a fellow professor, and you should show him more respect. He saved a student’s life last night.”
Harry internally gloated until he heard with his sensitive ears the nasty things she was muttering under her breath, but she backed down under Dumbledore’s tremendous aura and attention, so he said nothing. Crossing his arms, going for the regal unimpressed look, he stuck his hands in his sleeves in order to finger his knives. Conjuring up ways of killing Victoria, he tried to shove down the feeling of excitement that had quickened his blood during Dumbledore’s burst of magic and irritation. He was going to view his memories of the man’s fight against Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries that night. It would be a shallow comparison to the man he had grown to know – he wanted to see Albus in battle as he tore through enemies with that same righteous anger – but it would satisfy the itch he now found he needed to scratch.
Shifting in his pants as naturally as he could manage in a room full of people, he went back to distracting himself with images of killing Victoria. When that only seemed to exacerbate his problem, he thought of Umbridge half-naked in a tutu.
That helped.
Dumbledore’s expression of anger slowly changed into one of disappointment as he stared at Victoria. Under that gaze that was even more terrible than the puppy-dog-eyes-from-hell, she cracked and finally looked ashamed. Harry inwardly cheered. Take that, bitch!
“Now, if there are no more comments? I believe it’s a good time to move on to how to fix the wards. I have a good understanding of them as Headmaster, but as of yet have been unable to locate the problem. I was hoping another member of the faculty would have an idea or know someone experienced with wards besides myself.”
No one said anything for a moment, so Harry decided to open his mouth. “I have experience in some defensive and offensive wards, Albus,” he proffered, “Though most of my expertise is aimed towards things that could help during a conflict or with Defence Against the Dark Arts.”
Dumbledore turned to him in surprise. “You are a very accomplished spell caster and crafter… but I had no idea you had ventured into warding.”
Harry smiled and nodded. “Yep. I have cast Fidelius many times successfully.”
Now two eyebrows rose, and many of the professors in the room gasped or stared at him. It made Harry feel distinctly awkward. “Fidelius? How many times?” Dumbledore asked curiously.
Harry frowned and started counting on his fingers. When he got to ten, he just stopped. “A ridiculous amount of times,” he concluded, staring at his hands and missing the look Dumbledore was sending him. “But most of the stuff I know is because it was useful to learn, not because I mastered that area of study. I wouldn’t be of much use. It would probably still be a good idea to find a professional.”
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. “That is the problem, my friend. I have not been able to get in contact with the few Ward Masters in Britain that I know. Two are in the middle of large projects, and the other is known to lock himself up in his warded house for days without answering owls. We only have so much time during the Christmas holidays to fix the wards, and even during that time the students remaining aren’t completely safe. I have taken to casting wards on all the rooms they’re staying in.”
Harry winced. That was quite a bit of warding. Dumbledore had to be feeling it. “If you want, I can go and hunt one down for you. If no one else knows someone that can help?” He looked around the room curiously. No one had seemed to want to join the conversation so far, so it was mostly Harry and Albus doing the brain storming. He wondered if any of them would be useful for anything except powering the warder.
Probably not.
Magic made people stupid.
“You would do that?” Dumbledore asked, knocking Harry’s thoughts away from the complacency of magical society.
He blinked. “Of course. If I have to go to Australia, that’s where I’ll go. There’s got to be someone out there who can help.”
Dumbledore twinkled. “Very well. When will you be leaving?”
Harry shrugged. “After this meeting, I guess.”
“And how exactly are you going to travel internationally without the proper papers or making an appointment to get them?” Victoria asked derisively, though she had toned down the level of rudeness somewhat.
Harry smiled, flashing teeth. “You let me worry about that.” They engaged in a glaring contest for a moment before Dumbledore cleared his throat.
“If there are no other suggestions from other members of the faculty…? Very well. Harry, if I could speak with you a moment before you leave. For those who aren’t staying at Hogwarts during the holidays, please stay within Flooing distance.”
Harry leaned back in his seat when Victoria was the first to break eyes contact with him, relaxing and letting his irritation leave as she walked out the door. He really hated that woman.
“Harry?” Dumbledore asked as most of the faculty left. Some remained behind and started conversations, so Harry unconsciously set up a silencing ward with a wave of his hand. The practiced motion of it elicited an amused eyebrow from Dumbledore. Harry turned his attention to the man and tilted his head in question. “I didn’t want to lower moral earlier, but how do you intend to find aid? There are few warders in Britain with the ability to even attempt to understand Hogwarts’ wards, and it is not easy to travel internationally.”
Harry smiled and wondered whether he should tell the man the truth. Well, he trusted Dumbledore. No reason not to. “I can apparate internationally without detection, Albus. The ‘travel’ aspect of this search will not be the difficult part.”
Dumbledore looked moderately surprised, but not nearly as much as he probably should have been. “I see. Is there a country you have in mind? You mentioned Australia.”
Harry thought about it for a moment. He knew of a guild of warders in Australia back in his world or time, but he didn’t know exactly when they started up. “I’ll probably look in Australia and Egypt. There are more ward breakers per se in Egypt, but it might be good to have eyes on the outside and inside. If I can enlist two warders, however, how is the school going to pay for it?”
Dumbledore waved a dismissive hand. “There are funds set aside for expenses such as these. They’ve been collecting interest in Gringotts for some time.”
Harry nodded. “What’s the range of payment? Most warders charge either by ward or how long you rent them out.” The number Dumbledore sketched out to him was surprising, to say the least. Harry whistled. “Alright then, don’t need to worry about that. I’ll also need to figure out the going rate for warders so we can barter. If there’s nothing else, Albus, I should probably get started.”
The Headmaster smiled brightly and patted Harry’s arm, which was still resting on the arm of the chair. Harry glanced down at it for a moment before looking into that twinkle. He found it odd that he didn’t really mind Dumbledore touching him. If someone else had touched him without his noticing, he would have immediately pulled away.
“Good luck on your search, Harry. I hope you return successful.”
Harry nodded and enjoyed the touch of that hand resting on his arm for a moment before he pulled himself to his feet and away. “Hope to see you in a few days, Albus,” he said as he took down the silencing ward and walked out of the staff room, feeling the pleasant warmth of Dumbledore’s eyes on his back.
wWwWw
After Harry had packed a travel bag of food and clothes (he’d paid a visit to the kitchens), he stood in the middle of his room, wondering if he’d forgotten anything. Deciding paranoid was better than dead, he took out his molar and enlarged it to remove his sword. Now was as good a time as any to figure out a way to shrink it and keep it on his person. Maybe a bracelet?
Looking around his room, he picked up a quill that he didn’t like and transfigured it into a chain. He’d find something better during his travels, maybe. Like a basilisk skin band or something. Or a bracelet made out of giant hair.
With a twist of power, he vanished into the shadows of his room and shadow walked through the wards. They gripped him tightly for a moment, but he managed to slip through them easily enough, and that bothered him. Shadow walking was supposed to be impossible through these wards, and yet here he had proven to himself that they were indeed weakening. What had caused it? And how long had they been like this?
The faster he found a warder, the quicker he’d get his answers.
Apparating to Diagon Alley, he went in search of a list of registered warders. The first store he found that might be able to help him was actually in Knockturn Alley. Apparently when you were looking for anything in the Wizarding World, it had to be difficult. There wasn’t just a list of registered warders anywhere.
Magic made people so stupid.
“Hello, sir! How can I help you today? We do wards that keep creatures out of your gardens to privacy wards on your house!”
Harry winced. That didn’t sound very promising, though the little man seemed very excited about it all. “I need you to recommend me a Ward Master outside of Britain.”
The little man smiled, but Harry could detect a hint of derision in it. “I’m sure whatever you need, sir, does not require a Ward Master. I’m sure if you look at this list, you will find what… you’re…” He paled at the look Harry gave him.
“Do not insult my intelligence, dabbler. You are hardly what I’m looking for. I need the names of the most educated and experienced Ward Masters in the world. Now.”
He spluttered for a moment before seeming to draw up his courage. “I don’t have such a list, sir.”
Harry scoffed. “Of course you do. Everyone gets to know the competition. You would be a pitiful warder indeed if you didn’t know the top warders in the world. Now. Names. Or I will be spreading rumours of the incompetence of your business.”
The little man spluttered again, as if he couldn’t believe the words coming out of Harry’s mouth, but as Harry continued to stare him down with deadly serious eyes, he eventually caved. Muttering under his breath, he reached into some papers behind his desk and rifled through them. Pulling one out, he handed it over. “I need that copy back,” he grumbled.
Harry rolled his eyes and cast a quick duplicating spell often used by students on their class notes. “Thank you for your cooperation,” he drawled, unimpressed, and left the store. Looking at the list of names and the countries they lived in, he wondered who was actually the best. Shrugging, he apparated to the Netherlands. Might as well start at the top of the page and work his way down.
He spent most of the afternoon crossing off the top eight names on the list. Some of them were ridiculously hard to get a hold of, and one he’d actually had to start knocking on the wards with his magic to get the man to speak to him. The warder had come flying out of his house spitting insults and worrying over any damage Harry could have done.
To say the least, the fact that he was concerned about a little knocking on his wards doing damage hadn’t impressed Harry in the least. After deciding the man wasn’t as competent as Harry needed him to be, he had left. Why waste time trying to appease a bitter old man?
Keeping to the countries he could speak in, he began to wonder as his list got shorter if he would actually need to brave the magical world of China.
He was in Austria when he finally thought he’d found someone.
“Wirklich? Das ist ein grosses Gebäude, um das Bannkreise gezogen werden sollen. Was stimmt denn mit den Bestehenden nicht?”
::Really? That’s a large building to ward. What’s wrong with the current set?::
Harry took a drink of coffee. “Ein Vampir ist eingedrungen und hätte beinahe jemanden getötet.”
::A vampire broke in and almost killed someone.::
The incredibly tall and skinny man, who had introduced himself as Karl Lüger raised an eyebrow. “Wirklich? Das ist nichts Ungewöhnliches. Bannkreise gegen das Schattenspringen von Vampiren sind bekanntermaßen schwierig. Die meisten Zauberer verlassen sich darauf, dass Vampire sich für gewöhnlich von der Zauberwelt fernhalten, weil sie Angst haben gejagt zu werden. Warum ist dieser Vampir in so ein stark geschütztes Gebäude eingedrungen?”
::Really? That’s not so unusual. Warding against the shadow walking of vampires is notoriously difficult. Most wizards just rely on the fact that vampires mostly stay away from the magical world for fear of being hunted down. Why did this vampire break into such a heavily warded building?::
Harry shook his head. “Dazu kann ich nichts sagen. Ich brauche nur jemanden, der die Bannkreise ausbessern kann. Wir wissen nicht, ob sie schwächer geworden sind oder jemand sie beschädigt hat. Aber ein Vampir hätte nicht in der Lage sein sollen einzudringen.”
::I can’t go into that. I just need to find someone who can fix the wards. We don’t know if they’ve weakened or someone damaged them, but a vampire shouldn’t have been able to get in.::
Two eyebrows rose. “Ah, die Bannkreise waren also aktiv, aber sie haben versagt? Das ist beunruhigend. So lange die Foci korrekt aufgeladen sind, hätte so etwas nicht passieren dürfen. Nicht ohne fremde Hilfe.”
::Aah, so you already had the ward in effect, but it failed? That is troubling. As long as the ward stones have been charged properly, that shouldn’t have happened. Not without outside help.::
Harry leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh and took another drink of coffee. He really hoped this Master would be able to help him. He’d apparated through at least a dozen different countries, and he really wanted to just get back to Hogwarts and let someone else take care of the rest of it. But that was unlikely to happen. “Ich verstehe etwas von Bannkreisen, aber dieses spezielle Gebäude...nun, die Bannkreise überschreiten meinen Horizont bei weitem. Es ist alt, um es milde auszudrücken.”
::I have some understanding of wards, but this particular building… well, the wards are way beyond me. It’s old, to say the least.::
Now he had Karl’s attention. “Wirklich? Wie alt?”
::Really? How old?::
“Über 300 Jahre.”
::More than three hundred years.::
Karl’s eyebrows rose. “Es gibt nur wenige Gebäude, die so alt sind. Ich würde gerne einen Blick auf eure Bannkreise werfen. Mein Lohn beträgt 50 Galleonen die Stunde.”
::There are only so many buildings that old. I would be interested to take a look at your wards. My rate is 50 galleons an hour.::
Harry considered it. Fifty galleons was a lot of money. “Und wenn Sie keinen Erfolg haben?”
::And if you’re unsuccessful?::
“Verlange ich nichts. Ich wäre kein guter Meister der Bannkreis-Kunst, wenn ich etwas verlangen würde, nachdem ich es nicht geschafft habe, euer Problem zu lösen. Ich habe nur eine Bedingung.”
::I charge nothing. I would be a poor Ward Master if I charged after failing to solve your problem. I have only one condition.::
“Ja?”
::Yes?::
“Ich darf meinen Lehrling mitbringen. Sie lernt seit 5 Jahren bei mir und wird demnächst ihre Meisterprüfung ablegen.”
::You let me bring my apprentice along. She has been studying with me for five years and is soon taking her Exam for title of Master.::
Harry thought about it. It wouldn’t really be a problem, would it? “Nur wenn Sie beide schwören, keines der Geheimnisse preis zu geben, die sie während dieser Unternehmung entdecken. Ich muss das Gebäude, sowie auch die Menschen darin beschützen.”
::Only if you both agree to swear not to share any secrets you discover during this venture. I have to protect the building as well as the people inside it.::
Karl agreed easily enough, so Harry decided not to haggle him down to 30 galleons. If the wards had any other weaknesses, it was better that Karl was in a good mood and possibly willing to share those weaknesses so they could be fixed, instead of vindictively keeping his mouth shut. “Einverstanden.”
::Deal.::
Two eyebrows rose. “Sie wollen nicht um einen geringeren Preis verhandeln?”
::You don’t wish to lower to rate?::
Harry shook his head. “Eure Kooperation ist wichtiger. Sollte es sonst noch Probleme geben, hoffe ich, ihr seid ehrlich und teilt sie uns mit?”
::Your cooperation is more important. If there are any other problems, I hope you’ll be honest and share them?::
Karl smiled. “Selbstverständlich, damit wäre ich einverstanden. Wann würden sie anfangen wollen?”
::Of course. I would be happy to. When would you like to begin?::
“So bald wie möglich. Heute oder morgen wäre am besten.”
::As soon as you can. Today or tomorrow would be ideal.::
Karl stared at him in shock. “Wie bitte? Wie glauben Sie innerhalb eines Tages die Grenzen überqueren zu können?”
::Excuse me? How do you expect to pass through borders in one day?::
Harry just smiled. “Ich kümmere mich um den Transport. Wir werden Ihnen Unterkunft, Verpflegung und alles weitere, was Sie benötigen, sofern angebracht, zur Verfügung stellen. Sind Sie damit einverstanden?”
::I’ll worry about the travelling. We will provide accommodations, food, and anything else that is reasonable that you require. Is this still agreeable?::
Karl nodded and called one of his house elves to get his apprentice and to tell her to pack for a week long trip. Harry happily chugged his coffee and poured himself another cup. Things were finally coming together. He’d only jumped through a dozen countries, insulted a handful of people, and banged on more than one set of wards.
Karl himself just told the house elf to pack his ‘usual’ bag, and sipped away at his tea. It made Harry feel better that the man had done such projects before – that the house elf knew exactly what he wanted. Hopefully Hogwarts would be safe again soon. Harry didn’t know what had happened in his own world. Had a vampire tried to break in? Because the wards during Harry’s time had been nearly impenetrable. Maybe Ruben had gotten killed in his own dimension… or maybe he didn’t exist. The assassin was getting a headache just thinking about it.
“Meister! Es tut mir leid, ich bin fertig. Wohin gehen wir?”
::Master! I’m sorry, I’m done. Where are we going?::
Harry turned to look at the fair-haired women that came stumbling into the room. When she caught sight of him, she put her luggage on the ground and curtsied, blushing. “Oh, Verzeihung. Ich war mir nicht im Klaren darüber, dass wir Gesellschaft haben. Mein Name ist Janika, es freut mich sehr Sie kennen zu lernen.”
::Oh, I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized we had company. My name is Janika, it’s a pleasure to meet you.::
Harry inclined his head. “Harry Underwood. Angehm.”
::Harry Underwood. A pleasure.::
“Sehr gut.” Karl said, standing from his chair. His house elf arrived with his bag a second later, as if it had just been waiting for that moment. “Ich habe kein Problem damit, sofort aufzubrechen, wenn die Situation so ernst ist.”
::Very good. I have no problems with leaving now, if your situation is so dire.::
Harry smiled and stood. “Wunderbar. Ich würde uns dann Seit-an-Seit-Apparieren, wenn Sie damit einverstanden sind?”
::Wonderful! I’ll side along apparate us then, if that’s alright?::
Karl’s eyebrows rose. “Sie müssen sehr mächtig sein, wenn Sie in der Lage sind international zu apparieren. Werden Sie einer der Zauberer sein, die die Foci aufladen und dabei helfen, die Bannkreise zu verstärken?”
::You must have powerful magic to manage international apparition. Will you be one of the wizards charging the stones and helping fuel the wards?::
Harry nodded. “Ja. Und, bevor wir aufbrechen, müssen sie beide den Schwur ablegen.”
::Yes. Also, before we leave, I need you to both take the oath.::
Janika looked at her Master questioningly, but followed in his example. Satisfied that Karl had worded his oath well, and that he couldn’t easily get out of it, he held out his hands. “Wenn Sie beide mir Ihre Hand reichen würden.”
::If you’ll both give me your hands?::
They held onto their luggage and held out their hands, bracing themselves for apparition. Harry tried to keep the noise down, but side-along apparating internationally with two people didn’t really facilitate stealth. Mentally shrugging, he disapparated with a loud crack.
He reappeared outside the gates of Hogwarts, taking a moment to admire the sight of the school in the waning light of dusk. It truly was a magnificent piece of architecture. Hearing Karl and his apprentice gasp after they turned around, he grinned.
“Ist das... eine der Zauberschulen?”
::Is this… one of the magical schools?::
“Hogwarts. Wenn Sie mir folgen würden, führe ich Sie hinein.”
::Hogwarts. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you inside.::
“I hadn’t realized you were English. I wouldn’t have made you speak so much German,” Karl said with an amused expression, his accent rather light.
Harry stopped walking and stared at him. “Oh,” was the only intelligent thing he had to say, eliciting a laugh from Karl.
“Your accent isn’t that bad, for an Englishman. I’m surprised.”
Harry grinned and started walking again. “Thanks. The last I used it fluently was around fifteen years ago. I’m glad I still remember how to speak it.” He’d learned German before an undercover mission in Berlin. A budding necromancer had been threatening the local magical community, and after they had a bit of a civil war, post-Voldemort, their government had asked for the help of the Agency. And since they didn’t believe in translation spells, as such crutches often failed or made mistakes, Harry had spent a month drinking memory potions and suffering German teachers. That had not been fun.
Karl nodded. “You do speak well. I hadn’t realized we were going to be apparating as far as Scotland, however. I wonder how quickly I’ll be able to fix the wards with so much magic at my disposal. Are you the only one channelling, or are there others?”
They were about halfway to the school, and it was starting to get dark, so Harry cast a Lumos spell for the benefit of his guests. “Most of the other staff members are contributing, as well as the Headmaster. He’ll probably want to pick your brain. He’s done a bit of ward study, I think.”
Karl looked impressed. “Most Headmasters don’t bother to learn to understand the wards of their schools.”
Harry chuckled softly. “Albus is no normal Headmaster, I assure you.” As they arrived at the main doors, he smiled when they opened for him. Sending out a gentle wave of ‘hello’ to the somewhat sentient school, he was surprised to feel a caress in return. It was amazing how much constant absorption of magic into the very stones of a building could give it a life of its own.
With a wave of his wand, he sent a Patronus ahead to Dumbledore to let him know that he was taking the warders up to his office for the meet and greet. It was getting late, but after they got the two settled in some temporary rooms, Karl would probably want to take a preliminary scan to get familiar with them. Or at least, that was what seemed logical to Harry.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you! I am Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts. You may call me Albus, if you wish,” Dumbledore introduced himself jovially, twinkling madly as he shook Karl’s hand.
The warder looked amused. “Karl Lüger, Master warder at your service. Karl is fine.” He motioned to Janika when his hand was released. “This is Janika, my apprentice.”
The young adult curtsied with a pretty blush, making Harry squirm a bit inside. Especially when Dumbledore bent over her hand and kissed it like a gentleman. Fingering one of the knives hidden in his sleeves, he tried to relax his suddenly stiff shoulders.
“I’m so glad that Harry was able to find someone who could help, especially on such short notice. The top warders in Britain are all occupied at the moment.”
Karl snorted. “Top warders? If you say so.”
Harry couldn't repressed his amused smirk. It was true, really. Britain wasn’t known for having the best in any profession. Snape had been a rarity. Would be, rather. And like most people as incredibly talented in his field, he was quite… well. There really weren’t words that described Snape.
Dumbledore smiled, his demeanour not giving away a hint of his personal opinion. “Would you like to turn in for the night? Or would you perhaps like to take a look at the wards?”
Karl handed his luggage to his apprentice, who took it without complaint. It wasn’t that large, but wizard luggage could be very deceiving. It probably contained a walk in closet and had lightening charms all over it. “Janika will settle us in a room for the night. I would like to take a preliminary scan of the wards on the premises.”
Dumbledore nodded and turned to Janika. “Do you mind being escorted by a house elf, Miss?”
She shook her head without a word, so Dumbledore snapped a finger. A house elf appeared with a pop. “Please take this young lady to a set of rooms in the west wing, and half some of the house elves have it prepared for her arrival.”
The house elf nodded and disappeared for a moment, probably to relay orders. After he returned, he led Janika away. The women glanced back at her Master before leaving, but Karl just shooed her on.
“Do you need me to come, Albus? I’d like to rest my feet if not. I’ve been running all over the place all day.” He smiled and raised an eyebrow.
Dumbledore smiled brightly. “Of course, of course. You would be tired. I’m sure we won’t need your assistance tonight, Harry, but I wouldn’t mind hearing about your adventures if you’re open to it? Later tonight?”
Harry nodded. “Just come by when you want to play some chess,” he called over his shoulder as he left the office. He’d picked rooms that weren’t attached to the Floo system on purpose. It was too easy for someone to just walk through.
As soon as the door closed behind him, he shadow walked to his room, not feeling like going the long way. Letting out a tired sigh, he collapsed onto his sofa and waved the bottle of Firewhisky over to him. He took a swallow straight from the bottle and let out a gasp as it burned down his throat. Merlin, what a long day. Putting the Firewhisky on the coffee table after taking another gulp, he threw a hand over his eyes to try to get some sleep.
He woke some hours later to soft knocking at his door. Pulling himself off the couch with a groggy moan, he stumbled over to the portrait, expecting Dumbledore to be there.
He wasn’t disappointed.
“Albus,” he greeted sleepily as he moved to the side to let the older wizard in. The auburn-haired man wandered in with a smile and sat down on one of the chairs adjacent to the couch. Harry let himself sprawl back onto the large piece of furniture, taking another gulp from his bottle of Firewhisky. Albus watched with an amused expression.
“I take it your trip was a little more… stressful than you’d anticipated?”
Harry snorted at the hilarity of that question. Or maybe it wasn’t all that funny, but it certainly seemed hilarious after the day he’d had. “I met more incompetent people passing themselves off as competent in the past eight or so hours than I ever wanted to know. And did you know raw Kneazle is considered a delicacy in Portugal? Apparently deals of any substantial amount of money are made over Kneazle. And I had to eat one. I never want to see a Kneazle again in my life. Cooked or not.” Letting out a groan, he absently massaged his neck. If only one of the perks of being a vampire was lack of tense muscles. A headache had been growing in the back of his eyes for the past few hours. It was getting to the point where he was considering a potion. The fact that he hadn’t been getting much sleep lately didn’t help either.
Dumbledore frowned. “Are you alright, Harry?”
The half-vampire bit his lip, pinching the two muscles that held the neck upright. “I’m getting a headache,” he complained, tightening his grip to the point of pain in the hope it would help.
“Your neck is bothering you?”
Harry absently hummed an affirmative, kneading the muscles with his hand.
“A massage is always more effective when administered by another party, Harry,” Dumbledore said, amused. There was another tone to his voice that Harry couldn’t quite place.
“Really? Is that an offer?” he asked, not really expecting that the Headmaster would want to give him a massage. Looking back on it a few moments later, he chastised himself for his obtuse question.
“I wouldn’t say so if I was not offering, Harry.”
The half-vampire blinked, surprised. Oh. Well, that made sense. “Er, so how do you wanna… do this?” he asked awkwardly. He didn’t really like being touched by other people, but he figured it would be alright with Albus.
Dumbledore smiled. “It would probably be easier on my back if you could sit on the floor in front of me?”
Shrugging, Harry pulled himself off the couch with a groan and shuffled over to Dumbledore’s chair. The Headmaster transfigured a cushion and set it down between his feet. Nervous and awkward, he slowly and tensely forced himself to sit down on the floor with Dumbledore at his back, his neck exposed and his body in a position that would make it very difficult for him to move quickly to defend himself.
Mentally chastising himself – it was Albus – he sat down with a graceful movement and stubbornly stared at his crossed legs. Two hands gently settled on his shoulders, making him tense for a moment before the careful kneading motion had him relaxing. After a few minutes, his instinctual reaction faded and he began, and he leaned back against the padding of the armchair and slowly let himself unwind under that touch.
After five minutes of gently kneading his shoulders, Albus began to slowly exercise more force, alternating between his shoulders and neck until Harry finally let his head drop forward and closed his eyes.
“Is that better?”
Harry hummed. “You gonna stop already?” he slurred.
“No,” Albus said softly, an amused cadence to his tone.
“Good,” Harry muttered, unconcerned that he might be coming across as pushy. He hadn’t had a massage in… well, forever. And Albus was quite talented with his fingers, he was beginning to discover, as the older wizard found a particularly stubborn knot and began to work it with his fingers, warming up the muscles in his back before attacking without remorse. He let out a low groan as the thumb sat there, digging into the knot, waiting for it to release. It took a while, and quite a bit of uncomfortable pain, but when he felt the tense bundle of muscle finally release he let out a relieved breath and groan. God that felt good.
Mind blurring under the sensations of the massage, he absently focused on the way the fingers fluttered over his back. Rubbed the muscles there tenderly. And finally, the way those nimble thumbs would knead and pull and dig into every crevice in search of tension.
He frowned when the fabric of his shirt kept getting in the way and made Albus’s fingers slip. When it kept happening at the worst moments, he vanished his shirt with an absent burst of wandless magic. The hands on his back froze for a moment before returning to their work. Clearing his mind of the shitty day he’d just had, he felt himself completely and utterly relaxing in someone’s presence, besides Hermione, for the first time in years.
wWwWw
“…ry? Harry?” a soft voice asked near his ear. He blinked blearily, lifted his head, and let it fall back to rest on the cushion, all tension gone from his muscles and headache dissipated. Slowly, almost drunkenly, he closed and lifted his eyelids, trying to focus on Albus’s face.
“YessAlbuss?” he slurred, trying to make his mind focus and failing miserably.
Two blue eyes twinkled down at him. “It is getting rather late. Perhaps you’d like to go to bed?”
He blinked again, languidly. “Wha’ time is it?”
“Almost midnight.”
He frowned, confused. “I fell asleep?”
“You dozed, yes.” An amused glint warmed the ever-present twinkle.
“Oh.” Frowning, he slowly pulled himself to his feet, stumbling a bit as he went. Wow. What was wrong with him? He’d never felt like… what was a way of describing it. Goo. Eugh, but that sound so… girly.
“Are you alright, Harry?” Albus asked as he stood, placing a bracing hand on Harry’s shoulder.
The half-vampire frowned. “I… think so.” He smiled blearily at the older wizard. “Nev’ been so relaxed b’fore.” He smiled, lifting his arms above his head and stretching to the ceiling with a happy moan, completely missing the way Dumbledore watched the muscles of his naked chest and shoulders. “Thanks. Really. I’ve never… had a massage before,” he continued after he finished stretching, smiling happily as he rolled his shoulder and found no tension. “You’re good,” he said with a grin, staring into those heated blue eyes. Or maybe it was the light of the fire? “I might have to bribe you into giving me another one, some time.”
Albus twinkled, eyes flickering down for a moment before reconnecting with his eyes. “No bribing necessary, my friend. You need only ask.”
Harry smiled, a ball of unfamiliar warmth filling his stomach, as if he’d just swallowed a whole glass of Firewhisky. “Thanks, Albus.”
The Headmaster smiled. “It was my pleasure.”
The half-vampire nodded. “Good night, Albus. Hey, we never did get around to chess. Maybe we’ll continue tomorrow?”
Albus twinkled. “Indeed we shall. Have a good night, Harry.”
Harry nodded as he walked the man to the portrait entrance. “Good night, Albus.”
Loosening his pants and slipping out of them on the way to his bedroom, he hoped tomorrow would turn out better. They had a warder and an apprentice, the first of which seemed to be competent, and Harry had enough magic to hopefully get the wards up and running by the New Year. Right? What could go wrong.
Pushing any negative thoughts out of his mind after such a mind blowing massage, he pulled himself under the covers with a happy sigh. Ensconced in his warm blankets, he fell into the world of dreams with phantom fingers teasing his skin.
-Toki Mirage-
Came out a bit shorter than I would have liked, but most of this chapter is just set up for chapter 12, as you all probably figured. :)
Hopefully Ephemeral Time will be updating soon as well to reward my efforts!! (Bouncing in seat like a school girl) I challenged Mystical Magician to both update within a week, and she agreed, so she has until Wednesday. (crosses her fingers) I might even manage to get chapter 12 out within that time. :)
HUGE THANK YOU TO MY TRANSLATORS:
I’d like to thank Marmee Noir and Malaquita for being lovely ladies and translating all the German for me! Well, Marmee was the translator and Malaquita Miss Grammar. :) I figured that since I already had French text, why not German if I had people who would be willing to translate? Just for the sake of consistency. And the English should have been easy enough to skip to for the people who can’t read German. If you didn’t like it, thanks for putting up with it anyway! :D
Thanks for reading!
THIS STORY IS ALSO LOCATED AT FFdotNET if you'd like to alert list it
- 10
- 11
- 12
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Lemon Drops and Blood Pops