Arashi: Life came at me unexpectedly so been out of it.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Books, Movies or its characters since they belong to J.K Rowling and Warner's Bros. I just write for fun which means I don't make a profit of this fic.

Chapter 16

Draco hurried to Harry's side, and the two casually walked to their Head of House's office. Once they were let in, they saw Remus and Sirius sitting on the floor playing with Haytham and Nimr.

"We thought it best to wait for you before calling everybody. And you will need to get the boys. They're in Japan for the year."

"I understand. Thanks Sev." The boy walked calmly to the fireplace, threw in a handful of floo powder, and went to the school in Japan. It would be easier to just get them before calling the adults. As soon a he stepped out of the fireplace, he was greeted by the headmaster, "Fang! What are you doing here?"

"I hope you don't mind, Sensei, but I need to speak with my brothers. I want to bring them with me to my school. I will bring them back when I am finished."

"Of course! Fahad, now 'spot', is doing well as is Shadow. How long will they be gone?"

"Two hours at most. Is Fahad bound to his animal yet?"

"He is. It is a leopard"

"Thank you sensei."

"Certainly. I will call them now." He pressed a button on his desk, and asked for Fahad and timothy to be brought to his office.

When Harry had arrived and questions were answered, Harry led them back to Hogwarts. Once there, he fire-called his parents and Lucius. Lucas wandered out of the bedroom in search of his mate.

Severus merely pulled him into his lap and nuzzled his neck, "You are supposed to be sleeping, love."

"I woke up and you weren't there," Luke whispered back, "What is going on out here?"

"I'm not sure. Harry insisted on having a meeting, so here we are."

Lucius stepped out of the fireplace last. He appeared to be as confused as everybody else. Despite his confusion, he took a seat beside his son, and gave his full attention to Harry.

"What is this ab-" it was then that Nagini slithered around Harry, settling herself on a small rug, "You know." It wasn't a question.

"I do. And I would yell t you, but you had no choice." He stared at the eldest Malfoy for a long minute, before addressing the whole room, "This shouldn't take long. But first, I need you to all swear that nothing you hear tonight will be told to anybody else." Harry paused for a second as the oaths were said. He then turned to Haytham and Nimr and cast a spell on them so they couldn't speak of this either.

"Thank you. The reason you are all here, is so I can tell you that yet another prophecy involving me was made. It will seem confusing at first, but I just ask that you let me explain. The prophecy is this:

"The dark lord will fall,

and another will take his place...

Cloaked in light, none will see

past his mask…he is the one

The Chosen One must defeat.

When the snake lord returns

Light and dark will switch…the young lord

will rule with the snake king

And peace shall reign at last."

"Now then, the snake lord is obviously Voldemort. I am the 'young lord'."

"But," Remus looked intently at his godson, "Who is the new dark lord?"

"The few who knew of the prophecy believe it to be Dumbledore/"

"It would make sense, moony." Sirius turned to Harry, "We had been planning on switching sides, but then they attacked you."

"The attack was also a mistake from what I've heard. Tom thought I was to be another Dumbledore. He was told a false prophecy.

"Why have you told us this, Fang?"

Harry smiled gratefully at his brother, "I need your help. All of you. If I am to lead this side of the war until tom returns, I will need help. I was hoping that you three," he motioned to his brothers and Draco, "Would help me lead the children. Dray, the Slytherins trust you more than me right now. Shadow, Spot, you two will be spending the year with some of the best fighters in the world. Spot, I want you to talk to the other students, the children of the instructors. Find out as much about them as you can. I know you're young, but all three of us grew up fast in the family. Shadow, if possible I want you to learn how to teach. Pick to styles to teach, and learn everything possible this year. Over break, I will come work on two or three other styles. Pick things that would help in combat. Can you do that for me guys? All three boys nodded and Harry sighed in relief.

'Lucius, you are still in contact with the other deatheaters, correct?"

"Yes, I am. What would you like me to do?"

"I am going to need you to act a messenger for me. They'll never listen to an eleven year old kid. But they will listen to you. Tell them that you are working for a Mysterious man on Voldemort's orders.

Mom and dad, I need your help with our clan as well as other. When tom gets back, all hell will break loose. I don't want any of them getting hurt. Tell them anything you want to, but make them swear an oath first. If only so they can say they know nothing, even under Veritiserum.

"Moony and Padfoot, when I start getting more kids together, I'm going to want your help in teaching them spell work. Will you help me with that?"

"We will do whatever you ask of us, cub." Harry smiled at the nickname.

"Sev, all I want from you is to learn every potion, no matter how difficult, as is possible in the next 7 years."

"Certainly Prince. I will go to Knockturn alley tomorrow to find more books. We can learn them together."

"Lucas, all I want from you is to make sure you stay healthy."

"I think I can manage that." The man laughed.

Harry looked around the room, "does anyone have a problem with what I've asked of them?"

A chorus of "no"s rang through the room.

"Very well then. You can all go home. Thank you for coming here. I just need to speak with Tim, Fahad, and Draco for a minute. Goodnight everybody." Harry rushed to hug his parents goodbye and waited for them to leave. He then turned to the tree boys and told them of his plan for them. "I want to mark you all, put you under my protection."

"Harry-"

"This isn't a game. If you don't understand that, tell me now and I'll wait until you're older."

"Harry, I fully support you. But what do you mean by 'mark'? Timothy asked, genuinely curious.

"It isn't anything permanent. Shadow, do you remember the bonding spell we researched for the fourth year charms final?"

"Oh! But what would you cast it on?"

"I don't know yet. I'm going to a jewelry store tomorrow. I'll find something there. How many should I get?"

"Buy thirty for now. I know of five kids in the clan who will probably be willing to join. Unless you only want the 'Generals', as it were, to have them."

"I want everybody who joins to have one. It's a communication device too."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Draco asked, frustrated.

"A charm of some kind can be linked to a master charm. I will have the master charm, so I will be able to call everyone together when I need to. And I can charm it to protect whomever it is bound to as long as it is being worn."

"What kind of charm will you get?" Fahad questioned his brother.

"I'm not sure. Necklaces maybe?"

"You can get nice ones for the girls. And maybe rings for the guys. Just a simple ring without a big gem and all that foo-fooy stuff."

"Dray, do you want to go with me?" Harry pleaded with the blonde.

"Sure thing Fang. Any designs we should look for?"

"Get rings for us that have colors matching our animals. For the rest, get an assortment."

"Who do you think will join from the clan?"

"Aquilla for sure. Corvus, Branigan, Aidan, Callan, Conall. Maybe Caitlin."

"I'll get charm and rings suited for them, just in case. Any other?"

"I don't think so. But Fahad and I should get going. The instructors will be mad at us. Send us our rings. We can test out additional charms on them too. Maybe one that calls your familiar?"

"Ok, I'll talk to you tomorrow then." Harry gave his brothers a hug, "You two train hard. Remember what I've said here, and enjoy your time there. All you've got afterwards is seven years of boredom mixed with potential war."

"Bye, Fang. Have fun shopping."

"Yeah, see ya' later Fang. Draco." Timothy nods to them before flooing to the school,

Fahad following close behind him.

"Well done Harry." Severus said out loud, "Twenty points to Slytherin for acting more like a fifth year than most of the fifth years. And 20 points for doing it in your first year."

"Thank you sir. But I am only doing what I have to. Always be prepared for whatever may happen. Would it be ok if Draco and I went shopping with you tomorrow? We need some things."

"I'll excuse you from your classes for the day. Anything in particular that you're looking for?"

"Jewelry. Rings and necklaces."

"There's a store in Knockturn alley that sells custom jewelry. I'm sure they'll have anything you need. Do you need money?"

"No, I've got plenty. But thank you."

"You boys get to bed. I'll come get you when it's time to go."

"Goodnight Luke. It was nice to see you."

"You too Harry." Lucas pulled him into a big hug.

Draco left the room and returned to their bedroom. Nagini curled up at the foot of Harry's bed.

'Belinda,' Harry hissed to his familiar, 'what is Draco's animal?'

'His is a dragon. Or any large lizard.'

'I would like to find something to protect him. As well as something to protect my

youngest brothers. I want both you and Nagini to stay with me, if only to give me warning for an attack.'

'Thank you,' Nagini replied from her place on the bed, 'I was not looking forward to talking you into having us both as guard. Perhaps you can get two new snakes as well? One to protect the main common room, and another to guard these rooms specifically.'

'Was Voldemort this cautious?'

'He was more so. He had alarms on his private rooms. And more than twenty snakes protecting him. There were always at least four snakes around him. As the one who will be his equal, you are in need of protection as well. The death eaters might attack you because they don't know who you are. And that brother of your, though an idiot, is still a threat. Tom gave me the job of keeping you safe. Lucius has instructed the death eaters and their children not to attack you. But they don't generally listen. Not unless it came from Tom.'

'Ok! You win. I'll go to a store tomorrow to get four more snakes. Two for here, one for

Lucas, and one to gather information. Sound good?'

'Sounds perfect.'

'Good. Now let's go to sleep. I'm exhausted.'

'Goodnight young prince.'

Within minutes, Harry was fast asleep. His dreams that night were peaceful, and for the first time since he left Full Force, his body was truly able to rest.

Once assured that her charge was asleep, Nagini slid out of the room and went up

to the entrance hall. She snake slithered out to the forbidden forest to meet her master.

She stopped in front of a large, dark figure, 'Hello tom.'

'How did the boy take the news of his destiny?'

'Surprisingly well. He is already making plans about how he will stand by your side. He called a meeting with his family and closest friends. He acted just as a ruler should at hiss age. Respectful to his elders, yet unafraid of stating his thoughts. He will be a good match to you. He is going shopping tomorrow. You wouldn't happen to know where to buy a baby white tiger in Europe, would you?'

'I'm sure I remember some baby bears and lions at the exotic animal emporium. Perhaps they would be able to help. Why?'

'One of Harry's younger brothers can be bonded to a white tiger. Harry wants to get a tiger to watch over the boy until he's old enough to complete the bond; give them a chance to grow together. And the tiger will be able to protect the child even as a cub. His twin, Haytham will be receiving his first hawk tomorrow. The boy will also be purchasing jewelry to "mark" the one who join him. They will be charms of protection as well as summoning.'

'And he' only eleven years old?'

'He is master. I should go before he wakes. I will speak with you again tomorrow night.' Nagini turned to leave.

'Bring him with you next time. I would like to speak with him.' Having heard her master's request, Nagini returned to Harry's room and curled up at the end of the boy's bed once again. It would be a long day tomorrow. She would be following her charge, an eleven-year-old boy, and his friend throughout the large town.

Harry slept in the following morning. He decided to skip his run, and instead began planning his day. He began with Severus waking them all the way through which shops he would go to, and what he would be looking for.

He already knew he needed the jewelry and the animals. But was there anything else? He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard the door open. He instantly rolled out of bed, ready to protect himself. Both Belinda and Nagini slid between the youth and the intruder. He slowly allowed himself to relax when he saw that it was Severus. "Give me a minute to wake him up and I'll join you in the common room, sir."

Harry quickly cat a cleaning charm and cast a stream of ice water on his roommate's face. Draco sprang out of bed growling at his best friend. "What the hell was that for?"

"I didn't know how else to wake you up. Severus just came to get us. Time to shop, Dragon."

"Ok. I'm up. Give me ten minutes and I'll meet you down there." The blonde left the room to get cleaned up and Harry made his way to the common room. Nagini and Belinda followed behind.

"Where's Draco?" Severus asked with a frown.

"He should be down in a minute." Harry settled himself on the large couch and aloud Belinda to curl up in his lap.

'Young lord,' Nagini hissed from the floor, 'my master wishes to speak with you

tonight. He also said to ask at the exotic animal emporium in Knockturn alley if they can find us a baby tiger. They had lion cubs and baby bears at one point, so they'd probably know.'

'I'll add that to my list of places to go.'

"Do you know what charms and rings you'll be looking for?" Severus questioned his charge.

"I have an idea, but I don't know for sure yet. I'll have a better idea after I get there. I don't want to custom order things unless I have to."

Draco soon joined the, hair still wet and loose. He strode confidently like a prince. But then, on the second to last step, he tripped and fell to the ground. Had anyone aside from the three of them had been in the room, they would have seen something unimaginable: Severus Snape was laughing. Both Draco and Harry had been raised by him, so it wasn't strange at all.

"Oh Merlin! That was bloody brilliant! Draco, don't get mad at us. Even you have to admit that it was funny."

Draco, on the other hand was not amused. But when the reality of the situation hit, along with a mental image sent to him from Harry, even he couldn't help but laugh.

'Let's go Harry. The sooner we leave, the better.' Belinda insisted. Ever since she had heard the third prophecy, she had become more protective of her owner. Much as she wanted to protect him herself, she knew that she would need help.

"We should get going. I've got many stores to go into."

"Where do you want to go?"

"I need to go to Flourish and Blotts first thing. Then in Knockturn alley, I want to look for some other books. There's a gem store down there too, and the jewelers of course. And Nagini talked me into getting a few more snakes. Plus any other stores you two want to go into."

"Why two book stores?" Draco asked.

"I want to learn things other than what is taught in school. By going to both stores, I'm more likely to find everything."

"Then I suppose we should get going. It will be a long day." Severus sighed, "Would you boys mind if Luke came with us?"

"Of course not Sev. Let's go floo from your rooms and you can see if he wants to join us."

Fifteen minutes later, Draco, Harry, Severus, and Lucas were all standing at the entrance to Diagon alley. Harry first led them to the bank, leaving them briefly to get money from his vault. He soon returned with a large bag of gold.

"Ok, let's go shopping!" Harry grinned, "Where to first?"

"I say that we start in Diagon alley. That way we don't have to double back."

"I think the potions store is closest. Should we start there?"

"We can pick up some things here," Severus agreed, "but there is a more…extensive variety at the store in Knockturn alley."

"Ah. So should we just wait?"

"No, they are lacking many of the ingredients sold here." That being said, the four entered the store.

The inside of the store was massive. Jars of ingredients lined the walls. Large wood crates held dry ingredients, ready to be scooped into bags by the buyer. Harry and Severus exchanged a look and nodded.

"Get as much of everything as you can." Harry instructed the others, "I'm going to go buy a trunk to hold everything. I'll be back once I find one."

"Are you sure?" Severus asked, "I can go with you if you'd like."

"No, I need you to keep everything organized and to make sure we get what we'll need."

"Alright. Buy me boxes, that should work better. Get as many as they'll let you buy. Bring those and the trunk."

Harry nodded and left the store. He quickly walked to the right store, and looked around. Boxes and trunks were scattered around the room.

"Can I help you?" A lady asked from behind a counter.

"I need a trunk. Probably two actually. And as many boxes as I can have."

"Any particular reason?"

"I'm helping a potions master gather supplies. And we need to keep things organized."

She moved quickly, gathering two trunks and several small boxes. She pulled out some forms and handed them to Harry, "Fill these out and you'll be able to instantly pull boxes directly from here. These forms just make sure our inventory is kept updated. Every time you get a box, it'll be automatically deducted from your bank account."

Harry filled out the forms and thanked her before returning to the apothecary. When he walked in, it was to see bags full of ingredients suspended above their respective crates. Severus immediately placed a bag in each box, marking them with the name of the ingredient inside. He had a paper and quill marking his selections and amounts on a large inventory sheet. He shrunk six of each jar and placed them into specially cushioned boxes. Draco and Lucas moved around the store, continuing to portion ingredients.

Once everything was boxed up, Severus cast a stay fresh charm on the trunk and began packing the boxes into the "bottomless" trunk. As more things were added, the items on the bottom simply sunk a level to make more room.

Severus carried the long list up to the stunned storeowner, "I believe we are finished here for now. Here you go," Severus handed over the list, "How much do we owe you?"

The owner shook himself and calculated the cost. He was even more surprised when Severus didn't even blink at the price. Severus merely handed over the bulging bag of gold and led the others out of the store.

"Where to next, prince? The bookstores?"

"Yeah, let's go see what they've got. What should we do about the trunk though?"

We'll take it with us. Why did you get two?"

"One for potions, and one for books."

Severus nodded and charmed the word 'potions' on the filled box, and 'books' on the empty one. He then stacked them together and cast a lightening charm on them, taking them inside.

Harry made a beeline to the "Ancient Arts" section. There weren't many books here. Nobody really studied these unless they wanted to learn a trade, such as sculpture. He quickly sorted through them, throwing books on topics he liked into a hovering pile. Everything from stonework, to dream work ended up in the pile. Severus, meanwhile, was looking through the potion books; pulling out any books he didn't have (an admittedly small pile) into a pile of his own. Some of the books might prove to be worthless, but it was better to have some duds and many good find than miss a good book due to skepticism.

Draco had taken the job of finding advanced training books, books that went all the way to mater level. Books on transfiguration, charms, defense, even offensive tactics, ancient runes, and even some other language books filled his pile.

Once all of the books had been collected, Lucas recorded all of their selections and handed it to Severus to pay for it. The man smiled and quickly bought all of their new finds.

"Now then," Severus said as they walked to Knockturn alley, "there is gem store next to the jewelers. Lucas and I will go to get more potions ingredients. You boys come to the apothecary once you finish, ok?"

"Yes, sir. Come on Dray. This is where I need your help." The group split up and walked the rest of the way to their stores.

"Why are we buying gems? I'm sure the jeweler has his own there."

"I'm sure he does, but I want to get the very best. The only way to be sure of the quality is by hand picking the jewels." Harry walked into the store and began his search. "Dray, you start on that side. Pick up any gems you like. Find all sizes of gems. We can sort through them before we buy everything. Don't worry about the price, either, ok?" Draco could see from the other boy's face that he was the young lord of the prophecy right then.

"Yes sir." Was all he said. He wasn't sure how he knew, but to call the other 'Harry' was not the right idea when that look crossed his face. Harry nodded once to his General.

The first section of gems was of large jewel, some the size of a grown man's fist. There were rocks in all colors. Harry picked them up one after another, conjuring a basket to put them in. Several black rocks, as well as white ones, found their way into the basket along with all the other brightly colored ones. He made sure to add an extra blue, red, and green stone into the basket.

Next were some smaller rocks, roughly two inches in diameter. He took these in sets of three and four. The main color he picked was blue, though he also picked a few red rocks. Moving down he grabbed the small rocks by the handful. Red ones, green ones, fiery yellow and orange, they all made their way into a separate basket. Red was the predominant color here along with black.

Once both boys were done collecting, they sorted through everything. They put each color and style of small rocks in separate bags. The rocks themselves were either cubes or spheres. They took some of each, not knowing what they might want later down the line.

The owner rang them up, not showing any surprise about the age of his customers. As long as he was getting paid, he could care less about the ages. The boys walked next door and headed straight to the man just finishing a necklace.

"We need someone to craft many rings and several necklaces. Can you help us?"

"Certainly! How many rings? And what do you want them to be made of?"

"White gold. We just bought gems for them."

"Well then, let's get to work, shall we?" He motioned for them to take a eat, "I want you to clearly want the rings to look like."

Harry closed his eyes and brought forth his image of one of the ring. It was white gold, with a large stone wrapping around. A number of smaller rocks ran around the ring in a line. The stones were sunk into the gold, so no bump was made.

"That will be a very expensive ring to make. Are you sure it is the one you want?"

"I want twenty of those in different color. One is to be done with yellow and black gems. And mine will look like this," he again imagined his ring. It was two bands of yellow and white gold fused together. A line of alternating white and green jewels ran along the seam, "Can you handle that?"

"Of course. Would you like any enchantments to be placed on these?"

"Yes actually. Could you put as powerful a protection charm as is possible on them? As well as something so that my ring can summon the others?

"I can do that. When do you need them by?"

"As soon as possible."

"Give me a week to perfect them. You said you wanted necklaces as well?"

'Harry,' Nagini hissed under the table, 'you can craft the necklaces on your own.'

'I would rather have him do it. If only to make them as perfect as possible.' He turned to the stunned man, "I would like five white gold chain with different charms on each: one white bird, one black bird, a blue dolphin, and a white pearl. Can you do it?"

"Of course my lord. Same spells as the rings?"

"How is it that you know who I am, deatheater?"

"You spoke in the snake's tongue."

"I am not Voldemort."

"No, but you are the one those loyal to him were told of. You are his heir. That you are with young Draco only cements the fact."

"You will be rewarded for your loyalty. But you must speak of this to none but Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy."

"Yes, young prince. I will have those done as fast as I can."

"Mail them to Severus Snape. He will give them to me." Harry turned and left, Draco following him with a small smile.

"How many people do you think know?"

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out. Tonight." Harry led his friend into the apothecary, watching as Severus packed away his purchases. "We're going to look at snakes and cats. Meet us there when you are finished."

They moved onto the pet store, and Belinda moved to her place around her owner's neck. She was the top snake, and the other snakes needed to know that. 'Possessive much?' Harry laughed at his familiar.

'You are my human,' she responded, 'I am merely getting help in taking care of you. That doesn't mean they will be becoming your familiars. They need to know that.'

'Nagini has claimed to be my second familiar.' The boy jokingly pointed out, earning a small hiss of amusement from the large serpent.

'She already has a human. She is just awaiting his return.'

'What will you do if I do take another as my familiar?'

'It won't matter. You are already bonded to me. They will only be a familiar to you in name. Our bond is physical as well as psychological.'

'Well relax. I'm not planning on finding another.'

The conversation is cut short when the owner interrupted, "Y-yo-you c-can sp-speak the s-s-snake la-language!"

Harry quickly cast a spell on him to ensure that his secret was kept. "Yes, I can. And I would like to purchase some companions. Do you have any baby tigers, by any chance?"

"I do. I got him by accident. He's white though. I was planning on having him put down."

"Your plans just changed. You will be giving him over to me. And should you happen to get any more tigers of either color, you will let me have them. Understand?"

"I understand."

"Good." Harry turned to the captive snakes, 'Hello.'

'A speaker!'

'Yes, I speak your language. I am here to find protectors. Whom among you can I trust?'

'Young lord,' a small snake approached him, 'we are all bound to your service. Not one among us is untrustworthy.'

'Not all of you will be protecting me. I need some to gather information. Only a small few of you will be needed for my personal protection.'

'That is understandable, snakeling,' another hissed, 'we will serve you in any way we can.'

'That is good. How many of you are there?'

'14, young one.'

Harry thought quickly. He could have two in each house, plus two in his rooms, two of them could follow the potters and protect his brothers. Then one to watch the headmaster…it could work. 'I will take all of you. But if I find out that one of you is unworthy, I will not hesitate to act.'

Many hisses of excitement were heard, 'you will not regret this.'

"I will take them all."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I will need something to transport them in. I will carry the tiger if you will go get him for me."

"Of course!" The man ran to the back room and hurried back with a small, black and white furball in his arms. "He is too young to hunt, so you will need to nurse him with milk."

"Very well." Harry eyed the man contemplatively, "Do you have any hawks?"

"No, but the bird store in Diagon alley usually does."

"That's what I thought." Harry paid the man and left the shop. Severus and Lucas were waiting just outside.

"Did you find what you were—" Severus stopped and hung his head when he saw the bundle in Harry's arms, "James isn't going to like this."

"I know."

"Harry, what did those snakes say to you?" Draco finally asked.

"Just that they would help me in any way they could."

"Oh boy. The next seven years should be…entertaining if nothing else."

"Sev, can we stop by the emporium in Diagon alley?"

"For what?" Severus sighed.

"A hawk. For Haytham."

"Sure. Did you still want to go to the bookstore?"

"OH yeah! I almost forgot about that! There are some subjects I would like to study things that are not taught at Hogwarts, or even Durmstrang!"

"Such as…?"

"Oh you know, dark charms and spells, sword fighting, dream working, stone working, sculpture, wordless magic, telepathy, necromancy—but only the basics, none of the dark parts of that one—and really advanced defense and potions. That last part you'll be helping me with. Hopefully Sirius and Remus will help me with defense."

"Has your father talked to you about your first marking yet?" Severus asked suddenly.

"Marking? What do you mean?"

"Do you remember when Aidan turned eleven?" Severus sighed. He'd already known that he would be the one to talk to the young prince, about this. But he'd hoped that Damien would save him here. No such luck though.

"Yeah, he was locked in a room for a week with just his father and uncle."

"Yes, he was. Since you and timothy are so close in age, and because you are in school, your own ceremony was…postponed."

"Until…?"

"Halloween. Your teachers have been notified, and will allow you to miss a full week and a half. You need four days to let your body settle."

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this?" Harry asked nervously.

"It won't be too bad. Lucas and I both went through it. In fact, all of our clan has gone through it. And you will have your brother to go with you."

"I suppose you can't tell me anything more, can you?"

"That is true young one. But you will find out soon enough." Severus smiled. Harry hadn't acted his age in far too long. He still thought Damien had made him grow up too fast. Timothy also acted far older than he should. But he knew that his Lord and friend had good reasoning. The boys were meant to lead the world, human and non human, into the light. Along with their mates and Voldemort, they would be unstoppable.

"Sev!" Lucas shouted at his mate to snap him out of the daze he'd fallen into.

"I'm sorry Luke."

"Don't be, love. There are many things in life to be sorry for. That isn't one of them. Let's go sort through the books. There will undoubtedly be many to choose from."

Meanwhile, Belinda slithered to the ground, sensing something. Nagini moved up, wrapping herself up a pole to rest her head on Harry's shoulders.

'There is something in that chest. Don't get close to it, have the other's check it first.' Nagini hissed at Belinda as well as Harry. She had never felt something so dark.

'Belinda, come back. I want you with me.' He set down the snakes' cage, 'I want you to all go inspect that chest. But be careful; something dangerous may be inside.'

'Yes, sir.' The snakes hissed as one.

"You are a parselmouth!" The shop owner said in awe.

"Yes, I am. I've already had this conversation several times today. So let's move on. How many books do you have bout the snake language?"

"I have four that I know of. I was hoping to translate even just one of them. But I can't."

"Well stop trying. Sell them to me."

"Look kid, I can't. You have a gift, but they're dark books. You're too young to be playing around with this stuff."

"Deatheater," Harry growled, "do not test my patience." Draco moved closer to his friend, ready to step in if his leader needed him.

"Who the hell do you think you are, threatening me? And who fucking told you I'm a deatheater?"

"Our Lord's bond mate told him." Severus snarled, "Watch your tongue. This is the Dark Prince, our lord's only equal."

"Severus! You scared me! He is a child. He was born to those Potters no less," she spits out the name, "He is not worthy of serving the Dark Lord. Or lord has no equal!"

"Silence you fool! You do not know to whom you are speaking. He is a child, that is true, but he already ha more power than you and I combined! You will do as he demands, or I will be forced to punish you on his behalf."

"The plump man drew his wand, preparing to attack his superior. But before the curse could be completed, Nagini bit his leg, injecting her lethal poison. It worked instantly, causing him to crumple to the ground.

'Sir,' a snake hissed from the chest, 'it is not dangerous. But it is dark. Very dark. It has not been opened since it was sealed.'

'What is inside?'

'I am not sure. But I feel that you are meant to have it.'

'How old are you?' Harry asked out of curiosity, the snake didn't seem to be very young.

'I am 25 of your human years. I have been waiting for you to come along. As Azazeal said, we were bound to serve you. Our ancestors served yours for many years. We were merely waiting for you to find us.'

Harry nodded and turned to the rest of his group, "Take all the books we will need. I will be taking this trunk as well. If you see anything else you think could be useful, take it. I'm going to go find those books, and then I will sort through everything left. Sev, take all of the books you don't already have. Any questions?"

"No, I think we all understand."

"Good. Now go find what we need." Harry spun around and went to the back room. He could feel a tingling sensation in his scar, but he brushed it off.

'Sir! The books are over here.' Yet another snake hissed to him.

Harry thanked it and ran to the books. Opening one, he found that it was easy for him to understand. On the first page was a note from the author:

"Speaker,

If you can read this, you re one of few. Only the worthy can read this, and among them only the speakers. I am writing this now to ensure the continuing of my work. Encased in these pages is a complete potions diary. Every potion I invented is documented here. Not many will be known, as the only record of them is here. If you are the One fated to reproduce my work, know this: there are nine other books. Yes, nine. Four of them should be easy to find. The others are stored in my chamber. If you wish to read them, find the room, and everything inside will be yours. You may even discover my friends' chambers, if you are truly worthy. Good luck with your training, and the same with your hunt for my books.

Sssssincerely,

Sssssalazar Ssssssssslytherin."

Arashi: A long chapter for this one so when its my turn to write I hope to keep the chapters the same amount as I can. Pairings at the moment is rather sketchy for now so things can change quite a bit.