chapter 4 : Powerful !

His soul was that of a vampire. Not just any vampire either. His Master had been a First One, powerful beyond imagining. When he turned Harry, he did more than just create a new vampire.

He passed on everything he had, everything he was, including his Curse. The First Ones were unlike any other vampires in that their immortality was absolute. Their bodies were completely indestructable.

The only way a First One could die was to pass on the First Curse to another, thereby becoming mortal themselves. Harry knew he had been a fool to ask for it.

The fact remained, however, that Harry had a soul over twenty-eight thousand years old, including that of his Master and those who came before him. A human body could never hold all that.

Therefore, it changed to accommodate this sudden influx of power and knowledge. He couldn't access his full magical ability before, because his body couldn't handle it. Now, it could. Now, it was no longer human.

Things would change now. He was still young and, for all intent and purposes, a born vampire. He would need blood. Not so much at first. Maybe once a month.

He would have to remain under a glamour at all times. His skin would be just too pale to be natural, his lips redder and his eyes brighter than generally accepted of anyone normal, be they muggle or wizard.

He would also have to be careful. He was starting muggle school in a few weeks. He would have to restrain himself physically, magically and mentally.

With his increased physical abilities, he could accidentally hurt one of the children, especially if they took to taunting him like last time.

He didn't think he would have to worry about accidental magic as long as he kept a firm grip on it, but he couldn't attract attention by being too smart for his age. Although, if he seemed just a little brighter than the other students, it could only help him later.

Remus and Sirius surely knew that he was smarter than normal after his displayed intelligence that night. It was doubtful they would keep that information from Dumbledore.

High scores in muggle school could only lend credence to the story of him being a genius of some sort.

The real problems with his vampirism would come when he arrived at Hogwarts. There were several people, Dumbledore most notably, who could possibly see through whatever glamours he put up. Then, he would have to decide between three tactics.

One, tell the truth. He was not looking forward to that one. If he told them he's an ancient vampire from over six thousand years in the future, even the mostly benevolent Albus Dumbledore would lock him up as a threat to society and attempt to extract whatever knowledge he had of the future.

Two, pretend he's a true born vampire. Most pureblood wizard families had some sort of magical creature in their lineage at some point and there were a couple of vampires in the Potter family tree. Vampirism had been known to skip generations.

Three, he could run. He could not go to Hogwarts and stay well out of the way of all things magical until the time came to kill Voldemort once and for all.

He doubted his ability to go through with this option. He loved his friends and family and could never stay away from them.

Also, the first moment a Death Eater attacked someone, he would be driven to help.

Harry sighed, laying back and pulling the thin covers over himself. He still had a few years before he had to decide.

~~~~~~~~

He first saw him just before his ninth birthday. Having been banished outdoors as Petunia went about her latest cleaning frenzy, he was sitting on the grass, conversing with a small garden snake that had taken up residence in a rose bush.

To any passersby, he appeared to be talking to himself in low whispers, which of course lended credibility to the Dursley's claims to the neighbors that he wasn't quite sane.

A dog barked once, causing him to glance up absently. Just as he did, what could have passed for a shadow slipped behind a tree with a soft rustle of cloth.

He was being watched.

It was a still day, with no wind to carry the watcher's scent to him for identification. Now that he knew they were there, he could sense the faint aura of a wizard.

Whoever it was had thoroughly hidden themselves and suppressed their magic.

He bowed his head, as if in thought, and hissed to his serpentine acquaintance, 'I don't mean to impose, but could you do me a favor?' At the snake's nod, he continued, 'I am being watched by someone, but I can't tell who. Could you go through the bushes to the right of that far tree and tell me what you see?'

The snake slithered off without hesitation, moving silently through the grass towards it's destination.

Harry was glad for his rapport with snakes. As long as he respected them and was polite, they wouldn't hesitate to help in any way they could. They had been his only real companions since his return to the past.

He was correct in his assumption that he would be teased and taunted at school. It had started out well enough.

His teachers praised him for his intelligence and moved him up two years in as many weeks. This got him away from his cousin and allowed him to make a few friends.

It was when Dudley finally figured out that Harry's 'tricks' weren't normal that things went downhill. He, of course, told his parents and they did their best to make Harry's life miserable.

He was no longer ignored at home or accepted at school. The Dursleys refused to feed him for over a month and had he been mortal, he would most likely have ended up dead.

They tripled his load of chores, but of course Harry continued to complete them in a timely fashion with a knowing smile on his face.

All in all, the Dursleys were fuming that they had failed to destroy his spirit as well as his magic.