Why did Cedric have to die? It was supposed to be me. It should have been me. I just can’t forget about it like everyone else. I see him every minute of every day, in every nightmare. If I’ve got this power and I’m meant to destroy Voldemort, why did it happen? I think everyone’s wrong. I’m no hero or saviour or whatever. I’m just me and I get people killed. Guess it’s good I’m alone…less people to hurt.

Harry looked up from his journal as the willow branches swayed around him in the breeze. He hadn’t been sure about the journal, but now, after a couple of entries, he was liking it. He hadn’t realized how badly he actually wanted to say these things, unable to do so audibly. He supposed Snape was right and he did have some stuff to deal with, but he would never tell Snape. The professor would be insufferable if Harry admitted defeat.

He stared across the property at the manor through the blooming willow. He felt himself constantly conflicted when he gave too much thought to the Slytherins he was sharing his summer with. The more the summer progressed and the longer he was with them, the more confounding everything became. Snape, while not pleasant, was actually tolerable. Not to mention he’d fought for both Harry and Malfoy several times now. Harry had never had anyone step up for him, and he was sure Malfoy hadn’t either. Both he and Malfoy were failing at Occlumency, but Snape had yet to lash out. Granted, they’d only had two physical sessions, but it wasn’t like Snape to wait to spew angry insults and criticisms.

Harry just couldn’t explain it, completely lost in regards to the professor.

Malfoy wasn’t any clearer. First, he could still hardly believe their brewing session had been real. It had almost been fun and the conversation with Malfoy amusing. The blonde was mostly quiet, but Harry did catch the grey eyes watching him here or there. He was sure he was losing his mind.

He saw the back door of the manor open and he sighed.

Speak of the jerk, he thought bitterly.

He didn’t always know how to feel, but anger and annoyance remained the most common. He turned back to his journal, wanting to just ignore the other boy.

“Mind if I sit?” Malfoy asked, sounding awkward and unsure.

“It’s a big tree,” Harry said with a shrug, pretending to return to writing. He was keenly aware of Malfoy walking around him to sit against the tree about a meter to his right. He was instantly tense and on guard, but did his best to relax and pretend he was alone. When the breeze picked up again, he raised his head and looked around. No other civilization could be seen. It was nothing but vast expanses of rolling green and trees. Gazing around, he spotted a large lake in the distance, the surface glittering with sunlight. It was an amazing place and he wished he could let himself just sink into it, let it keep away the horrors that awaited him and the loneliness that haunted him.

“Do you really think it’s your fault?” Malfoy asked after a long silence.

Harry knew exactly what Malfoy meant and his chest automatically tightened. “Don’t,” he ground out.

“It’s not, you know. Diggory wasn’t your fault,” Malfoy said.

Harry’s grip on his pencil tightened and he was sure he felt it crack slightly. He shut his eyes as they burned with tears, but then snapped them open when he saw Cedric. “Just shut up. Leave it alone.”

“Come on, Potter, you can’t honestly think it’s your fault.”

“Well, I do, and I’m telling you to leave it alone,” Harry said angrily through gritted teeth.

Thankfully, Malfoy seemed to listen and didn’t respond, though the return of silence did leave Harry back in the graveyard all alone. He wiped at the tear that hovered in the corner of his eye before it could fall, determined not to let Malfoy see.

“I feel guilty, too, about what’s happening to them because that is my fault,” Malfoy eventually said again, quieter this time.

“You’d be killed or tortured if you went back,” Harry said.

“I know, but I still feel guilty,” Malfoy said and then he scoffed. “It’s sick, right? Feeling bad for them after…”

Harry turned his head very slightly when the Slytherin trailed off.

“Snape says it’s normal, but, I dunno,” Malfoy said. “See, what’s happening to my parents is my fault because I won’t go back. Diggory—”

“I told you to stop,” Harry interrupted, growing angry again.

“Potter, I just don’t think you should blame yourself,” Malfoy argued.

“Well, don’t think because you don’t know anything!” Harry shouted. “You weren’t there!”

“No, but you can be damned sure I heard all about it and was brought into my father’s ‘celebrations’ about Voldemort’s return,” Malfoy snapped, sounding angry himself.

“I’m sure you were thrilled to hear what happened, that Harry Potter finally got a taste of what he deserves, right?” Harry said bitterly.

“I’m not my father,” Malfoy said.

“Sure acted like it the last four years,” Harry said.

“Because I had to!”

“To an extent! Your father’s not at Hogwarts. You made some very clear choices about what to do or say, especially towards me and my friends.”

“You can’t pretend to be innocent either.”

“I’m not, but I’m sure as hell still better than you. I’m not hiding behind my father.”

“Yeah, because you don’t have one.”

Harry whipped his head around to glare hatefully at the blonde, hurt blooming in his heart. “Sod off, Malfoy. You’re free to leave at any time.” He turned back and stared down at his journal, willing his renewed tears not to fall.

“Bloody hell, this isn’t how I meant this to go,” Malfoy said, letting out a huff.

“Just get lost.”

“Snape will kill us if he catches us fighting again,” Malfoy said.

“Malfoy—”

“Look, I just wanted to talk to you. I didn’t mean to fight.”

“Well, bang up job you did.”

“You caused it, getting mad at everything I said,” Malfoy said.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Sure, blame me.”

“That’s not...ugh, are you really always like this?” Malfoy said, sounding annoyed. “Can’t anyone just talk to you?”

“Why do you want to?”

“Because I never have anyone to talk to in the summer, okay?” Malfoy said and Harry turned his head slightly again at the admission. He never had anyone in the summers either. “I don’t expect us to be friends or anything, trust me, but I thought we could just talk here and there. We can’t ignore each other all summer.”

“We could try,” Harry griped. He didn’t see it, but he was sure he felt Malfoy’s eye roll.

“Fine, whatever,” Malfoy said and Harry saw the Slytherin get to his feet out the corner of his eye.

He watched the blonde start to walk back to the manor. With his hands in his pockets and his head slightly bowed, Malfoy looked almost dejected. Harry frowned. Why would it bother Malfoy if Harry didn’t want to talk? They had never liked each other, not for a single moment, and they’d never had a remotely pleasant thing to say to each other. Was Malfoy just bored or just that desperate for contact in the summer when he would usually be without? Was he? He thought back to some of their interactions from the last month. Most had ended in a fight, much like this one, but there were a couple that hadn’t; the night in the library, the night they’d had tea, and the brewing session. They had been…nice moments. It had been nice to have someone around, someone that understood at least a little. Like Malfoy said, they wouldn’t be friends, but maybe they could be…contact where previously there was none.

He closed his journal and scrambled to his feet. “Hey! Malfoy!” he called.

Malfoy turned around, his eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Think Snape’s got a chess board?” Harry said, starting to walk towards the blonde.

Malfoy’s face turned into a frown. “What?” he repeated though with less anger and more curiosity.

“I’m not very good, so it probably won’t be much of a challenge for you, but we could play,” Harry said with a shrug, trying to seem casual. It was weird to think about doing something like chess with Malfoy, to voluntarily spend time with the Slytherin, but maybe Malfoy was right. They couldn’t ignore each other for another three weeks, and they had managed to be civil in each other’s company before.

Malfoy was giving him an almost suspicious look before turning it into a sneer Harry wasn’t sure was completely sincere. “It would be shocking if you were good at chess. Brain capacity and all.”

Harry glared, also unsure if he really meant it. “I’m not that bad.”

“We’ll see,” Malfoy said.

At the blonde’s smirk, they walked into the manor and went up to the library. They quickly found a chess set and set up by the fireplace, sitting on the floor on either side of the coffee table. It was here Snape would find them several hours later when he called them for dinner in the middle of Harry just barely getting an edge over Malfoy for the first time.

The light green eyes gazed at the manor on the other side of the tall iron gate. The protections around the property had changed since he was there last. He crossed his arms, the breeze playing with his pulled-back sandy hair and the strings hanging down the front of his tunic-style shirt. How long had it been since he’d truly been there, since they’d spoken? What unfortunate circumstances sat over Britain to have caused this reunion to occur.

He turned his head to look at the man that appeared beside him, his auburn hair also blowing gently in the wind and his blue eyes staring through the gate.

“Do you see it?” he asked, looking back at the manor.

The other man nodded. “Their magic is here in the wards.”

“The second prophecy,” the first man said, getting another nod from the other. “They don’t know about it.”

“Their magic will have woken the second prophecy. I would be surprised if they haven’t started dreaming about it,” the second man said.

“Well, shall we?” the first said lightly. “We have a friend to reunite with and some special young men to meet.”

The second smiled and they pushed through the gate, strolling across the property. The power around them was astonishing, an amazing mixture of Aether and Elemental on top of Severus’ signature. The way the magic mingled together was like nothing either of them had ever seen before.

At the door, the green-eyed man knocked on the door while the second casually stuck his hands in his pockets. It was only a few seconds later that the door opened and the two men finally laid eyes on their old friend after more than a decade.

“Leif,” Severus said to the green-eyed man. “Alexei,” to the blue-eyed man.

“Severus,” Leif said, his own tone indecipherable as he stared at the man. They were all clearly remembering their last, less than pleasant interactions. After a few moments, he couldn’t stop from breaking into a smile. “Wonderful to see you, my friend.”

“Moy drug,” Alexei said and Leif smiled wider when Alexei pulled Severus into a hug, obviously startling the Potions master. Neither of them had ended on necessarily good terms with Severus, but, by the gods, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed his dear friend.

“Thank you for coming,” Severus said once Alexei released him.

“Anything for you, moy drug,” Alexei said, smiling.

“Come, there is much to discuss,” Severus said, stepping aside so Leif and Alexei could enter.

Leif could instantly feel the changes in the manor, all kinds, not just magical. The occupants’ magic tangled together all over, but there was something else. There was a life in the manor that had never been there before, a lightness, a happiness that none of the occupants had yet realized. What a force they would become.

He followed Alexei into the sitting room and settled on the sofa with him while Severus settled in an armchair. Glasses appeared before each of them and he swiftly took a sip of the deep red wine.

“You remembered,” Leif said with a small smirk as he drank his very specific type of Merlot.

“Of course,” Severus said, inclining his head while sipping his own drink.

“Enough niceties,” Alexei said, setting his glass aside. Leif rolled his eyes at the man. He was meant to be the impatient one over these matters. He crossed his long legs and looked at Severus expectantly. “They are truly naturals?”

Severus nodded. “Indeed. I examined their cores myself.”

“After all these years, simply amazing,” Alexei said, excitement sparkling in the misty blue eyes.

“Why was the Aetherion not registered?” Leif asked. “I felt them come into being, but they never appeared in the records.”

“Both had suppressed their magic until recently,” Severus said. “No one knew they possessed such magic.”

Leif frowned, a stirring of concern. “Why did they suppress their magic?”

Severus sighed. “Abused, both of them.”

Leif shook his head sadly. “You said their magic was only just discovered, but they were able to strengthen your wards and combine their magic already?”

Severus looked at him, confused. “What are you talking about?”

Leif and Alexei glanced at each other.

“You don’t see it?” Alexei asked.

“See what?” Severus asked, clearly puzzled.

“Your magic, Elemental Magic, and Aether Magic make up the wards around the manor,” Leif said seriously, leaning forward slightly. “The Elemental and Aether Magic have tangled together and combined with yours. Your wards are impenetrable, your home untraceable. This place will not exist to anyone you do not allow to know about it, and your magic is keyed to each of you to protect and heal.”

Severus was staring at them in confused shock, struggling to comprehend.

“They didn’t do this?” Alexei said and Severus shook his head.

“They’ve each had a couple of uncontrolled outbursts, but that is all,” Severus told them.

Leif grew infinitely more curious and, as he and Alexei glanced at each other again, he knew they were both thinking of the second prophecy. Their unknown impact on that place spoke to their power and the underlying force waiting to be released by a bond yet to be forged was unbelievable.

“Severus, how did they come to you?” Alexei asked.

“They Apparated into Hogwarts unconscious,” Severus said. “Dumbledore—”

Leif looked at him sharply. “You are still following that man’s orders?”

After everything Albus Dumbledore had done, Severus was still following him? After all the guilt trips and manipulations and pain? A thought came to him, an unthinkable idea.

“Are you his spy again?” Leif asked, his voice low with threatening anger. If that bastard had convinced Severus to risk his life again, he would be having a personal chat with Hogwarts’ dear headmaster.

“My choices are my own,” Severus said vaguely.

Leif just barely stopped himself from throwing his glass across the room. He couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe his friend was still trapped between two madmen that didn’t care if he died, and he was convinced he had to do it in some sick unnecessary atonement. Manipulated by both sides to be alone and willing to die.

“And what has he told you this time?” Leif said, fighting to keep his voice even. “Did you do so little fifteen years ago?”

“The Dark Lord has returned. My role is necessary,” Severus said stiffly. “He is after the prophecy.”

Leif closed his eyes briefly, trying to contain his anger. Dumbledore, Voldemort, and that bloody prophecy.

“You will follow the man that has abandoned you to the life he’s convinced you you deserve,” Leif said, meeting Severus’ eyes, his own flashing.

“He has given me the life I deserve,” Severus said.

“A life of loneliness, of servitude, of death?” Leif said loudly. “For what? A damned prophecy that he made sure you heard? Lily’s death even though he swore he’d protect her in exchange for your life?”

“Yes!” Severus shouted, defensive in the face of Leif’s accusations. “I must fix my mistakes!”

“Must it always be with your life?” Leif demanded.

“Yes! I took life, so I give mine, a life no one cares for!”

Leif and Severus leapt to their feet at the same time, standing toe to toe as they glared at each other.

“He’s the one that doesn’t care! We do!” Leif shouted. “He’s the one that’s abandoned you to this life for a prophecy he helped make happen!”

“Leif…” Alexei’s quiet warning was ignored.

“You care?” Severus sneered. “Funny, as it he who has been here, not you.”

“He’s only here to control you!” Leif shot back.

“Do not presume to think I have forgotten that last exchange in Italy,” Severus said, his tone hard.

Leif’s jaw twitched as he remembered that day, that fight. “I may have left, but you ran away, straight back to this,” he said, his own voice dropping to a lower level. “Did you learn nothing from last time?”

“I learned actions have consequences and I am atoning for mine,” Severus said stiffly.

“This is not the way,” Leif said with a small shake of his head.

“Enlighten me,” Severus drawled.

“You said Harry Potter is one of the naturals, Lily’s son. You said they are both abused, Lily’s son. That means he needs help, he needs protection. They both do,” Leif said firmly, desperate for his friend to listen and understand. “They are your atonement!”

“That is what I am doing!” Severus snapped.

“You cannot help them if you are dead!” Leif yelled, frustrated at the level of manipulation Dumbledore had achieved in Severus, convincing him that nothing he did would ever be enough. Convincing him that only through his sacrifice could he maybe achieve redemption.

“My life means nothing!” Severus yelled back.

“It means everything! The three of you mean everything!” Leif cried, cursing Dumbledore for all he’d done and for the necessary secrets that had to be kept but could change everything if they could be known.

“Leif…” Leif heard Alexei’s stronger warning, but ignored it once again.

“This is how I protect him, protect them,” Severus said, his voice dropping once again.

“By going to your death,” Leif said deadpanned.

Severus’ eyes sharpened and his glare intensified. “I haven’t died yet.”

“You will!” Leif shouted, his own glare turning deadly.

“Enough, both of you!” Alexei said, finally jumping to his feet and stepping between Leif and Severus.

“Professor?”

The three of them turned at the voice. Leif, despite the anger still filling him, immediately felt a pull upon seeing the two boys. Black hair and green eyes, and blonde hair and grey eyes. Opposite in appearance, but perfectly complementary in their magic and the bond they would have. He was drawn to them, a feeling he’d only felt once before. He looked back at Severus.

“Let’s have some dinner,” Alexei said and Leif allowed himself to be pushed away from Severus while they kept their eyes glued to each other. “I believe introductions are in order.”

Severus sat back in his chair as he finished his plate, his hand around the base of his wineglass on the table. His eyes roamed over Leif, Alexei, and the two teens, all quietly eating. A small voice in his head pointed out that that manor had never been so full, especially not by his invitation. He pushed the thought away and considered what sat before him. He wondered if he’d made a mistake choosing Leif and Alexei, not that there were any other options. However, there were clearly still points of contention between the three of them. Perhaps his actions were too unforgiveable. He could see the suspicious looks Potter and Malfoy kept shooting Leif and Alexei. The boys trusted no one. How productive could any training be?

“I believe it is time for introductions,” Severus said. “Potter, Malfoy, these are the masters I told you about. They will be staying here for the remainder of the summer to teach you about your magic.”

He watched the boys once again look at Leif and Alexei with a mixture of curiosity and concern. He imagined they hadn’t expected the masters to be so young. Once they knew…

“Well, I am Leif Marcus,” Leif said, placing his fork down and gazing at the teens. “I am an Aetherion and will be training Mr. Malfoy as I understand it.”

Malfoy just gave a small nod.

“I am Alexei Romanov, Elemental and—”

“Vampire,” Malfoy interrupted and Potter stared at Alexei with wide eyes.

“Mr. Malfoy, some respect, if you please,” Severus chided, gaining a light flush from the blonde.

“Yes, sir,” Malfoy mumbled, dropping his head and gaze back to his nearly empty plate.

“Oh, stop being so serious, Severus,” Alexei said, chuckling. “It is a common reaction and one you yourself had.”

Severus just rolled his eyes and took a drink of wine to hide his smirk.

“Yes, I am a vampire,” Alexei confirmed to Potter and Malfoy.

“Weren’t all the Romanovs killed?” Potter asked and Severus was satisfied when Potter looked contrite at his disapproving glare.

“Severus, quit admonishing them for simple curiosity,” Alexei said.

Severus raised his eyebrow at Alexei’s grin. Good to know his old friend hadn’t changed. He still had an air of playfulness and teasing about him. Alexei could be good for the boys in that way. He watched as Alexei pushed his plate up to lean on the table as though about to divulge some great secret, which, Severus supposed, wasn’t far from the truth. He could tell Potter and Malfoy were intrigued, but were keeping their guards up in the face of Leif and Alexei still being strangers.

“Now, yes, according to, well, everything, the entire Romanov family was executed,” Alexei said. “They were also Muggles, according to history.”

Potter frowned. “They weren’t?”

Alexei shook his head. “The oldest magical bloodline in Russia. It is for this reason they were executed. While no longer wishing to have a Tsarist regime, it was also discovered that the Romanovs were magical. The Muggles rebelled, frightened of the power the Romanovs could have over them, politically and magically. The underlying reason for the Red Terror was the extermination of witches and wizards. Discovering the royal family was magical was perfect for the Bolsheviks. To the Muggles not in the know and the rest of the world, they rid Russia of the Tsar in favour of an elected president. To them, they rid Russia of unwanted witches and wizards,” Alexei explained.

Severus glanced at Leif, both of them thinking the same thing. Alexei spoke of the Russian Civil War easily, always more than happy to tell the truth of what happened to his family in 1918, but they could always see the pain and sadness. The man had lost his entire family to fear and prejudice. Severus could only imagine how hard it was to live without them for all these decades. He also knew Alexei still lived with some guilt, never knowing why he was the one that was saved and no one else.

“So, what happened?” Malfoy asked quietly, sending a quick look at Severus, obviously hoping his question wasn’t being seen as rude.

“Our advisor and my personal Healer, Grigori Rasputin, saved me,” Alexei said. “He created a golem to take my place and we fled Russia. He turned me in nineteen-thirty when I was twenty-five.”

A stunned silence fell as Potter and Malfoy worked to adjust their knowledge of this history to accommodate Alexei’s revelation.

“My, my, Leif, you’re not going to try and out-do Alexei’s impressive story?” Severus said, smirking at his other friend while Alexei chuckled again.

“I do not believe my story to be as fascinating as changing a well-known history,” Leif said, clearly putting on an air of indifference.

Severus just looked pointedly at Potter and Malfoy who weren’t even bothering to hide their eager and curious expressions anymore. Leif released a put-upon sigh, but Severus knew it was an act. The man loved to compete with Alexei by regaling others with his own amazing story. They liked to keep a running record of whose story received the bigger reaction. Last he knew, Leif was well in the lead. Plus, he had to admit, it was nice to see Potter and Malfoy interested in something, and getting along with Leif and Alexei. The last thing the manor needed was more tension.

“I admit I am a little bit older than Alexei,” Leif said, drawing a snort from Alexei and an eye roll from Severus. “I gained my immortality at twenty-six in the year nine hundred. Due to my Aether Magic, I was to be a sacrifice to defeat Morgan le Fay, but my mother refused. She tied my life to runes and I became immortal.” He gestured to a bit of tattoo that was visible on the right side of his neck, the rest of it covering his shoulder, part of his chest, and arm down to the elbow hidden by his shirt.

“I’m sorry, what?” Malfoy said in utter disbelief.

“You were alive in Merlin’s time?” Potter said.

Leif nodded. “I was. I fought alongside him and Arthur.”

“Bloody hell!” Potter and Malfoy said together, gaping.

“Language,” Severus said, trying to stay stern while silently laughing in his wine at the two boys. Alexei was also laughing, though he wasn’t hiding.

“Damn, you win again,” Alexei said, raising his glass of blood to Leif.

“What is it now?” Leif said in mock thoughtfulness. “Two hundred seventeen to one-seventy?”

“Seventy-three, thank you very much,” Alexei said, grinning.

“Ah, my mistake,” Leif said, returning the grin and laugh.

There was an ease settling on the manor that Severus had never experienced before. He could see a minute amount of relaxation touch Potter and Malfoy, something that hadn’t happened yet that summer. He was convinced it could work with Leif and Alexei after all.

He was just about to finish off his wine when his left arm burned wildly with pain. Unprepared, his hand jerked and he accidentally knocked over the wineglass, spilling red wine across the table like blood. He clenched his hand in a tight fist and swiftly rose to his feet.

Leif and Alexei were staring at him with deep concern, the smiles gone from their faces.

“Stay with them,” he said shortly, gesturing at the boys with his chin. He hurried from the kitchen, ignoring Leif’s call of his name. He summoned his robe and mask, dashed across the wards, and let the Mark take him away.