Chapter 2: Geez that was a Short Chapter!
"Harry!"
Harry had woke up, his stomach lurched at the sight of ground quickly approaching him. He pulled up on his old Firebolt zooming back into the air and right back at a tall man's side also on a broom. His red freckles stood out on his face on the clear day, but not as much as his flaming red hair.
"Really Harry, I don't know why you had to fly in daylight like this," said Ron Weasley, "I mean with your condition, I'm surprised you haven't passed out and fell off your broom by now."
"I just want to get in some flying," said Harry weakly, trying to keep his eyes open, "before we don't have any time at the reunion. Besides the fresh air is doing me good."
"I don't know why we couldn't just disapparate. It'd be much easier."
"Ron. Wasn't it you who always suggested we take a little road trip by broomstick one day? Well, we're doing it now."
"Yeah, but I didn't expect that I'd have to babysit you so you don't crash into a tree or something," laughed Ron.
The sun was already setting and Harry began to feel more and more like himself. The cool evening air refreshed him as if he just woke up from a good night's rest. He zoomed off on his old Firebolt while Ron called out to him wait up.
It was already dark by the time they reached the castle. Some wizards and witches were already walking through the front doors of Hogwarts, attending the banquet party inside the Great Hall. Small tents were being packed up which no doubt had some reunion related activity earlier in the morning. Harry and Ron dismounted their brooms, and went inside. The Great Hall wasn't as full as they remembered it when they attended school, but nevertheless there was a significant amount of people. Some of their old classmates brought dates, husbands or wives, friends. Even a few of them had brought their entire families. Everyone was chatting with each other, reminiscing about old times, introducing each other to new people and telling about what they did with their lives.
"Hey Harry!" shouted Seamus, "How've you been? We never see you in the papers anymore."
"I've been busy," said Harry acting a tad embarrassed. Not everyone knew he was a vampire.
"Well you should come and visit me sometime. Got me own kid now. Named him after you," he said with a proud smile.
Harry felt a bit happy by the news. Seamus showed him a collection of photographs of Harry Finnigan, most of them crying due to the camera explained Seamus. Harry could only imagine how much his ears would hurt if the pictures had sound. Dean Thomas eventually caught Seamus' attention as they walked off chatting about all sorts of things. However Harry just sat at the snack table. All these people in the Great Hall, people he so wanted to talk to, but had nothing to say. He can't exactly blurb out that Yeah about a year after graduation I got bit by a vampire. So now I just sit around and mope all day about my existence. Even if he could tell them that much, he couldn't explain anymore about his life considering that some of the missions he was sent to perform for the vampire community was very secretive. Current events were positively boring and he'd rather not subject anyone to such a torture. He noticed a bottle of wine which he resisted every temptation to start drinking.
Ron came about once in a while to keep him company. They'd make jokes and Harry would learn about what his classmates were up to nowadays. But even Ron had his limits as someone else caught his eye and he'd jump up to greet them. Harry thought about doing the same thing when he thought he would have so much to talk about working at the Weasley's joke shop. However he decided against it feeling shameful that since graduation he achieved nothing more than just being a shop assistant. He soon felt guilty for even thinking that way about his job, Fred and George were respectable people after all. Instead he looked around the room at smiling faces engaged in wonderful conversations.
Something then caught the corner of his eye. A big brown bushy head of hair something.
"Could it be?" he thought to himself.
She was down the table a few meters chatting to Lavender Brown and the Patil Twins. She leaned over to grab something from the table. Just as he was about to confirm his suspicions, someone else leaned over in front of him reaching for cauldron cakes, obscuring his view.
"Damn!" thought Harry. He moved his head trying to get a better view but it was too late. The back of her head was facing him again, thoroughly engaged in talk.
Harry moved a bit closer accidentally knocking butterbeer down Seamus' robes.
"Watch it there Harry!" said Seamus.
Harry apologized profusely but managed to see the girl turn around…with a napkin over her mouth. He saw her eyes though. Brown keen eyes that was eager to prove something. There was no denying who it was, but for some reason he had to make sure.
"Hey Harry," hissed Ron.
"What?" said Harry not paying attention to him.
"Your teeth…they're getting a bit long," warned Ron under his breath.
Harry snapped out of his trance touching his teeth with his fingers. Two of his teeth had grown half an inch longer and gotten extremely sharp. Harry rubbed them as if it'll calm them down.
"You're not in a bitey mood are you? I mean we're all safe right?" asked Ron with a bit of concern.
"No, I'm fine," said Harry, "This just happens when I get a bit eager about something. Happens all the time when I look at new brooms."
"Oh…good," said Ron looking a bit relieved.
"Say, do you know if Hermione came to the reunion?"
"I wouldn't know why she wouldn't," said Ron, "I mean I told one of the Patil Twins I was coming and she's still friends with them. It's not like when we broke up it was especially terrible."
"What happened between you two?" asked Harry.
"Well what happened was…"
At that time a small shouting match between Neville and Dean happened right beside Harry's ear. They were arguing something about Herbology and Quidditch at the same time, although how such two subjects can possibly be discussed is beyond Harry. Ron took no notice of it as he motioned with his hands, rolled his eyes and seemed to drone on about something. Harry couldn't hear a single word and was about to stop Ron until a teacher came about to calm them down.
"…and that's what happened. I don't really like talking about it, but since you are my best mate I'll tell you this one time," finished Ron.
Harry looked a bit surprise, he didn't know what to say because he didn't hear what Ron actually said. He nodded, patted him on the back a bit too forcefully and thanked him, all the while laughing a tad nervously.
"Why do you ask Harry?" as Ron poured himself some punch, he eyed Harry's fangs which were receding slowly, "You don't have a thing for her do you?"
"No!" defended Harry, "No…not at all. I mean she's like my best friend just like you Ron. And besides. I can't do that to you."
Ron looked uninterested in the moment, "Well it doesn't matter really. We are through after all. I mean really Harry…after what we've been through."
"Yeah I know what you mean," said Harry who busied himself by getting a chocolate frog.
With that Ron walked off into the crowd looking for another conversation. Harry looked at the wizard card from his chocolate frog. He often wondered if he'd ever make it into the wizard card collection.
"Hi Harry!"
Someone had wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt a brown head of hair envelope half his face, and for some odd reason he took a deep breath, taking in her smell. After a short moment she released him and held his hands.
"Hi!.…..uh…Hermione!" stuttered Harry.
She was wearing a chocolate brown dress her hair melting into her dress. He looked into her eyes which shined brilliantly and were as keen as ever. Her smile lit up the room, or so it seemed to Harry as she stood there grinning away.
"It's been so long! We have so much to talk about," said Hermione as she dragged him away from the snack table. Harry looked a bit nervous as Hermione took him through the crowd, he felt he made a nice little nest at his spot at the snack table. He wondered if someone else would stake claim to his seat.
Harry relaxed a lot when they started talking. They talked for a good hour, about everything. It mostly came back to their years in Hogwarts but Harry did actually discuss his life one year before he got bitten. He tried as much to steer the conversation about Hermione's life who talked about he job at the ministry and how exciting it was. When asked what he did recently he didn't feel embarrassed at all saying he worked with Fred and George in their shop. She laughed a bit as if she wondered why she didn't appreciate their jokes before.
"So what happened to you and Ginny?" asked Hermione casually, "I don't see her around."
"<___insert a very very plausible reason why Harry and Ginny separated___>," said Harry.
"Oh," said Hermione quietly, her eyes looking a bit sad, "That sounds very strange, yet very plausible in an official sort of way. I thought you were 'the' couple you know. You two always looked so cute together."
Harry nodded contemplating something. The moment felt a bit awkward until Hermione started to speak up again.
"Listen Harry. I'm wondering if you would have time for me and you to…"
"HARRY POTTER, I NEED YOU ASSISTANCE," boomed a voice in his head.
"Pardon me, what?" said Harry, trying to listen to Hermione.
"Well I was wondering that if we could…"
"HARRY POTTER. THIS IS YOUR MASTER CALLING YOU. COME BACK TO THE CASTLE IMMEDIATELY," boomed the voice.
Harry felt a twitch in his stomach area like someone tied to line to it and was trying to pull him backwards.
"Harry what's wrong?" asked Hermione as she touched his shoulder.
"Nothing…uh," said Harry as his got up slowly moving backwards into the crowd. The truth was he tried restrain himself from moving at all.
"I just remembered I had something to do…back at the shop," said Harry.
"But…but Harry," said Hermione, her face looking a bit confused.
"That sounds like a great idea Hermione," said Harry as he was pushing his way through the crowd towards the exit, "I'll send you an owl sometime!"
He saw Hermione's face disappear as the crowd passed in front of him. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay, stay with the first person he talked to normally in a long time. Harry walked down from the castle to just outside the gates mumbling all the way. With a small crack his disappeared from where he stood and popped in front of a dark forest. He walked in still grumbling until twenty minutes later he arrived in front of two large doors. He knocked and was admitted in by a very pale looking man. Moments later he entered a great chamber, similar to Hogwarts' Great Hall but colder, darker. Small torches barely lit the stone which was covered with cobwebs. A cold wind blew in from the empty fireplace.
Harry asked a vampire that stood next to him why they all of them were summoned, still fuming about having to leave Hermione so abruptly. The vampire merely shrugged, looking just as clueless as the other vampires.
"Fellow brothers and sisters," harked a tall slender looking man with long black flowing hair, "we have gathered all of you for some unsettling news."
Murmurs flowed through the crowd. Renoir was a vampire count, the right hand man to the King of the Vampires. He is one of the king's top advisors and often has his ear concerning many matters, especially those concerning the safety of vampire-kind.
"We have reason to believe that the werewolves are planning something and they are gathering forces on the border these past few nights," announced Renoir, "so…as a precaution we have summoned all available forces to defend the borders if needed. That is all."
"What about the treaty?" shouted a vampire in the group, "we have peace with them for over a decade!"
"I do not claim that I know how a werewolf's mind works," said the Renoir with a slight patronizing tone, "but apparently there are still rogues amongst them. If history has taught us anything, treaties are nothing more than flimsy agreements between warring nations to fight at another time. Be on your guard everyone."
Harry felt incredibly furious that he was summoned for such a lousy announcement. Here was another example of vampires being prats about their survival, thinking everybody is out to get them. He often wondered what vampires had against werewolves, how this great feud between them started. He would amuse himself thinking that perhaps a werewolf urinated on some important vampire's coffin one night, causing this blood feud between them that last few centuries. He was about to make his way back to his room when someone called out his name.
"Harry!" said Renoir in a cheerful voice, "Just the person I want to speak to."
Harry rolled his eyes as Renoir came up to him. Harry did a small bow, a common courtesy to your vampire master. Renoir laughed and told Harry to get up saying he never had to do that. But the fact remained it was hardwired into vampires to do that every single time. There was no denying it. He had the sinking feeling that Renoir wanted him to bow as an opportunity to act nice to Harry in front of other vampires.
"So how are you feeling Harry?" he asked looking very eager, "Are you feeling strong at all?"
"As fine as any other vampire," said Harry, trying to finish the conversation as quickly as possible.
"Well we need more than that Harry. We need you to be the best that you can be," said Renoir with a very fangy smile.
To tell the truth, Renoir was very interested in Harry. He actually bit him thinking that having such a powerful wizard on their side would bolster the vampire ranks. Every opportunity he had, he would talk to Harry. Encouraging him to be the best vampire ever. He hasn't felt so pursued by a single person since Lockheart and that was no picnic. However with Renoir it is worst considering that he could actually summon Harry to come and talk to him at anytime. Even though six years is like a week to a vampire who lived for over a century, Harry knew that Renoir's patience was growing thinner with each uneventful year.
"The truth is Harry, I need you to go along for a secret mission," whispered Renoir.
"When has any mission hasn't been secret master?" said Harry.
"Ho ho ho, your words ring true," chuckled Renoir, his fangs giving him a strangely demonic appearance, "but this one is extra special. I need you to join some of the guards near the border. I think this is the time Harry. The time you show the entire world what you're made out of."
Harry was a bit insulted by that comment. After all he defeated Voldemort. However when fame and fortune reared its ugly head, he did at times wish that he wasn't Famous Harry Potter or The Boy Who Lived. He had wished he could live a normal life. And in some ways still staying in the castle with the vampires has granted his wish. No one gave him special treatment, aside from Renoir; which Harry tried to make it as rare as possible. He wasn't considered extraordinary and considering he hasn't did anything that stood out during his tenure as a vampire, no one really paid attention to him.
Renoir gave him specific directions for Harry to go out to the borders in two nights in support of the forces already gathering there. Harry agreed, bowed and headed towards his room. He locked himself inside and sat on his bed, attempting to remember the night before he was rudely interrupted.
"What was Hermione trying to say?" he thought.
However all he could thought of was her hair, her eyes, her face and how warm her hands were on his. Her chocolate dressed danced in his mind, lulling him to sleep. He felt relaxed as he slowly drifted off to sleep. He had a peculiar feeling when with her because not once did he ever think about biting her neck.