Blood Bound: A Vampire Tale
Disclaimer: Everything concerning Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. I own nothing, nor is this done for any purpose except my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of anyone reading this. There is no attempt to make any profit.
I wish to extend a grateful thank you to my beta readers, Amanda and Prof Roz. Any mistakes left in this story are due to my last minute revisions.
A/N Conversations in italic print are telepathic in nature.
Chapter Twenty-one
Two cloaked and hooded vampires appeared between the two holly trees. They had spent three weeks in Bulgaria, and though the winter was still harsh in Western Europe, in England the weather was moderating slightly as spring approached. This night was plagued by a moderate fog. It crept in banks that interfered with the line of sight; at one moment it was almost clear, five minutes later one could only see fifteen or twenty feet.
Harry followed the path to the hedge with Hermione right behind him. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and guided her through the front door. There was no need for discussion; they both went into the second bedroom and began to shift the debris. Using magic, they began levitating the large pieces of the fallen roof out of the room. Underneath the roofing material, they found the outer wall of the house and began removing that. It was tedious work that was only made easier by a combination of magic and vampire strength.
At last, they began to sift through the small pieces of wood, plaster, and dust that covered the floor and was sealed under the fallen roof. Hermione was using a spell that caused a jet of air to blow from the tip of her wand, while Harry was down on his hands and knees searching along the floorboards.
Harry finally found the ring under a collapsed piece of furniture that might once have been his toy box. Together, they smiled in triumph. After the awful time he and Dumbledore had had in the cave, finding the second two Horcruxes had been easy. Harry wondered why Tom had not come to retrieve this one; surely he knew where it was?
He held out the heavy, golden ring to Hermione who took it with a slight shudder. Who would have thought this small object would have been at the center of so much heartache? Voldemort had destroyed how many lives to get it here? Whom had he killed to obtain such a treasure? Then, he had destroyed Harry's life and murdered his parents to create a hiding place for a part of his soul. This was magic at its most despicable.
"Does it really have a piece of Tom's soul in it?" she asked.
"I hope so. It is here where my mother died, and we believe he marked special murders by creating trophies to mark his victories. He wanted to mark his triumph over the prophecy by killing me and my parents."
Hermione nodded as she handed it back to him. Harry placed the ring in a box and packed it in his backpack. They turned to leave; neither felt the desire to stay in this place where a gallant and loving mother had met her untimely end.
The fog had lifted somewhat as they stepped out of the house. As they walked around the bushes shielding the ruin from the road, a dark shape rose from the shadows and commanded them to halt.
The vampires stopped and turned to face their assailant. The figure was hooded and cloaked also; and they found themselves staring down the length of a magic wand. Harry would have known that voice anywhere; it was Bellatrix Lestrange.
Without giving the witch a chance to say anything further, he dropped the hood of his cloak and said, "Hello, Bellatrix, I wondered when our paths would cross again."
Even though her face was hidden behind a mask, Harry could hear the astonishment in her voice, "Can it be? I have captured the elusive, little Harry Potter. The Dark Lord is so anxious to question you."
"Are you sure you've captured me? There are two of us and only one of you," Harry observed nonchalantly.
Bellatrix seemed not to have noticed that Harry was speaking to her. "You have shown remarkable discipline, to have remained hidden for so long. Did you not care that your friends sacrificed themselves to hide you? Your mudblood refused to tell where you were hiding; you might have been proud. We tortured her and her screams of agony were delicious, but she wouldn't betray you. Do you know if she died before or after the dementor sucked out her soul? We could never find out."
Harry refused to be baited. Instead he answered tersely, "She couldn't have told you even if she had wanted to. She never knew where I was."
Bellatrix's laughter chilled even the undead, "That's good to know; I was concerned that I was losing my touch."
Hermione stepped forward and dropped her hood. "You might be surprised to find out that the dementor didn't get the mudblood's soul; Harry came along and stopped it. In fact, the mudblood in question is right here."
Recognizing Hermione's face in the moonlight shocked Bella out of her reverie. With a scream of anger she pointed her wand at her and commanded, "Crucio!"
Hermione stood impassively, unaffected by the curse. "Of course, I did die later," she continued conversationally. "Your curse won't work on me now."
Harry stepped forward and plucked the wand out of Bellatrix's hand, and with no effort snapped it in half. He grabbed Bella's robe and threw her against the side of the house, stunning the Death Eater.
Marching purposefully around the bushes Harry grabbed Bellatrix and dragged her into the ruin of his parent's home. Hermione came running after him calling, "Harry! Harry! What are you going to do? Harry, where are you? Please, Harry, let me in."
As she stood there, an arm appeared out of thin air and pulled her back into the house.
Once inside, Hermione found Harry had tied Bellatrix to a chair. He approached her, pulled back the hood of her cloak, and ripped the mask off of her face. Bella's heavy-lidded eyes blazed defiance, "If you hurt me, I can assure you that the Dark Lord's vengeance will be swift, merciless, and cruel."
"Not as cruel as I am going to be to you, dear Bella," Harry replied silkily. "I owe you for what you've done to my friends and to Sirius."
Hermione placed a restraining hand on Harry's arm, "Remember what happened after Fenrir. Please don't do anything else like that."
Bella's eyes widened in fear, "You killed Fenrir? How?"
Harry smiled at Bellatrix. As he did so his fangs dropped over his lower lip and his eyes began to glow red. The once fearless Bellatrix Lestrange began to whimper as Harry approached. As he reached out to touch her face she twisted and tried to get away from his touch. He looked over his shoulder at Hermione, "Don't worry; I know what I'm doing this time."
Bella began to scream. Long, loud screams that spoke of fear, frustration, and pain. She screamed until Hermione's Silencing Charm cut her off as abruptly as turning off a switch.
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Word flashed through the wizarding world that Bellatrix Lestrange was once more in custody. She had been found wandering around Salisbury. The Muggle police that picked her up reported that she was incoherent, though when they checked she was neither drunk or on drugs. She had no identification and was wearing a tattered garment that defied depiction.
When they broadcast her description it was quickly discovered that she was a wanted criminal and the proper authorities were notified. The proper authorities showed up with almost bewildering quickness for the Muggle police forces.
They were invaded by smiling brothers in law enforcement. All had ready phrases like, "Good show, old man" or "quite a feather in your caps this". As the senior officials tried to find out who they had captured they got further stock phrases like, "it all rather hush-hush" or "that's strictly need-to-know, and you don't need-to-know, old chap".
It was later likened to a cyclone that quickly blew itself out and left nothing behind except for a few "you'll get full credit down the roads", "pip pip, cheerio, and all that rot", and in answer to most any open ended question, a resounding "quite!". It left the Muggles wondering what had just happened, but like everything else, it blew over and, in time, everyone got back to business as usual.
Later that day, Rufus Scrimgeour accompanied Kingsley Shacklebolt down a rather dingy hall at St.Mungo's on his way to interview the infamous Bella Lestrange. He found her restrained in a bed, in a private room surrounded by a small knot of healers. They were headed by the legendary healer, Marcus Galen.
The Minister of Magic nodded to the healers and immediately began to pay attention to the prisoner. Bellatrix was staring at the ceiling, apparently uninterested in her new visitors.
"Hello, Bella, good to see you again," Scrimgeour offered sarcastically. "You'll find Azkaban somewhat more pleasant now that the dementors are gone. I suspect it will seem a grand reunion with your old Death Eater cronies."
Bellatrix looked sideways at the minister before spitting at him. Scrimgeour stepped backward out of the line of fire. While all attention was on the Minister of Magic, she managed to slip her hand out of the restraining cuff. It had been fastened by someone with a misguided sense of kindness. With the speed of a striking snake she snatched the wand of a nearby healer. She pointed the wand at Scrimgeour and cried, "Kveadada Avdavrada".
Kingsley pulled the minister back and two other Aurors threw themselves between the wand and the minister. The healers looked at Bellatrix waiting expectantly.
For a moment she lay there with a look of pure poison on her face. Suddenly, she was gripped by a spasm of pain. She cried out as she went totally rigid; it seemed that every muscle in her body had knotted up. The wand clattered to the floor, forgotten, as her body arched up off of the bed, supported by her heels and the back of her head. Bella screamed through her clenched teeth until she ran out of air; then, unable to draw a breath she finally collapsed, unconscious, on the bed.
Galen looked at one of the healers, "Same as before?"
"Yes, sir. Not so bad as this, but essentially the same."
This time Galen fastened the restraint himself.
Scrimgeour did not know what horrified him the most. The fact Bellatrix got loose, the fact she tried to kill him, or what just happened to her after she tried to use magic. "What's the matter with her? Did something scramble her mind?"
"Not exactly, Minister," answered Galen. "She appears to have suffered an attack on a deeper level than that. Magic emanates from our wills. Our bodies form a crucial bridge between the unseen realm of our souls and the material world we inhabit. Bellatrix' magic was attacked at the deepest level of her mind, just where it is joined to her soul."
"But the scrambled incantation-,"
"Is a symptom of what has happened on the deeper level; the same thing happened when she tried a non-verbal spell earlier. The pathway the energy takes from the will, through the brain and body, to the focal point of the wand has been disrupted."
Slowly, Scrimgeour was beginning to understand, "Then, effectively, Bellatrix is a squib? Can she be healed?"
Galen nodded, "Yes, she is unable to use magic. Without knowing what or how it was done, I don't think we can help her. If we tried, we might do greater harm; but given that she just tried to kill you, do you want us to try?"
The Minister of Magic shook his head, "As soon as she can be moved, send her back to Azkaban."
The minister's party left the room, as they came to the stairwell at the end of the hallway they met a small group of reporters from the Daily Prophet and a couple of smaller newspapers that had sprung up when wizards had begun to distrust the larger paper. The attention of the reporters drew a number of visitors and patients to the stairwell because they recognized that someone important was coming.
Bill and Fleur Weasley were among the small group of patients gathered at the foot of the stairs. Fleur frowned as Scrimgeour began to address the group. Bill was continuing to allow the healers to examine his case as it might help someday help cure those who were affected by Lycanthropy.
"The Ministry is pleased to announce that our law enforcement wizards have recaptured one of the principal Death Eaters that escaped from Azkaban nearly two years ago. Bellatrix Lestrange was picked up in Salisbury early this morning by Muggle police in cooperation with our Aurors.
She has apparently suffered some kind of magical injury and will be returned to Azkaban when she can be moved."
"Minister Scrimgeour, how was she injured if she was picked up by Muggles?"
As if in answer Bellatrix' voice screamed once again. It was faint this far from the room and through the closed doors, but it was clearly audible to all the people in the hallway. "Damn you, Harrreee Pottterrr!"
Scrimgeour's face was fixed in a mask of fury as he pushed his way down the stairs and out into the lobby. "It seems the Minister is upset," Bill remarked to Fleur as they left the hospital a few minutes later. Fleur giggled as she nestled under Bills arm.
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After dropping Bellatrix in Salisbury Harry and Hermione Apparated back to Manchester. There was a little time before the sunrise so they sought a cleaner place than the old power station to hide from the daylight. Just to the north of the ship channel they found some deserted apartment buildings and moved into the basement.
It took a little time to clean it, but it offered a door that could be closed and hidden by magic.
Once they settled in Hermione asked, "What did you do to Bella?"
"I scrambled her ability to use magic. By taking her blood and entering her mind, I was able to stop the flow of her power through her brain, plus I planted a post-hypnotic suggestion that will cause her pain if she tries to injure someone by using magic."
Hermione nodded. She still had memories of the pain the Cruciatus Curse had caused her.
The next night the vampires apparated to Diagon Alley. They knew the general direction that Tom had come from to get here and during planning it had seemed a simple task. However, once in the real world, the task was not so simple. The hours passed and there was still no sight of the square building with the iron fence.
During the search, each vampire had taken the time to feed; there was a growing feeling of expectancy as the hours passed. Harry had been on the receiving end of Tom Riddle's diabolical traps and he wondered if he and Hermione would be able to overcome the trial that was set before them.
As midnight passed, Harry grew discouraged. When he was human, he had all of the hours in which to hunt; now he had to consider that he must be finished while he could still move. The daylight hours were denied him.
"Let's give it up for tonight, Harry," Hermione suggested. "We need to get back to Birmingham, I'll check the library while it's still dark, and we can come straight back here tomorrow."
Harry reluctantly agreed and they left London. Harry stayed with Hermione, but neither of them could find anything helpful in the University library. Discouraged, they went back to their lair.
It was raining on the second night of the search. Bright flashes of lightening lit the night and the thunder rumbled ominously in the background. Once again, they began to search the streets. It had been less than twenty minutes when a bolt of lightening in the clouds attracted his attention. As the thunder rolled over them he recognized the orphanage to his right. They had found it at last.
The old building was deserted and had been for a few years. It had begun to show signs of neglect, but for now it was in good shape. As they prepared to enter the building, Harry gave Hermione the Invisibility Cloak and he hid the Firebolt in the entrance.
Moving through the structure, it was apparent that the place had been shut down in an orderly manner. All of the furnishings had been taken away, probably when the orphans had been moved to newer quarters. Harry wondered what had happened to Mrs. Cole.
After examining the first floor, the vampires were undecided as what to do. Harry had almost figured on finding the Horcrux in Tom's old wardrobe and now the furnishings had been removed. Hermione suggested they try to find a basement. She believed that if anything was left behind, it would be there.
They encountered a problem in that after a thorough search of the first floor, they could find no evidence that the building had a basement; or, at least, there was no way to access it from inside. The vampires stole out of the front doors and cautiously made their way around the building.
On the side of the building, they found an old coal chute which was an encouraging sign. The entrance to the basement was at the back of the old building. Harry charmed the door open and they entered the basement.
The basement was a dank and dismal place. There were a number of the old wardrobes standing around the walls of the basement. A good deal of the middle of the room was taken up by an ancient boiler and its associated piping. The vampires made their way through the room. On one wall, there was a set of rickety steps leading upward to a door. From what he had seen, he thought it might lead up to the kitchen, but there was no sign of the door upstairs. Hermione suggested the doorway might have been walled over, perhaps to keep the children from sneaking down to the basement.
"Why would anyone come down here?" Harry asked.
"For the same reason Hogwarts' students hide in broom closets." Hermione shook her head at Harry's naiveté.
Harry examined what was left of the old coal bin, as Hermione continued to examine the stairs. In the center of the far wall there was a rather ominous iron door. To vampire eyes, it was obvious that it had been touched by magic. The vampires knew that a wizard had been here.