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-Six
Little Hangleton was at the center of a gentle valley that ran roughly northwest to southeast between two large hills. The roads were bordered by hedges that screened the small farm cottages from view. The Riddle House was on the eastern side of the valley, perched on the hillside above the village. Below it, the graveyard and church lay between the manor and the town.
It was late afternoon and Kingsley Shacklebolt stood on the top of western hill. Looking to the southeast, he could see the old house, its surrounding lawns, and the small cottage that had once been the home of Frank Bryce. Behind the old manor from his viewpoint was a large belt of trees. Here and there, the Auror could see the smoke from campfires in the woods. From Lupin's report that was where the main group of werewolves was hiding from the Muggles in Little Hangleton.
Behind him were the Aurors that he had brought from Ministry. There were some forty that he had known for years and felt that he could trust. No word of this operation had leaked out of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. The Minister of Magic did not know that they were here. He knew that if they won that Scrimgeour would grab all of the credit; if they lost, well, he probably would not be alive to care.
A light flashed from the top of the other hill. He smiled at the Muggle trick; the flash had come from a mirror, catching the light of the setting sun. No one wanted to use magic yet; no one wanted to tip off You-Know-Who before they had to. The flash told him that the Order of the Phoenix was moving into position. He was glad that they were there. McGonagall and crew were among the most powerful wizards and witches in existence, but for all their power and expertise they did not deal with violence the way he and his Aurors did. He hoped that they would not be drawn into the main fight with the Death Eaters.
To his utter amazement, he saw the Knight Bus accelerate out of the village. It rounded a corner and disappeared with a bang. He concentrated on Little Hangleton, trying to see what was going on. He observed a number of small figures moving into the town. He grabbed an Invisibility Cloak and broom and flew off the hill. He made a circle, and entered the town from the side opposite the manor. Once in the town he observed the new comers. He recognized several of Harry's friends, Ron Weasley in particular.
Keeping out of sight, he noted that they were hiding as well. Each of the Hogwarts students was casting sleeping spells on the buildings. The spells were really simple and probably would not attract the attention of any watching Death Eaters. The students moved methodically, making sure that the Muggle citizens would never know what happened on this night.
Kingsley waited until Ron was right beside his hiding place before he pulled back the hood of his cloak and whispered, "Whose idea was this, Mr. Weasley?"
Ron started at the sound of his voice, but Kingsley quickly found himself looking down the length of Ron's wand. "Bloody Hell! Don't do that, I nearly jumped out of my skin." Ron recognized the Auror and wiped the sweat from his brow with a shaking hand.
He took a moment to regain his composure, "It was Lupin's idea, and the Order is doing the same thing to the werewolves up behind the manor. We don't want You-Know-Who to have them fight for him."
"Then what?"
"We hide in the town and keep any Death Eaters from breaking through." He noted Kingsley's frown. "We're not allowed to go any closer to the manor than the church, that way we can pick them off in the graveyard."
The black Auror looked dubious.
"We've been training all year. Most of us are in our seventh year; we let a few sixth years that were really good come, but they've got to stay behind us. We might not be the best at dueling, but we can fight from ambush. We owe it to Harry; he started training us."
To that Kingsley had no answer. He flew back to the hill, glad he did not have to garrison the town. He would have to remember that Lupin was quite a tactician. He found Littleton, and had him select five Aurors to back up the DA. They were not to enter the town, but were to stand by on the road into town to help the students if it became necessary.
As the sun dropped behind the hill, Ron and his troops were concluding their task. They finished by casting spells on the few who were moving around the town. Suddenly feeling tired, they moved to their homes and all were quickly falling asleep.
Ron ended up near the funeral parlor as he completed bewitching his assigned homes. Luna came up beside him, and together they moved to the front of the building. As they tried to find a place to hide, Ron heard the sound of a door opening at the back of the building. He knew that there was something special about this place. He had seen it marked on a map his father had, and he knew that Bill and Fleur had been here earlier that afternoon.
He moved quickly to the back of the building, before he could reach the corner he heard the door close again. He jumped past the corner with his wand drawn, but to his disappointment all he saw were two creatures flying toward the graveyard. Watching them against the darkening sky, he concluded that they were bats. Satisfied that there was no threat behind him, he and Luna found a covered place from which they could observe the graveyard. It caused him some disquiet to remember that this is where Voldemort was reborn and Cedric Diggory met his death.
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Beneath the rapidly darkening sky, Shacklebolt was about to signal his Aurors to move forward. Their orders were simple; arrest the Death Eaters. They were to be captured and killed only if necessary, but everyone was sure that unless victory was swift, that many would die this night.
Suddenly, two small, winged shapes appeared out of the darkness. "Bats, wonder what they're doing?" thought Kingsley, he grew suspicious when they altered their flight and arrowed straight toward him. The bats slowed, dropped low, and transformed into two hooded and cloaked figures. The stunned Aurors recovered from their shock and leveled their wands against the new comers.
"Put your wands away, these are friends." Somehow, he was not totally surprised that Harry and Hermione had become animagi.
It took all of the Aurors' trust and discipline to do as the tall, black Auror commanded.
"We have scouted the house for you." Harry's voice was a quiet and somewhat menacing hiss. Tonks thought it familiar, even though the voice was dry and reedy. "The main body of Death Eaters is on the first floor, there are more in the basement of the house. It sounds like some kind of meeting is going on there. There is a pair of sentries at each corner of the property and a group of eight in the cottage."
"Look!" gasped one of the Aurors. He pointed to the eastern hill. A wall of mist had formed on the hill top and was rolling down the hillside, even though there was no wind to drive it.
"We have help, my friends," explained Shacklebolt. "That is intended to make the werewolves sleep, so they can't interfere with our assault. The people in town have been put to sleep as well."
He looked at the ominous figures before him. "Thanks for your reconnaissance; it's time to go."
The Aurors moved past the cloaked figures. A few minutes later he looked over his shoulder, they had vanished. It took them nearly half an hour to walk to the bottom of the hill and to approach the cemetery. When they arrived at the low wall surrounding it, they met one of the cloaked figures.
"Wait here," was all it said. Tonks gasped. She knew that voice! It was Hermione Granger. Trembling she stepped forward, but the figure held up a warning hand. "Later, Tonks." Several of the Aurors looked at her in surprise.
Out of the darkness, several hooded figures were walking forward. All of them appeared dazed. Following them was the second mysterious figure from the hilltop. "Prisoners," it said. Tonks could have slapped herself; how could she have not recognized Harry's voice? She wondered what had happened; Kingsley and Carstairs had been after these vampires since July. Now they were allies? Still, she was glad for the Order's sake. Plus, it relieved her guilt over promising to shield them from the Ministry.
The Aurors looked puzzled; how were they going to guard sixteen prisoners? Reading their thoughts, Harry commanded the prisoners, "Sit down here, and do not move until you are commanded to in the name of the Ministry. You will be yourselves at the rising of the sun." Obediently, they sat, while the Aurors removed their masks and took their names. Harry was surprised to see Draco Malfoy with the prisoners. He was glad that he had unwittingly kept part of his promise to Snape. He just hoped that Narcissa was not inside.
With the sentries captured, Kingsley moved on his next objective, the gardener's cottage. The vampires had slipped away while the Aurors were busy with the prisoners. Now, as he moved through the cemetery, he wondered how easy this was going to be. Voldemort's outer defenses had fallen without alerting the main force in the house. His misgivings were soon realized.
Tonks grabbed his arm, "Infiri, coming from the graves behind us," she said. Her tone was unusually flat and she had a far away look on her face, as though she were being controlled from a distance. He had no time to ponder this development as the cries of surprise and shock came from the rear of his formation.
Under assault from the Infiri, the wizards had no choice but to begin to defend themselves with spells that conjured fire and light. The Aurors began to gather together to better concentrate their spells against the relentless onslaught of the Infiri.
From his left, out of the darkness, the vampires arrived on his flank. He paused in amazement at the speed and ferocity of their attack. Harry and Hermione almost appeared to dance through the knots of Infiri. Their spell of choice appeared to be a non-verbal "Reducto". They whirled through them, smashing them with magic and inhuman speed and strength. Seeing what they were doing, he organized his defenses: some of his Aurors would stop the Infiri by immobilizing them, others would turn them away using light, and the last group would incinerate the fallen Infiri with fire.
Harry was furious that his own attempt to penetrate the Riddle House had been interrupted by this diversionary attack, but he could not leave the Aurors to be overwhelmed by the undead minions of the Dark Lord. It did seem that he and Hermione had an unfair advantage; the Infiri ignored them in favor of attacking the living.
Nearly a dozen Aurors were down, and even the vampires were being pressed by the numbers of Infiri, when help arrived from an unexpected source. Hagrid and Grawp came striding out of the trees; Hagrid was bellowing instructions to Grawp. The giant uprooted a small tree and began smashing the Infiri, sweeping them away like an overgrown farmer with a scythe. Hagrid, though not as large as Grawp, was able to keep the Infiri from closing in on his half-brother, by using a tree branch as a heavy club. Finally, a small figure dropped into the melee from a speeding broom. Filius Flitwick gestured with his wand and a rolling wave of fire swept through the oncoming Infiri, unlike the fires the other wizards conjured, Flitwick's flames consumed them instantly.
With the help from the vampires and giants, the Aurors had been able to stop the Infiri at the edge of the cemetery. None could help but feel a sense of triumph when the last of the undead warriors was destroyed; but they knew that it was a diversion, meant to gain time and cause dismay and disruption among any attempting to storm the house.
The defenders were now alerted and the deadly, green streaks of the "Avada Kedavra" curse began to flash from the house on the hillside.
McGonagall and Moody had followed Flitwick on brooms. They quickly moved to cast Disillusioning Charms on the giants, who were quickly targeted by the defenders of the house. Having done all they could Hagrid pulled Grawp back to the cover of the forest. The threat of their attacks would cause the Death Eaters to think twice before risking a confrontation.
Kingsley, Tonks, and Littleton confronted the teachers, "Please, Headmistress, take your teachers and get back to the cover of the trees. We appreciate that you are powerful in your own right, but you are more important than we are. You have it in your power to shape our future, and if the students in the village are any example, it is a bright one. We desperately need for you to survive this, I'm not saying don't fight, but please do it from cover."
Reluctantly, McGonagall obeyed. As she and Flitwick left, Moody and Lupin joined the Aurors. Together they turned to face the house. Kingsley nodded and the Aurors gestured with their wands sending a wave of power smashing into the front of the house.
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Voldemort knew that the house was under attack from the moment the Infiri were activated. It came as a surprise, but he quickly recovered. Most of the werewolf leaders were behind him, and now the few that were undecided were trapped with the others.
The Dark Lord stormed up from the lower level to find his worst fears realized. He was under attack by the forces of the Ministry of Magic. He noted that several of his followers were trying to Apperate with no success; he knew that the Aurors had sealed off that avenue of escape. He was giving commands about defending the house when the manor was shaken by the power directed against it. Several windows blew out, showering the Death Eaters with shards of glass.
Upon receiving his orders, some of his servants began to reinforce the walls with magic, while others tried to heal their brethren. He realized that the broad lawns created a problem for the Aurors. They had no cover from which to approach the house. If his servants could keep them pinned down he could use Nagini in a flank attack on the cemetery walls. Her small size, about twenty-eight feet, would prevent them from seeing her coming, and the power of her gaze would kill anyone looking into her eyes.
He had sixty Death Eaters in the house and the eighteen werewolf leaders. Though the werewolves could not use magic, many could partially transform this close to the full moon. He decided to send nine of them, along with twenty Death Eaters, as a diversionary attack on the cemetery. His plan was to have them advance on the graveyard, then have them retreat. If his forces did not use Unforgivable Curses, he knew the Aurors would not either. With their attention focused, Nagini would have free rein to attack from the flank.
The Dark Lord issued his orders and set his plan in motion.
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When help arrived from the Order, the vampires renewed their assault on the house. They transformed into bats and flew toward the house. Once there, they circled the house seeking an entrance. Harry was trying to decide what to do when the Aurors struck the house.
With his preternatural hearing, Harry was able to hear some of the commands Voldemort issued to his followers. He and Hermione landed and hung from the eaves of the old house. Focusing his concentration, he warned Tonks of the coming attack. He had heard no details; but he knew that the attack was a diversion.
He waited for a few minutes to see if he could gather a few more details about Voldemort's attack. Then he heard a cold voice, venomous with hatred, "kill…kill them all…all the intruders…strike, bite, and killlll…" Nagini was coming! He sent a final warning and dropped into the air.
Swiftly they quartered the area, searching for the Basilisk. Remembering that Fawkes suffered no hurt in the Chamber of Secrets, he hoped that by flying above the serpent's field of vision he too would not be hurt. He knew that he could not die again, but if he looked into the creature's eyes that he might still be petrified, like Sir Nicholas had been.
He picked up a soft chirp from Hermione, a noise different from the clicks they used to echo-locate. Swiftly he banked in her direction. There on the ground he could make out the sinuous shape speeding toward the wall of the cemetery. Entering a dive, he swept ahead of the Basilisk, dropped behind the low wall, and resumed his human shape.
Closing his eyes was the hardest thing that he had to do. He seldom realized how dependent on his eyes he was; now they were his worst enemy. Spreading his vampiric awareness, he began to search the area around him.
He heard, rather than felt, the snake cross the wall. "Kill…I smell blood."
"No!" he cried in parseltongue. Nagini stopped. Harry could sense the serpent coiling to strike.
He heard a hiss of surprise as the Basilisk regarded him with its deadly gaze. "You are not warm. What are you?"
"I am your death."
Harry received a telepathic warning that the snake was striking. He swiftly leaped aside and struck with his talons. If he expected a repeat of his combat with Fenrir, he was wrong. The Basilisk's heavy, overlapping scales resisted his talons so that his claws slid along the snake's side as it rushed past.
Turning, he transformed into a wolf and tried to gain some separation from his enemy. He heard the snake sliding across the graves in pursuit. Harry broke to his left and resumed his human shape, knowing that Nagini would have to coil before she struck again.
The slithering noise stopped as Nagini hissed her frustration. Harry was trying to sense exactly where his opponent was when he heard Hermione give a cry of triumph. She telepathically sent him what she was seeing through her eyes. She transformed in mid-air and dropped onto Nagini's back. Wrapping her legs around the serpent's neck, she plunged her talons into the area behind the Basilisk's skull. With a mighty effort she ripped her hands apart, severing the spinal chord.
The Baslilisk died instantly, dropping to the ground. Hermione rolled clear because the serpent's body began to coil and thrash about violently. Averting his eyes, Harry grabbed the snake's neck and with a flash of his talons, finished decapitating it. Hermione gestured with her wand and created a hole in the ground, into which Harry kicked the Basilisk's head. He knew that it could no longer kill with its eyes, but its venom was a potent as ever. There was no reason to risk anyone being bitten accidentally, if the jaws were still reacting.
"That's the last one," he said. "Now, Tom is mortal again." He opened his arms and swept Hermione into a huge hug. "You were brilliant. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but at last it's done."
The sound of battle attracted their attention. The diversion was in full swing, except that now there would be no main attack.
Harry nodded at the Riddle House, "He's waiting and we still haven't found a way in."
Hermione smiled at him, the light of battle still gleaming in her eyes. She pointed at the path leading from the gardener's cottage to the main house. "If subtlety and subterfuge have failed, we can always fall back on brute force."
Harry smiled back and they made their way to the kitchen door. Harry checked the kitchen; he detected two heartbeats within the room. His eyes met Hermione's and when she nodded he jerked the door off of its hinges, together they stormed into the room. A stunning spell hit each of them as they surged into the room. Harry quickly reacted with a non-verbal "Petrificus Totalis" and was pleased to see his target fall onto the floor. Moments later Hermione stunned her target as well.
He recognized a very blond head of hair gleaming in the semi-darkness. He turned Narcissa Malfoy onto her back. The Death Eaters were quickly bound and hidden in the kitchen.
With silent nods to each other, the vampires moved into the house in search of Tom Riddle.