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.
Alternate Ending
A/N First a grateful thank you to my dear wife who puts up with my obsession with Harry Potter. She offered much needed criticism and helped me see where someone that is not so immersed in the books as I am might not understand something I wrote. Next, she told me I had to "fix" Harry and Hermione, it wasn't right for me to take someone else's characters, break them like I did, and just leave them like that.
I tried to explain, "But, dear, they're dead. There is no magic that can bring them back to life. All the books say so."
"You need to fix them. I know you can do it."
"But…"
She gave me 'that look' and said, "Fix them."
So, in the finest tradition of husbands everywhere, I summoned up my very best, "Yes, dear" and here you are. I did my best, but really, the story ended last chapter. ; - )
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The sunset woke Harry to the agony once more. He opened his eyes to the same bleak cell and the sight of Hermione's dirty, bare feet. She was lying on the other stone bier, facing him. Harry tried to turn his eyes from the sight of her wasted body, but the pain of moving his head was too much for the moment. Harry couldn't tell which was worse, the pain in his body or the one in his heart.
He and Hermione had flown to Number Twelve to spend the day before flying to Paris. When they woke, they were here. It was a square stone cell, about twenty feet on a side. There were two stone biers and nothing else, not even the hint of a door.
The nights had run together; how long they had been here Harry had no idea. At first, they had fed from each other until all the life force had gone from their blood. Then, the starvation had begun in earnest.
The ordeal had done terrible things to their bodies. Hermione's forearms and calves were practically skin and bones. The blood vessels in her thighs stood out because the skin had shrunk against the muscle. The bones in her pelvis were obvious and her pubic area looked painfully stretched. Tonight, he refrained from counting her ribs, and he tried not to dwell on her once beautiful breasts. They hung from her chest, useless sacks of skin, with only her nipples to show what they were. Her hair, matted and dirty, framed her wasted face. Harry could see the glitter of her eyes from the sockets into which they had receded. He was just now marking how skull-like her face had become.
"You're awake?" They had reverted to telepathy, because the air was heavily tainted with ammonia. It would probably be quite poisonous to anyone who entered unaware.
"Yes."
"How are you?" he asked.
"Something's happening. I can't see very well. It's like the vampire is severing its connections to my body and shriveling up. Almost like it was preparing to hibernate. Do you think it can?"
"I don't know, Hermione, but my vision has been getting misty for a while, maybe for two nights? I feel weak, and I can't think clearly anymore. Why, Hermione? Who would do this to us? If they wanted us dead, why not just use a stake?"
"Maybe because we killed, Harry. I guess someone wanted us to suffer before we died."
He thought about the six Death Eaters he had killed and about Fenrir; perhaps some relative had found out and moved against them.
He tried to relax; not moving, and just letting time flow over him. The sound was so subtle that he almost missed it. It was a gentle grating of stone on stone. Gritting his teeth, he rolled over and looked straight up. Slowly, parts of the ceiling were opening up, revealing the stars. He stared at them knowing that they presented some danger, but he was too muddled by starvation to realize what it was.
"At last," Hermione thought. "They're going to burn us. All the pain will be over this morning."
"I'm coming, Hermione; if it's the last, I want to be with you." It seemed to take all of his willpower to make his body move. He finally tumbled to the floor. He was crawling through the little strips of cloth that littered the floor, the remains of their clothing and shoes. They had ripped their garments literally to shreds in an effort to take their minds off of the pain caused by the hunger. He had covered half of the distance, his body was screaming in agony every inch of the way, when Hermione fell to the floor in front of him.
When they met, Hermione put her face against his chest, flinging an arm protectively over him. In silence, they awaited the dawn together. He looked up enjoying the fading beauty of the stars.
The golden fire began streaming overhead and the light grew intolerably bright. The hiss that heralded the coming dawn was still faint when Harry sensed movement around them. In that intense light, Harry could see nothing, but he could feel hands tugging and pulling him.
They were separating him from Hermione! He tried to fight them off, but he was too feeble. In desperation he cried, "No…please no…just let us die together…PLEEEEEASE!"
The hands took no notice of his protestations; he felt himself being set up with his back against the bier. Something pressed itself against him. Smelling blood, the vampire reacted instantaneously and brutally. His fangs came erect and he bit into the person before him. He sucked greedily at the blood, while a voice in his mind urged him, "Drink, Harry Potter." He became aware of the heartbeat of his victim. It slowed, fluttered, and stopped. At that moment the dawn roared over him. A blast of immense heat and pressure crushed him. In his last moments of awareness he heard Hermione screaming his name. Harry tried to answer, but to no avail. In horror, his mind fled the noise, heat, and anguish at the thought of his Hermione burning in the daylight; oblivion overwhelmed him.
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"Annoyance shouldn't be a part of being truly dead," Harry thought. There was an unusual sound in his ear, the one pressed against some cool, hard surface. There was something familiar in the bothersome, soft, throbbing, though. He opened his eyes. All that he could see was grey. He blinked; slowly, the world swam into focus. It did not seem fair that the next great adventure should look like the prison cell in which he had died.
He tried to get a better look and something amazing happened. It was as if his eyes were telescopes. He squinted and his field of vision grew tighter and tighter, yet, the center of his focus became clearer, showing more detail at each stage. At last, he could see all the little variations in color and structure in the surface of the rock. By widening his eyes his field of vision widened.
He took stock of his situation. First, he noted that his thoughts were still muddled. Second, he was lying on his side, evidently in the same cell in which he had been imprisoned. The air was pleasantly bright and cool. A gentle breeze washed over him and he could hear birds chirping nearby.
With difficulty, he tried to move his head. It took an almost unbelievable effort, but he was able to see that his body still appeared wasted. Unconsciously, he sighed; this was not what he thought it was going to be like. He tried to sit up and then the pain exploded in his head. It stabbed through his head, blinding him he cried aloud in pain as he collapsed back onto the floor.
"Harry?" a familiar voice answered. "Is that you? What's the matter?" Lost in his pain he didn't hear the sound of a body dragging itself toward him. It was not until later that he realized that something in his chest seemed to skip at the sound of Hermione's voice.
Once he lay back down, the pain eased somewhat. At last, he recognized Hermione's anxious face peering at him. She lay beside him, cradling his head between her hands. He felt her hands grow warm, as he seemed to feel music well up within him. The pain quickly vanished.
"What? How did you do that?" he asked in amazement.
"Your skull was fractured, Harry. It happened when you were attacked last July. Now that…" Her voice trailed off. Her eyes, which appeared huge in her pinched face, went even wider. "Harry! You're breathing, and you have a heartbeat. Your face, it's warm!"
As he watched, tears formed in her eyes. Her tears, clean, clear, and pure splashed onto the floor. Scooting forward she pressed her soft lips to his. It was as it had been last July; warm, tender, and powerful. It was even sweeter than when he had stolen that kiss from her in the Dursley's backyard. "You're alive, Harry…we're alive. How?"
Harry shook his head as watched her sink back to the floor, exhausted. Hermione appeared to slip into a light sleep. As he looked, he noticed a faint grimace on her face. Staring more deeply at her he seemed to "see" her power flowing within her. As a vampire, he had grown used to seeing such things; now that he was alive again he could wonder how this was still possible. As his gaze followed those flows he noted a disturbance in her lower abdomen. It seemed the source of her pain. Gently, he reached out and slid his hand between her thighs, cupping his hand against her. It seemed a small matter to smooth the energy flow there. Hermione seemed to relax, sleepily she said, "Winky says that if I'm going to let you touch me like that, we're going to have to get married. Thanks, Harry…it doesn't…ache...any…" Harry heard her begin to snore.
Softly, a voice spoke inside his head, "It is Dobby, Harry Potter. We is giving sir and miss a chance to live. It is not in any being's power to return the dead to life, but we is sharing our lives with the great Harry Potter and Harry's Granger. Dobby could feel Harry Potter when Dobby healed Master's arm. Dobby found out that sir was still fighting He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. House-elves watched, sir, we brought you here so Dobby could give sir a chance. The monster, the anti-life, had to be weakened and forced to release you. As the sun destroyed it, Dobby came and held Harry Potter; other house-elfs protected Harry Potter's body. Dobby is helping re-connect Master with his body."
"Shortly, Dobby and Winky will be gone, but our souls have left an imprint on your souls. Sir and Miss have now a great responsibility to learn about elf magic. Harry Potter must teach the wizards how to live with other magical creatures. Elfs have tried to show wizards how to act; now Harry can tell, and wizards will listen. Harry Potter is now outside of the wizard's world, yet sir is held in great honor, house-elfs hope the wizards will listen."
"I…will…try…" answered Harry as he dropped into sleep.
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He was startled into awareness by the slamming of a heavy door. Minerva McGonagall's crisp steps echoed in the room, "Good Lord, Harry! Hermione! Don't either of you wear clothes anymore? Death does not excuse everything." Her face crimson with embarrassment, she conjured stretchers and blankets. Surrounded by a group of house-elves, she headed toward the hospital wing.
It was not a journey that she could have undertaken in secret. Several groups spied the figures on the stretchers and it was not long before Harry's name was flying through the halls of the school. In short order it was circulating through the wizarding world as well.
Madam Pomfrey had had few such challenges in her career. Although Harry and Hermione were alive, they were barely so. Their life processes had been non-existent for nine months, and she knew she needed help in getting them started again. She did what she could and called for help.
As she was in her office, a shocked Ronald Weasley was sneaking into the ward. Quietly he stole around the curtains; while there were two beds there, only one was occupied. From the way the sheets were disturbed it seemed obvious that Hermione had joined Harry in his bed. She was nestled against him with her head tucked under his chin.
It had seemed obvious, from a distance that the figures were Harry and Hermione, but once he got close he was no longer sure. They were changed beyond their unnaturally white skin and extreme emaciation. He gazed at Hermione's face; her eyes appeared more than twice as large as he remembered. Beyond the fact that her arm was little more than skin and bone, her hands were narrower with longer fingers. The same change was noticeable in the foot that stuck out from under the blanket. The most startling change was her ears, however. Where her ear protruded from underneath her bushy hair; he could see that it was larger and softly pointed.
Harry had undergone similar changes, except that his ears were more sharply pointed and bat-like than Hermione's
He stood there, watching them sleep. To say that he was shocked and confused was an understatement. He became aware of someone standing by his side; a quick glance at her dirty blonde hair brought an uncertain smile to his face. He looked into her face, noting the anxious look in her eyes as she searched his.
A small noise from the bed attracted their attention. Harry's eyes were still that startling green color. "Hullo, Ron. Guess I should have gone with you to the Burrow." Ron could not help staring into those huge, green eyes. There was wisdom there, wisdom born of knowledge, experience, and pain. Harry's voice had changed. It sounded dry and hoarse.
"What happened to you, Harry? Your aunt was murdered; your uncle said you did it. Where have you been? I dreamed that you died." He waited but Harry had fallen asleep again.
"We did die, Ron," Hermione explained. "Well, almost, Harry was turned by a vampire, and I was dying after the Death Eaters attacked my family, so Harry turned me into a vampire, too."
"Vampires," Luna gasped weakly. "Did you give Ronald that dream?" she asked looking at Hermione.
She looked back at Luna with her expressive brown eyes. Luna felt the power of her gaze, and it made her feel uncomfortable.
Hermione's attention was focused on the ring on Luna's left hand; the one holding so possessively onto Ron's arm. It was hardly more that a bit of gold wire, with a tiny diamond set in it. "What a beautiful ring, Luna. That stone is perfect, and your love glows in it like a fire. Are congratulations in order?"
Luna blushed, and looked at her feet, mumbling something about Wackspurts.
Hermione turned her attention to Ron, "I'm sorry for us, Ron. I hoped for a while we might be more than friends, but I've given myself to Harry. What he and I have been through, no one else could understand. We're not exactly human anymore, but I would still want him anyway. I've never found anyone that made me feel more complete."
Ron nodded, "Yeah, I asked Luna to marry me. I thought you were dead, and she's been a real blessing these past few months. I couldn't have made it without her." He gave Luna a huge smile and wrapped his arms around her.
Hermione smiled at her friend. "I pray you'll be happy, Ron. I hope we can all be happy now that, thanks to Harry, Voldemort is gone," whispered Hermione. Her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.
McGonagall appeared at Ron's side, "I'll see that you are both excused from classes. The healers will be here from St. Mungo's shortly. Your friends will be taken there. I will arrange for you to visit during the Easter break. Now, on your way; there is nothing more that you can do here."
"Are they going to be okay?"
"Only time will tell, Mr. Weasley, but I hope so."
Within the hour Harry and Hermione had disappeared into St. Mungo's, and no one could find out what was going on with them. The reporters did notice one thing; house-elves were coming and going, and it did not appear that they were there just to clean. The healers were actually talking to them.
Ron and Luna were permitted a couple of visits over the holidays and word leaked out that Harry and Hermione had been married in a private ceremony. The only other comment was that their condition was improving. Ron lost track of them as his N.E.W.T.s were upon him and he was studying hard.
With his tests behind him, he retreated to the Burrow for a few days before preparing to take the entrance exam to the Auror academy. The test scores arrived with the notice that he would be able to take the exam at the Ministry in a week. There was also a note from Headmistress McGonagall asking him to drop by Hogwarts that afternoon.
He apparated to the gate and walked up to the great castle. As he approached he heard laughter coming from around the side. Upon investigation he found Harry and Hermione were there. Harry was standing, watching Hermione run lightly back and forth along the handle of his Firebolt. Ron was stunned as he watched Hermione stop and began to guide the broom in a series of lazy figure eight's while standing on the handle.
"I don't understand, Hermione. You have eye sight that's only about a million times better than an eagle, a sense of balance and coordination that would make any athlete green with envy, and we can do wandless magic, but you are worried about shoes?" He looked at Ron shaking is head in disbelief.
"Just look at my feet, Harry James Potter; shoes are going to be a nightmare," she complained.
Harry held out his hand as Ron came over to them. "Congratulations on passing your N.E.W.T.s, Professor McGonagall told us."
"Thanks. What are you two up to?" Ron was looking at them. They were both dressed in green tunics and they had a couple of backpacks setting against the wall of the castle.
"We're going to spend a couple of months in the forest. We need to get away for a while. Hagrid and Grawp are going to guide us."
"What is this about wandless magic?"
Harry explained, "Since the elves healed us, we've gained the ability to use their magic. We need some time away while we learn to use it."
"And then?"
"We'll be coming here to finish our seventh year," chimed Hermione.
McGonagall and Hagrid walked up. "Death does excuse a few things, Mrs. Potter. Are you ready to go?"
"What about the centaurs?" Ron blurted.
Hermione smiled sweetly, "We're not human, I don't think they will bother us. We'll just stay away from the spiders," she added seeing the look on Ron's face.
Harry had shouldered his back pack, as Hermione tied on a pair of sandals. "We just wanted to say goodbye for now, Ron. We'll be in touch after we come back. I think the Aurors will tell us how you are doing and maybe we can get together for Christmas. Oh, you asked 'and then', our long-term goal is to take over the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures. Scrimgeour should be pleased. It's high time Dumbledore's goal of a real community of magical brethren becomes a reality. If we had had the centaurs, goblins, and house-elves on our side, Voldemort wouldn't have gotten so far. "
Harry and Hermione both hugged Ron.
"Ron," said Harry. "I just wanted to tell you that as you train, that it is important to do your best, but take some time to look at the world around you, take it from me, there aren't many things better than to walk in the sunshine and the ability to enjoy the flowers along the way. I lost those things for a time and there was a great sacrifice paid so that I might have a chance to enjoy them again. I don't want you to lose them by indifference. Take care, mate, until we meet again."
With that Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid started off towards the forest, walking through the warm sunlight.
Ron watched until they had vanished into the trees. "I will, mate, and I'll remember what it cost you to buy our freedom from Voldemort, and I'll do my best to make sure no one else forgets it either."
With that, he and McGonagall took a walk themselves. It was long and slow, full of happy memories and bright sunshine.
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