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.
Chapter Three
Hermione Granger was a mess, and she knew it. She had been bedridden since Saturday by the absolute worst period of her life. Up until now, on Tuesday evening, the only thing that came close to providing relief was the hot water bottle she had pressed against her lower abdomen. Hermione had had cramps before, but nothing like this. Thankfully, they seemed to be easing. However, the letter she had received from Ron had done nothing to improve her disposition. She was going to turn him into something really nasty-if she didn't kill him first. How could he just run off and leave Harry?
She could only think that Harry felt betrayed and deserted by his friends. Her main concern was that he had begun his search for the Horcruxes and they would never see him again. She couldn't bear the thought that he might believe that his friends had gone back on their promise to be with him, no matter what happened; and she was angry that he had not even sent a letter saying goodbye.
Wizards from the Ministry had come by on Monday evening to ask her a few questions about Harry. Because she was ill, the visit had been brief, and they had promised to keep her updated. Now was the first time that she regretted buying Crookshanks instead of an owl like she had originally planned. The bandy-legged, part-Kneazle snuggled closer in an attempt to comfort her. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she tried to catalogue her emotions. She felt angry with Ron for leaving Harry and at Harry for leaving her. Hermione tried to compartmentalize the pain in her body and the pain in her heart. The first pain was because of her period; the secondary pain was because she wanted to help Harry and now he was gone to who knew where. Finally, she felt frustration because she had no means to communicate with her friends. Why, she complained, did this all have to happen now?
Darkness had fallen outside as Hermione tried to regain control. Suddenly, Crookshanks sat up. He was making a low, growling sound deep in his throat. She was unable to think of what could be wrong when her mother called out from downstairs, "Hermione, you have visitors from the Ministry! Will you please come down?"
"Coming!" she answered. She took off her nightgown and put on a light sweatshirt and a loose pair of blue jeans. She stepped into her slippers as she walked into the hall. Crookshanks ran lightly ahead of her down the stairs.
Hermione froze at the foot of the stairs. There was a red flash and Crookshanks flew backwards out of the room. There were four masked wizards holding wands pointed at her parents. Both of them had blank looks on their faces as they said in unison, "I don't know where Harry Potter is."
"Then we have no further need of you." Hermione knew that voice. She had heard at her first potions class at Hogwarts.
"No!" she cried out as she ran to protect her parents.
"Avada Kedavra!" The wizard moved his wand slightly and pointed it at her mother. "Avada Kedavra!" As her parents fell silently to the floor, the blank expressions never left their faces.
Hermione stopped, too stunned to move further. The Death Eater closest to her pointed a wand at her and incanted, "Crucio!" Hermione recognized this voice too; it was Bellatrix Lestrange. That thought vanished as the pain in her groin multiplied by a factor of one hundred and spread throughout her body. She sank to her knees as she screamed in pain.
After a minute or so Bellatrix stopped the curse, "Where is Harry Potter, mudblood?" she hissed. Hermione was gasping for breath and didn't answer immediately. One of the other Death Eaters cursed her again while Bellatrix cast a silencing charm on the room.
Snape stopped the torture after a couple of minutes. While the others were laughing over Hermione's shrieks of agony he pointed his wand at her and commanded, "Imperio!" The pain vanished from Hermione's body at once. As her mind was floating peacefully along a silky voice said, "Tell me where Harry is." She was so grateful that the pain had stopped that she wished she knew where Harry was so she could tell the voice. Then, at the back of her mind, a voice that sounded like Harry said, "Why tell them anything, Hermione? They killed your parents. Aren't they your enemies?"
Hermione drew a shuddering breath, "Know … I don't … I … no! I won't …"
Understanding that Hermione was fighting off the Imperius Curse Bellatrix used the Cruciatus Curse once again. The Death Eaters were laughing at her screams and didn't notice as Snape cancelled the silencing charm.
Bellatrix used the curse for a full five minutes before she lowered her wand. She was allowing Hermione to catch her breath before resuming the questioning. Given respite from the pain Hermione wordlessly summoned her wand from her bedroom. She shakily pointed it at the Death Eaters standing over the bodies of her parents, not realizing that Bellatrix had been watching her. Lestrange flicked her wand, and a jet of red light slammed into Hermione, and knocked her backwards into a heavy bookcase that stood in the hallway.
Hermione's body shattered the front of the bookcase and showered her with broken glass. One large, heavy shard sliced into her arm just below her elbow; the blood began to spurt from the severed artery. She stared stupidly at her arm, too deep in shock to react. After a few moments she fainted.
Angrily, Snape repaired the glass. "The Dark Lord commanded we leave no evidence within the house. Thanks to your stupidity we can no longer question her. Come!"
"Should we not kill the mudblood also?" queried one of the other Death Eaters.
"No," proclaimed Bellatrix, "she is to be left for the dementors to kiss. The Dark Lord intends this attack to be example to all the mudbloods that support the Ministry."
"Then your precious dementors had better hurry. At the rate this one is bleeding, there will be only mud when they arrive," jeered Snape. All except Bellatrix joined in his joke.
As the Death Eaters stepped outside, Snape commanded, "Morsmordre!" The Dark Mark flared into existence above the Grangers home.
"No evidence, Snape?" said Bellatrix haughtily.
"Within the house was the command. I have killed for the Dark Lord, it is my right!" he snapped. The four Death Eaters vanished as they Apparated away. Several people were watching from their windows as the four figures disappeared. Moments later a new chill seemed to settle on the neighborhood. The families drew together inside their homes as a nameless dread approached. Only one brave soul could summon the nerve to call the police.
The Ministry of Magic was searching for Harry in a series of ever widening circles. The Magical Law Enforcement wizards combed the neighborhood looking for Harry's body. Because they knew that his glasses had been found outside, they did not search the house again.
At Number Four Privet Drive Tuesday waxed and waned. In their respective homes, Ron and Hermione spent the daylight hours fretting and worrying about Harry, the object of their concern passed the day in a state of vampiric suspended animation. As the sun sank below the horizon Harry began to stir. Just before he became conscious a voice within his mind addressed him.
"Fledgling, I am sorry that I will not be able to guide you. I have acted rashly and you will likely be the one to suffer for it. When I brought you over I thought that you were human; as I hid you from the sun, I found your wand, and now I know that you are a wizard. I would have guided you, but your kind has always hunted mine and perhaps they can aid you in ways I cannot. By the time you rise for the first time, I will be no more. Six hundred years are enough and I will end my existence in the sunrise, but never fear, for you have been avenged. There are three things I wish to teach you, the rest you will know by instinct.
"First, never kill! Take only the blood you need to survive. The blood of animals will quench the hunger, but the blood of humans alone will strengthen and sustain you. Be careful, as injuries to your body will take a long time or a great deal of blood to repair.
"Second, close the wounds after you feed. The wizards hunt us as it is, we do not need to have the humans hunt for us as well. The power resides within you, but you must actively use your will to harness that power.
"The last is a reinforcement of the second. Do nothing to call attention to yourself and the other vampires. We exist only because we remain secret. While we rule the night, we are helpless during the day.
"Farewell, Fledgling. Crossing of vampire and wizard is a rare thing, although not unheard of. I feel you are called to some high destiny and more than chance has brought us together. Farewell."
Harry came out of his trance to the familiar vision of his cupboard. Once again, he was gripped by indecision. He knew he needed help, but didn't know where to turn. After what his sire had said about wizards hunting vampires, and remembering the Weasley's old-school attitude toward house-elves, his first thought was to go to Hermione.
Going to his room, he gathered some clothes, instinctively picking dark colors to blend in with the night. He swung his black cloak around his shoulders to break up his outline and packed his Invisibility Cloak. He gathered his money and packed his spell books into his book bag for no reason other than habit. Mounting his Firebolt, he flew out of his window leaving Privet Drive for the last time.
He gained altitude and flew towards London. Harry wasn't exactly sure where Hermione lived, but he had an idea of the general area from some of their talks at Hogwarts. He had a vague notion to find her number in the phone book and then use the telephone to call for directions.
As he flew towards the east end he saw the Dark Mark flare to the Northwest. Instinctively he altered his course. He could not allow the Death Eaters to go unchallenged. Arriving at the house he angled sharply down and landed at the foot of the steps leading inside the back of the house. His cloak billowed behind him as he ran up the stairs and into what he recognized as the kitchen.
The darkness within was no obstacle to his sight. He quickly took in the two corpses in the sitting room and the crumpled form in the hallway. He could smell blood! The vampire within him reacted; he had not fed this night and he could feel the cold pain of his hunger welling up. He felt his fangs extending.
Then he sensed his adversary. A dementor was bending over the body next to the bookcase. It was in the process of lowering its hood. The skin of its glistening, bald head was of the same grey, rotted looking flesh as its hands. The creature rose slowly to its full height and turned toward him.
Harry realized that vampires must see differently than humans. He had looked into the face of a dementor before; where there was once a blank expanse of flesh, there were now two whirlpools of energy. He could see it drawing power from the world around it. Yet it did not seem to affect him. This close to the thing, he should be hearing his mother screaming, but there was nothing.
The girl at the monster's feet groaned slightly, and Harry looked at her for the first time. A spasm of horror passed through him as he recognized Hermione! Without thinking he launched himself at the dementor. It floated backward, toward the front door, before his onslaught. Harry didn't go for his wand; he just slashed at the thing with his talons.
The dementor tried to grab his arms, but Harry was just too fast. His right hand tore through the dementor's heavy robe while he grabbed the dementor's arm with his left. He recoiled in shock! He had expected to feel an arm with bones; instead he encountered a soft, muscular appendage that gave no resistance to being bent.
Suddenly, the thing began mewling in terror; its psychic defenses had never before been breached. It was not a sound he heard with his ears, but something he felt with his mind. Fearlessly, he renewed his attack. He slashed at the thing's robes. His claws tore thorough the heavy material like it was cheesecloth. He ripped the robe from the beast and made a new discovery. The monster before him had no legs; its lower body tapered to a point. What he had taken to be a head was just another appendage; it was just an extension for the thing's mouth. The robe seemed to impart a human form, but it was some kind of disguise. Harry loathed the dementor as never before. Dementors were some kind of psychic leeches. They floated around sucking the happiness from their human prey; destroying souls when they could.
He raged at what this thing was trying to do to Hermione. In a fury, he set upon the dementor and tore into its flesh. Where his talons cut, the thing began to ooze a thick, greenish ichor. The dementor tried to retaliate by beating at him with its tentacles. Harry could no longer think of them as its arms. Harry caught one and with a strength he did not know he possessed he tore the limb from the monster. Dropping the tentacle, he continued his attack. He slashed it again and again, ripping through the creature's tough hide. The thick, greenish fluid was now plopping to the floor in a small stream. Slowly the dementor began to sink to the ground like an obscene blimp. It slowly collapsed as its fluids poured onto the floor. The whirlpools where its eyes should have been went dark as it deflated. The voice in Harry's mind died as it did.
As he stared, hardly believing the thing to be dead, it began to evaporate! In less than a minute it was gone without leaving a trace behind.
Harry turned and went to Hermione. He tried unsuccessfully to rouse her. In a near panic he tried to find something to bind her arm with, but he could not recognize anything as suitable. Gently he pulled off the bloodstained sweatshirt and pressed his lips to the slash in her arm. He remembered how he had closed the wounds when he had fed from Piers and Gordon. Harry took a couple of deep swallows of Hermione's blood. His vampire nature reacted to the blood greedily. It was only with a great deal of will power that he stopped drinking and began to force the wound to close. It was beyond his power to close the cut completely, but in a few moments the flow of blood began to slow down.
Harry took a few moments to assess Hermione's condition. Her heart was beating wildly and somewhat erratically. He pressed his palms against his temples in an attempt to focus his thoughts. He immediately thought of going to the Weasleys, but once again his sire's warning about wizards plunged him into confusion. He didn't know why no one had come to investigate the Dark Mark yet, but he was afraid to be here when they came. In the end he reacted according to his vampire nature; he would make Hermione a vampire too.
He knew he needed more blood if he were to bring Hermione over; but she had so little left. He knew this because she was pale and her lips were turning blue. In desperation he went to her parents and took what blood he could from them. Without the beating of their hearts it was hard to suck the blood. He grimaced because the blood was getting cold and he could tell that the life force was leaving it. After three or four minutes he had taken all he could. Try as he might he could not close the punctures he left in their necks.
Crossing to Hermione he placed his hand under her neck and gently lifted her head. First, he took what blood she had left. Then he focused his will upon her and commanded "Drink!" She reacted as though she had been slapped. Her eyes flew open in surprise. Harry sliced his wrist and pressed the wound to Hermione's lips. Her face was expressionless as she swallowed the blood. Within a few moments she began to suck harder, and Harry began to feel the beginnings of the pain he experienced upon his first awakening as one of the undead. Still allowing Hermione to drink, he pressed his face to carpet and tried to suck more of her blood from the carpet. To his surprise, he had some success with this endeavor and the pain in his body lessened somewhat. After another minute or so Hermione stopped drinking and lapsed into unconsciousness. Harry noticed the cut he had made was still bleeding; with an effort of his will he stopped the flow of blood.
Suddenly, he felt a disturbance in the night air. Even before he heard the popping noises of wizards Apparating, he knew they were coming. Harry picked up his book bag and slung it over his shoulder. He then stripped off Hermione's bloodstained jeans and knickers, and wrapped her body in his Invisibility Cloak. It was too awkward to carry her and his Firebolt so Harry carried Hermione back into the kitchen and out of the back door. He returned for his Firebolt, and as he exited the house, he heard the sounds of people approaching the back of the house as well. They were not close, but were coming fairly quickly.
The house immediately behind the Grangers was dark. Harry drew his wand with difficulty and wordlessly incanted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" It was odd to see Hermione's head and feet levitate off of the ground, but he was delighted that he could still do magic. Unfortunately, his new talons made it difficult to use a wand. He managed to guide the still form through the backyard and over the fence, which he vaulted quite easily. In a moment he magically unlocked the back door and passed inside with his burdens.
He located the bathroom, removed his Invisibility Cloak, and laid Hermione gently in the bathtub. It embarrassed him to leave her naked, so he left to find the linen closet. As he explored the house he learned that the occupants were on holiday; they had left instructions for the housekeeper, who would be back on Monday. Harry located some towels and covered Hermione as best he could. She was slowly writhing and groaning softly even thought she was unconscious. The blood-smell of her menses alternately attracted and repelled him, so Harry moved silently about the house keeping watch and checking on her periodically.
Through the late evening and early morning he could hear the commotion from the Granger's house. The Aurors and Muggle law enforcement people came and went, all of them efficiently performing the jobs they had trained for.
Shortly after midnight, Harry heard someone approach the house. The Muggle police were canvassing the neighborhood and taking statements. He could hear them talking quite plainly as they came to the front door. Alarmed, he was preparing to attack them as they entered the house, when one said to the other. "Blimey, Ben, it's here on the report, they're off on holiday. Won't be back for two more weeks. We've been keep'n an eye on the place. Jus' give it a check an' let's be off." The front door rattled as the policemen checked the lock. Harry followed the heartbeats as they circled the house and checked the back door. He relaxed as their footsteps moved away from his hiding place. He and Hermione would be safe here until she crossed over.
About two thirty in the morning Hermione's heart stopped beating. Harry anxiously kept watch. For long minutes she was completely still and Harry was afraid she had really died. Then she started moving slowly, flexing her fingers and toes. Harry resumed his rounds, returning to clean her and hold her hand.
With the approach of the dawn Harry took a sheet from the linen closet and wrapped Hermione's sweat-soaked body. He carried her to a closet and cradled her in his arms as the daylight stole his consciousness.
At nightfall on Wednesday Harry rose and returned Hermione to the bathtub. Donning his Invisibility Cloak, he slipped out of the back door to hunt. A nearby park netted him a couple of young people sitting together on a bench. They were kissing, and he easily took them by surprise. The power of his mind ensnared theirs, and within five minutes he had taken the blood he needed. Then he vanished into the darkness.
Before returning to Hermione he walked past the front of the Granger's house. The front door had been sealed off with tape, marking it as a crime scene.
Back at the house he examined Hermione again. Her incisors and fingernails were noticeably sharper. Having nothing to do, Harry spent the night trying to come up with some plans for after Hermione regained consciousness. He wasn't sure how long it would take. He had been on his way back to Number Four on Friday, the next thing he knew he awoke in the culvert on Monday. He hoped Hermione would wake up on Friday, but he would have to wait and see. Having fed he found it easy just to sit and feel the night pass around him. He was now aware of the night creatures on every hand and he felt amazement that he had not noticed them all before.
Around midnight he sensed a wizard in the house behind him. He was going through the house, and from the faint noises he made Harry could tell that he was searching it. He almost left Hermione to go and get a better idea of what the wizard was searching for, but he decided against it; he had Hermione's wand and that was all that mattered.
As dawn broke, Harry hid once again in the closet with Hermione. Arthur Weasley returned to the Burrow with Crookshanks in his carrier. When he released Crookshanks, the cat darted under an old chair and refused to come out. Ginny was stroking Hedwig's feathers. The owl had been very skittish since her arrival on Tuesday afternoon. Addressing the worried faces around the breakfast table he said, "It is worse than we thought."
Wednesday had been bad, but this Thursday was one of the most frustrating days Ron could remember. The Muggle police were involved and their presence hindered the Magical Law Enforcement wizards. No one would, or perhaps could, tell him anything. With the search for Harry taking valuable manpower, and the sensational nature of the attack on the Grangers generating wild speculation instead of hard facts, tempers were short at the Ministry of Magic. Ron spent the days alternating between anger, grief, and the wild hope that Hermione would be found alive.
To make matters worse the wedding plans were still pressing. Bill and Fleur both offered to let the date slide, but Molly would not hear of it. There was a war going on and she was desperately trying to continue life as normally as possible. "Besides, I'll go mad worrying about Harry if I have nothing to do. You two deserve all the happiness you can get. You never know how long you've got," her eyes filled with tears, "just look at what happened to p-p-poor Hermione." With that Molly broke down and began to sob. Bill gathered his mother in a big hug as Fleur went to make her a cup of tea.
Ginny spent the day worrying about Hedwig. The owl just sat on a perch outside the door ignoring the food Ginny had offered. Finally, she was so frustrated that she just commanded, "Hedwig, you stupid bird, eat this!" To her amazement the owl took the treat she had been unsuccessfully offering for over an hour. After that she ate whatever food Ginny offered, and as the sun set Hedwig flew off to hunt. At dinner Ginny told Charlie what had happened. "It was like she was under some kind of spell or something," she concluded. Charlie had no answer; as far as he knew, spells for controlling the human mind didn't work on animals, and the spells the trainers used on post owls were closely guarded secrets.
Dinner turned out to be a quiet affair as a pall of gloom hung over the wizarding world in general and the Burrow in particular.