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. Statements and conversations rendered in italic print are telepathic in nature.
Chapter Four
Harry spent a quiet Thursday night. He left Hermione in the closet where he had hidden from the daylight and went to hunt. The park was empty, but he found some young toughs hanging around the back door of a small pub a few blocks away. All he had to do was drop the hood of his Invisibility Cloak. At first, they had had terrified expressions on their faces; but when their eyes met his, he could feel their wills crumble, and they did as he commanded. He did not even need to speak in order to get them to obey. He quickly took the blood he needed, and sped back to Hermione's side.
By the time dawn approached, her talons and fangs matched his. He knew that her awakening could not be far off.
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As the sun disappeared below the horizon on Friday, Harry woke again. His vampire self examined its surroundings, cataloguing sounds, smells, and the sensation of living things nearby. He slipped out from under Hermione's body and peeked out into the hall. The house was deserted. Harry pulled Hermione out of the closet and left her in the hallway.
Harry patrolled the lower floor, looking for people moving on the streets. Realizing he needed to feed for himself and Hermione; he took his Invisibility Cloak, and slipped out of the back door. Once in the back yard he heard noises coming from the Granger's house. He quietly vaulted the fence and crept up to the back door. He could hear two voices coming from inside the house. It was a man and woman discussing some movie that they had seen.
He drew his wand. His claws still made gripping the slender wand difficult. He gestured and wordlessly commanded, "Alohomora!" The lock opened and Harry entered the kitchen. Harry didn't have to breathe, but he sniffed the air. The strong aroma of cleaning fluids assaulted his nostrils. Opening the kitchen door a crack, he watched the couple scrubbing the bloodstained carpet in front of the bookcase. Dropping his cloak he entered the hallway as the man was standing up. "What say we call it a day? We can come back-," he froze as he saw Harry standing there, as still as death.
The woman turned to face the direction her partner was facing. She gazed into a pair of glowing, red eyes. The cleaning rag dropped from her gloved hand, and the scream stuck in her throat.
"Sit down in there!" Harry pointed a clawed finger in the direction of the sitting room. The workers turned and shuffled into the room. They sat together on the sofa, facing front like two statues. The power of Harry's will held them there. They could still move their eyes, however, and the woman watched him approach like a bird would regard the approach of a serpent. He passed out of her range of vision; she felt fear building within her. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she felt something very sharp touch the side of her neck. Without warning a feeling of intense, golden, pleasure overwhelmed her senses and she slid slowly into hot, black unconsciousness…
"Sleep, until I command that you wake," Harry drew back, wiping the blood from his mouth. He had taken blood from the two of them; nearly twice what he had taken from Piers and Gordon. He left the two and returned to Hermione.
She lay on the floor in front of the linen closet covered by a sheet with a throw pillow under her head. Harry was glad that she had not awakened while he was feeding. He knelt down a short distance away and waited.
About forty-five minutes later Hermione's eyes slowly opened. Harry was startled by the red glow in her eyes. He stood and went to her. A spasm of pain passed over her face; Harry felt sorry for her because he remembered his own pain when he woke for the first time. There was no recognition in her expression as he bent over her. To his surprise she bared her fangs and slashed at him with her talons. It was only because of his vampire reflexes that he was able to avoid her attack.
Hermione rolled over, and moved into a crouching position, ready to spring at him, ready to kill. Her face was devoid of any expression except pain. Harry stepped back, focused his will upon her, and commanded, "Stop!" She recoiled as though she had been struck a physical blow.
The vampire within her recognized her sire. Hermione collapsed to the floor. With her face to the ground she raised her hands in supplication, "Please, Master, don't hurt me again."
Harry's heart broke; he had never before heard Hermione beg for anything. He quickly knelt before her. "It is the hunger, drink." He noticed that the cut he had made in his wrist was still open, although it had stopped bleeding when he had willed it to. He concentrated on his wrist and the blood slowly welled up in the wound.
Hermione raised her face from the floor and timidly began to drink from Harry's wrist. The blood she took had been energized by his being a vampire, so she needed less of it than if he had been mortal. It made him feel strange to realize that in a very real sense Hermione had gone from being his friend to being his child! Though he had only been a vampire for a few days Hermione would be depending on him to show her what to do.
She stopped drinking and sat down, looking lost and forlorn.
"Hermione, you must always close the wounds after you drink .It's an instinct, you know how," he thought gently. He held his wrist out to her. She took his wrist, and once again brought it to her lips. He felt a faint, gentle warmth, and when he looked the cut was gone.
She rocked back and stared at him. Her hunger sated, the red light slowly faded from her eyes. It took a long minute or two, but as she gazed at him her thoughts came into focus. She gave and involuntary gasp and whispered, "Harry, is that you? What happened?"
Harry started to reach for her, but stopped when he caught sight of his clawed fingers. He did not want to cut her or have her think less of him because he was no longer human. "I don't want her to see my hands like this," he thought. Suddenly, he felt an unpleasant, twisting sensation around his finger tips. His talons retracted! They were still sharp, but the same length as when he was alive. "I didn't know they would do that!" he thought with surprise.
Hermione moved her lips; Harry knew what she said even though no sound came out. "Do what? What don't you want me to see?" She put her hand to her throat as surprise registered on her face. She shook her head not understanding what was wrong.
Harry gently cupped her chin and looked into her eyes, "You don't need to speak to me, Hermione. Just focus your thoughts and I'll know what you're thinking. The reason you can't talk is because you aren't breathing."
Hermione blinked at him, some of the memories of her last hours of life were coming into her consciousness. The pain of the curses that had been used on her clouded those memories. Rather than entertain those thoughts, and the hazy memories of her parents falling to the floor after the deadly, green flashes, she concentrated on the mystery at hand. "I can hear you…but you're not talking…am I dead?"
Harry's face fell as she asked the question that he had hoped to put off until she was more conscious. He remembered that first night, and how hard it was to get a grip on his thought processes. "Not quite," he answered.
Hermione looked down at her body, realizing that she had no clothes, she grabbed for the sheet to cover herself. She had the sheet half way to her breast when she froze in horror. For the first time she noticed her talons. She began to shiver and Harry knew it had nothing to do with being cold. Hermione was terrified.
"Hermione …" he began. Now he knew what Dumbledore had been going through after the Tournament. There would be no good in putting off the pain in the question Hermione was asking. "Hermione, you are a vampire. You were dying…I didn't know what else to do."
He took the sheet and wrapped it around her.
"Dumbl ..." she shook her head as she remembered that he was dead, "the Weasleys or Professor McGonagall, they can help me." Her thoughts were confused; Harry could tell that she was grasping at straws, searching for some hint of the familiar in a world that had been shattered.
Harry could feel the turmoil in her thoughts as he helped her stand up. She was thinking that the Ministry had dealings with vampires and that someone somewhere would know what to do. Arthur Weasley worked for the Ministry; he might know who might help her.
"Hermione, if you remember Professor Lockhart's book, the Ministry hunts vampires. My sire told me he had hidden from them for six hundred years. But if it will make you happy we'll go to the Weasleys."
Something clicked in Hermione's brain. "Harry, are you a vampire too?" Harry nodded to her. She grabbed his hand, "Where are your claws?"
"That is what I was talking about at first. They retract. Look." He willed his talons to extend, and with that unpleasant twitch, they did so. After a moment he retracted them again. Hermione looked mildly intrigued and retracted her talons as well.
"Let's go back to your house so we can get some of your clothes." Harry put his black cloak around her shoulders and took the sheet. He folded it and put it back in the linen closet and replaced the throw pillow. He quickly checked the bathroom for any evidence of their presence, there was none. He had cleaned it the night before.
He led her out the back door, levitated her over the fence, and they walked into her home. As they entered the hall she clutched his arm. "There's someone here!"
"They won't hurt you. Come on; show me where your room is."
She led them upstairs, and Harry left her to get dressed. When she joined him Harry saw that she had selected dark colors as well, "Get your cloak, it will help you blend in with the night."
"May I bring my books too?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded and smiled at her.
"Anything else you might need before we go?" he asked. Harry watched as she tried extra hard to think about what she might need. After a few moments she went into her parent's room and returned with an envelope full of Muggle money.
"Mum and Dad kept some emergency funds in a safe place, we might need it. How are we going to get to the Burrow?"
"We're going to fly on my Firebolt. Wait on the back porch while I get it." Hermione looked too frazzled to protest.
Harry returned with his broom. He handed it to Hermione to hold, and went into the sitting room. Without much difficulty he lifted each of the sleepers from the sofa and set them in the hall. "When you hear the back door slam you will awaken. You will believe that the fumes from the cleaning fluid overcame you. Tomorrow, when you return here to work, you will have no memory of me."
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A short while later they were flying back to the Southwest. Harry flew close enough to Little Whinging to get his bearings and then he turned westward, following the track he remembered from six years before when he, Fred, George, and Ron had made this trip in the Weasley's flying car.
It was past eleven when he finally spotted the sprawling, crooked old house. Harry swung wide before descending gradually; he did not want to frighten Hermione. They touched down just outside the orchard and began walking toward the back door. The wind was sweeping through the fields, hissing in the grass. Heavy clumps of cloud were flying before the waning moon. Harry watched Hermione as she noticed her sharper hearing. He was listening to the creaking branches in the orchard; searching for approaching danger.
There was a sudden crack and a wizard appeared between them and the back door. Harry and Hermione instinctively crouched down until they could identify the intruder. The wizard looked around, as if sensing something amiss in the darkness beyond the garden. When he did so, Harry recognized Percy Weasley. After a minute or two Percy adjusted a stack of files he had tucked under his arm and knocked on the back door.
Arthur opened the door and Percy went inside. Harry and Hermione quickly closed on the back door. The frogs in the garden sensed the vampire's presence and fell silent. The chickens hushed at their approach, huddling together on their roosts. They had no difficulty hearing the conversation coming from the Weasley's kitchen.
"Hello, Ron, you still up?" inquired Percy.
"Been waiting on the news the Aurors promised me. Have you seen Tonks?" The worry was evident in his voice.
"Not today. Been attending meetings for Mr. Fudge. He has to report to Minister of Magic Scrimgeour."
Ron's only comment was a snort of disgust; though Harry was close enough to pick up Ron's stray thought. "So you're still the errand boy's errand boy."
"Where's Mum?"
"She's sedated. Been going spare over Harry's disappearance and the Grangers being murdered. The Healers gave her something to help her sleep," replied Arthur bitterly.
"I've brought the reports you requested …," Percy hesitated.
"You used to call me Dad. That was always good enough before," said Arthur, the hurt sill obvious in his voice.
Percy became more formal, "Yes…Dad…the reports you asked for. May I sit down?"
Arthur must have nodded because Harry heard a chair scrape on the floor.
"Which one first?"
"The report on the Grangers," Arthur suggested. Evidently he was regaining some kind of control; his voice sounded more normal.
"The Muggle police suspect some kind of cultists who think that they are vampires. There were puncture wounds on the parent's necks, evidently inflicted post-mortem. The coroner can't determine a cause of death for them. They haven't found Hermione's body, and suspect she was kidnapped for some kind of ritual. The coroner said that she couldn't have lived very long after she was taken, judging by the amount of her blood they found at the scene. For some reason they stripped her and left her clothes-,"
Harry was watching Hermione as Percy spoke. Her face scrunched in grief as Percy clinically discussed the deaths of her parents.
"No! Not Hermione!" interrupted Ron. "She was a witch! No Muggles could have done ANYTHING like that to her. She would have fought! They're wrong!" Ron stormed from the kitchen. Harry could follow the sounds of his footsteps on the stairs as he made his way to his room.
Hermione, responding to the anguish in Ron's voice, took a step towards the door. She caught sight of her sharp fingernails and hesitated. The realization that she was no longer alive hit her again. Harry could tell that she regarded being a vampire as something to be ashamed of. Heartbroken at the cruelty of her fate she sank to her knees. She would have screamed aloud if she had had any breath to give voice to her cry.
Harry placed a hand on her shoulder. Trying to offer what comfort he could.
"What brought that on?" Percy's voice sounded bewildered.
"Ron fancies-fancied Hermione. That and he feels he is responsible for whatever happened to Harry," Arthur responded sadly.
"Ron and Hermione were together?"
"Neither Ron nor Hermione said anything to us about them being a couple. Ron may just have assumed that they were because Hermione never declared otherwise. Who knows if they discussed it when they were staying with Harry? But he's seems to have had feelings for her for a year or two."
"Hmmm, I would have bet that Hermione would have fancied Harry. Harry and Hermione were pretty close for the first three years; and in the third year Ron and Hermione had that big squabble about Scabbers. I wasn't there, but I heard Ron was acting like a right little twit after Harry was entered in the Triwizard Tournament; Hermione was the one who stood by him. Of course he has grown up since then."
"Love is a strange thing, Percy. Their relationship might have worked out or it might not, it just seems sad that they won't get the chance."
"He's right about the Muggles though. The Dark Mark was conjured over the Granger's house. The Death Eaters were there; the witnesses all report that they were terrified of them. The statements agree that there were four of them, but none of the statements mentioned them carrying Hermione away with them," continued Percy.
"Did the Aurors consider that they transfigured her body? Although, transfiguration wouldn't explain why they left her clothes behind. You might ask about that. Also, does somebody have an idea why You-Know-Who would attack the Grangers?" asked Arthur.
"I overheard one of the Auror's briefing Minister Scrimgeour about a source that has been feeding information to the Ministry. The source said You-Know-Who is concerned because he's lost contact with Harry. Does that make any sense to you?"
"Dumbledore knew that Harry and You-Know-Who shared some kind of connection; he thought it was through Harry's scar. Is there any news about Harry?"
"Nothing, he's simply vanished. No one has been able to find a trace of him beyond his glasses, which were broken and had his blood on them. That information is classified and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mention it. You said Ron was staying with Harry. Ah! So that's why he is in the reports," Percy said thoughtfully. "Do you think he'd help if we searched Number Four again? We need to do it soon. Harry's uncle and cousin are moving out."
"I'm sure he would. He's been desperate to do something. I have another question for you. The Muggle police are usually pretty good. Suppose there are Muggles involved, what would they want with Hermione? I just can't see the Death Eaters taking her. Because she was Muggle-born, they would have just killed her."
"Check out the bottom file. It has information about Muggles who believe that they are vampires. The report contains some horrible information. The Muggles involved are really sick. She was on her period, which might make her a target for some kind of ritual. We know it wasn't real vampires. The real ones don't leave marks."
The sound of the chair scraping the floor let Harry know that Percy had stood up.
"Do you mind if I keep these for the weekend? I'll drop them by your office first thing Monday morning?"
"They're confidential; I'm not supposed to let them out of my sight."
"Well, why don't you stay here for the weekend? Your mother would love to see you, and it would take her mind off Harry and Hermione. If you don't want to stay the weekend, I'll be finished tomorrow afternoon, and you can take them then. You are planning to come to Bill's wedding next Thursday, aren't you?"
"I was thinking about coming." Percy said uneasily. "I'm pretty tired, I guess I'll stay."
"Good, there is a spare bed in Ron's room," Arthur's voice betrayed his sadness, "It was set up for Harry, but it doesn't look like he'll be using it, and if he does turn up we'll make room for him somehow."
Harry could hear Percy walk out of the room and up the stairs to Ron's room. Hermione rose and began walking toward the orchard. There was something unnatural in her gait; it appeared she was walking in her sleep. Harry reached out mentally; he felt that Hermione had retreated into herself and her vampire was guiding her footsteps.
He chased after her. It only took a gentle touch to stop her. She looked at him with empty eyes. "They think I'm dead. Ron…everyone...What will they think if they know I'm…we're…undead," She looked down at her fingertips. "We're not natural…unclean. How could I just think I could walk in and talk to them…I drank blood from you…"
"Hermione, I can't say that everything is all right, it's not. This is new, and you're not yourself, you need to grieve, and you're not thinking. It takes a couple of days before your mind starts working again. Hold on, it will get better. Try to be patient. We'll come back when you have had time to adjust."
Harry was preparing to mount his broom when he heard the sounds of wizards Apparating. The popping noises were coming from the other side of the orchard, close to the village. He knew that anyone Apparating that far from the Burrow could only be trying to hide their approach to the house.
"Hide in the shadow of those trees," he commanded Hermione. "I'm going to see who these people are."
The red began to glow in Hermione's eyes again. She stretched her fingers as her talons extended. Silently she made her way to the spot Harry had indicated. Once she reached the trees she blended into the shadow, remaining unnaturally still. By not moving she was practically invisible to any human observer.
Harry had no trouble seeing in the darkness under the trees; even though the windswept clouds mostly obscured the moon. He moved with the swift grace of a leopard through the trees until he heard whispered voices on the village side of the orchard. He paused, gauging the enemy. There were six separate heartbeats. A chill swept through him as he heard the orders.
"Amycus and Alecto will move on the right. Samuelson and Goyle on the left. Higgs, you come with me. Kill all you find, except the youngest two Weasleys, you will know them by their red hair. The Dark Lord wants to question them. Be swift and silent."
"Rookwood, I thought Fenrir was to be here too?" asked Samuelson.
"He was delayed, the Dark Lord said to proceed without him. Remember, the girl and the young man, death to the older blood traitors and their wedding guests. If there is any question paralyze your target and we'll sort them out before we leave."
The Death Eaters began walking toward the Burrow. Harry pressed himself against a tree as they passed. Once inside the trees the Death Eaters began to spread out. Burning with anger at the cowardly attack on those he considered his family, Harry angled to the outside of the line of Death Eaters. He was tracking the largest of them. Swiftly he closed the distance. Reaching out with his mind he willed his target to stop. The man slowed and turned around. Using his vampiric power to dominate his victim Harry snared the man, and held him fast. Goyle's eyes were wide with fright as Harry closed in. With a swift slash of his talons the young vampire ended the Death Eater's life. Goyle fell to the ground without making a sound.
Harry moved on Samuelson next. A heavy blow from behind knocked him to the ground. Stunned Samuelson rolled over, and looked into the burning, red eyes that stole his will from him. Harry did not even consider using magic. The beast within him exulted in combat; reveling in its strength, claws, and fangs. Harry focused his mind on his victim, "You came to hand out death, and instead you find your own." The last thing Samuelson knew was pain.
"Hermione, the Death Eaters are coming! They're planning to kill the Weasleys! Take them!" Harry commanded.
He crept toward the trees where he told Hermione to hide. He watched as she slipped behind Alecto and stabbed her fangs into Alecto's jugular vein. By the time he reached her Hermione had taken most of Alecto's blood.
"Never kill for blood, Hermione." His mental blow almost struck her to the earth. He knew that she needed to be disciplined quickly or the hunger would control her.
She let Alecto fall from her embrace. "Please, Master, I need the blood to heal my arm."
"Then feed from more than one victim; and close the wounds," Harry instructed. Hermione obediently bent over Alecto. There were no wounds on her neck when Harry looked down at her. Alecto was twitching uncontrollably as she lay on the ground. "You thought it was funny when Dumbledore was injured and helpless. It's not so funny now that you are in the same position, is it?" A moment later she lay as dead as Dumbledore.
Amycus felt something had gone badly wrong. He turned to find his sister only to walk into two pairs of glowing, red eyes. Never in his life had he extended mercy to an enemy; he received none now.
Higgs and Rookwood fell under Harry's talons before they had reached the garden. Rather than risk setting off some kind of alarm, they dragged the bodies to the orchard. Harry used the Firebolt and ferried the fallen Death Eaters to the village where he dumped them in an alleyway.
Not wanting to allow for easy identification of the Death Eaters, Harry summoned every rat he could sense. He hoped that it would slow the authorities, both Magical and Muggle, enough to make an escape.
He flew back to pick up Hermione and complete one final task at the Burrow.
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The following morning Molly went to the kitchen to find Arthur fast asleep at the table.
"Arthur, sweetheart, why didn't you come up to bed?" It took her several minutes to wake her husband.
"I've been doing some reading for work. Guess I fell asleep," he answered groggily.
"Where on earth did those come from?"
"Percy brought them to me last night. He's upstairs and might stay the weekend." He looked at Molly with a hopeful expression on his face. His wife just sighed, shrugged, and set about preparing breakfast.
Drawn by the smell of breakfast cooking, Fleur made an appearance a few minutes later. She was wearing an azure colored, silk, dressing gown, and was brushing her silver-blonde hair.
As she sat down at the table she wrinkled her nose, "Do you smell zat?"
"What?" asked Molly suspiciously. "I don't smell anything."
"A long time ago I am smelling zis…this scent. I ask my Grandmuzzer what is zis, and she tol' me it is a vampire."
"Well, there are no vampires around here, are there Arthur?"
"Not that we know of. One would think that a vampire would steer clear, since we have a werewolf around occasionally."
Arthur stood up, "I need to contact Professor Flitwick this morning."
Molly looked concerned, "Why?"
"I just think we might need to reinforce some of our defenses. I woke up with the idea; somehow I feel that it's very important. Especially after the attack on the Grangers."
As Arthur went to freshen up, the other Weasleys were waking up. A new day was dawning at the Burrow.