A/N:I'm glad you guys enjoy it so far. Also, there's a poll up on my profile over Hermione's fate. By the way, there's no dark motives to Dumbledore in this one, no manipulations, just a regretful old man who's going to start making it up to Harry. I mean, do you really think Dumbledore the master manipulator from the books could actually maintain a friendship with Integra, Alucard, and Walter? Get ready for more polls, too, regarding characters like Snape and Draco. I've already formed ideas and opinions, but input from the people reading is one of the wonderful things about Fanfiction, it can be nigh-instantaneous. Sorry if I overuse the word "master", but you Hellsing fans are used to it, I'm sure.
Thoughts
Master/Fledgling Mindspeak
Harry Potter and the Bird of Hermes
Chapter 2: Aftermath, Training, and New Info
Harry awoke feeling better than he had in weeks. Finally, dreamless sleep, he thought, glad that all the damn nightmares had fled for at least one night. He reached up to run a hand through his hair, but froze when the heel of his palm ran over where his scar should be. He didn't feel the usual slight protrusion of scar tissue, just a plane of smooth skin. He looked around the unfamiliar, stone room frantically, not willing to believe that his scar was truly gone. He saw a full length mirror on one wall and rushed over to it, barely noticing the fact that he was clothed only in a pair of pajama pants until he got his first look at himself in the mirror.
"What the bloody hell?" he questioned his own sanity as he stared at his reflection. Without a shirt, he could clearly see that he'd gone through some changes. His torso, while it had had some light definition from playing Quidditch, was now clearly defined showing some definite muscle, his shoulders had broadened a bit and he'd grown a few inches. The biggest change he noted, however, was that he had indeed lost the scar. His forehead was completely blank. "It's really gone..."
"A connection like that cannot be maintained between a wizard and a vampire. It requires a living wizard on both sides. Your new vampiric nature explains the change in your body, as well, fixing years of malnutrition and abuse," Harry heard a deep, male voice speak from behind him, and saw the tall man dressed in red from the night before reflected in the mirror The guy from last night? Last thing I remember is that girl biting me... Harry thought, then caught a glimpse of an elongated canine in the mirror. "Oh, shit, I really am a vampire."
"Yeah, you are, Harry. Sorry...it was the only way to save you," another, female, voice spoke, sounding ashamed of herself. He turned and saw the woman from the night before, her head down to match the shame in her voice.
"It's not your fault, I mean, I'm still here, right, master?" Harry said, a reassuring grin upon his face, which turned to confusion after a moment. "Did I just call you 'master'?"
"Yes, and you will continue to do so until you drink the police girl's blood. It is only natural for a vampire to acknowledge his or her sire as 'master' until they are powerful enough to stand on their own, and, as her sire, you will afford me the same courtesy," Alucard replied for her, his voice commanding and leaving no room for argument.
"Yes, master," Harry said.
"Now, get dressed and follow the police girl up to Integra's office. She and your Headmaster wish to speak with you," Alucard said, vanishing through a nearby wall and leaving Harry to gawk at the blank expanse of stone that showed no sign of his passage.
"You get used to it, Harry. It's not like it's the weirdest thing to ever happen to you," Seras said, a grin on her face. "I think that huge snake beats a vampire walking through a wall."
"How do you know about the basilisk?" Harry asked, walking over to a pile of clothes left out for him, a simple pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers.
"I have all of your memories. Master said that it's because memories are contained in your blood, and I drank your blood, so..." she replied, turning around to let Harry dress.
"All my memories?"
"Yes, and I plan on laying into your headmaster for leaving you with those terrible people when we see him."
"You don't have to do that, I've made my peace."
"That's hard to believe."
"Yeah, well I had plenty of time to think while those vampires were trying their best to slice me to pieces. Dumbledore made a mistake that he's already apologized for, and holding a grudge will just make life harder for everyone involved."
"That's very mature for a fifteen year old."
"Well, I've never been normal."
"And...Sirius?"
"He wouldn't have wanted me to mope around forever," Harry said. "Shall we go?"
"Yeah."
---
"So, you really don't mind?" Integra asked Dumbledore, not really willing to believe that he had no problems with Harry's "situation." She'd certainly let Alucard have it for not being faster and for letting Seras turn him, but Alucard had merely laughed and asked if she'd rather he'd left Harry there to bleed out. It had been hours since then, and she still hadn't thought of anything to say to that.
"I can't say that I'm thrilled with it, but I've always sought to protect Harry. Is there any place safer than under the protection of Alucard?" Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling a bit. "I was going to have him come here later in the summer, anyways, to see if you'd train him in the sword, this just cuts out the magical training before that."
"Sword training?" Integra asked. "Why on Earth would you want a wizard trained with a blade?"
"If you knew more about our world, you'd know that a woefully large number of wizards have little to no experience in close range combat, and that's just instinctual at best. While this may be an advantage against his Death Eaters, Voldemort himself is an accomplished swordsman, and I've already explained to you Harry's role in our world at present. Any other contacts I have with better swordsman are pretty much useless now, as most would be unwilling to teach a vampire. Will you do it, Integra?"
"Of course, Albus," Integra assured him as the door opened and her new vampire/student walked in, accompanied by Seras.
"Hello, Headmaster, and you must be Sir Integra," Harry greeted.
"Good to meet you, Harry. Welcome to the Hellsing Organization," she replied.
"Good to see you in one piece, my boy," Dumbledore said, a warm smile upon his face. "You are Seras Victoria, I presume?"
"Yes," Seras replied, wondering what he was going to do to her for turning Harry.
"While I'm not exactly happy that one of my favorite students is now technically dead, I'm glad that, thanks to you, I won't have to bury him or tell his friends that they'll never see him again. Thank you, Seras."
"Uh...you're welcome," she said awkwardly. She hadn't expected gratitude.
"Well, I guess I won't be staying with the Order or going to Hogwarts anymore?" Harry asked.
"No, you will reside here in the manor, and, since, as a vampire, you have no magic, further schooling will not be required. I will, at Albus's request, be training you in the use of a sword and, in addition, you shall go through the same required firearms and physical training as every other member of Hellsing. We'll make a vampire hunter out of you, or kill you trying, any questions?" Integra replied, a sarcastic grin on her face daring him to question her.
"No, ma'am," Harry said.
"Good, and if you're a nice little pet vampire, then I'll let you go visit your friends."
"Until then," Dumbledore said, rolling his eyes a little at Integra, "I'll tell them I've taken you somewhere to train. Miss Granger, of course, shall question me at every turn, so you'll have that to deal with when you see them again."
"Great, a pissed off Hermione," Harry said, trying to block out images of the unpleasant things his best female friend would do to him when she found out he was letting Dumbledore lie to her.
"Well then, shall we get started?" Integra asked, grinning as she rose from her chair and drew the rapier that she always kept near her desk.
Three Weeks Later (A/N: about a week before Harry's birthday)
Just outside a graveyard in rural England, Harry was leaning against a tree, waiting for the signal from his master. In just a few short weeks under Integra's tutelage, more like she'd given him a blade and told him to defend himself, he'd become much stronger and faster, and had even beat her a few times. The blade he used now was a large claymore, which he wielded easily in one hand and whose size he was able to use to his advantage, crushing any enemies' defenses with strong blows. He'd let his hair grow out a bit, just brushing the tops of his shoulder blades, and now had an X-shaped scar just above the left side of his jaw. He was wearing a jacket made of dark, blood red leather, the lining and collar were coated with black fur, and it had the Hellsing Organization shield outlined on the back in white. Said jacket also served as his sword's "sheath", with a weave of superstrong, flat magnets activated by a small button in the left sleeve, holding the blade to his back. Under that he wore a black, long sleeved shirt and a pair of black, leather gloves. A pair of baggy, black pants, which instead of a top button had a pair of belts, and black boots completed the outfit. Also, on each thigh was strapped a holster containing a .45 pistol. Alucard and Seras had taught him how to use those, well, mostly Seras with a few sarcastic comments here and there by her master.
Okay, there is a small horde of ghouls protecting three vampires at the center of the graveyard, next to that large angel statue, Seras's voice sounded in Harry's mind. Harry looked towards the graveyard and saw the statue in question. I'll clear you a path through the zombies.
Gotcha, master, Harry sent back, drawing his blade, deactivating the magnets and quickly grabbing the hilt, and getting ready to run as high-powered rifle shots began to rain down on the graveyard.
Now! Seras called. Harry shot forward, leaping over the graveyard's fence and straight through the ghouls. The first vampire had barely turned his way before he'd skewered it through the heart on his blessed, silver blade. He shifted his hand around the hilt and tore it out through the vampire's head, pivoting and drawing a pistol as the body fell. He turned the second bloodsucker into Swiss cheese, making sure at least two shots hit both heart and head. Holstering his pistol, he flicked his blade to the side, sending blood flying from it. He nearly dropped it, though, as he locked eyes with the last vampire. It was the one who'd lead the attack on Privet Drive.
"Heh, do you really think I'll be as easy?" he growled, drawing the same dagger that had nearly killed Harry.
"Yeah, actually," Harry shot back, a maniacal grin splitting his face, as his eyes turned red, bloodlust overcoming him at the thought of being able to decapitate this particular vampire. He seemed slightly taken aback by Harry's sudden change, but brushed it off as best he could and charged. Harry simply caught the dagger in one hand and stabbed him through the stomach with the other. This guy was probably ordered to attack me by Voldemort personally. You think he might know something useful, master?
Maybe.
Should I 'extract' it?
Only if you're okay with it, I'm not going to make you drink from anyone you don't want to.
"Alright, say 'good night'," Harry told his prey, grinning before slamming his fangs into the vampire's throat. The rush of memories nearly made him keel over, but then he saw the vampire bowing before Voldemort and knew that he'd gotten something good. He pulled away from his neck, and pulled his sword from his gut. The vampire fell to his knees, and Harry sent his head flying with another swing. Okay, master, all done here, got the ghouls taken care of?
Yep, join me up here and the chopper will take us back to the manor.
Okay, Harry replied, sheathing his blade and running towards the church. A few minutes later, they were well on their way back towards London, and Harry was reviewing the memories he'd acquired with Seras's help. He got to the meeting after his attack, but didn't see anything unusual or out of the ordinary except the group of vampires. That is, not until the vamp had been leaving. Another group of people had entered the room then, a short, fat man wearing all white with more insanity showing in his eyes that Harry thought humanly possible, a strange blonde-haired man with multi-lensed glasses and a bloodstained lab coat, and, finally, a tall man wearing a brown coat with the collar covering half his face.
"Ah, Herr Voldemort, how nice to finally meet you," the fat man had said, a disturbing smile on his face, as the light reflected off his glasses.
---
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if it was rushed or sucked, I promise the Valentine brothers' attack will be much better.
Poll: (for Portkey users) Should Hermione be turned and how?
No, keep her human.
Yes, have her nearly die like Seras and Harry, then have Harry turn her.
Yes, have her nearly die while no one but Alucard is nearby and have him turn her.
Yes, have Hermione ask Harry to turn her after they get together.
Yes, have Harry ask Hermione to become a vampire to protect her.
Yes, have Harry drink her blood during the final battle in a situation like Seras and Pip.
-Sypher Kyaeon