Fresh Blood and New Beginnings
Summary: Following a savage vampire attack, the world of a young Belgian witch is turned on its head as she finds herself starting a new life at Hogwarts.
A/N: Having come across quite a few fics now that cross over Twilight with Harry Potter and make being a vampire in HP world a good thing, I wanted to set myself the challenge of writing a HP fic with vampires more like what JKR had in mind when she wrote the books. In other words, something that's more inkeeping with traditional vampire mythology. In the process, I also thought I'd challenge myself to put a different spin on that fanfic cliche, the Hogwarts transfer student. This is the result.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter One - Solitude
In the darkness the girl sat. Solid walls rose up around her, oppressive in their grey, clinical blankness. Heavy curtains were draped across the windows, smothering the daylight. How long had she been here? She could no longer remember. No longer tell the passage of time when night and day all blurred into one here in the dark.
She had some vague idea of where she was. Mixed in with the distant screams echoing through her brain she had some faint recollection of how she'd come to be here. Her mind replayed the sequence of events for her: there were noises…savage growls, terrified screams…someone laughing dementedly. She was unable to see through the haze of red clouding her vision: indistinct shapes moving in the shadows, flashes of light that danced before her eyes. Eventually it all faded away into blackness and it was only the auditory memory she was left with, replaying in her head as if from some macabre dictaphone. There were more screams; a cacophony of yells and cries of pain before her uncle's voice cut over the racket. "Karlijn? Karlijn?" He spoke her name urgently, sounding panicked…scared. She wondered why it was him who was here looking for her and not her mum.
Then she remembered that her mum's voice had been part of the screaming.
A fresh shriek suddenly tore from her own throat as she felt the sudden realisation of what had happened. Her muddled thoughts snapped back into place, the past colliding with the present with horrifying clarity. The attack. Her parents being savagely murdered in front of her. Her uncle Laurens coming to find her…but not before that monster had found her first.
Karlijn felt her body shake as she recalled what happened, remembering the agonising pain that had burned into the side of her neck and the fire that had threatened to consume her entire being. It had seemed to go on forever. She couldn't even remember when it ended, just knew that at some point she'd woken up to find herself here.
St Lonwyn's. Special Ward.
They were keeping her in solitary confinement, as much for their own protection as it was for hers.
Karlijn squirmed in the steel cot she lay upon and gave a moan. The bed was uncomfortable, but the discomfort she felt from that was drowned out completely by the savage hunger gnawing away at her insides. God, she wanted to eat. Her hands trembled, muscles twitched. She flexed her fingers and once more tried to pull away from the bonds around her wrists, but it was no use. They were too strong for her. An unbreakable charm had been cast on them after she'd managed to tear through her first restraints, attacking the mediwitches who'd been bringing her the dose of haemoglobin they were prescribing. Not her fault. It was understandable that she couldn't control herself this soon after the transformation. But it had given them reason to leave her here on her own; shut off, isolated, kept alone for hours at her time with nothing but the confused memories of the attack and a growing sense of hunger to keep her company.
She wished she could understand. Why did they only let Uncle Laurens in every few hours to see her? And why had they blacked out the windows? Her mind was telling her there was a reason for it, but she couldn't remember what. All she wished was that she could see sunlight again, and that she wouldn't be left alone any longer. Why couldn't there be someonehere with her? And why wouldn't they let her eat?
God, she needed to eat so badly. If she didn't feed soon she was sure her stomach would cave in on itself. Already she could feel her ribs sticking out through her taut skin, as if there was a vacuum inside sucking all the flesh inwards until there was nothing left, unless a fresh meal of warm blood was there to fill it.
Karlijn screamed again. Where was everybody? Why had they abandoned her? She must have been here hours…days. Somebody must be out there…please…
Her cries continued to echo out throughout the vast blank room until at long last there was a sudden disturbance of light penetrating the darkness, a small stream of it spilling in from somewhere in the distance. In shock and relief Karlijn's cries died in her parched throat and instead her body shook with a sob, exhaustion taking over as she felt she barely had the energy to cry anymore. Thank God somebody had come for her.
With great effort she raised her head and squinted into the light, trying desperately to focus on the blurred figure that was approaching her.