Written For:
Quidditch Fanfiction League Competition: Round 13
Captain - Niffler - Write about someone finding someone/thing (literal or metaphorical or existential, etc.).
Not Time, But Be Patient
Sanguini has lived a long time. He's a vampire, so there's no quick death for him. He thought he knew how to contend with his longevity. He has had centuries to get used to it after all.
Alas, lately, everything has felt like too much. He has a clan—other vampires that he regards as a family—but that doesn't stave off the loneliness that is all consuming. What he needs now is his other half. His soulmate. The one he can spend his eternity with. What good is his unlife if he's always alone?
X
It is at an insipid party with school children that something happens. He expects to be bored out of his skull; he doesn't expect to be drawn to not one individual but two individuals. And what's worse is that they're both underaged children.
He knows his kind is infamous for unlawful behavior, especially towards minors, but Sanguini has never felt the desire to partake in anything that involved a child, so this feeling is new. And a bit unnerving.
He sees her first. She a young slip of a thing, with stringy, dirty-blonde hair and a petite figure. What Sanguini finds most peculiar about her isn't her radish earrings that go horribly with her dress. It's her eyes. They are a pale silver color, and when Sanguini stares into them, he knows they see things they shouldn't. He wonders if she has any psychic abilities. He wouldn't be surprised.
She approaches him. She's the only human to do so, and it makes him even surer that she's special. She tilts her head, studying his face. Her silver eyes pierce gold ones. "Hello, Sanguini. My name is Luna."
Sanguini takes her hand and bows over it, peppering a soft, formal kiss to it. "Luna, I'm flattered you know my name. May I ask how?"
"I know a lot of things," she answers. She smiles sweetly. "And I'm flattered by your interest, but I'm not for you."
He stands up and drops her hand. "Excuse me?"
"Don't worry. Your soulmate is close by, but it's not meant to be me."
He's left blinking with her departure. 'What does she mean by that?' he inwardly questions. 'My soulmate is nearby? And how did she know about my interest?'
Sanguini watches as she walks to another a student, a boy with messy raven hair and piercing green eyes. He can tell the boy's side of the conversation is stilted, as if he's uncomfortable with Luna. His breath catches. Although the boy doesn't look his way, Sanguini feels an unexpected tug to him, very similar to what he felt with Luna.
Why though? What's going on? He wishes he knew.
X
The next time he sees the boy is at Albus Dumbledore's funeral. By now, he has learned the boy's name: Harry Potter. Of course, he has heard of the savior of the Wizarding world, but he hadn't realized that was Luna's escort at Slughorn's party.
Harry is barely left alone. There's usually a tall redhead male or a bushy-haired female at his side. Sometimes he sees a redheaded female standing near him, looking at him with longing eyes. He also sees Luna near him while doing her best to not be intrusive.
Luna must sense his presence because she looks straight at him. After the eulogy, Luna makes her way over to him. "Hello, Sanguini. It feels like it has been a long time, even though I know it hasn't."
"That's what tragedy and loss does. It makes time feel like an eternity."
Luna turns her head to the trio of friends. "Harry is taking Headmaster Dumbledore's death hard. Besides Remus, Dumbledore was the last real connection he feels like he has to his parents."
Sanguini has lost those he cares about, so he can imagine what Harry is feeling. "Luna, last time we met, you talked of my soulmate…"
Luna turns her knowing eyes back to him. "The time isn't right yet. Be patient."
Once again, he's left confused and blinking by her words as she departs. Regardless, he finds himself listening to her advice.
X
He hears about a dangerous mission to stop Voldemort, and he just knows Harry is in the center of it. He thinks about what he should do. He knows some vampires are joining Voldemort. The dark Wizard is promising creatures more freedom. Sanguini has never been one to get involved in Wizarding affairs, but with Harry at the center of it, he knows he can't be neutral. Many of his kind won't understand his decision, but he needs to make sure Harry survives.
He's a silent follower. He watches as the trio do their best to stay hidden. He watches tension rise and the redhead male angrily leave the duo. He closes his eyes and wishes he doesn't have to hear the brunette's cries of heartbreak. Sanguini doesn't care about her per se, but she's important to Harry, and that makes her important to him. In his opinion, though, the redhead is undeserving of such powerful emotions.
The redhead comes back, and in Sanguini's mind, the forgiveness comes a little too easy even if the abysmal behavior was due to a possessed object.
Still, Sanguini tails them, and he's glad he does. The three are cornered by Snatchers.
And Sanguini, deciding it is time to stop hiding, jumps down from his perch on a tree branch. Although the four of them are outnumbered, the Snatchers don't stand a chance. Sanguini is a very old vampire, which makes him powerful. The Snatchers, even with magic, are child's play for him.
The female looks at him with appraising eyes once the four of them are alone. "I remember you from Slughorn's party. And I think you were at Dumbledore's funeral, too. You saved us."
Sanguini nods, but his gaze is focused solely on Harry. "Are you okay, Harry?"
"You know me?"
Sanguini wants to make a remark about how everyone who lives in the magical world knows him, but he knows that won't go over well with Harry. "I've spoken to Luna a couple of times. She's fond of you."
Harry blushes. "I'm fond of her. Thank you for helping us but why?"
The girl butts in. "Yes, most vampires are neutral, except the ones siding with You-Know-Who."
"I have my reasons," Sanguini says, not wanting to give away his reaction to Harry. "I guess I don't have to stay hidden anymore. My top priority isn't making sure you three live through this war, so let's get going. We have a lot of work to do."
Harry keeps staring at him. "Yeah, let's go. Maybe with your help, we'll actually be able to find the other Horcruxes."
X
The war ends. Harry survives. And despite the redhead female's, who he later learns is named Ginny, desires, Harry doesn't run into her waiting arms. Instead, he chooses to settle down with Luna.
Sanguini is invited to the wedding. It's a nighttime wedding of course. He watches them say their vows of love and devotion to each other. He expects to feel pain. After all, the only two people, human or creature, that he has felt a connection with are marrying each other. They chose each other over him. It should hurt.
It doesn't though. He thought Harry was his soulmate, but maybe he was mistaken.
He doesn't stay in England all the time. He's a nomad. He likes traveling, but he always visits.
He's there when Luna gives birth to their two children. First, it's little Samuel. And he's followed by Viola a couple of years later.
He's there during their happiest and at their lowest.
He holds Harry's hand when Luna gets sick when their kids are older. The Healer can't find anything wrong. Out of desperation, they go to a Muggle hospital, and she's diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Her time is coming quickly, and the only they can do is make her as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately, magic can't heal everything.
When Harry is told of the news, he falls to the floor and screams his anger. Sanguini kneels and holds him, letting Harry pound his fists against Sanguini's chest. "It's not fair! How can a Muggle disease do this?" he sobs.
Thankfully, no one hears the term 'Muggle.'
Sanguini doesn't say any platitudes. He knows there's nothing he can say to ease Harry's pain.
Harry spends all of his time with Luna, and Sanguini is never far. He only leaves when necessity dictates.
Samuel and Viola visit three or four times a week, but they have spouses and jobs, and neither of them wants to remember their mum as a weak fragile being, not when she has always been so full of life and laughter.
Once when Luna is sleeping, or at least when he thinks she's sleeping, Sanguini makes an offer. "I can change her. You'll never lose her."
Harry stares at his pale wife. "She wouldn't want it, and she'd hate me forever." He sighs. "I'm going to take a walk. Viola is coming by, and I think a little fresh air will help me not look so much like death. She worries enough about me as it is."
As soon as he's gone, Luna opens her eyes. "He's right. I'd never forgive him or you."
Sanguini knows he should be surprised. He's a vampire, and he should have sensed her alertness, but he has learned to never be surprised by Luna. "I could live with your hatred if it meant you were still in our world."
She reaches out for him, and her hand is so bony. When Sanguini takes it, he's afraid he'll accidentally break it. "When I'm gone, Harry is going to need you. Ron and Hermione will try, but it will be you he needs the most. Don't leave."
"I'll stay as long as Harry needs me to," Sanguini promises.
"Good. He hasn't realized it yet, but he's going to need you for an eternity."
"What?"
Luna closes her eyes. It looks like she has drifted back to sleep, but she manages to say one more thing. "He's the Master of Death."
X
Like he promised Luna, Sanguini doesn't leave Harry's side after her body gives up the fight.
He's there as Viola and Samuel all get older without Harry ever looking a day over thirty. Sanguini is there when Ron, Hermione, and all of his friends pass away because of old age.
Harry rests his head against Sanguini's shoulder. "I could stay. Watch over my kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, great-great-grandkids, and so on."
"But that means you'll have to keep saying goodbye," Sanguini needlessly points out. He wants to get out of England, but he knows he won't leave Harry's side, even if it means he will always be in one place.
"Yes. Viola and Sam would understand if I left. They wouldn't blame me."
"No, they wouldn't," Sanguini agrees. The kids love Harry with all of their hearts, but they would understand Harry needing to leave.
"I'm not sure what I'd do without you," Harry whispers, wrapping his arms around Sanguini's waist. "I'd be completely alone; I'm not sure I'd be able to handle it."
Sanguini returns the embrace. "All my unlife, I wanted someone to spend my eternity with. It was my greatest wish. I always thought it would be my soulmate. Someone I'd love with my whole heart. I wasn't wrong. I do love you, Harry. Just not in the way I thought I'd love my soulmate."
Harry nods. "I get it. I love you, too, Sanguini. Just not in the way I loved Luna."
"When I first met her, she told me my soulmate was close by, but it wasn't her, despite the fact she piqued my interest. And then at our second meeting, I asked her about what she said about my soulmate, but she told me the time wasn't right and I had to be patient. She piqued my interest because of her connection to you, but the time wasn't right back then."
"She knew we'd end up here," Harry says. "That doesn't surprise me. Luna always knew everything."
"Ready to leave England? Or do you want to say goodbye first?"
Harry is silent as he thinks about it. "I don't think I could say goodbye. It would hurt too much."
Sanguini takes a step back. "Then let's get out of here. Where you do want to go first? Anywhere you want."
As they walk away from Samuel's house, where they know he's hosting a huge family dinner with all of the Potter and Weasley kids and grandkids and even some great-grandkids, Harry says, "I've always wanting to see the American Wizarding world."
"Then it's off to America we go."
As Sanguini guides him, he hopes Harry takes some comfort in the fact that he will never have to be alone. He wonders how Luna knew, but Sanguini knows better than to question it too much. Instead, he's just thankful for her insight.
XX
(word count: 2,176)