Title: Après Moi, Le Deluge

Rating: T to be safe, will go higher with future chapters

Category: Drama/Adventure/Romance

Summary: AU - An unfortunate incident leads to Harry becoming a vampire.

Disclaimer: I guess it all still belongs to JKR, huh? Yuck. Well, I'm using nothing from DH, because I didn't finish reading it, and some – but not all – of the vampire concepts are blatantly stolen from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, because her vampires bring sexy back.

A/N: Right, so, I started this after I read Twilight because I was on such a vampire kick, and I'm finally posting it now. As the disclaimer says, this completely ignores DH, and no, it's not another crossover – all HP, just waaaay cooler, because vampires rock.

Chapter Four: Close Encounters

She started to scream, but a hand clamped quickly over her mouth. "Don't do that," he tsked, slowly walking her deeper into the room. "It's just me, Hermione."

He turned her around, bringing them face to face. She was immediately taken in by his hungry eyes, a swirling mixture of lust and bloodlust, desperation and longing. Harry warily removed his hand from her mouth, and she didn't scream like she should have. She couldn't.

"Hermione…" He urged her backward, until her back hit the wall. "I read the book you left. I know you know what this is between us. You must feel it…"

His smoldering eyes and the timbre of his voice turned her legs to jelly. "W-what?"

Harry pressed in close, flattening his body against hers. She could feel everything, from the hard planes of his chest to the strong thigh between her legs. "You do feel it, don't you? How every part of you belongs to me?"

Trying to find the strength to push him away, Hermione gulped. "Harry, you're confusing your new instincts. It's not me you want, it's –"

"No! Don't do that. Don't trivialize this," he growled. "You're mine, and I'm yours. You must feel that."

She shivered, partly out of desire and partly at the cold hand that was snaking up her shirt. "Harry –"

He wasn't interested in hearing what she had to say. He forced himself harder against her and claimed her lips in a bruising kiss. In spite of herself, in spite of the danger she knew she was putting herself in, she tangled her fingers in his hair and responded. Everything he said was true – her body, her heart, her soul called for him, and she couldn't resist an open invitation. She gladly let his tongue tangle with hers; he tasted sweet as sin.

Harry moaned into her mouth, and then she felt the sharp prick of his teeth against her lips, drawing blood through the thin skin. She gasped as she felt his tongue flicking against them, tasting the small cuts.

His lips dragged away from hers, down to her throat. Hermione felt the panic rise up. She knew it had been a bad idea to tempt fate, and now she was paying for it. He was going to bite her, and she doubted he would have the control to stop before she died.

"Mmm, Hermione…" he sighed, breathing in as his nose brushed her skin. "You taste so heavenly…"

His grip tightened on her arms, holding her still as he prepared to bite down. Hermione tensed and squeezed her eyes shut. "Harry," she whimpered – part fear, part calling out for the friend that had once been her protector.

And suddenly, he shoved himself away from her. When she opened her eyes, he was across the room, flattened against the wall, staring back at her in horror.

"Harry?" She was confused and disoriented. One moment, she'd been overcome by lust, the next braced for death – and now suddenly rescued?

"I'm sorry," he said raggedly, turning his eyes away from her. "You need to leave now."

It didn't take her long to obey. She could see the tense way he stood, fighting himself, and she knew to linger would be stupidity. And so she disobeyed her heart's instructions to stay and fled downstairs.

Ron was just finishing dinner when she got to the kitchen. He took one look at her and dropped the pot he was levitating to the table.

"Merlin, Hermione, you're as white as Harry. What the hell happened?"

She fought through the strange numbness that had taken over her. "Harry happened."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Did he try to bite you again?"

"Yes…well, not at first. He…he's got it into his head that I'm meant to be his mate for all eternity. So…he kissed me. And…then he tried to bite me."

Ron shuffled uncomfortably. "So…he wants to make you his vampire bride or whatever?"

Hermione shrugged helplessly. "I guess? But then he stopped himself and ran away, and now I don't know what's going on, really."

"He stopped himself?" Ron frowned. "You mean…he was going to bite you, and he just…stopped? I thought new vampires weren't supposed to be able to do that."

"I thought so, too," Hermione breathed, finally dropping down onto one of the benches lining the long table.

Ron sat across from her, folding his hands contemplatively under his chin. "What do you reckon, then? You think Harry's off his rocker, or are you really destined to be his vampy lover?"

"I don't know," she winced. "Only he can really tell, but I'm afraid he's confusing his normal instincts with something more. I just…don't know…"

"Hmm. And how do you feel about it all?"

Hermione smiled at her subtly perceptive friend, who seemed to know exactly what was really bothering her now. "Well…you know better than anyone how much I care about Harry. And…well, I do want to be with him. I may as well admit that. But I don't think I could stand the pain if he realized later on he had made a big mistake. I'm afraid to hope."

Ron nodded slowly. "Tell you what, Hermione. I'll clean up in here, you go have a rest. I'll bring you up something to eat and you can go to bed; leave Harry to me tonight. You can face him again tomorrow."

"Thank you, Ron," she sighed. "You keep me sane…except when you're driving me crazy."

He grinned. "Likewise."

Ron was none too keen on taking care of the dietary aspect of Harry's new condition, but after what had happened with Hermione that night, he felt called by duty to feed his friend, and then to give him a talking to.

Harry was on the bed when he went in, curled up with his knees drawn to his chest in one of his typical poses for a bout of self-loathing. Ron sighed in exasperation.

"I brought dinner," he said, tossing the closed thermos in Harry's direction. He glanced up and caught it reflexively.

"Thanks," he muttered darkly before beginning to drink. Ron cringed and looked away.

"So…what the bloody hell do you think you're doing with Hermione, anyway?" he asked, never one for preamble.

Harry blanched – if that was possible. "What do you mean?"

"For starters," he began, "what's this all about? This whole…vampire mating rubbish. Is that just some ploy to get a bite out of Hermione? Because that is not on, and you know it –"

"No, it's not a ploy," Harry sighed, shaking his head. The self-disgust was back. "She is my mate. I can just…sense it. But every time I get close to her, her scent just…overwhelms me, and it's so hard to resist… I've been trying to keep away, not to say anything, but whenever I'm thirsty, it's like…instinct takes control."

Ron frowned. He couldn't pretend to understand completely, but he saw that his friend was conflicted and would go easy on him. "Why can't you just tell her what's going on? I mean, you've got her right confused, but if you're sure about her being…'the one', why don't you just tell her as much?"

Harry put aside the thermos and buried his head in his hands again. "Didn't you hear any of what I just said? I can't let her get any closer to me. I can barely keep from hurting her as it is!"

"Okay…so you don't want to bite her. That makes sense. But won't you have to, eventually? If you're going to have her around for eternity, won't she need to be a vampire, too?"

Harry shuddered and shook his head. "No, Ron, no. I can't do that to her. Look at the state of me! I have to be chained up just to keep from hurting my closest friends, and the thirst never goes away. I don't want that for her."

"Oh, dear," Ron sighed, dropping into the chair by the bed. "So it's going to be one of those self-sacrificing issues, is it?"

Harry glared, his eyes starting to glow enough to creep Ron out. "It's not about me. It's about her."

"Well, just look at it this way. You have no idea what she would want, do you? You can't, because you haven't bloody talked to her about any of this. She's still convincing herself that you're just 'confused' because she's insecure and you never looked twice at her for six years. I don't think she's even thought ahead as far as you have…which is weird, for Hermione, but she's always been a bit weird when it comes to you. So, you know, maybe you should at least give her an explanation so that you're not avoiding her for the rest of your life."

Harry blinked slowly. "Yes…I suppose you're right."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Well, I wouldn't want you to get used to that or anything. Heaven forbid I be right on occasion. I might get a big head."

Harry snorted, a small smirk crossing his lips. "As if you ever needed a reason to have a big head before…"

Ron shrugged. "At least I don't want to eat my girlfriend."

"Watch it, Weasley. I might eat you instead."

"Ooh, scary."

Hermione didn't get the nice, long night of sleep she'd been hoping for. Instead, she lay awake, tossing the encounter with Harry around in her head. She couldn't deny that she wanted him physically – the memory of their bodies mashed together, his lips on her skin, even his tongue trailing over her bleeding lip left her overly warm and aching for him.

But then there was that ever-persistent ache in her heart, the ache that had been there since she'd first realized Harry fancied a girl – a girl that wasn't her. Now, he seemed to be offering her everything she'd ever wanted, but she couldn't dare to hope. Was it really Harry talking, or the vampire?

All the signs pointed to the latter. When Harry was in control of himself, everything was just as it had always been. Only when his instincts took over did the sexual innuendo and talk of possession begin. Wouldn't she be foolish to try to make more of that than it really was? There was no need to torture herself with ridiculous hopes.

No, she would not delude herself. Unfortunately, she still had to face him eventually, and he would most certainly know how she felt about him now. He must, after the way she'd kissed him back.

That was a humiliation she could live without.

When Hermione did fall asleep, it was in the early morning hours. Consequently, it was well past noon when she returned to the waking world. Downstairs, she found Ron and Remus, deep in conversation.

"So it really exists?" she overhead as she approached the kitchen.

"Oh, certainly," Remus answered. She heard the chink of a cup being set on the table. "I've seen it on occasion. It would be a very good thing, actually…vampires with mates are much more in tune with…human feeling."

"Oh, he's been feeling, all right," Ron replied. Hermione could just see him rolling his eyes.

She finally walked into the kitchen, and their conversation stopped. "Good morning," she greeted them awkwardly.

"Well, it was a good morning, but you slept through it," Ron replied. "There's still tea on the stove, though, if you like."

"Thanks." She busied herself with preparing a cup, ignoring the eyes she could feel boring into her back.

"You going to talk to Harry when he wakes up?" Ron asked, getting straight to the point. Hermione winced.

"I was thinking we should tell him what we found yesterday," she said, evading the question. "We should really get to work, now that we've got something to go on."

"That can wait," Ron argued as she dropped a sugar cube into her tea. "Sorting out what's going on here is more important."

Hermione started to protest, but Remus surprised her by interrupting.

"He's right, Hermione," their old professor said. "Communication and teamwork are going to be essential to the work you three have ahead of you. This isn't the time for letting conflicts go unaddressed."

"There is no conflict," Hermione insisted, glaring at the two. "Harry is confused, that's all. He'll realize that soon enough."

"You can't know that for certain. Just have a chat with him, will you? I think he's got a bit to say as well."

Hermione sighed, but reluctantly agreed. "Very well. But I think you'll find that there's really nothing to this at all."