Eight: Sun Stroke
The first week of July rolled around too fast for Harry. He rolled over as he pulled the sheets over his head, blocking the sun's rays but they could not block out the rumbling bellowing of his Uncle.
"Get up boy!' Vernon Dursley shouted.
Harry did not move. He didn't want to get up. It was summer for Merlin's sake. He had taken his potion the night before but it didn't mean that he had to get up to the sun's painful call. If only he could avoid his Uncle. Loud pounding sounded on the boy wizard's door.
"I said get up!"
"Go away," his nephew grumbled back.
The door flew open and a purple faced Vernon stormed in, towering menacingly over his nephew.
"How dare you talk back to me," he growled.
"Look I leave today, so just let me be. Please," Harry told his Uncle as calmly as he could.
Vernon grunted and seemed to mutter something under his breath but left the room, shutting the door with a 'slam'. Harry sighed and went back to sleep, not waking until 5:50. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head. He slid out of bed and took a look around his room. It was the last time he was going to see this room, this house ever again. A smile spread over his young face as he tossed clothes and books haphazardly into his trunk.
"Let's get out of here Hedwig," he said softly to his owl. She hooted back at him happily.
Harry tucked his wand into his pants pocket and made sure he had the pouch of vials Alena had given him. Taking one last look around the room he pulled open the door and proceeded downstairs. He didn't bother saying goodbye to his family. He concentrated and disapparated, arriving at 12 Grimmauld Place seconds later, body, owl and trunk all in tact. He moved towards the door as nonchalantly as possible and slipped inside without being seen. He sighed sadly, as he took in the familiar surroundings and had to wipe a tear away at the memories that flooded his mind.
"Harry!" Hermione called from the sitting room.
"Hi. Sorry I'm late," he said, dragging his trunk into the room.
"It's alright mate," Ron answered, setting a bottle of butterbeer on the table.
"We're the only ones here right?" Harry asked, his gaze shifting nervously around. He received suspicious looks from his friends.
"Yes. I know you told the Order they could use the house for their headquarters but no one else is here," Hermione answered with a raised eyebrow.
"Just checking. Snape knows where the house is and how to get in," Harry said defensively. It wasn't a complete lie. But it wasn't his sire he was worried about.
"I'm hungry. Let's eat," Ron piped up.
"Fine. Let's find something to eat so you don't start to complain," Hermione huffed, dragging the redhead into the kitchen.
"I'll be down in a bit. I'm going to go unpack," Harry announced, charming his trunk to float at his side.
Once he was free of his companions, he rushed upstairs, laying his trunk down. He saw Ron's luggage in the room as well and considered using one of the spare rooms. But then, Ron would start to suspect something. Sitting on the bed, the young vampire closed out the other thoughts and focused.
'Kalyn?' he called out. There was no answer. Harry's brow furrowed. He thought he'd gotten good at this and that his signal, as it were, reached pretty far.
'Severus?' he tried this time.
'What? Where are you?' came his sire's reply.
'Grimmauld Place. It's just me, Ron and Hermione,' Harry answered laying back on the pillows.
'Where's Kalyn?' Harry asked before Snape could reply.
'Out.'
'Are you doing ok?' the boy wizard questioned, concern in his thoughts.
'I'm fine. Worry about yourself. You have much more important things to do than concern yourself with me,' Severus snapped.
'Sorry. I was just being concerned,' Harry retorted.
"Harry, are you eating?" Hermione yelled up the stairs, interrupting Harry and Severus' mental conversation. Harry jumped, completely disoriented. He'd never been interrupted before.
"Yes," he called back.
'I have to go,' he told his sire.
'Watch your back,' Severus ordered before Harry's head fell silent.
Harry took a moment to reorient himself with his surroundings. He didn't feel much like eating but he felt he must put in an appearance anyhow. He wandered into the kitchen to find Hermione and Ron consuming pasta.
"Where'd you find this?" Harry queried as he sat down and a plate was passed to him.
"I made it," Hermione admitted, blushing.
"She's bloody brilliant!" Ron proclaimed around a mouthful of pasta.
"Smells great, 'Mione," Harry admonished.
To his friend's blush, he stuck his fork in and swirled a bit of it, placing it in his mouth and swallowing. It was pretty good but Harry had started to get used to not eating much. Despite his small appetite he managed to eat the entire plate, only feeling slightly sick at the end. The rest of the night the trio sat around; Hermione engrossed in a book, Ron staring off into space and Harry with quill and parchment in hand.
"Mate, what you doing?" Ron inquired, looking over as Harry's quill scratched away.
"Just making a list of all of Voldemort's possible remaining Horcruxes," the boy wizard answered.
"Hey. Tomorrow, I need your help to look for the locket," he muttered without looking up.
Harry stared down at his list, not at all interested in the task. He wanted to be out, prowling the streets, replenishing his blood supply. He was beginning to get antsy and jumped in alarm when the clock struck 10 o'clock.
"I'm going to bed," Hermione announced as she closed her book.
"Me too. I'm beat," Ron added, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn.
"Honestly Ronald. You didn't do anything today," Hermione scolded.
Harry just watched his friends go up the stairs. When his sensitive ears assured him it was safe, he snuck out the front door, jogging down the street. He wandered around, getting to know the neighborhood. He caught sight of a young man walking down the street towards Harry. The vampire's nostrils flared as he picked up the scent of alcohol. He knew it wasn't a great idea but he was hungry and he doubted he'd find another meal for a while without wandering out of his comfort zone. It took only a few minutes to bring the man under a trance. Harry fed generously, trying to ignore the alcoholic taste of the blood. Once he'd had his fill, Harry sat the man down on a nearby bench, making sure he was ok before returning to 12 Grimmauld Place. He quietly ascended the stairs and snuck into the room he was sharing with Ron. The redhead was fast asleep and Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he took his potion and slipped beneath the covers.
Harry's eyes shot open, sweat pouring down his face. He sat up and immediately felt light headed. What the hell was wrong with him? Suddenly his mind brought him back to the night before and the drunkard he's taken from.
"Not doing that again," he muttered to himself as he looked over at Ron's bed. It was empty.
He heard muffled noises outside the door, slightly down the hall by the sound of it. Laying down quickly, he closed his eyes just in time for the door open and Ron rushed in, followed by an irritated-sounding Hermione.
"Ron, don't. It will only make him upset," Hermione hissed.
"Harry, get up. Come on. You need to come downstairs," Ron said loudly, ignoring Hermione. He shook Harry rather vigorously.
"What?" Harry mumbled, trying to act as if he'd just woken up.
"Downstairs. You've got to see," Ron urged again.
"This isn't going to end well," Hermione muttered to herself as the threesome headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Harry's jaw dropped.
The entirety of the Order stood in the kitchen. Hermione elbowed Harry discreetly in the ribs to stop him from gawking like a fish caught on a line. Minerva was the first to step forward.
"I trust your summer is going uninterrupted so far Harry?" she said gently, seeming a bit frail, not quite herself.
"Until now," Harry answered crossly.
"What are you all doing here?" he addressed the group.
"Last summer you said we could use the mansion as our headquarters," Remus answered.
"Yeah…well that was then. This is now," he grumbled. He really didn't like all these people around. There was too much change he could get caught. And knowing them, they'd be breathing down his neck.
"Harry, you did say they could use it. There's no need to be mean about it," Hermione scolded.
"You aren't my Mum, Hermione," he snapped, before turning swiftly in the other direction and going back upstairs.
"What's wrong with him?" Tonks asked, looking rather taken aback by the boy's actions.
"He just lost his mentor. Give him some space," Remus said softly.
"There was no need for him to be so rude," Molly retorted.
Harry sat on his bed upstairs, feeling really woozy. He tried to concentrate, blocking out the people downstairs.
'Hello?' he called. Anyone who answered at this point would be fine with him.
'Harry?' Alena's voice echoed.
'I feel sick,' he said, the queasiness reflected in his tone.
'What happened? Do I need to get Severus?'
'Last night…I fed from a drunken guy. I know I shouldn't but it was getting late and I was starving,' Harry told her.
'It's just the alcohol. It will wear off. You need to rest, get some more sleep so your body can fight it,' Alena answered.
'I think I might need to talk to Severus after all. There's a small problem,' Harry added, sounding nervous.
'What happened?' Severus' voice boomed.
'Christ, don't do that!' Harry shot.
'Well what is your problem?'
'The Order showed up this morning. I want them gone but I can't just kick them out. I mean they are going to be watching over my shoulder. What if I get caught?' Harry asked franticly.
'Just be careful and watch your back,' Severus instructed.
'Easy for you to say. You aren't here,' Harry mumbled.
"Is he ok?" Molly asked, peering in the doorway. To an onlooker, Harry appeared to be in a trance.
"I…I don't know,' Minerva answered, stepping into the room.
"Mr. Potter?" she asked, shaking Harry by the shoulder.
"Huh?" Harry asked, jolted from his conversation.
"You looked as if you were in trance," Minerva said.
"Oh. Uh…I need to go back to sleep. I feel ill," the boy wizard muttered and climbed under the covers. The two women left him to his sleep.
The days that followed the arrival of the Order were stress-filled for Harry. He was forced to get up in the morning like everyone else and eat with them. Molly was trying to force feed him as much food as she could. It wasn't going to do any good. Harry had been so distracted with trying to feed with the Order around that he'd completely forgotten about the Horcrux hunt. No one seemed to mention it to him either. Presently, Harry was seated in the sitting room, looking very pale and ill. He hadn't been able to feed in days. Order members were on around-the-clock surveillance which meant it was damn near impossible to sneak out at night. He was also rapidly running out of potion and Severus hadn't told him how to brew more.
"Harry, you look awful," Hermione commented as she looked up from her book. The boy's eyes were barely keeping themselves open.
"Maybe I should go to bed," Harry murmured and nearly fell out of the chair in an effort to stand up. His body was slowly shutting itself down to conserve the little fresh blood he had in his system.
It took several of the adults to heave the boy upstairs and into bed. Little did they know that they weren't the only ones worried about Harry's failing health. In a small flat on the outskirts of London, Severus was pacing back and forth, a worried expression his face.
"Severus stop that," Alena snapped.
"He hasn't been in contact in days. That cannot be a good sign. I get the feeling he's not feeding well. We need to intervene," he spat back.
"That would go over smashingly well," she retorted.
"I know where the house is and how to get in. I won't go in. I'm not stupid. I'll wear an invisibility cloak," Severus proposed.
"Alright. Let's go. If he hasn't fed we'll need blood and lots of it," Kalyn said from the doorway, startling the other two vampires.
All three were in agreement and set about gathering as much stored blood as they could find. As they were walking out the door, Kalyn stopped, looking worried.
"They aren't just going to let us in," she said softly.
"We'll let them interrogate us but insist we need to see Harry before his condition worsens," Alena answered. Severus shrugged. He wasn't going to be doing much but getting them there. It was up to them to revive his offspring. Without another word they apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place. Remus and Molly were standing guard.
"Who are you?" Molly asked, eyeing Alena and Kalyn suspiciously.
"We're mediwitches. We're here to see Harry Potter," Kalyn answered.
"We were told he's very ill," Alena added.
"Minerva did say something about getting mediwitches," Remus muttered to Molly. After a once-over, the two women were admitted. Remus escorted them up to Harry and Ron's room.
"Mediwitches," he informed the small mass huddled around Harry's bed.
"Oh thank God!" Minerva exclaimed.
"I think he's in a coma. He just collapsed," she informed the new comers.
"We'll take it from here," Kalyn said authoritatively.
"Please. If everyone could wait downstairs, we'll look him over and give you a diagnosis," Alena added and ushered everyone out.
"He looks horrible," Kalyn murmured, stroking his air affectionately.
"Let's get to work," Alena interrupted.
Harry's subconscious swam into focus for a moment; vaguely registering voices in the far distance. They seemed familiar and safe. And then he lost them again.
