Deep…dark…intense….Sirius' eyes were bluer then any Magdalene had ever seen and she could stare at them for hours. They were pools of darkness and mystery. In his eyes she could see that he hid many secrets, even from his friends, and he desperately wanted to tell them to someone. She wondered if his eyes could ever trust hers the way that they trusted James or Remus. Could Sirius look at Magdalene with love and respect the way he looked at his friends? Could he look at her as more then friends? She thought for sure he could, because as his eyes looked her over she felt immense passion and spirit take over her, as if his eyes gave her life. They gave her hope, something to live for. The dark blue shade made her think of the night sky, and how every night she wished to be held by someone as strong as Sirius. But she didn't know if she actually wanted it to be him…
"I don't understand why he would have come to her, Dumbledore," a male voice, sounding harsh and annoyed, said from far away. Magdalene opened her eyes wide, and in the distance, beyond the white curtain that was pulled around her hospital bed, she saw two figures standing and talking to each other. She recognized one as Albus Dumbledore, the other, she instantly knew as Demetrius Malcolm. What was Demetrius doing here? Hadn't she told him to go away and never come back? And better question, Magdalene wondered, where was here? She could tell that she was not in Hogwarts hospital wing. Something very serious was going on.
She didn't move in the bed at all, very anxious to hear the conversation that was still going on between Dumbledore and Demetrius. She kept her eyes opened and watched Demetrius' figure pass back and forth in front of the curtain. Dumbledore remained where he was standing, appearing much calmer and posed in the situation.
"He was hungry," Dumbledore said with a tired voice. "The other students seemed to think that he was targeting her and young Mr. Black."
"That Sirius boy?" Demetrius asked surprised. "Magdalene insist she has nothing going on with him."
"Forgive me, Mr. Malcolm, I don't know much of your laws or rituals," Dumbledore said. "But, is it possible to bind two people together through their blood, a vampire and a mortal, I mean?"
"You think that Magdalene and this boy have bound themselves to each other by blood?"
Dumbledore didn't say anything.
"Magdalene would never do something like that, she rejects everything vampiric," Demetrius said. "If she could survive with out it she wouldn't take blood either. She hates this life that is why she left. I don't blame here either. If she had been loved properly, and taken care of—if I had taken care of her—maybe she wouldn't hate me so much."
"You mean it," Dumbledore said very softly. "You mean she wouldn't hate it so much."
It was Demetrius turn to be silent, and Dumbledore continued.
"I do not think Magdalene hates you, Demetrius," he said. "But, she may not forgive you for leaving her in her Father's house when he was abusing her because you were afraid that your relationship might hurt your position within his business—"
"Dumbledore I'm not a coward—"
"Whether you are a coward or not is beside the point," Dumbledore said firmly. "My students are not safe if vampires keep wondering onto the grounds searching for Magdalene and her apparent free food sources. So, if you please, is it possible for a vampire and mortal to bind together?"
"Yes," Demetrius said hotly. "But the only connection that they could share that would be strong enough for Evandrus to sense is a Covenant, which are rare and incredibly difficult to perform."
"Why is that?"
"The mortal has to be willing to give the vampire blood, and then their blood has to mix. Usually, mortals give their blood in hopes that the vampire is in love with them, but it's just a trick. Vampires aren't capable of love, just lust." He said the last statement quietly and sadly. "It is possible that because Magdalene is half vampire, she is capable of love, which also means she is capable of the purest form of Covenant."
"It sounds like a marriage ritual," Dumbledore said softly.
"No," Demetrius said standing still for a moment. "There is no marriage ritual for us, because there is no point of marriage—we can reproduce by turning mortals, and we can keep company when we wish. There is no point of marriage. A Covenant is a mortal who binds themselves to a vampire, the vampire has nothing to do with it really—if you think Sirius is Magdalene's Covenant that means that Sirius would have willingly given his blood to her and then he would have mixed his blood with hers, not the other way around. If Magdalene were a full vampire and given her blood to Sirius she would have turned him."
"So, really, Magdalene is Sirius' covenant because he is the one who initiates the ritual?" Dumbledore asked slowly.
"I suppose you could say that," said Demetrius with a shrug. "It's a powerful bond, not one that usually survives because people don't realize how sacred it is. It can't ever be broken, they will always be bond together, even if they hate each other."
"If it can't be broken how does it not survive?"
"People think it is something as simple as marriage, something they can get out of easily," Demetrius expanded on his earlier statement. "The true bond of the Covenant doesn't survive because it is not cherished the way it should be. Covenants are rare today, and even if they do exist, you find that the vampire has killed the mortal that was their Covenant, because it's the only way to end the bond on this mortal plane. In death they will reunite. This bond is something that I think you would argue is like love…think of the potion that Tristan and Isolde shared in the Irish folklore—that potion made them love each other for all eternity despite their differences and her being married to his King. This bond is Sirius and Magdalene's potion. They will never be rid of each other."
"You agree that is possible to be performed then?"
"I don't believe Magdalene would ever perform such a ritual, or even knows about it," Demetrius said strongly.
"If she doesn't know about it then it is completely possible it was performed by accident," Dumbledore's words seemed to echo in the room. Demetrius didn't say anything, only stood there. Magdalene's mind was racing—Sirius and her were connected? Sirius had bond himself to her through blood rituals on accident? When would that have happened?
Magdalene bit her bottom lip and rolled her eyes. Over the holiday, Sirius had found her. He had saved her by willingly, giving his own blood…and when they were in the hospital wing and he was holding her, if there was any chance that their blood mixed together because both of them had pulled out their IVs…Magdalene wiped soft tears from her face. Demetrius was making it sound like a Covenant connection could only be made if the mortal was willing to give their entire life to the vampire. This suggested that Sirius still had very strong feelings for Magdalene, which upset her. As an empath she should have been able to read Sirius' feelings. She should have known how strongly he felt about her.
"How do we find out if there is a connection?" Dumbledore asked.
Magdalene rolled over so she couldn't see the two men's shadows anymore. She heard the curtain pulled back and then Demetrius' voice.
"If someone were to attack Sirius, Magdalene would defend him," Demetrius said. "Even if it's a mortal threatening him, and even if she's miles away. She'd sense that he was in danger and go to him. Although, Magdalene is a half-bred. It's hard to say at all if that would happen."
"She's capable of other vampiric powers, why not mental connection to mortals?"
"Because, to my knowledge, Magdalene is the only one of her kind. She is probably the only half-bred in England. In case you forgot, witches and wizards tend to kill my kind. Magdalene's abilities are uncharted territory, even for me."
"We'll have to keep a close eye on her then," Dumbledore said.
Demetrius laughed and pulled the curtain back. Magdalene bit her lip again and rolled back over, seeing their shadows beyond the curtain.
"Magdalene will never let anyone take care of her," he said to Dumbledore. "She took care of herself since her mother died. Too many people have betrayed her trust and dependence, me included." He grew quiet for a few moments. "Besides, she and her mortal friends will be leaving Hogwarts for the real world in six months. Who will protect them then?"
"We will simply have to prepare her for that," Dumbledore said. "She is a strong young woman, I have no doubt that she will be able to take care of herself. I think we need to establish how much danger she is in, especially considering the rise of Voldemort and his Death Eaters."
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Magdalene recalled Lily mentioning Voldemort and his Death Eaters about a month ago. Lily was very disturbed by the rise of a powerful Dark Wizard who appeared to hate Muggles and Muggle born witches and wizards. Voldemort and his collecting followers believed that magic should be kept within magical blood only, despite that some non-magical mortals were born with the gift of magic. Magdalene hadn't paid much attention to the article in the paper at all, but now that she thought about it, there was no wonder Lily was so frightened by Voldemort. She, after all, was Muggle born.
"The vampires have no desire to take part in your wizarding wars," Demetrius said.
"I'm afraid you may find yourself more involved then you'll like Demetrius," Dumbledore said, suggesting that Demetrius would be pulled into the upcoming war because Magdalene was going to be a part of it.
"She doesn't want anything to do with me," said Demetrius breathlessly. "She'll kill me if she finds out I've been at her bedside this entire time."
"She doesn't know that you sold the business three months ago?"
"No," said Demetrius. "Nor did I have the heart to tell her that she was wrong about all of us—about me. I sold it the moment I knew it belonged to her. I knew she'd want nothing to do with it. Adrian Edina owns it now."
"Is that wise, selling to Edina?"
"He's half the vampire Markus ever was, and an even worse businessman," Demetrius said. "With any luck he'll destroy the business. Magdalene will at least be happy then."
"If vampires are not capable of love, what is that keeps you so close to her?" Dumbledore asked, putting Demetrius on the spot. Magdalene bit her bottom lip and put her fingers to her mouth, nervously biting her nails. She was curious to hear Demetrius' answer to the question, but at the same time she didn't want to know.
"I think I've been cursed," Demetrius said. "Of all the vampires in the England I appear to be the only one with a conscious. And if I were to fall for any other person in this cruel world it had to be someone I could not be with—first she is too young, too broken. She deserved better, still does. Now, she's gone. She's practically mortal. And I could never go against her wishes. Why would I want to be with someone who does not want to be with me?"
"So, you think it is possible for vampires to love?"
"I have never known any to do so," Demetrius said. "And I think I'm starting to understand why. Who could ever love a monster, anyway?"
The room grew quite and Magdalene held her breath. She felt like a wench. She had led Demetrius on, making him think he still stood a chance until now. Perhaps he did love her, but it still didn't matter because she didn't love him. She couldn't forgive him for leaving her at Palazzo del Te when he knew that she was being abused. Dumbledore was right when he insinuated that Demetrius was a coward. He was. He left the woman he supposedly loved in a house where she was not safe. Or was it more complicated then that?
No, she thought. It's not.
"I should probably good," Demetrius said abruptly. "She'll murder me if she wakes up and I'm here sitting by her bedside."
"I will tell her that you have been here the entire time."
Demetrius laughed slightly. "She will not care. Magdalene does not love me and it's time I accepted that."
"Demetrius," Dumbledore spoke very slowly. "I know that your relationship with Magdalene is complicated, to say the least, but you are the only vampire I can trust when it comes to her protection."
"Magdalene can take care of herself," said Demetrius sternly.
"Like she took care of herself last week?" Dumbledore now sounded annoyed. "She was barely alive—"
"She managed to kill Evandrus," Demetrius said defensively.
"And nearly died herself. I think killing Evandrus was more of an accident then intentional defense."
"Fine," Demetrius. His voice was very rough and annoyed. Magdalene bit her bottom lip and tried not to yell at the two men, arguing over her like she was a small child who needed their masculine protection. She had to appreciate Demetrius for a few moments though because he was defending her. "If you think I should stay close, I will, but only if Magdalene does not know."
"Alright," Dumbledore agreed. "And what shall we do about her relationship with Mr. Black?"
Demetrius sighed. "There is nothing to be done. If they are connected, like you seem to think, then they will be for the rest of their lives. Magdalene will protect Sirius from all that threatens him."
There was a long silence after his words and Magdalene felt her heart sink into the bottom of her stomach. What did all of this mean? Was this potential relationship with Sirius going to effect all of her other relationships—especially her relationship with Remus? Was this something she could keep a secret?
She answered her own question. Of course she could keep it a secret. She didn't have to tell anyone, not even Sirius. He wouldn't be the wiser. If she kept it to herself then it wouldn't hurt anyone else around her. She could continue to date Remus with out him worrying about Sirius. Besides, she hated Sirius and for all she knew this Covenant connection didn't even exist—it was just Dumbledore's inquiries.
"Come on," Dumbledore said. "I'm sure Magdalene will wake soon."
Demetrius didn't say anything. Magdalene listened closely for the door to open and close, and once she did she rolled over in the bed and sighed loudly. She stared at the ceiling with strange feelings of anger and sadness mixing in her system. As she replayed the over heard conversation in her head tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and swore to herself that she would live with this secret. No one would know that Sirius was possibly her Covenant. No one would know.