Fire In The Blood
Disclaimer/Plot/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Recommended Reads: On the Delights of Drinking Blood and Yield to the Darkness by Quatermass, Twisted Fate and Shadow Phoenix by moonfeather58, Dakaath: Prince of Darkness by LT2000, Dracula Rising by ZenoNoKyuubi, Damaged Raven and Apex by JustBored21, Harry Potter and the Darkness Within by DaggersBloodPain, Occulta Proditione (HP) by HarryxTomR and Paraselenic by EmpyrealFantasy
Key Pairing: Harmony
Other Pairings: To be determined
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
'Mental Speech'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
Vampireking40: He might be back, but he's by no means back to be Sorted;
WhiteElfElder: And, unlike some fandoms I could name, this vampire comes to school with one goal: feeding!
"Now, who does a Prince of Darkness have to kill to get a decent seat, an explanation and a good meal around here?"
Chapter 2: The Champion of Blood
Fear.
It was an emotion that the magical world was well-versed in.
After the rise, reign of terror, as well as the fall of Gellert Grindelwald, which was closely-followed – too-closely in some people's opinions – by the near-genocidal war with the Dark Lord Voldemort, fear was something that had become part of the everyday lives of men, women and, yes, even children in Magical Britain. In fact, it was so infectious, instinctive and ingrained into them that it got to the point where people still flinched at the very mention of Lord Voldemort's name, thirteen whole years after he had been vanquished.
However, even that crippling fear didn't come close to the sheer waves of terror that filled the minds and hearts of the students of Hogwarts, as well as most of the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang and their staff when they found themselves meeting the Son of the Vampire King himself.
As the four Houses of Hogwarts, as well as the delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang stared in dead, fear-fuelled silence, the likes of which would have been called nirvana by those who demanded such levels of absolute peace and quiet, the pale, roguishly-handsome youth whom was now identified as Harrison Dracula sniffed once before, looking again to Headmaster Dumbledore, he asked, "Well, I'm waiting, old man; are you going to tell me what I want to know or not?"
"Perhaps…" Dumbledore began, his voice weaker than anyone could have thought he could sound - even Dumbledore himself, which also made the old man feel angry that anyone could make him feel this weak and pathetic – while he addressed the tall, proud vampire standing in front of him. "Perhaps we might…adjourn to more-private quarters, Harry."
"Why?" asked Harrison, folding his arms while he smirked at the threatening growl his Nundu friend, Mina, let out at the way the old fool dared to address her master, as though they were supposed to be equals.
To the unease of those watching, this time, Harrison didn't bother calming his friend; instead, he smirked amusingly, a glint filling his dark eyes as he mused, "It's safe to say there's nothing that we can talk about in private, which can't be discussed here in front of all these men, women and children. After all, everyone here knows who I am…or rather, they know what I am, as your pathetically-naïve Ministry of Magpie-Minded, Sheep-Dip-for-brains mortals would claim, so why should we adjourn for other talks, Albus Dumbledore?"
"Because…because there are things we…we really should discuss," replied Dumbledore, a part of him hating how frightened and unsure of himself he sounded, not to mention greatly-resentful towards the air of raw power that filled Harrison's aura, to the point where each word he spoke seemed to sing with magic.
"The only thing we need to discuss, Headmaster, is where I'm going to be staying for the duration of your little pissing contest with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, during which, you'll make one pathetic attempt after another to try and control that which refuses to be controlled," drawled Harrison, looking now to the students before, humming thoughtfully, he asked, "I don't suppose any of you fine sons and daughters of Godric, Rowena, Helga and, of course, Salazar would consider sharing your dorms with something like me, would you?"
When dead silence greeted him, Harrison snorted as he remarked, "That's what I thought."
Turning back to Dumbledore, Harrison looked to the staff around him before he added, "For the record, you should all know this!"
As he spoke his next words, many of the students shivered, whimpered and visibly-cowered from the air of magic Harrison exuded, which was so strong, it caused the torches to flicker into near-blackness while thunder rumbled overhead as the voice of the vampire prince carried through the hall. "If I discover which low-brow, overconfident and, clearly, suicidally-minded blood bank of a human being was stupid and suicidal enough to willingly enter me into a Tournament solely designed for your three schools' chosen Champions against my will and with ill intent, I promise, the guilty party will beg for death!"
"Harry, surely you…" Dumbledore began, but before he could finish, the Headmaster was silenced by another rumble of thunder, accompanied by a fierce roar from the Nundu next to Harrison as he sniggered darkly.
"I don't think Mina likes the way you continue to address me like we're old friends, outdated human fool," sniggered Harrison, his green eyes shining with merciless intent as he went on. "As for any thoughts or sagely wisdom you may have are concerned, you can go and stick it on a spike out in the fields near my Father's Castle. I am not one of your students, nor am I a friend of yours, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, so, trust me, if you value your blood…and your life, you will only ever address me as Your Highness, Young Master or Prince Dracula…and the same applies to your walking blood banks sitting either side of you like the good little servants and pawns they are, as well as each and every one of these rather tasty-smelling Happy Meals on Legs behind me."
Gasps of horror and terror filled the Great Hall as Harrison made his stand against the so-called authority, though Harrison didn't seem to be done with the High Table, as was evident when, next, he looked to the dark expression of one Severus Snape, who seemed to be fighting fear and insistent rage as well as an urge to speak out against the boy's arrogance, as the prince went on.
"And as for you, Severus Tobias Snape…yes, I know who you are," Harrison added when Snape's eyes widened with rage and terror, while the young vampire continued in a cool, apathetic tone of voice, almost as though he was discussing the weather. "Consider this your one and only warning, you backstabbing, hypocritical worm! Say one wrong word against me, my birth Father or my actions and you will beg for a Time Turner powerful enough to take you back to the night my dearly-departed, human Father saved you from the fangs of Remus Lupin…because I will make you wish he hadn't!"
To Severus' horror, Harrison's decree was accompanied by a burst of unknown magical force that was so powerful, it actually caused his Dark Mark to burn while his heart froze in his chest, as though he was suffering from a heart attack.
While the Potions Master was left to stew, Harrison looked back to Dumbledore as he explained, "Now, if you'll excuse me, seeing as how you don't seem all that willing to assist another guest that has come in from out of the cold…"
He sneered at Karkaroff as he said the last part, before returning his attention to Dumbledore, "I've got an encampment to arrange, allies to call on and a Father who needs a damn good reason not to live up to his former nom de guerre and impale you on the flagpoles at the top of the highest tower…does Hogwarts even have flagpoles?"
With that, Harrison turned and, to the shock of the assembled masses, he vanished with a sound like a silenced gunshot crossed with a burst of wind, but the effect was still the same.
One millisecond he was there, the next, he was a whisper in the wind.
Fire
"He can't stay!"
"I think it's plainly obvious that, pretty much like anyone here, you don't get a say in the matter," said Professor Filius Flitwick, who seemed to be the calmest member of the adults who gathered in Dumbledore's office after the surprise return of Harry Potter, now Harrison Dracula.
As Barty Crouch Senior rounded on the goblin-blooded teacher, however, clearly intent on giving him a piece of his mind – before his face faulted as he remembered who it was that was speaking to him and what angering Filius, not to mention his kinsmen, might mean for the Ministry – the Head of Ravenclaw held up a hand before he went on, "Mr Potter…excuse me, I mean Prince Dracula has been entered into the Tournament by parties unknown and, as you yourself told us when the Goblet was revealed, Bartemius, the Goblet constitutes a magical binding contract. Once chosen, you're in and, unfortunately for the one stupid enough to do this, whether they knew of his Highness' true identity or not, it would seem the Prince is somewhat-happy to be the Fourth Champion."
"And what do we do once he starts attacking students?" asked Alastor Moody, though as he did so, even Filius was surprised to hear a note of fear edging the man's words. And this was a man whom many knew feared very little, if anything at all, though he was known to have paranoid moments and believe in Constant Vigilance as his means of surviving the unknown.
But, right at that moment, he sounded as terrified as Crouch sounded and as unnerved as Albus, Minerva and even Severus looked.
Putting his curiosity to one side for now, especially since he suspected any thoughts or curiosities would either be brushed aside by his superior or dealt with by the topic of their arguments – Prince Dracula, if not his Father – Filius cleared his throat as he looked to Albus, who seemed to be obsessing over his Pensieve, as though trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.
Again, the goblin Professor felt suspicious, if not curious about the old man's obsession, though, at that moment, he had another point to make.
"Well, put it this way, Alastor: he's not the first Creature-blooded student here; after all, I don't recall you, Albus or even your colleagues…"
He looked again to Crouch as he said this, earning a scowl from the Hitler-lookalike as Filius continued, keeping a cooler head than the so-called experts, not to mention the Ministry representatives, could have managed, before he went on, "I don't remember any of you having any arguments towards Madame Maxime about having half-Veela like Miss Delacour…and what about Hagrid, Albus? Or, to use an example that Prince Dracula himself used, what about Remus? He was both a former student and, until the end of last year, he was even a member of the staff. Tell me, where was his restriction because of what he is? In fact, when he was a student, I seem to remember you favouring, if not obsessively-encouraging his placement here, even moreso when he found himself in the company of James Potter and his ilk."
"That's different, Filius!" said Minerva, her voice edged by fear and a hint of rage as she insisted, "His condition could be dealt with, but Potter? He is always going to pose a danger to the students; you heard how cavalier he was about killing someone for a meal, right Filius?"
"Well, not to support such threats, but, at the end of the day, he is a young, adolescent vampire, Minerva," argued Filius coolly, his eyes never leaving Minerva's as he explained, "Whether it is human or animal, he would be likely to kill if the feed was urgent enough. However, I have it on good authority that it is only the most-desperately-minded vampires who kill when they feed. Many others have learned to control the thirst to take what is necessary unless they wish to induce death on their enemies or those who deserve it."
"As loath as I am to it, Headmaster, Filius is correct," agreed Severus, looking to Albus as he added, "Both about the nature of a vampire's feed and the fact that, as extraordinarily-unlikely as these events may seem, Headmaster, they have happened. Therefore, and, again, it reviles me to admit this, but…perhaps we should…for the time being, let these events unfold."
"What?" asked Minerva, her voice filled with a mixture of fear and horror as she exclaimed, "Do nothing? Let that…that creature stay here among our students? They are children, not pieces of meat or…what was it he called them?"
"Happy Meals on Legs," argued a new voice, the sound of which made everyone gasp as they turned to face the newcomer.
When they did so, however, Severus' eyes widened with disbelief and impotent rage, while Minerva gasped when she saw not one, but two faces she recognised, as well as a third whom she didn't, but was also the one who'd spoken.
The two she recognised were a pair of males who looked a hell of a lot better than they had done the last time she'd seen them.
One was a rugged-looking gentleman with grey eyes and dark, shaggy hair, which he'd managed to tame, cut and brush short enough to give him a noble, but still frizzy sort of look. He was even dressed in regal-looking robes of office, stamped with the crest of the very household he reigned over as its lord. Next to him was a copper-haired man with darkest-green eyes that, when she looked at them, Minerva then noticed had flecks of amber in the colour; the man's skin was also now devoid of the scarring Minerva remembered while he was now dressed in a casual-looking outfit, which didn't look ragged or used, but, instead, gave him a wild sense of handsomeness and pride about himself.
Between them, staring at Minerva with a smirk of amused interest on his face, was a blond-haired man with short-cut hair and eyes that were so dark in their blue colouring that they could have been mistaken for black. The man was dressed in a skin-hugging outfit, which wouldn't have looked out of place on someone who preferred Goth-style clothes; he even wore spiked bracelets around his wrists and a hammer-shaped pendant around his neck, which was made of purest silver.
As the three figures stepped into view, Severus scowled as he asked, "Black…what are you doing back here with…that man?"
"You have no idea how nauseating it is to have to be able to see you too, Snivellus," drawled Sirius Black, drawing himself to his full height as he added, "As for what I'm doing here with Remus, we're here because we received an interesting invitation from the last person I expected to see again, least of all so soon after you finally cleared my name last year, Albus."
Dumbledore was surprisingly quiet as Sirius addressed him, though not before Remus cleared his throat, indicating the blond man who'd come into the room with them, as he explained, "As for our companion here, if you'll all permit me: allow me to introduce Mister Eric Northman, Commander of the Royal Guard of the Vampire King, Vladimir Dracula, and his son and heir…whom I must confess, I'm surprised to learn is none other than my young cub."
"Not as surprised as we were, Remus, I assure you," said Filius, looking once to the blond, Eric Northman, before he asked, "Commander, is it? I have heard stories of the Royal Guards in the Vampire Courts…it's an honour to meet you, sir."
"The honour is mine, Master Filius," said Eric, his voice just as cool in its tone as when he'd answered Minerva's query.
At the same time, he looked to Dumbledore with his dark, but deathly-icy stare as he went on, "As for your plans, whatever they may be, I am here on behalf of my King, acting in my stead as my Prince's Knight and Champion to tell you now, Albus Dumbledore. From now on, you have less to do with him than you have done for the thirteen years before now. My King has consented to allow Prince Harry to compete, but he is here under the power, protection and jurisdiction of the Vampire King and the diplomatic immunity of the ICW and the Romanian Covenant."
A collective gasp filled the room as Eric made his case, though with his cool-toned voice, he might as well have been describing the weather.
Although he wasn't done, as he turned his eyes on Minerva, who, like Alastor, suddenly looked like a student before a powerful teacher as she paled dramatically, before Eric went on. "Also, Madame, with regards to your unnecessarily-hysterical fears concerning my Prince's feeding habits, you should know my division has already procured what we hope will be enough blood to sate my lord's hunger for quite a long time to come and, if he needs to feed, I swear on the honour of the Dracula Clan that your students shall be off the menu…unless they wish to offer themselves, that is."
"Very well," said Dumbledore, his sudden change in demeanour surprising the others, though not as much as Minerva, who looked at him as though he'd lost his last marble, while she also secretly wondered why anyone would willingly offer themselves to be food for monsters like this blond before her and the Prince he served.
Ironically, she conveniently chose to ignore the fact that said youth also happened to be the son of two students whom she'd seen as her own kin.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore lifted his head from the Pensieve as he turned to Eric and company while he continued, "For the…for the duration of the Tournament, Prince Dracula shall be our guest of honour, as will you and your…associates, Cmdr. Northman. On that note, might I also offer the young prince a place in a House or with classes?"
"I will extend your invitation to him, but you should know my young sire has his own training, which are, of course, welcome to any who would wish to offer the hand of friendship to my Prince," said Eric, his voice maintaining its unnatural coolness while he added, "However, it has been agreed that any and all forms of communication outside of sharing mealtimes with you, your staff and my lord shall be passed through Lord Black here. Though Prince Harry is now the Dracula Heir that he is, he respects Lord Black's lost friendship with my Prince's late Father and Mother, as he also welcomes Beta Lupin as a member of his ranks."
Before anyone else could speak out, Eric turned and left, Sirius and Remus at his heels.
As he went to leave the room, however, Sirius stopped and turned back before, smiling slyly, he added one last message to the mix;
"It's such a shame I wound up in Azkaban thirteen years ago, isn't it, Albus? Maybe then, this wouldn't have happened…"
Fire
While the rest of the school eventually managed to succumb to an uneasy sleep, laced with no small amount of curiosity and plans for the future, none of them had any idea of the fact that, not too far away, staring out across the body of water known as the Black Lake, Harrison breathed in the scents of magic and life that clung to Hogwarts before, looking down at his faithful familiar, Mina, he stroked her behind one ear, earning a rolling purr from the Nundu as she nuzzled his fingers.
"Step One: scare the living daylights out of these blood packs: complete," whispered Harrison, looking back to the view across the lake as he went on, "All that remains is to deal with the dead-man-walking who put me in this stupid thing and forced Father's hand two years ahead of schedule."
As Mina let out a low mewing sound in response, Harrison smirked as he told her, "As if I would deny you a hunt, my sweet; they may try and stop me, but as far as I'm concerned, you can have whatever…and whoever you want to hunt down, gobble up, play with, sharpen your claws on and just chase down because you're bored."
"I think that might raise more problems than you can deal with, my Lord," argued a sibilant voice Harrison knew very well.
Turning to the voice, Harrison found Eric, as well as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, standing before him, the copper-haired man lowering his eyes as he stood in the presence of the Crown Prince of Darkness. Sirius, on the other hand, had a smug look on his face that caught Harrison's attention just as quickly as Remus' reaction to him.
"I take it they believed you?"
"Yup," replied Sirius, running a hand through his dark hair before he added, "Albus still believes he was the key in getting me out of Azkaban and, as you guessed, my young Prince, Severus is trying to jump sides pretty quickly, if only to stay on your good side and off your Father's bad side."
"No matter," said Harrison, earning a smug look from Sirius, "Insects only exist to be squashed or eaten: time will tell, which one he is."
As Sirius chuckled in response, Harry looked to Eric before he asked, "And did they also buy your vow that I wouldn't feed on their pathetic excuses for students, Eric?"
"I can honestly say it would have been more difficult lying to your Father's favourite pet, my Lord," answered Eric, a note of smugness in his voice as he added, "Of course, if I might offer a word of counsel, I would suggest kerbing your thirst…if only to appease the idea that my vow holds merit."
While Harrison pouted like the petulant teenager he would have been, were he still human, he then smirked before he sighed deeply as he asked his Commander of the Guard, "Can I at least hypnotise some of these tasty treats into willingly giving me their throats?"
"As if I could, or would, stop you from having fun with your prey, Sire," chuckled Eric, Sirius laughing in agreement while Remus rolled his eyes.
"Then we're good," said Harrison.
"Not quite," argued Remus, earning a curious look from Harrison that had the older man flinching out of pure lupine instinct as his other half sensed the true presence of its Alpha.
Remus, on the other hand, cleared his throat as he tried to maintain a strong, confident air as he addressed the young vampire before him.
"Although Albus claims you're a guest of honour, I think we all know that it won't be long before the Ministry comes to investigate and even try to apprehend you, Eric or even me as a known Dark Creature. Not only that, but as you suspected, Alpha, he even hinted at you joining time with the Houses or even going to lessons."
"Please," scoffed Harrison, looking up to the silhouette of the school, "In the time it takes these humans to graduate as real wizards, I would have become someone just as powerful as Dumbledore claims to be. Which reminds me…the rumour?"
"As rumours hinted, he does indeed wield the Deathstick," answered Eric, earning a scowling hiss from Harrison as he added, "But while we were talking, I used my Magical Sight to assess the wand's resonance with the one, true master and it would seem the core strength within it is already aware of the true heir of the Peverells walking among the humans. All you really have to do now is wait for the opportune moment to claim it and the final piece of your true legacy will be yours, Sire."
"Alternatively, I could just go ahead and do the world a favour and kill him," suggested Harrison, shrugging ruefully while he admitted, "I mean, sure, it'd spark a war that'd make the so-called Civil War with Tom Riddle look like a playground squabble and, yeah, I'd probably find myself needing to kill several others just to return to the Castle, but anything's easier than playing ignorant."
"Who says you have to, pup?" asked Sirius, earning a cold glare from Harrison before the Black Lord gulped, bowing his head as he added, "I'm sorry…that was a slip of the tongue; I mean…who says you have to be ignorant to anything, my Prince? After all, Eric's already told the old coot that you have your own studies and that I am to be the liaison between you and him. And, knowing how desperate he's been to get his claws into you, I imagine he'll try reading my mind or spiking my food with some potion or other just to get me away from you, if not to get me to spill what I know."
"I know," agreed Harrison, taking a breath before, looking to Sirius, he added, "Which is why you're not to eat or drink anything prepared by the old coot's servants. Instead, while I rest up and Eric does a little more recon, you're going to go and get a House Elf whom is so loyal to you that they will die if it means protecting you from harm."
A glint of what could have been described as madness suddenly filled Sirius' eyes before he smiled wolfishly, "I think I know just the Elf to go and convince his so-called master to give me."
"Go! Be sure to be back before sunrise," insisted Harrison, earning a nod from Sirius before the Black Lord made his way to the very edge of the Hogwarts wards where, seconds later, he Apparated away.
Back at the edge of the lake, Harrison took a breath before he looked to Remus with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief on his face as he asked the wolf, "By the Impaler, how many times does he need reminding I am not his pup anymore, Remus?"
"At least once more each day, Alpha, as always, it seems," answered Remus, his eyes flashing amber while his voice became guttural in its tone as he growled, "I'm just thankful His Majesty helped free me from the chains of humanity that bound my true power to this meat sack I'm forced to wear outside of the moon's blessing."
"Not as thankful as I am that your cleansing came before the old coot invited you back here," argued Harrison, folding his arms before he smiled with dark amusement as he asked, "Which reminds me, Moony: there's something I've been wondering all summer: what exactly did you say to get them to hasten your retirement rather than succumbing to whatever bullshit curse is on the post?"
With a smile of his own, Remus winked as he admitted, "I just said I was afraid that I was losing control of the wolf and that I kept getting visions of eating the kids like Little Red, Blue, Green and Yellow Riding Hoods!"
A loud, but pleasant laugh filled the night sky as Harrison applauded the cunning of the Werewolf Wizard who'd always been a dear friend to him.
And a loyal ally, which was more than could be said for the bastard who'd sired him.
Wiping a stray tear from his eye, Harrison cleared his throat before he looked out across the lake as he added, "All right, enough standing out here enjoying the view; we've got a long and not-too-smooth road ahead of us and, as much as I'd rather take shortcuts, I think we should entertain the masses, so, let's head for camp and then we'll call it a night."
"Shall I have one of the feeders come and sate your thirst, sire?" asked Eric.
"No," replied Harrison, looking to the castle once more before, smiling softly, he chuckled as he added;
"I've already made breakfast plans."
Fire
Hermione Jean Granger sat alone, as she usually did, in the library, working on one of her latest homework assignments, her head bowed low over the parchment as she scribbled out one fact after another. Looking from the parchment to the book she was using for reference, the brunette let out a low curse before she scratched out the latest mistake, a part of her wondering why she'd even written it if it didn't sound right in the first place.
As she went to check the page in her textbook, however, Hermione gasped when she suddenly knocked her inkwell off the table, heading for the floor where she knew it would cause a mess that would get her in trouble with Madam Pince…
Or so she thought until a pale, slender-fingered hand snatched her inkwell out of the air even before so much as a single drop could be spilled.
"Careful Hermione," the soft, cold tone of voice that belonged to Harry Potter…no…Harrison Dracula advised, returning the ink pot to the table before, leaning casually against the table, the young vampire folded his arms as he added, "Such precious liquid should not be spilt so carelessly."
"Um…I…I didn't…" Hermione began, but as she looked up into the cold, dark-green eyes of the Fourth Champion, she felt her body freeze while her heart stopped dead in her chest.
Those eyes…
That blank look…
The strange glow he carried about him…
She didn't know why, but Hermione suddenly found new words coming to her lips as she told him, "I know what you want."
"So, I see," agreed Harrison, his voice like silk as he looked to her before he asked, "But will you give it to me?"
"Yes."
Even before she had a chance to argue her own words, Hermione said it anyway and, as soon as she did so, she felt her body shiver while her trousers suddenly grew damp as she watched Harrison move closer to her, his fingers tracing her neck while she heard an audible rumbling noise coming from his stomach.
Leaning down, Harrison licked his lips before he told her, "Clever girl…now, let me show you my world."
Before she could stop herself, Hermione craned her neck, exposing her throat to him, her veins sticking out in such a way that they were almost as aroused as the young girl herself.
The next thing she knew, Hermione felt two sharp fangs piercing her neck…
Fire
…though not before she tore herself out of what had been a dead sleep, her hands scrabbling for her neck as she gasped heavily, looking around her room in Gryffindor Tower.
Thankfully, she was sharing a dorm with girls who might as well have been dead to the world, but that didn't mean Hermione wasn't embarrassed by the warm, sticky sensations she felt around her pelvic area. She also felt sweat trickling down her face while, despite her embarrassment and the disbelief she felt, Hermione also felt something else.
Calm.
She wasn't scared of what she'd dreamed and she wasn't afraid of admitting she'd dreamed about it…
About him.
However, as she used her wand to vanish the mess, clean up her pyjamas and ease herself back down onto her pillows, Hermione couldn't help but ask herself a single question;
'Why am I dreaming about letting Prince Dracula drain me dry?'
Fire
At the exact same time Hermione snapped herself out of her sleep, however, she had no idea that, in a hammock suspended between two trees on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the Prince of Darkness' eyes opened, revealing black-sclera eyes tinged with an AK-green glow.
Rather than show worry or surprise, however, Harrison just smiled before, staring up at the canopy overhead, he whispered to the night;
"Interesting…"
Then, with nothing else to say, he closed his eyes again and returned to Morpheus' embrace.
Fire
Early the next morning, Harrison awoke and, with agility that came naturally to him as a vampire, not to mention the Vampire Prince, he flipped himself out of his hammock before landing on the forest floor.
As he'd half-expected, Eric was also already up and about while, around the spot where his hammock had been set up, there were now a series of tents and what looked like training dummies, as well as a campfire and even a table for dining and socialising.
From inside the tents, several vampires of different ages and looks came and went, each one bowing their heads respectfully when they saw their Prince was awake. Every so often, Harrison also saw humans – recognised by the emerald-encrusted collars they wore to symbolise they belonged to Prince Dracula and his entourage – working on one task or another, some of them preparing the camp in a bid to keep it clean while others were exercising, most-likely because of the possibility of them being used as sparring partners, toys to amuse and entertain their sovereign, or attack victims by their lord's power.
As Harrison stretched up, savouring the touch of the morning, he saw Eric approach him, bowing respectfully as he said, "Good morning, my Lord."
"So, it is, Eric," replied Harrison, stretching up and craning his neck, cracking his joints in the process, while he sighed as he added, "You know, I don't know if I've said this before, but I'm so glad that the rumour of vampires fearing the sun is only a filthy human lie: imagine having to spend eternity never feeling the beauty of the new dawn. It's a fate worse than the True Death."
"Witnessing the sunrise is one of my favourite times of day," agreed Eric, smirking in agreement before he asked, "Are you all right, sire? The night watch reported you stirred in your sleep last night and…forgive me for inquiring, but…your power seemed to spike just before 3am."
"Let's just say that I had a…a pretty nice dream, that's all," replied Harrison, clearing his throat before, looking around, he frowned as he asked, "Anyway, enough shop talk: I don't suppose I've had a specially-invited visitor this morning, have I?"
"He waits in my chambers, my lord," answered Eric, earning a nod from Harrison; as the two walked off towards Eric's temporary residence, the elder vampire couldn't help but laugh as he admitted, "Mind you, I'm glad I decided to wait and see if his claim to wanting to feed you was true; to be honest, when I heard you'd personally invited him, I wanted to throw him to Mina for his insolence."
"She wouldn't have eaten him," drawled Harrison, closing his eyes for a moment while he smirked as he added, "She's currently enjoying a feast of Acromantulas…hmm…seems there's one she wants to eat, but he's much too big and well-protected."
Opening his eyes again, Harrison looked to Eric before he told him, "Have the Hunters go and track this Acromantula King and make sure my girl gets her hunt. Any who try and stop you…burn them! I don't care if they're human, beast or other: they get in the way of my girl's breakfast, they sacrifice the right to live…understand?"
"Yes Sire," said Eric, vanishing as quickly as Harrison had done the night before.
This left the young Prince on his own, which was how he liked it, especially when his belly was empty.
Entering the tent, which had been specially erected and preserved for the Captain of the Guard, Harrison smiled when he saw the visitor sitting in a chair by a fireplace at one side of the tent.
Just looking at him, Harrison could see he didn't even bother to get dressed before coming out to meet the Prince; he wore a cute-looking set of sky-blue pyjamas that only seemed to cover his lower body while his upper body was naked to the elements. His robe, which was marked with the trim and crest of Gryffindor House, had been set aside on another chair and, as the Vampire Prince walked into the tent, he saw the boy turn his head, revealing a pair of bright, warm blue eyes that looked at him from beneath a head of strawberry blonde hair that was so tousled up, it looked like a nest of candy floss on the boy's head.
Appropriate, given the reason the boy was there: in fact, never before had Harrison thought to himself of how the expression so cute, I could just eat you up been more appropriate.
As he stopped a few inches from the boy, Harrison smiled before he asked, "Were you waiting long, Nigel?"
"I…I would have…have waited all year for you to come for me, Your Majesty," answered the small boy, earning a soft laugh from Harrison.
Fire
It had been the previous night, after his flight from the Great Hall, when Harrison had encountered Nigel – full name Nigel Wolpert, a newly-sorted first-year student of Gryffindor House – wandering near where he was observing the view across the lake.
To the Prince's delight, and curiosity, the young boy hadn't even been afraid, be that of Harrison or Mina.
He'd also shown due respect to Harrison, bowing to him like he was one of the familiars, giving him the correct form of address – Your Majesty, Prince Dracula – and even waiting for Harrison's permission to rise and the freedom to speak.
When Harrison had asked for his name, Nigel had given it to him, before, when Harrison asked why he was out in the darkness after hours, with a hungry vampire, alone and vulnerable, the young boy had, again, shown his courage and willingness to understand, if not, accept the danger that was standing in front of him. He'd gone on to explain how he'd always been fascinated by vampires as a younger kid and, before he found out he was a wizard – making him a Muggle-born, or New-Blood as Harrison preferred to call them – he'd often dreamed of being one, if not serving one.
Admittedly, Harrison was surprised, but when he'd told the boy he wasn't looking for allies to join his clan just yet, the little boy had agreed and said he didn't want to be turned until he'd earned it.
Until then, he was perfectly happy and completely willing to be a meal for the Prince if he would have him.
And so, as Harrison had told Eric, breakfast plans were made…
Fire
Smiling at the memory of his meeting with this delectable little morsel who'd willingly offered himself to him – truly-willingly, as Harrison noted, given how the boy hadn't even gotten dressed before coming to feed his hungry predator – Harrison chuckled dryly before, folding his arms across his chest, he cocked an eyebrow at Nigel as he asked, "You say you'd wait, and yet, even before I myself awaken from my sleep, here you are, in my camp, in my Commander's tent, ready, willing and eager to feed me your blood for my breakfast as we agreed? I'm curious: how, exactly, is that waiting for me, little one?"
Blushing hard, the boy lowered his head before he answered, "I…I'm sorry, my Lord…I couldn't wait; like…like I said last night, I've always wanted to…to meet a real vampire and…and if I earned it, to…to be one. I…I spent all night dreaming about it and…and the more I dreamt…the more I knew I wanted nothing more than to give myself to you."
Here, Nigel cocked his head to one side before he added, "So…so please, Prince; have me…drink my blood…you can even kill me and drain me dry if…if you're really hungry, or if you're angry with me. I know…I mean, I knew the minute I…I offered to be your breakfast; I can't stop you…and I won't even try."
Licking his lips softly, Harrison walked closer to Nigel, stopping just short of the boy's post as he sat on the arm of the chair.
Pulling the boy closer to his lean frame, Harrison took a breath as he whispered, "You're lucky you're so adorable, and I'm so hungry…"
Nigel didn't even whimper, as Harrison licked his lips before, leaning down to the boy's level, he told him, "I can hypnotise you if you want…because if there's one thing I can promise you, it's that this is going to hurt."
"I know," said Nigel, resting his head against the chest of the Prince as he added, "And I don't care…etch the pain into me; at least that will be a reminder of my loyalty to you, my Master."
Somehow, Harrison suspected the innocently-cute little boy hadn't meant to say the last word…and yet, he didn't seem to care.
He was hungry.
The boy smelled delicious.
And, besides, this would give Harrison an in with the students: not a Renfield-like character – as he'd also told Nigel when they talked – but a willing spy, maybe even an apprentice or squire, who could be the Prince's eyes and ears inside the school.
Lowering his head, Harrison parted his jaws before, with a sharp, snappish lunge, and a slight, but wild, predatory snarl, he sank his fangs deep into Nigel's throat, earning a surprisingly short eep of pain and a hissing gasp from his prey before the boy became still.
Harrison, meanwhile, savoured every treasured mouthful of the boy's blood he drank, tasting raw power, strength, confidence and even the air of pure innocence in him. Add in the magic he had as a wizard – even a New-Blood – and it was an elixir Harrison savoured with gusto, slurping it slowly and swilling it around in his mouth before, finally, swallowing it down.
Ironically, the boy also tasted like candy floss, a sweet, strong, innocent delicacy that flowed into Harrison's mouth, down his gullet and into his rumbling belly, where warmth, strength and nourishment filled the Prince's body as he gulped more mouthfuls of the young first-year's blood.
Once he was done, as he proved by clamping his hand over the bite mark while he pulled away, the young Prince lifted his head and, with his free hand, he bit into a single finger, allowing a single liquid ruby to spill before, offering it to Nigel, he whispered, "Now, if you take this, you will get strong again in no time…though I can also recommend a big meal too."
"Will…will I become like you?" asked Nigel, his eyes glazing over in his head while he looked to the vampire he'd given himself to.
"No," replied Harrison, earning what could have been described as an accepting smile from Nigel before he added, "Despite what your human fairy tales tell you, it is not so simple to sire a newborn by feeding them your blood after drinking theirs. There are several other steps involved that you will experience when you earn it…but until then, if you take my blood now, all you will become is, as we vampires would call you, mine."
"Y-y-yours?" asked Nigel, earning a nod from Harry.
"This means no-one can touch you, feed on you or even order you without my permission; there are also other perks and rules, but, for now, just give me your answer…do you choose me, or can I just go ahead and kill you by draining you dry, little lion cub?"
For a moment, Nigel seemed hesitant to reply, remembering his own words about how he'd gladly allow his predator to devour him and end him, if that was what Harrison wanted. However, as he looked to the Prince, the small boy also felt a glimmer of hope and personal loyalty well up inside of him, which caused him to move shakily towards the bleeding finger before, extending his tongue, he licked at the vampire blood there, swallowing it down audibly before he added, "I guess I'm yours…Master."
Releasing his new pet from his hold, Harrison slid his finger into Nigel's mouth, letting the boy lap at more of his blood before he gulped it, which was probably as cute as the little cub himself.
With every soft gulping slurp, Harrison also watched as the bite marks on Nigel's neck healed quickly before, removing his finger from the boy's mouth, Harrison whispered, "That's enough, little one: too much of a good thing can be bad for you."
"Yes, Master," whispered the boy, licking the last of the blood from his tongue before he gulped softly as he added, "Will…will I have to do that every time you feed on me, Sire?"
"Yes," answered Harry, his own wound already having healed up, while he handed the boy his robe as he continued, "Now you belong to me, Nigel, so I guess you're right in calling me your Master. And I must admit, I do enjoy the idea of having such a willing advocate as my disciple, so if you continue to serve me, do as I tell you to and keep up with your studies, I swear in my Father's name I will make you a vampire before I leave here after this so-called Tournament..."
"Yes Master," replied Nigel, though as he did so, he sounded surprised by how strong he felt already.
Smiling at the shock he could now feel from his disciple, Harrison went on, "Like I said, there are other perks: for example, new, greater strength and a boost in power are part of the benefits package, but they won't last, so use them well. Also, now my blood is in your tummy, where it will pass into your magic and even creep into your mind and soul, I'll be able to communicate, find and, if necessary, I will also be able to summon you in an instant. Also, I want you to know and realise that you are not my only servant, so don't expect me to just feed on you, understood?"
"Yes Master."
As Harrison licked his lips, sampling the last lingering tastes of the young boy on his lips, he chuckled before he added, "One last thing."
"Yes Master?"
"You were delicious, in case you're wondering," laughed Harrison, licking a finger before he cleaned the stains around Nigel's neckline, earning a soft blush from his first Hogwarts meal-slash-familiar.
Seeing the blush, Harrison chuckled as he explained, "Yeah, that's another thing: even though you're not going through puberty yet, you might find yourself experiencing dreams and feelings that leave you going through what you might call a dry orgasm. Attraction via blood is another little perk of being…well…me and, while I will admit that we vampires are, primarily, pansexual by nature, I, myself, am only out for a female mate to share my future and my love with. So, dream of me all you wish, little lion, but, no matter what you dream of me, they're only dreams…and they'll never be anything else…not with me, anyway, understand?"
"Yes…my…my Lord," replied Nigel, earning another lick of the lips from Harry.
"So cute…I swear, I could just savour every drop; and, since I said how delicious I found you, I want you to know that, if and when I decide to feed on you, I'll enjoy every gulp, but if you don't keep up your work and prove yourself a faithful ally, I will drain you dry and the only way you'll ever be a vampire then is being inside me! And anyone I decide to share you with, of course."
He rubbed his belly as he said the last part, licking his lips intentionally before he added, "So if you want your wish, prove it."
Bowing low, Nigel kept his eyes low before he answered Harrison clearly;
"Then I hope I can prove myself, Master, and, if not, I hope I make a good meal for you and your clan."
Chapter 2 and, wow, talk about surprises across the board: Sirius and Remus are already on Harry's side and it looks like, as much as some – Sirius – might want the boy-pup, all they've got is the boy-prince: can he ever get over that?
Also, aww: it looks like the Prince has a new pet, but will sweet little Nigel ever earn the Bite or get the chance to make good on his dreams, if not with his Prince, then anyone else?
And, blimey, talk about an intense dream for everyone's favourite bookworm, but what could her connection be to the Prince of Vampires and why would Harrison find it interesting?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Harrison discovers just how deep the grave that the humans seem willing to dig for themselves can go: at the same time, he also finds a more-personal, face-to-face encounter waiting for him: with a certain brunette and, sadly, a band of idiots;
Please Read and Review…
AN: Eric and Others
So, I know this was cheesy and a bit silly, but I just HAD to have my favourite True Blood character – and a few references from said fandom to boot – in the story because…well, because I like him SO much.
As far as modern-day vamp portrayals go, he's right up there with the best of them; so cold, but sexy and definitely not one who holds back if and when challenged or those precious to him are challenged.
Now, as for any others, before people ask or start making pointless suggestions, it's my decision on who and what and why, so don't ask because, to be honest, I'm more than likely to just ignore you and focus on the story.
Just read and enjoy it and, if you can't, then press the back button and go find something else to read.
AN2: Nigel
So, anyone who knows my work knows I just LOVE this cute little guy in both GoF and OOTP; his idolisation of Harry isn't as annoying as a certain photographer we know and, at the same time, he shows such devotion to the cause that he's willing to be a tackle dummy for the Army led by his idol that he's almost like the little brother and vassal Harry never had;
So, when I thought of possibilities for willing meals and new pets, it was clear to me that he had to be the first…if not one of the first;
AN3: One Last Thing
BTW, just in case anyone was thinking of insulting me by claiming my story matches a certain fandom, let me say it now:
I am NOT 'Twilighting' this!
In other words, I am NOT watering down the evil, sexy badass-ness of the vampires, and I am DEFINITELY NOT making them sparkle like disco balls or holding out for-bloody-ever with the turning or having a weird, makes-no-sense three-way battle for a girl's heart.
Harry is Dark/Evil-inclined and so too will Hermione be;
As for the turning…let's just say it may be happening sooner than you think;
And as for Cedric – aka Pattinson – I don't know yet if he'll even have a role to play, but, if he does, I can guarantee it won't be as some brooding, 'I-love-you-but-we-can't-be-together' type either;