In cold blood

Written by Becca

Summary: From the word go, Harry's summer goes downhill and he sinks into a deep despair. With no hope and the resurrection of Lord Voldemort, Harry does what any normal teenager would do in those circumstances; he tries to take his life. When he awakes he finds himself in a family who seem to welcome him openly. He has changed, he is no longer human and yet he still has to defeat the darkest lord of the century...will he stand alone or will he find, in this family, what he had always desired? Love and affection.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise but I do own Celeste, Armand, Marius, Raven, Anéthiel...err...I think that's it for now.

Author Notes: This is AU, I have already said that not all of the Ootp happened. Lets see, instead of the whole ministry thing, Seamus died in Hogsmeade, the prophecy is still true, Sirius is alive and umm, not sure what else is the same actually...

Chapter Two

"Ouch, Marius! Stop pushing!"

"I'm not, its Anéthiel!"

"Oi, don't you dare blame me bloodsucker. I'm all the way over here!"

"Will you three stop behaving like children? He's coming around" A woman's voice sliced through all the others and finally everything was silent. Harry groaned, where the hell was he and why was he here? More importantly though, why did he feel like shit? Oh! Then he remembered and he frowned, his uncle had beaten the shit out of him again, yes and then he sat up and...oh!! He slit his wrists open. So, was he dead then? He didn't feel dead...

More than a little confused, Harry forced his eyes open and then blinked furiously as the light almost blinded him. After they had time to adjust, Harry looked around the room and frowned, he had never been here before, it wasn't Hogwarts, it wasn't the Weasleys and it certainly wasn't the Dursleys. Ok so he was in a bed, in a huge room surrounded by people he didn't know. He was very much alive and freezing his ass off. What the hell was going on?

He studied each of the people carefully; the woman nearest to him had long black hair, ice blue eyes and looked to be about twenty-five years old. Her skin was pale as snow to think of it, so was everyone else's. The man besides her had long brown hair tied back, dark eyes and pale skin. He looked quite handsome actually, definitely attractive. Behind him was another man, this one had dark blue hair though and was waving at him and grinning.

Another man had long black hair, black eyes and was just a little shorter than the second man. He was quite attractive too and wore a grin to match the others and finally his eyes fell on a girl. This one was different to the others, she had long dirty blonde hair and her eyes were nearly lilac. Her skin, whilst pale, wasn't quite as much so as the others and her ears were slightly pointed.

"Here. Drink this, it will help" the woman nearest to him said. Harry looked at her again, hadn't any of these heard of the sun? He was dying to ask them but decided against it. He took the offered cup cautiously and then looked down into what he thought was red wine. Everyone was staring at him now and so he shrugged and took a mouthful of the stuff... Only to spit it back out again when he realised what it was

"That's blood" he choked and wiped at his mouth before looking up. The woman arched an eyebrow and rolled her eyes

"Of course it is and it is also the only thing that will keep you living now. Drink it all now before I tip it down your throat young man" she said sternly. Harry stared at her in disbelief for a minute before he decided she wasn't joking. He frowned and sighed before throwing the liquid down his throat and swallowing it quickly. Surely blood shouldn't be allowed to taste so good?

"Now maybe we can explain. We were watching you the night your uncle beat you. We watched you slit your wrists and decided to help you the only way we knew how. We turned you into one like us... A vampire and brought you into our family. Now I'll have no sulking off you, you will remain with this family for as long as you live so deal with it" she said again and Harry frowned

"Wait. Let me get this straight, you watched my uncle beat me, you watched me slit my wrists and only then you decide to help?" he asked in disbelief "And by helping you gave me immortality, I don't think even Dumbledore could fuck up this much" he sighed and allowed his head to fall back on the pillow

"I'll have you know that it was a decision that needed thinking about. You are the boy-who-lived; can you imagine the reactions when the Wizarding world find out? Vampires will be hunted down like rabid dogs but still, we don't give a damn if you're famous, we wanted you in our family and so now you are whether you like it or not" the woman said again

"My name is Celeste De Constrella, this is Armand Van Alberict, Raven Von Richter, Marius McNight and Anéthiel" Celeste said pointing to each in turn. Harry nodded his head to them politely and then looked back at the woman and frowned

"I can't stay here. I mean, I have school and all my friends in the Wizarding world and then there's Voldemort and his band of merry men and then there's my uncle... I am err protected there funnily enough and besides, they are my family" he said quietly. Celeste sighed and shooed everyone else out of the room before sitting besides him

"No Harry, they're not. By blood maybe but not by heart... A family is something of love, something to cherish and that is what we are offering you now. Yes, we have turned you into a vampire and I know that in itself is hard for you to accept, but now, well, we are offering you a chance to be loved, a family who will fight to the bottom of the ocean for you no matter if it is Hades himself we must meet when we get there" she said softly and then took his head

"I know you are angry for what we have done to you. For saving you when you didn't want to be saved but one day, you will thank us. Whether you like to admit it or not, you have responsibilities you must live up to and your family will help you now in any way we can. When you cry, we shall wipe away your tears, when you laugh, we will laugh with you and when you scream, we will be there to scream besides you." She laughed and pushed a bang of his hair back

"You're asking yourself why? Why would we go to all this trouble? Well, each and every member of our family has been through their own trials. None of us are bound by blood, just by our hearts and souls. We share everything with each other and we know everything about you that there is to possibly know. We want to add you to our small family because we can all come to love you, because we all ready care for you. Your memories are now ours, your pain is ours and your happiness will be ours" she added. Harry stared at her with tears in his eyes. Never before had someone said such things to him

"As for your school. Well, we have all secured jobs there so we can be with you and help you through any tough times. We can train you there too, we do not mean to take you away from your friends and we will not do so. You will never return to those muggles, here you will be protected from any harm. We will not take you from your old life so soon my child now rest, think about what has happened and when you wake, I shall show you around your new home" she said and then she kissed him on the forehead and tucked him in tightly.

Harry stared after her long after the door was closed. A vampire? Well, that was certainly something new. Until now Harry didn't even know whether the things existed. Sure he had heard tales about them from Ron at school but he thought they were just that...tales. Something told to children before they go to bed at night to scare them and cause nightmares like Vernon used to do with him.

And now he was one of them

A vampire.

Oh joy.

So lets see. What did he do to deserve this? Well for one he tried to kill himself and if he hadn't then he definitely wouldn't have been turned. So in all truths it was his fault. Secondly he had killed Cedric and Seamus and he had paid for that by giving up his humanity and, in a way, his life. Maybe he could stop feeling guilty now. He had brought Voldemort back to life and for that he had been beaten several times and now dragged into a family without a choice.

So ok, maybe he did deserve it but it didn't make it any easier.

It didn't make it any easier to accept either. Not only that but according to that woman, he had been dragged into a family and was stuck here for as long as he lived. Did he mind that though? For the first time in his life, he had been tucked in, someone who wanted to be his mother had kissed him and she had promised him love and affection. Did they feel they must do this just because they turned him though? He couldn't accept that if they did

Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be so bad after all. He would get to know these people and try to learn everything he could about vampires and if, in the end, he still didn't want to return to them then he would just speak to Dumbledore. The old man would be able to get him out of this wouldn't he? Dumbledore could fix everything. But first he would think about it, he was being offered something he had always wanted... Always desired and Harry got the impression that if he agreed to this then Celeste would not let even someone like Dumbledore or Voldemort take him away.

But if this family felt like it was their duty and they didn't really want him then he didn't want to know. Somehow, he would have to find that out, maybe he should just come out with it and ask one of them. With that thought in mind, Harry sighed and rolled over before falling into a restless sleep.

-------

The next day Celeste showed up to take Harry on a tour around the huge mansion he could now call his home. The place was almost as big as Hogwarts and even something like a simple picture looked like it cost more than the Dursleys house and Dudley put together. Everything was decorated beautifully and run by three house elves.

On the first floor there was a kitchen, a dining room, a huge library, a sparring room, a training room, a potions workroom, a drawing room and a bathroom. On the second floor was a second library, three studies with muggle computers in each and books covering the walls; there was another huge bathroom, a weapons room and a gym. On the third floor were six bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and their own study and on the forth floor were three guest bedrooms, a guest library and a 'quiet' room.

Out on the grounds, there was a stable which held seven beautiful racing horses, there were miles and miles of fields, an outdoor swimming pool, a small lake and at the end was a large forest which hid the mansion from view. Out front were all the cars and the ground was covered in gravel. Tree's stood either side of the entrance, hundreds of years old and large ivy vines were covering an old stone wall that went right down the sides of the house.

After the tour, Harry was left to his thoughts in the library where he pulled out over ten books about vampires, including one written by the vampire council and he sat down to read. All he knew where that vampires were suppost to be Dark creatures but from the ones he had met and from his own feelings... They didn't seem to all be dark. Harry still hadn't finished reading that night, he had really gotten into the books and was reading about what he was from both a vampires point of view and from a humans, managing to pick out the facts from the fiction.

According to the book of rules and laws he had read from the vampire council, if he wished to stay with this family then nobody could do a thing about it legal wise. Not even the Wizarding world could overrule the vampire council when it concerned one of their own and so far that seemed to be a comfort. He may not know the family well but they seemed like really nice people. Better than the Dursleys anyway

With that settled, Harry decided to spend more time getting to know each individual until he felt like he had always known them. If he was to live with them and join them then he really needed to know what he was letting himself in to. Sometimes he wished Hermione was here to help him decide but, well, there was still a good few weeks before school started up again anyway

He looked up in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder and smiled slightly when he saw Raven watching him carefully "Come brother. Supper will be on the table any minute" he said eventually. Harry's smile widened and he put all the books back where he got them except one and then followed Raven from the room. Brother, that sounded so weird yet in his heart it felt more than right.

He sat down in his place at the dinner table and just watched the family before him carefully for a while. It was obvious now that he actually looked, that they were not true blood relations but from the way they interacted and conversed, it didn't matter in the least. Anéthiel was a princess of elves though from what she had told Harry, she had been too different and refused too many of their customs to fit in.

Celeste and Armand both flirted with each other openly and Harry was amused to see that one minute they were toying with each other and the next they were bickering like old wives. They weren't officially together apparently but to everyone but themselves, they were named a couple. That reminded Harry of Ron and Hermione, especially when they argued.

From what he had read, he had managed to come to terms with what he was now and although he would much rather be a human; he had no choice but to accept it. It was still a shock to him and he still couldn't believe his luck sometimes, some god up there really must hate him. But, he did understand why he couldn't die yet at least; he knew he would play a major part in the upcoming war with Voldemort and he had to stay around for his friends for a while, he couldn't cope with the knowledge that he was hurting someone by his actions.

Yes, he had made up his mind. Not that he had a choice but he was honoured to be welcomed into this family. They were so close, rather like the Weasleys and he had a chance to be apart of that. Here, he wasn't seen as some hero or a worthless bastard, here he was just Harry, just himself and he was accepted.

"We need to come up with a name for Harry" Celeste said suddenly and Harry's head snapped up from where he was staring down at his dinner plate. He didn't like the sound of this..."Each of us has different names from when we were born. Something that defines us and sounds right, Armand and I have named every one of our children except Anéthiel. Her name was already perfect for her" Celeste elaborated and then smiled "It is, if you like, the acceptance into our family. With your new name, you will become our son"

Everyone fell silent for a while and Harry shifted uncomfortably. Some of the names his uncle called him popped into his head and he winced. But then he recalled the names of his friends...of his family and he relaxed slightly. They weren't horrible, in fact, the suited each person wonderfully and so he nodded. Every one just stared at him for a minute, thinking hard and finally the silence was broken

"What about Olwë Maeglin Melwasúl and Rúmil for a nickname" Anéthiel said suddenly. Everyone looked at Harry for a minute and then grinned wickedly

"Yes, that is perfect. Even though it is in the Elven tongue" Celeste said and then nodded "That settles it, Olwë Maeglin Melwasúl and Rúmil," she added. Harry frowned and then narrowed his eyes

"And what exactly does that mean in English?" he asked suspiciously. The family... His family laughed at his discomfort and then Raven decided to have pity on him

"Olwë means lovely, Maeglin means beautiful and Melwasúl means vampire. As for Rúmil, well, that means Deathdancer," he said. Harry just blinked and then stared at them all as if they were off their heads but no matter how much he tried to dissuade them, they settled on the name and he was then called Olwë. Harry groaned, it sounded stupid, lovely beautiful vampire? It wasn't even a proper sentence. And Deathdancer? Where the hell did that come from? He only realised he had spoke that last part aloud when someone answered

"Your memories. You have danced around death many times in the past and you undoubtedly will many times in the future except for now, you will not be alone in doing so, for we shall be with you through all your trials" Marius said and Harry blinked before he smiled and accepted the name (not that his opinion mattered) he truly was part of a family.

-------

For over a fortnight now, Harry had been with his family and they had all spent every second of the day with him. Telling tales of their past and wishes of the future, whenever he felt like he needed to be alone, they left him without his even having to ask. In such a short time, he felt like he knew them inside out and had even come to love them.

He had changed a great deal since his being turned. Now he had long brown hair down to his shoulders, his skin was as pale if not paler than the snow itself, his green eyes seemed to glow beautifully without the glasses and his strength returned to him slowly. He would forever have the horribly marred scars on his wrists as a reminder and he would always have the scars from his uncle too but he did not mind.

Now his vision had cleared and he could see just as good in the dark as he could in the day, his eyes were as sharp as hawks and his ears picked up even the faintest sounds around him. He had muscles that he never thought possible and his arms were as firm as the six-pack on his stomach. Now once had he been called Harry Potter since he was given his name and he had even come to think of himself as Olwë. He had read nearly every book in the great library, preferring to read than sleep and he had been taught how to hunt.

He truly felt as if he had been apart of this family for years and he had no intention of telling Dumbledore anything that wasn't needed. With just two weeks left to go until Hogwarts started, his family started to teach him anything they could that may interest him. He was in the library again that day as his mother found him.

"Come Olwë, we have lots of shopping to do. You own barely anything and before you start, this is a treat from Armand and I. We bought our children everything they want and now it is your turn. First stop... To get you a car," Celeste said grinning. Harry's jaw dropped and he stared at her, barely concealing his excitement as she dragged him out of the door.