In cold blood

Written by Becca

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise and everything you don't.

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?

Author Notes: Someone asked me in a review whether I got the names from books or something. Nope, I never intended too...what I usually do when looking for names is either check a baby name website or a name generator that they have online so it could possibly be taken from books. The name Armand I seriously thought I had made up lol, obviously not. But it's no loss to me really. Thanks again for your reviews, they always bring a smile to my face

Chapter Seven

Harry smiled slightly as he looked up at the stars. It had been a weird day but never had he imagined it ending so perfectly. Everything seemed to have turned around for him and his luck actually seemed to last but how long would it be until something happened? Until he was alone and everyone he loved taken away from him? Happiness like this could not last but he would be damned if he didn't enjoy it whilst it did.

Snape's acceptance of him had been a real help, he actually thought there was a chance in his friends accepting what he was now too, surely if someone who had once hated him could then his very best friends could too...right? Harry sighed and shrugged before looking across the lake, he hadn't been to see his family yet mainly because he needed time to think to himself. He was dreadfully embarrassed about what had just occurred but it had felt so good at the time and Merlin he ached even more when he realized he was being watched. Never before had he felt so wonderful.

He looked up when he heard someone approaching and smiled tightly when he saw Albus Dumbledore himself walking across the grounds. He didn't know how he felt towards the man now, he wasn't exactly angry but he wasn't happy with him either. Considering he himself was hiding quiet a lot of things from one of the major members of his life, he should be willing to get over the whole mirror thing and forget and in all truths he could, he could forget that he had been made to do it, he could forget anyone else was there, he just couldn't forget the words he had spoken about himself.

"Evening Harry" Dumbledore said and then completely surprised the boy-who-lived by sitting besides him. Harry smiled and nodded before returning his attention to the lake. Hoping the silence would keep for once but of course, it wouldn't "Eight nights without sleep now, don't you think its getting a bit much? You need to keep up your strength," he said quietly and Harry looked at him, mildly surprised that the old man had even noticed.

"I'm fine sir," he mumbled quietly and Dumbledore nodded absentmindedly as if to himself and then he studied the young boy next to him carefully

"Tell me what goes on in that head of yours Harry. What do you think about when you are out here alone?" he asked and Harry worried his bottom lip, wondering how much truth he could give without telling anything he didn't want too

"I think about family and what that word means exactly. I think about Professor Lupin and Professor De Constrella and how people treat them different. I think of Voldemort, of life, of death, of love and of friends" he said and then nodded to himself, that was pretty vague without being too much so. Dumbledore looked at him carefully for a minute

"Those thoughts all seem a little too deep to belong to a sixteen year old child. Most your age think of girls, Quidditch or foozeball in the muggle world. They think of alcohol, laughter and fun. Would you not prefer to have those thoughts?" he asked and Harry thought about it honestly for a minute before shaking his head

"I'll be blunt with you headmaster. I hate my life, I hate my luck and I hate how my future seems to be set without my choosing. I hate how I am alone sometimes, I hate how I feel, I hate whom I am and I hate that everything seems to happen to me. But, if you asked me if I would have it any other way then I would say no, because without any of those things, I would not understand the meaning of what many take for granted" he said and then paused for a minute

"Without pain, I would not know pleasure. Without hatred I would not know love. Without fear I would not know happiness and without darkness I would not know beauty. I would not understand love or family if I had always known it, I too would take it for granted and whilst at some point I would love to have had the chance to have taken many things like that lightly, now I am thankful for what little I get" he finished. Dumbledore was staring at him openly for a minute before a smirk tugged at his lips

"I am so proud of you sometimes Harry but right now, what you just said, never before have I even found such wisdom in one even three times your age. You are wise well beyond your years and soon I feel I could be coming to you for advice. Sometimes, no, always I fear you cannot cope with what life throws at you – and rightly so too – but sometimes I fear you would try to...end it so to speak, and then you manage to surprise me again with your thoughts and words. Know that you can always come and talk to me my child. My door is always open for you" he said gently and Harry smiled tightly, tugging the sleeves of his robes over his hands just in case.

"There's something going on with you Harry in which I am not aware. I wish you felt you could talk to me. You know there is nothing you can say which would make me dislike you do you not?" Dumbledore asked again, staring at him intently and the guilt rose in Harry's stomach again. He hated lying to Dumbledore but he just, he couldn't.

"I – I'm just not ready sir. Please, as soon as I can, I will tell you everything you want to know" he said quietly and the old man nodded before smiling at him gently

"Come, shall we go and get a nice warm drink? Maybe you can tell me about the Quidditch strategies you will come up with as this years captain" he said, his eyes twinkling and Harry stared after him, gawping as the old man went back to the castle. When the words had sunk in, he jumped to his feet and ran after him

"Did you just say what I think you did?"

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"Headmaster?" Celeste asked suddenly and Harry looked up from his breakfast to see what the woman could possibly want this time. When she had Albus's attention she smiled and continued "My family and I are heading to London today, I was wondering if you would allow Harry to accompany us? It must be boring for him to be the only child in the castle" she finished and Harry looked towards the headmaster hopefully. Albus was studying the woman intently before he looked and saw Harry

"Would you mind another teacher going with you?" he asked slowly and Celeste shook her head, still smiling. Dumbledore nodded then and was about to ask either Sirius or Remus when Severus spoke up

"I'll go, there's something I need to get anyway," he said looking at Dumbledore, not meeting Harry's eyes for even a second. Dumbledore beamed at him and nodded and then Harry grinned, Celeste was right, he had been bored out of his skull all morning and was even considering doing some more studying. He was rather pleased Snape was coming too, considering it would have been a rather awkward day if Sirius or Remus had agreed though the way his godfather was glaring at the potions master now made it rather obvious he wanted to come.

He smiled happily and sat back in his chair, humming to himself as he pushed his breakfast around on his plate. He looked up startled though when the owl post arrived, during the few days he had been here, not once has he seen any sign of mail. It was unusual perhaps, judging by the curious gaze of the other teachers. Harry looked down and yawned slightly, and jumped when the owl landed in front of him. He had been expecting it to go to Dumbledore.

He looked up to see a small note with a single beautiful red rose. Biting his lip, he carefully took the note from the owl and fed it some of his bacon before turning back to his letter, trying hard to ignore the stares he was receiving from his family. He frowned slightly as he broke the seal of the envelope and then unfolded the parchment

"My Darling Beauty

Just wanted to write and let you know that I haven't forgotten about you. Indeed, my every thought has been of you, in my dreams I picture your climax again and again. Soon we may be together if it is still your wish, soon I can show you just how my heart and body yearns for you.

Forgive me if you feel I am being too forward; just say the word and I shall slow down...Soon you shall be mine and I will give you the world.

Severus"

Harry bit his lip and smiled shyly as he brought the rose to his nose and closed his eyes as he smelt it. He was determined not to look at Severus. Knowing that everyone was watching and so he folded the note and placed it in his pocket before he looked back down at his breakfast, still wearing the silly shy smile.

"Who's the letter from Harry?" Sirius called and Harry looked up startled, he blinked for a minute before blushing slightly

"Err...Hermione! She wanted to make me feel better," he said quickly, ignoring the smirks from his family and Severus. Severus, Merlin that sounded so weird and yet what was more, he was dying to try the name off his tongue, dying to hiss it in parseltongue. Heh, maybe he was weird but still, he couldn't believe this was the same potions master who had hated him the year before.

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Severus walked through Diagon Alley, watching Harry intently. He watched as the boy interacted with the other vampires and actually smiled for once. Anyone who saw them would assume they had always known each other as they all seemed so close. It was clear the vampires and the elf all cared greatly for his boy and would fight for him, it was also clear that Harry actually seemed happy. Now that was a concept that was hard to grasp, even when he thought he hated the boy he had known he was unhappy, depressed even...

It was hard to believe that Raven and Matthias were older than Harry, let alone him. They acted like such kids most of the time but it was obvious how careful they were not to go too far and insult someone. Harry himself was quiet, he laughed now and again and sometimes he allowed the two youngest of the vampires to tease him but he was still the same quiet boy he would always be, still the same young man with absolutely no confidence in himself.

Severus couldn't stop himself from wishing he had actually looked at Harry last year instead, when the boy had no one he could call family. Because now, these people cared greatly for the boy and it would take Severus quite a while to convince them that he meant no harm to Harry and that he could love him but then again, Harry would be worth all of the trouble in the end if the family could ever accept him.

He looked at Celeste and Armand in particular; trying to decide which ritual these would go for. There were many ways in which one must ask a vampire family to date their son and Severus wanted to ask them before the start of the new school term. He was grateful he didn't have to spy anymore anyway, thankfully (or not) Voldemort had not allowed him near the meetings and had tried to kill him immediately, the idiot didn't seem to know that a simple Advada Kedavra on a vampire will do nothing but knock the breath out of him.

And really that was brilliant now because if he were still a spy then he would not have been able to act on his instincts. It wasn't natural for a vampire to keep his relationship or his attractions to himself, but out of respect for the Wizarding teacher and student law, he had not done anything, which was a bloody good job as he would probably have ended up with all the deatheaters kids in his bed. But Harry, Harry was a vampire now and so the Wizarding law didn't apply to him and Severus's instincts had taken over at once.

As soon as he laid eyes on Harry in that room in Hogsmeade he had known he was no longer human and was about to point that out loudly to Albus when the old man made the boy take off his shirt. Then he was drawn to the boy and forced to look at him, he was perhaps the most beautiful creature Severus had ever laid eyes on, so innocent, so naïve and just simply stunning. Then for the first time in years, Severus felt a stir in his groin and he knew that Harry was the one; this boy with no self-confidence, this child with power and beauty was whom he wanted to spend eternity with.

When a vampire saw his mate that was it. They just knew instantly and it was almost like falling in love over night. When he had touched Harry like that, he knew the boy was an innocent, not once though did he imagine how innocent he truly was. Harry was the sort that could be swimming in dark magic and fucking half of the school but still remain innocent and that was just downright sexy.

"Professor? Are you alright?" Harry asked and Severus brought himself out of his thoughts, only then did he realize the intensity in which he had been staring at the youngest amongst them and he fought back a blush as he saw the rest of the family smirking at him. He smiled at Harry and nodded, surprised when the young man offered him his hand. He took it without hesitation and started to pay more attention to what was going on around him.

Harry followed his family around Diagon Alley and then out into muggle London. As soon as they left through the Leaky Cauldron, Harry stopped and grinned like an idiot as he saw his car parked right there. Celeste smirked at him and threw over his keys before jumping into her own car. Harry looked at Severus and rolled his eyes at the gawping man before tugging on his hand slightly

"Ride with me?" he asked as he pulled his car door open. Severus rolled his eyes before jumping into the passenger seat and pulling his seat belt across just in case. He'd seen the boy on a broom and couldn't see him being a careful driver at all.