YEAR Six at Hogwarts
Harry Potter and the Power of the Blood
Disclaimer: Do not meddle in the affairs of dragon for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
Ch. 5: Bonds of the Beasts
Harry looked up at Professor Dumbledore and Remus with a very sheepish look on his face. "Erm, hi Professor. Lupin. How are you?"
"Harry, would you mind telling me how you have come to be in my office this time? I didn't notice Emrys with you this time." asked Dumbledore.
"Well, this one was a bit of an accident. I found some hidden rooms in the Gryffindor tower, and in the middle was a bid mirror. The glass looked a bit like the fluid in your Penseive. When I thought about you, your office appeared in the mirror. I accidentally touched it and feel through. That's how I got here." Harry finished and was silent.
"What you have just described, Harry, is a shimmerglass. They are rare, and very powerful forms of transportation. Please look behind you." Harry did as he was told, and was shocked even further to see a portal leading leading back to the secret rooms. Lupin, however, wasn't able to see it for some reason, and even Dumbledore didn't seem sure of where it was. "As you seem to be able to tell, neither Remus nor myself know exactly where the portal is. You are the only person who can see or use it because you are the one who passed through. It will close up again after you return."
"That's great and all, but how'd it work?"
"The shimmerglass is both simple and complex at the same time. The knowledge of creating them has been lost. But the working requires no special talent. Simple by thinking of a place or person they can see the image in the glass. The witch or wizard has simply to walk through after that. And from my knowledge of shimmerglasses, and their workings, I surmise that you caught the majority of the conversation occurring in this office?"
"Yes sir. What' the Pacte de Lupus and the Pacte de Nocternus? And who are Lord Lobos and Count Trismegestus?"
Lupin answered these questions. "Lord Lobos is the leader of all the werewolf tribes. And Count Trismegestus rules the vampire covens. The 'Pactes', are ancient ceremonies. Pacte de Lupus means 'Brotherhood of the Wolves'. And Pacte de Nocternus means 'Brotherhood of the Night'. They are highly dangerous rituals through which the recipient gains all the strengths of the bonder with none of the weaknesses. It is almost never done. There have been no recipients in the lifespan of either Lobos or Trismegestus. And vampires live a long time."
"Then what's the problem? I'll just accept and then they can leave."
"Harry, nobody, ever, has received both Pactes and lived to tell about it. They are either driven mad by the power, or one of the groups hunts the person down. Vampires and werewolves don't get along well. They consider it an insult to mix their powers." Dumbledore interjected himself at this point.
"Vampires and werewolves have a long and bloody history, Harry. Not many know it, but the originators of both lines were brothers. The entire hatred of each others' races grew out of simple sibling rivalry."
"Then we'll have to talk to them, won't we?"
"I suppose we must. Go and get miss Chang, Harry. Meet us down in the great hall. We shall meet both delegations, and you will have to make a choice. To need to refuse one offer is bad, but it would amount to suicide for you to refuse both. I am afraid that you must pick one."
"Alright, headmaster, I'll get Cho. But where's Emrys? He got left in here when I went to the Ravenclaw rooms."
"Ah, so that is his name. He flew up to the owlry in search of you. You might try calling him."
"Thank you headmaster." Harry walked back through the portal, calling to Emrys with his mind. In a whirl of magic, Emrys appeared at his side.
"Here you are. I was exploring your castle."
"It's not my castle, Emrys."
"Yet, as heir to one of its' founders, you most certainly lay claim to a quarter at least."
"Whatever, we have to get Cho." Harry raced from his private rooms back into the common room. He found Cho asleep on the couch. Harry was struck out of the blue by how utterly innocent she looked. He found it hard to shake her awake.
"Wha? Harry what happened? I finished the journal, and then I was so sleepy. I laid down and the next thing I know you're waking me up."
"It happened to me too Cho. I think that's how our powers get hold on us. But there's a problem, and we have to go. Now." Harry helped Cho to her feet.
"Lead on." Harry led Cho through the secret chamber in the Gryffindor tower to the shimmerglass. Surprisingly, Cho said she knew what it was. "It was in the journal." she said. Harry envisioned the great hall, and they both stepped through.
They appeared in the great hall at the same time as Dumbledore and Lupin. They didn't even have time to get a word out before a booming knock was heard. The doors were flung open as Lobos and Trismegestus strode in, arguing. Their respective soldiers hurried behind on either side, shooting venomous glares at each other.
"a complete outrage!" Lord Lobos was shouting. "I make my way here to act in the best interest of my people, only to find you, of all beings, trying to destroy our last hope!"
"Why do you think I am here, you savage? For my own health? The sun is as detrimental to us as silver is to you!" Harry noted that all the vampire guards carried silver blades, while the werewolf guards' blades shone with a faint light. "He is the last hope for my people as well! We have as much right as any of you beasts." The argument was nearing blows when Dumbledore stopped it.
"Quiet! That is more than enough from the both of you! We know why you are here." Both leaders instantly fell silent as if they were chastised little children. But the arrogance soon returned to both faces.
"Then you know that it is my right to ask Potter to partake in the Pacte de Lupus?" commanded Lobos.
"Bah! Lies and skullduggery! We are the ones with the rights in this situation. I see you have a spy in this school, Lobos. You are trying to tip the balance in your favor!"
"He is no spy of mine! You have corrupted one of my children and turned him against me. I will not let this stand!"
Once again, Dumbledore silenced the two. "That is enough!" May I remind you, that as the headmaster of this school, I have the power to remove you both from the premises, permanently." Both leaders again fell silent. This time they remained so. Dumbledore resumed speaking. "As I said, we know why you are here. Harry is the one with whom the choice ultimately lies, so you may address him. I warn you, any more violence, verbal or physical, and I will have you removed from Hogwarts." While Dumbledore was addressing the two, Cho turned to Harry and spoke in a low whisper.
"Harry, what's going on? Who are they and what do they want with you?"
"They are the leaders of the werewolf packs and vampire covens. Both sides want me to take part in some different 'Pacte' thingy. I can only choose one though, or I'll probably go insane." Cho gasped.
"Why do they want you?"
"We're about to find out." Harry and Cho stopped whispering when Lord Lobos spoke to Harry.
"Mr. Potter, if you indeed know what it is I want from you, then you know it is the last hope of my people. While we suffer terribly under your kind, if the dark lord were to win your war we would be far worse off. If you were to partake in our Pacte, we would swear everlasting fealty to your cause. You would also gain personally all our strengths, and none of our weaknesses."
"What are those strengths?" asked Harry.
"You would gain an incredible amount of strength, young one. You would also be faster, your senses would be heightened, and your power would grow as the moon does."
"Bah! The moon trick is not limited to you alone! He would gain the same power were he bonded to us!" interjected Count Trismegestus. "Harry, we need you for the same reason as the 'other' being over there." he said, choosing his words carefully as he knew Dumbledore would not hesitate to make good on his threat. "Were you to join us, your powers would be so much the better. You would be a master Occlumens and Legellimins with no training required. Your reflexes would double exponentially. Your injuries would heal at four times the natural rate and you could recover from any mortal injury by drinking blood! You wouldn't need blood to sustain yourself day to day either. Just for mortal injuries. Join us Harry."
"I need you to both answer one more question. Why are there no successful cases of both bonds?" Lobos quickly came up with an answer.
"Because their demon blood taints the purity of the werewolf bond! What have you to say to that, filthy night shadow?" Count Trismegestus was silent for several minutes before replying. He seemed to be weighing whether the survival of his people was worth divulging the huge secret. In the end, life won out.
"There has been. Four to be precise." He was instantly interrupted by Lobos.
"Lies! All lies! Do not listen to him!"
"Be quiet, you flea ridden mutt!" Trismegestus continued. "When a Convert Vampire is created, all the knowledge and memories of the 'parent' are passed on to the 'child'. A Convert Vampire is made when a human is bitten by the vampire specifically to make another, not for feeding purposes. Thus, the knowledge of all generations is passed on to the next." Seeing the surprise of the wizards and witch, Trismegestus went into further detail. "Yes, vampires are mortal. We generally tend to have a lifespan around three times longer than the average wizard, or six times that of an average muggle. But that is beside the point. In vampire memory, there are four instances of double-bonding taking place. All four occurred at the same time. Two witches, two wizards. The four founders of your school. They were the only ones who were ever magically strong enough to survive the bonds intact."
"Thank you, Count." Trismegestus bowed to Harry. "I have made a decision, and it hinges upon one condition. My choice is this: I wish to accept both Pactes." Harrys' decision was met with uproar.
"- I would advise against this." said Dumbledore.
"-Are you insane Harry?" came from Lupin.
"I'll not allow it!" howled Lobos.
"You'll never survive it!" yelled Trismegestus. Harry silenced all four with a raised hand.
"Count, Lord, Lupin-" Harry began. "I can survive it. I am heir to the power of a Hogwarts founder. I am heir to Godric Gryffindor. I have stepped into the mantle of his power. I will survive it." Count Trismegestus and his vampires dropped to their knees at the knowledge of Harrys' ancestry. Lord Lobos stood slack jawed and Lupin was dumbfounded. Dumbledore merely gave a small smile, as if he had expected this to happen from the beginning.
"Milord, if this is true, then I will happily allow the noble vampire bond to co-exist with that of those savages." said Trismegestus. Dumbledore nodded, assuring him of Harrys' words.
"I don't care!" yelled Lobos "I won't mix my people with vampires. It's un-natural!" Harry had an answer for that.
"You probably don't know this, but your peoples share a common ancestry. The originators of both lines were brothers. Your hatred of each other sprung from a family argument."
"By the earth-mother, lord, he smells not of lies." spoke one of Lord Lobos' troops in an awed voice.
"I see no lie in his mind." agreed Count Trismegestus.
"But, still, …" said Lord Lobos, weakening.
"It is the only hope for our peoples." Trismegestus said quietly. "Come, brother, let us mend this rift by uniting in the boy."
"Very well. I place the good of my people above my own prejudices." said Lord Lobos.
"Wait a moment. I said I had one condition to be filled first." Harry turned to Cho. "You're a heir too. You have as much right to this as me." Harry turned back to the rest. "If the invitation isn't extended to Cho as well, the heiress of Ravenclaw, then I will not accept either." Count Trismegestus was aceptive of Harrys' terms immediately. Lord Lobos had to hem and haw over 'honor' and 'regressions of traditions' before reluctantly agreeing. Cho was interested and also accepted both Pactes.
"They need to lay down." said Trismegestus. Dumbledore conjured gurneys for each of them. After Harry and Cho had settled down, the Count walked in between them. Lobos did the same. Count Trismegestus put his hands on their right eyes, while Lord Lobos took both left hands. "This may hurt a bit." warned the Count before he and Lobos began to chant. Instantly, tattoos began to spread from their hands. The ones around the eyes spiraled in a rectangle twice, before dropping along the nose and bending three times, giving the appearance of a bared fang above the right side of the lip. The tattoos from Lord Lobos spread down their fingers in a pattern of claws. They burned black on Harry and white on Cho. As the elders removed their hands, Harry and Cho let out simultaneous agonizing screams and collapsed into unconsciousness.
A/N: Oh, shit, did something go wrong with the bondings? Will Harry and Cho wake up? If they do, will they both be sane? Am I an evil author for writing a cliffhanger? Find out in my next installment. And so everyone knows, Emrys is pronounced Emris.
The Brave Godric: Well, I try to keep the chapters at a manageable length for me. I normally end up writing each chapter in a span of about two and a half hours, and normally after midnight when I'm feeling the most creative. And please get something to me for the kraken. If you have any suggestions for magic powers for the thing, feel free to suggest them.
J or the Blind: Thanks. I am writing about a chapter a week, so you shouldn't be disappointed.
Dragon Sword Master: I'll keep the door open on Blaise. I think I answered your other questions in the story and the general author note. And for questions from your last review: 1- The bonding with vampires and werewolves will definitely give Harry more power now and, 2- I have the chapters more planned out now, and Harry and Cho probably won't get together before Chapter 10 (at least not in any described events ). They'll be back in classes by then. I actually plan for the chapter before that to get Ron and Hermione with the OC's I came up with for them. I'm gonna have so much more fun with that (insert evil laugh here).
