I would like to thank Infinite13, Xenia Marvolo, darkagelgep (Amen to that!), spirit element, Nemoralis, Salazar Slytherin Snakes, Giara Gryffindor, Batsutousai, tinkita, louanna, jumping-jo, Shania Maxwell, skyash, purple raveness, madd girl, sword of the shadow, Sybelle Annya, Irihi Safaia, agoraemily, akuma-river, toki mirage, chaser1, Barranca, Nimeariel, and LeeAnn (sorry, I didn't get you in last chapter you reviewed when I updated) for reviewing.
I am the bunny slayer: Yes, Voldie is still going to try and kill Ron, no Sin has never been in any way involved with electric blue goo—as fun as that would be—but there is still hope for the future…
Sahrious: Harry's dreams are precognitive…so guess what you get to look forward to.
Butterbutt: you were chased by a goose when you were six? I was chased by a chicken when I was six! You cracked me up when you pointed out that insinuation about Sin and Auntie Carrie…man…/cracks up/…I also totally agree that the epilogue should be Auntie Carrie and Sessisalian's wedding. I am definitely going to do that!
Slayerq2000: Sin was just a guy that got turned into a vampire, he decided to turn Harry because of his power and his impact on the game—just Harry's power, his scar had nothing to do with it /toys with idea of removing it/
DeAtHTeNsHi: When Sin and Dumbledore were arguing I believe they were in the hospital wing…we all know how talented Harry is at getting in there. Sin and Snape, and maybe Remus, arranged to get Harry to Voldemort in the kiss chapter—that was real, the dream in one of the last couple of chapters was not real…yet…
Zoe: Well, I'm glad you like it so much, but don't worry about the pairing. I was completely told off by a reader and will now never think about putting Sin and Harry together…I just haven't figured out how to tell almost all of the readers that I've decided to pull author status and trump their vote…maybe, I just won't tell anyone…
HoshiHikari: Dumbledore is trying to get Ron to go over to the cough-dark-cough side…And not the cool dark side, you know, with Darth Vader and what not, the bad dark side with like, you know…Hitler and stuff…
Stahchild: I still hate you for printing Rockabye off…and when I'm not feeling so lazy, I will tell you which pages to destroy. I will…really…I want hot chocolate…
Ayla: Baby, calm down! It's okay! Chapter 21 is here…and just in time for X-mas…Also, you'd be surprised how often Sin gets that from girls…he's quite loveable.
Chapter Twenty-One
Harry sat, slumped, in a chair as Sin and Dumbledore argued fervently about Harry's holiday, but never once did they act angry. In fact, Sin was way better than Dumbledore at the benign-anger thing, but not nearly as scary as Auntie Carrie. It was rather entertaining…but Harry would pay to see the three of them: Auntie Carrie, Dumbledore, and Sin, arguing in their nicest tones.
"Harry doesn't have to come back to school after the holidays," Sin threatened with a bright smile, "in fact; I think he'd be rather for that idea."
"Yeah, but we all know how well Harry's opinions have gone over, recently," Harry mumbled, disgruntled.
Sin looked like he wanted to say something to Dumbledore, but had to make sure he wouldn't laugh first.
"I, personally, think Harry should go to France for the holidays," Harry informed everyone.
"Then we will," Sin replied offhandedly, now looking like he'd forgotten what it was he was going to say to Dumbledore, "I have a house there."
"I said France," Harry retorted, "not your house in France. If I went to your house in France, I'd probably not go anywhere else."
Sin nodded his agreement and added, "Quite right. But you wouldn't go anywhere if you stayed here."
"That's why I'm going to skip the country and shack up with a hot pick-pocket—who is female," Harry added pointedly, "in France."
"Yeah," Sin muttered, "that way you can both be poor together."
"Yes, but we'll be in France," Harry replied stabbing his palm repeatedly with his finger (talk about making a point /snickers like the loser she is/), "not in your house in France, or your house in England, or Hogwarts."
Sin laughed and rolled his eyes and asked, "But how long do you think it'll be until we find you?"
"You know what," Harry demanded slamming his hands down in his lap and staring at Sin in annoyance, "I don't care! I really don't!"
"You just want to go to France and not be in my house, and get mugged and laid, right?" Sin asked sympathetically.
"Damn-fucking-straight," Harry replied.
"Were did he learn this language from?" Sin demanded of Dumbledore, looking scandalized, "I know it wasn't me—what are you teaching them in this 'school'!"
"Hello?" Harry demanded, "I'm sixteen! I've heard curses before."
"No," Sin told Harry pointedly, "you haven't."
"Excuse me," Harry said, standing up, "I'm going to go drown myself in a toilet—and don't tell me I'm not going to, because I am."
Harry looked pointedly between a very confused Dumbledore and Sin, waiting for one of them to tell him he wasn't going to…then, almost simultaneously, Harry and Sin started laughing…well, more like collapsed from having their insides seized with convulsions.
"Drown yourself in a toilet?" Sin demanded, laughing.
"I'm sure you could do it," Harry managed to squeeze out between laughs.
Sin rolled his eyes, and composed himself with one slowly inhaled breath. Then he turned back to Dumbledore and blinked, still trying to remember what he was going to say.
"Well," Sin sighed, clearly giving up on remembering, and standing up. He was very businesslike, "I'll be here to pick Harry up about the time the rest of the students are leaving."
"Sin," Dumbledore said, jumping to his feet, "I believe we weren't finished discussing the plans for Harry's holiday. I'm afraid it would not be in his benefit to let him leave school over the holidays."
"Well," Sin replied, "I think I owe our rather bitter Harry an apology, and so I think if we're going to France—and not my house in France," Sin added with a pointed look in Harry's direction, "then we'd best get a move on. After all, I have to find somewhere for us to stay."
Harry's eyes widened, like a kid's on Christmas morning, and he asked in amazement, "You mean it? You're really going to take me to France?"
"Yes, but that's your Christmas present," Sin replied, "so, Happy Christmas Harry Potter, and you'd best start praying it doesn't rain on your holiday."
It was the last Hogsmeade weekend before the Christmas break, and Ron had enlisted Harry to help him shop for Hermione and his family. So, Harry being dragged from shop to shop being asked constantly whether or not they would like "this."
It was quite painful.
But, really, Harry should've known that the day was only going to get worse. Ron was dragging him past the Three Broomsticks outdoor dining area, when Harry's eyes caught sight of a perfectly innocent man wearing a hat that set heavy shadows over his eyes. The sight of those pale red lips sent adrenaline panging through him, and Harry had to fight not to run right then.
Then as Harry stared at the man, he took hold of his hat and tilted it back, and dangerous eyes appeared, locked onto Harry. Harry stopped.
"What's wrong with you?" Ron demanded, when Harry stopped.
The man stood up, dropping a couple of galleons on the table and slowly walked away from his table. Then Harry's mind snapped free and Harry grabbed Ron's wrist and began running away.
He could hear people being pushed away and landing with heavy thuds on the ground, but more than that he could feel the man's magic pushing and pulling, again, at his mind trying to ensnare him again.
"Harry!" Ron yelled, "What is going on with you?"
Harry didn't think that deigned an answer. He pulled Ron into an alley between two buildings and up to the fence that was supposed to act as some kind of guard between the people of Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest.
Harry quickly jumped up and grabbed the top of the fence and pulled himself up on top of it, not bothering to wonder how he'd jumped that high. Then he reached down for Ron who stared at him like he was crazy.
"Ron," Harry said, so patiently, "if you want to die, fine, go for it, but if you don't then I suggest you come with me."
Ron stared at Harry in confusion, but took his hand and Harry pulled him up and then the two of them slipped down to the forest floor.
Then they turned around.
"Still thinking like a mortal, I see," The man said his voice as smooth as melted chocolate.
"In case it escaped your notice" Harry replied, "I still am one."
The man inclined his head in acknowledgement, and replied, "And so—"
Then in the time it took to blink he grabbed Harry and threw him up against a tree.
"—you shall remain."
His hand dug Harry into the tree, bark poking at him uncomfortably. The man leaned closer and Harry instantly could feel what was going to happen, the man was going to drink all of Harry's blood.
Harry's heart began pounding, but instead of speeding up, it began slowly. Harry gasped for breath as his slowed…
Teeth began descending on his neck—Thud!
Harry looked up and his heart gave a strong beat. The man was staring Ron down with the glare to end all glares, and Ron looked like he'd just realized he was going to die. A rock, Harry's mind supplied, Ron has thrown a rock at the man.
Slowly, with every dying beat of Harry's heart, power began coursing through him, burning him from the inside out. Now, Harry's mind told him, kill or be killed…
With the barest thought, Harry had the man pinned against the tree.
The man's eyes flew open lazily, and Harry smiled, and felt his gums tingle forcefully. He leaned up to the man, and he breathed:
"Oh he—"
"Yes," Harry said with a smirk, "oh hell, is right."
Then Harry ripped into the man's neck and tore and pulled until skin broke under his pathetic human teeth and blood gushed. And while it wasn't as good as Sin's blood…it wasn't all that bad…
The vampire's blood began to thin out, and Harry was pulled from him. Harry looked up, and Sin as staring down at him.
Harry was settled gently down into the snow of the forest, and Sin began wiping at his face with a handkerchief. Harry looked over at the man, and watched as blood dripped from his neck down to the snow and his eyes dulled.
"You've made a right mess of yourself," Sin informed Harry, "I can't take you anywhere, I swear."
Harry looked over at Ron, who looked about ready to faint—small dots of color fixated on his cheeks as he swayed.
"Best to sit down," Sin advised Ron, who fell right on his ass after hearing the suggestion. Sin chuckled at him in amusement and returned his attention to removing blood from Harry's face and neck.
"Are you all right?" Sin asked, after swiping the handkerchief from Harry's mouth to his collar.
"What happened?" Harry asked, looking up at the barren branches of the trees. For some reason the sun hurt his eyes…especially while it shone through his glasses.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten," Sin admonished, "it just happened."
"No," Harry replied, now blinking back tears from how badly his eyes were hurting from the sun. "He beat us here and was winning, and then," Harry's eyes scrunched with confusion and pain, "I killed him."
Sin grabbed Harry's chin and pulled it down, so he could see Harry's eyes.
"Are you all right?" Sin asked, noticing another blood spot near Harry's ear.
"My eyes hurt," Harry replied, it now felt like his eyes were burning in the back of their sockets…
Sin pursed his lips momentarily and then waved his hands over Harry's eyes and then the pain was gone…but so was Sin…and the forest, and everything else.
"What did you do?" Harry demanded his hand going up to his face.
"I put a spell on you to keep you from seeing when there's light around," Sin replied, sounding unaffected, as Harry blinked continuously for a moment, turning his head in confusion. "You'll adjust. Now let me finish cleaning you up."
"I'll adjust?" Harry demanded, "I can't see whenever there's light, and he says I'll adjust! What in hell are you on?"
"Yes," Sin replied firmly, swiping the bloody handkerchief across Harry's lips, and achieved in getting Harry's tongue to dart out. "you'll adjust."
"Why do I even have to be blind most of the time in the first place?" Harry demanded.
"To protect your eyes," Sin replied, "this spell, basically, puts a shield around your eyes to block out light. It blinds you too so that you can't focus on any sort of light—which you're going to do—so that the spell won't break, and it wears off when your eyes aren't in any danger. Ingenious really."
"I don't think it's ingenious," Harry replied, petulantly.
"You will," Sin replied, "when you can still see in a couple of months."
"Yeah," Harry muttered sarcastically, "definitely, sacrifice my vision now so I can still see in a few months. When does this spell come off?"
Sin pulled Harry up to his feet, where he wobbled for a second his hands flying out to hold his balance.
"When you're either a full vampire, or when you become nocturnal," Sin replied. "But I'm locking the spell on you currently so you don't see anything at all for a couple of days—to better protect your eyes, and it will become solar activated, as I said, in a couple of days."
"And when exactly will the whole spell come off?" Harry demanded, grabbing Sin's hand, alarmed, when it grabbed his arm and began pulling him along.
"That's the joy of it," Sin replied, amusement tickling his voice, "You never can tell when you're going to finish your transformation."
Sin turned to Ron, who appeared to be a bit better, and asked, "Are you coming or are you going to freeze out here?"
Ron scrambled to his feet, and headed up to Sin, mumbling something about Christmas shopping.
"You'll finish later, I assure you," Sin replied, "I think you'll just need a little pepper-up potion and a nap and you'll be ready to finish shopping."
Harry listened vaguely as Ron muttered something in response. Harry was suddenly feeling very hungry, which was kind of silly considering he's just eaten…and when did he start considering blood food? But, whatever…
"I'm hungry," Harry announced, leaning over to Sin, and his teeth gave a powerful ache. "And my teeth hurt."
"What's that?" Harry demanded, for the umpteenth time, sitting up in his bed in the hospital wing and pointing in the direction the noise came from.
"There appears to be a small moth flying near the floor," Sin replied, tiredly.
"Why is it so loud?" Harry demanded as he crawled out from underneath his blankets and over to the edge of his bed.
"It's not loud, your ears are just sensitive," Sin drawled, sounding to Harry like he was about to yawn. "Go to sleep will you? Nothing's going to get you—I promise."
"It's—it's too noisy," Harry complained after a moment of listening to footsteps coming from somewhere, not to mention the strange fluttering noise coming from deep inside the castle, it seemed to reverberate around Harry and press into him, suffocating him—and Sin said that was a moth…
Then everything went silent, and Harry's blind eyes flew open.
A hand fell onto Harry's chest.
"Just a silencing spell," sin assured him, "does that help any?"
"Yes," Harry replied slowly…
"Do you want me to get you a potion?" Sin asked, "Or can you manage on your own?"
"It's too quiet," Harry murmured.
"I'll stay right here," Sin told Harry, his hand sliding over to hold Harry's. "Don't you worry about a thing."
Then in the eerie silence following, Harry fell slowly into a light sleep.
It seemed like minutes later, but Harry wasn't sure how long it really was, he woke up violently. His body being shaken by some force, pulsing and pulling underneath his skin, Harry sat up in bed and was aware that Sin had left him, and he couldn't see.
Harry slowly crawled to the edge of the bed, thinking Sin's hand had slipped and he was asleep next to the bed. Harry groped into the darkness and found nothing…Harry was scared to move anywhere else for fear he would fall off the bed, but maybe that wasn't a bad idea…
Harry slowly slipped down to the floor, and settled onto his hands and knees…okay, now, where was the chair…or better yet, where the hell was that vibration coming from? It had increased like twelve-fold since he'd gotten on the floor, and it wasn't stopping.
Harry decided to weigh the options: find Sin and have him stop it, and only get yelled at for getting out of bed OR stop the vibration, no longer be annoyed, get yelled at by everybody for leaving, but be in peace while being yelled at…and maybe not even hear the yelling because they might've forgotten the silencing spell.
Harry decided to go with the second option.
there you guys go...I think I've filled my update quota for the year and then some...so I guess I get a very long break, huh?