Disclaimer: I obviously do not own anything pertaining to Harry Potter or Black Butler. All the characters are the property of their creators.
Note: This idea came to me last night while I was reading the new volume of Black Butler. I was considering arcs for my fanfiction and it occurred to me that if anyone was in enough physical and mental pain to make a contract with a demon, it would be Harry Potter. Mwahahaha. By the gods I love being the author. The evil laugh is much more effective that way.
Part One - A Dark Deal
The weather seemed to have a dark sense of humor that night. Thunder raged and lightning brought light to every corner of the street. A truly pious man might think that god himself was angry.
-The location: Privet Drive.
-The scent: Blood, forcible drawn.
-The source: A child.
The creature smiled. His mouth full of curved, razor sharp, teeth. It looked to the sky and its smile became a full blown smirk. God and his angels could rage all they wanted. They'd made the choice to distance themselves from the affairs of men eons ago, trusting in the better nature of free will. What fools they'd been. His kind had known what men were from the beginning, and much like his forebears, the creature would not be leaving while there was a delicacy waiting behind some flimsy wooden walls.
With naught but a whisper it approached the lawn and was brought up short. Something was blocking the way. A barrier? No. A blessing of the angelic host? Fuck no. Awe! A ward. But what kind?
It examined the thing more closely for several moments and finally figured it out. If it could have laughed it would. The answer was so simple, as was the work around.
The blood ward that had been placed on the property was meant to keep all those wishing the child inside harm from entering the premises. The dumb bit was that it didn't expand. Said child would be in clear danger the moment he left. Also it was poorly maintained. A house this building might be, but it was not a home. There was absolutely no love to power the defenses so the ambient magic of the child was doing all the work.
The child was probably endlessly exhausted as a result.
All of this together meant that a blanket protection from harm was not possible. And since the creature did not mean "immediate harm" to the boy, all it took to slip past the ward was a little bit of a shove. Once he was past it he wasn't even able to tell it was there.
A mere thought later and he was slipping under the cracks of the front door into the hall where a much smaller door under the main stairs was located. The smell was coming from inside. As was the sound of silent sobbing and tears.
Another thought and he was past the little door and gazing down upon a small, shivering, child of eight. Blood seeped from his nose and ears onto the dirt covered floor and clearly discount baby mattress he laid on. His left arm was bent at an angle entirely to wrong to be normal, and his ribs were black and bruised. This was visible as a result of the child not wearing any clothes.
"So they stripped you, beat you, and left you here in a freezing room. Quite despicable, those relatives of yours. Tell me," his formless voice intoned from above the child, that had stopped his sniffling. "If you were to turn over, would I see scarring on your back as well?"
The child's only response to that inquiry was turning further, showing off the confirmed scarring of clear belt strikes.
A dark chuckle alit the air at that. "A strange voice speaks to you in the night, makes light of your injuries, and asks about new ones; and you seem not afraid child. Why is that?"
The boy shrugged his thin shoulders. "Why would I need to be afraid?" His voice was a whisper in the dark. "I called you after all."
"Yes you did." The creature hummed. "I'm curious about that. What kind of child begs in the night for a demon to come and take him?"
For the first time the boy opened his eyes and pure emerald met blood red in the cupboard.
"That hour of church is the only one of the week where I have a moment of peace. The priest there says that the devil and his demons are always listening, and always willing to make a deal. I have no other options."
Deeply humored, and a touch prideful that his kind's reputation was still going strong, the now affirmed demon decided to drag this on for a bit.
"Is losing your soul your only option? Surely you have tried going to another adult for help with your current situation?"
Another sob seemed about to bubble to the surface at the question, but impressively enough, the child managed to crush it down before answering.
"I've tried to ask for help before. Adults either call me a liar, laugh at me for being silly, or pretend to not remember my complaints the next day. As far as I can see I either make a deal with you or slowly die here more and more every day."
"You wish to make a deal then." Mused the demon. "What is it you would like? Strength, revenge? Weak and defenseless prey such as you always crave something like that."
Shivering even further with the cold and pain, the boy sat up. "Prey, you called me. Yes I guess that is what I am now. But that is not what I want to be. So here are my terms demon. I want to be the hunter, not prey. I want strength, speed, and the power to live my life on my terms. No one else's. Then, upon my death of natural causes at the ripe old age of one hundred and twenty-five my soul is yours."
The demon hummed in contemplation for a moment before saying, "The life of a hunter is perilous. I will need to protect my investment in you."
In a moment his form became smoke before coalescing into the form of a slim man in a perfectly pressed three piece suit with coattails.
He bowed. "I will protect your blind side until the day I collect my due."
The child wasn't sure what to make of this development. The last thing he'd expected out of this deal was a hell and brimstone based bodyguard. He acknowledged the bow and asked, "So what now? Is our deal made?"
The demon chuckled. "Not quite young hunter. We have three steps left. First, you must give me a name."
The boy tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"
"Names have power. The act of providing one for me will create a bond between us. I will always be able to find you after."
"Don't want to lose your meal?"
The demon licked his lips in delight. He didn't need to give a verbal response to show his agreement.
"Fine then. Let me think…" He scrunched up his face for a moment before finally nodding. "Sebastian. I'll name you Sebastian."
"Very good young master." The newly named Sebastian replied and rose from his bow.
"Next I must imprint you with my sigil. With it you will be able to summon me from anywhere. Truly we will never be free of each other."
A dark chuckle escaped his lips again at the remark.
"Does it matter where you put it?"
"The more painful the location the more powerful the connection between us. My abilities will also be increased as such."
The boy bit his tongue in thought for a couple seconds before it hit him. He looked up at the tall visage of the demon, stuck out his tongue, and pointed to it.
Sebastian quirked his brow before taking the appendage between two fingers. A flash of light, and a silent scream later and a complex circular runic sigil was burned into the smooth skin of the child's tongue.
"Very good young master. What name would you prefer I call you? I might need to introduce you to people in the future."
Still poking his tender tongue the boy took a few seconds to respond. "Do I have to go by the name I have now? Or can I pick a new one?"
"We'll be starting a new life for you so pick whatever name you want."
"Harker." He said without hesitation. "Hadrian Harker. I hate my old name. Every time I hear Harry Potter I picture my uncle screaming in my face."
"Understandable young master. Now there is only one more step before my side of the deal is complete."
"What's that?"
The tall man approached the boy until his head was right above him.
"I promised you strength, speed, and power. It is my job to make you a hunter." A dark glint seemed to be growing in the demons eyes as he inched closer and and closer to Hadrian's neck. "And that is exactly what I'm going to do."
Swifter than a cobra he bit down on the boy's neck for several seconds before cutting open his own wrist and shoving it into his mouth. On reflex Hadrian swallowed some of the blood, and then he began inhaling it.
Eventually he noticed a churning in his gut that spread outward to encompass his entire body. He fell to the floor and curled up in pain. Through the roiling inferno of his mind and nerves he became dimly aware that his arm was moving back into its usual position and the room around him was getting progressively smaller. When the pain finally stopped he stood up for the first time that he could remember without any pain. The room did seem smaller and a quick look at the size of his hands made it clear that he was actually taller than he had been. That led to another surprise. He could see his hands, clearly, and he wasn't wearing his glasses.
"What did you do to me?" He asked with awe clear in his voice.
"I delivered on my promise. I made you more than human. Corrected the faults, healed the wounds, and took the liberty of eating that little snack in your head while I was at it." He sighed in annoyance then, "I couldn't do anything about the scars on your back however. They'd already healed before I arrived. They will remain as long as you live."
Long disillusioned with the world, Hadrian knew enough to ask, "What's the catch?"
Sebastian licked his lips with clear delight. "I made you a hunter in the truest sense of the word. You're a daywalker now. A mortal vampire. All the strengths of a fullblood, only some of the weaknesses. You'll need to consume blood and lives to live, but you can still consume human food. As you get older your physical aging will slow. As such when I do finally claim your soul your physical age will be around forty-five."
An eager glint grew in his eyes, "A perfectly aged dish."
With a creak the door to Hadrian's cupboard opened, seemingly on its own. "When we leave here I will teach you the nuances of your power young master, but first…"
A strange pit seemed to be opening in the boy's core, and slowly he became aware of the series of beating notes that seemed to be permeating through the stairs.
"… How about a late night meal?" The demon's teeth seemed to be extending along with Hadrian's own.
The boy's eyes had a dark glint of their own now. "You can have Aunt Petunia, but first I want to drain her husband and son in front of her!"
Sebastian roared with laughter. "Ah, what a delightful master I have acquired!" He bowed with a flourish, "After you young master." and gestured to the doorway.
In the dark outside the stormed raged harder than ever before, but inside the house on privet drive the only sounds were those of screams and wails of despair.
10 Years Later
A tall woman in a white suit sat behind a desk longer than she was tall with a cigar in one hand and a cell phone in the other. The voice that was speaking to her was possibly the only one on earth that was worthy of her respect.
"Your Grace," Ser Integra Hellsing spoke in a measured voice, "How can the Hellsing Organization be of assistance today?"
An older voice with a core of steel answered. "Ser Integra, my Minister of Justice has made me aware of a situation that I am not sure exactly of the proper response for. It might be more in your wheelhouse of expertise."
The woman took a puff of her cigar before responding. "What seems to be the issue?"
"Over the course of the last ten years hundreds of bodies have been discovered. It took this long to tie them all together because many of the victims remains were not discovered until months or even years after the fact. They all showed signs of vampiric feeding."
"Sounds like an extermination mission. I can have Alucard take care of it before the end of the week."
There was silence for several moments. "That is not what I had in mind."
Now Integra was interested. A vampire that the queen of bloody England did not want dead? That hadn't happened since her highness had met Alucard. And they'd been banging a week later.
"Could you elaborate on the circumstances and what you expect your highness?"
The steal voice held a tone of curiosity now, "Every victim was a known criminal of some kind. Drug dealers, rapists, murderers, corrupt cops, pimps, and politicians."
"Crooked politicians?" Integra asked.
"I know what I said." The queen responded. "Anyway, the kills we've managed to tie to the beast have been clean, calculated, and very well executed. No witnesses, no evidence aside from the bite wounds, and each one had a written note detailing their crimes."
"A moral killer?" the silver haired knight asked.
"I'm not sure if they're moral, but they certainly chose victims that no one is exactly angry or upset to see gone. I want the creature tracked, and then I want an offer to meet brought before him. If he can be reasoned with I have a position to offer him. The position of the Queen's Vampire has been vacant too long."
Integra was floored. "It was my understanding that that position was absorbed into Hellsing."
"It was. But I have need of a vampire to handle some of the more delicate issues of the kingdom and Alucard is better with the supernatural than the living."
"Understood your highness. Alucard and I will investigate and get back to you. You said there was no evidence but do you have any leads at all?"
Shuffling paper was heard on the line for a few moments before she heard the response, "All I have is a gut feeling. Everything about the crime scenes, from the planning, to the execution, to the way the bodies were arranged tells me something. This person is organized, smart, and dare I say they have style. I would recommend looking into high end clubs and homes as a starting point."
The line went dead. Integra took another puff before pouring a drink.
"So," a voice spoke from above, "The queen wants a new vampire. Lizzy is getting kinky in her old age."
Integra jumped and glared at the ceiling. Sticking out of it was her vampire's disembodied head. "Show some respect for the queen Alucard. Did you hear all of the conversation?"
"But of course my lady. I'm assuming you want me to leave now to track him down?"
"The sooner the better. Let me know when you have something."
"As you wish master." He gave her a sarcastic smirk before leaving with a wink.
Three Days Later
Integra arrived in her office to find a note attached to her desk. When she opened it with her pen knife she received an address in the upper quarter of London, the name Hadrian Harker, and the words 'It isn't what we thought'.
A Penthouse In London
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" A female voice was screeching with ecstasy into the air. "Give it to me Hadrian! More! More! Harder! Oh God!"
With a final screech of joy the voice trailed off into the sweet oblivion of very satisfied sleep.
About an hour later a man walked out of the room wearing a closed bathrobe and nothing else. His left hand held a glass of scotch while his right was in a pocket. A shit eating grin revealed several larger than normal canines.
To the side of the door, in his customary place, Sebastian took stock of his master. In the ten years he had served him the man had grown to a stoic height of six feet, put on a rather large amount of muscle, grown his hair long enough that it hung on his neck, and wore a close cropped black beard that had turned more than a few female eyes.
"I believe young master," He began, "that Mey-Rin was supposed to be polishing the kitchen counters and floors. Not your, ahem… pole."
Hadrian smirked at his butler. "She's not just the maid Sebastian and you know it. My girlfriend needed a little attention. Who am I to deny her?"
"Of course sir." The butler nodded as if it were the most logical argument in the world. "By the way sir, is it just her in there or should I call a cab?" Last time you left without telling me and Mey-Rin was left stumbling around trying to find a phone book to call your two's latest conquest a ride."
The demon's master waved a hand. "Not to worry Sebastian, it was just us this time. Mey-Rin thinks we've been bringing others into the bedroom too often lately and wanted some alone time. And she only had trouble finding the phone book because she has to wear those horrible glasses when she's indoors. Curse that amazing optical range of hers."
"Hm…" the demon placed a finger to his chin as if a question had just occurred to him. "Does it bother her, or you for that matter, that when you are both eventually dead you won't spend eternity together? The devotion you have showed for each other is extraordinary after all."
In spite of the dampening topic the man smiled. "Why would it bother us Sebastian? We only met in the first place because of the deal I made. Without it I would still be toiling away in my relatives kitchen and garden with a fresh beating around every corner; and she would still be slowly dying inside, killing for people and reasons she never understood or cared for. We have this life together. It's enough."
"You humans are strange indeed young master."
Before anything else could be said a knock came from the door.
Harry was immediately alert, his head twitched slightly to the side with his ear toward the sound. "Two visitors…" he murmured. "One woman and a higher vampire fullblood. I wonder what they want."
"Should I bring them in Master Hadrian?" Sebastian asked with his usual flourish.
Hadrian responded immediately, "Yes of course. We wouldn't want to be bad hosts after all. Bring them in, have Finnian take their coats and hats, and Baldroy make them some drinks and snacks. I'll go wake Mey-Rin and get dressed. The two of us should be out to greet them shortly."
The demonic butler nodded his understanding and quickly went to complete his assigned tasks. First he went to the room at the beginning of the hall where Finnian and Baldroy slept, threw them both out of bed, and gave them their tasks. Then he went and opened the door.
He was met by a rather tall woman with silver-white hair, round glasses, and a Walther PPK aimed right at where his heart was. That is, if he had one to be pointed at.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Do you normally meet a host with a pistol?"
"My mother was Irish." The woman responded curtly.
The butler nodded. "Very well then." Then he turned to the rather tall fellow cloaked in red. "Greetings Mr. Vampire, my master bids you both welcome into his home and bids you wait a moment as he gets dressed."
For her part Integra was rather surprised at the politeness she and her companion were being shown. Almost as surprised as this apparent butler being able to tell her shadow was a vampire. First they were brought inside where an excitable boy child with a flower in his hair took their respective coats, then a rather dashing blond fellow gave them each drinks. She saw immediately that there was smoke sizzling out of it and took a quick sip, the dangerous vapor stopped immediately.
"Grenade hot chocolate." She mused with a half smile and head tilt of acknowledgment to the chef. "Haven't had that since my last field op in Quebec."
"Nothing gets the blood pumping like the thought of chocolate exploding in your face." The man agreed before turning to Alucard. "Is the blood to your liking sir? We have both younger and older should it not be to your tastes."
With a start Integra turned to her companion… who was mixing the contents of a small blood bag into his chocolatey drink. Dimly she mused that it made sense. The butler had known he was a vampire so of course he would like blood, and if these people were truly living in the home of a vampire then they would be used to the sight and distribution of it. Strangely enough, she didn't notice any bite marks, weakness, pale skin, or any of the others signifiers that he had been feeding off of them.
"This is just perfect." Alucard hummed as he reclined onto a nearby couch in the den. "There's nothing like a hot cup of 'virgin' chocolate in the evening to cap off the day."
He was trying to get a rise out of her. The Hellsing leader knew that, and by the gods she would not give it to him. Instead she calmly sipped her own hot chocolate, enjoying both the smooth cinnamon and gunpowder taste, while also checking out the chef out of the corner of her eye. "By god he looks good in an apron." She thought to herself.
Sadly her musings were interrupted by first the arrival of a young woman wearing a traditional maids outfit and overlarge circular glasses and the man that was holding her hand. He was tall, well muscled, had black hair and a beard, and was wearing a clearly expensive black suit with a crimson shirt and dark emerald tie. She couldn't be sure but she also thought his boots were Italian leather. If this was her target then the queen had been right on the mark. This vampire had style.
Once they'd crossed the room the man kissed the girls cheek before sending her into the kitchen with the chef. then he promptly took a seat in a leather backed chair across from the sitting woman. She quirked a brow.
"Are you not going to offer me a seat? I must say that aside from the strangely warm welcome you are being a bad host."
The man smiled, revealing several overly sharp canines. "Says the woman that is still holding a pistol that is aimed at my head." He leaned forward, "It wouldn't work if you pulled the trigger you know."
"Because you're a vampire Mr. Harker?"
He quirked a brow, "You are very well informed madam. The answer however is far more mundane. My butler has already removed all of the bullets."
The woman stared at the smug vampire before her and casually pulled the trigger. A click was heard, but otherwise nothing happened. She tried twice more with the same result before sighing and holstering the weapon.
"Fine then. My name is Ser Integra Hellsing. My companion here is named Alucard. Clearly this situation is different than we thought coming in. Alucard," she asked, "What do you make of things?"
The beast was staring between the butler and the host with a mixture of amusement and intense scrutiny. Finally he turned fully to the man sitting across from his master. "How soon does he get your soul?" He asked abruptly.
"Not until I'm over a hundred." Hadrian answered smoothly. He figured once a higher vampire walked into his abode that the truth would be spotted.
"Your condition part of the deal?"
"Not intentional on my part, but certainly a welcome development."
He turned to Integra for his answer. "The situation, like I said previously, is not what we thought." He pointed at Hadrian, "That is not a fullblooded vampire. He's a daywalker."
The tall woman was confused, "What's the difference?"
"Well for starters a daywalker is not born or turned. He has to be created. Mainly through contracts with demons like our resident butler here." His last statement was ended with the same finger turning to Sebastian. "As far as the boy goes, consider him untouchable. You kill him before his agreed upon time and the demon loses his meal. He'll take that rather great frustration out on you for the act I'd imagine."
Across the room Sebastian smiled. "Indeed." He said nothing else.
Integra rubbed the bridge of her nose between her fingers with frustration. Should he turn down the queen's offer then she didn't know what to do with him.
"What else do you know about daywalkers?"
"Basically they're just vampires that can walk in daylight and eventually die of either old age or a time their contract specifies. Otherwise you're pretty well prepared."
The woman gave her companion a scowl of annoyance for his short answer before turning to the man sitting before her. By now he was leaning back with his arms casually placed on the chair's rests. He was ready to hear her out. And he was clearly not nervous about her presence. How deadly was he? Or his butler for that matter.
"I was instructed to track you down and provide an offer from the queen of England." She began, and seeing no outward reaction continued, "She has a position available for a vampire of your skills and would like you to take it."
The man frowned with apparent thought. "Interesting. A position that requires a vampire to fill. And she sends a higher vampire and his master to give me the offer? I'm guessing you were supposed to kill me if I said no?"
Alucard burst out laughing at the insinuation. "Of course we were, but I'm sure as hell not fighting your demon over it."
Integra was shocked. "Alucard! You will follow whatever orders are given!"
"Not if I'll be destined to fail. That beast in that tailed suit is capable of tearing me limb from limb and eating whatever scrap of my soul remains. I will not be denied the afterlife for you or anyone else. My oath will not compel me in this."
Though she wanted to rage at the creature under her employ, the white haired woman instead forced herself to be calm before turning back to her target.
"Clearly that was the idea but it won't happen now. Will you at least hear the offer?"
Hadrian smiled a shark toothed grin. "But of course Ser Integra. Listening costs me nothing."
She nodded. "The queen would like to offer you the position of the Queen's Vampire, sometimes referred to as the Hound of The Crown. Should you take the position it would be your job to take control of the criminal underworld of the country and hunt down her majesty's enemies."
Hadrian held up a hand. "What do you mean control the criminal underworld?"
Already anticipating the question Integra replied, "The crown has known for centuries that crime itself can never be eradicated, but it can be controlled and regulated with the right people in charge of it. It'll be your job to control it and make sure the crime rate doesn't rise past a certain point. You'll meet with the heads of certain influential families and gain their loyalty to make sure certain crimes and activities do not happen. In return you can guarantee them on behalf of the crown that they will not be arrested. You serve as a buffer between the two entities so the queen can keep her hands clean. Additionally you will of course take a percentage of those families profits for the service you'll provide them."
"This sounds very intriguing." Hadrian mused. "I especially like the idea of hunting people down for the crown, but if I am to accept then I need one thing made clear. Weather or not I'm a hound, I am not a dog. If her highness wants my loyalty then she can earn it, but she will not have blind obedience. If that is understood than I am willing to deal with her and accept."
"I will pass along your answer and send Alucard back with the reply." Integra said as she stood before holding out a hand that he took, before pressing it to his lips in farewell.
"Good evening Integra." His voice was pure smoke by the end as his body just seemed to dissipate around her. In the kitchen she heard the girl with glasses mutter, "He does love that trick doesn't he."
