Hello again, just a quick thanks for giving this story a chance (perhaps for the second time). Now we move onto Harry coming to terms with the fact that humans are delicious and now that he has killed one he knows that he won't be able to avoid them forever. Plus, he is going to finally allow himself to act on his attraction to men that for my purposes he has been repressing up until now. But don't worry: Felix will come along soon!

Also, my next post will be The Dark Lord's Equal.

Here is a disclaimer that unfortunately states that I do not own anything that I am writing about and am merely hoping to play in another author's sandbox for a short time and what follows is for entertainment purposes only.

Harry's lips were still pressed to the young man's delectable throat. Even though he was just becoming aware of the fact that he had just committed for what all intents and purposes had been murder, his tongue was still lapping up the last bits of blood that it could find. In fact, he enjoyed the feel of his tongue against the man's neck and brought the lean and muscular body even closer to his own.

His urge to feed had been uncontrollable and when he finally lifted his head from the nape of the other man's warm neck, Harry quite honestly didn't know how to feel. The last vestiges of his human memories and personality were trying to tell him that what he had just done had been very wrong, possibly even unforgivable. Here was someone who had parents, friends, and quite possibly had just begun a family of his own.

And he felt some of those feelings of shame and horror in thinking about what he had just done. He, more than most, knew that it was a terrible thing to take a life and that this might have been prevented had he fully thought through the fact that he had been heading to a town full of people with lots and lots of delicious blood flowing through their veins.

However, those feelings were not as strong as the other ones that rose in his gut. The vampire in him was beyond satisfied with the warm, almost hot liquid that was being absorbed into his body. Food was food and it provided him nutrition and no matter how much a part of him wanted to make him face the morality of what he had done, a larger part of him had enjoyed every minute far too much to allow himself to be chastised into shame. Without even needing to think about it further, Harry knew that he would never be able to abstain from human blood now that he knew what it tasted like.

He didn't even think that he would be able to put his need for it into words.

Still, that nagging feeling inside of him just wouldn't go away and wouldn't let him forget that he was now a killer. Fortunately, Harry's ears picked up upon the faint roar of a car engine that was only a few miles away and getting closer by the second. Recognizing that it would probably be unwise to leave the evidence of what he had done on the side of the road, Harry effortlessly picked up both the guy and the bike and headed into the cover of the forest. Which the smaller voice inside of his head was happy about since it didn't want to see another human killed for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Once he was positive that no one would be able to see him, Harry set the man and the bike down. As he waited for the car to pass, Harry wondered if the same thing was about to happen again and that he would become a slave to these uncontrollable bouts of bloodlust.

His body tensed as the car drove by his previous location and his senses told him that the human was driving with the window down. A few moments later and his nose was able to pick up on the sweet and delicious scent that had spurred him to attack the biker not even ten minutes ago. However, this time was different and Harry remained in full control of his actions despite how much his mouth had started to fill again with that strange liquid that came whenever blood was near.

But no matter how much that scent called to him, he was able to resist it and his mind was quick to put together a working theory. It proceeded to connect the full sensation in his stomach and the dampened burn in the back of his throat with being sated and not starved like he had been before. His vampire mind then went on to conclude that he might only be able to resist the smell of humans if he was well fed and not hungry.

However, that presented somewhat of a dilemma in his mind since before the biker he had fed off a herd of deer earlier in the day. But even as he thought that he knew that the blood of the biker was far more potent and satisfying than any of the deer's had been. It was like comparing a small salad to a large porterhouse; even if the leafy greens could sustain a person it would never fill that person up like a steak could.

Considering that he was alone and figuring all of this out for himself, Harry thought that was doing a pretty good job of handling everything rationally.

Though it still put him in a bit of a conundrum since he had been heading into the town to try and find out what day it was when the biker crossed his path. And, if anything, he felt more embarrassed at not fully thinking about the consequences of being a vampire and putting himself in a position where people walked around like they were takeout meals on legs. That really was something that he should have anticipated, and those pesky feelings still wanting to shame him were at least somewhat happy that he was considering the implications of some of his actions – no matter how small and insignificant those feelings were compared to the serious matter of taking an actual human life.

As he continued to sit there next to the rapidly cooling body beside him, he tried to think about something else besides the smell of the man in the car and he began to concentrate on his lack of breathing. Again, he found it odd that he continued to breath in and out even though his body wasn't dependent on securing a fresh supply of oxygen. Therefore, he made a conscious effort to stop the inhalation of air through his nose and immediately the enticing smell of the passerby in the car was gone.

"Of course," he exhaled, pushing the air that had been in his lungs outward.

Only, he found that he couldn't make another sound until he took more air into his lungs and with that rush of new air again came the faint, though still delicious scent of the human driving away.

Putting together everything that he was learning, he then came to the conclusion that he could hold his breath, so-to-speak and not become overwhelmed by the sweet and savory aromas that he was now associating with human blood. Plus, he could make sure to feed on as many animals beforehand to dull the full effect of the smell if he ever inadvertently inhaled the air around him – which might be needed given that he could only hold onto so much air within his lungs at a time. Though, that would only become an issue should he find himself in a conversation with a human, and given how he felt right now he would rather not tempt himself by being too close to one of them.

However, none of these addressed how he would handle going without something that was now – and would be for a while – constantly on his mind.

Except that Harry knew that he couldn't resolve to give up human blood forever given that it had been the best thing that he had ever experienced, and so again he simply began to concentrate on the other tasks at hand to give him something else to try and think about. Which meant that he still needed to find out which day it was and given that he had just eaten a human – and resisted the urges to eat another one – it was probably as good a time as he was going to get to be able to go into town without slaughtering everyone and joyously bathing in their blood.

Probably.

Plus, he recognized that he was in need of new clothes considering that he was down to his last pair of presentable attire. The few items of clothing that he had owned and brought with him were either shredded, dirty, or covered in bits of animal blood and hair.

Of course, things would never be that easy for him because just as Harry was about to leave, he saw the pale but still and athletic-looking body and for a brief moment considered if the once attractive man would change like he had. It was a reasonable thought given that he had no idea how any of this worked and he didn't know how a vampire was made. He certainly didn't recall anything other than losing consciousness while the vampire who had bit him had drained his blood.

'Was it because he was a wizard that his body had been able to change?' his mind asked, thinking back to how wizards were the only ones capable of surviving a werewolf's bite.

Without magic, a human body just couldn't survive the painful change every month – though, Harry had already noticed a key difference in that werewolves could keep their magic, whereas he had lost his.

Ultimately, he decided that he needed more information, which meant that Harry set up camp where he was and committed himself to see if this man changed.

While it wasn't ideal given that he was being forced to look at the man that he had killed, at least he would know something about how vampires were or were not made. And if, by some unfortunate chance that this person turned into a vampire, at least Harry would be able to know how long the process took and could then workout what day it was without even needing to go into town.

Of course, now that he was thinking about all of these things, he realized that perhaps he was still a little too close to the road and so once again picked up the man and took him further into the forest. With no one around, Harry allowed himself the opportunity to look over the man's clothed body as he walked through the woods. Never before had he been able to indulge his curiosity over his growing attraction to the male sex out of fear for what it would add to the weight that being the Boy Who Lived already made him carry around. The man didn't look like he was dead and that made it all the more weird as Harry found himself aroused at what the tight clothing showed.

But out of respect for the recently departed, he stopped that train of thought before it got any further.

Once he found a suitable location that was a few miles from the road, he tossed the body to the ground and began to test more or his abilities.

If he was going to wait here until the man either changed or showed signs of decomposing than he would at least find out as much as he could about what vampires could and could not do.

Needless to say it was another informative night for Harry as he further learned about his strength and speed and, more importantly, how to control each of them.

His night passed by rather quickly in this manner and then the sun began to rise and with it brought a marked increase in the pain at the back of his throat. He couldn't believe that he was getting hungry again, and around the same time that he was contemplating going off in search of a large animal, his nose began to pick up a smell that was very off-putting.

It told him that the man's body had begun the process of decomposition, and at least now Harry was reasonably sure that the man would not rise as a vampire.

At least, he liked to think that he had never smelled like that before he had become one.

At any rate, he felt that it was appropriate to not just leave the body to decay out in the open and after another display of his vampire abilities he left the buried man and headed off to hunt.

To be as sure as he could be that he wouldn't massacre the entire town because of his thirst, Harry fed upon as many large predators as he could find. Only after he had gotten to the point of feeling like he was about to burst from all the blood did he decide that now he was as ready as he would ever be to put himself in the presence of humans. It wasn't like he could avoid them forever and so he changed into his last pair of clean clothes and made his way towards the town.

Harry held his breath to stop the air and, more importantly, the smells from entering his nose far before he had reached the outskirts of the town. He stopped for a moment when he was a about a mile away for that was when his ears began to pick up on the faint but steady heartbeats of the town's inhabitants.

Even that was enough to wet his mouth, but he remained firm and did not let any of that potentially savory air fill his nostrils – no matter how much the heartbeats around him began to sound like tiny little dinner bells.

As he began to move closer, most of his senses were on high alert and Harry had to constantly remind himself not to breath. Though, that was difficult and the longer he went without that particular sense the more blind he felt.

Which was absurd given his ridiculous sight and hearing abilities, but, still, he recognized how much of an advantage his nose gave him. For while he could see very far and hear everything in his vicinity, it was his sense of smell that told him what was there.

The vampire in him did not like this but his mind held firm and he finally exited the forest and walked up alongside the road that went into the heart of town.

Humans were close to him – very close – and he could hear their loud heartbeats that tempted him in ways that he had never experienced before. It was all he could do to remain focused on why he had come here.

'The date and new clothes,' he said mentally to himself over and over again as he passed his first human and then another.

Soon he was in the center of the small village and amidst the people that lived there. He focused heavily on not drawing attention to himself but for some reason or another everyone that he passed glanced his way and gave him the most curious of looks.

Both men and women, young and old, turned their heads and stared as he passed. It was the oddest thing that Harry had ever encountered in the Muggle world and reminded him of the attention that he had received in the Leaky Cauldron when he had first entered the wizarding world.

His first thought was that he had remnants of his last meal smeared across his face, but then he caught his reflection in the window of the shop across the street.

Suddenly he knew why everyone was staring at him because even he couldn't take his eyes off of himself. He still looked like the Harry Potter that he remembered but his reflection told him that this Harry Potter was simply sinful, and quite frankly, to die for. It wasn't anything overt that made him look different, per se, but it was just that all of his features were simply the best versions of him that they could be.

And then some.

All together, this easily explained why people just couldn't take their eyes off of him. This kind of beauty just didn't exist, and Harry was quite sure that not even a Veela could compare to him now.

Harry had to focus harder now to make his way into the nearest shop to retrieve a daily paper without inviting any of his apparent fans to stop staring and approach him. Therefore, he was extra careful with opening the door, lest he rip it off its hinges and cause an even bigger scene than the one he was already making.

Once inside the shop he was relived to find the date on upper corner of the daily paper show that it was only the middle of August, meaning that his transformation had taken no more than two days.

Which meant that the burning had been shorter than he had thought it had but his perception of time must have been warped by the intensity of the pain that had made it seem longer than it had been in reality.

Now that he knew what day and month it was, Harry left the small convenience store and headed across the street to purchase some clothes. It was a small clothing store, and quite possibly the only one judging by what Harry could see as he looked up and down the rest of the shops on the street.

He focused his mind before entering and made his way quickly to the men's department. Thankfully, not many people were in the store and Harry grabbed a few of this and a few of that in his size.

He had just been debating on whether or not he was even going to bother to try them on when he heard a beating heart approach. Harry's hands tensed and clamped down on the fabric that he was holding as the man began to speak to him from behind.

"Buongiorno signore."

Harry steeled himself as he turned, wishing the man would just go away.

"Hello," he said while using the least amount of air in his lungs as he could.

But even though he had spoke in a clipped tone, his voice was almost just as beautiful and captivating as he looked.

The young man, who was attractive in his own right, seemed at a loss for words as he looked Harry up and down with an eager expression in his eyes.

It was clear that the man was into him, though how he knew that he didn't know. He had never been good with knowing what the opposite sex had been thinking, and had been too busy trying to push the growing attraction that he had felt towards some of the boys in his class away to spend any time allowing himself to think about their thoughts.

But apparently now that he was a vampire and without any of the baggage that had come with being the Boy Who Lived, he knew without question that the store clerk found him attractive. It almost felt like the vampire in him was pleased at luring this young man in, but Harry also knew that it had as much to do with his own curiosity in exploring this new side to him.

"Did you need help with clothes?" the young man was able to get out in acceptable English.

"No," Harry said quickly.

However, his face hadn't been that convincing and the clerk stepped towards him.

The man swallowed and reached for the jacket that was in Harry's arms. Harry was thinking too much about how close this human was to him, and how he could feel his heat radiating towards him. Harry's eyes focused on the pulse in the man's neck, and he began to chew on his lips as the man now held Harry's jacket in his arms.

In this moment Harry didn't know whether he wanted the man's blood or his company more. It was the most awkward combination of bodily urges that he had ever felt. He was so hungry and so turned on that he felt the need to lick his lips and adjust himself because of his tightening pants.

Something which the clerk noticed and made his smile widen before he motioned for Harry to turn around and step in front of the mirror. The salesperson, who was slightly taller and more muscular than Harry was, then moved to stand behind him.

It didn't escape Harry's notice that the man had a hungry look in his eyes – which was ironic considering that Harry was still torn between his own hunger and rising sexual urges. The young man continued to eye Harry up and down as he unfolded the jacket and guided Harry's arms into the sleeves.

"It fits good."

The clerk's hands were now resting on Harry's shoulders, and not trusting what would have come out of his mouth, Harry simply nodded and resisted the urge to breathe.

He continued to remain still as the man's hands began to move up and down his arms, and as the man did so – the hunger in Harry's throat lessened as the urge originating from his groin began to dominate his thought process.

It was so very hard for him to resist this urges that he had never allowed himself to focus on before – but that had been when he was a wizard and in the spotlight.

Now, no one knew him and his only hang up on exploring his awakened sexuality further was that he didn't know what to do. He had never done anything with anyone – and that pathetic kiss with Cho was something that he sorely wished had never occurred.

But the man's hands continued to explore Harry's upper body from their secluded place in the back of the store and with each second that Harry didn't protest the clerk's hands moved lower and lower.

Suddenly, and much like what had happened the first time that he had fed, his instincts took over.

He whipped around in the man's arms and encircled his arms around the man's waist, drawing his body close to his. It took the clerk by surprise – but he too was turned on. At this point all the clerk could really think about considering that he was about to hook up with the hottest person that he ever seen was in getting them into the changing room for what little privacy it could provide.

Thankfully, they were now the only people in the store and no one would come in during the next ten minutes because they didn't even try to keep the noise down.

However, the moment that Harry reached completion and satisfied that urge that had been building inside of him from the moment that he had entered the shop and was approached by the man, his other urge had returned.

Given that his lips were still pressed tightly against the other man's mouth, and that their naked bodies were also intertwined, Harry didn't have a chance to prevent his teeth from making their way to nape of the older and taller man's neck.

Minutes later, the man was drained and his limp body fell to the floor. Harry could hardly believe what had just happened, and as much as that small part of him wanted to be disgusted with himself, the vampire within him had never been more satisfied.

The dinner, as well as the show that preceded it, had been wonderful.

Well that is sad. We didn't even learn the clerk's name. Harry will have to get better at controlling his urges if he wants to be around people more. Luckily, Felix should be coming along any day now given that Harry is just leaving a trail of bodies in his path. Perhaps then he will have a little more guidance and an outlet for at least one of his uncontrollable urges.

Also, I realize that a lot of what has happened so far has been inside his head but I think that most of the background is out of the way with this chapter and later chapters will have much more dialogue.