This chapter was originally beta-read by Menecarkawan. Most of its writing was untouched save for the last paragraph which is a complete new addition.

Ch. 21: Those Who Are Bonded

The group of four found themselves telling Yapheth everything about their quest. The vampire was amazed that only the four of them were trying such a dangerous feat. After listening to their story he spoke: "You might find that the Horcrux I have hidden here will be more difficult to destroy than the previous two. I cannot destroy it, but I have played with it a bit. You will find out when we get to it, but I think that tonight you should rest. Follow me."

They followed the vampire through staircases until he touched an old brick wall. It turned into a door and they all entered right behind the vampire and were surprised as they found themselves in what looked like a neat home. The vampire spoke to the little one: "I told you to stop wearing those rags. You look like a werewolf and that is quite disgusting. Go and put on proper clothing, Reginald." As soon as the boy was gone Yapheth turned to Ron: "Did he tell you who he is?"

Ron nodded before replying: "He is Renard's son."

"That information... Do not tell anyone."

Harry, Hermione, and Severus were completely taken aback with such a revelation. They all looked at Ron and wondered how he had found the child. Weasley simply shrugged as they stared at him. Ron spoke to Yapheth: "I would wash my hands, you know... He was with rats and toads when I found him..."

Yapheth frowned: "I always get him blood that I smuggle out of blood banks, but he keeps looking for what he calls warm blood. It's a bad habit of his, just like his habit of playing werewolf."

The vampire gave Hermione a curious look: "So your new name is Hermione?"

Hermione didn't know what to say: "What... What do you mean by my new name?"

"You are Beredyce reborn, child. I have waited so long... You look like her, talk like her, smell like her... I have no doubts that you are her reincarnation. I am glad, but I also know you are already taken."

"How can you know that? My mind has been blocked!"

"I do not need Legilimency, Hermione. I can see the heart even if I don't have access to the mind."

Severus was immediately reminded of the first time he encountered Yapheth. The vampire's words had been: "Why do you torture those people when you don't want to? Why do you do it if your heart is not in the matter?" Yapheth had never told him that he could read hearts, but now he understood why the vampire knew how he felt inside.

"Make yourselves comfortable. I will prepare you something decent to eat. Do not worry about creatures or Death Eaters while you are in here. They cannot enter."

Harry could believe Yapheth. The magical wards that protected that home had to be the most powerful he had ever felt. It made him wonder how if there were vampires with such power they hadn't vanquished Voldemort, but at the same time wondered if there were evil vampires too with such power. Why hadn't an evil vampire claimed the position of Dark Lord?"

"Because I have eliminated the bad ones. I am a murderer, Harry Potter. I have killed my own kind. Only two Elders have the same power I have and they won't use it for their benefit. I am no Elder, by the way, but for some reason I was born cursed. I am what they call a first class vampire, but I do not care for such trivialities and mediocrities, which vampires and even wizards like to create. As for why I haven't vanquished Voldemort, I do not meddle in wizarding games. Not my problem, not my fight. If he starts attacking my kind, then that would be another story. I do not seek for glory or to be known. My only wish in life has always been to find a way to become human and die."

"He has started to attack your kind already," said Ron. "That is the reason why Reginald is here, right?"

"Yes and no, fiery one. The Death Eaters have killed made ones, not purebreds. So far, the ones killed have been somehow involved with wizards and that got them killed. I do not care for the ones that have died. The boy was sent with his aunt, but he ran away from her home. I found him and have offered him protection. I do not think Death Eaters would kill him, but if they did..." There was a disturbing glow in the crimson orbs. "I will grant them entry to the depths of Hell."

Severus interrupted all of a sudden: "I never knew you were a first class vampire although I had my suspicions because of your eyes. I had read that vampires born with red eyes..."

"Are always first class, yes. That's what they say, Severus. I was born cursed and I am the only one with this eye colour."

"Is that why they call you the 'Master' of this territory?" asked Ron out of curiosity.

"That might be it, fiery one."

"Just call me Ron, alright?"

"Ron? Ron then."

During dinner, they were all silent, but the vampire broke it: "At first when I felt all of you together I thought that you were all siblings, but I remembered that Severus was an only child. Then I could see Harry Potter's heart and everyone knows The-Boy-Who-Lived is an only child too. So my question is, why are you all bonded by blood? And even worse, why would anyone make a death bond with another? In my opinion that is quite stupid."

Everyone stopped eating, including Reginald who was staring at Yapheth with an enthralled gaze. Severus hid his face behind his hands realizing his terrible mistake. The gesture made him seem younger than what he really was. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were disturbed by the news, but had no idea how it had come to pass.

Hermione, with a confused expression asked: "Are we bonded? How? Since when?"

Severus answered in an expressionless tone after showing his face: "Since we stupidly mixed our bloods in that cursed cup."

Harry opened his eyes wide: "I felt Hermione's fear..."

"Me too," added Ron in a hurt tone.

Hermione then tried to push it away: "But we didn't feel Harry when he was hurt and you did not feel my fear when I saw the Banshee..."

Yapheth answered that for them: "The bond has been strengthening little by little. The magic in this place reinforced it. Hermione, you saw a Banshee?"

Everyone was silent again. "I don't want to talk about it. I choose my own destiny. No one decides my fate. I'll live no matter what."

"Well said, Beredyce."

The girl blushed, but didn't reply to that.

Ron changed the topic by asking Reginald: "Why does your aunt hate you?"

"Aunt Margaret is human."

"How come?"

"Why are you so stupid, Ron? My mother used to be human before being turned into a vampire, having me, and getting herself killed! I'm only seven so I wasn't born last century, you know? My human aunt, which is my mother's sister, is alive and hates me because I am a vampire! She is a midwife and uses her job to get me blood, but she is always complaining about it. It drove me mad so I ran away!"

Yapheth decided to say something about that: "I still don't understand why Renard involved that human. Humans shouldn't know about us."

"Because Death Eaters would never suspect a vampire being hidden in a human's house. That was father's reasoning. Of course he threatened me with horrible punishment if I dared to bite Aunt Margaret..."

The three teens laughed at that revelation, but Severus didn't seem to find it very funny. He was still worried about the bond and how they could possibly break it. "Is there a way to break the bond, Yapheth? Are you sure it's a death bond?"

Yapheth explained to them that if one of them died the others would follow in a matter of either days, months, or a year maximum. The rest of dinner wasn't enjoyable after that. They had believed that destroying the Horcrux along with Hufflepuff's Cup had been easy. It was difficult to realize that they had been so terribly wrong. As a bonus, Yapheth had told them that he didn't know of any way of breaking the bond. The Horcrux had definitely left them a beautiful parting gift before being destroyed.

Severus hadn't mentioned anything about being summoned while looking for them. He waited until they were in the room and softly said it, startling them.

Harry thought he would go mad: "You were summoned and you didn't go? Why did you do something like that? Do you know what this means? Voldemort might know you are a traitor now! He... He..."

"He won't know anything, Potter. The only thing he knows is that I didn't go when summoned. That is all he knows. Do not worry about it."

"Go now," a voice coming from the doorframe stated. "Better still today than tomorrow, Severus."

Without any more words, Severus stood obeying the vampire. Yapheth then gave the man a vial with yellowy contents. "Drink it before going. You might need it."

Severus would have never drunk something that he didn't know what it was, but blindly trusted Yapheth and drank the contents. Severus smiled as he recognized what the potion was. It was a potion to partially numb the body and it would make him able to stand a little better against possible exposition to the Cruciatus Curse. With a murmured 'thanks' he Disapparated from Irish territory.

XxXxX

Harry was dreaming. He saw himself in a strange gathering and could see that the people wore robes and masks. It didn't take him long to figure out that it was a gathering of Death Eaters. One of the Death Eaters was explaining something to Voldemort, but even though Voldemort believed the Death Eater, when the man told him that he had been in a tight situation the Dark Lord was furious. Harry saw very well when the snake freak pointed a wand at the Death Eater that was kneeling before him and murmured: "Crucio!"

At that moment Harry had no time to see the man scream and writhe as Harry found himself screaming in pain too as he had suddenly awakened. Not only that, he could hear the screams coming from his two best friends. They were all in pain and couldn't stop screaming. Harry thought he saw a shadow enter the room, but he wasn't sure of anything anymore because the pain was unbearable. He closed his eyes as he felt the effects of the curse fading. Arms were around his body and a hand opened his mouth before pouring a liquid into it. All of his muscles went numb in an instant and sleep claimed him.

XxXxX

Severus Apparated in the middle of what looked like a living room in Yapheth's home. He didn't even know how he had managed to get there after a Cruciatus and several other curses. The Dark Lord had been furious, but didn't suspect him of treason. He was able to learn that they were seriously hunting vampires now, but nothing was mentioned about the night Harry had destroyed several Dementors along with Acromantulas and other dark creatures. Severus still wondered why the Dark Lord hadn't felt that one, but of course, not even the Dark Lord was omniscient. He thought he would drop on the floor there and then when strong arms held him and the scent of carnations that Yapheth had placed as a curse on himself in memoriam of Beredyce soothed him: "He doesn't think I've betrayed him... Not after killing Albus... It seems that they do want to hunt your kind now... They killed 20 made ones today and a purebred. I don't know who the purebred was, but I know it wasn't Renard. The Dark Lord mentioned that the purebred was only one hundred years old... It seems that they also killed two Aurors. They were celebrating... Death Eater numbers keep growing and they were celebrating that too... I don't know how we'll be able to defeat them... Even if we destroy all the Horcruxes... With their numbers we need more than a miracle."

"You're completely worn out. You need to sleep, Severus. You might want to know that the children felt your curses. I had to give them several potions in a time span of two hours."

Severus looked alarmed at this news: "Are they all right? Where did you get the potions?"

"Some I got from your things and some I already had because I explore herbs as a hobby."

"If they felt what I went through..." Severus frowned and his voice was drained: "I have to find a way of breaking this bond. We cannot go on like this, feeling each other... It is indeed getting stronger..."

"Sleep," the words were whispered, but Severus' form went limp and the vampire easily carried the man's body to the room, removed the boots, and placed the man on the bed. With a simple hand movement, the sleeping form of Severus Snape was in pajamas and covered in blankets. Yapheth then left the room. The four needed to rest as the next day he would take them to the Horcrux and later on, to the girl called Ginny Weasley.

XxXxX

Ginny was furious. In the end she had given up and gone to the refrigerator to grab something to eat. Miosotis cooked dinner in the evening and most of the time the four youngsters had been in silence. They had all waited patiently for Yapheth to return, but he didn't. Nighttime arrived after they consumed dinner and the vampire did not come back. Ginny burst into tears and started to get desperate. "What if he got himself killed while patrolling? What if he never comes back? What are we going to do?"

"Would you calm down? We wait patiently. I'm sure that vampire can't die easily, Ginny. And if he doesn't come back in... let's say... a week? I can always Apparate all of us to Sappho's and she can always help you get back to your home or anywhere else," Miosotis stated with a frown and shaking her head in disbelief.

"A week?" Ginny asked rubbing her eyes.

"A week. You have to understand that a creature like him is unpredictable. He seems to be fairly acquainted with these lands. I might dare say that he is really the owner of this territory as he has implied. That's why he patrols. You have to understand him. Give him a chance, but I have a feeling we won't be seeing him tomorrow either."

Ginny nodded in agreement with Mio, calming herself. "We'll wait a week then."

Cassius laughed. "I'm sure we won't have to wait that long." Theseus smiled and nodded, making Ginny smile back.