Song: 'Disinfected Generation' by M.O.V.E.

Ch. 23: To Die a Human

Harry was still trembling in front of Severus Snape's limp body when strong arms lifted him as if he were a small child. Harry was already wheezing out of control when those arms embraced him and a soft voice comforted him: "Chosen One, please listen to me. He is breathing. Try to calm down. He is breathing."

An emerald gaze that still looked clouded and lost clashed with crimson eyes in understanding. The arms lowered the young man down and Harry took Severus' left wrist, confirming a pulse. His somber expression started to brighten almost instantly. "He swallowed it! He swallowed the bezoar!"

"He did. He is a strong one plus the potions I had made you all drink were to slow down manticore poison. Usually, the poison of just a dart from a manticore would kill a person instantly. That's why I had to make sure none of you would die immediately if we were attacked by manticores by making you swallow the contents in those vials I provided you with. Now we have to check on the others." With ease, Yapheth closed the wound in Severus' stomach and both vampire and teenager approached the body of Ronald Weasley.

The redhead was also breathing with difficulty and Yapheth quickly removed two poisonous spines from Ron's right arm. After removing the spines the vampire felt the arm and smiled: "The poison hasn't gone far thanks to the potion. This might scare you a bit, Chosen One. You can avert your eyes if you feel you have to." With that, Yapheth had his fangs out and absorbed the poisoned blood from Ron's arm, finishing the job in a minute. "He'll be all right now and in case you are wondering, no, your friend won't become a vampire from what I just did."

Harry was a bit surprised with what he had just witnessed, but nodded and sighed in relief. He thought they were going to check on Hermione, but he followed Yapheth to Reginald's crumpled form. Harry felt a knot in his stomach seeing the child like that, but Yapheth reassured him: "Remember that Reginald is not human, Chosen One. He simply fainted because he was so scared. Perhaps he thought the Basilisk would eat him in one bite." The vampire lifted the boy and tenderly put his hand on the boy's face, making the little one regain his senses. Reginald smiled and Yapheth put him down. "Wake the others, Harry."

"What?" Harry didn't understand why he had to make his friends react when they probably needed beds to recover from what they had gone through.

"This is very important so wake them."

Harry quickly went to Severus and shook him a bit, making the man react. Opening his eyes with difficulty the wizard looked at the teen: "What's wrong?" Harry shook his head to make it clear that he didn't know.

Yapheth had already woken Ron who was in a daze, then the vampire spoke to them: "We have a situation. Hermione's soul is being devoured little by little and there is only one way to stop it. If the process is not stopped, she will become the Horcrux. When she wakes, she won't be Hermione anymore, but a fragment of Voldemort's soul in her. It will be like having Voldemort with us and we would have no choice, but to kill her."

"How do we stop it?" asked Ron nervously. The words that had just been stated had brought him down to reality in seconds.

"I have to bite her to make it stop. She is as good as dead anyway," the vampire's voice sounded almost cold.

"No way! I won't let you!" Ron was trembling with fear and tried to straighten his still weakened body.

Harry and Severus didn't know what to say. They had no choice but to do what was best for Hermione and unfortunately, she didn't have a choice in the matter as soon she was going to be another Voldemort. Harry imagined what Hermione would have said. She would have never wanted to become a Voldemort replica. Harry was sure of that.

Yapheth lifted the girl's body and Ron, who had just managed to stand up properly, was about to run to stop the vampire when Harry grabbed him: "No Ron! Do you think Hermione would have wanted to become Voldemort? It has to be stopped!"

"No please! I don't want her to be a vampire!"

Yapheth had a few last words for Ron: "Then pray that she won't become one, but I won't let Beredyce die again." With that, the vampire had bitten Hermione's neck.

Ron trembled in horror and crumpled in loud sobs on Harry's left shoulder: "Please don't let her be a vampire. Please! Please!" Harry simply held his best friend. There were no words he could say to calm Ron.

Severus had an indescribable expression as he watched what Yapheth was doing. They certainly couldn't afford having another Voldemort, not with them and not in any place whatsoever. The ex Potions Master wondered if what the vampire was doing would truly work. If it didn't, he didn't want to think of the consequences of having a Voldemort clone in a certain sense that was at the same time a vampire made by a first class vampire to make matters worse. In what Severus knew about vampires, he knew perfectly well that the made vampire's powers depended on the superiority or mediocrity of his master. In this case, Hermione would be made by quite the superior vampire. Just then, the man felt his whole body going cold and started to tremble on the ground. What was happening to his body? Then he remembered the bond they had. They were feeling what was happening inside the girl's body and the sensation was everything but nice. The coldness had suddenly changed to burning that was blazing him from inside.

Screams filled the air. They were the screams of a girl being bitten by a vampire, the screams of a teenaged redhead, the screams of a black haired teen, and the screams of a middle-aged wizard. They were all panting as the horrible feeling stopped. They had felt their bodies burning from the inside. Harry had thought he would faint, but somehow managed to stand it. The three bonded males stood as they could see that the girl was in Yapheth's arms. The vampire now had his wrist in the girl's mouth and she was drinking his blood. Yapheth then removed his wrist, still carefully carrying the girl.

Reginald, who had watched the three wizards writhe and scream on the ground, pointed his finger at something that was abandoning the girl's body. "What's that?"

Severus quickly reacted: "Potter! It's the fragment!"

Harry didn't have to think twice. With wand in hand and trance-like glassy emerald orbs he chanted. The dark smoke dissipated and disintegrated to nothingness. Severus quickly jogged towards Harry thinking that the boy would pass out, but the boy didn't. Harry seemed completely fine. In fact, he seemed to be landing to reality as he asked: "Yapheth! How did you destroy all of the manticores as you killed the basilisk?"

Yapheth gave quite the incredulous look to Harry: "Chosen One, you turned the manticores into glass and broke them yourself with the powerful magic that came from inside of your own heart. I only managed to slay the basilisk. The rest was done by you and only you."

Harry was surprised by the revelation and he wasn't the only one. Severus looked at the shards that were crystallized pieces of manticores scattered all over the place.

The teen couldn't believe that would be true and retorted, "But I didn't have my wand at hand!"

Yapheth, Hermione in his arms, approached Harry. "You did it with the powerful magic that arose from deep within your heart. A complete wizard doesn't need a wand to perform magic. In fact, a wand is an obstacle. If it gets broken or you lose it, what happens then?"

Harry was thoughtful for a few minutes, but was brought back to their situation as he noticed Severus comforting Ron in front of him. Ron seemed to have lost all colour from his features. "Ron?"

Ron looked at Harry and lowered his eyes. He wasn't speaking and he wouldn't do it until he could confirm what would happen to his girlfriend.

Reginald approached Ron and sat beside him. "It's not that bad, you know? To be a vampire? She will still be the same person and she will be able to eat and drink just like you. The only drawback is that she will need blood-feeds at least twice a week and she won't age. If you truly love her that will not matter, unless you really are a fool."

Ron was surprised at the little one. It seemed that the child wasn't as bad as his father after all, but of course, it could be just the present situation. Ron nodded, but he still hoped Hermione wouldn't become a vampire.

Sensing Ron's dilemma Yapheth spoke: "I did my best in trying not to turn her. Now it is up to her. She cannot be fed blood in one week, but it will be torture for her. If she loses control and feeds, she will be a vampire permanently. If she does not feed... She will be human, but not entirely. She will never be entirely human, more like a hybrid. This might sound a bit cold, but she died as a human the moment she protected Harry Potter."

Ron thought about his older brother, Bill. Bill hadn't become a werewolf, but now he enjoyed rare steaks as if there was some werewolf contamination in his body. Maybe with Hermione it would be something similar, but there was a detail. They had to keep her from drinking blood for one whole week. It couldn't be that bad, right? Just one week after all, right? Another thought invaded his mind. The Banshee had predicted Hermione's death. It all made sense now. Hermione had indeed died as a human. Yapheth had just said it. If only he had realised sooner that love is a big word and there are many kinds of love. It wasn't for him that Hermione had given her human life, but for Harry whom she also loved, but as a brother.

XxXxX

Back in the comfort of Yapheth's home, they waited for Hermione Granger to wake. It was already nighttime, but none of them had eaten. Harry had asked Ron if he wanted something to eat, but Ron had said that he wasn't hungry. It was rather unusual as Ron usually had a voracious appetite, but the situation with Hermione had left the 6th Weasley numb and quiet.

Yapheth came out of the room with a lively looking Hermione to their surprise. "Ron!" The girl squealed before jumping into her boyfriend's arms. He was shocked at first, but quickly returned the embrace sending Yapheth glances through the corner of his eye. Hermione broke the embrace and looked at Ron before blurting: "I'm sorry." He simply hugged her again. She didn't have to be sorry. To him the most important thing was that she was still alive. Breaking the hug again, Hermione looked at Yapheth. It was obvious they had a talk before he brought her to her friends: "Will I age, Master?"

The three wizards flinched as they heard Hermione call Yapheth 'Master.' Yapheth gave a half smile: "Don't call me that, Beredyce. I know it's the made ones tendency to call their maker that, but I cannot stand it. Just call me Yapheth. The choice is in you. You will have to control your impulses during a week. Do not think it will be easy because it won't. One week will seem like an eternity to you and you will suffer. If by the end of the week you feed, you will be a complete vampire and will not age. If you are victorious over your impulses you will look, age, and be like a normal human, but you will not be entirely human."

Hermione swallowed each word as if she was being taught. It almost looked like she wanted to have a notebook and take notes of everything that came out of Yapheth's lips. She nodded before sitting on Ron's legs.

"Chosen One, I wish to speak with you."

Harry knew that it was not an order, but it still felt as if it was one. After a nod of approval from Severus, Harry entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"Make yourself comfortable, Harry."

Harry sat and waited closing his fists in nervousness.

"Do not get nervous, child. I will not harm you."

"So... What do you want to talk about?"

There was a minute's silence before Yapheth finally spoke: "I was and am still worried about your reactions out there, Chosen One. You blinded yourself in fear and even blamed yourself for things that weren't your fault. You also assumed things without checking first. You cannot afford to lose control like that, no matter what. What if this had happened in the middle of a fight against Death Eaters and Voldemort himself? Never lose control of your emotions, Harry Potter, for it might cost you dearly."

Harry swallowed when he remembered how he had almost ran to the veil after Sirius and if it hadn't been for Remus Lupin stopping him... "I... I just don't want any of them to die. I'm sorry about losing control like that... If you hadn't been there with me..." He also thought to himself, 'If Lupin hadn't been there with me...' But he didn't voice it in Yapheth's presence.

"Then everyone would have really died. I know, and that in fact worries me. I do not want to leave my domains, but after today I feel like I have no choice but to accompany you."

"You'll come with us? To fight Voldemort?"

"Do you want me to join you?" The vampire always spoke with a soft tone that was always full of warmth, but Harry shuddered as he remembered the diabolic creature the vampire could turn into. Harry had a feeling that if the vampire came along he would explore other areas of the mysterious being that he didn't want to know about, but still found himself agreeing.

"I think we need all the force we can get, but Reginald..."

Yapheth sighed. "Yes. I have to do something about Renard's son. He will hate me, but I will have to take him to his Aunt Margaret again in Connemara."

"Is Connemara here in Ireland?"

"Correct. It's one of the top cities and where the child's Muggle aunt lives. I travel all throughout the country and sometimes I am in England too, but rarely. It was by chance that I found Reginald. I sent Renard a message telling him, but his reply left me worried. I learned that he had to leave his mansion after a Death Eater invasion. He expressed that even though he had taken refuge with his sister, he feared that they would catch up to him soon. Harry..."

"Yes?"

"There is a girl that is very worried about you. Her name is Ginny Weasley and she is currently in my real home."

"What?" Harry stood up from the maroon seat he had just taken after entering the room, shock evident in his features.

Yapheth continued speaking as if the statement he had just made was enough, changing the topic unexpectedly. "You have to learn to control your magical outbursts. That was a nice performance out there, but still, you have to control it. I am glad it was only aimed at the manticores, but you could have killed everyone, probably myself included. I have never experienced being torn into pieces, even if those pieces are made of glass." Yapheth said the last with a small and bitter chuckle.

Harry swallowed hard as he recognised what the vampire was telling him. "I will control it, but since when? I mean, since when is Ginny in your house or wherever she is?"

"Since only a few days ago. Very well then." Yapheth stood. "Tomorrow we will put Reginald in his aunt's care and go to my other house to train you. You will meet Miss Weasley there."

Harry blinked several times, registering what he had just been told, but relieved in learning Ginny was safe and closer to him than he would have ever expected. Still, Harry didn't understand why if he had destroyed the final Horcrux he couldn't go and kill Nagini and Voldemort once and for all. "What about Voldemort?"

"You are not ready."

"What? We already destroyed the last object Horcrux! Only Nagini and Voldemort remain! We should go for them! We'll get Ginny to her family and go for Voldemort."

"Patience is a virtue, child. You are not ready."

Harry would have snapped at any other person if they treated him like that, but for some reason Yapheth intimidated him. He couldn't just snap at the ancient vampire. "How old are you?"

"Isn't that a rude question, Chosen One?" Yapheth smiled, but replied: "Only eight hundred and twenty-five years old."

"Snape erred by two years."

"What do you mean by that, Harry?"

Harry laughed to himself. "Nothing. Nothing at all." But even after laughing a little at Snape having made a mistake, Harry felt frustrated.

The next day they would take Reginald to that aunt Margaret of his and go to some strange place to train. Harry wondered what kind of training it would be and how Ginny would react to seeing him, but still had that strange fear inside him that taking the vampire along would make him fear the vampire instead of appreciating the help given. Yapheth was too full of mystery, and in that noble facade, a terrible devil was hidden. Harry would trust his instincts. Of that he was certain.

XxXxX

The hours seemed to be passing slower and slower for Ginny Weasley. She wasn't sure if waiting a week for Yapheth to come back was even worth doing, but had to stick to what she had already decided along with Miosotis. She sighed as she remembered her latest nightmare. There were no more tears, but her eyes were still swollen from having cried so much. Being in that house doing nothing made her feel even worse, dwelling in negativity and hopelessness. She knew she wouldn't accomplish anything by staying trapped in her inner fears, but what else there was to do?

A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality and she stared at the pools of silver that were Theseus' eyes. The boy looked worried, but at the same time there was some eagerness in his anguished expression. "What's wrong Theseus?" Ginny asked with a trembling voice.

Theseus opened his mouth as if to say something, but then shut it. Ginny smiled awkwardly at the unicorn's failed attempts at speech and she wondered if there was some magic she could perform to give him the ability to speak, but nothing came to her mind.

"You always seem as if you want to tell me something. Is it important?"

The boy nodded confidently and that alarmed Ginny a little. "Very important? Don't tell me you know something about my dreams!" The boy nodded again and Ginny gasped. "Is there a way to save Harry? You have to tell me!" Without even realising what she was doing Ginny had grabbed Theseus' arms, keeping a painful pressure on them and she almost shook Theseus, but then loosened her grip on him and stepped back. "I'm sorry... It's just that--"

Theseus went thoughtful and bit his lower lip. He truly wanted to tell Ginny what he knew would happen, but he couldn't find a way to do so. He couldn't even draw, write, or do any of those things normal humans could.

"Of course," Ginny spoke to herself. "Unicorns are mysterious magical creatures and some people think they know many things, including the world of dreams. Like the meaning of dreams, right?" She lifted her gaze, looking at Theseus again and he nodded with a smile.

At that moment, Miosotis and Cassius joined Ginny and Theseus in Yapheth's living room. "Is something the matter?" Miosotis asked raising an eyebrow, but Ginny shook her head. There was no point in telling Miosotis or Cassius about Theseus knowing things when he couldn't even say them, but then Ginny thought of something.

"Do you know any spells to make a creature speak?"

"Like giving a salamander the ability to speak, for example?" Miosotis inquired with an incredulous gaze.

"Eh... Something like that," Ginny replied, feeling uncomfortable and lowering her eyes.

"No. Sorry. Why would you want such a spell, Ginny?"

"Never mind." Ginny then slumped herself into a couch, not wanting to look at any of them. She didn't want them to read on her face how desperate she really was.

I've decided to leave this fic around this site still thanks to someone that asked via review. Please leave a review. I will appreciate it. If you have questions I will reply to them using the Reply feature for logged-in reviews. Corrections will be appreciated as English is not my first language and I don't have a beta for this fic. You tell me the exact bit that needs to be fixed and I'll get to it. Thank you.