Feel my Fangs
Chapter Eight – Human Cattle
"I thought you didn't care about either Ministry, Dumbledore or Voldemort," Sythe said after Harry had informed him of Voldemort's plans to poison vampire bodily systems. "Or about vampires, for the matter."
"It's not about caring, you old vamp," Harry retorted. "It's about my survival as a vampire. Do you truly think I want my insides rotting away while I'm still conscious?"
"That's not how the potion works," Paula remarked while crossing off the "has a death wish" tick she had previously marked on her clipboard about Harry's actions. She wrote down a note that said: "no death wish but continues to enter into foolishly suicidal situations. Is he just plain dumb? Or reckless?"
"The potions is drunk by a human. The human becomes a carrier of a blood disease that will be transferred to vampires. The problem here is that the vampire will not be a carrier," Paula explained. "The vampire will have the full-blown disease. Our stomach lining will be unable to absorb blood. As such, we will slowly die, shrivelling up."
"That's pretty gruesome," Harry said. "Well, what about blood transfusion?"
"No, it is the nutrients of human blood that we need," Paula said. "The proteins, oxygen and nutrients that float in the plasma."
"Animal blood?" Harry asked.
"Hypothetically, we could survive on it," Paula said. "But as you know, it is neither tasty nor nourishing enough."
"Ah I see…" Harry said as Paula resumed scribbling notes.
"The future looks grim," Sythe said.
Paula looked up from her clipboard and turned to Harry. "Tell me Harry, what do you plan on doing a couple of centuries from now?"
"What do you mean?" Harry looked at Paula oddly. "I—"
"What Paula means is what do you want out of life?" Sythe interrupted. "Do you want to crush wizarding society, make Voldemort into an inferi or maybe become a Dark Lord yourself?"
"Uh…" Harry looked dumbstruck at the idea of being a Dark Lord. It wasn't such a bad idea.
Harry scratched his head and then frowned at the two elder vampires. "I'll think about what I want out of life after I'm not being chased by madmen and after I find out how to prevent my human food reserve from getting contaminated," Harry said. "Right now, I'm into immediate gratification."
He took a long gulp of the tall glass of blood before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Do something about that vampire-killing potion."
Sythe frowned. Paula scribbled on her clipboard.
"I'm going out," Harry said before leaving, muttering about "more plans. I hate plans."
"Paula, I feel old," Sythe remarked after Harry had departed for his unknown location.
"Sythe, by definition, you are old," Paula said frostily. She walked to the door and said, "I'm going to my labs."
Sythe stood alone and sighed. He grabbed his cloak and also headed out. He had some vampire clans to warn. The wizards were on the move again.
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Sythe was currently speaking with the leader of a very old vampire clan in France.
"Yes, we did indeed meet the child with magic," the old leader vampire said, unconsciously massaging his chest. "He gave us quite a fright."
Sythe raised an eyebrow but refrained from asking what Harry had done. It was probably nasty and painful and Sythe did not want to be reminded of what his council had to suffer at the hands of the mere fledging vampire.
"He has quite the hamenlei, you know?" the old vampire continued.
Sythe was a bit startled. It wasn't often that elder vampires could attribute someone specifically with the ability to bring change in the world. Sythe himself had never used the word more than twice and both times had concerned situations rather than a specific person.
But Harry was a wizvamp. He was in a whole other category.
"The child aside, we will prepare on the account that the system-blocking potion will be in circulation amongst wizards," the old vampire said. "I'll have an announcement made tonight."
"Very well," Sythe said. "I shall proceed to warn the other clans then."
"Yes, head of council," the old vampire said. "Farewell to you."
Sythe hopped on Stanley and flew off. Having Harry around domesticating his dragon pet had proved mighty useful.
Hamenlei…Sythe could believe that because it was Harry, the sneaky little bastard.
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Harry apparated to Diagon Alley. It downed on Harry that he'd been apparating a lot although he'd never actually learned apparating.
Harry shrugged. It was probably the vampire assimilation abilities kicking in. During their training Sythe said that vampires tended to learn things faster and better. It had to do with the improved cognitive sensory motors in his neurons and the improved transmission between synapses or something. Harry was no biologist, he was just happy when his arm moved when he wanted it to move.
The first thing Harry did in Diagon Alley was to kick Lucius Malfoy in the balls.
Actually, that's what Harry wanted to do but he refrained himself from doing so because Lucius was going to lead him to the den of potion brewers who were probably replicating Snape's potion. And if Lucius didn't lead him there specifically, chances were that Malfoy was on some other deadly and dangerous mission for Lord Voldemort.
That's what Harry was thinking so his eyebrows shot up pretty high when he saw Lucius enter "Madam Paddington's Shop for Creams and Powders." Was Lucius buying face powder for his stuck-up rendition of a wife?
"I can't possibly go in there looking like this," Harry stared at his Dursley-ish grey shirt and the patched trousers with the hem stuck in his boots. "Ok, transfiguration 101, here goes."
With a wave of his wand and carefully muttered words, the previously large old-looking shirt was whitened, freed of wrinkles and patterned with blue stripes. The pants lightened to beige and developed corduroy folds. Harry looked like an outright dandy, one that belonged in the cream and powder shops.
Harry lightened his hair to brown. He widened his eyes into an innocent look, stretched his lips into a semblance of a smile and arched one of his eyebrows in imitation of Lockhart.
All in all, Harry Potter did not look like Harry Potter anymore.
Harry groaned inwardly. "I can't believe I'm subjecting myself to this…"
He entered the shop and found himself in a world of frills and jasmine-scented air. His vampire-accentuated senses were being attacked from every direction. The shop reminded him of Umbridge's office.
His smile still in place, he browsed the shelves. Lucius was apparently browsing the shelves too.
"How can women put all these chemicals on their faces and not explode," he wondered. Harry was holding a jar of "Citrus-Scented Milk Powder" when Lucius addressed himself to Madam Paddington, the owner of the shop.
Harrry's back was turned to them but he could distinguish their voices amidst the chatting of girls and women.
"Madam Paddington, Narcissia has been indisposed lately," Lucius said. "In the abdominal region."
Madam Paddington smiled and reached under the front desk for a vial of green liquid and handed it to Malfoy.
"It must be drank by the intended and the person's blood protection will be enhanced greatly against intruders," she instructed.
Lucius nodded and passed her a thick envelope and pocketed the vial.
Harry thought quickly. Was Narcissa really indisposed or was this place the gateway of potion black market. Didn't Snape already brew the vampire-killing potion?
Harry wanted the vial. He went up to the front desk to buy the jar of milk powder he was holding to keep his persona. He might have to come back here.
"I adore the scent of citrus," he told the girl there. "Don't you?"
The girl tittered and gave him a discount.
Harry turned to Madam Paddington and gave her a charming smile.
"I couldn't help but overhear about your superb potion for abdominal pains. I think it might help my girlfriend."
"Oh we're all out of them," Madam Paddington smiled toothily. "You might want to try another shop."
"I see," Harry said frostily.
Harry thanked her and left and went around the building. He reverted to his former attire and disappeared in the shadows. There had to be another entry than through the shop.
He'd get to the bottom of this trafficking of blood-rotting potions. If the effect of the potion spread to the entire population, the wizards would cut off the vampires from their main supply of blood.
Vampires could either drink human blood and have their blood processing system rot away or they could not drink and die anyway. It was win-win situation for wizards. The ministry might even approve such potion.
Harry was worried. He might not have any food left in a couple of decades or so.
He had to get to the bottom of this.
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Author's Note: I've been reading way too much on blood and neurons…and I think there are a lot of unanswered questions about certain issues...argh. The word 'hamenlei' is from The Elvenbane, if anyone is interested.