DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, that's JK Rowling's creation.
Author's Note: Thanks to everybody who's reviewed so far. I'm sorry it's been so long, but my muse is picky. She only prods me when she's feeling... saucy. So without further ado:
Re-Awakening - Chapter 3
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Twenty-three seconds. It had only been twenty-three seconds this time. Frank knew this because he was watching the clock. He doubted he would have been able to hold his wards much longer than that. In fact, he was certain that if Harry's initial transformation had lasted more than twenty-four seconds, he would have passed out and all his charms and wards on this room would have failed.
Usually, it was the parent or regular caretaker who handled a Regal's first transformation. In fact, it was preferred that a direct blood member of the family handle it. The familiarity to the newborn was invaluable when it came to containing the magical outbursts that came with the pain of transformation. Fortunately there weren't too many stages in the final transformation.
The first step is the cleansing. This is by far the most painful. It's very similar to a Phoenix's burning day; all impurities are burned out of the newborn Regal. Starting from the inside and working its' way out, the burning removes all impurities in the body, all the blood, any foreign matter including residual food, dirt on the skin, and finally hair and clothing. They say the cleansing even goes through to the soul, but that hasn't been proven.
Once the cleansing has finished and the newborn has fed, the physical transformation can begin. This usually happens in stages, depending on his final form. Some Regals change very little from their human form, but they are rare. Most have a form that resembles a demon of sorts; complete with a thick, leathery, colorful skin, enlarged cat-like eyes, pointed ears, horns, wings, claws, and a tail. Few have an animal form, be it magical or not.
Very rarely one will morph through more than one form. The last Grand Regal was recorded over 1500 years ago. He disappeared within a century of his Re-Awakening. No other Grand Regal has been seen since.
Until now.
It was just Frank's luck that he would get to oversee the final transformation of the most powerful Regal ever. It was all he could to to hold the charms and wards in place, while taking the brunt of the magic providing fresh blood for Harry. He just hoped that this would be the final form Harry would take. Having been fed from by a demon, an almost-human, an elf and another demon over the last four hours had taken its toll on him. Harry had almost drained him dry twice during this last transformation. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.
He watched and braced himself as Harry's convulsions finally stopped. He hoped that Harry had his mind back and that this was the last time. He had so much to teach this youngling. If he died during the next feeding, Harry's mental state would certainly be damaged for good.
Suddenly, Harry's eyes flicked open. For the first time since the transformation began, he didn't leap from the bed immediately. Slowly, Harry looked around at his surroundings. His breathing relaxed further with every breath. Frank saw the recognition in Harry's eyes as they finished the scan of the room. Slowly, Harry closed his eyes again before drawing a beep breath.
"Is it finished?" he asked.
Before Frank could respond Harry shuddered and convulsed one more time. He watched as Harry let forth an ear-splitting that caused him to almost lose his hold on the wards. His hold was weakening. He knew that if continued for much longer, his charms and protections on this room would fail. He was already weak enough that if Harry changed again, he would not survive another feeding.
Harry's screams gradually increased until the house started to shake. The windows and doors rattled, pictures fell off the mantle in the living room, and one of the three other occupants of the house was jolted from his rather satisfying dream of sandy white beaches, scantily clad young women and a bonus from his most recent sale of drills.
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Vernon Dursley wasn't sure what had awakened him. something was wrong, he could just feel it. It had to be something to do with that freak nephew that lived under their roof. He just knew the no-good runt of a boy was purverting his house in some way or another. He always found a way to make trouble. Why else would he have trouble sleeping?
It was with no small effort that Vernon heaved his great bulk out of bed, being very careful not to wake his lovely wife, Petunia. He spared a glance at her as he pulled on his slippers and robe. His beautiful angel - a horse-faced woman with an exceedingly long neck that was just perfect for craning over fences to snoop on the neighbors - was still sleeping soundly. He could easily tell because her nose only made that melodic whistle when she was truly asleep.
Quietly, he made his way out of their bedroom and down the hall to the room where that ungrateful brat spent most of his time lazing around this summer. Like last year, his freak friends had threatened him and his family with unnecessary harm if the boy should be made to pull his weight around the house.
"I'm warning you now, Dursley, " the one with the weird blue eye told him gruffly. "If you work that boy like a slave this year, you'll have to answer to us all."
He pointed to the other three freaks before continuing, "...Individually."
Vernon had taken that threat seriously. Last year he'd lightened up on the boy - only making him do the laundry and gardening once a week and having Petunia cook lunch. Apparently, it wasn't enough and he'd had SEVERAL visits from the boy's Abominable Bodyguards. It was extremely embarassing and the fear that the neighbors would find out about the boy's abnormality grew even stronger.
This year, all he asked of the uncivilized miscreant was that he leave him and his family to be, and somehow find a way to pay room and board of fifty quid a week. And for some reason, he'd been very good about not bothering anyone and paying his share. So far this summer they'd had no visits.
At least the neighbors weren't talking anymore.
As Vernon approached the door he noted that it was closed and there was no sound coming from the room at all. When he checked the doorknob, he found it locked, as usual. Thinking that his gut feelings must be wrong tonight, he decided to head back to bed. Just before he turned, he heard a muffled cry, followed by a stranger's muffled voice.
What the hell was that boy up to at two in the morning?
The large man tried the handle again. This time it turned. His conscience was screaming at him to go back to bed, but his curiosity won out.
In an attempt to be intimidating, Vernon stormed into the room. As soon as he got four steps into the room, his fear gave way to anger. That bloody runt had brought somebody home with him. Not only that, but the window was standing wide open and the curtains were flapping loosely an the ends.The whole boody neighborhood could see in!
"You little shit!" Vernon roared. How DARE you bring MORE of this PERVERSION into my home!"
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Harry smirked. Whatever his uncle was going to say after that rather humorous outburst was silenced. With a wave of his hand, Harry had frozen his uncle in place. It was safer for all of them that way. Vernon's timing couldn't have been better. Frank needed fresh blood to restore his lost energy, he could tell by the way the man was gasping for breath. The fact that Frank's charms and wards had failed only amplified the need.
He knew that there was one more phase of the awakening, and Frank needed to be at full strength. Otherwise, it would kill him.
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Vernon's heart raged with fury. The little runt had used his freakishness against him. He was certain he was going to die now that there were two of them. He'd never felt so vulnerable in his life, and it infuriated him. He almost missed what Harry said next, but after heard it, he wished he hadn't. His anger started to give way to its base emotion - fear. He began to think that it may have been better if he had just gone back to bed while he still had the chance.
"Frank," Harry began. "It seems your problem has been solved. My uncle's timing couldn't have been better!"
There was an ominous gleam in his eyes.
"Are you sure, Harry?" the other man questioned.
"Yes," he responded. "You need to feed. Just be sure not to kill him."
Vernon whimpered. What the hell was going on here? Feed? A light came on in his mind; vampires. Vampires feed on human blood. But vampires were a myth, weren't they?
"He may be a rotten piece of filth, but he was kinder to me this summer than he's ever been the rest of my life," continued the young wizard. "Besides... He's family."
The other man rose to his feet. As he turned around, Vernon saw an intense look of hunger in his eyes. When the man flashed a fanged smile, he lost all control. If not for the freezing spell his nephew had cast on his, Vernon surely would have soiled himself.
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Harry watched as Frank swept down upon his uncle, cancelling his freezing charm and casting a silencing charm at the same time. Frank grasped Vernon with his left hand and used his right to turn the man's head to the side. In the same swift motion, Frank lowered his head and bit into the man's carotid, drinking the life-giving blood.
Being a Regal, the elder vampire did not need much. Several long, deep pulls was more than enough to restore him to full strength. A quick lick over the wound and the blood stopped flowing. Within moments, there was no physical trace of feeding at all.
Frank released the fat man and waved a hand across his eyes.
"You will remember none of this," he said. "Go back to bed."
The only thing Vernon would remember when he woke up in the morning was how well he'd slept through the night, but he'd have one hell of a headache.
Frank smiled as he locked the bedroom door and put up fresh silencing charms and locking wards.
"Thank you, Harry," he said as he sat into a kneeling position in the middle of the room. He gestured for Harry to join him.
"By now, I'm sure you understand a bit more of what's happening to you. We have just one more task to finish and you're re-awakening will be complete. It is nowhere near as painful as your transformations were, but it will be twice as exhausting."
"I understand," replied Harry as he sat. "I'm ready."
With that, the two made eye contact. Harry found himself locked into Frank's eyes. Without warning, a constant stream of images, thoughts, words, actions, experiences, memories, and emotions flooded his consciousness. They rushed into him almost too fast for him to comprehend. He knew that when this was over, he'd have the knowledge and memories of a fully-grown Regal in his head for his perusal.
As his knowledge and the foreign memories increased, he found his sense of self grow stronger. Instead of being lost to another's personality, he learned more and more about himself. For now it seemed, the memories were to be stored in another part of his mind, but readily accessible should he need the knowledge. The thing that amazed him the most was Frank's true identity.
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Francois Lucien Sebastien Jacque was born into a common French family in the thirteenth century. He was orphaned at an early age and went through his re-awakening in his late teens. He was killed on the streets of Paris and had his body dragged behind a horse from the outskirts of town. A farmer happened by him and took the barely breathing young man in.
Unfortunately for the farmer, Frank's first transformation happened as soon as he brought the boy into his home.
He did not drink the old man dry after his transformation. the farmer knew what Frank was - he'd heard of the Regal Vampires. It was lucky for Frank that he had. It was with great surprise to the farmer that the boy had a second transformation.
The second time, the farmer gave himself willingly to Frank, but lacked the strength or the blood to survive another feeding. As Frank drained the lifeblood out of the farmer, the man's wife and grown son entered the home and saw what the last traces of life leave him.
Frank fled, but it was too late - the farmer's son was an artist and was able to paint his likeness. Within days, Frank was forced to flee to England where he assumed his mother's surname. He made his livelihood making pottery and became known as Sebastian the Potter. He was the first of the Potter line.
As Harry became more and more exhausted, the memories slowed.
He watched the memories with great clarity as Frank observed the lives of the last two generations of the Potter family. He saw his father grow up, go to school, and start a family of his own. For the first time in his life, he saw the sacrifice his parents made to save him, from an outsider's perspective. He was saddened, yet he understood why Frank had not interfered. It was James' and Lily's choice. By embracing humanity again, they gave him the gift of life and ensured that he would not only survive, but that he would become the strongest Regal who ever lived. Harry lost consciousness as eh watched the final scenes of his life up to this point play through his mind.
Frank looked down at the boy in front of him. Gently, he lifted the boy up and placed him in his bed. His job here was done. He quickly composed a note to Harry explaining his departure.
He would not return. Harry had no further need of him, whether he realized it or not.
"Farewell, my child," he said as he cancelled his wards, slipped out the window, and disappeared into the night.
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Author's Follow-up Note: I know diddly of French culture or history. I had help via IRC for getting a nice sounding French name. Hopefully I was generic enough that my portrayal of Frank fits in with the history...