The Call – Harry Potter/Underworld.
Harry Potter's eyes snapped open as the front door slammed shut, his entire body tense and ready to move as he listened to the sound of his cousin stomping into the kitchen.
Letting out a shaky breath, Harry relaxed back onto his hard mattress, slowly uncurling his fingers from around the wand hidden beneath his pillow. Raising his hand to rub his forehead, Harry flinched as Dudley called out for his mother, his loud voice echoing through both the house and Harry's head.
Glancing over to his alarm clock as he heard his Aunt hurrying past his bedroom door, Harry groaned at the time, having only managed an hour long nap this time. Shaking his head, he pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, tilting his head slowly as he listened to his cousin complaining about the lack of chocolate in the house, biting back his second groan at the sound of his Aunt offering to make 'the boy' run down to the store.
Sighing in relief when Dudley muttered something about not trusting the freak and not being willing to wait, Harry shuffled back so he was leaning against the wall as his cousin just demanded some money from Aunt Petunia and left the house again.
Faltering as he heard his Aunt muttering about getting dinner started, Harry reached under his pillow to pull out his wand. Twirling it around his fingers, Harry hid his smirk as it started sparking, his Aunt coming to a grinding halt as she threw the door open and stepped inside his room.
"Is there a problem Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked innocently, the horse-faced woman's eyes locked onto the red and gold sparks erupting from the tip of his wand.
"I- I don't want that stuff in my home" Petunia snapped, her disgusted tone of voice betrayed by the fear in her eyes, the sight of it making part of Harry want to let out a whoop (definitely not a howl) of joy.
"Of course, sorry" Harry dead-panned, both of them knowing he didn't mean it as he stopped twirling his wand and set it down in his lap.
As his Aunt opened her mouth to order him to begin dinner, Harry felt himself stiffening as she raised her eyes from his wand and instead locked them on his torso, her jaw abruptly falling open in shock.
"What do you want Petunia?" Harry ground out darkly, watching as his Aunt's eyes drifted up to the beginning of the four red jagged scars that stretched from underneath his right nipple and down his side to his hip, disappearing beneath the waistband of his sweatpants.
"Where- where did… where did they come from?" Petunia whispered softly, Harry pushing aside the urge to hex her.
"I got between a werewolf and my best friends" Harry confessed coldly, "I managed to chase it off, barely".
"Why didn't they fix it?" Petunia asked slowly, apparently forgetting her hatred of Harry in light of his newest scars.
"The scars will never heal Harry… lycanthropic venom leaves permanent scars; I can give you a salve to reduce the scarring but there's nothing else I can do".
Clenching his jaw as he turned his head to scowl out the window Harry huffed, "We can't fully heal wounds inflicted by werewolves" he admitted bluntly, "They always scar".
"You're not a-"
"No" Harry interrupted quickly, "It was just a scratch, I wasn't bitten. There are side effects… but I'm not a werewolf".
"You may develop some wolfish tendencies like enhanced senses, a taste for rare steak, maybe even restlessness during a full moon. But you're not at risk of becoming a werewolf from just a scratch, bone deep or not".
"That's… that's good" Petunia murmured, Harry faltering as he heard a hint of pity and relief in his Aunt's voice. She turned away to leave his room and paused, looking back at him with a torn expression, "What kind of side effects?" she blurted making him blink in shock at the concern in her voice.
Brushing it off as concern for her family Harry shrugged, "My senses are stronger, I don't need glasses anymore. I'm angrier, less prone to being pushed around".
His Aunt nodded slowly and turned away fully, "We're ordering fish and chips for dinner tonight" she declared without looking at him, "Would you prefer more than usual? More fish perhaps?"
"More sounds good" Harry confessed hesitantly, "I can pay for the extra" he added when his Aunt just nodded again.
"I don't need charity from you" Petunia snapped, Harry jerking back in shock as his Aunt stomped out and slammed the door shut, her real message of 'No, I'll pay' echoing through his mind.
Sighing as he heard his Aunt descending the stairs Harry leaned back to think about what had just happened. Petunia had been coming up to order him to make dinner, Harry knew that from her muttering as she climbed the stairs. But after seeing his reward for trying to save Ron and Hermione's lives she had changed her mind. That wasn't a coincidence, there was no way that was a coincidence…
Deciding not to look the gift horse in the mouth, Harry instead climbed off his bed, stretching out and wincing as the still tender scars twinged. Glaring at his reflection in the mirror hanging on his wardrobe door, Harry threw open his trunk and pulled out the pot of salve that Madam Pomfrey had given him, tugging his pants down over his hips to reveal the end of the scar as he sat back down on his bed.
Grabbing onto a chunk of leather Madam Pomfrey had also supplied, Harry slipped it into his mouth as he dipped his fingers into the paste and gathered up a generous amount. Holding his hand over his chest for a moment, Harry clenched his jaw and took a deep breath before touching the paste to his scars, his world filling with pain several seconds later.
"Aunt Petunia" Harry called out softly, standing awkwardly in the doorway as his Aunt paused where she was washing the dishes, "I'm going to go out for a run. Is that okay?" he asked politely.
His Aunt's lips pursed as she half-turned her head to stare at him from the corner of her eye. "Take the spare key" she ordered bluntly, making him blink in shock as she turned back to the sink, "I'm not staying up to let you back in".
Forcing back the question on his lips, Harry merely nodded and hurried up to his room, changing into a pair of shorts and slipping the spare key into his pocket. Quickly leaving the house before his Aunt could change her mind, Harry broke into a jog the moment he reached the pavement, heading towards the nearest park.
As he jogged, grateful for the chance to work off the energy he had been building up, Harry felt the scars stretching without pain for the first time since he had gotten them. Despite what he had told Professor Lupin, the scars weren't painless. In fact, they were quite the opposite, he often woke in the middle of the night with tears in his eyes as they ached down through to the bone. He didn't blame the Professor though, he knew that as Moony he had no control, he was just grateful that four scars were all Moony gave him.
Cutting through an alleyway, Harry ignored the cars passing him as he jogged, still too lost in his own thoughts to notice anything beyond the dark path his mind was heading down. Of course, he wished that four scars were truly all Moony had given him. Sure he was glad he didn't have glasses anymore, but being able to hear a conversation downstairs was a real pain in the ass, it wasn't like he could hear a whisper, but he could clearly hear the TV when his relatives were eating their take-outs. And to add to his new senses, Harry also had a 'lovely' new personality, occasionally having to stop himself mid-growl or finding himself thinking more like an animal than as Harry.
Glancing around to check on his progress, Harry slowed down at the intersection to hit the walk button as he watched cars spending past. Exhaling slowly as the smell of sewerage filled his nose, Harry glared down at the grate to his right, raising a hand to cover his nose. Scowling up at the green light, Harry wished it would just hur- He squinted as the pink light from the 'Open 24/7' sign on the diner window flared into his eyes. Blinking and shaking it off he turned and jogged across the street the moment there was a gap for him, cracking his neck before continuing down the street.
A pained groan escaped Harry's lips as the burning feeling in his eyes faded, his head snapping around to stare at the pink 'Open 24/7' sign he could see on the other end of the street, a dark figure slowly walking towards him. As he felt his magic bubbling up inside his chest, tugging at him, Harry took a step towards the figure before freezing as he forced down the instinct to hunt down the source of that vision. Ignoring the almost burning itch beneath his skin that pleaded with him to go back, Harry turned and broke into a jog again, heading back down the street and around the corner from the walking figure.
His eyes itched for a moment, the burning feeling that surged up again making him freezing as he blinked rapidly. Somehow knowing that the figure was currently watching through his eyes as he had just done to him, Harry raised his hand to cover them, showing the stranger his palm as he wondered what the hell was going on.
This had never happened to him before, was it because of the wolfish traits that had been passed onto him? Or was this simply a 'Harry Potter' thing?
Growling under his breath as he rubbed his eyes, he rounded the corner and froze at the sight of the shorter figure leaning against the lamppost, a hand pressed against their face.
Head snapping up Harry stared at the man standing at the other end of the street, frowning for a moment before backing away the moment the man started forward. Pushing himself away from the lamppost he had grabbed onto for support, Harry broke into a run, ignoring the burning urge to go towards the figure as he sprinted in the direction of Privet Drive. As he felt something tugging in chest, Harry forced himself to run faster, sprinting across the street as he glanced over the shoulder to see the black-clad man rounding the corner. Realising with a start that the tugging was pulling him in the direction of the man, Harry purposely ran in the opposite direction, turning down Wisteria Walk which lead straight onto Privet Drive.
Feeling his blood beginning to sing in his ears, unable to deny the buzz he was getting from the 'thrill of the hunt', Harry barely caught movement from the corner of his eye before a dark blur leapt from the alleyway between Wisteria and Magnolia and slammed into his side. Yelping in shock as the ambush knocked them both to the ground, Harry's breath was knocked from his lungs as they bounced and rolled onto the empty street.
Pulling his wand out mid-bounce, Harry shoved it under the man's jaw as they came to a halt in the middle of the street, his body aching as he lay on the cold hard ground. The incantation to the disarming charm froze on Harry's tongue as a head of brown-blonde hair filled his vision and a nose nuzzled at his throat.
"What the hell are you doing?" Harry demanded as he placed both hands on the man's chest and shoved, reacting instinctively as the head jerked away from his neck, rolling them over and shoving his wand back under the jaw of a shocked looking teenage boy. Harry found himself faltering as dilated electric blue eyes blinked up at him, a single sharp fang visible from where it was caught on his lip. "Mine" Harry blurted before he could stop himself, a soft rumbling noise filling the air as he blinked in shock. "Vampires purr?" he added dumbly.
"Why the fuck do you smell like werewolf?" the boy growled out angrily, Harry's wand-tip beginning to glow as a surge of irrational fear filled him at the thought.
"Excuse me? Who the hell are you?" Harry questioned, trying to ignore the growing urge to bite the boy beneath him, instead pressing the tip of his wand harder into the teenager's throat as the brown-blonde boy started to sit up. "And why did you attack me?" he added as his eyes started itching again. He stared up at the boy above up, eyes roaming his face and taking in every aspect of the boy's appearance.
Harry grunted as he jerked his head to the side, breaking the connection that was running between them and glancing over to see the boy shaking his head with a confused look on his face. "What was that vampire?" he growled out, watching as the boy flinched at the growl and feeling a flash of guilt filling him.
"That's why I chased you" the boy snapped as his eyes slowly changed from a glowing blue to a dark grey and the fang Harry could see retracted. "And my name is Daniel" he added coldly, Harry absently noticing his nostrils flaring as he smelled him, the boy tilting his head back to bare his throat to Harry.
Almost instantly a rumbling purr filled the air and Harry smirked as he shot the boy beneath him a look of victory, "Ha! I told you that you were purring!" he exclaimed.
"That's not me, you idiot" Daniel sneered at him, making him freeze as he glanced down at the source of the purring in shock, feeling the strange rumbling slowing to a stop in his chest.
"I didn't know I could do that" Harry mumbled dumbly, yelping in shock as they were suddenly rolling over again, Daniel straddling him with a smug look on his face. Before he could stop him Daniel was pulling up his shirt, causing Harry to freeze as his cheeks flushed uncomfortably at the way the teenage vampire glared down at the scar running down his stomach to his hip.
Lashing out Harry shoved the tip of his wand into the boy's chest, a spark of magic lifting him off Harry and throwing him across the road. Scrambling to his feet Harry aimed his wand at the once more blue-eyed vampire, backing away from him as he slowly moved towards Privet Drive. "Stay away from me" Harry ordered coldly, ignoring the way his new instincts told him to claim what was his. Shaking his head to dislodge that thought, Harry kept a close eye on the vampire as Daniel followed him, taking a step for each step Harry took.
Suddenly as Daniel took a step forward, there was a flash of blue light, and he jerked back with a pained look on his face. Harry paused as he watched the boy reached out, magic sizzling through the air as he was repelled by what seemed to be an invisible dome. "Blood wards" Harry realised in shock, glancing over his shoulder at Privet Drive.
A low whine filled the air and Harry turned back to stare at the blue-eyed boy standing there, watching him intently with a longing look on his face. Forcing down the flare of pain in his chest, Harry slowly and purposely turned his back on Daniel and headed towards Privet Drive, setting up a chant in his mind telling him to keep moving and that returning to Daniel's side was a bad idea.
Reaching #4, Harry opened the door and stepped inside, pausing and glancing over his shoulder to stare at the empty street for a moment. Taking a deep breath Harry closed the door behind him and hurried upstairs, shutting his door and leaning against it as he closed his eyes, the vampire's scent still filling his nose.
Staggering over to his bed Harry collapsed onto it, his mind racing as he wished he had Hermione here to talk to, knowing his bushy-haired best friend would be able to fix this and make it all go away. Pain of a different kind flared through his chest as he faltered, remembering Hermione's cold 'Werewolves are Dark Creatures Harry, and whether you're a full werewolf or just half I- I just can't'. His former best friend's words had hurt even more so than Ron's, who had quite bluntly and quite loudly informed Harry that he had no desire to be friends with someone who was 'Marked' by a Dark Creature, saying so in front of the entire Great Hall who had proceeded to treat him like he had the plague.
And without Hermione's wisdom and Ron's tactical abilities to rely on, Harry was forced to act on instinct…
The very instinct that he had been denying and ignoring all night…
Standing up automatically, Harry moved without thinking about it as he slid open his bedroom window and vaulted out, landing on his feet easily and striding forward instantly. Approaching where he believed the wardline to be, he watched as Daniel materialised out of nowhere to stand at the edge of it watching him.
"I think" Harry began as he stood opposite the vampire, crossing his arms across his chest, "We need to have a talk".
THE CALL
Based on DZ2's 'Call of the Heart' challenge.
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