I do not own anything. I'm just translating. The characters belong to the great J.K. Rowling. The story belongs to the amazing Brigi. Her e-mail: tbwtpbe [et]

Please review! Thanks.

Beta-read by Seerstella

THE BOY WITH THE PIERCING BLUE EYES

Chapter 33 – Vampire-romance

"… Fairytales has never shown anything good of their nature. Mostly, they are portrayed as dark and dangerous creatures roaming around in the darkness of night… feeding on the innocent… They are talked about as the outcasts of society and that is actually correct.

They live in solitude, not liking the companionship of humans… but with this they are also denying themselves, since they were once humans too. They gather in groups and houses, never inviting outsiders into their circles. They live by their own rules as if the law doesn't apply to them.

They are immortal, doomed to watch the downfall of great dynasties and people. What a sweet damnation…

Like the heirs of great, noble communities they regard you as nothing. They are all distant and quiet but vain and envious at the same time. They want all of you: your heart and blood, but mostly your mortality. This almost pathetic hidden desire is what would make an end to their centuries long suffering. The peaceful, natural death…

Because vampires can only die a violent death.

The sunlight that gives us life is torture and excruciating pain for them. The crucifix that symbolizes our salvation pierced into their hearts causes them immerse suffering. None of them would put themselves through these willingly. They are too proud for that.

They glide without a sound in the darkness of the night, looking for their prey, driven by their hunting instinct. They don't take orders or advise from anyone. However, not only the blood thirst drives them. They kill to eat less then they kill to satisfy their other passion… to scare the unsuspecting people. They laugh at men and women screaming and wetting themselves… or trying to keep the vampires away with garlands of garlic.

Beware of the vampire thirsty for your blood! There is nowhere to run and you will wish for it to be over quickly. You'll have to watch like a rat stuck in the corner as the seemingly human-like creature turns into a bloodsucker.

You can't look away: you'll only watch their eyes. The irises that seem to turn you to stone, to root you on your spot. Those with dark eyes will have shining blue light in them, clearer than the color of the sea, while brown eyes turn into yellow.

The sharp teeth, ready to bite, just get closer and closer…

When you feel their breath on your skin, the fear disappears and the sight captivates you… and the desire.

It got me too… for two lifetimes now…"

"Installment from Sir Vindex Withsworth 'Advices for a good friend'," Ron read the book that Hermione pushed into their hands in the library.

They were in the room of requirements now. The girl leaned on Ron's chair and listened to her boyfriend reading out loud. Harry stood by the huge window with his fingers on the cold glass, watching the white scenery.

"You read beautifully, Ron," the girl whispered with a slight smile on her face.

However, Ron wasn't in the mood to smile.

"He can't be a vampire… That's… impossible. We've seen him walking around in the sun before. He didn't burn or anything."

"Maybe… he's not fully a vampire," Hermione tried to calm him down. "Maybe he just has it in his blood. Maybe he has vampires in his family but he didn't turn into one. Harry, what do you think?" she tried involving their friend in the conversation.

However, he just stood motionless.

"Dad… and Sirius knew…" he muttered finally.

His friends looked at each other awkwardly. Ron stood up, knowing that Harry was about to explode.

"They suspected and that's why they hated him!" Harry yelled out. "How…" He suddenly turned around. "… how could they do that? A vampire isn't any darker than a werewolf! And still, they always picked on and humiliated Snape! But they treated Remus as a friend. How is it humane to love one and hate the other?! How could they do this?!"

"Harry… remember what Sirius said. They didn't like each other from the beginning."

"What is this if not prejudice?"

"You're not any better concerning Malfoy…" Ron pointed out.

"Draco and I don't just hate each other. We've met before coming to Hogwarts. Before I met you!"

"You didn't tell us that." Hermione seemed offended.

"At Madame Malkin's… We were there at the same time. He was very nasty back then too. And scornful. But don't change the subject! I don't hate Malfoy because he turned out to be a Slytherin, but because of how he treats us. What… what they did is…"

"… racism," the girl finished quietly.

Harry groaned in disappointment and walked to the other end of the room to think alone.

"Hermione didn't mean that, Harry!" Ron tried making excuses. "Your father surely wasn't racist." Then he turned to his girlfriend and hissed quietly. "Are you out of your mind?"

"The point is that whatever happens, Snape can't turn into a vampire!" Hermione continued.

The two boys looked at each other.

"You saw what happened today. Professor Snape looked blood thirsty. If he gives in to the destructive desire he will…" She sighed loudly. "He will turn into a blood sucker forever. Don't you understand? That's what Lamerin was talking about! He's afraid of what would happen if Professor Snape turned into a vampire!"

"It's not hard to imagine…" Ron shrugged.

"If it was revealed, he would be just as vulnerable as Professor Lupin. Harry! You have to talk to Snape. This can't happen, no matter what!"

Harry was unable to concentrate on his lessons the next day. The previous joy that his girlfriend's approaching arrival caused turned into icy fear. He didn't know what happened to the professor and his son after they retreated that day. Was it even possible for two sixteen year olds to hold back a creature that follows his instinct to kill? Can he be that naïve?

He barely paid attention in class. He was anxious because neither of the two appeared during breakfast and lunch. At Transfiguration in the afternoon, he performed his worst. After he managed to place Dean's nose in the place of his ear, he messed up the counter spell and his nose ended up in a private place of his body. The ashamed Thomas and yelling McGonagall only further fuelled his frustration.

"Potter, I don't understand you," McGonagall mentioned at the end of the lesson. "You've been improving lately. Did something happen?"

Harry wanted to pour his heart out to an independent teacher, but not someone who was so close to Dumbledore.

"Nothing, professor. I just… had a bad dream."

However, as soon as he finished he regretted coming up with that excuse.

"Visions? About You-Know-Who…? Come Potter, we're going to the Headmaster!"

"What? No, no! I'm fine! Really!"

It took a few more minutes to convince the teacher to let him go. When he was walking on the corridor, he realized that he was in need of another excuse, because they seemed to take him too seriously.

The noise made by the students standing in front of the History of Magic classroom made his head ache. He saw his friends standing at the front, but there was no way for him to get there. When someone stepped on his leg the third time, he got fed up and left. It was time to visit Snape.

The once feared, dark and thick door opened in front of Harry. The boy probably looked even paler in the dungeon lights.

"Can I come in?" he asked weakly.

Snape watched him for a moment as if he was trying to figure out why the boy was there. That's why Harry didn't blink at all. He stood his teacher's distant glare with big, honest eyes. The man nodded. He opened the door wider and walked back into the room. Harry followed him tentatively and looked at the door questioningly. Did Snape think that it will close on its own? Was he supposed to close it?

He touched the handle. It felt ice cold. First, he thought it was because of the windy corridors, or because it was winter. However, when he stepped into the living quarters all his senses seemed to be screaming to him. The atmosphere of the room seemed different now. What he once thought of as depressing and disgusting now seemed scary and mysterious. Vampire lair, he thought. Looking at it this way makes it all the different.

Snape didn't have potion ingredients in his living room and corridor. On the shelves there were old books that the professor seemed to cherish because Harry couldn't see any spider webs on them. The corners were another thing. There were spiders running around, running from the people and the light. Harry touched a nearby table with his finger and smiled when his fingerprint could be seen in the thin layer of dust.

A year ago he would have regarded this place as sickening. Now however, he was filled with the mysterious air of the room.

He followed Snape to the living room watching his steps. As he passed the armor standing at the door, he was half-expecting it to turn his head to him. He smiled at his own imagination but when his gaze met his professor's troubled eyes his good mood disappeared at once. He cleared his throat and stopped.

The man leaned on a chair, placing both his hands on it. A few long locks of hair fell into his face and for the first time, he looked at Harry like he had something to be scared of. He turned to the side and silently offered the boy a seat.

"I prefer standing…" Harry answered the unspoken question.

Snape sighed and walked to the fireplace. He must have felt the boy's eyes on him because he turned back to him.

"How much do you know?"

"Everything… I think…"

The Potions Master swallowed visibly though he was expecting that answer.

"Do you really think so?" he asked quietly.

His words always had a beautiful, discouraging effect. Harry always started to doubt everything he knew when he heard him.

"We saw… what we saw… We saw… your eyes."

A strange smile appeared on Snape's face.

"Of course," he muttered and touched his lips.

"How…" Harry stepped closer, "How come you could…? Until now… You know… How come no one figured it out?"

"I was able to control myself," Snape answered calmly.

Harry felt his stomach flip but he didn't know why. He knew the professor was part vampire. The spoken words now echoed in his ears though.

"In front of my Dad and his friends too?"

"I admit, that was harder."

The man's voice was like silk and it bewitched Harry. He tried to hide his rising excitement with rapid blinking.

He's just Snape. The same Snape as always. The one and only! His voice is the same too! Why do you thing that because of this stupid vampire thing everything has changed? Get yourself together! He tried to convince himself.

Snape watched him for a while. He was trying to figure out how it affected the boy that they were talking about his parents.

"Does… anyone else know?"

"Professor Dumbledore of course! And the people you told it to," he sneered.

"We didn't tell anyone!" Harry objected. "Only Ron and Hermione knows!"

"Isn't that… enough?" The professor sighed. He watched the fire with gloomy eyes. "I can't make you keep it a secret," he finally said. "I… betrayed Lupin…"

"That's different!" The boy objected, though losing Remus three years ago hurt him deeply. "We have no reason to take that kind of revenge."

Snape didn't look back. He picked up a photo of Lamerin that was placed on the shelf above the fireplace.

"And it's not only because of Lamerin," Harry added.

"He'd be in a worse situation than now…" he touched the glass. "Vampires have as much of a hard time finding jobs as werewolves."

Hugging the picture close he turned back to his student.

"I'm not a vampire. Not fully. I have vampire blood in my veins, but I'm not a bloodsucker yet."

"How is that possible?" Harry asked curiously and decided that it would be better to sit down.

"My father was a vampire. Real, bloodsucking vampire," he added.

Harry remembered what he saw during Occlumency; a man from whom a woman was trying to protect her son…

"Among the dark wizards, no one cares about what we are. They respected him for being different, so he had no trouble with them."

"Was he…" Harry swallowed. "Voldemort's follower too?"

Snape nodded.

"If not his direct follower, but a supporter of dark magic. I inherited this… ability from him. My mother wasn't like him. She was a lovable woman who always protected me from him. Because my father wanted me to be like him."

"He wanted to bite you?" Harry asked shocked.

"When I was young. Before I got into school."

"His own child…? That's terrible!"

"It's all thanks to my mother that he didn't do it. I still remember her words… She made him believe that biting me would entrap me in that body… I wouldn't grow up. And as a child, I wouldn't be any use to the Dark Lord. That kept him from biting me."

"That… hurts, right?"

"Compared to what? Some sees it as an escape from death. Death can be painful…"

Harry wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"He tried a few times, but he never managed to hurt me. It cost my mother's life, but I finished school without turning into a vampire. After that… as you know… I left home."

"You ran away, right? You've never seen him… since then? He doesn't know you have a child? That you… are teaching here?"

"He was killed."

"Oh…" Harry paled. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be… I still curse him for this blood. Because my son also has to suffer from this. Just like his children will have to… Luckily, if no blood touches our lips, we can resist the temptations. Revenge and sorrow makes it harder to bear, but the strong ones can resist. If we don't turn into a vampire our blood will get cleaner and cleaner by generations… and someday, maybe it will disappear."

Harry looked up and smiled.

"We won't tell… anyone. Ron and Hermione know that they can't tell anyone."

"And… Lupin?"

The boy sighed.

"I don't know. You tell him."

"Me?"

"I won't… I would have taken his secret to the grave. It wouldn't be fair to tell yours."

The professor smiled gratefully. Harry turned to Lamerin's room.

"Is he asleep?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll be leaving now…"

The Potions Master escorted him to the door and leaned on the doorframe as he asked Harry one more question.

"Why did you look into Honeybourne's mind?"

"So… you noticed? Well, because… he let me."

"It's not right to use Legilimency on just anybody…"

Harry tilted his head and gave the man an 'You telling me that?' look. The man seemed to get the message and stayed silent.

"But I figured out Voldemort's secret."

"Great," Snape rubbed his tired eyes. "They will probably make you Minister of Magic for this."

"Not that!" Harry chuckled. "But why people are so afraid of getting caught lying. His red eyes are so frightening that people don't even dare blinking. They are afraid of what's going to happen while there eyes are closed. They look at him and he uses their fear; that they don't even try to protect their thoughts. One only has to look really… evil and everyone will give in."

"Really?" Snape grimaced in surprise. "You should practice on this a bit more. But if I learn that you cheat on your tests like this, I'll tell the Headmaster."

"But… you knew it about him, right?"

"About who and what?"

"About Honeybourne…"

"His intentions are dishonorable, I know. I think the Ministry still doesn't trust the headmaster as they used to… Be careful with him."

"I'll tell Ron to keep an eye on him during class…"

"It seems you don't even need advice. Making trouble is in your blood… Don't let anyone know that you suspect him," Snape turned serious. "A lot of people could get into trouble."

"We were right all along, James," Sirius said while sitting at the table in Remus' room.

"So what?" Lily Potter snapped. "Whether you knew it or not, your behavior was disgusting. Nothing will change that."

"No matter what happened in the past, we have to concentrate on the present." Sirius argued. "Rowena is in danger. And Harry too."

"Harry? He would never bite him! He wouldn't hurt him now! He hated him for years and never did anything to hurt him! Severus can be trusted! James, say something!"

"I think Remus has a right to know."

"After he almost told Harry about us?" Sirius jumped up. "How dare he?"

Lily couldn't respond, because the door opened and their friend, Lupin walked in. He placed his books on a small table and took off his shoes with a sigh then put on his comfortable slippers.

"Remus!"

Lupin turned around suddenly.

"What are you doing here?"

"We're not here because we want to!" Sirius cut in.

"Really? Then you can leave!" Remus snapped. "I don't need you, Sirius!"

"You told Harry about us!"

"Because I'm fed up with you! I'm tired of seeing you come and go with news that I'm not even supposed to know of!"

"You only have to ask and we won't tell you anything!"

"Enough!" Lily shouted. "How can you talk to each other like that?! You are friends, best friends! Stop bickering!"

"What went wrong?" James began quietly.

"You don't belong here." Remus sighed.

He touched the table and watched his sad reflection on it.

"You don't belong with the living. You're dead… all of you. It was hard to accept back then but… it's even harder now. I see you day after day like nothing ever happened… as if you were alive. When I lost you," he turned to James, "I wanted to die. It's torture thinking of you every day. I die a little every day ever since you got here…"

"Remus…" Lily floated to him. She wanted to hug him, but there was no way to do that.

"We will leave if it's so painful for you…"

"I think that faith has a purpose with you and that's why I can see you," Lupin shook his head, "I'm afraid you can't just disappear. And I wouldn't survive that…"

"So you think…"

"Something happened. Something that brings you closer to the living world."

"I'm wondering if Voldemort has anything to do with it…"

"You can never know," James added. "But if I have the power than I'm not going to let him hurt my son again."

For a while there was silence in the small room. Remus took off his robes and left it on a chair.

"You wanted to tell me something, I think." He began.

Sirius' eyes lit up.

"Yes. It's about Snape."

"Again? Look, I don't care about every detail of his relationship with Rowena…"

"He's a vampire."

"What?" Lupin looked at him like someone who didn't understand the punch line at the end of a joke.

"The kids saw it," James nodded. "They are sure that he has the ability."

"You're kidding, right? Dumbledore wouldn't hire him…"

Remus stopped because the words seemed funny to him. Since when did Dumbledore care about a small fact like a teacher having some disease?! He was also teaching him, for the second time now, they could both attend this school… No, Remus thought it would be pointless to be surprised about this.

"Did something happen to reveal this?"

"Someone who held his son captive appeared."

"Oh Merlin, is that true? And what did he do?" Remus gasped.

"Nothing. Harry and Ron held him back…"

Remus let the air out that he hadn't realize he was holding.

"It's so typical of Severus," he said. "Where is he now?"

"In the dungeons, I guess." Sirius shrugged. "But Rowena!"

Remus groaned.

"What's with her now?"

"What do you mean? Snape is a danger for her…"

"Virtue?" Lupin raised an eyebrow jokingly? "I think it's a bit late to worry about that, my friend. Don't you think?"

"It's not funny. What if he bites her?"

"He won't bite her!" Remus slowly stood up from the sofa to make some tea. "Why would he hurt her?"

"Because…"

"Not every vampire bites people they meet. I also don't attack the person that comes near me…"

"But…"

"If only you stopped being a worrywart," Remus ruffled his own hair. "You'd live longer."

Sirius floated out of the room indignantly.

"Did you tell him that he absolutely can't become a bloodsucker?" Hermione asked anxiously the next day.

"I doubt Harry could order Snape to do anything," Ron murmured.

"I didn't have to tell him," Harry explained. "I could see that he didn't want to become a vampire."

"You could see?" the girl's eyes became wide. She said that so loudly that a few students turned to them on the corridor. "Harry! How could you be so careless?"

"Stop it, Hermione!" Her boyfriend tried. "What did he say, Harry?"

"Just… he told me about his childhood, his father and his bad memories. Hermione, I'm sure that he will do everything he can to stay normal."

"But the instincts…"

However, the protesting groans from the boys silenced her.

They just arrived at the door of the Great Hall. Most of the students were already at their tables and tried studying but the lively ghosts and all the noise made it almost impossible. There were a lot of people around the Gryffindor table.

They saw Colin Creevey with his brother, Ginny and some of their classmates around him was sitting on the table and doing something.

"What are the Creevey brothers doing now?" Ron asked. After the last time, when he had to save them from Mr. Filch's office, he regarded them with suspicion.

They walked to the small group and, standing on tip toe, tried to see what's going on.

Colin got off the table and held down the salamander that was already on the table. The animal tried finding an escape route but it was trapped.

"It has to work now, Colin," Ginny encouraged him. "I used the same amount of eggshell powder in my potion and Neville's toad burped nicely. Right?" She turned to the boy who held Trevor in his hands.

"What? Oh, yes."

"Okay, well." Colin made his decision.

He took some drops of the red vine looking potion and put it in the animal's mouth.

It froze for a moment and the boy let it go. First, it was tasting the potion then started shaking its head and…

"Yikes!" The students yelled.

The salamander turned inside out in a moment like a sock. Its internal organs were all over the place and the bones moved from time to time.

"For Merlin's sake, Colin, what are you doing?" Ron shivered.

"This… this is animal cruelty!" Lavender cried on Parvati's shoulder.

"Damn!" The older Creevey brother cursed. "This was the third one…"

"Jeez, Colin," Harry grinned. "Are you working on some Potions homework?"

"Yeah… I have to hand it in tomorrow, but it's not working! I tried everything."

"But you shouldn't be experimenting here!" Hermione joined in.

"I didn't know it will turn out like this! The salamanders just turned inside out. It must be some kind of side effect…"

In the noise they didn't notice Snape and his son entering the Great Hall. The man couldn't go to the teacher's table because Pansy Parkinson ran to him.

"Professor! Professor! The Gryffindors are doing something disgusting at their table!"

Snape looked and Lamerin who just shrugged. At that time, Remus entered and asked in his normal, nice voice, "Is something wrong?"

The Potions Master cautiously turned to him, but Lupin seemed entirely innocent. Does he not know?

There was a special kind of glint in Remus' eyes, but nothing proved that he knew. That's why, just like his son, he shrugged and made his way towards the Gryffindor table. The evilly grinning Slytherins followed them.

Lamerin reached them first and leaning on Harry's shoulders he looked at the disgusting salamander corpse.

"Hi," his friend looked up.

"Hi," Lamerin smiled back.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," he answered quietly. "Sleeping yesterday helped… I heard you visited us…"

"Yep. I'll tell you later," Harry winked.

"What's going on?" Snape asked when he reached the table.

Most of the Gryffindors became silent as a grave, but they didn't have a chance to hide the animal's body.

Remus raised his eyebrows.

"What happened to this poor salamander?"

"It turned inside out…" Ginny Weasley said. "On its own…"

"Creevey was experimenting!" Goyle cut in. "Even though he knows…"

"… it's forbidden, I know." Snape sighed. "Mr. Creevey…"

"I'm sorry," Colin looked down. "I was trying really hard… Ginny Weasley thinks the amount of eggshell powder is wrong."

"How much did you put in it?"

"Two teaspoons," he picked up the spoon. "Just like how the book says."

"That spoon is a bit too big…" The professor smiled and heard Remus chuckling next to him. "You only need one spoonful with that."

The boy's eyes lit up and he pulled out an almost finished potion and added the right amount of powder and stirred it. The potion's color changed to a lighter one.

"Yes!" Ginny shouted. "That's the right color!"

"Then… the salamander…"

"You have more?" Ron asked, looking at the dead ones.

The animal, seeing what happened to its kin, tried to run away as Dennis took it from the cage.

"I can't watch!" Parvati looked away.

"We'll hold it down!" Ernie Macmillan offered.

He and the other prefect, Anthony Goldstein, took the animal while Colin gave it the potion.

"You can let it go now," Snape said.

"What's going to happen to it?" Lamerin asked curiously.

"You'll see."

They didn't have to wait long. The animal swallowed the potion and sticking out its long tongue it burped loudly.

The students started laughing in the Great Hall.

"So cute!" Ginny said. "Can I keep it, Colin?" She picked the still burping animal up.

"If you want it…" The boy said proudly and looked at the Potions Master.

"Promising," the professor said finally.

If someone wanted to hear praises from Snape that was the most he could expect.

"Thank you, sir."

"Did something happen?" Stainthorp and Honeybourne walked to them.

The crowd silently watched the two men.

"Oh, I see." Stainthorp smiled when he saw the dead animals. "We can help with that."

He pulled out his wand and touched it to one of them.

"Stimula!"

The organs of the animal started twitching and the bones started moving like they were dancing, but they didn't go back to normal.

The grimaces and groan of the students showed how unimpressed they were.

"I think that wasn't very effective" Remus said grinning.

"Of course not, because it was not caused by a spell but a potion." Snape said like they were talking about the weather while Remus just nodded.

They both pulled out their wands and said the spell, "Reverso utris!"

The three salamanders turned back to normal and the two professors earned the enthusiastic praises of the students. In their absolute victory, they looked at the ashamed Stainthorp and Snape enjoyed the situation because the man was eyeing his woman.

"That was great," Ron said and rolled his eyes when he saw Hermione writing down the spell in a notebook. "You never change?"

"Of course not," the girl answered with a smile. "Let's eat something. I'm starving!"