The Leader

Chapter 23

Changes

Harry looked over at Severus when he heard the man groaning again. Six days had gone by already, and the only time he left Severus' side was to hear the reports from Brecon and Rick, as well as those from Caron. Caron was keeping an eye on the bastard he had made the mistake of allowing to live. Even he had known about the deaths before Caron told him, they were in the newspapers: Muggles bodies drained and discarded in the street like garbage. The killers were smart enough to discard them in the opposite direction and randomly, so the deaths could never be pointed to be coming from one direction. He wondered sometimes if the vampire was trying to get his attention, or if he was just reeading too much into it. There was no way Callahan knew he read the Muggle newspapers; nobody other than three, or maybe four of his people knew. He would soon draw unwanted attention from wizards, and start another vampire hunt ― after all the years of their trying to make vampires be seen in a more sympathetic light. They had to move soon, four people were going 'missing' every few days; the killers weren't even attempting to marshall their blood lust into some semblance of control.

"What day is it?" Severus rasped weakly.

"Thursday; it's the sixth day, only eight more days to go. Are you thirsty?" Harry asked placing the book he'd been reading on the table, watching Severus closely.

"Of course I am," Severus said with snark.

Harry laughed, "It looks like you're feeling better today," or at least as well as he would be until the change was over. Standing up he filled a glass full of water and helped the wizard sit up and drink it. Unfortunately he just regurgitated it spectacularly all over the bed and Harry himself. Both of them grimaced in disgust, their noses not liking the repugnant smell at all.

Harry waved his wand getting rid of the disgusting smell and wetness that surrounded both of them. Pursing his lips in thought, he tried to remember his own turning. Severus hadn't been able to keep anything solid down for the last two days; water had been fine, but now he wasn't able to take that either…had he drank blood during his turning? Then he remembered Kai had kept journals; if he could find the ones for that time period, maybe the information would be in one? Unfortunately the standard books were useless, since this practice had been invented by Kai when he turned him. Harry ignored the look of humiliation on Severus' face, understanding the feeling but not wanting to make it worse for the wizard.

Moving out of the room, he raised his hand, silently summoning the trtunk of Kai's possessions that he had brought with him here. He just hadn't been able to stay in the manor where he'd seen the man he loved like a father murdered while bound and unable to do anything. He hadn't quite harnessed his Wandless magic at the time; he hadn't been able to see anything― Kai had made sure of it. The large trunk zoomed towards him, and Harry grabbed it in both hands. If he had been human he would have been knocked flat on his arse. Sighing in nostalgia he entered the bedroom again and reclaimed his seat. Seeing Severus looking at his hands as if he hadn't seen them before caused Harry's lips to twitch, he could remember himself doing the exact same thing.

"Is there any difference?" murmured Severus, glad for the reprieve from the pain. He knew it was only temporarily, he would be taking another dose of the potion soon. Weakly, he struggled to sit up but succeeded on his own at last; it seemed as if Harry was beginning to realize it was best to let him get on and leave him to it. He loathed being weak, and didn't appreciate someone helping him when he felt that way, although a very small part of him had been exceedingly grateful for the help when he'd been at his worst. Oddly enough, feeling Harry's hands on his back just massaging it until it bordered on painful had made him feel better.

"A big difference; you are aware that you're losing over a year of your body's age every time you drink the potion, right?" replied Harry, and the difference truly was astonishing. The wrinkles were leaving, not that there had been overly many, but all caused by his high stress activities of being a spy and teaching students. Severus was thirty-nine years old; he was being de-aged until he was seventeen years of age just to be on the safe side, since he'd been marked after leaving Hogwarts at the age of eighteen. Twenty-one years were coming off him, fourteen days for twenty-one years; over a year was being removed from his body each day. He couldn't say it was two years a day since that didn't calculate exactly right; it would have been twenty eight years if that was the case ― not far off its mark, but far enough.

Severus glared at him, but it was spoiled by the spasm of pain that crossed his face shortly after. He was used to pain, he was on very familiar terms with it. He had assumed the Cruciatus Curse was the most painful thing he would or could encounter in his life; boy, was he wrong. If anything this potion felt as if it was digging into every crevice of his body, causing him immeasurable amounts of agony. How had Harry gone through this at the age of eleven? He was under no illusion that it had been easier on the child― and he had been a child, since he most certainly hadn't been a teenager then. What had he been through in life that this hadn't turn him completely insane?

"What the hell is that smell?" Severus gagged, finding the odor repugnant.

"Your own body sweat," Harry said simply, opening the trunk and looking through the journals until he got to the year he needed. When he found it he plucked the volume out, nodding in satisfaction; this would hopefully tell him everything he needed to know. Snape couldn't continue not eating or drinking… that could bloody kill him before he actually fully turned. Well no, it couldn't, at least he didn't think so since Severus already had Harry's venom running through him. "Your sense of smell has already sharpened; how's your eyesight?"

"Sharpened," stated Severus, as had his hearing; it was very disconcerting ― just like he had been forewarned. He could hear the wind blowing outside as though he was in the eye of a storm... well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it wasn't far off the mark. The fact it hadn't finished yet was what truly worried him ― what would it be like in eight days' time when the change truly took hold?

"Thought so," Harry firmly stated, flipping through the pages, reading them quicker than a human could read a sentence. Reading Kai's personal thoughts felt wrong, but so right at the same time. He'd known Kai cared deeply about him, but seeing it in writing made his heart hurt for him even more. What would he think of him now? Of everything he'd accomplished? All that Kai had longed for… would he have done this if he hadn't lost Kai? Or had he always been destined to do this?

"What's been happening?" enquired Severus; being stuck in a room was making him feel anxious and paranoid.

Harry looked up with a frown. "Where?" he said blankly.

"Anywhere…" He just wanted to distract himself from the pain…although he did desire to know what was going on in the magical world.

"Greyback and his pack left the next day, although Jack made it clear they were welcome to stay or return if things got out of hand with Voldemort. Voldemort attacked Hogsmeade but the Order and Aurors beat him back; they'd obviously suspected something like that would happen, so the world now knows he's returned. I would bet that he will make an attempt to get the prophecy now," Harry said smirking viciously; oh, how he wished he could see the look on the bastard's face when he heard it. "Pettigrew's trial implicated quite a few Ministry workers, but they had fled; they are now wanted. Although five of them were apprehended during the battle at Hogsmeade. Black is officially pardoned, and no doubt Dumbledore's sitting sweating in his office waiting on reprisals. Lupin is acting as though I stole his favourite toy since I prevented him from getting his ass kicked. I have Madam Bones trying to convince the Wizengamot to create a prison under the Fidelius Charm, somewhere Voldemort won't be able to break them out of again. With Bill we are forewarned when Dumbledore has Order meetings set up, so Madam Bones will be calling the Wizengamot then and keeping the old man out of it."

"It would work," Severus agreed exhaustedly. "He puts the Order before the Wizengamot since most of their meetings are incredibly boring and useless ― his words."

"With the war starting back up so quickly, I'm not surprised by his Gryffindor thinking," replied Harry, but he disagreed with the meetings being boring and useless. It was politics, pure politics, and if you wanted to do anything it had to be through the Wizengamot. He had three seats in the Wizengamot, three votes as well, and would have four when Voldemort was dead. The Peverell seat, the Potter seat, the Gryffindor seat were all his, and of course there was the Slytherin seat. Unfortunately Voldemort was the main heir to that, he was only from a side branch, and until Tom Riddle was dead, Harry couldn't claim it even if he wanted to.

Severus felt amused by Harry's statement, even if his amusement was mingled with pain. It must be the first time Harry had used a Hogwarts analogy to describe someone. He doubted the wizard did it often, how could he, considering he'd only ever attended Hogwarts School for one year. He had learned a few things about Harry, but he hadn't seen the bigger picture yet and wondered if he ever would. He just wanted to know what had turned Harry from the boy he remembered into this ruthless leader... well, ruthless to others, but his people sure seemed to love him. He had purpose, determination―the same things he had thought the Dark Lord had, back in the day.

"Looks like you'll have to start drinking blood," said Harry, his tone curt and matter-of-factual.

"I thought…" Severus cut himself off and held his breath as his stomach cramped painfully; would this hurry up and end? He couldn't take much more of it. Once more under firm control, he continued, "That I couldn't drink anything like that until I was fully turned."

"Apparently not, since I drank it after the first week when I couldn't keep anything else down," Harry explained, his tone more sympathetic. He couldn't remember it, but it was all here in the journal. "It's either that or go hungry and thirsty…your stomach has frozen first, due to the change…you won't be able to keep anything down, neither food nor drink."

Severus closed his eyes; he'd seen Harry drinking a few times…but the thought of it turned his stomach. Humans drinking blood just wasn't done ... unless you were a cannibal, but even then it wasn't the blood they went for but the flesh. Even his own thoughts made his stomach lurch, but it was empty, not even acid made an appearance. Perhaps Harry was right, and his insides were already turning enough that they couldn't handle anything other than blood. Oddly enough, acknowledging Harry was right didn't leave a bitter taste in his mouth. The situation had changed a great deal, he wasn't sure he could categorise it, but he was grateful even if he didn't show it.

"Dobby?" demanded Harry, waiting for his diminutive House-Elf to appear.

"Yes, sir?" Dobby answered, appearing before them, as always eager to serve his good master.

"Bring two goblets of blood, and the potion for Severus," Harry ordered sharply. The potion was best preserved in a cool, dark environment, so it was kept in a cupboard near the fridge freezer. It was cold and dark there... without fear of the contents ending up frozen.

"Dobby will do that," said the House-Elf before he disappeared.

Harry sighed inwardly, wishing Kai was here; he would know what to do better than Harry did. He never thought he'd find himself in this kind of situation. Kai had never found his mate, Rick still hadn't found his, and Harry had just assumed he would be the same. Not that he'd thought on it much, he'd been so full of the need for revenge and setting up a safe place for everyone in his father's name. He was so very close to seeing his Sire's dream brought to a successful conclusion, go figure his mate would come along and make things a little complicated. He couldn't call it a big complication; it wasn't, truthfully, since both Voldemort and Dumbledore thought Severus was dead. What bothered him was the silence from Dumbledore, he'd gone from being utterly fascinated by them to nothing. The old wizard was up to something; he just didn't know what. Then again, the fact he had been granted permission, then denied access to Harry's accounts would have him searching harder. No, he could do this, he had done everything thus far basically on his own. Harry stiffened his spine and his resolve determinedly.

"What about your vaults and Dumbledore? Does he have access to them?" Severus whispered lying back down, unable to stop the world from spinning. He was tempted to throw in the towel now; he just didn't think he had it in him to endure another week of this. It was humiliating, degrading, agonisingly painful… and had he mentioned humiliating?

"No, but I have to show myself in a fortnight's time at the Ministry of magic," Harry said, repeating himself once more. Severus had asked that now four times; he'd probably be asked every day until this was over with. Did Severus even remember anything they spoke about? Well, he didn't remember anything about his own painful turning, so he had the most likely answer. "You need to remain awake for a while longer." Harry added loudly, causing the wizard to wince at the tone and loudness.

"Leave me alone," grumbled the wizard, his eyes already closing.

Harry's lips twitched, oh, he should tease Severus to kingdom come with all the things he said and did when he was tired. He spoke in his sleep, probably more honestly than he did when he was awake. Either that, or it was just the pain disorientation that was causing him to do something he didn't normally do. He was lonely; Harry could see that, no matter what defences Severus showed the world, he wanted company. Harry knew because he had felt the same thing for so long during his childhood. Even he had been blinded to the real Severus behind the masks he showed, but not anymore. He just wanted someone to take care of him. The only problem was, Severus didn't know how to let someone care for him…or let them inside his heart. He'd obviously been hurt a great deal by someone.

"Here is the food, Master Harry," Dobby said, reappearing.

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry curtly acknowledged.

"Will Dobby stock up more?" enquired the House-Elf, his big eyes staring at them in obvious concern. He'd never once feared for his life being surrounded by vampires, not only because he would have been grateful for death back then, but because his Master had given him orders to fight back if anyone ever hurt him or tried to at least.

"Enough for a week, yes, but no more, there is no point to wasting it. I will show him how to hunt," Harry stated immediately. It was best to start right away, that way the young vampire learned control as well as patience. As a newborn, Severus would drink more than he did, but slowly he would be weaned off so much until he had ridged control over his instincts, just like everyone else. Severus' behavior would reflect on him; if he went wild it would make Harry look bad, but newborn vampires were only so for one year, and that was the time where each creator was responsible for its childe. Not all of them cared or bonded with their childer to remain with them after that first year, but he wouldn't abandon Severus. Not that he would need to watch him closely, since he knew Severus would fit in well; as a human he had control in spades, it would definitely pass on to his vampire self.

Dobby nodded before he wordlessly left with a quiet pop.

Harry picked up the goblet and wandered over to Severus, who thankfully didn't have vampire strength yet. So he was able to sit him up against his chest easily, despite his tired grumbling. As always, it caused a bolt of amusement to flow through him, even if it didn't show. This was so far from Severus' usual character that Harry couldn't help but find it hilarious, although he knew the wizard-soon-to-be vampire wouldn't. Despite his reluctance, as soon as Harry managed to get some of the blood down his throat he began to drink greedily. "Slow down," Harry demanded, but his statement was ignored by the starving wizard. Well, he didn't have to wonder if his stomach could take it, at least ... since Severus hadn't immediately regurgitated everything. At least Dobby would make sure there was a fresh supply on hand. He would take him hunting the day the change finished…then the very same night would be dedicated to Callahan. He would destroy the bastard who had dare go against him. He would relish the fight, and would be begging for it by the time it came around; he was getting filled with angst cooped up. He hadn't been in the same place for more than a few hours at a time for what seemed like ages, and being a vampire he didn't sleep, so it seemed even longer. If he knew Severus as well as he liked to think he did, he knew the wizard would demand to come; since there were only four vampires with Callahan, he would allow it if Snape asked.

Once the goblet was empty, Harry forced himself to move away from Severus, opening the window and letting as much fresh air in as possible. The smell of arousal coming from his mate was unmistakable, making he just wanted to give in to his primal urges. He didn't though since Severus wasn't awake to give his consent. No, the taste of the blood had caused that reaction; feeding was a very intimate experience for that very reason. He had felt utterly mortified after his first few feeds, but Kai always said it was natural, normal, that every vampire experienced it, especially the newly turned. That alone had helped him more than Kai ever knew; after all the years of being called abnormal and freak, it was nice to hear someone stating the opposite.

If he got lucky…perhaps he would find out if his mate desired him during the first hunt.

"Newspapers for Master Harry," Dobby said, popping in with the small bundle. Two were for Severus, both Potions related ― hopefully they would keep the wizard's mind off what was happening.

"Thank you, Dobby," replied Harry taking them; he took one look at the front page before he cursed nastily. Damn Callahan to hell, he would die a slow, painful death. He had turned someone else; according to the paper, five bodies were found strewn across London drained of their blood, and the police were assuming it was multiple serial killers working together. Despite the fact serial killers usually only worked alone, the identical manner in the way the bodies were killed was unmistakable. Disgusting bastards; Callahan was a wizard, he could feed without killing, yet he didn't even try. He wondered why, as he paced up and down; was it due to unwillingness to reveal the magical world to the Muggles he was feeding on? Had he tried to turn others only for the venom to fail and the Muggle to die? Could that be the real reason so many people had turned up dead? Or was it just his inability to stop before he took too much blood? He couldn't ask Caron to get closer, otherwise he would risk exposing himself, and that was the last thing he wanted. He had to keep one step ahead of Callahan if he planned to take him down. He'd rather Caron scouted unseen than have them move, and have to hunt them down.

A crack indicated that someone had just Apparated into the manor; a quick sniff told him it was Rick. Looking at the paper clutched in his hands, he knew he didn't need to wonder why the vampire was here - he too was obviously getting impatient waiting to deal with the idiotic vampire who was giving them all a bad name.

"Come up," Harry sharply demanded, not moving from his seat.

Edited by Jake and Jordre Thank you guys! :)