The Bonds That Tie
Three days had gone by and it was now the 31st of July. Harry's technical seventeenth birthday. Harry allowed everyone to stay at the castle because Hermione and Ron insisted they couldn't leave without celebrating Harry's birthday today. Harry didn't argue with them; he knew he wouldn't win with them or the other friends there who claimed the same. The last few days were them packing up to leave, but wouldn't go until tomorrow morning, the 1st of August. Harry invited a few other friends, sent the elves to collect them and it would be a big old bash in the great room since the weather was uncooperative with being sunny. It would be too much to bring the entire army to them, so Harry just allowed for a couple extras to be part of the party. The Weasley twins were there with Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet; their girlfriends. Bill and Fleur, then Dean, Seamus, and Hannah Abbot. Dean and Seamus were together and Neville had a thing for Hannah. Fred and George also brought along their father, Arthur, who was overjoyed to see Harry again and apologized profusely for what occurred with Ginny and what she pulled with Molly and Albus. Harry told him not to worry and he'd been prepared for her to try something all along.
"Okay, everyone's here…" Hermione giggled.
"You get to yell ONE time, Hermione. One is all I'm giving you…" Harry warned.
"It's all I need," The witch grinned.
Harry sighed. "Sev, Dray…Cover your ears for a sec,"
The two males obeyed. "On three…" Hermione instructed. "One. Two. Three-,"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!" Everyone in the room cheered as Harry had to wince at the sound. He knew they were excited, his friends, of course. Everyone else just joined in to be nice.
"Yes, yes. Lovely. I managed to survive seventeen years." Harry muttered. Narcissa was first to kiss Harry's cheek and hug him tightly, Lucius gave his adoptive son a light squeeze of a hug and then Bellatrix jumped in for a hug too. Draco was last to give Harry a hug, and then Severus approached his mate.
"It's something to celebrate, beloved," Severus moved to hug Harry from behind and then Harry turned his head to kiss his mate. "The trace on your wand is gone." He added when the kiss ended.
"Didn't really matter. I've been using wandless and non-verbal for two years now," Harry chuckled a bit. "But I suppose it's nice to know I don't have to illegally use magic anymore."
"Would it be too loud if we had music, Harry?" Luna wondered.
"No, music is fine, Luna." Harry informed. "Thank you for asking, though."
It was currently about 4:00 pm, everyone had come between 3 pm and now. It was going to be a great night; Harry wanted to enjoy it. How often did he get to do that? Dumbledore was out of his hair, the rogue situation was handled for the moment, and the only unsure thing was if he'd be getting arrested for everything that he did to get where he was now. Also, brightside, Tom and Harry were on good terms, not trying to kill one another. Always a plus. There was food set up against wall closest to the kitchen, the elves were in charge of all that. There were tables set up, everyone sitting close to one another and then music was going on it's own across from the food area. It was running on batteries that Harry went out to buy, then he had endless amounts of CDs, or so it seemed. Yes, today was going to be fantastic.
. . .
The hours ticked away, everyone seemed to be having a decent time. In the midst of things, Sanguini popped in.
"San?" Harry asked, surprised. "What are you doing here? Is there trouble?"
"No, no. Calm yourself, child. I only came to wish you a happy birthday." Sanguini informed.
"Oh. Well, thanks." Harry replied. "Can ya blame me for thinking something was wrong? You don't just show up out of the blue without warning. Or you call me to you."
"I suppose. My apologies," Sanguini bowed lightly. "I will admit, though, I did come with a reason besides your birthday…" He paused.
"And that reason would be?" Harry pushed.
"I can't tell you, I just have to see," Sanguini remarked.
Harry arched a brow before sensing a shift in the energy of the room and only having second to dodge an attack by his creator. "What the hell are you doing?" Harry asked. Sanguini didn't speak before attacking Harry again, which only gave him moments to shift to the side. "Is that how it's gonna be?" Harry tried again. Again, Sanguini didn't reply and made another move for Harry, but this time tried to use his claws, but Harry was able to deflect the man's wrist with his own before Sanguini attempted to send a blast at him. Harry easily avoided it and then waved his hand to put a shield up around his guests. "Watch it, San. I won't have you hurting my family or friends. If you got a problem with me, keep it to me."
"Harry…" Severus said with worry.
"Stay out of the fight, Sev. You too, Dray…" Harry ordered them. "Neither of you are ready to try your abilities at an elder vampire." He stared his creator down. "Alright, San…If that's how we're doing this, don't expect me to hold back just because you're the one who created me."
"On the contrary, child…I want to see everything you've got." Sanguini stated calmly.
And so a fight between them broke out. It wasn't just physical, they were using magic too. However, as the guests took notice; this wasn't like Harry's training sessions with Severus and Draco. This was full on vampire speed and strength battle between the two. There were only a few moments over the time that everyone could see the two perfectly, the rest; Harry and Sanguini appeared to be moving about the room in a blur. It went on twenty minutes, neither of the vampires breaking a sweat or breathing hard. At the same time, that made sense; breathing was necessary and sweating was rare if any at all. Finally, Sanguini managed to grab onto Harry and force him to the ground, hand on his shoulder and dagger above his heart.
Harry's eyes narrowed at the man. "I hoped for a better fight from my creation…" Sanguini said.
The younger vampire's eyes turned red before two tendrils of white magic forced Sanguini back and Harry used his speed to shift upwards and kick his creator's legs out from under him by being in a crouch, but using one leg in a swinging motion. Harry easily turned to smack the dagger from Sanguini's hand, then whip around with a hand on the elder's chest and shoved him down on to the hard floor. In a fluid movement, Harry's hand was on the man's throat and the other hand had caught the dagger to hold the tip at Sanguini's heart.
"I don't know what the hell your problem is, but if you think for a second I've come this far to be beaten down…Think again." Harry warned. "I die on my own terms, nobody else's. I don't care who they are. Just because you created me does not mean you get to destroy me. No matter what anyone does to me, I will always survive and I will always rise." He added. "Yield, Sanguini. If you refuse, I'll end you now as you'll have become a threat to me and my family…"
The elder vampire stared at Harry a moment, then smiled softly before raising his hands in defeat. "I yield."
Harry pulled back the dagger and released Sanguini's neck before stepping away. The elder got himself off the floor easily and stood before Harry. "You gonna tell me what that was all about?" The young vampire asked.
"Forgive me, young one. It was necessary," Sanguini replied. "And I must say, I'm quite impressed. It normally takes many years for any vampire to have the ability to take on an elder, much more that elder happens to be their creator. You, though, are just entering your second year as a vampire and defeated me. Well done, child. Your determination suits you."
"That doesn't tell me why you did this…" Harry remarked.
"To test you, my child." Sanguini reported simply. "I never meant you any harm, of course. It was necessary, though."
"To test me? For what? Make sure I'm not gonna overthrow you?" Harry scoffed.
"Quite the opposite, young one. It was a test to see that you are as or stronger than me, to understand if you can stand as my second and if I stepped down or were killed, can you take my place as leader of the coven." Sanguini enlightened. "I told you once before, you're the only one I've turned, Harry. Others turns their mates, or save family, some born…But when an elder master of the coven turns someone; it's because they are chosen to be their successor. Granted, your turning was done under duress. I admit that it was a mistake on my part when I lost control. Not choosing you as my successor, of course, just that I attacked you. Normally, a successor is chosen by willing change." He explained. "As I said, for a two-year-old vampire as of tomorrow, in fact, you already have much more power than normal vampires at your age. Very impressive for all your qualities, my child. Self-control, knowledge, strength, speed, determination, intuition, overall ability to fight, powerful…Wise beyond your years for sure." The man smiled.
"It wasn't even the fight that was the shocking part. It's what you told me, that you will always survive and rise." Sanguini added. "I do apologize for the random fight, but if you knew it was coming; you wouldn't have given me your best. I needed to see you in belief you were actually being attacked. But you passed my test, child. And I can say entirely that you'll do just fine when I hand you the reigns and may I add, your training with me is complete. That was another part of the test; if you'd lost, I'd say you need more work. But you won, so your training with me is finished."
"But our training was more than ability work. You were also teaching me how the coven worked…" Harry said.
"I've taught you all I know, Harry. In abilities and vampire knowledge, the coven, it's laws and traditions. Your training is complete, I have nothing more I can teach you." Sanguini informed. "You're gonna make one hell of a leader." Sanguini chuckled.
"We knew that in fifth year without the fight necessary to show us Harry could lead!" Hermione remarked. "He built an entire army of students and taught them as a student himself."
"Hermione, shut up," Ron clamped a hand over her mouth.
"I'll leave you to enjoy your party. See you tomorrow, to induct your mate and brother into the coven?" Sanguini reminded.
"We'll be there." Harry nodded. "Next time you feel you need to test me, can it not be with so many humans around. Honestly…It could have been disastrous, San…" He sighed.
"My apologies, child. But I will bear the request in mind." Sanguini assured.
"Thank you." Harry nodded. Sanguini vanished from sight as Harry swiped the blood coming from his lip, then rolled his eyes. "Asshole," Harry healed his lip.
"Are you alright?" Severus inquired.
"I'm fine, love," Harry told him. "No harm done."
"Please tell me that you're not gonna test us like that?" Draco muttered.
"Not everyone gets that test, Dray. You heard Sanguini," Harry informed. "When your training is done, I'll just call it done." He added.
"That was impressive, though." Draco chuckled.
"You couldn't see anything," Blaise commented.
"Uncle Severus and I could, as if it were happening at normal speed." Draco enlightened.
"Vampires move at a faster speed than the human eye can catch." Harry stated calmly. "Makes sense that other vampires watch at normal for them."
"So what time tomorrow?" Severus wondered. "For the induction?"
"After nightfall. Probably around 9:00 pm." Harry told him. "Oh, and it's normally not done…But Sanguini said our parents could come, bear witness to you joining the coven, Draco. Only them. I promise they're safe among the other vampires, the human blood won't affect them."
"Why isn't it done?" Draco wondered lightly.
"It's usually not allowed for humans to take part in vampire affairs, but Sanguini knows that our parents are some of the few who have accepted what took place, and your status as a vampire. Those who do that are usually welcome to take part in their child's achievements as a vampire." Harry explained.
"How come we couldn't come to yours then?" Lucius asked his other son.
"I hadn't been made aware of the goal to get more acceptance to vampires." Harry revealed. "Things have been kept very quiet about that movement." He added. "It's still on the down low, but strides have been made. Such as vampires having the ability to astral project, help those that mind healers cannot. Such as the Longbottom's. At the same time, not all vampires can do that."
"Astral project?" Severus inquired.
Harry nodded. "Is it a power thing?" Hermione questioned.
"In vampires, it runs a lot like how wizards and witches are. Muggle-born, Half-blood, Pure-blood. In vampires we have pure-bloods, half-bloods…But it's all different lineages." Harry explained. "A vampire changed by an elder of a pure side is not the same as a vampire changed by basic of pure line. When turned, it's nothing to do with your wizarding status either. As a vampire, it doesn't matter where your magical bloodline stands. However, if you're born as a vampire…There's great deal more power involved depending on where your magical blood sits. Sanguini wasn't changed, he was born a vampire, to two pure-blood vampires. And his entire line has been pure, but I don't know how far back it goes until the vampiric change occurred. Even though I was changed into a vampire, and only a half-blood wizard…I'm still stronger than Draco even though he's a pure-blood wizard that was turned." He shrugged.
"But Draco is still stronger than a vampire turned from a pure-blood rogue. Even Severus, because he was turned by me and my soulmate would be stronger than other vampires in the coven. Hell, he might be stronger than Draco just because he's my mate and any children Sev and I have would be stronger than some of the others." Harry paused. "Not all vampires are the same, so they don't all have the same ability. Some powers are universal, and some are select few based on your origins. Whether born or turned. Pure or mixed line. It's really kind of confusing, but let's leave it at where your vampirism originates from."
"I can see why Sanguini says there's nothing else he can teach you," Luna giggled. "You know so much, Harry."
Harry shrugged. "Power goes to those who know."
"True words." Tom said. (Will be referring to Voldemort as Tom from here until the end of the story!)
"Well, if we're allowed to attend…We'd be honored." Narcissa smiled and Lucius nodded.
"Wonderful." Harry smiled. "Now, shall we get back to partying?" He asked. No sooner than the words left his mouth, though, Dobby appeared and bowed to Harry. "No mail today?"
"Dobby brings just one letter to his friend." The elf handed it over to Harry, who saw right away there was a ministry seal on the back.
"Is that from the ministry, Harry?" Bellatrix inquired.
"It is. Amelia said she'd reach out when a decision was made…" Harry replied as he opened it up and read it over. It was very short, but to the point.
"What does it say?" Rabastan wondered.
"Just for me to come to her office when I receive this, she'll be there until 7:00 pm today. That a decision was reached and needs to discuss it with me." Harry informed. "I guess I can't ignore it."
"It wouldn't be the best choice. Go, we'll wait here…" Alice said gently.
Harry nodded before he vanished from sight a moment later.
. . .
The vampire appeared in Amelia's office, startling the woman as his entrance. Harry already took notice of the aurors around the room and swallowed down the nervousness beginning to bubble within him. "Madam Bones," Harry greeted calmly.
"I have to be honest, I don't know whether to be insulted or intrigued by the fact your apparition is much more precise than ours." Amelia stated.
"I still have to know where I'm going, but it is easier than needing a picture in mind and complete focus." Harry shrugged. "You wanted to see me?"
"A decision was made regarding what to do about the situation that's taken place. I'll be frank with you, Mr. Potter-Malfoy…If it weren't for who you are to this community, the things you've done would have you immediately sent to Azkaban for quite some years. At the same time, with your power, we're quite certain that Azkaban wouldn't be able to hold you and a life sentence is pointless as you won't die from old age." Harry kind of nodded to agree with her on that last bit.
"So what's the verdict. I do assure that if it's arrest, Tom and his followers will come quietly." Harry told her.
"Well, I believe I just informed that no action will be taken against you, Harry." Amelia repeated. "Your movement to stop the corruption with Tom has been exceedingly beneficial to all. That cannot be debated. As I said, if not for who you are as the boy who lived and fulfilled the prophecy to defeat the dark lord, who has been revealed by you as Albus Dumbledore…You would likely be arrested. However, your movement has been helpful and it's the decision to want to see what else can be fixed under your workings. And the fact we know that we have no way to really stop you. If Sirius Black escaped in animagus form, I'm sure you could transform into a bat and fly out. Or that apparition of yours, it beat Hogwarts anti-apparition wards, you can just leave. So admittedly, we wouldn't be able to hold you in a prison. Being all that, no charges are being brought against you."
Harry wanted to sigh in relief, but there was still the question of Tom and the death eaters. "A-And of Tom and his followers?"
"The decision was to imprison them all or issue an out of prison punishment for crimes of the past. But…" Amelia paused. "During voting on the two decisions, it was tied."
"What does that mean?" Harry questioned.
"It means there is an even amount of votes to imprison as there is to just keep out of Azkaban with what could be seen as punishment and community service." Alastor informed.
"So what happens now?" Harry questioned.
"It means we had to do through some digging of old Wizengamot members. See if we could find names that popped out that may allow us to call in a family line to help swing the vote." Kingsley informed.
"There are other families who used to serve on the Wizengamot panel, and currently, there are some open seats for those old families. These seats usually mean the line died out and is left alone to honor the family that served there. Or the seat is left open because a member of that family wasn't yet of age to take the mantle. In such cases proxies were placed until such time." Amelia explained.
"Let me guess…" Harry paused. "A few of these families are under my rule being lord to them and that means the swing votes belong to my houses?"
"That's correct, Harry," Amelia nodded.