Again, I'm gratified at the response this story's initial chapter got, but let me reiterate that there is no guarantee that this story will be published as a full fic. I'm up to the fourth chapter, though, and I have some interesting plans later on for a couple of Potterverse characters, other than Harry himself. There'll be way more story than Harry and Maria hunting down the Basilisk, which is a relative sideshow by comparison. Important, yes, but compared to stopping the Blood Moon?

I should hasten to point out that it's only been about four months for the Potterverse, whereas Harry has spent over a decade (about twelve years) in the Bloodborne universe, something a few reviewers seemed confused about. Given how fucked-up time is in the game, is it any wonder? And when they come to work on the events of the game, the reverse will happen: days at least will pass in the Potterverse, while it remains the night of the Blood Moon in Yharnam during that period. Just chalk it down to the Great Ones fucking things up.

I'm actually almost done with the main game, too. I've only got to beat Mergo's Wet Nurse, and then go on to whatever will trigger the relevant ending. Which ending have I chosen? Not telling. :P However, I'm currently trying to deal with the Old Hunters DLC first. No doubt Maria will kick my arse...repeatedly...

ELDRITCH BLOOD

CHAPTER 2:

NO DOUBT THE YEARS HAVE CHANGED ME

It took quite some time for Harry to get used to his new situation. He was stranded, in another world entirely, and the only possible way he could get back was deep within a massive, ancient labyrinth filled with monsters. According to Gehrman, Harry was lucky they were around when he arrived in this world, or else he could have been killed. Hell, apparently the chamber had collapsed soon after Harry was retrieved from it.

They'd learned about his magic sooner than he would have liked. There was no real Statute of Secrecy on this world, and Byrgenwerth was dedicated to studying the arcane. Harry kept his abilities to himself for as long as he could, but he couldn't forever, and he soon found himself the target of very uncomfortable scrutiny by the scholars there. He thought, especially, that a woman called Rom and a young man called Micolash wanted to cut him up.

Willem and Gehrman, however, made it clear that Harry was under their protection. Willem was the Provost of Byrgenwerth, effectively a headmaster if this was a primary or high school, so what he said, went. As for Gehrman, he was already famous as a Hunter, a man who travelled the land, hunting monsters, many of which had escaped the Pthumerian Labyrinth. Incurring his wrath was a spectacularly bad idea.

In any case, Harry, resigned to the fact that he may not be going home after three years of being in this world, given that the chamber had collapsed, submitted himself to an education here. Willem and his students, particularly Laurence and Caryll, taught him about the history of this world, of the Great Ones and the Pthumerians, and the history of Yharnam, the city-state named for the last Pthumerian Queen, and the nearby locales of Castle Cainhurst, Hemwick, and the like.

Gehrman, meanwhile, trained his body. Harry took to Gehrman better than he did to Willem. For all his rough ways, Gehrman felt like a father figure to Harry, even now knowing the truth about his family. Gehrman intended to ensure Harry could fight if need be, even if a lot of his fighting style amounted to dodging frantically and hoping for an opening.

Currently, Gehrman was away on a beast-hunting trip, to the vicinity of Cainhurst, so Harry was left here for now. Laurence had been tutoring him on interesting finds from the Pthumerian Labyrinth. Harry had to admit, it was fascinating, and he wished there was someone like Laurence to teach history instead of Binns.

As Laurence explained the history of a mysterious scourge that swept Loran, the door opened, and Gehrman entered. And he was not alone. "Gehrman?" Laurence asked. "Who is this?"

"A runaway," Gehrman said gruffly. "One of that bitch Annalise's distant cousins or something. While I was on the hunt, she came and attacked the beast. Got skill, but she needs training. She asked me to bring her here. I guess she's a black sheep to those monsters at Cainhurst…well, white sheep, anyway."

"One of them?" Laurence asked, paling. "Gehrman, what in blazes were you thinking? Cainhurst's depravities are infamous throughout the land!"

Willem chose that moment to make an appearance. "Depravity and hedonism are part of the human condition, Laurence. Cainhurst just doesn't see fit to repress or conceal those properties. That this one saw fit to leave only shows that better human qualities can exist there."

Harry, meanwhile, looked at the newcomer. She was a girl, about his age, so about fifteen, give or take a year or so. Silvery-white hair framed beautiful if haughty features. Pale blue eyes looked at him appraisingly. Her beauty was a cold and proud one, even while dishevelled.

However, to his astonishment, she curtseyed. Her voice held an accent that could have been Slavic. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Maria Cain, formerly of Cainhurst."

"Yes, Gehrman's letter stated that you are a prodigy for a girl your age, and your tests show that your mind is as keen as your blade. As for not following your family in their obsession with blood arts…well, we have an adage here, based on an old Pthumerian poem that was translated shortly before this establishment was founded." He cleared his throat, and began to recite.

"We are Born of The Blood,

Made Men by The Blood,

Undone by The Blood.

Our Eyes are yet to Open.

Fear the Old Blood."

The verse sent a shiver down Harry's spine, as it always did. He didn't know why. However, Willem merely smiled warmly. "I believe an interview is due with me, Lady Maria. Once we have dealt with that, plus some exams, I think we can get you a scholarship here…"

Harry kept comparing Willem and Dumbledore, ever since meeting the former. The two held not-dissimilar ways, with both eccentrics who delighted in acting like fools, but with highly incisive wits. Both had a tendency to believe that they knew best, to the exclusion of everyone else. Both were mentor figures who tried to guide their charges.

And yet, in the end, Harry realised that Dumbledore was far better than Willem. Even with the whole Dursley issue, not to mention Dumbledore frequently hiding secrets, Harry believed the old man to be Willem's moral superior by far. Dumbledore, to his knowledge, had never ordered the genocide of an entire village of people just to satisfy personal curiosity and ambition. Indeed, when he relayed this incident to Dumbledore, the old man looked utterly horrified, as did the others present.

The two of them had taken turns to relay, albeit in summarised form, what had happened in the ten years Harry had lived in Maria's world. This included Maria's background as a renegade Vileblood of Cainhurst. Even in abridged form, it took some time to tell.

By the end of it, Dumbledore looked thoroughly shaken, as did everyone else present. He took some time to gather himself, before he said, with considerable understatement, "It seems you have been on quite an adventure, Harry, one that makes even your prior year at Hogwarts look tame by comparison. In only four months, well over a decade has passed for you."

"You believe me, Professor?"

"While I cannot rule out you being an impostor with an audacious story, even an impostor would come up with something more plausible, and there are ways and means of testing your heritage," Dumbledore said. "That you described the Mirror of Erised's location in the Room of Requirement…you are the spitting image of your father now, save for your eyes. Perhaps it is just as well Professor Snape was sent out, as he may have reacted poorly."

"While I am glad that you have accepted his story somewhat, this worries me," Maria said, walking over to the desk where Mrs Norris lay, petrified. "Was this caused by a spell, or by some beast?"

"An excellent question, Lady Maria," Dumbledore said. "I doubt it was caused by any spell, but…well, fortunately, Professor Sprout recently procured a batch of Mandrakes, though they will take time to grow to maturity. And there's been a recent shortage of them."

"And that message," Harry mused. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened…whatever that is, it's very ominous. But why attack Filch's cat?"

"Target of opportunity?" Maria asked. "That man seemed rather unpleasant, though. Was it an attempt to punish him?"

"The suspect list would be too damned long if that was the case," Harry said. "I don't think anyone in this castle likes him, save for this cat."

McGonagall cleared her throat pointedly. "Be that as it may, while it is good to see you again, Mr Potter, assuming it really is you, but you have come, even by coincidence, into a rather deplorable situation. Two mysterious adults, arriving at Hogwarts at the same time as this happens? The rumour mill will be going into overdrive. And explaining away your sudden ageing…"

"I will handle that, Minerva," Dumbledore said gently. He then turned to Hermione and Ron. "It goes without saying that Mr Potter's return should be kept secret. Too many questions will be asked, otherwise, and by the wrong people."

Hermione nodded instantly, while Ron frowned. "But if you explain everything…"

"Explain what, Ron?" Hermione asked. "That Harry has somehow magically aged over a decade during his disappearance? If he hadn't aged, it'd be far easier to explain away, but he's become an adult, and if what he said is true, has gone through horrendous experiences!"

"Indeed. The official cover story was that Professor Quirrel used a spell on the Mirror of Erised, making it send you somewhere else," Dumbledore said. "You were declared missing. I glimpsed your disappearance into the Mirror of Erised, Mr Potter. I allowed myself to fall under a Compulsion Hex on a letter, and with the Floo Network under maintenance at the time, I had to use a broomstick to head to London…but that was Quirrel diverting me. Not saving you was the latest in a long line of regrets, and I am glad that you are back, doubts about your identity aside. That being said, we will have to think of a suitable cover story for both of you. For now, it may be risky to have you at Hogwarts. However, I do believe I have an idea. I believe old Saul owes me a favour."

"You're bringing the Unspeakables into this?" McGonagall asked.

"Into the matter of Mr Potter, yes," Dumbledore said. "Cross-dimensional travel would interest him, and the Unspeakables, for all their faults, are nowhere near as unethical as those scholars at Byrgenwerth…for the most part."

"That's hardly assuring," Maria observed.

"And you believe them?"

Dumbledore peered over his spectacles at Professor Severus Snape. After he'd sent the children back to Gryffindor Tower, and had Minerva bring Harry and Maria to guest quarters, he'd asked Snape to talk with him privately. "I personally do. I do intend to verify Mr Potter's claims, and sending him to Gringotts first thing tomorrow will be how I do so. I explained the Goblins' heritage test. After that, I will be sending him to Saul Croaker."

The Potions professor sneered. "And the Unspeakables can do what?"

"If I am lucky, find a way of disguising Mr Potter that does not require Polyjuice or something similar. They can also find out how Mr Potter ended up in this other world, potentially. The Mirror of Erised is older than even the Founders. And the Pthumerians and Great Ones…I have heard rumours of the former, and more than rumour for the latter. That Harry encountered one and survived with his sanity intact is concerning. However, perhaps the best news to come out of that debacle is that his scar no longer has dark magic tainting it. If what I feared was true, then his fate will perhaps be better. Incidentally, Severus, another reason I called you here was to warn you: do NOT use Legilimency on either Harry or Maria."

"And why is that?"

"Because it may be lethal, or worse, have you end up envying someone Kissed by a Dementor." Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not sure if I could even call what I saw Occlumency barriers. It is more like a maelstrom, a vortex protecting their minds. I knew that if I went any further, my mind would be shredded into fragments. And I don't think they were created by either of them. I suspect this Kos entity to have potentially placed them there when she made contact with them. And a Great One is not something to trifle with, Severus."

He was glad to see that Severus conceded the point. Stubborn though he was, the Potions teacher knew when to pick his battles. "I'll take it under consideration. But what of the attack on the Squib's damned cat? I heard about the last time this happened. Has the Chamber of Secrets truly been opened?"

"Possibly. And it's less a matter of whodunnit, than howdunnit," Dumbledore said. "I only have theories as to what is happening, no, hypotheses. Harry and Maria's arrival at this time was perhaps a cosmic jest, though given how magically important Halloween is, and how thin the walls of reality are during this time…once their time with the Department of Mysteries is over, I believe I will retain them to investigate."

"You can't be serious!" Severus exclaimed. "Even if they were truly monster-hunters on that other world, with experience, it'd be hard for them to find the Chamber of Secrets and whatever horror Salazar Slytherin left there! If Aurors and Unspeakables couldn't find it, what hope do they have?"

"At the very least, a fresh perspective," Dumbledore said solemnly. "I don't like it either, but what is the Muggle saying? Needs must when the Devil rides out. Now, I would like you to keep an eye on your charges."

"You suspect a Slytherin?" Severus sneered.

"I suspect everyone in this school. Not every dark wizard came from Slytherin, and if a Slytherin is ultimately behind this, then if they had any sense, they would use someone as a patsy. It's how the first perpetrator got away with it, after all…"

And in the depths of a nightmarish realm, on a moonlit beach, an elongated white shape lay, like a beached whale. It looked like some strange nudibranch, and yet, it had elongated arms, and, half-concealed by a hood of flesh and a mass of tendrils, a disturbingly human, feminine face. It seemed dead.

But appearances could be deceiving.

This world had never known the works of HP Lovecraft, though it would have seemed like something out of his dreadful nightmarish visions of the world. But it would have certainly agreed with his quote from the fictitious tome known as the Necronomicon: "That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons, even death may die."

The entity known as Kos (or some say Kosm, especially a certain lunatic who liked wearing oversized birdcages on his head) may have been dead in what more mundane minds would think of as physical reality, but she lived on in other layers of reality, including this nightmare of her creation. It was a curse on those who slaughtered her, her child, and those she had tried to bless. Only two had escaped her wrath, but they hadn't escaped her attention or memory.

Peering across layers of reality, as she had for a long time, she had little hope of finding them. And yet, finally, she did. Her thoughts, if they could be translated to anything like human words, were, Ah, so THERE you are. But whether those words had benign or threatening intent, who could say?

Whatever Kos' intentions were, Harry and Maria represented unfinished business either way. And they would soon find out that the reach of a Great One was long indeed…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

Well, that's fucking ominous.

No numbered annotations this time.