Claimed

Authors Note: Many thanks to my beta Alexandra

Chapter 13 The Book of Lore

“Prophecy? What prophecy?” Harry asked. If he had a hard time believing he was special, he would have an even harder time with the idea of being named in a prophecy.

The doors behind him burst open and two men came in carrying a pedestal between them. They strained under the weight of it, so Harry knew it must be heavy. On top of the stand was encased a large glittering book. Its pages were as tall as Harry’s arm and they appeared to be made of solid gold parchment.

“This is our bible, Harry. There are those of us who are born in this form, and those of us that have been created through one process or another, but our entire history, the history of all Vampire kind is recorded in this tome. Our past, present and future is all spelled out on these gilded pages,” the king said.

Harry approached the book tentatively and with awe. Even new to this form he could feel the pull of the book, the thirst for the knowledge buried in its depths.

“A few months ago the book told us that our race was destined to turn on the humans, and that we, as a community would fall. I would be executed, and a new bloodthirsty king would succeed my place on this throne. This king would lead the Vampire race to destruction, leaving all life, human and vampire, wiped out,” the king continued.

“It sounds as though I won’t do much good then.” Harry muttered.

The king laughed a booming and jolly laugh. “Yes, I was quite depressed at the story the book has been telling me for a few years now. But several weeks ago the book changed, as it tends to do when events come about that will change our future.”

“What did it say?” Harry whispered, desperately curious to read it himself.

“It told me of your transformation, and heralded you as our savior,” he said simply and Harry had to stifle a laugh.

“I’m sorry sir, but really, how could so much hope be vested in me? What if I don’t accept this destiny?” Harry asked.

“Go on and see for yourself,” the king said, gesturing toward the book.

The book began to transform right before his very eyes, the thick heavy pages of Vampire history reduced in quantity by half, removing decades of life among their people. Harry cleared his mind of any decision and the book returned to its previous weight and thickness, causing Harry a sigh of relief that was purely a human habit.

The sigh caused the king to chuckle and he waved Harry closer. “It is always entertaining to have the young ones among us, but you Harry are different still. Show me some of your magic,” the king asked.

Harry frowned. “Am I going to save the Vampire race by becoming court jester?”

The king’s face fell into a pleasant mask. “I did not mean to offend you Harry. It’s just that I’ve been looking forward to your arrival long before you even knew we existed. Even before the book shifted to reveal your existence, stories about you have been foretold by Vampire elders for centuries.”

“The unclaimed boy who held a powerful magic within his blood. Who was stolen and tricked and given our blood. Whose love for the unattainable drove him to us. Does any of this sound familiar?” the king asked.

“You could have picked all of that from my mind,” Harry replied.

The king smiled. “You’re clever, Harry, and you do not crave power, nor do you seem to hold people who have it in any great regard.”

“Am I supposed to apologize?” Harry asked.

“No, no. I’m merely making an observation. You see, people like yourself, even though it may be the last thing you would want, make brilliant and effective leaders,” the king told him.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Then perhaps I should be king,” he said sarcastically.

The king laughed and then his face fell into a gentle gasp as his eyes left Harry’s face and drifted back to the book. Harry turned and followed his gaze and watched the book double and then triple in thickness at the reaction to Harry’s words.

Gracefully, the king moved toward the book as if floating above the ground. He began scanning the new pages and was nearly finished within minutes. He turned slowly to look at Harry, his expression unreadable.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “It’s hardly fair that you can read my mind, yet you close me out of yours even though you have information that belongs to me.”

The king bowed his head. “You are right,” he said, and a moment later Harry could hear the kings thoughts. His name was Crispan, and he was eleven hundred years old, which surprised Harry because he didn’t look a day over twenty. He had been king over this colony for over four hundred years and he was thinking it might be time to step down.

He had just read about Harry’s glorious reign as king and how happy his people would be under Harry’s diplomatic rule. His emotions were conflicted, however, because he enjoyed being king, but he felt he could not deny his people a better fate.

He began another train of thought, which he guarded from Harry, and looked to the book, which again grew. He flipped through it and nodded to himself as if satisfied.

“None of this can transpire unless we smote our enemies inside this mountain, but when we succeed, I will ask you for your hand, Harry. I will make you my partner, and together we will rule The Shadow,” Crispan said softly.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words to tell the king ‘no’. Instead he asked the most urgent question to him at the moment. “What about Draco?”

“Draco will be separated from you as I said before. He’ll go on with his life and you will go on with yours, your destinies will be parted from one another, and yours will merge with mine,” Crispan answered.

“But… don’t you have a mate?” Harry asked, suddenly nervous.

The king didn’t seem to pick up on Harry’s feelings, or perhaps didn’t care. “You will become my mate,” he whispered.

“And what if I don’t want that?” Harry asked, backing away.

“But you will. Once Draco’s attachment is removed from your mind and soul, you will want me. It’s all written in the book,” he said.

“But my heart, what about my heart?” Harry asked.

“What about your heart?” the king responded in confusion.

“You will remove him from my mind and my soul, but what about my heart?” Harry asked again. He didn’t even know what he wanted Crispan to say. Did he want Draco removed, or did he want a piece of him to stay forever?

The king laughed. “Harry, our hearts are merely decoration. You carry no one inside of it.”

--

Draco clutched his chest, feeling as though his heart was being sliced through.

“Are you okay?” Snape asked, with mild annoyance. “We haven’t even left the ground yet.”

“It’s not that it’s…I don’t know what it is. It feels as though someone is trying to carve my heart from my chest,” Draco rasped.

“A fat lot of good that would do anyone, seeing as though you’re a heartless and spoiled brat,” Severus mumbled.

Draco shot him a dirty look, but even that wasn’t as powerful as it could have been because of the pain he was experiencing. “I feel like Harry’s fading,” he groaned through the sharp burn in his heart.

This caught Snape’s attention. “He must already be with them. They must be trying to find ways to save him from you,” he said with excitement.

“Save him from… stop being such an arse, this is serious,” Draco demanded.

Snape rolled his eyes. “Only for you, and only if they succeed. I’ve never heard of a spell that could sever the connection between mates,” he said. “Unfortunately,” he added with a grimace.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Draco cried.

“Wait it out,” Snape replied, trying in vain to get comfortable in his chair. Several people around them had been listening to their seemingly strange conversation and Snape snarled at them all to turn around and mind their own business.

The pain lessened slightly, and Draco tried to relax, filling his mind with images of Harry. He wouldn’t give up and he would continue to fight for his love, being this far from Harry was painful enough, but he couldn’t bare it if he were separated permanently from him.

He focused his mind and tried to send his thoughts of love to Harry. “I love you,” he thought. “Please wait for me.”

He settled back into his chair when a wave of panic washed over him, but it wasn’t his emotion he was feeling. “Don’t come any closer,” a voice in his mind whispered. “You can’t come here.”

“Harry?” Draco projected silently in through his mind.

“Yes, Draco, listen to me. You can’t come here, I think they may hurt you,” Harry called frantically.

“Then come to me,” Draco shouted silently. “I love you, Harry. Came back to me.”

There was a long pause and then a whispered voice in reply. “You love me?”

“Yes, Harry. I love you, and I want to be with you no matter what that means,” he responded, wiping a tear from his cheek. He ignored Snape’s glare of annoyance and focused on Harry.

“Draco, you don’t know what you’re asking,” Harry replied.

“I do. I know that I’ll have to be like you, and I think I can do that,” Draco said.

“You think? Draco, it’s too large a decision for you to think you’ll be able to do it. I couldn’t wish this fate to you,” he replied.

“Just come home, and we can talk about all of it,” Draco pleaded.

“I can’t leave. They would never let me. I’m too important to them,” Harry muttered.

“You’re important to me, Harry,” Draco cried.

“It’s too late, Draco. I can’t leave this place. You’re just going to have to move on,” he replied, the sound of his heart breaking reverberated through their minds.

“I’m coming for you, Harry. I’m going to be there soon, and when you see me, you’ll change your mind, and if that doesn’t work, I’m going to kiss you, and then you’ll know that you’re mine and that I’m yours and that we belong together,” Draco whispered.

A choked sob rocked Draco’s body as if it had come from his own lips. “They might kill you, Draco. They won’t tell me what it is they’ll do to separate us, but I don’t trust it. I love you too much to watch you get hurt because of me,” Harry sobbed.

“There’s nothing for it. I’m coming, and you’ll either leave with me, or you’ll change me and I’ll stay with you,” he said.

He felt the connection slipping and he reached out for it, unwilling to let his chance to talk to Harry fall from his grasp. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” Harry whispered back and then his presence faded from Draco’s mind altogether.

“What was that?” Snape asked, his brow creased with worry.

“What?” Draco replied, not willing to give up his secrets.

“Your eyes glazed white and you looked like you were in some sort of trance,” Snape told him.

“I told you I was in pain,” Draco replied.

Snape rolled his eyes. “Fine, don’t tell me,” he huffed.

Draco smiled to himself and closed his eyes, preparing for the muggle flight that would lead him closer to Harry.

Authors Note: Stupid King. Okay, to this prize today is one of the vampire blood pendants