Love Bites (REPOST)

Chapter 16 ~ Adam Tells All

"What do you mean, Adam? I've never run across Vashti in my life," Hermione said.

"You didn't have to doctor. As long as the Professor has an interest in you and only you, you are a danger to Vashti's plans to turn him," Adam said.

Hermione looked at Severus sharply.

"Only me? I assure you Adam, the Professor is just toying with me because I'm in close proximity," Hermione said. "Any witch will do for him in a pinch."

"Is this true, Professor?" Adam asked.

Severus didn't say anything at first as he looked at the witch. So that is what she thought of him. That he was a man-whore. Gods. The Potions Master took a deep breath. He might as well spill it. He had already kissed her.

"I am quite interested in Dr. Granger," the dark wizard said, leveling his eyes on the witch, "she attracts me because she doesn't know what it is to desire a wizard, and to have that desire fulfilled. That intrigues me. At this point in time, yes, I have a vested interest in her, and only her," the wizard admitted. "She is a challenge."

"Oh shit," Adam thought. "She's a virgin. Talk about fortuitous."

The medi-witch leveled his eyes on the doctor.

"How do you feel about the Professor?" he asked her.

"I'm sure my feelings toward the Professor are tainted by Vashti's curse," she said evenly.

"So that means you've been thinking about sleeping with him?" Adam asked her, his eyebrows raised. Of course she was. Who wouldn't?

"That means," Hermione reiterated, "That I am being affected by the curse."

Adam rolled his eyes in exasperation. All right. That meant the witch wasn't willing to admit she wanted to be fucked by the wizard. He could come back to this later.

"All right. I think the best thing to do here is to start at the beginning with Vashti's background. Now I have to say that in academic circles, this is considered myth and conjecture," Adam said.

"Vashti was the Queen of a vast empire that was undergoing a revolution. The people were suffering and the Queen did nothing to alleviate it, focusing on her own pleasures and leaving them to starve. When the uprising of her subjects began, she quashed it viciously, killing men, women and children en masse, having public executions which consisted of horrible bloody tortures, the bodies nailed to the castle walls to be eaten by insects and stray animals. She was called "The Queen of Blood," in deference to her brutality."

"Vashti was poisoned by one of her court members. She had the entire group of them disemboweled and their innards draped from their bodies all about them as they were hung upside down on crucifixes lining the entryway into her castle."

"Near death, she struck up an evil bargain with the Dark Powers, the old gods and demons, a bargain that granted her eternal life and beauty, and power over the undead she created. This was sealed with her soul and she became the original dark Queen. Initially she had hundreds of minions…turned from revolutionaries that were captured alive. She bit them and turned them into an army of the undead, and used them against their own to end the war. Eventually methods were developed to kill the vampires and Vashti fled her kingdom, leaving her minions to die. No one knew where she went," Adam said, his eyes rolling toward Severus.

"I guess we know now…don't we?" he added before continuing.

"Anyway, some background on the vampires themselves is needed here. How they are created and so forth. This species contains minions, sentients and Queens. Minions are vampires created instantly from a single bite. They change so quickly that their brains are for the most part fried and they become bound to the will of the Queen alone. They exist at an animal level, self-preservation their only motivation unless directed otherwise by the Queen. They will attack whom she directs them to attack, and hunt what she allows them to hunt. For the most part they hang around the Queen's abode until needed. The Queen retains a portion of their life, or souls and that is what keeps them bound as well as keeps her powerful. These vampires cannot turn a human female. Only a sentient, which is a vampire containing the lifeblood of the Queen can turn a woman, and if she turns, she becomes a Queen as well. There are no female minions in this species."

"Sentients contain the lifeblood of a Queen and are purposely created. The Queen bites a human male but holds back from taking the full amount of blood to turn him instantly. So a gradual change occurs, one that allows the victim's mind to adjust to the turning and so retain his personality and self-will. A victim does not fully turn until he is drawn to the Queen and they mate, exchanging blood. When he turns he is retains his mind and is capable of self-rule, though connected to the Queen. Her blood lives within him. And he can create another Queen, though generally he will not."

"The change to a sentient is gradual. There will be physical changes in the body, changes in the blood, digestion, lower temperature, slow pulse and heartbeat, inability to digest most foods, dizziness and fainting spells, a developed taste for raw meat, fading of reflection, an increased sexual aura, and a growing lust driving him to the arms of the Queen for completion," Adam said.

Both Severus and Hermione nodded. The Potions Master was undergoing all these signs of turning with the exception of lust for the Queen…at this point in time.

The wizard adjusted his glasses and continued.

"However, if the victim has an interest in a single mortal woman, it can disrupt the turning for a time, his lust for the Queen redirected to the woman he desires. This can lead to quite frenzied mating sessions, often with the drinking of blood involved. It is not a true feeding, just a hunger that needs to be quenched. The bites are small and no fangs are involved. But eventually, the victim does seek out the Queen, inexplicitly drawn to where she is."

"If the mortal woman can inspire love from the tainted victim, she can break the link. No man can serve two masters. That is one way to stop the turning, and the safest…though the path is difficult because of the hunger of the tainted wizard. His sex is almost like vampire sex which is very brutal. Plus the Queen will attempt to kill the woman at every turn."

Hermione's eyes shifted to the Potions Master. This knowledge just made him even less of a starter wizard. For all intents and purposes during sex he would act like a vampire. She had never been with a normal wizard…how in the world could she sexually handle a wizard who was half-vampire, especially one with a cock as big as his? The witch shuddered. She had to get a handle on this. Maybe she could get him interested in another witch. Ginny Weasley wasn't married, and she was definitely willing. The red-haired witch had the experience too. Hermione would suggest it to the Professor later on as a viable option. If he agreed, he could probably get laid tonight.

Adam continued.

"Another way to stop the turning is to seek the Queen out and kill her before the turning completes. This is usually done by following the victim to her lair and killing the Queen before she mates with him. There are a number of ways to do this. Another Queen draining her blood is sufficient to kill her, but that new Queen might still claim the victim for her own. In rare situations the victim is released."

"Then there are the standard methods, a wooden stake through the heart combined with decapitation will work, cutting her into pieces with a blade of silver works as well. A crucifix applied to her body will destroy her, but you need to have great faith in the Christian Deity and Son for that to work, and let's face it, there aren't many saved wizards and witches. Most are pagans. Fire will kill her too, but you need to be sure she burns completely to ash or she will regenerate."

"Sunlight will not kill a Queen, but it will weaken her almost to the point of having no power. So if you can get her out into the sunlight, killing her is much easier, but you still need to use one of the aforementioned methods. Water blessed by a muggle priest will also slow her down, burning away her skin, but unless she is killed she will recover."

The problem with trying to kill the Queen is that her minions will protect her viciously from anything but another Queen. All the methods used to kill a Queen will kill a minion, but easier. A cut with a silver sword or just a stake in the heart will kill a minion. Sunlight will kill them too. The same with a sentient. They are not as powerful as a Queen and will die much easier. If the Queen has a sentient guarding her, however, usually it means a great battle. But he too will step aside if it is another Queen that approaches. Male vampires of this species will not attack Queens under any circumstances".

"There is one more way to stop a turning. An elixir called the Restoration Elixir. It hasn't been brewed in many, many years because of the rarity of the ingredients. I don't know the precise formula but it takes several weeks to brew, and requires the full bloom of the Agstani Plant, which is priceless, worth millions upon million of galleons. No one in his or her right mind would use a full bloom on a single potion, it is simply worth too much. A pinch could make a wizard rich for the rest of his life. But this potion literally restores the entire body. Even if a man were on the brink of death he would be restored. Not healed but every organ, every cell renewed to perfection. It is also called the Rebirth Potion," the wizard said.

Severus' eyes shifted slightly as Adam finished.

"Contrary to popular belief, vampires can live without blood. You can seal one up for centuries and when you go back, he'll still be alive. Not in the best shape, but still alive. Blood recharges their dead cells and keeps them active and strong. No blood will make them dormant. A good feeding can hold them over for weeks if they don't expend too much energy. And it doesn't have to be human blood, though human blood is preferred. Animal blood will keep them going. Most likely Vashti's clutch has been living off small animals and have avoided detection that way. Vampires only become a problem when they feed off of people."

The wizard finished with a satisfied look on his face. He folded his hands on the tabletop.

Hermione looked at Adam, then addressed him with a summation of what he told them.

"Okay so you are telling us the ways to stop the Professor from turning are one of the following: To make him fall in love with a mortal woman, follow him into the Queen's lair and kill her, or give him the Rebirth Potion," the witch said.

"Right in one," Adam responded. "Those are the usual methods. Unless you want to try and find a magical way to reverse Vashti's influence. In that case the Professor needs to be involved with one mortal woman and take potions such as blood replenisher to slow his turning so you have time to work on a cure, doctor."

Hermione's brow furrowed as her amber eyes shifted side to side. Severus recognized this look from when she was his student. She was thinking and thinking hard.

"What powers do vampires have, Adam?" she asked him.

"Well the minions can turn invisible and transform into bats. That's it. They are easy to identify because they look subhuman, not like sentient vampires or Queens who usually have attractive human forms."

"Sentient vampires can transform into more than one animal. Usually bats and wolves. They also have the power to mesmerize human females by looking in their eyes. Their influence is decidedly sexual when they do this, though they seldom indulge in sex with them. Usually they use the power to feed. They can turn invisible as well. Also they retain any skills they had in life"

"The Queen can turn into a number of animal forms, fly without transforming, mesmerize both male and female humans, turn invisible and strike blows from a distance."

Hermione nodded.

"And what are the best ways to protect yourself from a vampire?" she asked.

Adam looked at her.

"This is going to sound silly, but carry a pocket of seeds with you. A lot of seeds," he said.

"Seeds?" Severus said, raising his eyebrows and looking at the wizard doubtfully. "What kind of seeds?"

"Any kind. If you see a vampire approaching you, throw them down on the ground. For some reason they will stop what they are doing and count every single one. It's the weirdest thing. They also like to untangle things, so if you hang up tangled nets or ropes, they will stop and untangle them," Adam said.

"Then garlic works to hold them off for a bit. At least until they figure out they can hold their breaths. And moving water…they can't cross moving water. If you can get a brook, stream or river between youself and a vampire, they can't touch you."

Hermione looked very interested at this. Moving water. Hm.

Suddenly the buzzer to the infirmary sounded. Hermione rose.

"Come on, Adam. Someone needs assistance," she said.

Adam stood up and looked at Severus.

"Was that information good enough for you?" he asked the dark wizard.

"It was…informative," Severus conceded, "Thank you Adam."

"You're welcome," the wizard said shaking his head at the Professor. "I still can't believe Vashti herself wants you. That's amazing."

Adam followed Hermione out the door, switching profusely.

Severus sat there in silence digesting everything Adam said. He did know a lot about vampires.

So, he could keep from turning by killing Vashti, but he would be under her influence in her presence and it was very unlikely he'd be in the state of mind to kill her. Most likely he'd want to fuck the vampiress and complete his transformation. He shuddered.

Or, he could fall in love. But that was something that couldn't happen on demand. He wasn't interested in love. Sex, yes. Love, no. So that wouldn't save him. He was however, interested in Hermione, and she knew it now. Becoming sexually involved with her would slow his turning. But the witch needed to be worked on…hard.

Severus sighed. There seemed to be only one answer. The Agstani Flower. He would have to use it and brew the Restoration Elixir. There went all his dreams of wealth and glory. But the galleons would do him no good as a vampire.

The Potions Master tapped his finger on the tabletop sullenly. Brewing the Elixir would take at least five weeks, five weeks of constant vigilance. It wasn't something he could do alone. Also, he would have to slow down the turning. His black eyes darkened.

Initially, seducing Dr. Granger was going to be a rather naughty pleasure for him.

But now, it was a necessity.

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A/N: Adam did certainly know a lot about Vashti. Now Hermione knows Severus is interested in her and why. She is also shying away strongly, now that Adam revealed how the dark wizard would approach sex now. She plans to try to convince him to seek out Ginny Weasley…now what do you suppose he's going to say about that? We'll find out. Please review.