Against His Nature

CHAPTER 40

“Must you stare at me?” Harry threw the pillow off his head unable to sleep with the weight of the eyes staring down at him. The bat clinging to the drapes of his dorm room bed, fluffed it’s leathery wings in reply before settling back on it’s upside down perch. Harry sighed heavily and rolled over to glare at the blonde sharing his bed. Draco’s mop of blond hair stuck out from beneath the covers, the gentle rise and fall of the boy’s chest a sure sign of his deep slumber. Not that Harry was jealous of Draco’s sleep, after all the blonde was exhausted having run for his life from his father this morning. It wasn’t ideal that Harry was sharing a bed with Draco, the single bed hardly gave them room to move, and Harry found it unsettling sharing a bed with his old enemy. However Octavia had insisted he keep the two of them under a watchful eye all night, hence the shared accommodation.

“Is he alright?” Harry finally settled on his back, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the bat. Snape had been summoned this evening just as had been predicted. Surprisingly Harry had felt it, his scar hadn’t burnt or bled just tingled a little. It had confused him, but when he’d confronted Octavia about it the Vampire had merely shrugged his shoulders and shooed him into bed with Draco. “I should be feeling something, maybe a vision or a dream.” Harry sighed in exasperation as he watched the bat, shuffle along the burgundy covered drapes out of a draft. “Voldemort will be angry, I always get the worst pains when he’s torturing someone, or when someone dies.” Harry whispered matter of factly, as he reached up to touch he scar. Since mating with Snape, Harry hadn’t experienced a single vision from Voldemort. The pain in his scar had almost disappeared, and the rawness of the scar that had never fully healed had in fact crusted over as if it was fixing itself. Neither the two Vampire’s or Dumbledore had cared to explain to him what was going on, all Harry knew was that he felt as if Voldemort’s connection with him was temporary disconnected. “I feel sick though.” Harry muttered as his stomach lurched in protest at the thoughts of someone dying tonight. “Maybe it’s the occlumency.” Harry reached to his neck and touched the ‘reflection rock’ that hung around his neck. Octavia had taught him to channel his occlumency skills through the rock, and in theory it was so simple Harry had wondered why Snape hadn’t taught him this sooner. Harry was still fingering the chain around his neck, when he felt the flap of wings before a solid weight fell onto the bottom of his bed, causing it to creak slightly.

“Do you ever sleep Mr. Potter?” Octavia lay reclined across the bottom of Harry’s bed having removed himself from the drapes. Harry stared at the Vampire who was polishing one of his pearly white incisors with his index finger. Octavia was dressed a lot more casually than Harry had ever seen him, in leather pants, dragon hide boots, and a black silk collared shirt he looked rather less imposing than when he was wrapped in his cloak. Admittedly the Vampire’s eyes still shone iridescent opal in the darkness, and his sharp incisors caught the slight flicker of moonlight but if you didn’t pay those features much attention, Octavia almost looked like a normal wizard.

“Aren’t you afraid of being caught, hanging around the castle? I thought most Vampire’s had gone underground since the wars?” Harry muttered just as sarcastically back at Octavia, who arched an eyebrow in the fledgling’s direction.

“Indeed, I would have done were it not an inconvenience to my business.” Harry stared at Octavia who pushed Draco’s feet out of the way so he could stretch out further on the end of the bed, like a giant house cat.

“And what business would that be?” Harry inquired snappishly, irritated by Octavia’s calm attitude when Snape was somewhere out there fighting Voldemort.

“Blood of course.” Harry didn’t have a reply to such a straightforward answer and so stared at Octavia in confused silence. “Contrary to the lies the Ministry tells the general wizarding populace, there are several hundred Vampire families still active. Unfortunately, fledglings are being born with intolerances to the ‘inhibiting potion’ due to its blanket use within the colony,” Harry watched carefully as Octavia continued his explanation. “Due to this intolerance to the potion, fledglings are requiring blood to feed from, without a continuous supply to those needing it the fledglings would be forced to hunt, and thus risk exposing our kind to the cruelties of a biased ministry of magic yet again.”

“So you find blood donors to feed the Vampire’s?” Harry whispered watching as Octavia nodded casually. The pair fell into silence as Draco snorted in his sleep, tossed several times before settling back down on Harry’s pillow, drool forming in the corner of his mouth. Octavia rolled his eyes at Draco’s antics before crooking his finger and gesturing for Harry to come to him. Crawling out of the blankets and sheets, Harry clambered across the short space over to Octavia. Harry squeaked a little in surprise as Octavia dragged Harry into his lap, so that Harry was sat in the hollow between Octavia’s cross legs. Harry stiffened a little in awkwardness as Octavia pulled him back against his chest, his delicately long hands, slipping underneath Harry’s pajama top to splay like a fan across Harry’s stomach. “What are you doing?” Harry hissed trying to pull Octavia’s hands off his stomach. Octavia nuzzled Harry’s neck, and automatically the boy fell limp and submissive in his arms leaning his head to the side allowing the elder, dominating vampire to feed if he wanted.

“Fledglings are so easily manipulated.” Octavia smiled to himself as he flattered his palms completely against Harry’s tense stomach, allowing the flow of magic between them, just as he’d done with Snape earlier in the evening. Harry’s stomach stopped churning and a sense of peace swept over him as he leant back into Octavia’s arms. “There is a reason you don’t feel him anymore,” Octavia began, his voice a soothing mellow wash over Harry’s body. “Vampire’s feel only their own kind. Having accepted Snape’s blood and heritage during your mating, you now share in his powers, his abilities. Snape’s magic is forcing Voldemort’s connection from your body; it’s an automatic reaction due to the Vampire blood running in your veins now. It our natural defense system that ensures the integrity and purity of our blood lines, and is the reason the ministry classifies us as dark creatures, unable to integrate with other inhabitants.”

“But you’re integrating with the wizarding world now aren’t you?” Harry whispered breathlessly as Octavia stroked his fingers across his belly in soothing circles.

“Indeed, we maybe selfish creatures who are loyal to non but our own kind but we are perfectly capable of living harmoniously with other inhabitants of our world. The ministry simply doesn’t wish to see this. Fear is the one controlling weapon the ministry have over its people, the Vampire’s have always known this, hence our current status as dark creatures.” Octavia took a deep breath in and rolled his neck, straightening a kink out as he basked in the fledglings tingling magic. They pair sat in silence for a long moment before Octavia’s relaxed body stiffened not a second before a there was a tapping on the window beside Harry’s bed. Harry snapped out of his euphoric state of bliss as Octavia flung himself from the bed and out of the privacy drapes. Shivering in the cold Harry followed Octavia to the window, where the elder Vampire had thrown it open and was staring at a bat, swishing back and forth to try and hold it’s position in front of the open window. Octavia was nodding in silence as he stared at the bat as if in deep conversation. All Harry could hear was a tiny high-pitched squeal, unable to decipher anything passing between the two-sided conversation. Octavia sneered in anger at the end of the conversation before throwing the window closed again as the bat drifted off into the night.

“What’s going on?” Harry pattered bear foot after Octavia who was silently moving about the dorm, collecting his own, and Harry’s cloak.

“We need to leave now.” Octavia murmured, his eyes shining almost opaque in the darkness as he tossed the cloak at Harry before unceremoniously dragging Draco from his slumber. Draco was disorientated and blindly allowed Octavia to throw on his cloak and his boots before being dragged out of the dorm. Harry scurried to keep up with Octavia’s long strides as the Vampire practically ran down out of the Gryfindor tower and into the deserted hallways of the castle.

“Where are we going?” Harry called out breathlessly as he stumbled down the stairs into the main foyer. Octavia came to a complete stop in the center of the foyer, his body spinning around to face Harry. Before Harry could even question Octavia’s intentions, the Vampire had caught Harry by the neck and pulled both he and Draco into the huge, dark folds of cloak. Harry found himself pressed face to face against Draco, both of them pressed tight against Octavia’s chest.

“Headmaster.” Harry felt the rumble in Octavia’s chest, as he spoke. Poking his head out from the fabric surrounding him, Harry stared up at Octavia’s face. The Vampire looked deadly, his incisors fully extended, his eyes narrowed so that barely a flicker of sapphire blue was visible. The Vampire’s arm was extended, straight and rigid, the hand not even trembling as he aimed his wand squarely at the wizard standing opposite him. Harry could see Albus Dumbledore standing across the other side of the foyer, his own wand drawn and aimed at Octavia. Harry had never seen the Headmaster look so fearsome, the usual twinkle of mirth completely vanished from his gaze. Harry glanced back at Draco within the confines of Octavia’s robes, a mask of fear covering Draco’s pale face.

“Where are you going with my students Octavia?” Albus inquired calmly, although his voice held no hint of levity it usually did. A smile twitched at corner of Octavia’s grim set mouth, the humor not quite meeting his dangerous gaze.

“It is Ironic don’t you think, that a party so wholly unconnected with this war should signal the beginning of the end of it?” Octavia’s voice had dropped in tone, the darkly mellow voice causing ripples of fear to spiral through Harry’s body in a cold shiver. “They are coming Headmaster.” Octavia breathed out in almost a hiss, as an icy cold wind swept through the castle from seemingly nowhere and blowing out all the torches and candles in the entire school. Instinctively Harry wrapped his arm around Octavia’s waist, as he felt both wizards flick their wands into small illumination against the icy darkness now enveloping the castle.

“If you take the boy, you will condemn us to death. He is our only hope.” Albus’ voice cut clear through the darkness, and Harry was sure he heard an undertone of worry just beneath the headmaster’s seemingly calm address.

“He is no longer a pawn, to be manipulated and used in this war.” Octavia spat out, as professors began appearing from the staircases into the foyer, undoubtedly alerted to something amiss in the castle. “If you wish, I will ask the council if it is in our interests to partake in this war,” Harry watched from within the warm confines of the cloak, as Albus nodded solemnly. “Our assistance will come at a price, if indeed at all.” Just as Octavia finished, an ear-piercing siren rang throughout the castle forcing everyone to cover their ears. Harry cupped his ears against the painful sound, as he watched professors begin scrambling to get to the house dorms to rouse the students. “Good luck Headmaster, I shall be in touch.”

Before he knew what was happening Harry and Draco were being ushered out of the foyer into the bitterly cold night, Octavia urging them to run in front of him as the headed for the gates. Behind him Harry could hear ominous sounding bangs, as locks, seals and wards began shutting down the castle. As Harry ran through the gates, he glanced into the sky. Above him in the distance he saw them coming, an army in flight that moved like a thundercloud across the sky towards Hogwarts. Harry stopped dead in his tracks to stare. The war had come, and far sooner than he ever imagined. Harry was suddenly torn, he should be back in the castle preparing to fight with his friends, yet even as he turned to run back an intense clench of his heart prevented him from moving. He desperately wanted to go back and fight just as he’d been preparing to do since he’d started at Hogwarts, yet his heart ached with pain at the very thought of not being with Severus Snape. “You can not ignore the pull Harry, it will kill you both.” Octavia breathed, as he stood tall, and with a careful arm dragged Harry and Draco back into the warm safety of the folds of his cloak.

“Your place is beside Snape, and should we choose to fight it will be together united that we will enter the battle. You can not fight this alone, you are one of us now.” With a resigned nod, Harry closed his eyes and collapsed against Octavia’s chest. As the roar of booms drew ever closer, Octavia whispered the charm and with a sickening pop the trio was gone.

TBC>>>>>

A/N Woohoo, Octavia sticks it to the old guy......will The Vampire's leave the Wizards to defend themselves or will they help?????? Haven't completely decided yet....(Well actually I have but I'm not telling you *Pokes tongue out at you all*)

Anyway, glad to see soooo many familiar user names, and I'm happy you're all still reading this. Hope these couple of chapters live up to your expectations. And keep those reviews coming, my muse is back and so needs to be fed in order to keep going...The more reviews, the quicker I update as you all are aware. Chocolate Covered Snape's to you all for all the lovely reviews, keep 'em coming.

Cheers RIFFRAFF