The Vampire's Mark

Chapter 5 of 7


Disclaimer: All characters, original story plot, etc. are the creation of one of my favorite authors, J. K. Rowling. They do not belong to me however much I wish it were so. If they were one of the events in The Order of the Phoenix and most of The Half-Blood Prince would never have happened . (I love you, Padfoot!) I have merely borrowed them in a twisted attempt to amuse myself and hopefully a few others. Lawyers, please be aware I have no money should you or your client decide to litigate. The only thing I own outright is my collection of Rock, Metal and Alternative Rock CDs, and NO, you cannot take them. (A few aren’t even mine.) If you’re nice I might let you borrow one, though I doubt it if you’re trying to sue.


“After the battle I took off for Ireland. I figured I’d just hang out for a while and recover. I stayed too late at some of the ruins three weeks in and Arie found me. He said my despair had been calling him. I begged him to kill me, to put an end to it. He called me stupid, told me that maybe I deserved to die if I could so callously ask for death. He probed my mind to find the reason behind my request. We were on the top ramparts of the castle when I fell off trying to break the mind link. The fall broke almost every bone in my body. Arie kept telling me he was sorry and he’d only meant to scare me a little. He knew as well as I did that I was dying.” I pause feeling the pain once more. “I was fine I assured him. I’d be with my loved ones soon. ‘But what about the one who holds your heart?’ he asked. ‘Draco will never let himself love Harry Potter. I have nothing to hold me here,’ I replied. He told me if I was willing he could make me forget it all. I could start with a clean slate, he’d give me new memories and I would have a new life, as a Vampire and his companion.”

“You were lovers?”

“No, my beautiful one. Only friends. A new beginning appealed to me and I accepted his proposal. It took two nights for the rebirth.” At Draco inquisitive gaze I explain. “To make a strong, healthy Vamp takes time. We exchanged blood over and over. When my human body died my past memories went with it. Arie replaced them with pleasant ones. We wandered together for eight years. He taught me how to read minds and emotions, how to Sip so I could be spared the need to kill. I learned so much from him. Then last winter he told me it was time to go out on my own; I had things I could only learn from self-experience. Before I left he told me ‘You will remember’. I assumed he meant him and our adventures but now I understand he meant my past.”

“I’m so sorry, Samuel…er Potter…Harry? What the bloody hell should I call you now?”

“Potter’s a bit formal don’t you think considering we finally admitted we loved each other. Call me Harry or Samuel, whichever you prefer.”

“Samuel then. I think it suits you. Much more refined than Harry. So, Samuel, what now?”

I leer at him hungrily. “Now we return to our previous activities. I find I’m quite ravenous for a certain blond Slytherin.”

“Oh,” was all he could say as we meet in a crush of limbs and lips.

It’s the following evening before Draco and I are able to gather enough discipline to get out of bed. Finding not so much as a crumb of bread in the kitchen for my lover we confer on a market list and make a quick trip to the local shop, luckily they’re open until ten. We return home laden with paper bags overflowing with Draco’s favorite foods, several bottles of red wine, more cream, and some fresh raspberries.

I’m staring into space imagining crushing the reddish pink berries on Draco’s pale skin before licking and nibbling them away when he catches my attention.

“Um, Samuel? I think it’s time we talk about us.”

“Okay.”

“Is there an us? Or is this a fling for you?” He lowers his eyes and shifts his weight from right to left foot.

“Of course there is. Merlin, but I’m beginning to think you didn’t appreciate what I said at all about you being mine.” I sigh heavyhearted. If Draco hadn’t comprehended what it meant I needed to explain. Would he still choose to stay?

“I guess I don’t, not completely anyway.”

‘He looks worried,’ I think. “I assumed you knew. I figured you being Head Boy you would’ve learned all about Vampires. Didn’t you do your last DADA report on them?”

“I never came across anything about sexual behavior, Potter. I wasn’t really concerned with that at the time. How was I to discern I’d need it?”

“Wait here a sec.” I hurry to the library, find a large tome, and return to the kitchen. Setting it on the table I flip open to the sixth chapter ‘Vampire Bonds’. “Read this. It’ll tell you everything about bonding, including how to get out of it if you desire.”

“Who says I want to, Potter?” he sneers.

‘It’s Potter when he’s mad then.’ “I didn’t say you did, love. But it is an option. You may change your mind after you’ve read more.” I caress his cheek, praying it will not be the least touch between us. I try to smile. “Take it to the library and call for me when you’ve made your decision.”

“But---”

“Draco, this can go no further until you know the full ramifications. Make the decision you feel is best for you. I’ll support it.”

“But I love you.”

“I love you too. That’s why we need to be certain. Now go. I’ll fix you something to eat.”

He leaves silently never seeing the watery blood tears fall. ‘If I lose him I have lost myself.’ I swipe the wetness away and set out to prepare Draco the best meal he’s ever had.

When I was still alive I discovered that while magically prepared food tasted great nothing could compare to the joy of making food the Muggle way. While chopping, stirring, and braising I think about the book my houseguest is reading. I have read it so many times I have its pages memorized.

…While ninety-five percent of Vampires prefer the solitude of being alone, there is a small percentage of the race that form attachments with either another Vampire or magical being. This rare occurrence most notably happens in older (over ten decades) Blood Drinkers who yearn for company after decades of loneliness. Every now and again a fledgling (younger than two decades) will seek to form a Bond with another being. Almost every instance that occurs is formed with an Elder, usually their Sire. There have only been two known cases in which the youngster has been Bound to magical beings. The first took place in 470 A.D. Leki, a Veela who had been turned eighteen years earlier Body Bound a wood nymph to him. Two years later Seri, the nymph, died. It is believed she killed herself upon finding Leki with another woman.

Next is the tragic but true story of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet was turned at the tender age of fifteen. She met the Wizard Romeo Montague twelve years later. He was sixteen. Records are sketchy but Juliet was severely injured and entered the coma like state in which her kind heals. Romeo, unaware she was not ‘dead’ killed himself. Upon waking to find his body Juliet built a bonfire and flung herself and her lover on it, burning herself to ashes.

…There are two types of Bonds. The Body Bond is one of protection. The dominant Vampire marks his intended by biting their neck. The wound is left slightly unhealed. This causes the faintest of scars only another Vampire can see. It ‘marks’ the wearer as under the protection on one stronger and more powerful. Often, but not always, the two will Heart Bond. This can only be performed after the Body Bond has been completed. Both participants must agree to the Heart Bond, unlike the Body Bond. It requires both parties to have deep feelings for each other, a sharing of bodily fluids, and a commitment and mutual desire to be together. Once complete the Bonded will have a desire only for their mate and will spend the remainder of their days madly in love.

Research suggest the Bonds can be broken only within the first forty-eight hours of completion if both Bondees wish it with a simple confession to do so.

The odds aren’t exactly stacked in my favor. Only two fledglings, both older than me, has ever Bound themselves to magical beings. Both ended horribly. Will Draco decide not to take that risk?