Visions of an Empath

Chapter 8

Severus stirred the potion twice and reached for the dragon’s blood. As he tipped the phial over, a sharp pain shot through his left arm. Cursing under his breath, he quickly set the phial aside and put out the fire underneath the cauldron. The potion was ruined, but cleanup could wait until he got back.

Severus hurriedly packed several phials of the latent inheritance potion, knowing it would mean his death if he left them. Grabbing his robes and mask, Severus left the safe house and apparated to the meeting. He mentally groaned, though, when he saw the utter fury on the Dark Lord’s face. This meeting would not go well at all.

Voldemort glared at his followers. “Severus, have you found the traitors yet?”

Severus moved forward and bowed before the Dark Lord. “No, milord. I’ve been unable to find a trace of either Malfoy.”

“Crucio!” Voldemort grinned viciously at the screams he pulled from the stoic Potions Master. “And Potter? What news of him?”

Severus panted in pain and tried to control his trembling limbs. “Nothing, milord. He seems to be missing, as well. The Order is searching for him also.”

Voldemort growled in fury. “Crucio!” After several long, agonising moments, Voldemort released the spell. “I want that boy found, Severus. Do not fail me again. I won’t be so lenient next time.” Whirling away from Severus, he snapped his fingers imperiously.

Bellatrix grinned madly and stood beside Severus.

“Severus, the potion,” said Voldemort shortly.

Severus withdrew one of the potion phials and handed it to the Dark Lord. Voldemort looked at the phial and then looked at Bellatrix. Severus turned his head to also look at Bellatrix, but a hand suddenly shoved him forward.

“Look, another volunteer,” hissed Voldemort smugly. Gripping Severus’ jaw in one hand, he forced the other man to drink the potion. Once Severus had swallowed the potion, Voldemort released him and watched avidly as the other man fell to the floor, gasping and writhing in pain. After a few moments, Severus abruptly stilled. Voldemort grinned and turned to address his other followers. “It seems the potion is deadly to those who have no magical creature blood. Pity Severus didn’t know that. Bellatrix, dispose of him.”

Bellatrix cackled madly and levitated Severus’ body before stalking out of the room with the Potions Master’s body trailing in her wake. Once she reached the forest outside of the manor, Bellatrix dropped Severus unceremoniously to the ground. She turned to leave when a soft growl came from behind her. Bellatrix slowly turned around and saw Severus crouched on the ground, red eyes focussed on her.

“Stupefy!” she shouted desperately, but she was too late. The spell completely missed Severus. Before she could shout another spell, Severus ripped her wand out of her hand and sank his teeth into her throat, drinking down the fresh supply of blood greedily.

Severus didn’t kill her, though. As driven by bloodlust as he was, he still returned enough of his human mind to realise that he still needed her alive. Instead, he drank enough to greatly weaken Bellatrix and put her under thrall, giving her just a taste of his blood to seal the spell. She would obey him unconditionally, and no one would be the wiser.

Bellatrix’s eyes flashed red before returning to their normal colour, signifying that the spell was successful. Now Severus would be able to control her even at a distance. Severus nodded in satisfaction and stepped away from her.

“Obliviate!” Bellatrix’s eyes glazed over. “Bellatrix, you will return to the Dark Lord and report my death. You incinerated my body and buried the ashes.”

Bellatrix woodenly turned and headed back toward the manor. As she disappeared into the manor, Severus fell to his knees as realisation of what he’d become hit him. He was a vampire. Even now he could feel the gnawing in his gut from his desperate need of blood. He would have to leave the safe house. It was too dangerous for him to stay. He could hurt, or kill, someone because of his constant bloodlust.

With a weary sigh, Severus got to his feet and apparated back to the safe house. He would have to sneak in to get his belongings and get out quickly. Creeping stealthily through the house, Severus hurried into his room only to freeze in shock.

“What are you doing in here?”

***

As Harry began to follow Lucius from the library, he suddenly stopped and cocked his head to the side as if looking at some distant object. A moment later, he went back into the library and walked to last bookshelf, blindly grabbing a book from the second shelf. As Draco watched in bemusement, he flipped quickly through the pages and stopped, blinking slowly out of his daze. Harry looked curiously at the page and just knew that the potion would be needed soon.

“Draco, can you brew this correctly?”

Draco took the book and looked down at the page, gasping in surprise. “Why the bloody hell do we need a bloodlust suppressant? We don’t know any vampires.”

“Can you brew it or not?” asked Harry impatiently.

Draco scowled and read the instructions. “Yes, I can. Now tell me why we need it.”

“To help a vampire, of course. Start immediately. He’ll be here within the hour.” With that said, Harry left a stunned Draco behind as he hurried to catch up with Lucius.

“What kept you?” asked Lucius as soon as Harry rushed into the study. Nervous about his upcoming proposal, he hadn’t noticed the brunette’s absence until he’d reached the study. By then, he heard Harry approaching, so he sat down in his favourite armchair to hide his nervousness.

“Oh, I just needed to ask Draco to do a favour for me,” said Harry nonchalantly. He walked toward Lucius and sat down on the sofa, staring at Lucius expectantly. “So what did you want to talk about? Did one of the house-elves have news to report?”

“Yes, actually,” said Lucius slowly. “Toffee reported that Hufflepuff’s cup is currently ensconced in the Lestrange vault at Gringotts.”

Harry sat back with a scowl. “Well don’t that just bugger all. It’ll be damn near impossible to reach it.” He looked back up at Lucius. “Any ideas? You do seem to have a knack for stealthy retrievals.”

Lucius smiled slightly at the comment. “Not yet, but I’m sure we’ll think of something. We always do.”

“Was that what you were so nervous about?” asked Harry innocently. “Yeah, it was a little disappointing, but this Voldemort we’re talking about. He never makes things easy for me.”

Lucius abruptly stood and pulled Harry to his feet. Then he dropped to one knee and pulled out the ring box, holding it up toward Harry. “Harry, will you do me the honour of marrying me in formal bonding ceremony? I-I know we haven’t been together long- a month, in fact- but I do love you, and I wish nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. And before you ask, the fact that I’m a Frost Drake and you’re my mate may have started the relationship, but my feelings for you have only deepened the longer I’ve gotten to know you.”

Harry stared down at Lucius in shock. Honestly, he’d never expected this from Lucius. Considering the fact that he was merely a half-blood, he’d figured the drake bond would be all Lucius would want. But here Lucius was offering Harry his entire world. How could Harry say no to that?

At Harry’s continued silence, Lucius sighed. “Maybe I...”

Harry quickly covered Lucius’ mouth with his hand to stop the rest of his sentence. “Yes, Lucius. The answer is yes.”

Lucius smirked and took the ring, sliding it gently on Harry’s ring finger. He then placed a soft kiss on Harry’s knuckles and climbed back to his feet.

Harry grinned impishly up at him. “Was that what had you so worried?”

Lucius turned his nose up in the air. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Harry just smiled. “Hey, I thought we were supposed to seal this deal with kiss. You’re slacking in you duties, mate.”

“I guess I need to remedy that then, don’t I,” murmured Lucius. He pulled Harry close and captured his mate’s smiling lips in a deep kiss.

Harry quickly responded to the kiss, pressing his body closer to Lucius, the waves of lust and love coming from the blonde igniting his own. Lucius growled softly and pushed Harry against the wall, devouring his mate’s mouth voraciously. He suddenly lifted Harry off his feet, pulling the brunette’s legs around his hips.

Feeling Lucius’ thick arousal against his own, Harry moaned softly and wrapped his legs more tightly around Lucius. Lucius responded by thrusting against Harry, pulling another loud moan from the brunette. Lucius ripped his mouth away from Harry’s clinging lips and trailed enticing kisses down the brunette’s throat.

“Lucius,” gasped Harry, head leaning weakly against the wall. Another hard thrust had Harry keening softly, hands gripping Lucius’ shoulders fiercely.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Harry blinked dazedly and looked at the door uncomprehendingly. Lucius growled at his mate’s distraction and pulled Harry into another consuming kiss, thrusting steadily against the brunette. The renewed assault to his senses quickly sent Harry over the edge, and he came with a muffled scream, dragging Lucius along with him.

“Dammit, Potter, you asked me to brew this potion, and here it is. What the bloody hell do I do with it now?” yelled Draco through the door.

“Sev’s potion. Needs it now,” muttered Harry, pushing weakly against Lucius.

Lucius growled and reluctantly released Harry. As Harry headed immediately toward the door, Lucius muttered a quick cleansing charm and followed the dazed brunette. Harry opened the door and took the phial from Draco.

Conjuring a goblet, Harry poured the potion into the cup and handed it back to Draco. As Draco watched in confusion, Harry cast a cutting hex on his arm and allowed his blood to drip into the goblet. The sight of his mate’s blood quickly brought Lucius out of his bemusement.

“What the hell are you doing?” Lucius grabbed Harry’s arm and healed the cut, scowling down at his reckless mate.

“It’s for Severus. It will help with his bloodlust,” said Harry calmly.

“What are you talking about?” asked Draco. “Severus isn’t a vampire.”

“He is now,” said Harry. He took the goblet back from Draco and stepped around the young blonde. “He’ll be here in just a few minutes, and he’ll need this immediately.” With that said, he calmly carried the goblet to Severus’ room to wait for the new vampire.

“If Severus is a vampire, there is no way in hell I’m letting Harry face him alone,” growled Lucius, stalking after his fearless mate.

“Wait!” cried Draco. When Lucius stopped with a scowl, Draco asked, “So what did he say?”

Lucius smirked smugly. “He said yes, of course.”

Draco grinned as Lucius disappeared down the stairs. It looked like Potter would live to see another day, after all.

***

Harry looked curiously around Severus’ bedroom. He’d never been in this room before, but it was so Severus. There potions’ books littering the shelves of the bookshelf as well as several potions of various colours on the desk. What was surprising, though, were the numerous Stephen King and Dean Koontz novels amongst the academic books.

“No wonder the bastard’s so damn scary,” muttered Harry, pushing a copy of The Stand back onto the shelf. “He reads these for inspiration.”

Lucius laughed at Harry’s comments and sat down at the desk. “Nah, he didn’t need those books to become scary. It’s genetic.”

Harry just smiled wryly and sat down on the bed, cradling the goblet carefully. A few minutes later, the door slowly opened, and a dark figure crept inside only to freeze in shock.

“What are you doing in here?” Severus demanded.

“I brought you this,” said Harry placidly, holding up the goblet.

The scent of blood hit Severus hard. He snatched the goblet out of Harry’s hand and gulped it down before he was even aware he’d done so. Almost immediately, the gnawing hunger in his stomach ebbed away, leaving a warm, sated feeling. Severus looked at the empty goblet blankly before turning his astonished gaze toward Harry.

“How did you know?”

Harry shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know. I just did. It was like when we left the Dursley’s on my birthday. I just knew we needed to leave right then.”

“Well that certainly explains a few things,” said Lucius thoughtfully. “You’ve always been extraordinarily lucky. I’d guess you’re mildly precognitive. Just enough to get hints and feelings about certain things, though.”

“Yeah, whatever. What exactly was in this goblet?” asked Severus impatiently. He was worried about any possible side effects from whatever was added to the blood.

“A bloodlust suppressant and a bit of my blood,” said Harry with a shrug. He suddenly grinned impishly. “Don’t worry, though. Draco brewed the potion.”

“Thank Merlin for that,” said Severus, sighing in relief. “I’d hate to survive the Latent Inheritance Potion only to die from being poisoned by Potter’s ineptitude at potions.”

Harry scowled at Severus. “You could show a little more gratitude, you know. I didn’t have to do this for you at all.” He abruptly climbed to his feet and stalked to the door. “I don’t know why I even bother. It’s a complete waste of time.”

“Thank you.”

Harry stopped short at the soft voice, looking back at Severus in disbelief. “What did you say?”

Severus scowled slightly. “Thank you, Harry. I really do appreciate this. I thought I would have to leave the safe house because I couldn’t control my bloodlust. Thanks to you, that is no longer an issue.”

Harry could see how hard it was for Severus to express his gratitude so bluntly, especially to the son of his school rival. “You’re welcome.” With a nod to Severus and shy smile to Lucius, Harry left the room.

As the sounds of Harry’s footsteps faded into the distance, Severus turned toward Lucius with a raised brow. “You asked him to marry you?”

Lucius just gave Severus a look of smug satisfaction. “Yes, and he agreed.”

Severus snorted. “I figured you would just perform the drake bond.”

The smug look fell away. “I think maybe Harry thought that, too. Even now he has a hard time believing just how much he means to me.”

Severus sighed. “Despite what I wanted to believe about the brat, I realise now that Harry was horribly neglected as a child. Even when I saw into his memories, I willfully ignored the signs right in front of me. You do have an advantage, though.”

“Yeah, and what’s that?”

“Harry’s empathic. As long as you really care for him, he’ll feel it,” said Severus softly. “And that’s the best reassurance he could have.”

Lucius smiled and clapped Severus on the shoulder. “I see Harry’s grown on you, too.”

Severus scowled at Lucius. “I’ll deny it to my dying day.”

Lucius just laughed. “You’re a vampire. That day has come and gone, my friend.”