Heirs
Hermione could feel the whispers of the wind, the warmth of the sun above, the scent of the flowers that surround her, and the softness of the grass beneath her feet. All of this reminded her that she was still very much alive. After the incident at Hogwarts occurred, most of the occupants of the Castle were transported to Gryffindor Lands. Since then, most of those who were almost as old as her began their preparation for the upcoming war, but not everyone was willing to go to war.
Neville, for one, was called back by his grandmother to their safe house, preventing the werewolf to stay with them despite wanting to. The Vampires, headed by Blaise and Pansy, retreated to the safety of their own Lands, but they promised to convince their own Heads of Houses to join them in the war. The loss of Albus Dumbledore was a huge blow to them, the last straw that bound what was left of the Great Coven now broken.
It had been two years and the Dark Lord’s faction had remained silent as ever. Hermione knew that this was the calm before the upcoming storm. She closed her eyes and she remembered what happened that day as clear as if it was yesterday.
Theo’s body was also taken back to his Family. Her fists clenched at the memory, at the sight of Ginny when she came upon them at the Great Hall clutching onto the body of Theo. She emanated a dark energy that they feared she was also overtaken by the darkness.
But when she swore that she would kill Nymphadora for what she did, Hermione could do nothing but to hold her in her arms as the witch cried.
When ‘Requiem’ was casted, it could not penetrate the barrier of Ravenclaw’s Chamber, thus not reaching Theo and Ginny.
She could never forget the scream and the howl that followed when Harry woke only to find Draco gone. His wolf howled into the empty darkness hoping for something, anything to call back at him, only to find nothing.
It was the first time she had ever seen Harry cry and it broke something inside of her. She bit her lip and it bled. She blamed herself for not being strong, for being so weak at the face of their enemies. She would remain grateful to Draco for what he did that night and she swore she would return the favour by bringing him back to where he belonged.
In that moment, they all swore to become stronger than they were before, to never ever lose someone they love ever again and the promise to take back what was lost to them made them strong.
Her musings were snapped short when she felt a shift in the wind. She looked beyond the cliff where she stood as she felt the hum of another layer of barrier, hers, hummed along with her magic. She felt a few of the pack had returned already and she felt a few vampires with them, some whose presences were familiar to her. She quickly summoned her broom and travelled back to the Pack house.
--
Wolves and Witches gathered around a carriage led by Threstals, watching, wary and curious. James and Lily stood upfront as if they were waiting for Hermione. Pansy and Blaise stood at either side of the door poised as Hermione was able to remember. When her eyes found the black carriage, she felt a presence that faintly belonged to the Dark Lord surface from it.
It was no wonder that almost every warrior and witch was here prepared to attack and kill them. The only reason they haven’t was because some of those who went to Hogwarts recognized Pansy and Blaise.
She nodded her head at James and Lily who did the same. The Alpha signalled the werewolves to stand down, but still prepared to attack. Pansy’s lips quirked up a small smile towards them before she spoke.
“I would hug you right now, Hermione, but formalities had to be upheld.” Hermione shook her head at this and smiled. “My name is Pansy Parkinson and this is Blaise Zabini. We are a part of the late Albus Dumbledore’s Order.”
Sirius, who was watching from the side-lines, could not help but voice out what was on his mind. “I’m sure you did not come here just to introduce yourselves, did you?”
Pansy grinned at Sirius’ forwardness and her fang gleamed in amusement. “Of course not, Sirius Black.”
Sirius huffed in amusement and James looked exasperated at the exchange. He was sure even Remus was doing the same. But because of this small banter of theirs, the heavy mood in the air cleared up slightly.
“How about introducing your friends that are hiding inside the carriage?”
The mood then became heavier than before and the calm demeanour of the two Vampires became permeated with the strong scent of protectiveness.
“So, what brought you here?” Hermione then broke her silence before things got even messy and Blaise answered for them this time.
“We are here to propose an alliance.”
Whispers from the whole pack began to buzz around and James looked at them warily, understanding the reaction of his Pack at this.
The Vampires who were unaffiliated to the Dark Lord made it clear long before that they have no desire to aid them in any more wars. And now they decided to join the play field, suspicious, very suspicious if he might say so. But he didn’t think he no longer had to voice it out as the vampires that stood guard seem to read what was on his mind.
“We know you might feel suspicious about our behaviour, knowing our previous animosities toward each other way before this war. If our situations were reversed, we would also feel the same,” Pansy explained.
James nodded seemingly agreeing with her reasoning.
All eyes then snapped to the sudden opening of the carriage door, surprising the people gathered there. A woman with raven curly hair fixed to one side, wearing what seems to be a dress Hermione deemed not proper for travelling, came out.
“I wondered what was taking so long.” Her soft smooth voice rang in the silence and Blaise offered his hand for the woman to take then guided the woman to face James and Lily. Hermione noticed the similarities of Blaise and the woman only to realize that they are Mother and Son.
“It’s rare to see one of the remaining pillars of the Vampire faction to actually come all the way here,” James voiced out only to be proven wrong when another person came out of the carriage with a face they all knew too well.
“Severus,” Lily’s soft voice rang as the surly man merely nodded at them. As soon as he took a step forward, he was swiftly surrounded by five wolves and witches directing their wands right at him.
“If you had wanted us to ally with you, then you shouldn’t have brought him here. He is a marked,” Sirius argued.
“And yet I was able to enter the Blood Ward of Narcissa,” Severus quipped back at him, his eyes sharp and showing no emotion.
“Enough.” A voice that seem to hold over authority chimed, making every one’s eyes turn back at the carriage.
Blaise escorted a vampire wearing a cloak its hood covering its face to face the leaders of Gryffindor. His eyes seemed to glow red. James and the others who knew Lucius before realized just who the vampire right in front of them was. James knew they could no longer talk about such matters outside, so he decided to invite them all in and listen to what they have to say.
“Shall we take this inside?” Pansy then nodded. She, along with Blaise, walked behind the vampire who was flanked by Blaise’s mother and Severus.
--
Inside the main Conference Room, at one end, sat James, Lily, Sirius and Remus. At the other end were the Vampire Party while Hermione sat at the middle, acting as a mediator.
The werewolves, other than Lily, were glaring openly at Severus. The tension in the air was thick and heavy. Hermione could not help but turn to stare at the vampire who still hadn’t revealed himself. She was unsure on how the he was feeling, but she noticed that the he did not shy away from their glares and seem to glare back at them.
“If you really are that suspicious of Severus, I already removed the mark on his arm. And, besides, from the start he has always been loyal to my family,” the vampire glared at the adults as if reprimanding them and challenging them for their animosity.
Hermione could not help the quirk of her lips.
“Your family?” Their animosity now changed to curiosity towards the boy who seem to know more than they let on. Ephira Zabini turned her eyes towards Severus as if confirming something, but the Vampire just turned to their leader and the unease between them settled down.
The vampire then raised both of his pale hands and began to remove his hood. Several gasps echoed within the room. The boy had white-like blonde hair, pale skin, red lips, high cheekbones and thick white eyelashes that framed his ruby eyes. The boy then slightly tilted his neck to show what seems to be a tattoo of the crest of the Malfoy Family, the undeniable proof that he was now the current Head and the Elder of the Vampire Clan.
“The Dark Lord holds that mark. How did you—“ Sirius began but was easily cut off by the Vampire.
“How did I obtain it?” He leaned back on his chair, his eyes boring on every single one of them. His red eyes were guarded, showing no emotions as he then began to explain to them how he was able to obtain it. “My Father went to great lengths, for me to obtain this mark.” His eyes flitted away from them to stare at something that caught his attention outside before he continued. “I had to be bitten by the Dark Lord for this mark that was stolen from us had to be returned. Father was catatonic during the process, but he knew it had to be done or else we lose everything.”
“Then you have seen him? The Dark Lord?”
His eyes pierced James’ brown eyes before he answered. “Yes. His powers are growing so steadily, but you don’t have to worry about him going anywhere soon.”
The weres in the room could feel the tension in the air upon hearing the Dark Lord gaining power, but the vampire’s words gave them something to hold on.
“What do you mean by that?”
“My Father used the power of our Ancestral house to chain him there. He would not be able to head to Hogwarts to open the gates.”
A relieved sigh was unconsciously released by James and the tension in the air slightly dissipated.
“But what about your Father? Would he be alright within the Dark Lord’s lair?” Hermione asked and the others perked up at this, forgetting for a moment that this was only possible due to another person’s sacrifice.
“My Father would be alright. However, I’d rather have him back by my side.” And for the first time since they had met the new Sire of Vampires, they saw a hint of emotion within his features. The mood was now sombre and the adults were feeling sympathetic towards the boy.
“Would you agree to it?” His eyes were now back to all business-like as he leaned forward. “An alliance between our races.”
James looked towards Hermione who bowed her head in agreement, remembering the friend she lost and the one she had to repay. Draco’s words ringing on her ears, but she knew it was not only her decision to make. They had to wait for Harry and the others to return from their Horcrux hunting to fully make a decision.
The Vampire seemed to notice this and so he stood up from where he was and voiced out, “I am sure this is not only your decision to make. Therefore, I will leave both Lady Ephira and Blaise here as my ambassadors. Please, treat them well.”
He gestured for Severus to hand them something and the surly man took out a slightly big box and placed it on top of the table. He pushed it towards Hermione’s direction and he spoke, “I am sure you know what this is.”
Hermione’s eyes flicked to her old professor to the vampire and lastly towards Alpha James. She then slowly edged her hands to open the box where she had been feeling the Dark Lord’s aura from.
As soon as she opened the box, she felt the darkness of the Horcruxes whispering to her. She closed it off as quick as she had seen it, her eyes snapped towards the Vampire who merely gave her a look. She pursed her lips, stopping herself from hastily asking questions.
“You should know, Miss Granger, these objects are not meant to be destroyed but to be freed.”
Hermione’s eyes widened. She had tried for months to destroy the Horcrux they found a year ago, but it only reformed itself proving to be indestructible.
Before she could ask questions, the Vampire then turned to James, flanked by Severus. “I hope you will accept our offer, Alpha James Potter.”
James stood up to shake the Vampire’s offered hand. “I hope so as well, Sire of the Vampires.”
A chuckle reverberated in the room and all heads turned to stare at Ephira Zabini. She did not seem fazed at this and merely smiled with her fangs glistening, Blaise’s clear annoyance with his mother showed by his eye roll.
“My Sire, you forgot to introduce yourself,” she voiced out and the Vampire seemingly just realized this tilted his head.
“You are right Lady Ephira.” He then quirked up an amused smile as he introduced himself.
“I am Regulus Malfoy.”
--
“Are you sure you won’t meet with him?” Severus’s voice rang within the carriage as they flew away.
Regulus was looking down at the fading view of Gryffindor Lands. He leaned back as he covered his left eye, the red fading away as his original eye color reverted back.
“No, I won’t meet with him unless necessary. What he needs right now is to focus on defeating the Dark Lord.” His hand fell away to reveal heterochromatic eyes, his left bearing emerald color and on his right mercurial. It was a sign of his origins that he was deigned to protect.
“And if I were to save him, I have to keep my promise to Father.”
Severus nodded in understanding.
“I left Orion to watch over him, for the time being. Bella keeps him close to her, let us just hope that we wouldn’t be too late.”
“Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can feel him. I can feel the cold, the loneliness, his screams.” He blinked back the tears that were now beginning to show as he felt the Aging Potion about to fade.
Severus watched as the child in front of him revert back to his original form. He stared at the boy, not more than the age of 12, feeling the heavy weight of his responsibility. He could not help but hold the child in his arms as he sniffled. He remembered when he was just a wee babe. He was not even able to see them properly grow due to the spell that Bellatrix performed on them to accelerate their growth.
“I will take them back, Uncle Sev.”
The child looked up at him his eyes flaring with determination and strength that he knew was innate to the child. He could not help but admire him for it.
“I will be with you every step of the way, my little King.”
--
Bellatrix hummed a song as she strutted into the halls of the Manor. Finding the room she was looking for, she stepped right in without even knocking. A smile graced her lips as her eyes landed on a boy not older than 12 sitting by the window sill and staring at the midnight sky.
“How is my little Raven?” she quipped and the boy merely tilted his head towards her direction, his heterochromatic eyes glowing in the darkness. His left eye was mercurial grey and on his right was emerald. His black hair tousled and clothes rumpled, clearly showing that he hadn’t got any sleep.
“I can’t sleep, Aunt Bella.” He leaned his head at the window as he picked up a dagger that glinted with the moon’s light. The memories in it flashed before his eyes and he clutched the dagger tightly.
“You still feel guilty about what you did to Draco?”
His eyes glared at the woman in front of him, no fear on the consequences. Bellatrix merely smiled at the boy.
“I stabbed my own Mother with this knife,” he replied bluntly and harshly, clearly showing disdain at what he did.
“Well ‘your mother’ strapped your Father to this Ancestral house and tried to kill him all in order to protect ‘your traitor of a brother’ who right now is traipsing with your Father’s enemies.” The boy glared at her with a passion and Bellatrix merely sauntered to sit at the foot of the bed. “It’s not your brother’s fault that he was tainted by your Mother’s ideals that those mudboods would seek to have peace with us. Oh no, because all those mudbloods want is to eradicate us all.”
He turned away from Bellatrix and the woman stalked to where he sat and forced his chin to face her. “If you think your Family would still accept you for everything that you have done. Well you are mistaken, my child. Draco might have been the one to give birth to you but I am the one that raised you.”
The boy did the mistake to look away from her and Bellatrix clamped her fist and directed it at him. Invisible chains run up throughout his body to constrict his airways and to show just who he belongs to.
“Remember, child. Your life is mine.” She released him and the boy coughed, his back away from Bellatrix to reveal a blackened burn mark on his back. Bellatrix released out a chuckle at the mark he received from Draco when he stabbed him, their last attempt to stop him from chaining the Dark Lord in this God forbidden land.
“Your name befits you, Corvus. A little bird whose wings were scorched and left blackened by your own blood.”