No, I am not dead, and yes, I am still alive. I said I would never drop any of my stories, so here I am, writing a new chapter. I know I have been on hiatus for a long time. Apologies. I had this chapter half done and finished the last part recently. You guys may have noticed a change in my writing style and that will continue forward as I move on with future chapters. (I would like to think I have improved.) I will be updating my other stories as well once I have time. Cheers.

Disclaimer: JKR wrote Harry Potter. Unless I can time travel back, I can't say that I am JKR.

Chapter 8: Dysfunctional Families

The Sanguina family screamed elegance. One would not be able to tell by Haemon's behavior, but as soon as Harry stepped through the gate into the Sanguina family home, grace and elegance swirled around her. Harry struggle not to gape, but she could not hide the expression of wonder on her face. Thanos curled around her neck and made a pointed move to pretend to be asleep, clearly unimpressed and bored with the whole process. As the duo stepped into the estate, a small entourage composed of maids and butlers greeted the at the entrance.

"Welcome back Master."

An old man, of a quite short stature greeted Haemon.

"Thank you, Albert." Haemon replied. "Any news from the elders?"

"No Master, they have only sent another messenger to remind you of the centennial celebrations coming up."

Haemon gave a sharp nod. "Very well, I shall draft a letter tonight. Meanwhile, call the family. I have an announcement to make before dinner tonight."

The butler nodded before pausing to look at Harry trailing behind Haemon.

"And respectfully Master, may I inquire what a … mortal is doing here?" He asked, quite disdainfully emphasizing Harry's status.

"Albert. You should show respect to my heir." Haemon cut in sharply.

Properly reprimanded, Albert gave a stiff bow, before addressing Harry.

"Apologies mistress." He bit out.

Harry remained silent, still standing behind Haemon. Sensing the tense atmosphere, Haemon broke out into an exuberant grin.

"Well, since introductions are over, if one of you could escort Harry to her room and prepare for dinner, it would be quite lovely." He announced pointedly.

Albert nodded and motioned to one of the maids to lead Harry. Harry on the other hand, gave Haemon a stare.

"It will be fine princess." He teased lightly.

Harry however, flinched at the moniker that her family had called her before. Noticing this, Haemon, quickly changed his speech.

"How about this little lady, go and follow the maid and prepare for dinner. I shall come fetch you when it is time. I promise no one will hurt you or bite you." He smiled reassuringly. "Well, if they do, I will be sure to make them pay with blood if your little friend hasn't already done so." He gestured to Thanos, who was still pretending to be asleep around Harry's neck.

Harry nodded solemnly, and followed the maid into the hall. Turning to Albert, Haemon gave him a hard stare.

"We have to talk."

Haemon began to walk swiftly into his office, Albert at his heels.

Once they have walked into the study, Haemon motioned for Albert to close the door as he settled down behind the desk.

"Report."

"Yes Master. Currently, I have a person following the messenger around the house. As you have expected, they are trying to infiltrate inside. Furthermore, we have received word from our contact by the elders. The Lady Carmilla has been unwell, with her recent deterioration in health, the other elders are planning to take her power and appoint a new elder by forcing her into the recovery state.

Bam. "How dare they!" Haemon slammed his hand on his desk as he stood up. "And what was her lady's opinion?"

"She has remained silent in this development."

Haemon sighed. "Alright Albert. Thank you for informing me of this. Are there any other matters to attend to before dinner?"

Albert hesitated, "Well master, your sister …"

"What did she do this time? Has she caused any problems?" Haemon asked sharply.

"No. however, during your absence, she had another episode. I am afraid it is getting worse. Her mate, that is, Master's brother-in-law has also attempted to take control of the house during the chaos, claiming that he needed to assume power to treat your sister. I was able to mitigate the situation before any more damage has been done but I had to contact the elders. Currently, he is being suppressed under the elder's orders to behave until you arrive. Your nephew remains relatively unaware of the situation, as the maids have kept him busy."

Haemon breathed out another sigh. "Bring me to the fool. I will have to teach him the proper decorum again."

Albert nodded and quietly stepped outside the office. Haemon rubbed his temple. It was a wonder how he remained sane living with the clan over the years. If it wasn't for his sister, he would have left and never looked back. But the longer he stayed, the longer he felt trapped, drowning in a muddy swamp of darkness.

His door clicked open, and Alkrose, his sister's husband strutted in arrogantly. Alkrose was slightly shorter than Haemon, but had a charm about him that every lady he met seemed to fall for. Haemon would never see what his father saw in the man to allow his sister under his care. Alkrose scowled, and a clear air of irritation vibrated around him.

"Finally back from your mingling with those filthy humans I see." he sneered.

"You will do well to respect me Alkrose." Haemon replied coldly. "I have already heard the report of your behavior during my absence. You should be grateful that I am not executing you on the spot."

"Ha, execute? You can't even execute me if you wanted to. Not as long as the blood contract remains between your sister and I. Ah, what a dilemma, to always have to care for a crippled brethren that can't even do anything herself. Well, not like I have to do anything, Sarasha is so infatuated with me that she can't even see straight." he paused dramatically, "Oh my bad, I forgot. She's blind, so I guess she can't even see." he mocked. Haemon clenched his fists, and charged at Alkrose, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the ground.

"You will cease to insult my sister, scum. She is your wife, and whether you like it or not, you are now bonded. You had a choice, and you accepted." He seethed.

"Choice? Like your father gave me any." He spat out bitterly. "You have no idea what I had to pay for this choice your father offered. I'm going to make your life a living hell. Mark my words."

"Enough of your insolence. You test my insolence." Haemon tilted his head, "If I remember correctly, wasn't your mother recovering from an illness? Perhaps I should make a visit to wish her health" The sentence was stated with a tone of complete sincerity, yet his eyes were cold as ice. Alkrose scowled, but remained silent without any more remarks. Satisfied that he had made his point, Haemon released his grip on the vampire.

"You will be meeting my heir tonight, and I expect you to show proper decorum. Should you do anything to threaten his well-being, you will find the choice you made with my father regarding my sister to be child's play." Haemon gave one last glare. "Get out."

Alkrose hastily scrambled off the floor and sent one hateful glare to Haemon before striding out. Haemon looked at Albert.

"Is there anything else to take care of?"

Albert silently handed him a stack off paperwork.

Haemon cursed under his breath.

By the time dinner rolled around, the initial surprise at the mansion had died down and Harry was quite curious about the building itself and its occupants. After seeing several maids and butlers around the house, Harry wondered if there were any other people living in the large mansion aside from Haemon and herself. She had asked the maid that brought her to her room about the other occupants, but the maid only smiled and informed her she would be meeting them at dinner.

Now Harry was wandering down the halls, a tad bit lost, not that she would admit it. She was dressed in formal wear for dinner, which included black trousers, a white button with a black vest, along with a long cape that almost touched the ground as she walked. Harry personally felt ridiculous in the get-up, but the maid assured her it was for her introductions, and that it would please Haemon. As she walked down the halls, Harry noticed the distinct lack of portraits. Her readings had led her to believe that most wizarding families were rather fond of portraits and items that pampered to their own ego. Perhaps vampires were different, or maybe it had something to do with the muggle tales of how vampires would never be able to see their reflection in the mirror due to their supposed lack of soul. Perhaps portraits worked similarly, Harry mused. She would have to ask Haemon.

She wished Thanos was with her, maybe he could help her navigate with his snake senses and what not. But the snake had long went out to hunt and stated he would not return until later that evening if not tomorrow.

Suddenly, a soft voice drifted through the air. It had a haunting quality that calmed Harry and immediately made Harry feel familiar to the singer. Harry wandered down the hall, following the voice. Her ears brought her to a darker part of the mansions, where all the windows were closed and windy drafts floated through the hall. Harry stopped in front the room where she thought the voice was coming from. The door was slightly ajar, and inside it was completely dark. Wanting to be polite, Harry knocked on the door softly. The singing stopped immediately, and a soft "come in" drifted from the room. Harry creaked the door open and stared into the dark. She could barely make out the outline of a woman sitting in a chair. She was rocking back and forth gently, and appeared to be unperturbed by Harry's interruption. Before Harry could ask her why she was singing in the dark, the woman spoke up.

"Are you the new maid? I didn't recognize your footsteps."

Harry paused, "No mam." She replied, "Lord Haemon became my guardian and took me under his wing. I believe am to reside here with him for the duration of my studies until I go to Hogwarts."

The woman paused her rocking, and beckoned Harry over with her hand. Harry walked over until she was a meter away from the woman, not saying a word. Suddenly the woman lunged and grasped at Harry, her hands settling on the small child's shoulders. Frozen in shock, Harry held her breath as the woman examined her. She didn't think the woman would hurt her, or at least she hoped not. She had felt much familiarity between them through her song, and it saddened the child to think that a potential friend may not be a friend at all. The strange woman sniffed, or rather Harry heard her sniff since the room was still dark and her eyes hadn't adjusted to the night yet.

"You are a human child." The woman stated, "How interesting. It has been many years since I have seen a human child. Even longer since the last time I tasted one. Your kind is so delicious after all." The woman murmured. Her tone was even, as if she was talking about the weather, not feasting on human children. Harry shivered, her discomfort visible. The woman felt her shudders through her hands, and Harry could feel her smile in her next sentence.

"I believe it is almost time for dinner, yes?" She asked.

Harry wasn't sure if the woman was referring to the formal dinner or addressing herself as potential dinner.

"Yes. I got lost on my way to the dining hall." Harry squeaked out.

The woman laughed.

"Ah yes, I suppose someone new here would easily get lost in the house. Follow me child, I believe my brother waits for us. If what you say is true, you may address me as Aunt Sarasha." The woman, Sarasha, took Harry's hand. Her grip was tight, but Harry didn't make a sound. In the dim light of the hallway, Harry almost had trouble holding in her gasp of surprise as the woman stepped into the light. She was a beautiful lady, as one would expect of Haemon's sister. However, it seemed like she existed between a state of being and not being, almost as if she was an illusion rather than a real person. Her eyes flickered between gold and red, as if the orbs couldn't decide to settle on which color. Harry belatedly realize that her eyes never focused on anything and that the lady was, for a lack of a better word or comparison, blind as a bat. Harry smiled inwardly thinking of the association that vampires and bats had in the muggle world.

Harry provided little resistance as the woman dragged her around. If they were going to dinner, which Harry had hoped so, she figured Haemon would do something about Sarasha if she was a danger to her well-being. The two made it to the dining hall rather quickly after Sarasha made some decisive turns and loops around long corridors. Harry was not too surprised when Sarasha never bumped into anything. She had an eerie affect of looking through something yet at the same time looking directly at the object. Harry was slightly curious if it was sound waves she was using to navigate or her memory and five senses. However, she decided against asking her question things it never seemed to go well when she ever questioned the other adults at the orphanage.

"Well here we are." The woman muttered, half to herself and half to Harry as she threw two heavy oak doors open with one hand. The dining hall itself was elaborate, like the rest of the family home. The vaulted ceiling was filled with paintings of mythology and fantastic creatures in each panel. Long chandeliers casted in bronze hung low, lighting the table with its mass of candles sitting atop the etched rings of each chandelier level. The table itself was filled with food, from one end to another. Each chair was thronelike, though slender, with the most resplendent chairs at the end where the lord and lady of the house would sit. What surprised Harry was the amount and variety of food that was set on the table. There were the normal cuisine from England, but there were also food she had never seen before or read about. Harry mentally re-organized her image of vampires as blood-sucking mindless monsters. Although Haemon had been the perfect host and parent so far, Harry was very familiar with the fallacy of assigning a whole group a characteristic based on the actions of one alone. It was something she had commonly seen in the orphanage, and she was determined not to make the same mistake.

Once they entered the dining area, Sarasha dropped Harry's hand abruptly and made her way to one of the chairs at the table. She stiffly sat down and looked forward, her gaze still unfocused, and her face blank. It was as if she had forgotten Harry's existence. Cautiously, Harry made her way to the chair across from Sarasha and plopped herself down. As she made herself comfortable, the dining doors flew open again and a polished, very well dressed – if not overly so, gentleman entered the room. Giving the occupants a cursory sweep, he shot Harry a look of contempt before focusing his attention on Sarasha and sneering at her. He smoothly walked down by the dining table until he was next to Sarasha.

"Good evening dear, I hope you didn't have a hard time entertaining our guest?" He gave Sarasha a saccharine smile as he took the seat next to her. Sarasha gave no hint of hearing the question, still staring blankly in front of her. The man gave an annoyed growl and slammed his hand down the table.

"Answer me!"

Sarasha continued to stare blankly in front of her, giving no attention to the raging man besides her.

"Alkrose, you will cease this foolish behavior."

Haemon strode into the dining hall, his face thunderous as he glared at Alkrose.

"Please, learn some basic courtesy."

The other scoffed, settling down into his seat with his face turned away, clearly ignoring Haemon. Haemon sighed, before looking to Harry and shooting her a bright smile.

"Good evening Harry, I hope you found your accommodations fitting? I did go to your room to escort you, but I believe you had already left for dinner when I arrived."

"Ah," Harry smiled awkwardly, "I kinda wanted to explore … and kinda got lost … but no worries, Aunt Sarasha helped me get here!" the child exclaimed.

Haemon gave his sister a sharp look at Harry's explanation.

"Well, good to know. As long as you are safe."

It would be an understatement to say that dinner was an awkward affair. Haemon kept up small talk with Harry about her studies, but it was clear he was pretending the other two occupants in the room didn't exist. In fact, besides the initial exchange between Haemon and Alkrose, there were no more words spoken. Alkrose did glare coldly at Haemon and contemptuously at Harry throughout dinner, but made no more spiteful comments. Sarasha sat quietly and docilly in her seat. She ate when food was served and swiftly left after she was done eating with Alkrose following quickly behind. Harry sighed.

"Is it always like this?"

Haemon looked a bit surprised at her question before pausing to consider it seriously. "Yes. Our family hasn't been on the best of terms with each other for several generations. Which would be centuries translating in human age. I'm afraid that it would be something for you to get used to. The man you saw tonight was Alkrose, my brother-in-law. Beware of him, he has been trying to get control of the Sanguina family since my father died. Sarasha is his wife and my sister. As you may have noticed, she is blind. I would also advise you to keep your distance from her. Generally, she isn't dangerous per se, but she tends to be a bit unpredictable."

Harry nodded.

"Regretting the blood adoption yet?" Haemon teased.

Harry huffed. "Just show me the way to your library and arrange for a tutor. It was in our deal after all. Besides," she looked around the lavishly decorated dining room "I suppose I could make use of some perks."

Haemon grinned at her answer. "Anything for you, little lady."