Harry had always been rather, though he didn't want to admit it, pretty. Pale skin, bright luminescent green eyes, silky black hair that fell messily on the top of his head, lithe figure. He knew that people lusted after him, but he just didn't care. It was as if nobody in the world was for him. He had tried, Merlin knew he did, but, nothing.
Lately, he had been having the oddest cravings for the something he would never had even thought about consuming. Every trip to Hogsmeade had him buying blood pops. Everyday, something would happened that he would have no explanation for, even with the fact that magic existed. Every time he touched someone, he heard voices in his head and brief flashes of images. He had actually tested it out one night in the common room. While Ron was asleep on the floor in front of the fire, Harry touched his bare foot to Ron's, without anyone noticing, and saw what he was dreaming. It was rather disgusting, to tell the truth, to see him thinking that about their other friend, but at least his theory was tested true.
Right at the moment, though, he was sitting in room, staring at the wall opposite his bed. It was summer vacation, now, and he had been sent back to the prison that was his relatives house. Idly, he unwrapped a blood pop and stuck it in his mouth, closing his eyes in bliss at the coppery flavor. His mind was blessedly blank at the moment, so much so that he almost missed hearing the doorbell ring. It was his uncle who opened the door, he could recognize the voice anywhere. The people who were at the door had an accent, one that he hadn't encountered before. They moved into the living room, he assumed and started talking.
His new senses still shocked him, to this day. His eye sight cleared and sharpened, making it so that he could see every minuet detail. His hearing allowed him to listen to anything a good distance away. He hadn't tested that out yet, though, so he didn't know
Downstairs, though, the people were talking about somebody named Aro, a rather important somebody if their tone was anything to go by, and taking Harry back with them to Italy. Wait a second, what? Harry did a mental double-take and started to listen more closely. This Aro person had taken an interest in him, had been interested in him since the day he was born. Why, though? How had he even known about him?
The sudden stomping of feet up the stairs caught his attention once more. The door to his room slammed open and there stood his uncle, framed in the doorway. "Downstairs, boy. Now."
After saying that, the large man stomped his way back down to the living room. Sighing, the teen stood gracefully, something that he had never been able to do, and glided down the stairs. As soon as he stepped into the living room, two sets of eyes landed on him. One was a rather attractive blond with short, stylish hair that was rather choppy and brown eyes while the other was an equally attractive brunette male who's hair went to his shoulders and gray eyes.
"You are Harry Potter?" asked the blond.
"Yes, I am. What do you want with me?"
"Our employer sent us. He is rather adamant that you return with us. He has information that he believes will interest you greatly." replied the male.
"And he, himself, could not come?"
"I'm afraid that Master Aro could not make it. He had a number of appointments to attend to."
Harry thought about it for a moment before sighing and agreeing to go with them. Anything was better than staying with people who hated him and who lied to him. The two on the couch beamed happily and ushered Harry to hurry and gather his belongings. He shook his head in amusement and went to his room to pack. As he packed, he conveniently forgot about the fact that Dumbledore told him that he wasn't to leave the house. Hopefully, by the time he found out, he would be long gone from England.
Two and a half hours later found them landing in Pisa. They got into a limo, a rather comfortable and extravagant one at that, and headed to Volterra. It wasn't a very long ride, only an hour and half, but it gave Harry time to talk to the two with him, as on the plane they were sleeping. "So, Mr. Potter, why exactly were you living with your aunt?"
"Hm? Oh, my parents died when I was a baby and she's my only living relative. Why?"
"So, you don't know?"
Harry looked confused that their concerned expressions, "Know what?"
The two shared a look, "Master Aro will have to be the one to tell you."
Sighing, he only nodded and stared out the window at the passing scenery. It was rather beautiful, so like yet unlike England. It was rather odd to be out of England, actually. He'd never been anywhere else, aside from Scotland, but that hardly counted as it was only for school and not for any other purpose. He was curious as to what this person wanted and he wholly wished that he could touch one of the people with his to know what was going on.
But what was most concerning was that, at the moment, he was craving again. Digging around in his knapsack, he pulled out a blood pop and stuck it in his mouth, biting back a groan of satisfaction. It was really a plus that the people who made them used animal blood, though, before he craved them it that fact completely grossed him out. Now, though, it was a god send. He stared out the window, sucking on the pop, not really seeing anything.
In what seemed to be a short amount of time, possibly due to the fact that Harry had zoned out for a better part of the ride, they had arrived in Volterra. "Come along, Mr. Potter, he's waiting for you. Just, do not be surprised by his appearance."
"Right, sure," Harry shrugged. He'd seen plenty of strange things in his life.
The driver was taking his things from the trunk and followed behind them as they made their way into the extravagant building. They walked through some well lite, richly decorated hallways before they turned down another hall and went down a flight of stairs. As they walked, the lights gradually dimmed before it seemed that they were talking in perpetual twilight.
After walking down a series of twisting halls, they came to a set of double doors. Before the woman, who's name was Allegra, could knock on the door, it opened and a melodious voice called out for them to enter. Harry didn't even wonder how they had heard them. As they walked into the darkened room, Harry took a moment to look around. There were people lining the walls, staring at them, or rather, his escorts, hungrily. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he took notice that every single person had red eyes. He wracked his brains for a moment before one word popped into his head. Vampires. That explained everything, only, vampires couldn't conceive, so if he were one, then how did he come to be.
"Ah, Harry Potter. At last, we meet. I had hoped that your mother would have brought you when we had agreed."
Harry blinked, "My mother has been dead for fourteen years. And I haven't a clue as to what you're talking about."
The trio that stood in the center of the room stared at him, unmoving, unblinking. "You do not know why you are here?"
Harry shook his head. The one who spoke looked contemplative for a moment before saying, "Come here, in front of me."
Mentally shrugging, Harry did what he was told. He was in a room full of vampires for Merlin's sake, why wouldn't he? He stepped up in front of the, leader?, vampire and stared at him. He was beautiful, as were all of them. His eyes, though the same red as the others, were cloudy and slightly filmed, as if he were blind. "Hold out your hands, please."
Harry didn't even blink at the request. It was like his own, it seemed. Obediently, he held out his hands, hardly wincing when colder than ice hands touched his own. Immediately, his own mind was flooded with thoughts and images. He lived through his at the same time as the vampire, Aro, he assumed, did. Some things he didn't know came to forefront. A memory, one that he most assuredly didn't remember but his subconscious did. It was dark and the sound was distorted, but he could hear perfectly, comprehend everything perfectly. The conversation that was going on, however, was far from it. "It's growing too fast. Oh, God, what are we going to do? I don't know if I can take much more of this!"
The voice was familiar, how could he forget it. It was his mother, but what was she talking about. "It isn't your fault. It's that damn vampire's. There was nothing we could do without being killed, you know that. How about... how about we use a potion to suppress it's creature side. At least then it'll be normal."
"Yes, yes, that's an idea. I'll have Severus brew it. And don't make that face. He was my friend before I even knew you, James Potter."
"Yeah, yeah, sorry Lil's."
The memories came faster after that until they came to today. It was rather odd to watch his life pass by him like that, with out it being a near death experience, which, for him, happened almost daily. "A most interesting life you have lead, Mr. Potter. Your mother dying would explain why you were not given to me at the appointed time."
Harry blinked, "Why would I have been given to you?" He was taking everything rather calmly.
"Your mother and her husband," what an odd way of phrasing that, thought Harry, "came to my fair city during the summer of nineteen-ninety. I happen to know every witch and wizard in this city, so when two unknowns appear, without informing me, might I add. Naturally, I was curious. I invited them into my home, and read them, just as I did you. Your mother intrigued me."
The green eyed teen could see where this was going. "So you decided to have her bear your child." he stated.
Aro nodded, "I had heard rumors that someone was using human females to bear young. For that rumor to come to fruition, it is a feeling beyond all comparison."
The room was silent except for the breathing of the two and a half humans. Finally, the teen broke it, "So, you're my father, then. At least I know why I'm craving blood, then."
As if to prove his point, he pulled another blood pop out of his bag and stuck it in his mouth. The other vampires in the room shifted rather humanly at the scent of it. "What, might I ask, is that?" asked the white haired vampire to Aro's left.
"Blood pop, a specialty of the Wizarding World. It's made of animal blood though."
Aro made a disgusted noise, "Why anybody would drink that when human blood is more substantial."
Harry looked at him with a wry expression, "Well, considering that I'm half-human..."
"Well, be that as it may, you will be living here, from here on in. And you will not be going back to that school of yours. I will have tutors arranged for you."
Harry only shrugged. He knew that he should be more outraged by the treatment he was getting, but he was far to used to it, as sad as that was. Actually, he was quite glad to be away from Hogwarts. After the Tri-Wizard Tournament, everything went to hell in a hand basket. Nobody believed him when he said that Voldemort was back, which pissed him off to no end. And Cedric dying. Unknowns to everybody in the school, he and Cedric had been friends since his first year.
Harry had been wandering the halls, lost, when he ran into the third year Hufflepuff. The teen had helped him get to where he needed to be, and gave him some advice that he needed. He was the only one to see Harry as Harry and not as the Boy-Who-Lived. Thus began their friendship. They did nothing to hide it, but nobody seemed to notice it.
"Very well. Where's my room?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AN: Second chapter! Yay! Thanks to everyone who reviewed.
Time line for this is just after fourth year, going into fifth. It is also going be the same time line as Twilight, so the year is '05 going into '06. Hmm.. wonder if anyone will get the connection... cookies to those who do!