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Amazing Grace	By : Kooldragon400 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 41309 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any recongizable characters, nor do I make any money off of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, deedly dee. There they are a-standing in a row, bum bum bum. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head!

Well, folks, everything is getting interesting here. Everyone should pay attention to everything I write in this chapter. It's ALL important. MWA HA HA HA *cough cough*

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Lucius sat in the study, staring into the fireplace absent-mindedly. In one had his reading glasses dangled, having just been removed after he had finished some paperwork, and in the other hand he held a small glass of a bit of Ogden’s Best. There wasn’t much in the glass, just enough to warm his stomach and soothe his nerves.

He’d run into the current Headmaster of Hogwarts today at the Ministry. The Headmaster, a half-vampire by the name of Viktor Torrin, was a sharp-minded individual with a iron hand on the delinquents and a soft heart for the homesick and innocent. He had been instated shortly after the war, despite the outcry over his parentage. Kingsley Shacklebolt had appeared with him before the Governors, giving his full support and assuring them that Mr. Torrin was an honorable man.

He’d spoken to the man before, doing a few things for the Governors, and he had to say that despite being a Halfling, the man was a genius for the school finances. He’d found ways to save the school thousands of Galleons since he’d been instated, and the school had been able to pass that savings onto the students in the form of a lower tuition. In turn there were hundreds more students able to come, and Hogwarts was expanding its teaching staff to include more than one Master or Mistress of the art.

Lucius had mentioned Grace in passing to the Headmaster, sure that he would have had to wait for the beginning of the next school year to send her. But Viktor had surprised him by telling him Grace was more than welcome to come after Christmas break was over. She would be able to finish up her Fifth Year with her peers, and not have to take the O.W.L.s independently. It was a blessing for Lucius, and he was very excited to tell Grace. He merely had to wait until she was done with Hermione for the day.

As he mused about ways to tell her, he nearly jumped from his seat when the fireplace suddenly turned green, spitting out a flash of black that Lucius realized was Severus. He was holding his son in his arms, and the poor lad was squalling as if he were being murdered. Severus’ face was pale, his eyes shadowed, and Lucius could almost taste the desperation in every step he took.

“Lucius…Lucius what is the matter with him? He hasn’t quit crying for hours! He won’t take a bottle, he’s not dirty, and there’s no indication of any discomfort! Why won’t he stop?!” Severus breathed. It was then Lucius noticed the other man were shivering slightly, as if he could decide whether to cuddle the boy or toss him onto a chair and disappear. “Julep doesn’t know what’s wrong either, before you ask.”

“Well what the hell am I supposed to do about it? I’m not a baby psychic!” Lucius cried. Severus looked up sharply, his black eyes blazing with frustration and fury.

“Get Grace!!” he bellowed, frightening Nikolai and making the boy cry harder.

Lucius frowned at Severus, not appreciating at all the way he’d talked to him. But he tilted his head back slightly and looked down his nose, before sniffing delicately and walking from the room. He walked briskly to the room Hermione and Grace were using for their tutoring sessions. Hermione was sitting cross-legged on her desk, speaking animatedly about something. Grace was taking diligent notes and ever so often reaching into her desk and munching on some grapes she’d hidden there.

Hermione was enthralled in whatever she was speaking about, and her arms were moving about wildly. Lucius almost hated to interrupt it, but then he remembered the desperate look on his old friend’s face.

He knocked firmly on the doorjamb, and Hermione jumped slightly and quit speaking.

“Yes, Lucius?” Hermione asked, blinking up at him.

“I’m very sorry for the interruption, but I need Grace for a few moments.” He said. Grace looked up, a grape between her teeth.

“Wha’for?” she asked with the fruit in place, before tilting her head back and letting it fall into her mouth.

“Severus is having a bit of emergency and he needs your help.” He replied. Grace stood from her desk and stretched.

“Sure, if that’s okay with ‘Mione.” Grace said. Hermione shrugged.

“We were about to take a small break anyway.” She said.

Grace walked with Lucius back to the study, curious as to why the tall, wraith-like Severus would need her help. They got almost to the study and she could hear why. Poor little Nikolai was screaming his head off. When they entered the study, Severus was standing with Nikolai, looking down at him with a blank expression.

“Oh, somebody’s unhappy…” Grace cooed, and Severus looked up.

“Why is he crying like this? I can’t get him to eat, he’s not dirty…” he said softly. Grace approached them and held out her hands for the baby. Severus gratefully passed off the screaming infant, and Grace immediately began to rock him gently.

“ ‘Many nights we’ve prayed, with no proof anyone could hear. In our hearts a hopeful song we barely understood. Now we are not afraid, although we know there’s much to fear. We were moving mountains long before we knew we could…’” Grace sang to the little boy, moving gently from side to side as she rocked. Severus and Lucius both watched, a little awed as Nikolai’s screeching died down to pitiful whimpering. “ ‘There can be miracles when you believe. Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve? When you believe somehow you will, now you will. You will when you believe.’”

“Unbelievable.” Lucius breathed.

“This is unbelievable. I bet that bitch is laughing at me right now.” Severus hissed. Grace and Lucius looked at Severus, noting the two angry spots of color high on his face.

“What are you blathering on about now?” Lucius asked.

“I probably fell for that stupid bint’s lines like a Hufflepuff sap! I bet there’s nothing wrong with her! I bet that Halfling whore just didn’t want to deal with the boy, so she pawned him off on me! Well, she’s got another thing coming…I’ll hunt down that demon-spawn and tell her exactly what I think.” He hissed, sweeping back towards the fireplace and grabbing a handful of powder.

“Severus…” Lucius started, unsure of how to deal with his friend.

“Let him go.” Grace said softly. Lucius’ head snapped towards her. “Let him go do what he feels he needs to. He’s not calm enough to deal with Nikki anyway. Babies can sense when you’re frustrated or upset. I’ve got more patience than I probably should have at fifteen, so me and little Nikki-nibbles are fine here.” She said, sweeping around in a circle and beginning another part of her song, which was in a different language. “I bet he’s teething…” she murmured after he gave a small wail.

She balanced him in one arm and gently parted his lips with one finger, poking her finger into his mouth with the intention of seeing if the dear had a tooth about to come through. She was sure she felt the beginning of a lump, but a sudden sharp pain made her pull back her finger with a yelp.

“He bit me!” she gasped, looking at her finger. His little fang had opened the top of her finger, right at the knuckle. Vampire saliva had an anti-coagulant in it, so she was bleeding freely from the small wound.

“Here, I’ve got it…” she heard her father murmer, drawing his wand. But then she caught sight of Nikolai’s dark eyes. He was staring at her finger with what could only be referred to as hunger.

“Wait…” she said, causing her father to pause. Curious, she put her injured finger back to the baby’s lips, smearing a small bit of crimson over his lips. He suckled at his lips desperately, and his eyes changed from coal black to a deep, glittering red.

“Great Merlin.” Lucius gasped. Then Grace put her finger in the lad’s mouth, letting him suck the blood from her wound. “That’s disgusting!” he hissed.

“He’s a vampire, dad. He didn’t want milk at the moment.” She said. Lucius grumbled something under his breath, but watched in fascination as the little quarter vampire sucked greedily on Grace’s finger. She cooed down at the lad.

“Well he’s still cute….”

~~

Severus ripped through the bag she’d left, looking for anything that would tell him where she lived. All he had found so far was a few books, a couple blankets, and a glittering blue ring with a black cat engraved into it, with crossed swords engraved beneath it. He tossed them all aside angrily, and turned the duffle bag upside down.

Along with various and sundry items, a small purse tumbled from the bag. He yanked it up, and pulled it open. There was a couple galleons, a few bits of foreign coins he didn’t recognize, and a wallet. He whipped it open, looking at her picture.

Stasja T. Lebedeva stared back at him, and he was surprised to see that her address was listed in London. He knew the street, luckily, so he wouldn’t be searching blind. He jerked the picture ID from its holder, and disappeared with a crack of thunder.

The street he landed himself in wasn’t on the best side of town, so he drew his cloak around him before he set out on the main sidewalk, ignoring everyone and everything that moved.

The building her address was listed in was probably one of the better ones in this neighborhood, but it was very run down and dirty. He climbed the stairs like silent death after reading the out of order sign on the lift.

He was angry. He didn’t like being used, or feeling as if he’d been used. He’d been used enough in his life, and he refused to have it done again, especially when it came to a screaming brat he hadn’t planned for. He stopped in front of the door to her flat, contemplating the best way to handle this. Then he decided that the best way was the direct method, and blew the door off its hinges.

He was immediately hit with the unforgettable and unmistakable scent of blood. It nearly overwhelmed him, and he drew back slightly before continuing into the flat. Most everything looked in its rightful place in the small sitting room, sparse as it was, so he moved like smoke into the kitchen, where he saw a large, bloody footprint on the light linoleum floor.

With building dread he headed back towards the bedroom, extremely conscious of the closed door. He stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

The scene that met him was straight out of his nightmares.

The room was spattered with blood, great smears of it across the walls and over the carpet. There were several large handprints on the door. Most of the furniture had been turned over or disturbed in some way, leaving the place ransacked. And she…was on the bed. Her throat had been torn open, giving Severus an idea of where all the blood had come from. She was lying on her back, her hands palm down on the sheets as if she’d grabbed them for support.

He approached the bed silently, his robes swishing about his ankles as he moved. He noticed her eyes were open, and the jewel blue color of them was still remarkable.

“I didn’t believe you.” He said. “I thought you were lying to me, so I came to take it up with you. I guess I was too late.” He finished softly. He reached forward to shut her eyes, and nearly tripped backwards over himself to get away when she blinked. She bloody well blinked. “Good Merlin!” he gasped. She drew in a short, gurgled breath, her throat oozing a bit of blood from the effort. “No bloody way! There’s no bloody way you’re alive!” he hissed. Her eyes darted back and forth, and then her head tilted slightly to the side so that her brilliant eyes caught sight of him.

“My god…” he whispered. Then his limited amount of medical training kicked in, and he reached inside his robes for the emergency potions kit he kept there.

He wasn’t sure how long he tended to her. He slowly closed the wound on her throat enough that she would be able to swallow potions, then he forced several blood replenishing potions on her, and a mild pain medicine. She was in no means safe, but she would be stable enough now for him to move.

So he gently picked her up, and Apparated back to Spinner’s end. She was ensconced in his parents old room, and he had to get the elf to change the sheets before he could put her down. Then he continued to work on her, bandaging her throat with a gauze dipped in healing solution. This was a vampire bite, and as such would take a while to heal. He sat back after about an hour, and looked down at her face. She’d finally gone to sleep, but her breathing was much steadier now, rising and falling slowly but surely.

“Damn it…my life is so fucking complicated…”

~~

Harry groaned softly as he came to, and was vaguely aware that half of his vision was in blackness.

“Oh god…the horror…” he whimpered.

“You’re not exactly a looker yourself…”

Harry tried to sit up, and found himself looking up into the shrouded face of Viatoris. He gave a rather unmanly shriek, and Viatoris let him go immediately. Harry fell to the ground with a thud, scrambling away and gasping for breath.

“You black-cloaked fuck! You didn’t tell me I’d see your fucking face! I have strong reactions to your kind, and here we are just strolling along in a god-forsaken forest, and you’re all ‘let me show you how to see in the forest’ and then I see your FACE!!” Harry bellowed, clutching at the front of his light robe. Then he burst into tears.

“Death damn it….why do I get stuck with the one that leaks?” Viatoris grumbled. “Look kid…I didn’t know you’d be able to see my face. I…this is my first guide gig…and I’m not exactly familiar with all of the rules and such…” Viatoris stuttered.

Harry sniffled, and raked his hand across his eyes. “When you get near me, I can hear my mother die.” He whispered. There was silence, and Harry stared up at the veiled face for several moments.

“Damn you’re depressing…” Viatoris said, before turning and walking away. “I carried you out of the forest. You can thank me later. Now we just have the river of dreams and the valley of fear.”

“Oh….goody.”

They walked along the path for what seemed like hours before Harry saw the river from afar. It was…quite lovely. The water had color, and was the color of an insect’s wing, shining and iridescent as it flowed. It sounded like tiny bells tinkling instead of the standard ‘whoosh’ of a river.

“Pretty…” Harry murmured.

“And articulate, too….Look, the way to cross the river of dreams is to use your imagination.”

“Wait…what? What kind of gay shit is that? ‘Use your imagination….’” Harry scoffed.

“You’re annoying. You have to come up with your own way to get across the river. And it can’t be a bridge, for some reason those don’t last, and you’ll fall in. You can’t use a boat, either.” Viatoris said.

“What happens if you fall in the water?” Harry asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Go look and see.”

Harry approached the band of the river, and looked down into the shimmering water. The bright colors hid the horror beneath. He saw dozens and dozens of skeletons floating at various depths, all of them writhing in agony, their jaws opened wide in silent screams.

“Fucking hell, this place is damn trap…” Harry gasped, watching as an eyeless face turned towards where he stood at the bank, and reached out its bony fingers towards him.

“Nonsense. Just think of a clever way to cross and you’ll be fine. Although in your case you might end up damned anyway…”

Harry gulped, and stared at the river. How to cross without a boat or a bridge? He couldn’t touch the water lest he be drawn into the damnation beneath the surface. He closed his eyes, trying to let his imagination take over. Well, he’d always been good at flying….maybe if he had a broom he could just zoom over…

“Interesting choice….”

Harry opened his eyes and caught a bit of white in his peripheral vision. He looked to the side and nearly wet himself when he saw the large, feathery wings spread like some sort of angel’s wings. They were pure white, with bands of gold decorating the tip.

“How the hell….” He gasped. He thought about spreading the appendages, and gasped when they did just that, taking in the splendor of each flight feather. “God, are those going to stay there?” he asked. Going through London would be all but impossible with a giant set of wings.

“No, you’ll only need them ‘til you get across. Although personally I think you look fetching with them…”

Harry stared at the Dementor, before he ran back a good ways from the stream. He then ran towards the water, jumping as he neared the bank, and thought about the wings taking over. A great flap took him higher above the rainbow water, and away from the skeletons beneath.

Once above the water he realized how wide the river was. It was probably a good mile across. He saw a cloud of black at his side, and turned his head to see Viatoris flying beside him.

“This is fun!” Harry called over the wind, spreading his arms as the wings did their job. All too soon it was over, and he landed softly and safely on the opposite shore. The wings disappeared in a puff of golden sparkles. Harry grinned, and watched Viatoris land as well, and they both began walking towards what appeared to be a bottomless ravine.

“Behold, the valley of fear.” Viatoris said, coming to stand at the edge of the ‘valley.’

It dropped off more like a cliff, fathomless and black at the bottom, and was just wide enough that no one could jump across.

“How do we cross?” Harry asked, swallowing hard.

“You must keep your eyes on me and walk across.” Viatoris said, before lifting from the ground and cloating across the large opening. He landed on the other side, and held out his bony hands. “Just look at me and cross. You must not be afraid…”

“That’s just bloody great!” Harry hissed. His heart was thudding in his chest. This was ridiculous. A nightmare! He had to cross a bottomless pit with nothing but the arms of a Dementor to cross into. Fucking great!

But if he didn’t cross he’d never see Sirius again. God…but it would be so good to see his Godfather. Then he could take him back…and oh, what a good day that would be!

Harry took a deep breath, fixed his eyes on Viatoris, and stepped off the edge. His feet felt solid ground, and he began to walk, slowly but surely crossing the short chasm. Viatoris was actually encouraging him, reminding him not to look down, and to keep his eyes on him at all times. Harry didn’t even blink as he crossed, and when he finally got close enough he lunged for the Dementor guide, grasping the cold clammy hands and taking a shuddering breath.

“Cor blimey!” Harry breathed. “Now…where’s Sirius?” he asked. He noticed for the first time that one he’d crossed the valley that everything seemed to go into Technicolor. There was a large hill, and at the bottom of the hill was a field of short, well manicured grass. It was a beautiful field that stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with trees and small oasis’.

He could see a few people lounging about in different places, but there was one man that caught his eyes almost immediately.

He was standing on one end of a large expanse of grass, looking across at something. His hair was sleek and black, shoulder-length and unbound. His face was smooth and showed how he would have looked had Azkaban not ravaged his body. He was dressed in plain white robes, but he was barefoot, and it was then that Harry watched him move forward and kick a football, which was intercepted by a young boy, who looked no older than six or seven.

“Sirius….” Harry breathed, watching as his Godfather kicked the black and white ball between himself and the boy. “But who is that boy?” Harry asked.

“Well if I had to guess I’d say that it’s probably- I don’t bloody well know everyone here, now do I? Why don’t you get your fleshy arse down there and find out for yourself?” Viatoris snapped. Harry gave a small ‘eep’ sound, and then took off towards his Godfather.

Viatoris crossed his bony arms and stayed behind, watching as the boy showed hips and heels to get to Sirius Black.

“That boy is going to be the death of me.”

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Oh Viatoris...it's funny becuase you're mostly dead already! You silly Dementor!
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Amazing Grace