The Beast Within - Chapter 20

Zita Görög - Amelia Toln - Underworld

Harry spent the night, and the next day locked in the basement park. He was under no illusion that he was essentially being held prisoner. This was the second time he had lost control of himself twice now. Granted, both times weren't normal events. Thankfully, the stories coming out of the World Cup were a wild jumble. The official story was that there was a small riot that was handled by the Aurors. Complete crap, but he was glad that his transformation wasn't the headline. In fact, his name wasn't mentioned at all. He was fine with the Aurors getting the credit. Hiding the Death Eater attack as a riot was annoying.

He could smell two Aurors that he didn't recognize mingled in with Nym, Hestia, and Moody. Their voices were muffled so he couldn't hear what they were saying. He couldn't feel any sort of magic on the door which he took to mean that they weren't yelling. Keeping track of the various scents was easier than their voices. The door was too thick to hear what they were actually saying. He hadn't realized it was reinforced until now. It did make sense.

There was a growing pit of dread in his stomach. They could expel him from Hogwarts, and he wouldn't blame them. He had been fine during the World Cup until the attack. Obviously, that was what kicked off the transformation. Being surrounded by people, the noise, and the other near-human creatures didn't make him uncomfortable in the least. He should be fine at Hogwarts as long as there weren't any dangerous encounters.

"I'm doomed," Harry muttered.

If he couldn't control these transformations then there wasn't a point in letting him out of here at all. Had these been on the Full Moon, or close to it, then maybe they could give him a pass. That wasn't the case. It was two weeks until the Full Moon. His only saving grace was that he had been protecting people and hadn't attacked any Aurors or bystanders.

It wasn't until the next morning when they unlocked the door. He hopped to his feet. They had brought down some fresh clothes for him shortly after he had returned fully to his human form. Nym, Hestia, and Moody led the squad. The lady Nym had called 'boss' and three more Aurors that he didn't recognize followed them down the stairs. He had paid enough attention to recognize Amelia Bones. It had nothing to do with the fact that she looked like a MILF version of Susan.

They spread out in a half-circle once they were in the basement. A couple of the Aurors looked around the room clearly impressed with the park. There was something else that tickled the edge of his senses. Another person was upstairs that hadn't joined them yet. The scent told him it was a woman. He just couldn't figure out what was different about her.

"Mister Potter," Amelia Bones greeted him. "You've put us in quite a predicament."

Harry nodded.

"No one identified you as the creature that defended the people from the Death Eaters," Amelia continued. "Those that do claim to have seen you are being drowned out by wilder tales."

Harry didn't miss how she called the 'rioters' for what they were.

"You saved a lot of lives," Amelia sighed. "You also facilitated the capture of a dangerous criminal and exposing a corrupt high ranking Ministry official."

It was good they were acknowledging the good points. Still, it felt like the other shoe was about to drop.

"However," Amelia's voice was calm and even. "We have agreed that until you can control your transformations fully, you will be unable to attend Hogwarts. Private lessons will be provided until you're able to return."

Harry felt his throat go dry. They weren't kicking him out, not technically. He just had to learn control which was not a bad thing.

"How am I going to learn control?" Harry asked.

"We've brought in a consultant that might be able to help," Amelia explained. "There is a mental magic called Occlumency. It protects your mind from outside influence and strengthens control on emotions. There is a tutor upstairs that will start your lessons."

"Thank you," Harry said with a small smile.

Amelia nodded in reply.

"You're on lockdown for another week," Amelia continued. "There are some egos to sooth. After that, you'll be able to leave as long as you have an Auror with you."

"Understood," Harry grumbled.

Amelia motioned to one of the unknown Aurors. They went upstairs and returned a moment later with a regal woman with long black hair. This was the woman who didn't smell right. She was dressed in a light blue dress that draped her shoulders and seemed to flow with her every step. The way the low light played along the fabric, which had to be some sort of silk, did wonders at hiding the fact that she wasn't breathing.

"Harry Potter," Amelia stepped up to stand between them. "Lady Amelia Tolna."

There was a tension in the room, not from the two being introduced, but everyone else. It was unsettling at first. She didn't feel right, like she both was and wasn't there. Her scent was bothering him too. Annoying in the case that he couldn't place it. Most people didn't put too much faith in his intelligence. Being friends with Hermione made it easy for people to overlook his academic standing. If he did well then obviously the Brightest Witch of Her Age had helped him.

Harry wasn't an idiot. This woman didn't smell right, she didn't feel right, and she wasn't breathing, even though she hid it very well. After failing to realize Remus Lupin was a werewolf last year, he had been more observant of people. His enhanced senses helped. There were a couple of human-adjacent magical creatures that he thought could fit. A ghoul but they weren't supposed to be intelligent enough to pass as a human. A mummy, which would be pretty awesome, but did make him question if they were real. Why would the let the goblins raid tombs? The only thing that made sense was a vampire.

"Well done," Amelia, the one with black hair, said.

He furrowed his brow.

"No," she smiled, flashing just a bit of fang. "I didn't read your mind. Your face is quite telling."

She had the slightest hint of an accent. Her smile hadn't been threatening, simply amusement. Harry realized now why everyone was so tense. How would he react to being in close proximity to a vampire? In truth, aside from the mild annoyance of trying to figure out what she was, he was fine. They had just introduced two apex predators and were waiting for the fallout.

Apex predator, that was a good classification for him now. He wasn't threatened by her being here. Sure, they were both deadly creatures that looked human, but their prey didn't conflict with the others. He wasn't sure that her fangs could pierce his skin. Regardless, she drank blood, he ate meat. They could share hunting grounds without an issue.

"Nice to meet you," Harry offered his hand.

She took it. On instinct, he kissed her knuckles. The regal aura she put out made it feel completely normal. He took a couple of steps back to give her a respectable amount of space.

"It is nice to meet you too," the vampire replied. "I will teach you how to control your urges."

Nym tried to hide a snort of laughter as a cough. No one was fooled.

"We'll let you two get to know each other," Amelia Bones stated. "Lady Tolna. Please let my Aurors know if you need anything or if you require blood."

"Thank you, Madam Bones," the vampire said. "Eldars don't need to feed nearly as often."

Amelia Bones nodded. The Aurors left the two of them to speak in peace. His new tutor had an amused grin on her face as they tried to leave without taking their eyes off her. They moved in shifts to allow at least two Aurors to watch her at the same time. She let out a melodic laugh once the door closed.

"You would think they didn't trust me," Amelia sighed dramatically. "Now, Mister Potter."

Harry gave her his full attention.

"Think fast," Amelia launched herself at him.

The beautiful woman transformed into a monster in front of his eyes. In the time it took for her to cross the small space between them she had gone from a normal human to a creature with pale, leathery skin, and now had an impressive set of claws. The only thing that hadn't changed about her was her long, black hair. Her jaws snapped, flashing her fangs which had grown, as she barely missed chomping down on his throat.

Harry jumped back, he grabbed a handful of her hair and wrenched her head to the side. She stumbled a couple of steps to the side. It gave him just enough time to get some more distance. He braced himself as she rushed him. She moved so fast that a normal person wouldn't have been able to see her. Fortunately, Harry wasn't normal. He dashed forward to intercept her. His hand darted out, grabbing her face with his palm pressed against her nose, and pushed hard. The sudden change yanked her backward and he drove down to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Harry growled.

Amelia transformed back into her human form. Her dress had vanished at some point during the short scuffle leaving her naked on the floor. Harry yanked his hand away as he felt something wet touch his palm.

"You licked me," Harry scrunched his brow as he stared at her.

"You weren't letting go," she shrugged causing her amazing breasts to bounce ever so subtly.

Harry forced himself to look her in the eyes.

"Why did you attack me?" Harry asked.

"Stress test," Amelia strutted over to where her dress had fallen. She took her time getting dressed once more. Her body was on display as she slowly raised her arms over her head and slipped the silk clothing on. "You transformed the other night during an attack. Before that, you changed when exposed to your three dragons."

"They aren't my dragons," Harry rolled his eyes.

"I am sure they aren't," Amelia teased. "I wanted to check if it was simply stress that brought on your change. Do you feel anything but human?"

Harry patted himself down. His clothes didn't have any rips and was speaking English. He shrugged.

"Stress plays a factor," Amelia began to pace. "Your heartbeat is slightly elevated. Not enough considering a vampire just attacked you."

"I've seen worse," Harry shrugged.

Amelia let out a laugh that tinkles like crystals in the wind.

"That night," she said. "What were you feeling?"

"Anger," Harry admitted. "More than that. Rage. I wanted to stop them. Hurt them. I wanted them afraid like they had made people."

"Good," Amelia nodded. "Can you make yourself feel it again? That rage?"

Harry didn't want to answer. He couldn't imagine admitting the truth. His anger, rage, in truth, his hatred was always there simmering under his skin. How could he? If he acknowledged it, then he'd have to face the many, many reasons why. He would have to admit that he wanted to torture the Dursley's once he found out he had magic. The Boy Who Lived shouldn't thick such thoughts. He shouldn't want to toss Draco out of the Hogwarts Express or smack that sneer off of Snape's face. Not to mention the multiple nights he cursed Dumbledore's name for leaving him with the Dursley's.

"Yes," Harry answered flatly.

"Ah," Amelia nodded. "Have you been taught how to tap into your emotions for your spell-work?"

"I learned the Patronus charm last year," Harry replied.

"Good," Amelia said. "That gives us somewhere to start. Now comes the fun part."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Finding the right emotion," Amelia flashed a wicked smile at him.