The Search Is Over

Chapter 19

Chapter 19: I'm A Survivor

When Regulus once again regained full consciousness, over two weeks had passed. The first thing he noticed was the shadow of Dora bending over him, then the taste of blood on his lips. Had he been drinking her blood without even being aware? "What...What happened," he managed. Trying to sit up and failing, he flopped weakly back onto the soft surface on which he lay. An investigative glance told him it was a couch. He was so weak he was shaking and so dizzy from his attempt to rise that the room spun.

"That's a very good question," Pandora said tartly. "It's a good thing I didn't trust you not to do anything stupid or reckless. After I fed I followed you. You're welcome!"

Regulus groaned as he struggled to think...to remember through the fog still filling his brain. "How did you find me? And thank you."

"That's another thing about vampires," Pandora said, sinking down onto the floor beside the couch and resting a slender hand on the arm, just above Regulus's head. "Vampires can sense those they make, and children can likewise sense their makers. Once you learn to read minds, you can also sense the presence of other vampires, but that's more of an energy recognition, where as you and I can find one another through our blood connection. It works rather like a locating or homing device," she explained. I arrived in time to see you fighting those abominations in the lake. What were you thinking, Regulus!?"

Regulus sighed, shuddering at the memory. "Originally I intended to use my new vampiric strength to destroy them so that Voldemort would have one less weapon. The potion made me thirsty, though, so I ended up falling prey to them instead when I was dragged into the lake. I didn't think the potion would affect me the same way now that I am a vampire, so I believed I could handle it better than Kreacher. I didn't want him to suffer that again as it was my fault he suffered it the first time. To add to that, it made him very ill, and I didn't want his body to have to go through that again. If he died because of me, I could never live with that. I hoped that being a vampire would make me strong enough to withstand Voldemort's potion as well as his foul lake water." Suddenly it occurred to Regulus that Kreacher would be worried sick. Shooting up into a sitting position his gaze darted around frantically. "He is waiting for me! What time is it?"

"Around nine in the evening, two weeks and three days after I dragged you from that disgusting black lake," Dora replied. "I had to force feed you because you would not wake up. Had I known you had plans to deal with that lake, I would've told you that ingesting a ton of water makes our kind very ill...for weeks at a time if it is enough water as you can see."

Two weeks! Kreacher was surely beside himself or worse! Gods, he probably believed Regulus dead! "Kreacher," he called.

"Um...He isn't here," Pandora said, eyeing him as though he'd quite lost his mind. "We're in my house in Rome. Without you being able to communicate to me, I had no way of knowing how safe we were or weren't. I wanted to get us out of England and as such hopefully far enough away from your Dark Lord to be out of danger."

"That shouldn't matter," Regulus said. "Kreacher can hear me anywhere...or at least sense my call. I'm not precisely sure how it works, but it's the house elf family connection bond," he explained. "I can call him from anywhere and he is pulled to me."

Dora glanced around skeptically. "Oh? Where is he then?"

Oh Gods, was Kreacher safe? Heart pounding Regulus spoke his name three more times to no avail. "I need to send a letter," he said frantically, standing or at least trying to, but his body was all jelly and rubber and wouldn't listen to him. It was as if he had no bones to support his weight, and with a sound of frustration, he fell back onto the sofa. "I'll bring you something to write with," Dora said with a sigh as she rose to her feet. "Now that you're conscious, you can feed more completely, and you will recover far faster. I was only able to get so much blood into you when you were entirely unresponsive." Regulus nodded, more concerned about writing Kreacher at once even than in feeding to regain his strength. He knew eventually it would probably sink in how foreign feeding was to eating like a civilized human being, but right now, his mind just didn't have time for it. Dora presented him with an odd piece of lined paper and a thin straight pen of a sort he'd never seen before. "I need ink unless the pen is enchanted," he said, glancing around for an ink well.