Chapter Note: Most of this chapter was written while I was under the influence of pain medication, so if it turns out to be absolutely awful I promise to replace it at a later date.

Warning: Mutilation and sex… possibly mixed together. Don't read while eating, or directly after eating. Maybe you just shouldn't read this at all. It's probably best.

Chapter 15 – What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted

Inside an unplottable mansion in Little Hangleton, a very powerful man sat in his private study and went over all of the new information he had received concerning one Harry James Potter. Lord Voldemort had not only listened to Severus Snape's accounting of what had truly transpired on that deplorable muggle street, he had insisted on viewing the memory for himself.

The Dark Lord smirked. Albus Dumbledore was truly a fool if he thought he would allow anyone in his ranks whose mind he could not read. The barmy old codger had actually believed Severus when he claimed that Lord Voldemort was not in the habit of forcing his followers to open their minds to him. At the very least, he was known to be quite paranoid when it came to matters of secrecy. It was only because of this that he was completely certain all of his horcruxes were safe.

He had found it quite amusing when the old man had forced his way through the wards of the old Gaunt shack in the attempt to locate one of his most precious items. The ring that Dumbledore had absconded with had been nothing more than a decoy, and certainly not the famed Resurrection Stone.

He still couldn't believe the old man had been stupid enough to put the ring on without checking for curses.

Another decoy, thankfully, had been the diary he had foolishly instructed Lucius to protect. The Malfoy Lord had certainly felt his wrath when he discovered it had ended up in the hands of an eleven-year-old blood traitor. Had it truly contained a portion of his soul, one of his most loyal followers would now be dead. Draco and Narcissa would have soon followed him. Lucius would never know how close his master had come to ending his line over his folly.

Actually, all of the articles he had hidden in various places or given to others for safekeeping were nothing more than exact copies of his true treasures. A dark ritual had been performed on each object so that should anyone discover them they would cleverly mimic an actual soul leech. Prolonged exposure to one of the pseudo horcruxes would continue to draw energy from whomever was in possession of it. Once a set amount had been drained, the energy would then fuel the next portion of the spell which, depending upon the object, would consist of mind control, hallucinations, or even a seemingly alive golem of Lord Voldemort. It was a clever bit of magic that had taken him years to perfect.

The Dark Lord pulled his thoughts away from his greatest secret and back to the matter at hand. There was not only the memory to consider in regards to his young adversary. Nott had approached him during one meeting to report an incident his son and the young Zabini heir had witnessed where Potter verbally berated his supposed closest friends before cutting all ties to them. Voldemort was no fool, and wasn't likely to put much stock in something that could have been fueled by nothing more than adolescent hormones.

When paired with Severus' news, however, the event became much more interesting.

If the young man in the memory had been telling the truth, and Voldemort had no reason to believe he wasn't, Potter was dating a dark creature. And Vampires, who were well known for their drive to find a mate, were extremely unlikely to take a human as a mere lover. You would be as likely to find a human dating a rasher of bacon. Therefore, the most logical conclusion one could make in this situation was that Harry James Potter, supposed Champion of the Light, was mated to a dark creature. And as most anyone could tell you, only a dark wizard or witch could possibly be the chosen of a dark creature.

Once he had put all of the pieces of the puzzle together, the Dark Lord had not only given an order that Harry Potter was not to be harmed, he had instructed his followers to "encourage" their children to get closer to the young man. This is assuming the boy even chooses to return to Hogwarts come September, of course. The wizard gently ran a finger down Nagini's scales as she slithered up his chair to drape herself across the back.

Lord Voldemort smirked as he stared into the flames of the fireplace. The Potter and Black heir certainly wasn't hiding behind his Gryffindor masks any longer. Therefore, he would have to agree with Severus' assessment. If Harry Potter truly was a dark wizard, then his victory was all but assured. He couldn't wait to see the look on Albus Dumbledore's face when he came to the same realization.

That is assuming he lived long enough to witness it.

Though Harry's wings looked more like shapeless piles of sodden black fabric when they finally emerged, the vampires watched in awe as they slowly began to take shape as they dried. By the time the new appendages were almost completely devoid of moisture, they had completely unfurled and rested against Harry's back.

Jasper was amazed by what he had read in regards to how dark veela wings actually formed. Sometime during the final stage of puberty, the creature gene is triggered and twin pockets of something akin to wizard space was created beneath the skin. This is where the wings develop until they grow too large to remain in their cocoons. Once this happens they are forcefully expelled, as Jasper and Edward witnessed earlier.

The hours passed by as Harry slept soundly. Jasper kept vigil alone when Edward finally left to visit with his new mate. Earlier, the brothers had both temporarily moved him in order to change the bedding and clean him up as much as possible without disturbing his well-earned rest. The wounds that had occurred from the initial expulsion had thankfully already scabbed over, so no more blood would be staining the bedding in the hours to come.

Jasper found himself unable to look away from his mate's new appendages for long. Once they finally dried, he couldn't help but reach out and run a finger over the silky-black membrane. He was in awe of how delicate they actually appeared. From the light pouring into the room from the windows, Jasper could easily make out a vast network of veins. The wings were thin, like those of a bat, and he worried that they would be too easily torn in a fight. He growled lowly at the thought before shaking his head.

He was strong enough to protect his mate as well as his beautiful new additions.

The wings seemed to flex slightly in response to the light caress. Jasper gently took hold of the joint at the tip of the closest one and pulled it out carefully. He constantly monitored his beloved's emotions to be sure he wasn't disturbing his rest. The wingspan was impressive and the blonde wondered whether Harry would need to learn to fly or would instinctively know how. The books hadn't been clear on that.

Harry let out a light moan that startled the vampire. He immediately released the appendage and settled on the bed beside his mate. Jasper found himself itching to stroke the dark veela's wings some more, but refrained from doing so. He wanted the brunette to sleep as long as possible while his body healed.

"How's Harry," Bill asked as he and Edward cuddled on the twins' sofa. Fred and George were rarely seen, as they stayed busy with the large summer crowds in their store.

"He's okay, I think. Jasper says the wings coming out was the most painful part of the transition and the rest should be relatively minor. He was sleeping peacefully when I left." Edward raked his hand through his perpetually messy hair. He often wondered if he and Harry shared an ancestor who gave them both the gene for wild, untamable hair.

The Curse Breaker tilted his head as he studied his newfound mate. "Something's bothering you." He smirked. "You know I'm not the mind reader in the relationship, so you'll just have to come out and say it."

Edward smiled and read from Bill's surface thoughts that he wasn't truly bothered by his gift, though he was glad that the vampire was unable to delve as deeply into his mind as he was others. Not that he often used that facet of his abilities, and certainly never on his loved ones. He sighed, remembering Jasper's earlier advice to confide in his mate.

"How would you feel if I started feeding from humans again?"

Bill smirked. "I would be ecstatic!"

The telepath blinked in shock at the easy answer before whipping his head around to stare into the beautiful blue eyes. "Why?"

The human laughed. "Because you're a vampire who needs human blood to be at your strongest and fastest. Why wouldn't I want that for you, Edward?" He gently cupped the pale cheek before leaning down to place a chaste kiss on the vampire's lips.

Edward completely lost any response he had planned to give once their lips met for the first time. Perhaps Carlisle wouldn't be too disappointed if he followed down the path Jasper was on. No doubt Alice would warn the vampire patriarch well in advance anyhow. Either way, it didn't matter… he had all the approval he needed right here.

Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes when he woke up on the morning of his birthday. Though he found it odd that Jasper wasn't lying beside him, he chalked it up to the fact that he'd slept much later than normal and the vampire had likely gotten bored. He remembered that he had briefly roused sometime in the middle of the night, but Jasper's gentle caresses had caused him to drift off once more.

The dark veela sat up and stretched, though he was startled out of the action when he caught sight of something moving behind him. He soon realized it was his own wings. The things seemed to have a mind of their own, for when he had stretched, they had also extended fully without any conscious direction on his part.

This was going to take some getting used to.

He reached back to examine the appendages, and was amazed at how soft the membrane was. It was odd, yet deeply satisfying, to know he would soon have the ability to soar without the use of a broomstick. Harry was going to have to reread the chapter detailing how to tap into the shape-shifting ability. They lived in the muggle world, and he had no intentions of being trapped in this house to avoid exposing his creature to the non-magical humans.

Finding himself longing to see his Jasper, Harry quickly prepared to face the day. He grabbed his wand to cast the spell he'd discovered in one of the dark veela books that would allow his shirt to compensate for his new wings. It had taken him three tries to get it right, but once he did the top appeared to have been tailor-made to fit his new form perfectly.

Harry happily made his way downstairs into the kitchen, suspecting that his mate would be there cooking him breakfast. He wasn't expecting his entire new family, the twins, Neville, Luna, and Bill to be there shouting "Happy Birthday," as soon as he stepped through the door!

The birthday boy let out a shriek that was very manly, despite what the twins would later claim, and his wings flared in panic. Of course Alice had been prepared for this reaction and had promptly taken a photo as the other traitors laughed at him.

Jasper soon had his arms wrapped around him and was placing a loving kiss on the pouting lips. "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart."

The brunette smiled softly at his mate, earlier humiliation already forgotten. "Thank you, Jasper. Where's my present?!"

Laughter filled the air once more as the festivities soon got underway.

Harry couldn't believe all of the wonderful things he had received from his family and friends! He was used to receiving inexpensive and impersonal things such as candy and quidditch posters, not that he was any less grateful to have received them. But the Cullens, he had discovered, didn't know the meaning of the word "cheap." The teenager was honestly feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the gifts he had been presented with. And he hadn't even gotten to Jasper's yet!

The dark veela had just hugged Luna, thanking her profusely for the beautiful dragon ear cuff, charmed to keep the wrackspurts away of course, when Jasper handed him a small package. Harry smiled at his love before carefully unwrapping the bright silver wrapping. Inside was a jeweler's box, and when he opened the lid his breath caught in his chest.

A set of matching magical bonding rings were gleaming up at him. They were exquisitely crafted from platinum, and both were adorned with a carved Celtic knot symbolizing everlasting love. The lines of the carving were painstakingly highlighted by diamonds. Harry couldn't help but wonder if Jasper knew what these rings represented.

He needn't have doubted, because when he finally looked away from the gift, Jasper Whitlock was down on one knee before him. Harry didn't register the sudden silence that had descended upon the kitchen, nor was he aware of his own elevated heartbeat. All he knew, in that moment in time, was the utter love and devotion in his mate's crimson gaze as he stared up at him and asked him the question everyone in that room knew was coming.

"Would you do me the honor of marrying me, Harry?"

Feeling lightheaded and dazed, Harry could only nod as his eyes filled with tears. He laughed with delight when a beaming Jasper slid one of the bands on his own finger. With shaking hands, he took out the remaining ring and slid it on Jasper's. As the newly engaged couple met in a fiery kiss, everyone cheered.

That night, after the couple had celebrated in their own way well into the night, Harry couldn't help but think that this had been the best birthday he had ever had. He lay his sweaty head upon Jasper's chest and drifted off to sleep with a smile. As long as his mate was with him, every day was sure to be utter perfection.

Over the course of the week following Harry's birthday, the rest of the changes finally came through. The dark veela had eventually gotten the hang of altering his appearance. He mostly used his gift to hide his wings and ears, which had formed distinct points at the tips like the high elves. Harry usually only did this when going out into the muggle world. When he next ventured into the magical world, however, he certainly wouldn't have to worry about being recognized!

Harry also found that he could instinctively alter his appearance to match his would-be victim's ultimate fantasy. It made sense, because what good would it do you to attempt to lure your prey if you had no idea what kind of individual he or she felt was the most attractive? He discovered this when Edward walked into the house as he was practicing his ability and Harry had felt the sudden need to shift into an exact copy of Bill. Thankfully his brother could read minds because that could have ended up as an extremely awkward experience really quickly. Since then he had worked harder on controlling it.

The thing he loved most about his creature was the fact that for the first time in his life he could see perfectly. In fact, his vision now was more akin to a vampire's in that he didn't require very much light to see in the dark. This was certainly going to make it a lot easier to navigate the corridors at night once he made it to Hogwarts.

"I asked Bill for a portkey to the cemetery where his mother is buried," Harry said as he sat on the window seat and stared into the backyard. "He sent it home with Edward this morning."

Jasper muted the television and turned to face his mate. "I don't sense guilt on you, Harry, so I don't understand why you'd wish to visit her."

Harry sighed and moved to sit beside the vampire. He immediately snuggled close to Jasper, smiling when a cold arm moved to pull him even closer. "I don't feel guilty… at all. I'm glad she's dead, and I'm only regretful that I didn't get to witness her declining sanity before she died." He frowned as he tried to convey his reasoning for going. "I guess part of it is because I feel like I need to see the results of what I've done… almost like it would bring me closure."

The vampire frowned in confusion. "I can understand the need for closure, but Molly Weasley isn't your first victim. You haven't expressed a need to see the graves of any of the people from Privet Drive."

The brunette shrugged. "They were all virtual strangers to me. Molly Weasley is someone I knew well… or at least I thought I did at one point. I've sat in her kitchen and have eaten her food. I've shared things with her. She's the first adult I've ever reached out to about my home life, thinking that she would somehow save me."

"So you want to go to tell her how much she has disappointed you?"

"No." Harry's sudden spike of frustration had Jasper place a kiss to his temple.

"It's okay, Harry," the blonde stated. "It doesn't really matter why you feel the need to visit this woman's grave. You already know you have my support in anything you need, and you never have to explain your reasons to me if you don't want to."

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Jas. You can come too if you'd like."

Ginny was standing beside her mother's grave, staring blankly at the polished stone. Ever since that horrible day, she had been feeling so lost. Her mother had always been the one person who had truly understood her and losing her, especially in that manner, had torn her apart. Molly Weasley would never get to help her plan her dream wedding, nor would she ever get to hold a single grandbaby. It just wasn't fair!

The sound of footsteps had her turning around. Expecting to be retrieved by her father, Ginny gasped in delight to see the much-loved face of her fiancé. She pushed the auburn hair out of her face and ran to the one she had refused to believe had been killed by Voldemort.

The boy barely glanced at her as she screamed his name. She stopped short just before reaching her beloved, noticing that he didn't look quite like the Harry she had once known. His ever-present glasses were missing, causing his emerald gaze to be even more piercing. Harry's hair was shaggier and, though it still stuck up in odd places, it now looked as if he had styled it that way on purpose. The most obvious changes in her betrothed was the large set of black wings resting against his back and his now-pointed ears.

The new appendages closely resembled the wings of a dragon, except much more delicate and Ginny just knew the texture would be soft like silk.

She was too busy checking out his changed appearance to notice the lack of emotion in his eyes when he looked at her. "Harry, what happened to you? Did you eat something the twins made?"

The older boy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "No, Ginevra. I've not been pranked. This is me, in my natural form."

"Don't call me that," the redhead reflexively snapped before confusion washed over her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not here to satisfy your curiosity, Ginevra. I came to pay my respects to your dearly departed mother."

Those words brought back the familiar ache and Ginny burst into tears once more. "Oh Harry, it was horrible! Ron and I saw the whole thing!"

Harry once again dodged her attempts to latch on to him, sparking the redhead's volatile temper. "What is wrong with you?! You're supposed to be comforting your fiancé at a time like this, not acting so cold! My mother just died!"

The winged boy chuckled. "I seriously doubt he needs comforting over this matter, Ginevra. And I am fully aware of her passing… that is why I'm here, remember?"

A mixture of confusion and dread filled her as his words brought her attention to the platinum and diamond bonding ring adorning his left ring finger. "What… what are you talking about?" She wiped the fresh tears from her face and stared up at Harry as if she had trouble recognizing him. And honestly, she almost didn't. Ginny wanted to do many things in that moment. She wanted to slap him for once again using her hated birth name. She wanted to scream at him for accepting another's ring, but most of all she wanted to grab him and shake him until he realized that he was completely in love with her.

When the brunette didn't answer, the witch felt her frustration reach new levels. "Damn it Harry! Didn't Dumbledore tell you? He and my parents set up a betrothal contract between you and I. Your engagement to someone else isn't valid, and if you refuse to marry me when the contract date is set to end you'll lose your magic!"

The wizard scoffed. "Oh I know all about the silly little contract, Ginevra. However, it seems that even an ironclad document such as that is unable to stand up to a soul mate bond."

Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. "What?"

"A soul mate bond. I met my mate… a gorgeous vampire named Jasper. He's the one I love with all of my heart, so there certainly isn't any room left over for a pathetic little girl like you, Ginevra."

"Stop calling me that," Ginny shrieked. This couldn't be happening! She was supposed to get her happy ever after with her hero. She was meant to be the one taking the Potter name and attending all of the high-class functions, dripping in the finest clothing and jewelry. And she had forever dreamed of seeing jealousy on the faces of others as they looked upon her. For she would have been the one… the only one to capture the interest of Harry James Potter. It's all she had dreamed about since she was a little girl.

Desperation caused her to grab Harry's wrist. She no longer cared about his strange new wings or his bizarre aloof manner. All Ginny was concerned about was not letting her white knight slip through her fingers. So, with tears streaming down her face, Ginny Molly Weasley began to beg shamelessly. "Harry, please! I can give you so much more than any man could dream of. What about children? I know you've always desired a family! I'll be the best wife you could ever ask for!" She thought she heard a low growling sound coming from the copse of trees behind Harry, but soon dismissed it as the wind.

Harry glared down at the sobbing girl as if she were the most repugnant thing ever created. He jerked his wrist from her grasp, the sudden action causing her to stumble in shock. "Do not presume to think you know me, Ginevra Weasley! You may have seen my face a thousand times in the last four years or so, but I can promise you that what you were gazing at with your pitiable little love-struck expression was nothing more than a mask. Not once did I allow you to see the real Harry James Potter, and I can promise you that if you did get a deeper insight into the mind of your hero, you wouldn't like what you saw."

"No, Harry… please don't do this!" She fell to her knees sobbing into her hands. "I could never love another, because I gave my heart away to you years ago!"

Harry had been on the verge of walking away when her desperate words froze him in place. He turned to face her once more and there was something gleaming in his emerald eyes that both frightened and excited her. "Do you mean that?"

Feeling hope for the first time since she found out her beloved Harry Potter had found his soul mate, she hastily scrambled to her feet. "Yes, Harry, I promise I'm telling the truth. My heart belongs only to you, and it always will!"

She closed her eyes in happiness when the wizard tenderly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the nearest tree. She felt giddy as he gently backed her against the rough bark of the willow, thinking she was about to receive her first kiss from the man of her dreams. The giddiness turned to confusion when Harry took his wand out and restrained her to the tree. Then the confusion turned to desire when he reached out and started unbuttoning her light pink cotton blouse.

Harry was unable to completely remove the top since Ginny was bound to the tree, so he left it alone. Once her plain white bra was revealed, he simply cut the fabric away with a spell. The witch was no stranger to kinky sex, so she wasn't bothered in the least by the brunette's need to dominate her. On the contrary, she had never felt herself grow so moist in such a short period of time. Once exposed to the cool breeze blowing through the graveyard, Ginny's nipples hardened until they were almost aching.

The wizard raised his hand once more and said a spell of which she wasn't familiar. The tip of the holly wand lit up immediately. The light wasn't bright enough to light up a dark room, so she couldn't even guess its purpose, but when Harry drew it close to her skin she began to get nervous. Kinky sex was one thing, but she'd never been into the whole sadism/masochism thing. "Wait… what are you doing?"

The wizard looked up at her as if the answer was blatantly obvious and she was stupid for asking. "I'm taking back my property, of course."

Ginny blinked in confusion. "What property?"

The wand was once again moving toward her chest. "The heart, Ginny. You gave me your heart and I'll be taking it now."

She had opened her mouth to ask him if he'd lost his mind when an agonizing pain caused screams to spill from her lips instead. Rather than being deterred by her suffering, the noises seemed to spur the wizard on more. Ginny was too busy trying to move away from the pain to notice someone new had joined Harry until he began speaking.

"You may want to cast a silencing charm, Darlin'. That girl's loud enough to have people come running from miles away."

Ginny blinked as Harry stopped cutting long enough to cast the charm. She'd had a moment of hope that the blonde stranger may rescue her, but it was soon dashed when she saw the bemused smirk on his pale face. The return of Harry's wand took away her thoughts completely. She couldn't help but look down at what the wizard was doing to her. A river of red was flowing from the wound that her torturer was steadily making bigger. She willed herself to black out, so as to escape this crippling torment, but awareness remained.

A loud cracking sound startled her into looking down once more. Though, like the last time, she immediately wished she hadn't. No one should ever have to see their own rib bones being removed one by one. Harry, she realized through the unceasing screams and tears, had never once lost the amused look despite getting positively drenched in her blood. The last thing she had seen before death finally claimed her was Harry James Potter yanking out her still-beating heart and placing a kiss on the organ.

Jasper couldn't have stopped himself from pouncing on his mate even if he had wanted to… and he most certainly did not want to. The sight of Harry ripping the heart out of a living body left him desperate to sink into the shorter man and claim him all over again. His lips immediately sought out the blood-coated ones of his beloved and he groaned at the taste of Ginny's life essence on his tongue.

With a speed that would even have other vampires gaping in amazement, he had divested both himself and Harry of clothing. He gently pressed his mate's winged back against the same tree to which the unfortunate girl's corpse was still tied. The part of his vampire that was forever mindful of his mate's safety and well-being gave him the patience needed to gently open the young man up wide enough to take his member.

Harry's legs clutched tightly to his mate's waist as he happily submitted to his dark lover. Fingers tangled in each other's hair as the passion completely took control of their heaving bodies. The brunette was the first to release, and screamed his mate's name for all to hear. He wanted no one to ever doubt the identity of the vampire to whom he belonged. Jasper followed close behind, placing a hand between Harry's lower back and the rough bark of the tree in order to protect the delicate skin from painful scrapes. He gave a few more reflexive thrusts before sighing and placing a tender kiss to the other's still-bloodied forehead.

Soon the lovers parted and began grabbing their clothing. Harry waved his wand, removing the blood from both their fabric and skin. Just as the lovers were about to take the portkey back home, the brunette caught sight of the dead girl's heart he had dropped when Jasper had become overcome with passion. Smirking, he reached down to pick up the organ. "You know what," he directed to the cadaver, "I changed my mind. You can keep it." He tucked it back into the gaping chest cavity and cleaned his hand once more.

The mates were soon gone in a flash of light.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!