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emotionally-imbruised · 2 days ago

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Ok reblogging once more cause I was really proud of this rewrite and would love to hear anyone’s thoughts on it 🥺

Wandering Souls

A/N: Hello lovelies! Long time no see, hope you are all doing well. I know I kinda fell off the face of the earth HOWEVER for spooky season this year I decided to make a small comeback of sorts by rewriting one of my old fics on here. The one I went with was Wandering Souls, an old vampire fic that was actually painful for me to reread all these years later lmaooo BUT here she is rewritten with an orignal fmc and, in my opinion, soooo much better than before. I hope you enjoy and would love to hear your thoughts!

Word Count: 4.7k

The cool Autumn air nipped at Josie’s skin, making her shrug more into the bulky wool scarf she wore while making her way home for the evening.

Despite her resentment toward the time of year, Josie couldn’t deny that she loved the beauty October displayed around New York City. The shift into colder weather was always more tolerable with the warm decorations and colours of Fall before the inevitable miserableness Winter brought along soon after.

Too bad, for Josie, the wonders of October were ruined by the dreadful celebration everyone else seemingly looked forward to at the end of the month.

It was Halloween. But, despite the festive decorations and people rushing around to get last-minute candy or items for a costume, Josie tried to ignore it.

October 31st marked yet another full circle the earth made around the sun, indicating another year passed since Josie’s world was flipped upside down… over 200 years ago.

She continued through the bustling streets of New York, dodging other pedestrians and walking around the slow movers she didn’t have the patience to be stuck behind. They wreaked of blood. Every one of them. It was borderline overbearing as Josie was forcibly reminded that it’d been weeks since she last properly fed. Good thing she’d had over two centuries of practice of not giving into that bloodlust and ripping into a stranger's neck right then and there. Instead, she cut away from the crowded sidewalk and turned down an empty alleyway she knew as a shortcut back to her apartment.

To a typical human woman, walking alone down a dimly lit path shortly after nightfall had taken over for the evening screamed danger. To Josie, it was nothing. After all, she was the bloodthirsty predator in this situation.

The sound of her heeled boots meeting the pavement echoed with each step, becoming louder as she walked further into the alley. She was no more than 10 minutes from being home, however, a shift in her surroundings made Josie be on high alert.

A cool breeze blew past her, whipping her hair around while any debris littering the alley remained undisturbed. Then the air went cold. Josie wrapped her arms around her torso, shivering at the sudden temperature change, but kept her cool while she ignored the feeling of being watched. The eeriness remained as she glanced over her shoulder in search of the presence she so greatly felt. Whatever was following her wasn’t human, she would’ve picked up on their scent if they were and could tell whatever lurked was still near despite not being visible.

Josie could identify most creatures by their scent, but this one was masking theirs, leading her to believe they knew what she was or it was something she’d never encountered in her long lifetime. New York City was full of the supernatural. Vampires, Witches and Werewolves just scratched the surface of the occult entities that existed amongst the humans.

Although she primarily kept to herself, Josie knew many other vampires who roamed the same city as her. A few were in positions of power and fame, living in the global public eye but keen on keeping their true nature unknown to humans. On the other hand, Josie had no desire for anyone’s attention and often created aliases to give to any human colleagues or acquaintances she made. She always had her bases covered for watching her own back and keeping under the radar, which had her wondering why she was being watched.

There was no chance Josie was going home while being followed. She hadn’t determined whether or not whatever was near posed any threat to her, but still, she kept a straight face as she continued walking.

With each step, her surroundings became more eerie and Josie felt the invisible presence behind her keep up easily. She was calculating what to do next while waiting for a chance to make a move and attack first, and then she felt it. The presence was closer, falling in step behind her. Josie knew she had to act.

Without a second thought and faster than any human could see, she whipped around to grab ahold of who was behind her. It wasn’t until she had them pressed against a nearby brick wall that she finally got a good look at them, and once she did, annoyance took over.

“Oh, for fuck sake,” Josie hissed through gritted teeth and harshly pushed the light curly-haired man back against the wall again by his neck. “You know better than to sneak up on me, Harry.”

“Josephine, always a pleasure,” Harry greeted cockily, his British accent sounding like velvet as he flashed his infamous dimpled grin. “Never can be a simple reunion with you, can it?”

“It’s been 10 years,” Josie seethed as she gripped tighter.

“Oh, don’t be a drag. Better late than never, right?”

“God, you’re such an ass.”

Josie wanted nothing more than to smack the smug grin off Harry’s face, but instead, she kept her composure and even loosened her grip on the other vampire’s neck. Unfortunately for her, though, Harry took that as a second of vulnerability.

In the blink of an eye, Harry grabbed Josie’s arm and pulled her toward him, spinning them around and making Josie groan as he pushed her against the wall just like she’d done to him moments before.

“Get off of me,” Josie snapped then pushed Harry away. He just laughed in response, looking stupidly handsome as he did so. “What the hell do you want?”

“I’ve missed my best friend,” Harry pouted as Josie walked away. “Can’t I just drop in for a visit with her because I feel like it?”

“Not when the last time I saw you, you snapped my neck and then disappeared without a trace. For 10 years, need I remind you. Some best friend.”

Harry groaned as he followed after her.

“You’re still bitter over that? How many times do I have to apologize?”

“You haven’t apologized,” Josie stated in annoyance, then turned around to face him. “I haven’t seen you since it happened, asshole. Now, you only come looking for me when you’ve royally fucked up, or you need something. So, which is it?”

“I do not,” he grumbled, making her scoff.

“Yeah, right.”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“I’m here for a celebration, actually,” he replied then paused while he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small blood bag he must’ve stolen from a hospital with a sad tiny drawing of a candle taped to it. “Happy Birthday!”

“Not my birthday,” Josie muttered then took the bag from him and ripped it open. Once she was finished draining its contents into her mouth, she tossed it into a nearby trashcan.

“Thanks for sharing,” Harry huffed, making Josie smirk. “And, yes, it is. It’s Halloween. Also known as our birthday.”

“No, your birthday is in February,” Josie corrected and Harry rolled his eyes again. “You know I don’t celebrate our birthdays on Halloween 'cause it’s not our birthday. It’s the day we died, Harry. 200 years ago.”

“And you don’t look a day over 100.”

“I can’t stand you.”

Josie turned on her heel and started walking away again, earning another annoyed groan from the other vampire.

“Josephine,” Harry called as he easily caught up, then grabbed hold of her arm and turned her back to look at him. Once they were face to face again, Harry held her gaze, then sighed.

A familiar silence fell between them. It wasn’t awkward. It never was between them given their long past together and they both just needed a moment to take the other in after 10 long years apart. Eventually, it was Josie who broke that silence.

“You know I hate being called Josephine,” she said, shuddering at the formal use of her full name.

“I do,” Harry agreed. “But I’m not just anybody.”

He was right and was well aware that no one would ever have the same significance to Josie as he did.

“Why are you here, Harry?”

“I’ve missed you. It’s been a long time. Too long, Jose.”

Josie gave him another once-over while he was not so subtly roaming her body with his gaze as well.

“Your hair is longer,” she told him. “It looks good. In a messy, greasy kind of way.”

“Bet it’d look better with your hands running through it,” he replied and swiftly snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her toward him.

“No beating around the bush this time, hm? You’d love for me to give in to you that easily, wouldn’t you?”

“I mean, it has been 10 years.”

“That it has.”

“We could go back to yours. What do you say?”

“I say,” Josie started and moved to brush your lips against Harry’s teasingly. He exhaled as she moved away slightly, then gently placed her hands behind his neck. She let her fists tangle into his curls for a moment before quickly moving one hand to his chin, and twisting his head to the side until there was a sickening crack. Harry’s body went limp, and Josie let it fall to the ground, then stepped over it and continued on her way home as if nothing happened. “That payback is a bitch.”

About an hour later, Josie was curled up on her favourite chair reading a popular book she’d seen on TikTok about a Fae and human falling love when Harry burst through her apartment door.

“Ok, I guess I deserved that,” he stated then cracked his probably stiff neck. “I don’t remember you ever playing this dirty. I’m impressed.”

“And I thought I’d have at least another hour before you woke up,” Josie muttered then set her book down.

Harry rolled his eyes as she stood and crossed the small space between them, brushing her shoulder against his before heading down the hallway to her bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Harry asked, then followed after her.

“I’m changing into something comfy,” Josie replied before switching on the bedroom light and walking over to her dresser.

“Why? It’s Halloween. We should go out.”

“No.”

He groaned then flopped onto her bed, moving his gaze to stare at the ceiling. “When did you get so boring?”

“Not boring, just tired,” Josie answered as a matter of fact. “I mean, you can leave if you want.”

“Haha, funny,” Harry snarked, then leaned onto his elbows to look at her better. Josie smirked as she pulled the long-sleeved shirt she’d worn all day up and over her head before tossing it into the dirty laundry basket by the doorway. Harry’s eyes remained glued to her as she did this and made no attempt to cover it up.

“Like what you see?” Josie asked while unbuttoning her jeans and shimmying out of them. She didn’t miss the way Harry’s gaze roamed over the red lacy underwear ensemble she wore.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he replied then adverted his attention from her briefly. “Doesn’t really faze me anymore after 200 years, y’know?”

“Hmm,” Josie hummed in disagreement, glancing down at his lower body. “That boner says otherwise.”

Harry shifted awkwardly onto his side, trying to hide his increasingly visible bulge but remained quiet. Josie smiled to herself triumphantly then turned her back on him and unclasped her bra. The material slid down her arms before falling to the ground with a small thud. She then opened the second drawer of her dresser and pulled out an old worn-out Led Zeppelin t-shirt from the 70’s to slip on and cover herself up with, doing the same with a pair of pyjama shorts right after.

“So that’s where that shirt went,” Harry whispered into her ear, suddenly away from the bed. “Looks better on you than it did on me.”

“Flattery only gets you so far, Harry, you should know this by now,” Josie said before moving around him to climb onto her bed, pulling the duvet over her lap as she leaned against the headboard. “Now are you going to tell me why you’re actually here or not?”

“I want you,” Harry replied suggestively making Josie raise an eyebrow at him in question, Harry paused for dramatic effect as he sat back down on the bed. “To come with me. Y’know, go somewhere new. You’ve been in New York for a long time, and um-.”

He trailed off awkwardly and looked away, clearly thinking about keeping all the details of his unexpected visit hidden from Josie.

“No,” she argued and glanced at him suspiciously. “I like it here, why would I leave?”

“Well, as vampires, it’s, um, good for us to move around,” Harry stammered, keeping his eyes from meeting hers. “So people don’t notice us, right? You’ve been here for a while, soon people will notice.”

“And I’ll deal with it when it happens,” Josie responded and continued to study his odd body language. “If it happens. I’ve been here for nearly 12 years and have done well enough to keep people off my trail about not aging. You never cared about me staying in one place for long before, why now? Is there something you aren't telling me?”

“I… Nathan’s back,” he murmured, almost hoping Josie wouldn’t hear, but her enhanced hearing picked up on it.

“Nathan,” she repeated, then pondered for a moment. She didn’t think she knew anyone named Nathan, but realization and panic soon settled in. Josie took a shaky breath while Harry’s gaze finally met hers again. “Nathan from home. The man responsible for both of us dying and becoming vampires.”

“That’s the one.”

“W-what did he want?”

“Well, after he had someone snap my neck, tie me to a chair then stab me with some wooden stakes when I wouldn’t answer his interrogation… I didn’t get the chance to ask,” Harry explained and started fiddling with the throw blanket draped at the end of the bed. “Was kinda focused on getting out of there.”

“Fuck,” Josie whispered then mindlessly crawled across the bed towards him. Harry flinched slightly as she reached to touch his cheek, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she moved his head until his eyes met hers. “You’re ok, though, right? You got away and we don’t have to worry about them. We’ve avoided him for 200 years, it’s gotta be alright.”

“I wish it were that simple,” Harry replied with a shrug, then leaned into Josie’s touch as he placed his hand over hers. “I knew he’d been trying to track me down for some time, but I didn’t think he’d actually find me seeing as we’ve done so well in avoiding him for so long. That’s why I stayed away. I didn’t want to lead him to you.”

“That’s why you disappeared.”

Harry nodded.

“He’s already killed us once, Josie. I assumed if I stayed away from you, it’d keep him away too. That you’d be safe.”

“You’re an idiot,” Josie stated before leaning her forehead against Harry’s. “Fuck, Harry, he could have killed you. Let him find me. I’m the one he wants dead.”

“He wants both of us dead, actually,” Harry corrected. “Still has a grudge against us for ruining your betrothal to him all those years ago.”

“And now it’s come back to haunt us.”

Josie sighed and pulled back, but Harry put his hands on hers to prevent her from getting too far.

“Hey,” he spoke softly and inched closer to her, making her feel all kinds of things. “We’ll be ok. I lost them somewhere in Austria over a month ago. Haven’t seen any sign of him or his people since.”

Josie’s undead heart pounded as Harry stared at her intensely. She naturally felt better and safer with him present regardless of the circumstances and just having him back ignited a dull fire within her that was impossible to put out.

“So, what now?”

“We wait. It’d be best to stay under the radar until we see if he does anything.”

“And do what in the meantime?” Josie asked.

Harry let his eyes roam her body again.

“Well, I could think of a few things,” he said and Josie knew exactly what he was implying.

“You’re ridiculous. What an insane thing to suggest after dropping the bomb of us being hunted by a psycho vampire.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to?”

“Well, no,” Josie responded. She couldn’t deny the sexual build-up she felt the moment she saw him again and before she could change her thoughts, Harry leaned in and caught her lips with his in a kiss.

“Great, so we’re on the same page,” he mumbled against her lips as he shifted closer to her then deepened the kiss.

It wasn’t long before Harry’s hands gripped Josie’s waist, then slid to her thighs so he could guide her closer. Soon enough, Josie was straddling his lap and after a few moments of making out, she was the first to pull away.

“Mmm,” she groaned as he squeezed her ass, then kissed him again. “It’s been a long time since we’ve done this.”

“Too long,” Harry responded.

Soon he lifted Josie’s t-shirt over her head and tossed it onto the floor. Once that piece of clothing was discarded, Josie helped Harry remove his own before he started sucking on her neck, making sure to leave love marks all over her in doing so.

“We always fall back into the same routine.”

“Well, what we’re doing is what got us into our current predicament with Nathan, innit? It's kind of foolish for us to think anything would change after 200 years of doing this. Still unsure why you picked me over him.”

“I was young, human, and stupidly in love with my best friend,” Josie explained, then shook her head. “Not with some rich asshole my father sold me off to marry. My sneaking around with you while my marriage to Nathan was set in stone probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but everything about that engagement was forced. I didn’t want to be with him and I couldn’t let myself give into a life of misery being the wife of such a horrible creature. My father would be rolling in his grave at how everything played out.”

“You were everything to me,” Harry replied, the seriousness in his voice surprised Josie.

“Harry-.”

“I mean it, Josie. What happened to us?”

Tears started burning Josie’s eyes, but she refused to cry as she took a deep breath.

“I think we figured this would be easier,” she answered, motioning her hand between them. “No strings attached. This way neither of us is tying the other down. We’re free to do whatever and whomever we want. That doesn’t change what I’ve always felt for you, but nothing was the same once we died. Forever is a long time and we’re already stuck with one another whether we like it or not.”

Harry looked at Josie thoughtfully before reaching his right hand to cup her cheek, before leaning in to kiss her deeply again.

“Haven’t been with anyone in over 200 years that makes me feel the way I do when I’m with you, Jose,” he muttered against her lips. “Almost enjoy tasting you as much as I enjoy the taste of blood.”

Josie moaned as his other hand started fiddling with the waistband of her shorts.

“Mmm, you just want to get in my pants.”

“Well, yes.”

“Typical,” Josie chuckled, then tangled her hands into his hair again.

Soon, Harry flipped the two of them over so he was on top, smirking as he took her exposed upper body in before him. His hands rested on her waist, but he wasted no time moving them to her breasts so he could massage them as he leaned down to kiss her once more. Harry’s mouth slid to Josie’s jaw, leaving a trail of small kisses in his wake until he reached her neck, his favourite spot. The gentle curve of where her neck and shoulder met was somewhere Harry loved giving extra attention to and this time was no different. He grazed his sharp fangs against her sensitive skin before leaving two small punctures that filled with blood. But, as quickly as the blood splotted, it was gone as Harry licked the red liquid away.

Josie’s eyes fluttered and she moaned with pleasure as Harry began sucking on that same spot all while grinding his body against her. She wanted, no, she needed more from him but before she could do anything about that craving, a shuffle sounded from the living room, startling her.

“Did you hear that?” She asked, her eyes locked on the doorway to her bedroom, as though someone may burst through it.

“No,” Harry whined, then moved his mouth down her collarbone. “I didn’t hear anything. You’re just on edge.”

Josie considered his words for a moment, thinking that maybe she was overreacting, but then the faintest footstep made one of the old wooden floorboards of the apartment creak. It was a noise Josie couldn’t ignore with her amplified vampire hearing.

“There’s someone here.”

“Josie.”

Josie didn’t respond as she zipped off the bed, picking up her t-shirt from where it was balled up on the floor and putting it back on faster than any human could even comprehend. Harry groaned but was beside her instantaneously, his t-shirt back on too. Josie watched him for a moment before letting her gaze fall to the prominent bulge that remained in his pants, a smirk tugging at her lips as their eyes met again.

“Don’t start,” Harry whispered harshly, making Josie snort a small laugh.

“Wasn’t gonna,” she said, then stepped toward the door.

Harry was quick to stop her, though.

“No chance you’re just about to walk out of here without a plan of attack in facing whatever is out there.”

Josie blinked at him but remained silent as she opened the door and entered the hallway, disregarding his words entirely. Harry groaned at her stubbornness but followed after nonetheless.

The two vampires slowly and quietly crept down the hall toward the living room, not wanting to alert anything that may be waiting for them. Once they reached the entryway into the living room, Josie peaked around the corner and found the place empty without a single thing out of place. She scoffed and stepped further into the room searching for any indication that an intruder was there, but found none.

Josie felt annoyed at her paranoia but was relieved there was nothing to worry about as she turned to face Harry again. However, before she could speak, a sharp wooden stake whizzed through the air toward her. She dodged the stake quickly, watching as it missed making contact with her body by mere inches and following it with her gaze as it continued soaring through the air until embedding itself deeply into the couch behind her.

Snapping her gaze back to the shadowy corner of the room the stake emerged from, Josie watched as a male vampire she didn’t recognize stepped into the faded lights seeping in from the large window and threw another sharpened piece of wood in her direction, fast. This time, however, Josie didn't dodge the attack. Instead, she reached up to grab the stake out of the air as it approached her, then swiftly rotated it in her hands before chucking the weapon right back at the man, nailing him in the gut.

“Are you kidding me?” She yelled at the unknown vampire, watching as he groaned in pain and then fell to the ground. “I just bought that couch, asshole!”

“Josie, we’ve got bigger things to worry about than furniture,” Harry stated. Josie looked over to see him in an all-out brawl with another vampire, this time a female, she still didn’t recognize. Low grunts left their mouths as they began rolling on the ground desperately trying to get the upper hand against the other.

Josie huffed, annoyed with the situation before turning back to her opponent as he cried in pain from yanking the stake out of his stomach, then stood back up. With an aggravated sigh, Josie ripped the other stake out of the couch and sped over to the man. She grabbed him by his neck, not giving him a chance to react as she forcefully pushed him against the wall like she did to Harry earlier that evening.

“Dick move,” Josie said to the vampire before stabbing her weapon into his chest, making sure it hit the exact spot she knew would kill him once and for all.

Letting the man’s greying, lifeless body slump to the ground, Josie then turned to help Harry out with his goon. However, she only took a few steps toward them before a strong force slammed into her side, making her topple to the ground, hard. She struggled against the hold the new attacker had on her and let out a whimper of pain as he straddled her waist and aggressively pinned her wrists down with his hands.

“My, Nathan wasn’t kidding when he said you were a looker,” the nasty-looking vampire spoke up, making Josie scrunch her face in disgust. “May have to keep yourself.”

“Hm, and I see Nathan still has to send others to do his dirty work for him,” Josie spat, then moved her knee up to meet his groin, using all the strength she could muster. The man let go of her wrists as he groaned in pain and moved back from her slightly. Josie was ready to take this opportunity to finish him off, but then Harry appeared behind him and stabbed another stake into the man’s heart through his back. The newly deceased vampire fell to the ground beside Josie and she quickly glared at her best friend disapprovingly. “I could’ve handled it.”

“You’re welcome, Josephine,” Harry replied simply as he held his hand out to help her stand up.

Josie took his hand but still rolled her eyes as he pulled her into a standing position.

“Y’know, a ‘thanks for saving my life, Harry, I don’t know what I’d do without you’ wouldn’t kill you to say.”

“Well I wouldn’t say the second part of that sentence, that’s for damn sure,” Josie responded, then brushed past him. The bodies of three dead vampires were scattered around her apartment and she was severely annoyed by it. “So, what now? We can’t stay here. Nathan clearly knows where we are.”

“I know,” Harry stated firmly. “We need to leave the state.”

“The state? No, that’s not necessary. I have another place near the Canadian border, we can go there.”

“No, absolutely not. Do you hear yourself right now? Josie, Nathan knows we’re here. There’s bound to be more men where these guys came from, and they’re probably not too far from here. It’s too risky to stay so close.”

“But-,” Josie tried to argue but was cut off.

“No buts,” Harry stated. “God, just stop being so damn stubborn for once in your life and listen!”

His raised voice caused Josie to raise her eyebrows at him in surprise.

“Well now you’re just rude,” she scoffed and made her way to the broken-down front door of her apartment, ignoring him.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Josephine, I’m trying to help you,” he groaned and ran his hand over his face aggravatedly. “We’re in this together.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be in this with you, Harry! You’ll just piss off afterward like you always do. That is if we even make it out alive this time.”

Harry took a deep breath and studied his best friend momentarily before speaking up again.

“You’re not going to make this easy, are you?” He asked, and Josie shrugged. A smirk soon formed on his mouth, one that Josie used to love, but the laugh that left his mouth made her want nothing more than to just smack the stupid look off his face. She went to say something else but his striking green eyes met hers, making her freeze. “Then I’m sorry about this, Jose.”

“What the hell are you talking about-,” Josie began but was cut off abruptly when Harry sped behind her and locked her into a chokehold. “Harry, don’t! If you snap my neck again I swear it’ll be the last thing you do.”

A deep chuckle rippled through Harry and vibrated against Josie’s back as she struggled against his hold.

“Sorry, love, but it’s for your own good,” he stated smoothly. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Josie continued to fight and Harry let her for a second longer before he twisted her head to the side with a sickening crack, and everything went black.

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emotionally-imbruised · 2 days ago

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Which Harry fic is what I NEED! And I still read it if it’s OC

omgggg the witch harry fic i've had planned out for years is an OC for sure but ahhhhh i dont know if i'll ever actually write it

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