Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: The characters of this fiction are borrowed and used as a tribute to the wonderful world created by J.K. Rowling. They're not mine, never were and never will be. No money is being made on this either.

Author's notes:

I am so, so sorry for the massive extent of time it took before I finally finished this chapter. But as always: the responsibilities of my life have constantly got in the way, and I haven't found the mood I needed to do this lately. Job has been hectic which has worn me down, and my brother does not like that I spend my time with Portkey.org. Plus I have to think about the rest of my family. Again, I am sorry.

Well, the reaction of Cho becoming a Vampire has all been various, but it was enjoyable to read your reviews. What did frighten me though was that many of you cheered Cho's death. Are you that bloodthirsty? (Just joking. We all want it to be Hermione at Harry's side after all, not some other girl.)

Thank you those who reviewed, and now on with the story…

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The first thing Harry became aware of when he woke up was the headache. It was so intense that his brain threatened to pop out of his skull. He tried to sit up but thought better of it, so instead he surveyed his whereabouts. He didn't have his glasses on, but he could make out in the blur that he was back in his rented room at The Laughing Swan Inn.
The memories of the last events before he'd passed out came back to him and made him shiver: Cho being a Vampire, his and Remus Lupin's fight against her, him hammering a wooden stake through her heart…
The memories made him nauseated, making him feel ill again. And then he remembered how all this had come to be: There's a Vampire lurking at Hogwarts, the school is in terrible danger…
Again he tried to sit up, again his head pounded so roughly that he sank back to his pillow. It was obvious that he'd had another collapse - he wondered how long he had been out this time.

Harry heard a door open and a humanoid image came into his obscured view. Harry's glasses were then put on and he saw the face of Remus Lupin.
'I'm glad to see that you're awake.' Lupin said, giving him a small smile. 'Eat this.' He handed Harry a piece of chocolate.
'Chocolate?' Harry's voice was weak. 'I know it helps when you've been around a Dementor, but after a collapse…'
'Ordinary muggle chocolate would never help, not even after an encounter with a Dementor.' Lupin explained simply. 'But this is wizard's chocolate, there's different ingredients in them that makes you feel better. And thankfully you didn't have a collapse of Aneurysm as I first feared - You only fainted.'
'Only?' Harry questioned. To him: to 'only' faint was bad enough.

'I'm no healer, but my guess is that you were running on too much adrenaline and your body-functions couldn't correspond with the stress you were experiencing. And I suppose that… after what you've seen last night was way too much for your psyche. I think that your body sort of 'turned you off-line' to use a muggle-term until your systems returned to ordinary levels…'
'Although I've been living with the Dursley's most of my life, your explanation went a bit over my head.' Harry told his former Professor as he forced down the chocolate - it made him feel better. 'So if it wasn't a collapse as an effect of my illness - how long have I been out?'
'It's a little over Three o'clock in the afternoon, Christmas day.' Lupin said. 'While you've been resting, I gave a cover story to the towns-people of what has transpired here. Not a word about Vampires of course, I gave them a story that's easier to believe. I won't trouble you with the details - as far as they know, you were never involved.'

Despite his headache, Harry put himself into a sitting position on the bed.
'Cho… err… the Vampire here has been dealt with. But what about the one at Hogwarts?'
Lupin let out a deep sigh. 'I wish I could give you an answer… that one will be more tricky - a lot more tricky to deal with.' Lupin shook his head.
'There's something you're not telling me.' Harry said, watching Lupin. 'I can see it in your face.'
Lupin sighed deeply again. 'Why Cho Chang?' he asked Harry.
'Wha…? What do you mean?'
'Why do you think the one at Hogwarts made her a Vampire?' Lupin asked seriously. 'And not the others?'
'What others?' Harry asked. Then a chill crept along his spine as a horrible realization hit him. 'Daniel Cody and Lucas Pamir.' He gasped. 'They didn't die by accidents - they were murdered!'
Lupin nodded. 'Most likely the Vampire drank their blood and had them killed - then he or she disposed of the bodies to make it look like accidents - to conceal what had truly happened.'

'But they did not become Vampires?' Harry said.
'No. The Vampire only drank enough to sustain him or her for a limited period - they drink blood mainly to renew themselves with fresh life-energy since their bodies are technically dead. The boys did not become completely drained of blood like Cho was though, I guess that whoever it is did not want other Vampires running around in such an early stage while he or she worked on mentally taking over the school.'
'But the Vampire did drain Cho of her blood completely - and deliberately made her into a Vampire!' Harry felt rage building up inside him. 'But why? What good did that do? The staff sent Cho's body home, she couldn't do much aid of taking over Hogwarts from here?'
'The Vampire didn't make Cho an undead to help taking over Hogwarts.' Lupin said sadly.
'Then what was the point?' Harry asked impatiently.
'Don't you see Harry? The Vampire did it - to challenge you.'
'Me?' he asked in disbelief.
'The attack on Cho - your present Girlfriend - has confirmed it. Because of your worldwide reputation as The-Boy-Who-Lived - survived when you shouldn't have…' Lupin lowered his head to hide his concerned face. 'Why else would a Vampire invade Hogwarts - if not to confront the one who'd survived against the darkest of all lords? It's most likely curious of you and looking for an opportunity to taste your blood! It probably thinks that you possess a kind of life-energy that will renew and sustain him or her for a longer period of time - thus making It stronger than before.'

'Everyone's out to get me…' Harry sighed. 'Does that mean that the Vampire is working for Voldemort?' he said after a quiet while.
Lupin shook his head. 'I proposed that thought to Dumbledore myself - but he doesn't believe it. Vampires are even more dislikeable than Werewolves; Voldemort would not want anything to do with them.'
'So he works on his own then?'
'It certainly looks that way.'
'I bet Voldemort would hate if the Vampire got me before he did…' Harry couldn't help but to chuckle at the thought.
'It's not a laughing matter Harry.' Lupin said harshly.
'I suppose this means that I'm not allowed to go back to Hogwarts?' Harry asked, feeling his gut clench.
'On the contrary Harry…' Lupin finally looked up again. '…you must go back.'
That was not what Harry had expected to hear. 'You want me to go back?'

'I most definitely do not want you go back there where the danger is!' Lupin pointed out sharply. 'But under the circumstances, you have to go back. Now that you're aware of what's going on, having witnessed Cho becoming a creature of the night and all, the Vampire will not be able to easily manipulate your mind easily again. You are the only one who can look for the culprit without raising suspicion.'
'Are you certain of this mind-manipulating thing?' Harry shuddered. 'How do I know It is doing it?'
'Have you noticed any strange behaviours from your school-mates that they otherwise wouldn't usually do this year?'
At first Harry was about to say no, but then he came to think of Draco Malfoy and Ron. Draco Malfoy had simply walked away from confrontations with him rather than throwing his usual insults, and Ron had been unusually big-mouthed. Even Hermione had been acting a little weird lately.
'Yes I have.' Harry said crest-fallen.
'It's the Vampire's doing. It basically blocks the reasonable part of people's brains which makes them kind of absent-minded… but it can single out persons who could happen to stumble across stuff the Vampire doesn't want them to know about and put some kind of mental neural-block to prevent them from remember it.'

'But how can It do that?' Harry questioned. 'Nothing human can do all those things and continue It's daytime business at the same time? The human mind isn't created to do things simultaneously!'
'Nothing human, no.' Lupin said. 'But a Vampire isn't human. After the death of the living man, It evolves into close to an omnipotent being. Vampires gain power we cannot comprehend, that's why they're so dangerous. Therefore beware Harry: the Vampire is very likely aware of what has happened here last night, they have the ability to link with another mind of their kin across the globe if necessary. He or she knows that Cho is vanquished, as it expected her to be.'
'What?!' Harry interrupted. 'It expected us to beat Cho??'
'That's the main reason why It made Cho a Vampire; to see how you fared against her. Had Cho on the other hand overpowered you, It would then know that you would not have been a worthy opponent, and just abandon the whole thing.'

'You make it sound like the Vampire is out on a duel of honour.' Harry said bemused.
'Apparently from what I gather, this one is. Otherwise it would just have attacked you at the first opportunity and be done with it. Whoever the Vampire was when It was still alive, he or she was no savage. You see Harry; no Vampire is completely the other alike. They have attributes from their former selves forever imprinted to their minds, that's why they can act so normal without raising immediate suspicions of their true nature. Unfortunately they loose all sense of inhibitions as they become undead, that's why they can become killers even though their former selves originally never were.'
Harry groaned from the information. It all seemed like an impossible task to solve this danger. 'Then what are we supposed to do?' he asked Lupin.
'Although it is against my better judgement: you must go back and keep your eyes open for the Vampire. But you must do it in secrecy. If you spread the word about there being a Vampire at school, you won't be believed. But you privileges might be cut down severely as the staff might find you being crazy. Tell only Ron and Hermione if you feel that you have enough proof to make them believe you.'

'Can't you come along?'
'I have no official business at Hogwarts. It would raise unwanted questions, interfering with the search since we must do it with secrecy.'
'What about Dumbledore then?' Harry persisted. 'Can't he come back and do the search?'
'Like I said: he wants to. He wanted to return immediately after he was notified of the first death, but Cornelius Fudge will not allow him. He is obsessed with finding and apprehending Voldemort now while he's still undermanned and not raised to full power, and Dumbledore is the only one who has the best chance of defeating him once he's found.' Lupin then grimaced. 'And know this Harry. Should Dumbledore actually succeed in finding and bringing Voldemort in; Fudge would claim all the credit for himself to ensure his continuing position as Minister for Magic.'

'Has Fudge gone crazy?' Harry asked in disbelief.
'His hunger for power has made him irrational.' Lupin said, calm again. 'We within the Order fear that that will sooner or later make him into another enemy to the wizard-world. Politically he can do just as terrible damage as Voldemort.'
Harry didn't doubt it. He remembered the hearing he'd been called to the summer before his fifth year after he'd used unauthorized magic to drive off two Dementors that Dolores Umbridge of all people had set on him. Cornelius Fudge had been completely intent on convicting him for underage magic to expel him, he'd been extremely angry when Harry got cleared of charges. Fudge had even discredited Dumbledore just so he himself could come out looking good. Lupin was right: Cornelius Fudge was an enemy.
'Dumbledore sure has got a lot on his plate…' Harry commented. 'Yet he still knows what's going on. But how? How does he know what's going on at Hogwarts?'

'Dumbledore has many ways of knowing what's going on although he's not around.' Lupin said with a smile. 'But the source he receives information from although his absences from school is quite simple, so simple that none can think of it.'
'What is his source?' Harry asked curiously.
'The House-elves.' Lupin said straight out. 'They're extremely loyal to Dumbledore since they are very fond of him; there isn't much they miss when they invisibly roam around the castle to do their chores. If they spot something unusual, they report it to the headmaster. The elves are his eyes and ears when Dumbledore is busy with other stuff. They've been sending him constant updates on what's been going on at Hogwarts.'
Harry felt so stupid that it actually felt like a Bludger had hit him. 'So bloody simple and none of us realized it… the walls really do have ears. But don't they have a clue on who the Vampire is?'
'Sadly they don't. As the Vampire has manipulated the minds of the humans to divert all suspicions from him- or herself, the same has been done with the House-elves. Even if they've happened to see who it is at some point, they don't remember it.'

Lupin then stared at Harry looking very concerned. 'I'm afraid the ball is once again in your hands.'
'Don't worry, Remus.' Harry said determined. 'I'll find the Vampire. I won't have it killing more of my friends.'
Lupin sighed. 'Very well. I will give you some more tips, then I must leave you.'
'Why? Where are you going?'
'My work here is done. But the sun goes down earlier during winter, and tonight is full moon. I must apparate back to my holding pen before it grows too dark.'
Harry felt very sad for his friend at those words, he really wished there was a cure for the Werewolf-curse that plagues him. 'What are those tips?' he asked, voice filled with sympathy.

'Remember what I taught you about Vampires in your third year? Those were only the basics, as we had to rush the subjects since you were so far behind. But there is much more to know about them. Find out what you can, it will help you. Also keep your senses alert all the time, and if you happen to find who the Vampire is: Absolutely do not confront it!! Send word to me, I'll deal with the rest! The one at Hogwarts are older, and therefore much more dangerous.'
'I'll try not to.' Harry answered shortly. They both knew that if circumstances demanded it, Harry would go up against the undead being.
'Okay.' Lupin said and stood. 'Stay here and rest for the night, you can go back tomorrow.' Lupin put his hands on Harry's shoulders. 'I must leave you now. Keep in touch and… and… Please be careful! I don't want to loose you too - the last link to my childhood.' There were tears in Lupin's eyes as he hugged the son and godson of his late best friends. Without another word he walked out of the room, not daring to look back and leaving Harry alone.

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Harry would never know how he'd ended up sleeping through the whole afternoon of Christmas day and the following night after Remus Lupin had left him, it was certainly his first Christmas he'd spent not being awake. But the fact that he had slept through almost the whole day onto next morning didn't bother him, his mind was only on one thing: the Vampire at Hogwarts. Today he was going back, and he prayed that he would get back in time and find the Creature of the night before it could kill again.
Harry walked down to the Pub-area of the Inn where he found the very people he first came in contact with when he arrived. It was Nick the Coachman, Mac the Innkeeper and his wife Lissy.
'Well now, here we have the young man.' Mac said. 'We were afraid that you were seriously sick when Mr. Luigi or whatever his name was brought you in yesterday…'
'Well I…' Harry tried to think quickly. 'I had only caught too much cold… add my misery to that; it kind of knocked me out cold. But I'm fine now.'
'Are you sure, young man?' Lissy asked him. 'We have a doctor here, you can visit him if you feel…'
'No it's all right. I'm refreshed.' Harry quickly interrupted.
'Told ya, Lissy…' Nick the Coachman then boomed. 'There's spine in th' kids t'day… they drop t'tally dead one day and gets up an' running th' next…'

'Listen, do you guys got anything ready to eat?' Harry interrupted again. He was not prepared to endure another long rambling from that annoying Coachman. 'I'm catching the next train out of here to go back to school.'
'You're already leaving us?' Mac asked.
'I've done what I came here to do.' Harry explained simply. The three local's looked strangely at Harry. When he first came into town he had been depressed and in the middle of grieving his dead Girlfriend. But there was no grief in his character now… it was more like some kind of anxiousness.
'Well… of course, young man.' Lissy said, regaining her composure. 'Would a ham- and cheese-sandwich do? With some tea?'
'Perfect.' Harry said. The three looked at him again. He had definitely changed over-night, a change that was not normal among normal people. But they didn't question him; Lissy immediately went to collect Harry's order.

'Ya sure ya aint wanna stay 'nother nigh'?' Nick asked Harry. 'We're 'aving a celebration t'nigh', throwing a big party.'
'Party? Wasn't Christmas yesterday enough for celebration?' Harry asked before he took a big bite of the sandwich Lissy had put before him.
'We're celebrating our liberation of th' dark shroud of danger dat's been looming over us for th' past weeks, th' one that Mr. Hugin or whether 'is name was 'elped us wit'. Lord knows we need to 'ave some fun after th' dark times, going ta be lot's of ladies and lot's of Beer! Ya sure you're no' interested?'
Harry was surprised when he caught himself thinking of Hermione when Nick mentioned 'Lot's of Beer'. Inwardly he smiled, because he knew that she would disagree with that idea, since she disliked anything that had to do with the 'stronger' stuff. He hoped that she had had a better Christmas than he.
'Sorry, no. I've got more important business to deal with, and can't allow my senses to be dulled with liquor. Besides, I'm too young for it anyway.'
'A wise young man!' Lissy exclaimed, looking at the two men who cringed under her glare. It was obvious that there were more women than Hermione who disagreed with men's devouring of alcohol.

'Well, I'm grateful for your hospitality, but it's time to take my leave. What do I owe you for the time I was here?' Harry asked once he was finished eating. Mac told him what he wanted and Harry paid him with the money he'd exchanged from Gringotts. It felt kind of awkward giving money to Mac since he looked so much alike his Uncle Vernon - like Harry would ever give him any of his gold that was left to him by his parents.
'Okay. I bid you all goodbyes and a good life. Thank you again.' Harry turned to leave.
'Hold on d'ere kid, it's along way ta th' station.' Nick the Coachman said. 'Me an' my girls can take ya on th' sleigh, it'll be faster an' more comfy.'
Harry grunted and reluctantly agreed. He had a feeling that the Coachman simply wanted to milk a high amount of money out of the unsuspecting travellers and put the dishonest extra income in his own pockets - hadn't it been for the fact that Harry wanted to leave this town as soon as he could, he would have walked.

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It had been torture for Harry's ears to endure the ride to the train - Nick the Coachman had rambled on and on about everything from heaven to earth, making Harry extremely annoyed. He would rather listen to Gilderoy Lockhart's faked adventures than standing another minute with this man. As if that hadn't been enough, Nick's constant chewing on his tobacco while he talked was really teasing Harry's nerves. He thanked Merlin when they finally arrived at the railroad.
'Thanks for the ride.' Harry said unpleasantly as he jumped off the sleigh. He turned one final time to the coachman. 'You know: you really should consider cutting down on the tobacco.'
Nick spat out the disgusting lump right between Harry's feet. 'Hopefully we'll see ya again in our little town sometime in th' future.' he snorted and put his reindeer's back in motion. 'But I seriously doubt that little runt ever comes back 'ere.' he muttered under his breath as he rode back to town.
Nick was right; Harry had no intention of ever coming back. This town held too many bad memories he could do without, even if it meant forgetting about Cho all together.

During the long uncomfortable trip with the old Steam Engine, Harry's mind was only on the Vampire. Who could it be? And what could he do to prevent it from killing any of his other classmates? And how much had It manipulated Harry's own mind during this first term? He thought back to what Remus had said and concentrated on some specific details…

# Because of Vampires being even more dislikeable than Werewolves, It was not an agent of Voldemort - whoever it was worked on his- or her own.

# It must have showed up at the beginning of this year, because it was about halfway into it that most changes started. To hide It's presence at Hogwarts, It manipulates the minds of everybody - teachers as students - with subliminal signals to make sure that no one stumbles across the true fact that an inhuman creature had taken residence in the castle.

# The subconscious manipulation of the students had resulted them in acting strangely. Draco Malfoy had walked away from several encounters with Harry when he had good opportunities to hex him, but something always came over him and he walked away in silence. Malfoy had also become worse with Potions. Hermione had become sort of distant and sad-looking. Harry had always wondered what was bothering her, but it might be because of the Vampire's influence. Ron Weasley had been big-mouthed, saying things he should know better than to say in front of Hermione. Snape had said that many other students had been acting weird lately, like many walked around not knowing where they were headed. By now the Vampire probably had everybody under his control. It was a scary thought.

# A Vampire lives on life-blood - it has so far killed three students to sustain Itself. What was peculiar was that the term had gone on for several weeks before the first kill - what kind of blood had it lived on before the first attack?

# It all appeared that it was Harry It was after… of three kills, It had only made a Vampire out of one: his girlfriend Cho. And the only reason she became a creature of the night was that the Vampire wanted him to come face to face with her - to see how his reaction would be, and too see if he would survive an encounter with an undead. It all added to a challenge.

# Both Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore thinks that the Vampire is interested in Harry because he had survived against Voldemort in several occasions. It sees it as a challenge to taste the blood of The-Boy-Who-lived, thinking Harry must have some kind of power in his blood that will increase the Vampire's own strength.

# It could easily have attacked Harry at any time, but has not. That alone says that Harry is dealing with a Vampire with the attributes of a once-time nobleman. It wants Harry to prepare himself before the upcoming encounter when the Vampire will finally decide to make his or her move against him. Harry must expose the Vampire before that time and then signal for help so that the Order of the Phoenix can deal with It.

All those details added together should lead to one specific suspect - but Harry could not figure out whom it all fitted in to. Was it a new person at Hogwarts or had someone, teacher or student, run into a Vampire during the holidays and fell victim under it? That meant that the Vampire could very well be a friend.

The train-trip had taken all day once again, during which Harry had over and over again gone through the details in his mind. It wasn't until the ordinary train he had shifted to after half the trip rolled into King's Cross in the middle of the night when Harry suddenly jerked up from his seat, remembering something that he had completely forgotten. He remembered a conversation he had overheard the first evening back at school, between Severus Snape and Firenze, the Centaur. Firenze had warned Snape that the school was in deadly danger! The Centaur could possibly know something more; Harry had to talk to him as soon as he got back to Hogwarts! He instantly consulted the closest watch he could find after he'd stepped off the train; feeling wobbly-legged after having just sat down for almost a whole day. It was three o-clock in the morning. Darn. The Hogwarts express would leave until eleven. But there were other ways, and he was dead tired of trains anyway.

Making his way to the exit of King's Cross-station, Harry temporarily stopped beside a trashcan, in which he dumped the ticket to Cho's hometown, severing his last link to this trip. It was only when he'd stepped outside into the chilling night that he remembered that he actually never checked what the name of that little town was. But he decided that he didn't want to know anyway, it was all for the best.
Walking along the street away from the people-filled station, he searched for a place that was devoid of witnesses. He found solitude in a nearby alley, and after having made sure again that he was alone, Harry took his wand and flung out his arm.
BANG!
The giant purple-coloured triple-decker of the Night Bus appeared out of nowhere and halted beside Harry. The door opened instantly and Stan Shunpike, the conductor stepped out and began rambling.
'Welcome to the Night Bus, emergency transport for the stranded Witch or Wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and…'
'Yes, yes, yes, I already got the idea.' Harry waved impatiently with his hand to cut him off.

'Ere - 'ey, Ern - its 'Arry…' Here Stan cut himself off and looked nervously around. 'Say now, I don' suppose you're around in secret again, are you? I sure 'ope you aint got the bossy woman 'oo were with you last time with you, do you?'
Harry tried but could not hold back a grin. The last time Harry travelled with the Night Bus, almost exactly a whole year ago, Harry had Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks with him as guards, and Tonks had not been that civil with him. The Order would not let him out of their sights back then, and he suddenly wondered why no one had interfered with him this time? Both Professor McGonagall and Snape were members and they just let him go? It must be the Vampire's influence he decided, the whole thing was more serious than he thought! He had to go back to Hogwarts quickly!
'Never mind that!' Harry told Stan. 'Just take me to Hogwarts as quickly as you can!'
'Sure we can take you to 'Ogwarts - although we can't take you quickly. A lot 'o people aboard tonight - on their way 'ome from Christmas.'

Harry cursed. Since the Night Bus dropped off people in the order they came aboard, and there was quite a lot he saw, Hogwarts would be last stop close to morning. But what choice did he have? Grumbling, he fished out the Sickles he'd kept for spare, paid Stan and climbed aboard. People instantly looked at him, recognising The-Boy-Who-Lived. Harry tried to ignore it.
'Hello Ernie.' He instead said to Ernie Prang, the driver.
'Ar.' He grunted.
'We're all set, Ern.' Stan said brightly. 'Take 'er away.'
BANG! 'AAAAARRRGH!' Harry cried. He was violently thrown to the dirty floor, as he was never given the chance to take a seat.

After several sudden stops, tremendous BANGS and repeatedly thrown to the floor, Harry felt extremely happy when the Night Bus stopped before Hogwarts. Rubbing his sore body-parts - he bid Stan and Ernie goodbye and said thanks for the ride, although he didn't mean it.
'We were 'appy to 'ave you aboard 'Arry.' Said Stan after him. 'Ope to 'ave you again in the future!'
Don't count on it! Harry thought to himself. He hoped he never would have to go aboard it again. With one final BANG, the triple-decker disappeared, and Harry made his way towards the massive oak-doors. It was early in the morning, but Harry hoped that the House-Elves could provide him with some breakfast ahead of schedule. He was famished.
Entering the castle, he immediately noticed the silence. It wasn't strange really that it was quiet since the students had gone home for Christmas, but there was something in the atmosphere that felt - wrong. Walking towards the Great Hall, he heard a funny noise, and he soon found the source of it. It was Peeves, the poltergeist. He was smacking his cheeks with his hands in a strange manner.

'Peeves, this is not the time!' the angry voice of Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost was heard.
'Can't think of a better time!' Peeves retorted. Then he propped his fist under his right armpit and moved his right arm up and down, making ugly fart-like noises. It sounded like he was mimicking some kind of tune.
'PEEVES!' Argus Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts roared, swinging around a broom and rushed up to where Peeves occupied himself. Filch intended to knock the poltergeist down but the little ghost evaded him. 'I'll teach you some manners, you little pest!' Filch growled. 'I'll teach you to show some respect!'
Peeves had no intention on showing respect to anyone; he proved it by sticking out his tongue, making another fart-like noise as he blew out air through his clenched mouth. And again he mimicked the tune using that method. Frustrated of his inability to reach him, Filch turned towards Harry. 'What are you doing back here? You went away for holiday!'

'I decided to cut it short?' Harry carefully answered him.
'BAH! Typical!' Filch snorted. 'You watch yourself! If I catch you making trouble, I'll make you wipe the floor through the whole castle, using your tongue!!' and with that warning, he walked away angrily. Used to Argus Filch's daily threats, Harry disregarded the caretaker's outburst and put his mind on what the commotion was that made Peeves anger Hogwart's occupants this time.
'Hello Harry Potter.' Nearly Headless Nick approached him floating above the floor. The Hufflepuff ghost, the fat Friar was accompanying him. The latter looked kind of sad. 'I really wish we could welcome you back under more pleasant circumstances.'
Both ghosts were gazing at the far end of the Great Hall - the sight made Harry's blood chill in his veins. A company of black-dressed people was walking through from the stairs, levitating a stretcher between them. There was a body on it, completely covered. It was a funeral procession! Harry spotted a crest-fallen Professor McGonagall beside the staff's table, together with Professor Sprout whom were dabbing her own eyes with a handkerchief. Harry heard Peeves mimic that special tune again; only this time he was burping it. Harry recognised that tune now: it was a funeral march.

'Nick. W-who…? Who is it?' Harry croaked, not able to tear his eyes away from the covered form.
'Justin Finch-Fletchley.' Nick answered sadly. Harry's stomach felt like it just deflated.
'Poor young man.' The fat Friar shook his head in despair. 'An Elf found him yesterday morning. His own Venomous Tentacula he was growing in his classes had attacked him in his sleep. It had grown out of control. And now poor Professor Sprout is in serious trouble, for letting him grow that dangerous plant.' The Hufflepuff ghost let out a sob. 'What a terrible accident. Such a waste…'
Accident? Harry might have believed it before, but not now. Harry was positive that it was the Vampire whom had struck again! But it was a suspicion that he could not voice. He watched tight-lipped the unmoving body of his fellow student as the cortège of pall-bearers on their way to the outside walked past him, wowing silently that no one else would share poor Justin's fate.

It was then that Harry spotted something that made his eyes go wide. It wasn't just Harry, the ghosts and some of the staff that were watching the procession - Victor Krum was lurking in a dark corner of the same corridor Harry was in, watching the cortège with an indescribable expression on his face. But it wasn't that he was watching it that caught Harry's attention - it was because Krum was wearing a silver badge on his clothes, a badge Harry had seen before! It was a Swimming Diploma Badge, a badge that originates from the muggle-world! A badge that used to belong to the late Daniel Cody, the first victim of the Vampire!! Krum locked eyes with Harry and stiffened as he realised what he was looking at. With a reproachful look, he covered up the badge with his robes and quickly walked away.
Harry's mind was racing. What was Victor Krum doing with Daniel Cody's badge? Many of the deceased boy's possessions had been lost somewhere after he was found in the lake half consumed by the Timor-clams and Krum has no access to the Ravenclaw house… he must therefore have stolen it right before Daniel Cody was killed. Did that mean that Krum had murdered the boy? Could it mean that…? Harry felt a rush of adrenaline surge through his body… it had to be the answer!!

Victor Krum is the Vampire!!

Author's notes:

I had planned to write more stuff to this chapter, but it was long enough to upload. I'll just write it to the next chapter.

I'm not going to make any promises on when the nest chapter will be finished, I might risk just disappointing you all. I can promise you though that I will do what I can to finish this story.

Until next time…