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:

Phew. Finally I got this chapter finished. I am so sorry that it took so long, but I've been very busy. For consolation of the wait, this chapter is about twice as long.

There are some things you should know about the development of this story: There will be a Ginny/Neville pairing on the side, the hints of that begins in this chapter. No offence to the Ginny/Draco worshippers out there reading this story, but that pairing will never happen in my stories. I don't believe in that pairing, so that's the one Portkey thing I'm breaking… and I'm not the first one to do so.

In the second half of this chapter there will be a lot of talk about Vampires. I must remind you that I'm making up my own versions here, and do not follow an established line. Some of you might like it, some of you might totally disagree with my changes - but this is my story. I'll go a little closer into my changes in the notes after the Chapter.

freak27thatsme: You feel concerned with that Krum is so quickly exposed being the culprit/villain, that this story feels a little rushed. Had it not been me writing this story, I would actually have felt the same. But I can tell you this: there is not much in my stories that I wouldn't do unless I had a reason for it - I needed Krum to be exposed this early. I won't tell you why though, that reason is saved for later on. I hope that you still will enjoy the rest of this story.:)

Thank you to everybody else who reviewed.

On with the story…

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As Harry had expected, it was a shocking experience for the students to return to school after Christmas. Learning that another fellow student had died, as well as a teacher, made almost everyone want to re-board the Hogwarts Express and return home immediately. Talks about that the castle was somehow cursed was quickly roaming around the corridors and the students involuntarily cringed as they were about to walk around a corner, expecting a lethal 'accident' happen to them.
Accidents. That was all the staff could get out of the circumstances - it could not really be explained why Firenze had wandered back out into the forest, but is was evident that Justin Finch-Fletchley had been killed by his Venomous Tentacula he'd been growing in his Elements-lessons. Being the Herbology-teacher, Professor Sprout was immediately removed from her post during the investigation, and was expecting a hearing some time in Mars - she should have known better than allowing a student to grow a dangerous plant without real supervision. Sprout was of course devastated. And she took it extra hard because she was after all the Head of Hufflepuff house - Justin had been a more personal responsibility for her than if the student had been from another house.

'Accidents'. Only Harry knew the truth - the Vampire hiding in the school had most likely lured Firenze out into the forest where the other Centaurs had found him. Krum - if it really is him who's the Vampire - had simply disposed of him because Harry was sure that Firenze had known more than Krum was comfortable with. Harry had been close to tell Professor McGonagall this when he'd reported Firenze's death that morning - but while McGonagall with a pale face had read the note the Centaurs had delivered, he had remembered Lupin's words: 'By now the Vampire most likely have full control of all the teachers with subliminal commands planted into their sub consciousness, blocking parts of their minds. They can no longer comprehend the reasons behind the accidents.'
Because of its manipulation of everybody's minds, no one would believe Harry if he spread the word of a Vampire being in Hogwarts. There was a greater risk of once again being accused of 'seeking attention' and be put away somewhere between classes, and that would diminish his chances of ever finding the truth he needed to expose Krum. So with a heavy heart he kept his mouth shut.
As for the remains of Firenze: Professor Grubbly-Plank made herself unpopular among the Thestrals when she interrupted their breakfast - but thanks to the training Hagrid had given them, the unseen creatures withdrew and the late Centaur was given a proper burial.

A slight trouble with keeping his mouth shut meant that Harry also had to keep quiet about it among his friends. With Ron it was no problem - he was complaining about his ears still ringing all day long after Mrs. Weasley had screamed at him for being kicked out of Potions and burning the books - he took no real concern in Harry's business as he was busy feeling sorry for himself.
Hermione was a different matter. She had been looking at him strangely, as if she could read in his face that Harry knew more than he was willing to admit, and she suspected somehow that he had in fact been through a difficult ordeal during Christmas but kept it to himself. Harry had so far been able to avoid her questioning him thanks to their classes - but the problem with that girl was that she was very stubborn, she was not willing to let it go.

Classes were no fun these days, especially not Potions - the absences a few people were quite noticeable when their lessons were resumed in the dungeons. Ron wasn't the only one who'd been kicked out; Snape had also flunked Seamus Finnigan and the Ravenclaw Prefect Anthony Goldstein. Harry and Hermione were now the only Gryffindors left, but it was probably worse for Hannah Abbot. After Justin's death, she was the sole sixth-year Hufflepuff who still attended Potions, so she really felt like the odd one out. The fact that Justin's seat was empty because of his death was nothing Snape even commented on, but he made it clear to the rest of them that if they failed to keep up to his requested standards for the rest of the year, Snape would kick them out as well.

Transfiguration had finally been parted from Charms, as they had covered all there was to learn of the Elements - the students were now to learn how to change objects into living animals, which was a very difficult subject. Their plants that they were growing from their Element-lessons was now being observed during Herbology by a wicked man named Tulip, he was a tall but scrawny person who smelled of fertilizer, and whose fingers were actually coloured green. Professor McGonagall had confided to the students that she had preferred not to take him in, because Tulip was known for treating plants with a lot of care while he treated humans like they were made of dung, but he was the only one available with such a short notice after Professor Sprout's suspension. Neville, who always had good grades in Herbology, was the only one who got along with him.
As for the DA-meetings: no one was interested in taking in up anymore. Everyone that had died had been a member, and the gatherings would only remind those who were left of those who were missing, never to join again. Harry didn't mind about that, he had bigger problems to deal with.

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Two weeks had passed into the second term, with no more attacks and with no hint from Krum that he was up to something suspicious. Harry had only seen him writing in a new almanac for this New Year, but he had no idea what the former Durmstrang student was taking notes on.
Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor common room one Monday afternoon working on an essay for History of Magic, a subject he wished he could just drop. Ron and Hermione were nowhere in sight. Harry was not concerned for Hermione, she was always done with her homework long before any of the others, so she was probably patrolling the corridors, as she was a Prefect. But Ron should really be present at the table doing his own studies. No longer having Potions: Ron had after discussions with Professor McGonagall joined the crash-course lessons of Muggle-studies, and he was already getting far behind because he was away on whatever he was doing. If Hermione finds out about that, Ron's ears were to be ringing for another week.

Harry had just dipped his quill into the inkbottle when Ginny sat down infront of him with some of her own books, looking very disgruntled.
'Harry, have you seen Hermione?' she asked.
'She's out on Prefect duties, I suppose.' Harry answered vaguely.
'Darn, I wish she wouldn't do that so often.' She said with a sigh.
'Why?'
'Because of that Victor Krum.' Ginny huffed. 'He takes every opportunity he can get to be alone with her. In my third year I wouldn't have said much about it but now… There's something about him today that I don't like, I don't trust him.'
'Hermione… is a big girl, Ginny. She can take care of herself.' But inwardly Harry was deeply concerned of learning this. If Krum was the Vampire, than what could he want to hang around her so much? Harry felt suddenly cold inside, more than he could understand. If Krum was still in love with Hermione, she could be in grave danger. But Harry knew that this was nothing he could talk to her about, she would probably accuse him of being paranoid. He was going to have to ask Remus Lupin for advice.

'Anyway, what did you want to talk to her about?' he asked in hope to avert his mind from the uncomfortable thoughts.
'I'm having problems with my Herbology-essays.' Ginny said looking downcast. 'It's definitely not my favourite subject. When Hermione's not available, I usually look up Professor Sprout for guidance. But with this Tulip guy… no way I'm going to ask him for any help, he'll probably shout at me for not taking the subject seriously. That guy's mental, thinking plants are much more worth than we humans are!'
'I know what you mean.' Harry said thinking back to their first lesson with Professor Tulip. When he learned that Lavender and Dean had 'killed' their seeds they were suppose to grow in the Elements-lessons, Tulip had become so angry that everyone thought that he was going to feed them to a Devil's Snare. He had shouted so much that Lavender had started to cry.
An idea came to Harry. He leaned closer to Ginny over the table and lowered his voice. 'Tell you what. Hermione's not the first choice to get advise of Herbology from. The real expert among us is actually Neville. Why don't you ask him for help?'

'N-N-Neville?' Ginny's face became red. 'I… I don't know if that's… such a good idea.'
'Why not?' Harry asked smiling. 'Herbology is his subject. He'll be happy to help you.'
'B-but… Harry, I don't think it would be proper. I mean…' Ginny blushed even harder and whispered so lowly that she could barely be heard. 'Harry, he fancies me.'
'Is that a bad thing?' Harry countered, matching her whisper.
Ginny wrung her hands a moment before she answered. 'N-not really. He is kind of cute… and it's flattering that he likes me like that, but… He's not exactly the dream boy-material…'
'Ginny!' Harry scolded her. 'Shame on you. I had thought that your old crush on me had taught you one thing or another. And I've heard some gossip around here that you speak a lot about that it's the insides that counts, and not the outer appearance!'
Ginny did look ashamed. She looked down on the table and, averting his gaze.
'There's more to Neville than meets the eye, Ginny. I learned that in the Department of Mysteries.'

'You're right Harry.' Ginny said looking up. 'He's braver than one would think. Why else would he be in Gryffindor?' She said with a smile.
'He's a good friend if you'd just give him the chance.' Harry said to her. 'You can atleast ask him for help; I'm sure he will be happy to. It doesn't have to mean that there would be anything between you, right?'
'No, of course not. You're right; I'm just acting stupid. I'll give it a chance.' And with that she got up from the chair, taking her books with her and walked over to Neville. Harry smiled as he watched the girl he considered a sister addressed him, saw how Neville looked momentarily surprised but then smiled and offered her to sit down. They looked like getting along quite well, and Harry hoped that Ron suddenly wouldn't come back and be upset with the situation.

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It was after midnight When Harry finally got to bed, having finished his homework. His mind had once again been occupied with the Vampire business, so it was a troubled slumber he experienced because his dreams were unpleasant. He saw Krum standing in a dark area that reassembled the Dark Forest where smoke covered the ground. He was dressed in the classic wears of Count Dracula, with a dark cloak with a high collar, grinning at him with bared elongated teeth. Krum bent over a motionless shape covered in the smoke, he kneeled and sunk his teeth into the neck of the being.
Harry shouted: 'No, don't…' and hexed Krum in an attempt to push him away from the poor soul - but the curse just bounced of the Vampire's back. Krum looked up and laughed, while the blood he'd been drinking trailed down his jaw.
The body Krum had bitten now sat up - Harry froze. It was Sirius. 'It is futile to fight Vampires, Harry.' He said to him and smiled, bearing Vampire teeth of his own. And then to Harry's horror, more beings stood up from the smoke-covered ground - beings that were his friends. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville… and even Luna Lovegood - the ones who had accompanied him to the Department of Mysteries. All of them now bared the teeth of Vampires and wore dark cloaks.

Harry turned away from the sight; he didn't want to see anymore. But the sight had followed him as he had turned his back to it, the cloaked beings were still there - the only difference now was that he couldn't see their faces because the hoods were up. Krum was also missing. Harry walked forward to the cloaked beings that seemed to hunch away from him - he was standing before a large doorway of stone, a large black door of metal blocked his path.
With a flip of his wand, the large doors opened with a loud creak. From the dark passage more cloaked beings came out, More Vampires Harry thought. The beings kneeled before Harry and he started to laugh. He laughed and laughed… but the laugh was high-pitched and cold - and suddenly the sight was obscured because of somebody screaming… and Harry suddenly realized that he was the one who was screaming….

'Harry!! HARRY!!' Ron yelled.
With a last loud cry Harry fell out of his bed and tumbled on the floor, clutching his burning forehead with his fingers.
'Harry? Are you all right?' Ron called again.
'Damn you Harry. You've kept quiet through the whole term before Christmas, you just had to start again?' Seamus complained.
'Shut up you!' Ron said to him. 'Harry? What happened?'
Shaking all over Harry forced his eyes open to see his friend's pale and frightened face. He wasn't really able to speak right now but he knew that Ron didn't really need an explanation; he had understood what this was about.
As if Harry didn't have enough trouble with Vampires, that just had to start again! It hadn't been he who'd been standing infront of the large metal-door in the dream - it had been none other than Voldemort. After several months of having felt nothing what-so-ever in his scar, that liberation had finally come to an end. Once again he had been inside Voldemort's head, seeing what he saw, and feeling his emotions. Harry had no idea what the Dark Lord was so happy about, but he knew that whatever it was, it was far from good for the Wizard-world.

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Harry had not gotten anymore sleep that night which resulted in putting Harry in a bad mood, so Tuesday lessons were a pain in the neck to get by. Harry was also frustrated with the Daily Prophet; he had hoped it would write something about Voldemort's scheme… But all the bloody paper wrote about was the official revelation of Minister Fudge promoting Dolores Umbridge to Vice Minister for Magic. There had been a collective groan from everybody in the Great Hall when it was announced. They all now expected the laws of the Wizard-world to go haywire with that incompetent bitch in charge.
Harry's bad mood after his dream had gone on to Wednesday as well. There was no report of Voldemort's activities in that morning edition of the Daily Prophet either, which made Harry quite frustrated. It earned him bad marks in Potions when he overdosed the ingredients he was to put in the cauldron. Snape smirked as he wrote 'D' for 'Dreadful' on Harry's papers without attempting to hide it. Harry wanted to strangle him.

After a boring lesson of History of Magic that day, Harry sat by himself eating lunch in the Great Hall. Ron was away on his own secret stuff again, but what made Harry feeling more disturbed was that Hermione was talking with Krum again. He could see them having a civilised conversation at the big oak-doors; he had no idea what they were talking about. If he only could think of a way to make her stay away from him, Krum was dangerous… but there was no way to do that without ruining their friendship, and that was the last thing Harry wanted to do.
Harry was so deep in those sullen thoughts that he never noticed the owl until it nipped his fingers. Wincing from the pain, he saw the brown owl stick out his leg waiting for Harry to remove the letter tied to it. Who would be sending a letter to him in the middle of the day? In fact, who would send him letters at all? Harry usually never got any mail, and ever since Sirius Black's death, he never expected much to receive any letters again unless he himself wrote to somebody. Opening the parchment, he read the shortest message he had ever received.

Mischief managed.

Was this some kind of joke? He thought he'd recognised the handwriting but he couldn't be sure whom it belonged to. Could it be some kind of cryptic message from the Order? But he dismissed the thought, why would they be writing to him? Only Remus Lupin would bother to keep him informed.
It hit Harry then. Those two words belonged to the group of the Marauders from the time his dad attended school, and where Remus where the sole surviving member if you didn't count the traitor Peter Pettigrew. It was a hidden message somehow but what could Remus mean by it? The words Mischief managed were used when you wanted to blank out the Marauder's Map of Hogwarts… would the words that would activate it mean something…?
Harry looked around, making sure nobody was watching. Then he tapped the parchment with his wand while he whispered: 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'
The two lone words was sucked up by the paper and immediately replaced by new letters, a lot of new letters. The parchment was now filled with words that Harry instantly began to read.

Don't let anyone else see this letter, Harry!

P.S.
Destroy this letter.

Remus seems to be a little overprotective from time to time, but Harry felt that it was nice of him to do so. His former professor is right about him though, Harry could not help but to feel worried about the whole situation. He would take Lupin's advice though and try not to dwell about it, and he felt grateful for Remus to tell him about the situation.
With a tap of his wand, he burned the letter. And with a sigh he took a sip of his Pumpkin Juice, giving a silent curse to Cornelius Fudge for being so bloody stupid.

'What's all that talk about Vampires?'
'AAAHH!' Harry jumped so roughly that his goblet with Pumpkin Juice flew from his hand and landed a bit further down the table on top of the head of a first-year Gryffindor girl who let out a loud shriek of surprise herself. Harry spun around and got face to face with…
'Hermione?!'
'I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you…' But she got no further with her apology, because Harry sprang from his seat, grabbing her wrist and began to pull her with him out of there. He didn't get far though, because the angry first-year girl whom Harry accidentally dropped his goblet on halted him.
'What's the big idea?' she demanded, indicating to her Juice-soaked hair and robes. Her classmates had hard time to try not to laugh. 'Is this some kind of joke?'
'No, it definitely is not. Hold on…' Harry whisked out his wand again and waved it over the agitated girl. 'Scourgify!' The juice vanished and the girl's robes were clean again. 'There, all better. Now if you'll excuse me…' Harry rounded the first-year girl and walked away in a quick stride, still pulling Hermione with him. He saw in his peripheral view that everyone watched them with interest, Krum Included, although he looked somewhat angry of the sight. Somehow that pleased Harry.

When they finally were out of the Great Hall and away from prying eyes and ears, Harry let go of Hermione's wrist and turned to her.
'What are you doing, reading over my shoulder?' He asked her with a hint of annoyance.
'I… I didn't mean to…' she stammered while she rubbed her aching wrist. 'I mean, you always shared your mail with us before, I… I didn't think this one was that personal… I… I'm sorry…'
Hermione actually seemed to cringe with a kind of fright under Harry's angry glare, and it was that which calmed him down. He felt a kind of despair wash over him. Hermione was not the kind who would back away from a confrontation like this unless it was with a teacher, she would always keep her pride up when she had arguments with Ron or when Malfoy insulted her… but this was not like her. It's the influence of the Vampire. He thought to himself. The mind-manipulation of her obviously makes her insecure, which otherwise was her greatest strength. He decided to go easy on her.

'It's all right. It was merely a personal matter between Remus Lupin and me… and as you obviously read, it is something we have to keep quiet about. Had it been anyone else than you reading over my shoulder it would have been bad, that's why I was upset. If anyone finds out about Voldemort's latest scheme, it could cause an unwanted panic.'
'Yes, it could.' Hermione said now calmed down since Harry wasn't angry with her any more. 'It's terrible that Voldemort managed to pull this off… and I can't believe Fudge can be such an idiot. But, Harry… what is this about a Vampire?'
Harry let out a deep sigh. He had been hoping in vain that Hermione wouldn't push that matter, but he knew her better than that. He decided on terminating this discussion with a more sidetracked approach.
'Would you believe me if I told you a Vampire was lurking inside this castle?' he asked her.
'…No…' she said lowly looking at him wide-eyed.
'And I didn't expect you to.' Harry said with an attempt of finality.
'…But I'm not saying that I don't believe you either.'
'You… you don't?'
'Harry, I've known you for over five years. I know that you would never make up crazy stories like that.' She said matter-of-factly.

At that Harry felt the desire to tell her everything, how all the accidental deaths was in fact murders and he wanted to share with her his and Lupin's frightful experiences in Cho's hometown…
There was just one major problem: the suspected culprit behind the mess was Victor Krum, a person Hermione was too close acquainted with, maybe even were her boyfriend. (The thought made his gut wrench, but he figured it was because he was concerned for her safety.) If he told her that, she would most probably not believe him, she would maybe even accuse him of being delusional because of faulty circumstances… and that could ruin his friendship with her. Furthermore, would he tell her, then Krum might dig the information out of her and then he would definitely know that Harry was on to him.
'Hermione… I'm glad that you're willing to believe me, but… I still can't tell you anything.'
'Why?' She looked crestfallen because of his lack of confidence for her.
'Because I can't, okay? Trust me on this, it's best that you don't know.' He held up his hand when Hermione wanted to protest. 'Please?'
Looking very disappointed, Hermione gave up. But she swore that somehow she would get him to trust her again. They had been through so much and she didn't want what they had together to just be thrown away like yesterdays trash.

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They had Defence Against the Dark Arts after lunch. They had already covered the first hour of their triple-lesson and they were busy reading while Professor Vladislav Malfoy marked some tests they had recently written. Victor Krum sat quietly in a corner, scribbling in his almanac… but Harry had seen in the corner of his eye that Vlad Malfoy's assistant had sometimes thrown looks at Hermione and sometimes thrown looks at him. It was obvious that Krum suspected something, and that was actually bad because he could become dangerous if he's angry about something…
Vladislav Malfoy cleared his throat to attract everyone's attention, they all felt unease when the teacher's lifeless grey eyes swept over them.
'Well done all of you.' Vlad said as he took off his horned-rimmed glasses. 'Well, some of you could maybe have done a little better… Victor, please return these papers to their owners.'
Krum immediately got up and did as he was told. 'Well, that covers the subject of Voodoo…' the professor said in his monotone voice. 'In fact… you have all finally caught up well with your studies, and we got some free time. Tell you what: I'll let you choose a subject now… if there's a Dark Art you'd like to look a little closer into, speak up your suggestions now.'

The students looked excited of the chance to make suggestion of a subject and started to whisper among themselves. Harry saw this as an opportunity not to be wasted and spoke up before anyone else had the chance to.
'How about we look a little closer at Vampires?'
About everybody looked at Harry with confusion, he noticed Hermione looking anxious and Dean Thomas actually looked excited… but it was Victor Krum's reaction Harry had been after. The Bulgarian Quidditch-player spun around and glared at Harry with a mix of confusion and anger.
'Vampires, Mr. Potter?' said Vladislav Malfoy who had only cocked an eyebrow. 'Any particular reason?'
'But we already had Vampires!' Piped Parvati Patil. 'We covered that in our third year…'
'That was only the basics.' Said Harry in defence. 'We were behind that time so Professor Lupin had to rush it through. I say that we should look into them a little closer…'
'What the heck for?' protested Draco Malfoy who took every chance he could get to push Harry down.
'I have reasons to believe that Voldemort might want to recruit Vampires in his quest for world domination.' Harry said bluntly, using a lie. Everyone except the Professor, Hermione and actually also Krum had shivered when the Dark Lord's name had been said.

'I find that a little hard to believe…' said Professor Malfoy with a hint of a smile. 'But of course… if there's anyone else of you who would like to second Mr. Potter's request…?'
'I second!' said Dean Thomas excitedly. 'I… kind of have developed this thing for Vampires…' he said as everybody else watched him bewildered. 'I've watched a lot of movies and documentaries about them during the summer. I think they're fascinating!'
'Movies?' Ron whispered to Harry. 'What's that? What's he talking about?'
'Muggle-thing. I'll fill you in later.' Harry whispered back.
'If you ever faced a Vampire in real life Mr. Thomas, I think you'll reconsider that statement.' Said the professor simply. 'Is there someone who's against the requested subject?'
There were mostly shrugs coming from the rest of the class, a gesture that said - 'All right' or 'Fine by me'. Krum looked furious.
'Very well then.' Vlad Malfoy said monotonously. 'Let's look a little closer at Vampires - at the Nosferatu then. I only need another book for that.' And then he raised an irregular shaped stick, pointing it towards the bookshelf and narrowed his eyes in concentration - 'Accio.'

An old-looking book flew from the shelf towards the Professors hand - but Harry did not take much notice of it because at that precise moment his scar gave a brief but powerful stab of pain into his head.
'AGH!' Harry gasped and automatically put his hand to it.
'Harry? What happened?' Hermione immediately turned to him looking concerned.
'Something wrong Mr. Potter?' the Professor asked him.
'It's nothing. I… I'm fine.' That was strange. As fast as it had come, the pain had just as fast disappeared. That had never happened before. Harry wondered what could be going on, with that momentarily upswing of whatever emotion Voldemort was having right now. It had been way to brief to analyse. He decided that unless it happened again, it was something he would have to ignore.
'So he can use magic.' Ron whispered to Harry. 'I did wonder… funny-looking wand though - all crooked along it's length.'
'Let's get started.' Vlad Malfoy said as he opened the book and put on his glasses. 'First question: How do you recognise a Vampire? Anyone who like to give some examples?'

Dean Thomas eagerly put his hand up in the air. The Professor nodded to him.
'It is fairly difficult to identify a Vampire on first sight.' Dean spoke enthusiastically. 'Their trademark is usually their fangs, but they're usually concealed inside the mouth. A good trick is to trick the Vampire to stand infront of a mirror - it will instantly expose them, as Vampires cannot be seen in mirrors because they cast no reflections!'
Here Vladislav Malfoy's head jerked up in surprise while Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Excuse me? What did you just say Mr. Thomas? I couldn't have heard you right.' Professor Malfoy questioned.
'I said: Vampires cannot be seen in mirrors because they cast no reflections.' Dean repeated.
'Vampires cast no reflections??' Vlad questioned. 'Mr. Thomas, that's stupid. In fact…' The edges of his mouth began to crawl upwards. '…it's the most stupidest thing I ever heard!' And then he did something none had seen him do before. He burst out into laughter.

It was the most dreadful laughter the students have ever heard. It was a little higher pitched, yet low-volume - but it sounded hollow, like it came from a deep hole. It made their skin crawl.
'I heard of the muggle versions of Vampires - but I can't believe I missed that!' Vlad said, still laughing. Dean looked like he'd just been slapped in the face. 'Mr.Thomas, Vampires have extraordinary abilities, but basically they're still only dead people. And unless corpses have stopped casting reflections, then there's no real fundamental rule to support that kind of thing. It's only nonsense.'
'I thought that was so cool.' Dean whined.
'However you are correct about the rest.' The professor continued, now back to his monotone state. 'It is very hard to identify a Vampire as they can easily be passed for an ordinary person - and know this: Vampires has the ability to divert the attention away from themselves if somebody should happen to come too close to the truth. You see my friends: when a person becomes a Vampire, evolution takes a big step ahead as they pass beyond life and death into a new phase of existence, gaining powers that aren't meant for mankind.'

Professor Vlad Malfoy paused here to let all sink in. He was satisfied to see that he had the student's full attention and they actually looked a bit frightened, yet anxious to learn more.
'Thanks to the fact that they are dead, many of their senses are no longer working like they used to. They have no direct sense of pain, which gives them the ability to push themselves harder, much harder than an ordinary man. In fact, a Vampire's strength is unlimited, depending how often they can renew themselves with fresh blood. They can also move incredibly fast thanks to that.
'It is not known why, but they also gain the ability of mind-control, a bit similar to the Imperious-curse. So a Vampire can take control of your mind as in hypnotizing and make you do their bidding. And the older the Vampire become, the more powerful it becomes, taking control of a very large crowd if it wishes.'
Those facts actually made Harry frown a bit. Does that mean that Krum has been a Vampire far longer than I had first thought? he wondered. After all, he had taken over the whole school, which of course had taken some months to do. But still, it was something to take note of.

'Now - what other abilities signifies a Vampire?' Vlad now addressed the whole class. Dean decided to try his knowledge again.
'They can transform into a Bat or in some cases also to a Wolf!'
'They most certainly can not!' the Professor said, shooting Dean down once more. 'Vampires do not possess the power of Animagi, as a dead body cannot undergo such changes. It would never manage to put itself back together even if they'd manage to alter their forms in the first place.'
'B-but in the Movies, count Dracula…' Dean started, but was cut off by Hermione.
'Dean, Count Dracula in the movies was just an image that Bram Stoker based after the Rumanian ruler Vlad Tepes who lived in the Fifteen's century of the Muggle-world.' She said patiently. 'And not even he was a Vampire. He was known as 'The Impaler' because of his ruthless ruler-ship, he punished the crimes his people committed by impaling them on wooden stakes, no matter how small the crime…'
'Maybe you haven't noticed it Granger, but none of us care!' Draco Malfoy interrupted harshly. 'So how about shutting up?'
'Actually…' Professor Malfoy spoke up. '…The one who should shut up is you, Mr. Malfoy. I happen to find this very interesting.' Draco's pale face immediately turned red, Harry guessed it was by anger and humiliation, which served him right.

'Please Ms. Granger. Go on.'
Hermione collected herself and resumed her lecture. 'His full name was, if I remember correctly: Vlad Dracuul Tepes, that's where the name Dracula comes from. The bloodsucking gimmick was just something Bram Stoker put in to make his story more scary, but during the course of time, many other surreal versions has been added to the basic character he originally put into his novel, with abilities so ludicrous that it deviates from the true Vampires in the Wizard-World. I'm afraid Dean, that your sources is of no good here, as most of them is quite untrue.'
Dean looked like he just received word that somebody had died. He was so disappointed of being told that the Vampires he'd become so fascinated off were nothing but fiction.
That was very interesting, Ms. Granger.' The professor said. 'I recall a story of a Muggle stumbling across the path of a Vampire about a Hundred years ago. He was saved by wizards who afterwards performed the Memory Charm on him, but they feared that the horrifying experience of encountering a Vampire could never be totally obliviated from his subconscious… I wonder if the Muggle's name weren't Bram Stoker - that could explain how he came up with the story and shared it with the rest of the Muggle-world…'

Anyway, as you said - many ludicrous abilities has been added to the Vampire in the Muggle-version… Which are true and which are false? Anyone else like to take a guess?'
'What about Vampires being able to walk right through Spider-webs without touching them?' Dean almost desperately asked.
'Rubbish.' Vlad answered shortly.
'What about their levitation?'
'That they can do.' Vlad confirmed. 'But not while they're still young Vampires. It takes a couple of centuries before they learn to tap into the forces of nature to repel their mass from the earth and propel themselves forward by will. It is a form of telekinesis that takes time even for them to learn. But old Vampires do have that ability.'
Than that's one ability Krum can't possibly possess. Harry thought to himself.
'Come now, my friends.' Vlad addressed his class. 'Surely you can think of the one major ability the Vampire possess?'
'Their main ability is what makes them most known.' Hermione said. Harry noticed that her voice was shivering. 'They drink the Life-blood of the living to sustain themselves.'

'That's right.' Vlad went on. 'Once they've died, their body can no longer generate new cells - and that's the Vampires main weakness. They are under constant decompose… they slowly withers and is being broken down by nature just like a real dead body. But by drinking the blood of the living, they can tap into the living cells of the life-blood to renew themselves and sustain themselves for eternity. And the fresher the blood, the stronger they become.'
Usually they only drink what they need from a prey once, and afterwards the victim is disposed of. But if they do happen to catch someone with blood that is to their complete taste, the Vampire will keep the person alive to drink all of the blood until he or she is completely drained. That's when the victim becomes a Vampire himself, and never before if there happens to be blood left in him. And the victim do not need to drink any blood from the Vampire itself to cause the final effect, as some stories has implied.'
Now that does actually not happen very often - despite what you might think, Vampires generally avoid making more of their kind. They prefer to keep to themselves and don't really not want other vampires running around. But sometimes they do create Cleansers.'

Here Vladislav Malfoy stopped himself to watch the expression of his class when he spoke of Cleansers. As he expected: everybody looked around at the other, having absolutely no clue on what he was talking about.
'What are Cleansers?' Seamus asked.
'Cleansers can best be described as: Brides of Vampires!' Vlad stated.
'So Vampires do take brides?' Dean asked, shining up a bit again.
'Yes, but not for a personal Harem if anyone thought that.' Vlad said with a hint of a smile. 'Vampires feels nothing for sexual pastime or love.'
'No sex?' Ron exclaimed. 'What's the point of having women around if you don't want to have sex with them?' Ron almost had to hide under the table after he said that, because Hermione gave him the worst death-glare she could ever give, and to his horror, most of the other girls gave him the same treatment as well.

'Cleansers are the ones who's blood when they were alive really fell to the taste of the Vampire, fresh and strong. Those can actually be either women or men, although they often prefer the opposite sex. They are a type of servants whose purpose is to drink blood for the Vampire. You see, if the Vampire is hungry and catches a person who's blood is soiled by different poisons like for example drugs or alcohol, it's not so suitable for the Vampire to drink as the renewing properties of the life-blood is quite decreased. The brides will then drink the blood for him, letting their own systems cleanse the blood of the poisons and make it as fresh-tasting as their own blood had once been. Once the blood is purified, they will surrender it to him.'
Vlad watched with amusement the horrifying expressions on the student's faces after he told them this. The information was after all not for the ones with weak stomachs. And sure enough, Neville Longbottom looked ready to throw up on the floor. Vladislav Malfoy motioned for Krum to clear the mess up.

'Gross!' Said Theodore Nott of Slytherin. 'So the brides are his personal filters. But they can't feel too good with the poisons in their systems?'
'No.' confirmed the Professor. 'The more frequent a Cleanser is used the more they get worn out. After maybe a hundred years they're worthless to the Vampire and he won't care for them any more. Eventually they'll die and the Vampire just have to search for new ones as replacements, giving no thought what-so-ever to his old ones.'
Neville lost his lunch to the floor, and many others looked close to do the same.
'Vampires are resourceful, which makes them tough to deal with. Which brings us on to weaknesses. What can you do to keep a Vampire away from you?'
Here it was Lavender Brown who raised her hand. 'Hold up a Crucifix or a cross before them! The sight of it will scare them away.'
Vlad Malfoy fastened his cold grey eyes on her, making her gulp. 'Why is that?' he asked her.
'B-because a Crucifix is a s-sacred artefact.' She stammered. 'They can't oppose the symbols of God.'

'A Crucifix is a sacred relic to a Christian believer.' Vlad said monotonously. 'For a Vampire it's just an ordinary object. Once they've become Vampires, anything they held dear before when they were living means nothing in their after-life. Sorry Ms. Brown, a Crucifix is useless as a weapon.'
'Find the Vampire's Coffin and have it destroyed!' Dean cut in. 'Or at least take away the soil that lies within it.'
'Coffin? Soil?' Vlad now stared at Dean. 'Explain.'
'Well, Vampires rests in coffins during day to avoid the sun which will destroy them. But they must rest in the soil from their homeland to help sustain their energy when they travel.'
'That's totally ridiculous!' Vlad almost spat. Almost. 'The coffin is just a bed, nothing more. And they definitely don't need to rest in the soil from their homeland to sustain their energy; they only need to drink blood. You are right about the sun though... it will kill them. Eventually.'
'Eventually?' Dean questioned.
'Remember what I said that Vampires are constantly decomposing? The sun will speed up the process if they spend too much time under it, dehydrating them. And as their eyes are sensitive, they are easily blinded by it, so naturally they'll stay out of its light. But sunlight will not turn them into dust.'

'How about just hexing them?' Seamus asked. 'I mean we are wizards for crying out loud, we'll just stun them or whatever we need to do to chase them off.'
Vladislav smiled. 'Actually Mr. Finnigan, you can't. Spells meant for ordinary living beings have absolutely no effect on Vampires because they're technically dead. The forbidden curses, stun-spells or any different charm that's meant for doing changes in people are absolutely worthless on them. The energy will just bounce of harmlessly from their bodies.'
'What about fire?' Millicent Bulstrode asked.
'That could do it, if the Vampire is severely weakened. But fire is an Element of nature, which a Vampire might have learned to tap into, and might have learned how to put it out.'
'You said Elements!' Dean exclaimed. 'In one of the movies I saw, Dracula the Vampire was defeated by running water, and it trapped him under ice. Is that a weapon?'
'Running water?' the Professor snorted. 'Who ever came up with that silly idea? It's not like you can drown a Vampire! Mr. Thomas, I suggest you forget about those movies in this class. They are just for show, and holds no reality.'

'Then the thing about garlic scaring them off is just as ludicrous as well, isn't it?' Dean said with evident disappointment.
'No, garlic is actually true.' The Professor said, which caused a lot of people blink in surprise. 'But I doubt you know what their problems with it really is?'
'It doesn't just drive them away because the juice has a purifying effect on their dark souls?' Dean asked.
'No, it's more technical than that. Tell me something people, everyone here is aware of how teary-eyed you get when you slice garlic?'
Everybody nodded.
'How many here has put a slice of garlic back in the pantry for later use? Do you know what happens?'
'The garlic puts its taste on all the other goods in the pantry, giving them a slight after-flavour of the juice!' Ron spoke up. 'Mum has done that mistake several times.'
'And that's why Vampires hate garlic. The juice is like an acid to their cellular structure, as because of them being dead, they have no regeneration system to help rid the body of the stuff. Garlic is a great pain for Vampires.'
'Cool.' Said Dean.

'However - all of this only helps to distract and slow down a Vampire - but how do you destroy one? Anyone who knows the only effective way to destroy an undead?'
Several students raised their hands, Vlad nodded to Neville.'
'Professor Lupin said in our third year that you had to drive a stake through their hearts.' Neville stammered, still feeling sick after having vomited on the floor.
'Correct. But can you use any form of stake?'
'No. Only a wooden stake will do it.' Said Hermione.
'Not a silver stake, nor any other kind of material at all, because that has no effect. But why only wood Ms. Granger?'
'B-because the body of a Vampire's insides primary function is to absorb the life-energy of any living it comes in contact with, that's why a Vampire has to drink the blood. Theoretically a Vampire can swallow for example a rat alive and his insides will suck the life out of the creature to add to his own - this process can be done with anything that's biologically alive…'

'What does that have to do with wood?' Pansy Parkinson interrupted her with a snort.
'I was just getting to that!' Hermione snapped back. 'Wood - is the only biological substance that can take the necessary edge to p-penetrate a Vampire's body to p-pierce his heart…' she wrung her hands in disgust as she described this. 'The first reaction of a Vampire's body is to absorb the life out of the substance it had come in contact with - metal has always been a lifeless matter, so nothing would happen there… but wood has once by the ways of nature been alive - so when a Vampire's body tries to drain the life of the already dead substance - it backfires! The body of the Vampire will - by using a muggle-term - short-circuit itself and lose all of its stored energy in an instant… causing the Vampire's destruction…'

Vladislav Malfoy was watching Hermione with wide eyes.
'How did you figure that out?' he asked. 'That information cannot be found in any book! I was only trying you!'
'Well, all it takes is a little imagination, adding it to the already existing information…' she said, blushing a bit. 'It all simply adds up to a logical explanation, but… as many of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic… that's why its not in any book.'
'Clever girl…' Vlad said with admiration. 'Clever girl…' Hermione couldn't help but to beam. The Slytherins scowled. Harry noticed that Krum looked nervous.
'Well, we're running out of time here. Vladislav Malfoy finally said after a while. 'I hope your curiosity with Vampires has been settled Mr. Potter? Just pray that none of you will ever face one - because if you do, it is highly unlikely that you will escape alive. A Vampire can neither be bargained nor reasoned with - it does not feel pity, remorse or fear. It can feel personal satisfaction, but it can also feel extreme anger… so watch yourselves! And I want a three-foot long essay on what you've learned of Vampires today, people.'
The class groaned.
'You may leave.'

********************************************************************************************************************

'Harry!' Ron called as the class were pouring out of the room. Harry had rushed ahead before everybody, his mind occupied of everything he heard.
'Harry, what's the rush? Slow down.' Ron called again. Harry finally stopped in an empty side-corridor, letting both Ron and Hermione catch up.
'Harry, what's wrong?' Hermione asked him. 'Ever since we got back you've seemed so tight-lipped and… determined of something?'
'Yeah, I know you're sad of Cho's death and everything, but…' Ron put his hand over his mouth, fearing that he had now upset his friend. But Harry's expression did not change.
'I - I mean that something else seems to be on your mind… I saw you listen so intently in the lesson… Harry, what is this about Vampires?'
'As I've already told Hermione, I can't tell you.'
'Why not? Ron asked.
'Because I don't expect you to believe me.' Harry said. Ron's expression was blank.

'Harry, this thing that you refuse to tell us…' Hermione said with a quivering voice. 'You got this letter from Lupin - and now you brought up the subject in class… H-has a Vampire really invaded Hogwarts?'
'WHAT??' Ron shouted. 'Are you mental? That's impossible!! Isn't it?'
Never try to hide anything from Hermione. 'Yes Ron, Hermione. We have a Vampire among us.' Harry finally confessed.
'No way!' said Ron. 'No bloody way, I don't believe you…'
'You know that I never would make things like that up, Ron!'
Ron's face paled. 'B-but… h-how can you be sure of that we do have one… among us?'
'Because Cho had become a Vampire! I met her in her hometown in the cemetery - she tried to kill me!' Hermione gasped and put her hand over her mouth.
'Had it not been for Lupin being there, I would have lost.' Harry continued. 'Listen… all the 'accidents' that has occurred here - they're not accidents - Daniel Cody, Lucas Pamir, Justin and Firenze - the Vampire murdered them!'
'Bloody hell!' Ron choked. Hermione looked horrified.

'Lupin has assigned me to track down the Vampire here - that's why I wanted to know more about them during this lesson. It could help me confirm my suspicions!'
'Oh? Do you already have a lead on who it is?' Ron asked.
'I'm getting more and more certain that it's Victor Krum!'
'W-What??' Hermione exclaimed.
'Krum? I always thought there was something fishy about him.' Ron said.
'W-wait a minute Harry! Just what makes you think it's Victor?' Hermione objected.
'I spotted him with Daniel Cody's swimming badge! It's been missing since his death, which means that only his killer could have it. Lupin suspects that the Vampire is here because he wants to drink my blood! Killing Cho and making her a Vampire was his way to test me out to see if I was worth the challenge - and I think Krum still holds a grudge against me for winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament!'
'Bloody hell!' Ron said again.

'No… Harry, no… it's not Victor. I-it can't be him.'
'And why can't it be him?' Harry snarled at Hermione.
'I… I… can't explain why. I know there's a reason for not being him, but…I don't know what it is! But Harry, I know it's not him whose the Vampire!'
Even though Harry knew that Hermione would react like this, he still felt this incredible wave of anger rush over him, and he wouldn't be able to hold it back even if he tried.
'Why don't you say it like it is Hermione?' Harry screamed. 'There's no way for little Vicky to be the Vampire because he happens to be your darling boyfriend! Isn't that so?'
'…' Hermione couldn't get any words out.
'But no matter what you think, that darling boyfriend of yours is responsible for several deaths in this school… are you going to stand by his side even though?'
'I… I…' she stammered, her jaw trembling.
'So that's it? You will! Then maybe Pansy was right after all? Maybe you did have something to do with Cho's sickness that led to her death! Well go to him then! And don't ever cross my path again!!'

As soon as the words had left Harry's mouth, he instantly regretted them. He was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt - he was shocked over himself! How could he have lost it so completely? How could he even think of accusing her of those things? He was so shocked by this that he was completely unable to do anything - he could only watch how the tears streamed down Hermione's face that was filled with a lot of hurt - hurt that he had caused.
'O-okay… (Sniff) F-fine…I-if that's what y-you (Sniff) want… Y-y-you'll n-never have to… (Sniff) to…see me again, I'll…I'll s-stay away from you… (Sniff) f-f-forever…' and then she turned her heel and ran away, crying loudly. Harry was still incapable of doing anything - until Ron clasped on him.
'What did you do that for??' Harry was certain that Ron was going to hit him.
'I… I don't know what came over me… All of the sudden I just felt so mad that I just…' But Harry couldn't find any explanation to his behaviour - his gaze were fixed down the corridor Hermione had fled, feeling like he could die on the spot.
'Merlin. What have I done?' But he knew the answer himself: he had done the one thing he had been hoping to avoid. He had ruined their friendship.

******************************************

Hiding behind the corner, Victor Krum had watched the drama with grim satisfaction. He had been one of the top students in Durmstrang learning the Dark Arts-spells, but he took great pride of his talent with the Agitation-charm he had cast over Harry Potter at the precise suitable moment, creating a rift between him and Hermione…
Now when the two of them were no longer friends, he could continue his own work with the beautiful smartest girl of Hogwarts without the other's interfering - and when the time was right: Harry Potter would die.

Author's Notes:

DON'T KILL ME!! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!! I had to let that happen, it's essential for the story! Don't think I enjoyed putting Hermione's hurt emotions down in writing; I was very close to tears myself.

A little more background information of the present Vampires:
Everything about Bram Stoker and Vlad Tepes is all true, I only hope I remembered it all correctly - the part of Bram Stoker actually meeting a Vampire but had his memory altered is fake of course.

There are many different stories involving Vampires out in the world, some of them more ridiculous than the other. Most of the basic backgrounds I had Dean Thomas mention comes from one of the first 'Dracula' movies from 1931 with Bela Lugosi, 'The Horror of Dracula' from 1957 with Christopher Lee and 'Dracula: Prince of Darkness' from 1965, also with Christopher Lee.

It was from the last one I got this ludicrous thing of 'Running Water' being lethal for a Vampire, something that in my opinion is totally stupid. The part of 'my' Vampires not being scared of crucifixes is inspired from the movie 'An interview with a Vampire' with Brad Pitt, but not more than that. The fact that I let people become Vampires just by being totally drained of blood comes from Mel Brooks 'Dracula: Dead and Loving it' with Leslie Nielson. I find the part of having the victims drink blood in turn from the killer Vampire is too complicated.

I don't like the part with the garlic: but Rowling had garlic mentioned so I couldn't by Portkey-rules contradict it. I only rewrote the effect to give a more reasonable explanation.
I watched the movie 'Van Helsing' with Hugh Jackman recently, and there the Vampires could be killed by silver-stakes - something I'm not too comfortable with. That's why I explained a little closer of why it must be a wooden stake to destroy a Vampire. I say: save the silver for Werewolves. (I'm very afraid for Remus Lupin in the future books since Wormtail has a silver hand.)

Cleansers = the brides of Vampires: is totally my own creation.
To have Vampires transform into Bats is something I find farfetched - and I changed the Vampires reactions to the sun a bit. And finally - I have always hated the part of Vampires not casting any reflections in mirrors! Vampires are corporeal undeads - not ghosts!

Well, I hope that you now understand what kind of Vampires I have in this story. You may not agree with everything - but if any of you like to write Vampires in the classic way in your own stories; I won't say a thing.

I won't say anymore when I can have a new chapter finished - I will only disappoint a lot of people if I give a date and fail to follow it. I can only promise that I will do my best - unfortunately I'm a slow writer.

See ya.