A/N: Okay, so I feel like I'm apologizing to you for being late every time I update. Something horrifying made me lose my drive to write for a little, then I was busy writing an actual outline for this story so something like this doesn't happen again!!! I promise!...Siriusly!
Last but not least and as an (hopefully) interesting side-note, I'm listening to Daft Punk's Alive 2007 album as I type this. Not a single bad track.
Please Enjoy!
"A single rose can be my garden…a single friend, my world."
-Leo Buscaglia
Chapter 5 - Pierced By Surprise
Harry awoke groggily, moaning as he slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to get them to focus. The first thing he saw was flickering shadows cast by a roaring fire, the heat barely reaching his numb body. He could smell Hermione, for which he was glad. He had absolutely no idea where he was or what was going on.
He felt the power of nature seeping into his bones, filling him and giving him strength. He could feel tiny pulses beating all around him, the deep thrum of power radiating from the thick trees surrounding him further helping him come out of his stupor. He finished rubbing his eyes and looked at Hermione, though she was fuzzy. He blinked a few times, feeling oddly relieved for some reason. Like there had been some sort of pressure on him that had recently been lifted.
He felt that something was a bit off, too. He couldn't quite put his thumb on it.
And when he finally managed to look at Hermione's face properly, he knew what it was. She was sitting perfectly still, staring at him with neutral eyes. That in itself was odd, let alone the fact that her pulse was racing, each beat shooting fear through her body.
He decided that it was more prudent to figure out where they were first, then try and help Hermione. "Where are we?" he croaked, his throat unimaginably dry.
Hermione's pulse spiked for one heartbeat before she managed to bring it back under control. She looked at him with unwavering eyes, though he knew she wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. Harry' eyebrows furrowed. "Where are we, Hermione?" he demanded a little more firmly this time.
She swallowed, darting her tongue out to wet her lips as her eyes darted around the trees around them. He noticed it was dark, darker than night, the shadows clinging to him and enveloping his body in a layer of pure power. He frowned and stood up before taking a small step in her direction, regretting it immediately when she scrambled back a few feet, her heart pounding like crazy.
Harry looked down at himself, expecting to find a bomb strapped to his chest or something, but all he saw was a fair bit of dried blood. Well, that wasn't very helpful. Then his eyes widened. Blood, dungeons, the execution…what had happened? How was he still alive?
"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry demanded more insistently, apprehension setting in.
He took one step closer to her and she fumbled for her wand, shakily pointing it at his chest. He put his hands up, wondering if he had been sent to some other weird dimension. "Hermione…"
Harry was about to get closer to her when a voice nonchalantly said from behind him, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Harry whipped around, instinctively putting himself between the man and Hermione. "Who are you?"
The man sighed, then put his hands in his trouser pockets and leaned against the tree next to him, the hilt of the rapier that was in a sheathe on his side lightly tinking against the trunk. Harry's eyes shot to it, then to the man's hands, then up to his eyes, which were a brilliant shade of crimson. Harry's stance grew even more defensive, his fangs extending instinctively.
"You really do get worked up easily, don't you?" the man said, seemingly bored. "If I wanted to kill you I could have easily done so already."
Harry tried to read the man's thoughts, only to come up with nothing. The man laughed, showing off gleaming teeth. "Nice try, youngling," he said. "But it's impossible."
Harry shot at the man, deciding to go on the offensive, but he was suddenly gone, disappeared. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find him sitting by the campfire, his back resting against the trunk of a tree. "Calm down," the man said. "You're too valuable to kill."
Harry did indeed calm down, realizing now that the man really could've killed him if he wanted to. But how was he so fast? "You're a vampire," he said, realization dawning on him.
The man arched an eyebrow at him. "You always this slow?" he asked.
"But what are you doing here?" Harry asked, ignoring the jibe. "Who are you? How did I get here?" Then his eyes found Hermione's, which were still looking at him with apprehension and fear. "What did you do to Hermione?" he practically growled.
"All in good time," the man replied, a bored look on his face. "Let's start with who I am." He looked down at his hands for a few seconds, then looked back up at Harry and slowly, thoughtfully said, "I'm a murderer. A killer. An assassin. I kill with no remorse nor hesitation. I revel in death and violence. I'm a walker of the night. A vampire."
Harry mulled this over before saying, "I think I could've figured that out myself. What's your name?"
"Name?" the man asked, amused. "I have gone by many, though if you are speaking of my birth name I do not recall it. My favorite of all is probably 'Shadow of the Silver Moon'. Germany. 1430's. Fun times."
"That's too long," said Harry. "How about just Shadow?" Then his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, did you say 1430's?"
The man grinned. "I was already two thousand years old by then. Why do you think I don't remember my name?"
"Okay," said Harry, thinking hard. "What are you doing here?"
"How about 'What happened'?" Shadow replied. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I remember…" said Harry, thinking hard. "I remember…being staked to a cross. That hurt like hell."
"So you don't remember your awakening?" Shadow asked.
"My…what?" Harry asked, ice-cold apprehension gripping his chest. He knew what Shadow meant.
"You awakened," Shadow replied. "Your inner vampire came out. You killed all thirty-six of your enemies and that old man."
If Harry's heart had been beating, it would've stopped. He'd killed 37 people? With his bare hands? Who had he killed? Then he smirked, looking down at his hands. "Thirty-seven, eh?" he said, amused, his voice coming out weird. Then he choked on the air. What was he doing?
"He's always there," Shadow said, seeming to read his thoughts, "your inner vampire. You'll start to notice that you're proud of your violent deeds, that you're unafraid to fight…and kill if necessary. Be careful, though, because if you give him enough leeway he'll take over your mind and shut you out."
"Right," Harry muttered, still not quite over the fact that he had killed 37 people and was proud of it.
"Anyway," Shadow continued, "You killed them, passed out, and I took the girl to get her wand after she woke up. We're deep in the forbidden forest, where the sun doesn't reach. By my estimate, it's about one in the evening."
"What about my wand?" Harry asked, sounding a tiny bit petulant.
"Hah," the man said, the twinkle of humor in his eyes seeming oddly comfortable despite the underlying danger present in them. "Vampires have no need for wands." Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Shadow cut him off. "I will teach you. You will have no use for that silly piece of wood. Besides, the girl checked it out for you. They snapped it."
"They snapped it?" Harry exclaimed in disbelief, his wand that was a part of him unbelievably and undoubtedly gone.
"Calm down," Shadow said, sounding a bit annoyed. "Until we find your sire, I'll be training you. You have enough power to become the Master, you're just not knowledgeable enough about the full extent of our powers." He paused for a moment to let his last statement sink in, then quietly asked, "Who is your sire, anyway?"
"Katerina," Harry said.
"Oh?" Shadow replied, showing more interest than he had in anything else so far. "Katerina Reinhardt? Looks about twenty-five, dark brown hair?"
"If that's her last name, yeah," said Harry. "Why?"
"So that's why…" Shadow said, trailing off into nothingness. Then he focused on Harry again. "I could see why she would turn you."
"What do you mean?" Harry said slowly.
"Seventeen. Naïve. Handsome. Innocent," said Shadow with a chuckle. "You fit her type perfectly in terms of who she sires."
"Do you know where she is then?" Harry asked. Despite the way Shadow was acting, it was obvious what sort of instructor he would be. Katerina might be a little more forgiving.
"Ah, yes," said Shadow, looking grim. "I know exactly where she is."
"Great!" said Harry. "Where is she?"
"In a dungeon in the middle of a castle in which hundreds of vampires loyal to the Master reside," said Shadow. "Set to be executed in a week."
Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "Executed? Why?"
"I didn't know at first," Shadow admitted. "But I know now that it's because she sired you."
"Me?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yes, you," Shadow replied. "The Master gave all vampires explicit orders that you were to be sired under no circumstances."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because now you're stronger than the Master," Shadow replied off-handedly, as if none of this interested him. "The Master fears you. You hold the power of the Peverells, not to mention traces of Godric Gryffindor and Merlin himself. All that power…you're the most powerful vampire alive."
Harry's head was spinning. This was a lot to take in at once. "Well, where's the castle?"
"Wales," Shadow replied slowly, trying to see what Harry was getting to.
"Right," said Harry, doing some mental calculations. "We can get there in one week."
Now it Shadow's turn to furrow his eyebrows. "What are you talking about? Are you crazy?" he asked.
"I don't exactly like or dislike Katerina, but it's my fault she's going to die," said Harry with conviction. "I can't let that happen."
"It's suicide!" Shadow said, standing up to face Harry. "You go in there and you'll be executed along with her!"
"At least I can rest my conscience knowing I did my best to save her," said Harry. "I'm going."
Shadow sighed, putting a hand up to cover his face, then began laughing. "You truly are an odd boy, you know that?"
"So I've been told," replied Harry dryly. He glanced over at Hermione, whose wand arm was resting limply against the ground as she slept with her back against a tree trunk. His stomach couldn't help but squirm as he thought of how she had looked at him. Looked at him like she'd never seen him before.
"She's afraid," said Shadow suddenly, also studying Hermione's sleeping form.
"Afraid of what?" Harry asked, fearing Shadow's answer. Anything but…
"You, of course," Shadow replied bluntly. "You became a killing machine right in front of her eyes, killed your mutual friend, then hit her across the face." Shadow said this lifelessly, a faraway look in his eyes. Like he was reliving Harry's rampage. "You became a monster. She'd never seen that side of you." He seemed to come back to the present, focusing on Harry. "It may take some time, but she'll get over it." For some reason, Harry didn't exactly believe him. It was as if Shadow didn't believe the words that were coming out of his own mouth.
Then something finally registered in Harry's head. "Wait, did you say I hit Hermione?" he asked, staring down at his hands.
"Slapped her right across the face, you did," Shadow replied, his face dark.
That did it. Harry officially hated his inner vampire. He glanced over at Hermione again, how innocent she looked while she was asleep. He couldn't believe that he had actually struck her. She had always been there for him when nobody else was and that's how he repaid her? He groaned and sat down hard, his face buried in his hands.
Love makes you weak, said a sinister voice in Harry's head, which snapped up to look at Shadow. He was fiddling with the hilt of his rapier, picking at a frayed edge of the grip. Figured it out, have you? the voice said in his head with a cackle. Harry squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it out. Not gonna happen, the voice said. I'm a part of you.
A part of me that hits Hermione? Harry snapped back. I don't think so.
She needed to learn her place, the voice shot back. All she does is make you soft. I'm looking out for us. Trust me, this is for our own good.
Harry scowled, not knowing that Shadow was now studying him with interest. Are you a complete idiot? Harry thought. We would be nowhere if Hermione wasn't helping us.
I'll tell you where we wouldn't be, the voice said. We wouldn't be having this idiotic discussion about this because you care too much for one measly human. She's weak. She requires attention. And let's face it, if she ends up dying…let's just say it's all over. You'll be so weak Voldemort will piss himself laughing.
I can keep her safe, Harry replied. I have this power. I can do anything.
You will regret this, the voice said menacingly. We'll be rid of her even if I have to take control of our body again and do it myself.
The presence retreated, leaving Harry with a splitting headache. He let out a relieved sigh nonetheless, the pressure and sound of the voice thankfully absent for the time being. He couldn't help but worry about its parting words, though.
"He's that strong, is he?" Shadow said, interrupting his thoughts.
"How did you know…?" Harry asked, unsure of how to finish the question. What had just happened?
"That you were talking to your inner vampire?" Shadow asked, leaving Harry to nod. That must have been what that was. "I'm a vampire myself. I know what those talks are like. Not to mention the fact that your mouth was moving a bit. I saw something about keeping 'her' safe." He nodded in Hermione's direction. "I take it she's the 'her'?"
Harry sighed. "Yeah," was his only response. "So this voice thing is normal?" he asked, wishing to change the subject.
"It's normal probably about once a month…for most vampires," Shadow said. "And that's when the vampire is only talking. If there's an awakening, it'll usually take about five or six months for the inner vampire to resurface...and that's if you're trying to force it."
Harry nodded, comprehending fully how strong his inner vampire was. "And how long is it usually between awakenings?"
Shadow looked at Harry shrewdly. "About once a year," he said. "But for you…" he said, cutting off Harry's follow-up question. "I'd say about once a week."
Harry froze, reality hitting him. He'd turn into a mindless killing machine once a week, unable to know or control what his body was doing. Not to mention the fact that Hermione was already scared of him. How many more awakenings before she was too afraid to stick by his side anymore? "I see…" he said, his throat dry.
"Not to change subject, but a thought just hit me," said Shadow, pulling Harry back out of his thoughts. "Unlike most vampires, I pay attention to the current ongoings of humans. After seeing the strength of this so-called Dark Lord called Voldemort, you're going to have to take control of the vampire nation, which means you must defeat the Master. Voldemort's army and wards are just too much to take on with the two of us, three including your girlfriend."
Harry decided to let the girlfriend comment slide since he knew it was just a jab meant to provoke a response from him. "And where would I find the Master?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.
"Where you'll find Katerina, of course," said Shadow.
"Weren't you just telling me I was crazy to go there?" Harry said. "Why tell me now that I'll have to go there anyway?"
Shadow looked straight into Harry's eyes, growing more relaxed as he looked longer at whatever he saw in them. "I was testing your resolve earlier," he said. "You'll need both determination and willpower to defeat the Master, and it seems you have plenty of both."
Harry let that stew for a moment, then asked, "And how would I challenge the Master? Is it a formal thing?"
Shadow laughed out loud at that one, a rare moment of mirth shining through his normally dark face. "Only a fool allows formal challenges to their title," he said. "You'll actually need to kill the Master one-on-one while there are few enough vampires around to give the Master any sort of aid. You do need witnesses, however, which makes this a little tricky. Luckily, I was the former Master's fifth, and I think I would be this Master's third."
"Third strongest?" Harry guessed.
"Fourth strongest if you count the Master," Shadow explained.
"And once I do find a way to challenge the most powerful vampire alive, I'll need to find a way to kill him," said Harry, the enormity of this task dawning on him.
"That just about sums it up," said Shadow, standing up and stretching. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get some sleep."
"Hermione told me vampires don't need sleep," said Harry, confused.
"Well, Hermione's not a vampire, is she?" said Shadow, laying down on the soft ground. "We don't need sleep, but that doesn't mean it's not beneficial to us. Try to get some sleep at least every other day, every day if you can manage it. You'll be a lot healthier."
"I've tried to sleep before," said Harry, laying down anyway. "It doesn't work."
"First training session, then," said Shadow, his eyes closed. "Clear your mind, focus on shutting down everything in your body. It's more like going into a meditative state than anything. Focus and willpower are all that are required."
Harry did his best to do as instructed but found it impossible. Something was nagging the back of his mind. "You said I should awaken every week or so," said Harry. "Why did it take me so long to awaken the first time?"
"It was your first awakening," said Shadow. "But now that your inner vampire has found how to get in, it won't take as long anymore."
"I see," said Harry. "Well then, good ni…day."
He swore that Shadow chuckled. "Good night."
Harry mentally shrugged and focused on clearing his mind, surprised that even the small movements that signified that Shadow was still awake were completely gone. He had already fallen asleep. Harry had to remind himself that Shadow had had thousands of years of practice.
Harry fidgeted, unable to get comfortable and not feeling very tired at all. He sighed and turned over, eyes open to find Hermione still sleeping peacefully. He couldn't help but think that she looked really pretty when she wasn't scolding him. He sighed again, wishing that he could somehow kill his inner vampire. Because of that idiot she was afraid of him. He wished he knew what he could do to appease Hermione's fear, but he had never been good at sorting through the emotions of other people.
Then, oddly enough, Harry found his eyes slowly closing, the lids heavy.
o.O.o.O.o.O.o
When he woke up it was nighttime. How he knew that he didn't know, since the sky wasn't visible at all due to the trees. Must have been his vampire instincts.
He heard light wooshing sounds and looked over to the source to find the trunk of a tree receiving tiny nicks. At first he thought that something invisible was causing it, then he caught a glimpse of silver. He focused hard, straining his eyes until he could make out a faint blur seeming to whirl around the tree. It actually looked like a shadow was moving around the tree.
So that's why the Germans called him Shadow of the Silver Moon, eh? He thought to himself, impressed.
Then he remembered Hermione and turned around to find her with her arms around her knees, staring down at the fire with unfocused eyes. "Hermione?" Harry said tentatively.
She stiffened but looked up at him warily. Harry slowly walked up to the fire and sat opposite her. "Are you really that scared of me, Hermione?" he decided to ask bluntly.
Hermione swallowed, a battle of wills obviously being fought within her. She finally met Harry's eyes though, her fear a little less prevalent. "I'm not scared of you," she said. "Just your inner vampire."
Harry reluctantly accepted the fact that there was little he could do about that. "Well, just to let you know, while I have control of my body I'll never hurt you."
Hermione squinted at him suspiciously, growing more comfortable with him as she saw that he really was his normal self. "I hope you always remember saying those words, because I'm going to hold you to them whether you like it or not," she said, smiling. Then she was suddenly blushing.
"Harry…" she said, twiddling her wand in her fingers as she looked down at the ground.
"Yes?" he said, not completely comfortable with the sudden change of direction.
"Do you…like me?" she mumbled, face completely red.
Harry stilled, becoming completely motionless. He hadn't really ever thought about it. But now that he did, he realized that she was pretty, intelligent, always stayed by his side, and funny in her own way. But she was also his best friend, a girl he had grown up with and become incredibly close to since he was eleven. "Honestly…" he said, "…I can say that I find you attractive, but I'm not really too sure about anything romantic, if that's what you're talking about." Harry could smell confusion rolling off of her in waves, both about his statement and her own feelings. It was very likely that she had never really given it any thought either. "Why do you ask?" he said, saying the first thing that came to mind in an attempt to break the silence that had been growing between them.
"Well…erm…your other side told me…" she said, unable to continue because of embarrassment.
"Told you what?" Harry asked, hoping it wasn't something that would ruin their friendship.
"Told me that you had subconsciously accepted me as your mate," Hermione blurted, covering her mouth with her hand afterwards.
Harry began choking on air as he managed to blush despite how hard it was for vampires to do so. "That's ridiculous," he said. "I've never had a thought like that."
"Well, that's why he said subconsciously," said Hermione, who was still a bit pink. "I was just checking to see if you actually harbored some feeling toward me."
They were silent for a moment, looking into each other's eyes. "And do you harbor any feelings toward me?" Harry asked quietly, just barely audible over the cracking of the fire.
Hermione bit her lip, her eyes averting from his as she gave it a little more thought. "You're my best friend," she said. "My only true friend. I love you for sure, I just…I just don't know whether it's romantic or not," she admitted. "The only thing I'm sure about is that I'd go anywhere as long as you're with me. I feel…I would do anything for you."
Harry frowned, trying to decipher exactly what she meant. That sounded more than a little romantic to him, but then again he wasn't a female. "Well, wasn't that touching," said a bored voice from Harry's right. Shadow was kneeling there, an eyebrow raised at him. Both of them blushed a bright red. "Now if we could please focus on what we're going to be doing over the course of the next few days, that would be great."
"Right," said Hermione, giving her head a small shake and making sure not to look at Harry.
"First things first," said Harry. "We need to get close to the Master's lair so we can scope it out."
"Lair?" said Hermione skeptically, arching an eyebrow at Harry with a quirky smile on her face. "We aren't talking about an evil witch queen, the vampire Master is actually a very fair, just ruler that shows respect to humans and other living creatures. If I'm not mistaken, the Master Vampire lives in a castle along with his or her many followers."
"Correct," said Shadow. "The Master does indeed live in a castle in Wales. I figure if I show Hermione a picture of the place, she can apparate us there."
"You carry a picture of the castle with you?" asked Harry, who found it strange.
"No," said Shadow, looking at Harry like he was crazy. "I meant I'd project an image of the place into Hermione's mind."
Harry's eyes shot to Hermione's, which held no apprehension or misgivings about this at all. Looked like she had just about as much determination as Harry, if only because she knew it would help him in his fight against Voldemort.
"And once we get there…" said Harry, trailing off to let Shadow finish the sentence. But Shadow looked at him expectantly, obviously expecting Harry to finish his sentence. "…we…erm…we'll come up with a plan and implement it as soon as possible."
"You realize you stand no chance against the Master as you are now," said Shadow. "We should implement the plan as late as possible."
"But there's no way I'll be that much better after just a week of training," said Harry. "Might as well just get the show on the road."
Shadow remained silent for a few minutes, then finally, quietly said, "Look, Harry. As strong as you are, there's no way you'll be good enough to win by the time Katerina's execution is scheduled. Also, there's pretty much no way both the rescuing of Katerina and you fighting the Master can take place on separate days. Once one happens, the security will ramp up, making the second impossible." He sighed. "We should stall and starve you, that way…"
Harry swallowed, eyes darting between Shadow and Hermione, as if for confirmation that he absolutely saw there. "You want my inner vampire to come out?"
"Even I admit it's the only way you're going to stand a chance," said Hermione worriedly. "You have the brute strength that your inner vampire has, but even you don't have anywhere near the knowledge about fighting with this body that the inner vampire does."
"That's right," said Shadow. "I'm going to train you, but that's going to be for your fight against Voldemort. It's hard to tell who is going to be the tougher opponent, the Master or Voldemort, but Voldemort will definitely give you less problems than your inner vampire."
"Why is that?" Harry asked, thinking that they should just use his inner vampire against him, too.
"Your vampire knows everything about other vampires, his instincts and gut will be better in that fight," explained Shadow. "But you lived as a human, so you're much more suited to both command your hopefully future troops into battle against the humans and fight the actual human yourself."
"I see," said Harry. "Going back to the original problem, then, are we amending it to scoping out the place and training until I reach the point that my inner vampire is going to take hold of me?"
"Luckily, it seems that although you can't remember anything after coming back from an awakening, your inner vampire retains everything that happens to you while he is dormant," said Hermione. "That means that we can make plans and your inner vampire will remember them when he comes out."
"There's only one problem," said Shadow, looking grim.
"And what's that?" asked Harry.
"Well, more than one problem," Shadow replied. "One, you don't know how to Shadowalk," he said. "And two, you seem pretty useless in terms of protecting yourself unless your inner vampire has control of your body."
"And that's why you're going to train me, right?" said Harry.
"Correct," Shadow replied. "The problem is that I can't teach you enough to kill the Master if your inner vampire isn't out. So if he doesn't take control within the next week, Katerina's dead."
Harry nodded grimly. "I see."
"I'll do your best to train you nonetheless, especially because I hate the current Master," Shadow said, his face sporting a dangerous frown. "I would like nothing more in this world than to see the Master dead."
Harry decided to remain silent, sensing that it wasn't something Shadow wanted to talk about.
Shadow's face eventually cleared and he said, "For now, though, we should focus on getting to the castle in case you awaken prematurely."
Harry nodded and so did Hermione, her face determined. Shadow, his eyes on Harry instead of Hermione, reached his hands for Hermione's head. Harry tensed up but remained still, muscles clenched as Shadow cupped Hermione's head. Then both Shadow and Hermione closed their eyes. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Just as Harry was starting to relax, Hermione began trembling. Not much at first, but it gradually increased in magnitude as time went on. Just when Harry couldn't bear it anymore and was going to stop them, Shadow released her, making her gasp and her eyes shoot open.
"Sorry about that," said Shadow, not looking very sorry at all. "It takes some getting used to."
Hermione was now hyperventilating on her hands and knees, sweat dripping off her nose. "Hermione? Are you all right?" Harry asked, kneeling next to her.
She nodded, her eyes closed as her body shook. "A-are you two ready?" she asked, her voice shaky too.
Harry nodded while Shadow said, "Don't have much of anything, do we?"
Hermione nodded and used Harry for support to stand up. She grabbed Shadow's arm and Harry's hand, turned in place, and Harry shut his eyes to fight the horrible squeezing sensation.
Just as it felt he was going to vomit they arrived at their destination. Harry opened his eyes, which then widened in awe as he saw the size of the structure in front of him. He had thought Hogwarts was big, but this castle was easily twice its size. Tall, grey, unforgiving walls and battlements seemed to go on and up for miles, looking menacing. This castle, unlike Hogwarts, had a moat that seemed to be giving off a faint vapor.
"Holy water," Hermione muttered, gripping Harry's hand tight. He was just as thankful for the comfort as she was. Despite his determination and conviction, actually seeing the size of the place made finding Katerina and the Master without being killed seem that much harder.
He heard the sound of Shadow's sword scraping against the leather of its sheathe as he drew it, and looked down from the giant ramparts to find three men standing in front of them looking confident. "Well well well, Shadow of the Silver Moon." The man said the name as if it was a joke. "Never thought I'd see your face here again."
Shadow seemed to relax, but Harry saw that his arm was more tense than ever. He was just lulling the three into a false sense of security. He was looking down at the floor in what seemed to be subservience, but when he looked up there was a feral grin on his face. "You boys ready to do this?"
The three laughed. The middle one said, "Ready to take on an old man who lost his touch after the master killed that whore? Of course!"
The speaker's head fell to the floor less than a second later, his lifeless body collapsing next to it. Vampire magic was coming off of Shadow in waves, as if he had an evil aura surrounding him. Shadow began advancing on the other two, who took up fighting stances.
The vampire on the left, his voice shaky and frightened, said, "You may have gotten Matthew, but we're ready for you now! It's still two-on-one!"
That one gurgled as a wooden stake slammed through his spine and heart, the bloody tip protruding from his sternum. He looked down at his chest, clawed at it for a second, then burst into a pile of ashes. "Three-on-one now," said Hermione, wand trained on the remaining vampire to fire another.
The last vampire, sensing that Hermione was human and thus the most vulnerable, lunged at her, arms stretched out. Harry went to block his path and kill him, but his torso, legs, and hands all landed on the grass anywhere from fifteen to twenty feet short. He was immobile and crying out in pain, staring at the bloody stumps of his wrists. "You bastard!" he cried.
Shadow was standing over him, rapier tip lightly touching the remaining vampire's throat. "Where is the Master holding Katerina Reinhardt?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. Even Harry, who sometimes had trouble reading people, could tell that Shadow was a man on the edge.
"Fuck you!" the vampire spat, his eyes wild.
He gurgled and clawed at the blade with his stumps as it was pushed into his throat and out the back, unable to scream with his pierced esophagus. "Where is Katerina Reinhardt being held?"
He removed his rapier, letting the wound close. The vampire, realizing that torture could literally be eternal with his regeneration powers, reluctantly said, "Max security dungeon, of course. The Master would be an idiot to put her anywhere else. If you ask me, I think-"
What the remaining vampire thought nobody would ever know, for his head detached cleanly from his body and rolled several feet away. Shadow emotionlessly wiped the blood off his rapier using the corpse's shirt, then picked up the body, carried it over to the moat, and threw it in.
"You two help," said Shadow, picking up the head afterwards. "No reason for the master to know that we were here."
Harry grabbed the hands and legs of the minced vampire while Hermione levitated the other vampire's body, trying her best to avoid looking at it.
Once all the evidence was gone, the three trudged the short distance to the forest that was a hundred feet away from the castle, the dark shadows of the trees swallowing them and keeping them out of sight. They sat down with the castle in sight, the large walls looming over them and looking impenetrable.
Harry was grateful for once to not immediately jump in the fray but wait and plan it out. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but a bit of fear was beginning to clutch his heart.
A/N: Holy cow, I don't even know how many times I typed campire instead of vampire while writing this. This was probably the most difficult chapter I've ever written, if only because I was at a standstill as to what to write next about every 100 words. I realize there was very little action this chapter, but you can rest assured that more is coming up (and much quicker!). No, really though, I've already started the next chapter, so be on the lookout for it within the next week.
Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave a review!