A/N: Thanks for all of your amazing reviews! Keep it up, they're awesome!
Sorry for the long break between updates, I was studying for finals and didn't have the time or energy to focus on well-structured plot development. Thanks for your patience!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 8 - Pierced By Fear
Harry sat on his throne, his body aching. Had the fighting really been so intense that he was barely able to move at this point? And why did it feel as though he had been stabbed through the chest?
He touched the spot on his chest and winced. As crazy as it sounded, it really did feel as though he had either been stabbed or impaled on something. Did his inner vampire not care about or value his own life at all?
"My Master?" a vampire presently relaying a message in his throne room said nervously.
Harry managed to pull himself out of his thoughts, focusing instead on the task at hand. "Please continue," he said.
"Well, it seems as though the preparations are right on schedule," the vampire said.
"That's good," Harry said, looking at the vampire on his right, who was wearing thin spectacles and a very old, very well-kept suit with coattails, his grey hair flaring away from his thin, sharp face. He had probably been about sixty-five when he was turned. The man nodded, fulfilling his duty as Harry's advisor.
The vampire licked his lips. "And Master, if I may…"
"Go on," Harry said, surprised that the vampire seemed so nervous.
The vampire shrank a little beforehand, averting his eyes. "I don't think this raid on Voldemort is such a good idea."
"And why's that?" Harry asked sincerely, thinking there might've been something he had missed.
The vampire flinched though, as if Harry had threatened to kill him for speaking back. "B-b-because he's j-just a petty human. I m-mean, all the other v-vampires think you're…you're…"
"I'm what?" Harry asked, thinking that the last Master must've been a psycho if this vampire was acting like this.
The vampire gulped. "Crazy, Master," he whispered.
"For wasting my time on a human?" Harry asked.
The vampire nodded quickly, quite obviously relieved that he hadn't been killed for speaking his mind. "Yes, Master."
Harry blinked a few times and took a deep, reflexive (and unnecessary) breath, thinking hard. Of all the times he could've used Hermione…
"Erm…well…Voldemort has an army of creatures, right?" Harry asked, an idea striking him.
The other vampire nodded quickly, his eyes not leaving Harry's. "Yes, Master," he said.
"And no vampires are a part of it," Harry continued.
"No, Master," the vampire responded quickly.
Harry stood up, trying his best to make himself look intimidating and in control. His advisor had told him to work on it. "We're attacking him to make him pay for insulting us by not inviting us to be part of his army," he said angrily. He let his inner vampire take control a bit, little enough to retain control while giving him enough to have pure vampire magic radiating from his body, making the cowering vampire in front of him take a few steps back. "He will pay with his head," he growled, his voice dangerously low. It was all a lie to get the other vampires to help him, of course, but one that was completely necessary.
The vampire stopped backing down, realizing that it wasn't him that Harry's anger was directed at, but Voldemort. He thought about what Harry had said for a second, his face screwed up in concentration. Then he understood the point. He looked up at Harry in awe, gave a soft sound of understanding, then began scowling. "Yeah," he said, more than a little outraged. "What is that all about?"
He tried to think like inner Harry would think. "He thinks we're weak…useless," he said with mock outrage.
"We'll show him," the vampire said angrily, punching his fist against the open palm of his other hand.
"And make sure you spread the word…." Harry trailed off somewhat awkwardly.
The vampire stood silent for a second before hurriedly bowing and saying, "Ferdinand, Master."
"And make sure you spread the word, Ferdinand," Harry said. "Especially to those who think I'm crazy. We need to be united in this attack if we hope to have any chance of success."
Ferdinand saluted him. "Yes, Master," he said before turning around and walking out of the throne room.
When Ferdinand had left Harry and his advisor, whose name happened to be Jean-Claude, alone, Harry collapsed back on his throne. "Are most of the vampires in here like that?" he asked.
"Completely stupid?" Jean-Claude asked with a thick French accent.
"I mean, I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed myself," Harry replied, "but he seemed exceptionally stupid."
"Fortunately, no, most of the vampires who reside in this castle aren't that stupid," he said. "The majority tend to use their downtime to make themselves at least a tiny bit more intelligent. Ferdinand is your eighth and leader of the Front Line Corps."
Harry didn't need to ask what the Front Line Corps was. It was pretty obvious. "Let me guess. Those with the least intelligence end up in the Front Line Corps?" he asked.
"Correct," Jean-Claude replied. Then, after a moment of silence, he asked, "Now, would you like some more training first or would you rather hear what's happening today?"
"Just tell me now," Harry said.
Jean-Claude cleared his throat. "Well, there are only two things on the list today," he said. "The first of which is an increase in resistance from the locals."
Harry shook his head. "We'll deal with that when we get back from the assault on Voldemort."
"Very well," Jean-Claude replied with a nod of his head. "The other piece of news is that out of the thirty-two hundred females who currently inhabit this castle, about two hundred of them are claiming to be your mate…and this is only your second day as the Master. Fights have broken out over it. Luckily, nobody's been killed yet, but…"
Harry nodded, thinking hard. How could he stop the violence and lies? He closed his eyes and took another deep, completely unnecessary breath, but couldn't think of anything. Except…
"Can you keep a secret, Jean-Claude?" Harry asked nervously.
"I'm your right-hand man, Master," Jean-Claude replied. "It is only my duty to convey to the rest what you wish."
Harry nodded. "Good, because I need your advice," he said. "The thing is…I already have a mate."
Jean-Claude raised an eyebrow. "Are you just saying that or do you really already have a mate? This is very uncommon for a fledgling."
Harry would've blushed if he could've. "Well, I think she's my mate," he mumbled.
Jean-Claude's raised eyebrow never wavered. "You think," he said skeptically.
"My…er…inner vampire claims that she's my mate," he explained.
"There is a way of testing this," said Jean-Claude.
"There is?" Harry asked earnestly.
"Just kiss her," his advisor responded.
Harry blinked. "What will that do?" he asked.
"When a vampire kisses his or her mate for the first time, something very noticeable will occur," Jean-Claude said.
"What happens?" Harry asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.
Jean-Claude gave him a small, secretive smile. "That, Master, is for every vampire to discover on his or her own. This has always been an ironclad tradition among vampires."
"I see," said Harry thoughtfully.
They sat in silence again after that, Harry thinking while Jean-Claude waited patiently. Finally, when Jean-Claude realized it might be a while, he asked, "Are you in love with her?"
This sent Harry into even deeper thought. "I…I don't know," he said slowly. "With everything that's been going on lately, I feel like everything's changed. I'm…not sure what my feelings are at the moment," he said.
"I see," said Jean-Claude, the corners of his lips quirked in what might have been an almost microscopic smile. Then he became deadly serious again. "I have a feeling that wasn't the secret you wanted to tell me though, was it?"
"No," Harry admitted, making sure they were alone with a quick glance of his eyes and other senses. "The real secret is she's human."
Jean-Claude blinked a couple times, letting his Master's words sink in. "That is…most interesting, Master," he said slowly. "But unfortunate. My suggestion would be to turn her as soon as possible."
Harry's brow furrowed. "And why's that?"
Jean-Claude looked on at him with a neutral expression. "Because previous vampire-human relationships haven't exactly ended well for either party," he said simply.
Harry sighed, an expression that was beginning to feel weird, and cradled his head in his hands, gently rubbing his temples. He quietly said, "I won't turn her unless she explicitly asks or tells me to."
Jean-Claude's brow furrowed. "Master, if I may…"
Harry looked up at him. "No, you may not," he said sharply. "I already know what you're going to say. My opinion isn't going to change, though," he said stubbornly.
Jean-Claude met his eyes and held them, neither of their wills wavering. Finally, Jean-Claude relaxed. "Very well," he said. "It's your decision. I might suggest, though, that you tell no one else."
"That's the plan," Harry replied, also relaxing. Then a thought hit him. Somebody else already did know about her. "Katerina," he said softly. Then he focused on Jean-Claude again. "How would I clear Katerina of her crimes?"
Jean-Claude thought for a moment, a small smile on his lips. "Katerina Reinhardt," he said slowly.
"You know her?" Harry asked.
"I do," Jean-Claude said, his eyes on Harry but focused on the distant past. "I helped her as a human during the French Revolution."
"How did you help her?" Harry inquired, genuinely curious.
Jean-Claude smiled politely. "That, unfortunately, is a story not to be shared with anyone," he said. "Even you, Master."
Harry frowned but nodded. "How do we clear her name?" he asked again.
Jean-Claude thought hard for a few more minutes, then slowly nodded his head. "Yes," he muttered slowly to himself. "It's the only way."
"What?" Harry asked. "What's the only way?"
Jean-Claude focused on Harry again, his expression grim. "At this point, the only way for her to be accepted back into the vampire community is to either become Master or kill your number one, which would then make her your number one. Your General."
Harry mulled it over. "You know her better than I do," he said. "Do you think she could take the current number one?"
Jean-Claude scoffed. "Could she take that idiot Rafael?" he asked rhetorically. "Katerina was the number two. Numbers one and three were killed. So it's really a number four against a number two."
Harry nodded, his thoughts all over the place. This was all a lot to take in. "Wait," he said slowly. "Katerina already defeated a number one during the battle."
"Technically," Jean-Claude said exaggeratedly, obviously taking enjoyment from the fact that he knew so much more than Harry, said, "the human, who I assume is your mate, killed him. Secondly, Katerina was still in her cell, which meant she was still a prisoner, not a fugitive. And lastly, it wasn't a formal challenge."
"Okay," Harry said, trying to find a way around another fight. There would be more than enough fighting over the next few days to last the duration of twenty lifetimes. "Does this battle have to end in death? I mean, I've already lost two of the previous top four."
Jean-Claude nodded grimly. "Unfortunately, death is the only option."
Harry's lips pressed into thin lines. "Fine," he said. "I'll speak with her tonight and see what she thinks. If she agrees, it'll happen tomorrow."
Jean-Claude nodded. "If I may ask," he said, "where is Katerina?"
Harry blinked. "In the forest," he said a bit unsurely.
"Ah," said Jean-Claude. "Then I'm going to have to tell you to be careful."
"And why is that?" Harry asked.
"A big pack of werewolves has been spotted camping in the forest," he said.
"Why wasn't I informed of this sooner?" Harry asked, standing up abruptly. Hermione.
"Because generally, what lurks in the forest isn't anyone's concern," Jean-Claude replied smoothly. "If a pack of five hundred attacked the castle, they would be massacred. Naturally, nobody would care much if it was a pack of one hundred."
"There are one hundred werewolves in the forest?" Harry exclaimed, his eyes widening. Hermione.
"Give or take a few," Jean-Claude said nonchalantly. Then, seeing the look on Harry's face, added, "They won't change until tonight anyway. Katerina can hold her own against a hundred unchanged werewolves easily."
"But what about tonight?" Harry asked.
"We can always hide her in the castle," Jean-Claude supplied.
"And what about my potential mate?" Harry added.
Jean-Claude blanched. "Your mate is in the forest with her?" he asked. Harry nodded, prompting Jean-Claude to run a hand through his thin hair. "She can't be hidden in the castle," he said, thinking out loud. "Her smell will have her found out within seconds."
"Can we say I'm holding her captive so I can feed from her later?" Harry asked.
"And what happens when you don't kill her?" Jean-Claude asked. "If you don't finish her off, it's expected that she'll be passed down the ladder until she's out of blood."
"Shit," Harry swore, standing up and pacing. "There's got to be something," he said softly.
"We'll come up with something," Jean-Claude said placatingly.
Harry went to the doors of the throne room and put a hand on one of the handles. "I'm going out there," he said, not looking back at his advisor. "She'll come up with something."
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled the doors opened and strode through the castle. The other vampires all made way for him, giving him greetings and bowing.
Harry walked all the way to the entrance doors of the castle, pulling them open while making sure to stay in the shadows. He could just make out the edge of the forest, which was littered with shadows, allowing him to sink into the shadows cast by the castle and reappear in the forest. He Shadowalked to where Hermione and Katerina's camp was, both of their heads snapping up at the intruder before they relaxed.
Hermione smiled at him, good to see that it was her Harry for once. Katerina stood up warily, though, and said, "You said you weren't going to come out here until the third night. What's going on?"
"You haven't smelled the werewolves out here yet?" he asked, sniffing. That was indeed werewolf in the air.
"Of course I have," Katerina responded. "They aren't changed. What's the big deal?"
Harry looked at her for the first time since arriving and had to resist the urge to wince. She looked horrible. Her eyes were puffy and red, there were dried tear tracks on her face, and her hair was a mess. Harry glanced back at Hermione and received a quick shake of the head. Don't ask right now.
He cleared his throat, but Hermione beat him to the punch. "Tonight's a full moon," she said.
Katerina stopped dead. "That's not good," she whispered.
"You're telling me," Harry said grimly. "We don't know what their aims are, though. It'd be suicide to attack us head on."
"They could be scoping it out for a larger force," Katerina muttered more to herself than anyone else.
"Honestly, to me it doesn't matter what they're going to do," Harry said. "We can handle them. What I'm worried about is what's going to happen to you two tonight."
"I can take Hermione far away," Katerina said. "We can hide."
"Or I could just apparate," Hermione said.
Harry rubbed his forehead wearily. "Unfortunately, neither of those are viable options," he said. "Hermione, there's no way you'd make it out of the forest, which is where the wards end; the werewolves' sense of hearing and smell, even in human form, is too great. And Katerina, I want you to be my first. I really need a general I can trust."
Katerina eyebrows rose. "Me?" she asked incredulously. "A first? I'd be honored." Then her brow furrowed. "I have to kill him then, right? Your current first, that is."
"Unfortunately, yes," Harry replied simply.
Katerina swallowed. "I've never taken a life out of necessity," she said quietly.
Harry put his hands on her shoulders, making her look up at him nervously. "Trust me," he said grimly. "This is definitely necessary."
Harry felt a mood shift and immediately looked over at Hermione, who seemed to be looking at Katerina's shoulder…right where his hand was. He cleared his throat and removed his hands, earning Hermione's intent attention. "I understand," Katerina replied heavily, snapping Harry out of his train of thought. "I will do what I must."
"Good," he replied. "Can you give me and Hermione a moment alone? I'll meet you at the edge of the forest."
Katerina nodded and melted into the shadows, leaving the two friends alone. Harry leaned against a tree as an awkward silence grew thick between them, only to be broken by Hermione asking, "How did you turn into a giant panther last night?"
Harry's eyes widened. "I what?" he asked incredulously.
"You turned into a giant panther," Hermione repeated.
"Maybe…maybe it's like a wizard-turned-vampire's version of turning into a bat?" Harry speculated, in awe that he had transformed.
Hermione thought for a moment, then looked at Harry with surprise on her features. "Wow. That's actually a pretty valid theory," she said. Harry gave her a skeptical look that made her blush from embarrassment. "I mean, of course it is, that's why you said it, and I wasn't implying-"
She was cut off by Harry's rich laugh. "Relax, Hermione. I'm pretty surprised myself."
Hermione smiled, relieved. When Harry had calmed down, she asked him, "What did you need to talk to me about?"
Harry looked away from her shyly and cleared his throat. "Erm…well…I-I think it's time that we figure out once and for all if you're my mate," he finished strongly.
Hermione's cheeks turned a bit pink. She licked her lips. "How?" she asked quietly.
Harry's previous boldness was lost. "Well, we have to kiss," he mumbled, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck nervously.
Hermione swallowed hard. "Okay," she said slowly. "First I want to know…how do you feel about me? It doesn't matter what some vampire tradition has to say if the feelings aren't there."
Harry puffed out his cheeks as he thought, then slowly released the air. How did he feel about her? Looking at the positives, he could see that she was loving, kind, intelligent, always there for him, and always just saw him as him. And for the negatives: sometimes she could be a bit bossy, which Harry actually found very endearing. He opened his eyes to really look at her rather than just see her. What he saw shocked him. She was absolutely beautiful.
That decided it. "I…" he started before having to begin again. "I wouldn't necessarily say I'm in love with you at the moment, but…I-I think that the foundations for that feeling have been planted. I think I'm in the process of falling," he admitted, unable to escape from her beautiful, vulnerable, warm brown eyes.
A tiny bit of disappointment flashed in them for a second before being snuffed, a small smile on her face. "I think that's good enough for now," she said, wetting her lips. Her pulse was racing like crazy and her cheeks were turning red, her breathing erratic. "Let's find out."
Harry swallowed and approached her awkwardly, not exactly sure what to do. They leaned in towards each other, Hermione's eyes closed as Harry kept his open to make sure he didn't miss his mark. Her breath caressed his lips as they got closer, their noses just barely brushing, sending a tingle down Harry's spine. Finally, their lips met, Harry's eyes sliding closed as he tasted her soft lips.
Lights flashed behind his closed eyelids as pleasure exploded through his body, an odd warmth flowing through his veins like lifeblood. Her lips were the softest thing he had ever felt, her taste the sweetest, making him want to never stop.
It was the single greatest moment of his life.
Then his brow furrowed as his conscious threatened to escape, his inner vampire threatening to burst forth. Then he realized that it was impossible, because he was Hermione, and he was kissing Harry, but he was also kissing Hermione.
Wait, what?
Harry stumbled back as they broke the kiss, both of them staring into each other's eyes. Harry could feel a heartbeat in his chest, causing him to look down and press his hand against the skin, where he felt nothing. But he could feel it beating on the inside, and he could taste the sweet oxygen passing through his lips with each breath he took…even though he wasn't breathing.
He swallowed. "What the hell just happened?" he asked.
Hermione took a second to respond, a look of awe on her face. "I…I think…I think we just became one," she whispered.
Harry laughed nervously. "That's impossible," he said. "I'm me and you're you."
"Not our bodies, Harry," Hermione said, thinking hard. Finally after a few seconds, she whispered, "I meant our souls."
"Our souls?" Harry said, acting as an echo.
Hermione clutched at her chest, her eyebrows furrowed. "I can…feel you, right here," she said. Then she focused on Harry again, meeting his eyes. "I'm your mate," she whispered.
Harry gave her a small smirk. "You're my mate," he replied teasingly. "And you're happy about it," he said softly, a bit surprised. Hermione looked down at the floor. "Hermione?" he inquired softly.
She was silent for what seemed to be forever. "Why do you think I never left your side?" she finally asked with barely a whisper.
The implication of her question made his heart squeeze in his chest. "I…You…I thought you…"
"You thought I did it because I was your best friend? You thought I said I didn't have those feelings yet?" she asked. Harry nodded. Hermione chuckled softly. "I've loved you all along," she admitted quietly. "I was too afraid to tell you last time."
Harry looked at her sadly. "As much as I want to say it back this instant," he said, "I don't want to lie to you."
Hermione's face fell, her head dropping to look at the ground. Harry very gently pulled it back up with a single finger under her chin, bringing their faces only inches apart. "Hey," he said with a small smile on his face. "I'll get there eventually…I've always been a bit slow. In the meantime, we're just going to have to make do with some of these."
He kissed her softly again, a small smile on his lips as she kissed him back. When they parted, Harry smiled at her and said, "I could really get used to that."
Hermione smiled back, though the pain wasn't completely absent from her eyes. "Me too," she said. After a few seconds of silence, she looked away and said, "You better go back. Katerina's waiting."
"Hang on," Harry replied. "We still need to figure out what we're going to do with you."
"Go do what you have to do with Katerina," Hermione said, backing away from him. "By the time you get back, I should have plenty of ideas."
"Okay," said Harry slowly, backing away from her. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Trust me, Harry," Hermione replied, smiling and waving. "See you soon!"
"Be back in a bit!" he called back before turning and zipping through the forest, his mind full of even more thoughts and worries now…but at least now it was balanced by a hefty amount of happiness.
His body went on autopilot as he relished in the warmth of Hermione's beating heart, her happiness, though mixed with disappointment, warming the rest of his body. His mind was jerked back into his body as a hand closed around his throat and slammed him on the ground.
He fought for a second before he realized it was Katerina. She released him and stood up, leaving Harry to do the same as he shot her a confused look. "What the hell was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his throat.
Katerina folded her arms across her chest. "You need to pay attention to where you're going, fool," she said. "You were a millisecond from leaving the forest."
Harry looked up and realized that she was right. He had been about a millisecond away from being burned to a crisp. He looked back at her with an apologetic smile. "Thanks for that," he said.
She raised an eyebrow at him in response. "Fledglings," she muttered. Then, at Harry's annoyed look, she laughed. "Come on, let's go."
Harry shook his head and Shadowalked back into the castle, Katerina right behind him. Harry turned to one of the guards on duty and said, "Katerina is formally challenging for the position of number one. Summon Rafael to the arena, please."
"Yes, sir," the vampire replied quickly, his knees shaking in fright as he saluted his Master.
As Harry and Katerina made their way to the arena, she looked at him funny. "I see you already have a reputation," she said slyly.
"I have no clue what I've done to deserve that kind of response," Harry replied truthfully, bewildered.
When they arrived at the arena, it was to find that half of the ten thousand seats had already been filled. "Wow," Harry breathed in awe as he and Katerina walked into the middle of the arena, surrounded by their brethren.
"News travels quickly," Katerina commented, stretching her legs.
Harry turned to face her. "You're sure you want to do this?" he asked.
She slowly stopped stretching and turned to face him. Harry could see determination burning in her eyes. She had also collected herself well, looking similar to the first time he met her rather than the wreck he had come across not twenty minutes ago. "I'm ready," she said in a voice that sent chills down his spine.
He really didn't envy Rafael.
"Good luck," he said before turning around and jumping up to the Master's suite.
Jean-Claude was already up there. "She ready?" he asked.
Harry nodded. "Definitely," he said, watching her stretch.
Rafael walked into the arena confidently at that moment and bowed, flourishing his cape. The two faced each other at opposite sides of the arena and looked up at the suite. "What do they want?" Harry asked Jean-Claude quickly, uncomfortable having thousands of eyes glued on him.
"A formal acknowledgment of the challenge, Master," he replied just as quickly. "Let me amplify your voice."
A jet of vampire magic shot out from Jean-Claude's body and struck Harry's throat, making it burn for a second before it turned into more of a tingling sensation. He touched his throat curiously as he stood up, his mind instantly going blank as he looked upon the thousands of faces turned to him.
Oh, how he hated speeches.
He nervously cleared his throat, wincing a bit as the sound was amplified and echoed throughout the arena. "Well…" he began poorly. "In case you all haven't heard by now, I'm your new Master, Harry Potter," he said, scratching his face in embarrassment as quite a few female cheers and whistles sounded from the crowd. "Anyway," he continued, "I hope to keep the vampire population flourishing during my tenure as your Master." Cheers rose. "Enough for my introductory speech, though. We are gathered here to witness a formal challenge for the title of first from Katerina Reinhardt," he said, earning a surprising amount of cheers from the crowd despite the fact that Katerina was a fugitive lawbreaker. "She will be fighting your current first, Rafael Torres, to the death."
The cheers were much louder following Harry's last sentence, but he figured it had more to do with the 'to the death' part than the fact that they were supporting Rafael.
Katerina took a couple steps forward as Rafael took off his cape, tossing it into the crowd dramatically. He took out a rapier similar to Shadow's and planted the tip into the ground before kneeling in front of it and closing his eyes, mumbling a prayer under his breath. Katerina stood back, waiting for him to finish.
When he did, he stood up and held his sword up in front of his body as he bowed at Katerina, who did the same in return. If Harry's stomach hadn't been squirming so badly, he would've chuckled at the fact that it was so similar to the beginning of a wizards' duel.
Katerina took a defensive stance, her weight spread out perfectly, ready to receive the incoming attack. Rafael Shadowalked behind her, slicing his sword through thin air as Katerina did the same to him. She launched a massive, lightning-quick roundhouse kick at him, aiming to finish the fight in one blow, but she was blocked, Rafael managing to catch her foot as he spun around. He thrusted his sword at her exposed body, which she bent backwards and spun, flipping the off-balance Rafael over as she landed on her feet.
Rafael sprang to his own feet and launched a flurry of blows at Katerina, doing his best to stay on the offensive. Katerina dodged as best she could, receiving a few nicks from the sharp blade in the process despite her superior speed. It was difficult at that speed to dodge so many blows.
Rafael jumped up high; so high, in fact, that he used the ceiling, which was over a hundred feet up, as a springboard to launch himself back down at Katerina. Harry gripped the arms of his chair tightly, his eyes not leaving her as she remained motionless.
Why wasn't she dodging? It would've been easy enough to move a few feet to the side and avoid the attack. But as Rafael sped at her, she didn't move a single muscle. Then, just as Harry had gone to cover his eyes, she spread out her legs and brought both arms above her head, crossing them at the wrists. There was a massive amount of vampire magic gathered as a shield in front of her crossed arms, which Harry realized she must have been building up when she was remaining motionless.
The sword slammed into the shield so hard that Katerina's knees almost buckled. The ground gave out first, though, a crater ten feet in diameter forming around them as if Rafael had been a meteor that had struck.
They were both gritting their teeth, pushing against each other, Rafael still suspended in the air. Then Katerina gave up, surprising Rafael as he slammed into the ground that his opponent had spun away from. She kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying into one of the stone walls surrounding the arena minus his sword.
Katerina dashed at him as he recovered, spinning around the punch that he timed perfectly. Rafael's other hand came to block the foot that came at his face, using her momentum against her to slam her into the wall. Katerina collapsed onto all fours, clutching her chest and shaking her head, crying out as Rafael's foot slammed into her side just below her ribs, sending her sliding forty feet across the ground. Harry was completely tensed, his eyes wide as Rafael advanced confidently on Katerina's motionless form. Then he noticed something. Rafael's inner vampire had awakened at some point. To the best of Harry's knowledge, it seemed to him that Katerina was still her normal self.
Rafael went up to Katerina's head and lifted his foot up to stomp on her face, the noise level of the crowd rising as they sensed the impending kill. Then his foot slammed down…right into the ground. His body went limp and fell to the ground, his head rolling beside it.
"Holy Merlin," Harry gasped as the crowd went silent for a few seconds.
Harry had never really seen a vampire fight, his inner vampire having always been in control when anything truly serious had gone down. What had happened was almost too fast to see. In the time it had taken Rafael to bring his foot down, Katerina had rolled away on the ground, sprang to her feet, jumped straight at the opposite wall, and propelled herself back at Rafael, grabbing his rapier off the ground and beheading him with it as she skidded to a stop.
Harry figured the silence was attributed to the fact that most of the audience had no idea what had just happened. Then it registered in their heads that one of them had been killed and they erupted into cheers. Katerina bowed, looking at Harry with blood-red eyes. So that's how lethal she was when she was awakened…
Harry stood up and addressed his subjects. "Katerina Reinhardt is the winner!" he announced, earning more cheers from the crowd. "Thus, she has been exonerated of all crimes and is the new first!"
The crowd began filing out after another minute of cheering, talking loudly. Katerina jumped up into the suite in front of Harry, her eyes clouded with bloodlust. "Exciting, no?" she asked, her voice sultry.
"Katerina?" Harry said, reflexively pressing his head into the cushioning of the seat a little harder.
She walked up to Harry, her hips swaying seductively. She put her hands on his upper thighs as she leaned her face close to his, their noses almost touching. "The feeling of taking that pathetic fool's life got me excited," she whispered.
Great. Turned out Katerina's inner vampire was even more of a homicidal maniac than his own was; killing actually seemed to turn hers on. Just as Harry was about to tell her to back off, he felt fear pulse through his body.
He froze. That wasn't his own fear.
"Hermione," he said quietly, pushing Katerina to the ground as he stood up abruptly.
"Master, wait!" Jean-Claude said abruptly. "Take the sword."
"The sword?" Harry asked quickly.
"Made with a high silver concentration, designed purely for killing werewolves during the first Great War. You are going into the forest, correct?" he asked quickly, snapping his fingers.
"Yeah," Harry said.
Waiting for that sword was the longest ten seconds of his life. Finally, a vampire came forward bearing it. Harry snatched it out of his hands and pushed his body to the limit as he thought desperately of Hermione and what could have frightened her so much.
He had to stop on a dime as he saw that the sun was still peeking above the horizon, confusing him. What had scared Hermione so badly if it wasn't the werewolves?
He quickly Shadowalked into the forest and sped between the trees, arriving at the camp to find no trace of her. "Hermione?" he called. He sniffed the air and followed her scent slowly, only for something huge to slam into him, smashing him into the ground.
He rolled with his momentum, his battle instincts kicking in as he came face to face with a giant wolf, which was so big that at first Harry had thought it was a bear. Its grey fur was standing on end, saliva dripping from sharp teeth as long as daggers as it snarled at him.
He thought it was just a giant wolf until he probed it with his mind and found that it had the faint traces of human thought. How had it changed before nighttime?
He decided answering that question could wait as four more joined the first. He closed his eyes and raised the sword, knowing that if he reacted and depended on his sight that he was sure to lose. Everything seemed to turn into slow-motion as he felt Hermione's heart racing in his chest, the forest disappearing behind her as a giant wolf carried her away from the forest.
Let me help you, a voice said in his head.
I can't trust you, Harry replied. You don't seem to give a damn about our body.
I want to see you take on a Master-strength vampire and come out better, his inner vampire snapped. But we shouldn't fight amongst each other. They have Hermione. I will help you.
I thought you hated her, Harry shot back. You hit her.
I'm you, you fool, his inner vampire responded. Your feelings are my feelings.
Harry remained silent for as long as he dared, then responded. Fine.
Let's show them what they get for taking her.
Harry's eyes remained closed, but his senses rose as he felt power surge throughout his body. The wolves sprang at him, jaws spread wide to rip him to pieces. Harry jumped through the gap between the first two and sliced one of them in half, spinning through the air as the other three pounced on him.
Harry rolled through the landing and decapitated the wolf on the right, sending blood spraying into the eyes of the one on the left, effectively blinding it for a moment. He hopped up and pushed the head of the middle wolf into the ground, shattering its skull.
Three down, two to go.
He Shadowalked ten feet behind him as one of the wolves lunged for his back, smashing into the tree as it snapped its jaws through midair. The previously-blinded wolf took a wild swing with a giant paw that Harry ducked under, jumping up afterwards and cleaving its head in half. The last wolf let out a howl that turned into a pitiful yelp as Harry's sword drove through its breast and heart.
Harry pulled his sword out and wiped it on the wolf's fur, looking in the direction that Hermione was being taken. He set off for the edge of the forest, determination and power radiating through him, making him feel invincible. No wonder Katerina's inner vampire loved killing so much; this kind of power was indeed intoxicating.
Harry skidded to a stop as he neared the edge of the forest, sensing dozens of wolves closing in on him from all directions. He looked up at the sky as he readied himself, a grin forming on his face.
It was nighttime, the full moon hanging low in the speckled sky.
The wolves slowed down as they closed in around him from about thirty feet away, determining how they were going to bring down the vampire master. Harry sat down boredly as the wolves advanced, hundreds of his fellow vampires attacking and flanking the wolves as Jean-Claude and Katerina grew out of the shadows on either side of him.
"Go after Hermione," Katerina said.
Jean-Claude grinned. "We'll catch up once we're finished here."
Harry melted into the shadows and reappeared outside of the forest, leaving his range of Shadowalking. He only knew the area surrounding the castle well enough to confidently Shadowalk, and there was no point in taking unnecessary risks. Hermione's life was at stake.
As he set off at a pace that blew the grass out of the ground around him, he heard yelps and strangled howls from behind him.
Werewolves may have been at home in the night, but they were nowhere near the level of vampires. Vampires were creatures of the night. They thrived in the darkness, killed in it, drew their power from it.
Vampires were merciless, powerful, and just plain evil.
Harry was going to make sure that the person behind Hermione's kidnapping discovered that first hand.
A/N: Bwahaha, oh how I love cliffhangers! And oh, how I love writing this story! And finals are over, so this time I'll be able to update while you still remember what's happening in the story! Yay!
Please don't forget to review! (Assuming you can spare the time, of course…)